RIVER EROSION
River erosion is when the land is worn away as the water flows along the river bed and banks.
There are four main types of river erosion. These are:
- Attrition - is when the stones carried in the load of the river are themselves worn down. Stones are smoothed, rounded and made smaller by the process of attrition.
- Abrasion - this is when the load hits against the bed and the banks of the river and erodes them rapidly. Abrasion is the most powerful way in which the river erodes.
- Solution - is when the chemicals in the water help to break down some rocks. Carbonic acid for example, slowly dissolve limestone.
- Hydraulic Action - is the force of the moving water, which breaks fragments from the bed and the banks of the river. The material carried along by the river is called its load.
Junior Certificate Geography