IGCSE Geography / River environments

How a river changes downstream

Edexcel International GCSE Geography (4GE1), chapter 1: River environments, specification point 1.2b. Part of the full course.

Read the revision notes · IGCSE Geography past papers

As a river flows from its source to its mouth, its channel, water flow and sediment change in predictable ways. Knowing the direction of each change and its cause helps you explain downstream processes and interpret river data.

More lessons in River environments

• The hydrological cycle: a closed system and its stores
• Transfers in the hydrological cycle
• Drainage basins and their features
• River regimes and what controls them
• Storm hydrographs
• How rivers erode
• Weathering and mass movement in river valleys
• How rivers carry and drop their load
• Long profile and cross profiles
• V-shaped valleys, interlocking spurs and waterfalls
• Meanders and oxbow lakes
• Flood plains and levees
• Case study: the River Tay from source to mouth
• Water: uses, rising demand and supply
• Water quality and pollution
• Storing and supplying clean water
• Case study: river management in Spain
• Case study: river management in China
• Case study: managing the Blue Nile in Ethiopia
• Why rivers flood
• Predicting and preventing river floods
• River fieldwork: collecting the data
• River fieldwork: results, conclusions and evaluation