15

Introduction
The water cycle is a never-ending cycle involving processes such as evaporation and transpiration, condensation
into water droplets, precipitation, surface run-off, and infiltration into the ground. The moment a raindrop falls on
the earth, two things happen Some of the water soaks into the ground, but most of it moves across the surface
towards a lower level. This movement of water on the surface of the earth is called runoff. Surface run-off is a flow
of water over the surface. Some of this is sheet flow and some is called channel flow.
The slope of the land, type of soil, vegetation cover and the amount of rainfall affect runoff. The steeper the slope,
the greater the speed of the runoff. The volume of runoff increases during heavy rain because there is not enough
time for the flowing water to percolate into the ground. Runoff also increases if rain falls on ground that is already
saturated with water, or if the water cannot get into the ground.
Runoff decreases in areas with extensive plant growth. Plants have leaf litter on the ground which slow down the
waters movement, allowing greater perlocation into the ground. Some types of soil can also reduce the amount of
runoff. If soil is loosely packed or has a large humus content, water can soak into the ground more easily.
As water rushes downhill, it carries energy and sediments, the sediments which are then deposited at the bottom of
the hill. If enough sediments are washed away, a small channel, or gully, forms. The process that moves sediment
and reshapes landscapes is called erosion. Water is not the only agent of erosion, but it is the most important.
Gullies usually form in places where the surface is not protected by a cover of plants, such as in a ploughed field.
With continued erosion, a gully develops into a stream. A stream carries water most of the year, while a gully
carries water only when it rains. As time passes and more land is eroded, a stream expands and develops into a
river. The volume of water in most rivers is large because many streams empty into them.
Running water performs two important tasks:
(i) it drains the land of extra water that falls on it by way of rainfall, and
(ii) it performs erosional, transportational and depositional work.
Water has been called the great leveller because of its ability to erode highlands and fill in lowlands. Even a small
stream can carry a tremendous quantity of eroded material.
The amount of eroded material carried by a stream or a river is called the load. The load a stream carries depends on
the streams water volume and the steepness of the slope down which it flows. A large stream or a fast-moving
stream carries a larger load than a small or slow-moving stream carries.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 137

Drainage Basins
A single river, called a trunk, and the streams that flow into it, called tributaries, act as a system for draining water
from the land. The area drained by a trunk and its tributaries is called a drainage basin. The entire area from where
water is collected by the main trunk stream is called as its catchment area.
An imaginary line called a divide separates one drainage basin, one catchment area from another. For example, the
divide that runs along Western Ghats, then to Satpura, then Vindhyan escarpland joining the Aravalli thereafter
separates India into two parts.

