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# River Processes and Landforms ## Waterfall - **Hard rock** overlies **soft rock**, creating an **overhang** - Overhang collapses, resulting in a **steep, gorge-like valley** - A **plunge pool** develops at the base of the waterfall - The volume of water increases as more tributaries join the riv...

# River Processes and Landforms ## Waterfall - **Hard rock** overlies **soft rock**, creating an **overhang** - Overhang collapses, resulting in a **steep, gorge-like valley** - A **plunge pool** develops at the base of the waterfall - The volume of water increases as more tributaries join the river - The river carries its load in different ways: - Fine particles stay suspended in the water - Large particles are rolled down the center of the river - The smallest particles are dragged along the river bed - The volume of water increases, as does the width of the river ## The Middle Course - The **Middle Course** is characterized by more deposition than erosion - **Meanders** are common features of the Middle Course: - They are bends in the river's longitudinal course - They develop due to lateral erosion and deposition - The meandering pattern becomes more pronounced due to increased curvature and erosion - Meanders eventually become oxbow lakes ## The Lower Course - This is the **oldest stage** of the river - The flow is **sluggish**, resulting in deposition - The river **splits into multiple distributaries** that eventually divide further into smaller distributaries - The deposition of sediments near the mouth creates **deltas** ### Diagram of a meander - The arrow indicates the direction of stream flow - Erosion occurs on the outside of the meander bend, while deposition occurs on the inside bend