Rivers and Glaciers

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About these Images

Rivers are moving bodies of water that are found in valleys, and transport water to the sea. They flow as a result of precipitation running downhill to a point where the water table is at the surface. At their source they may appear simply as water bubbling out of the ground, whilst at their mouth, where they meet the sea, they may be many hundreds or even thousands of metres wide. Rivers flow in valleys which are often 'V' shaped, and as their gradient declines, they get wider and contain flood plains, areas of low lying land, created by a combination of erosion and deposition, as a river meanders seawards. People try to manage rivers, which are like a motorway for water particles, building dams to help control their flow and for water storage, and creating walls to try and prevent flooding. Many rivers are dredged, which is when sediment and debris is removed from the river channel to aid navigation, and also to try and ensure that they can cope with periods of high discharge. It is worth remembering that flood plains are natural features created by nature to help manage nature. Building on them is not a sensible idea, and will often lead to costly flood events.

Video File: Fast Flowing River Orchy in the Highlands, Scotland. Please note this is a large file (26Mb) and may take a while to download.