Drainage Pattern
The streams in a basin often develop unique drainage patterns due to the
dominant landform of the area.
Drainage Patterns refer to the pattern design and arrangement that many
streams collectively form. The patterns that streams develop are
determined by the underlying structure. For instance, streams flow in all
directions away from a high recently formed land surfaces such as
volcanic cones or structural or intrusive domes. Example: Drainage
pattern of Sri Lanka, Hazaribagh plateau, Parasnath hill, Dalma lava
upland, Amarkantak Plateau., forming a radial drainage pattern. Radial
means coming from a central point. Volcano acts as the central point
for this drainage pattern. If the dome consists of alternating weak and
resistant sedimentary rock then erosional breaching leads to formation of
a circular outcrop pattern as subsequent drainage adjusts to weak rock
beds. The result is that streams follow circular courses and develop an
annular drainage pattern. Where streams converge into a central basin or
depression they form centripetal drainage patterns which is opposite to
the radial drainage pattern. Such examples include converging streams
into sinkholes in limestones, around Sambhar lake (Rajasthan) and
around Kathmandu Valley.
Drainage basins containing long, parallel ridges and valleys form trellis
patterns. A trellis drainage pattern has tributary streams that flow
parallel to each other and join the trunk at right angles. Tilted
sedimentary beds of differing resistance typically form trellis drainage,
with short tributary streams flowing from ridges of resistant beds into
valleys of weak rock. Under certain circumstances, consequent streams
may form less-well-developed trellis patterns. For example, drainage in
recently deglaciated terrain may consist of roughly parallel streams
consequent on the streamlined glacial terrain, for example, Himalayan
rivers in between the hills and valleys between Siwaliks, Lesser Himalaya and Greater Himalaya.
Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 138
Sometimes topography and more importantly lithology is the dominant factor in the development of a drainage
pattern. Branching, or dendritic patterns develop in basin where slopes are not very steep. Dendritic patterns
commonly form on horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks or massive igneous or metamorphic rocks. Dendritic
drainage patterns are an index of the homogeneous nature of underlying bedrock and the lack of structural control.
Here the tributaries form fairly large angles where they join the trunk. The entire drainage system forms a pattern
similar to the dendrites, or branched endings, of a nerve cell. They are characterised by the branching of stream
valleys at acute angles without systematic arrangement. They are developed by streams erosion on rocks that are of
uniform resistance and where the underlying structure does not play a part in determining the stream arrangement.
The courses of tributary streams that are developed imply that the underlying material is essentially homogeneous,
without systematic difference in rock resistance.
Where slopes are steeper, parallel drainage may develop. In this case, Streams flow in nearly parallel directions to
one another before meeting each other and form parallel drainage patterns, the type of pattern that is found in
Western and Eastern coastal Plains.
Drainage patterns may be determined by special characteristics of the basin. In areas in which the bedrock is jointed
or faulted, rectangular patterns develop. Some of the streams channels make sharp turns as they follow lines
weakened by fractures in the rock. Rectangular drainage patterns consist of tributary streams that not only join
trunk streams at right angles but also exhibit right-angle bends in their channels as a result of adjustment of
subsequent streams to intersecting fault of joint systems. Rectangular drainage is usually formed on jointed igneous
rock, flat-lying sedimentary beds with well-developed joint systems, or intersecting faults. Thus, these patterns
serve as excellent indicators of fracture systems in rocks.
Patterns found in poorly drained areas tend to be irregular, or deranged. Deranged drainage basins have areas in
which surface water collects, such as swamps, marshes, and lakes.
Not only does the river in a drainage basin develops different drainage pattern, there are also different types of
stream consequent, subsequent, sequent, obsequent, antecedent, superimposed etc.

Sequent Streams Insequent Streams

Follow the regional slope, well adjusted Do not follow the regional slope; not adjusted to geological structures.
to geological structures.
Consequent Streams Antecedent Streams
River formed as a consequence of the The term, coined by J.W. Powell, to denote an established river drainage system
existing surface relief. They follow the able to maintain its original course by downcutting at the same rate as the
slope of the initial land surface. surrounding land surface is uplifted and folded by earth movements. Examples of
antecedent drainage include the Indus and Brahmaputra in the Himalayas.
Subsequent Streams Obsequent Streams
The river, which joins the consequent Here, the river drains in the opposite direction to the original consequent river.
river on the sloping side of a river valley.
Resequent Streams Superimposed Streams
It drains in the same direction as the At some places, old rocks may be covered under a sheet of new deposits. Any
original consequent, but at a lower river developed on such an area will follow the surface relief of the overlying cover
topographical level. and will not have any relation with the older rocks lying below. Gradual erosion
removes the overlying cover and the river flows on the older rocks below. Here,
the river is said to be superimposed on the older rocks below. Most of the
Peninsular rivers are of superimposed type.

RIVER CHARACTERISTIC
Rainwater is normally guided into depressions and areas unprotected by plants. The concentration of the
flowing water produces rills of irregular depths running down the slope. A master rill finally e merges by
flooding of water into them, and thus, a drainage system is developed /evolved. Tributaries at accordant
junctions join the main streams, flowing directly into the slope, , i.e., without a change in gradient. These

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 139

streams, which are relatively small, are called rivulet. The master rivulet finally drains into a larger stream
called river.
Some of these streams probably carry very little water and may flow in only rainy part of the year, while
others carry large quantities of water the year round. So me streams are clear, with very little sediment, but
others are always muddy because of the large amount of eroded material they transport.
Inspite of these differences, all streams and rivers erode material from one place and deposit it somewhere
else. As these processes of erosion and deposition continue, the shape of the stream itself changes.
The point from where the rivers originate is called its head. The other end of a stream, called the mouth, i.e,
where the stream flows into some other body of wate r. The river always has a tendency to keep lengthening
itself, that is it keeps moving towards its head which is called headward erosion. Deposits often occur at the
mouth of a stream. That part of the stream that is towards the head of the river from a sp ecific location is
called as upstream, while the location towards the mouth of the river from a specific point is called
downstream.
A stream or river cannot erode below the elevation (level) of its mouth. This low point of the stream or river is
called its base level. Sea level is the ultimate base level of all rivers and streams. A lake or a layer of
resistant rock may act as a temporary base level.
The rivers can be effluent or influent. In case of effluent rivers, the regional water-table lies near the Earths
surface, as a result, the river or stream is fed; whereas in case of influent rivers, the water -table is found at a
great depth, a part of runoff is scheduled to percolate downwards.

The River
Stream Order
It is apparent that there is an orderly arrangement of streams within a drainage basin, and this led to group of laws
of drainage composition. In most basins, the number of streams of different orders decreases with increasing order
in a regular way. Thus, if one plots the logarithm of the number of streams of a given order against the order, the
points lie on a straight line. This is known as the law of stream numbers. Similarly, if the logarithms of the mean
lengths of the stream segments of different orders are plotted against stream order, the result is usually a more or
less straight line. This is the law of stream lengths. The law of basin areas follows the same general pattern. In
drainage network the mean basin areas of the orders approximate to a direct geometric sequence in which the first
term is the average length of a first-order basin.
The measure is called Stream Order, which allows a precise comparison between rivers or among various parts of
the same river. Every source stream in a drainage system is classified as Order 1 or First-order. A second-order
stream is formed when two first-order streams come together. Whenever two rivers of the same order unite, the
combined river is one order higher. When two streams of different orders merge, the combined stream is of the
same order as the higher of the two tributaries. According to the method devised by Strahler, the smallest
headwater streams within a basin are identified and designated as 1 st order streams. Where such two 1st order
streams join, a 2nd order stream segment results; where two 2nd order streams join (but not a 1st and 2nd order stream),
a 3rd order stream is formed, and so on. Thus the highest order stream within the drainage basin is necessarily the
largest in terms of discharge. So, the law of stream numbers is that the number of streams decreases as you go up
the order: there are more first-order streams in a drainage basin, fewer second-order, and so on. The bifurcation
ratio is the ratio of the number of streams of one order to the number in the rank above. Furthermore, stream length
increases as order increases, and drainage-basin area increases as order increases.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 140

 Figure 15.3 : Stream Orders. This System of Ordering River Networks was Developed by Robert Horton in 1945.
Stream order also has implications for flood prediction. High order streams are more likely to carry great floods of
storm water, but low order streams that drain the same amount of land usually receive storm water in little pushes
all along their length. When this happens, the flood is spread over a long period, and the peak flow is quite low.
A river affects the land area over which it flows in three different ways. These are known as the activities of a river.
They are (i) erosion (ii) transportation and (iii) deposition. These three activities of a river are interrelated.
Throughout its course a river displays all the three activities to some extent.

Fluvial Topography
Rivers are agents of erosion, transportation and deposition. They are the most important agents of transportation,
weathering, downslope movements, and rivers shape the landscape. Fluvial Topography refers to the varied
topographic features caused by erosion and deposition that the river produces.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 141

Erosion
River water is a very powerful force. This force carries forward the rock
material, which comes in its way. Weathering activity on rocks helps in Discharge or flow is the amount
obtaining rock material. This rock material is known as load and of water passing a given cross-
constitutes the grinding tool. This tool helps in cutting the bottom and
section of the river in a time unit
sides of the river bed, resulting in deepening and widening of the river
(area of cross-section, times, the
bed. This process of deepening and widening of the river bed is called
river erosion. The work of river erosion is accomplished in four different velocity, usually given in cubic feet
ways, all of which operate together. These four ways or methods are: per second,). The factors
controlling the flow vary from place
(a) Corrasion or Abrasion to place on a river, and vary with
As the rock particles bounce, scrape and drag along the bottom and sides season.
of the river, they break off additional rock fragments. This form of erosion
The main geologic work of rivers is
is called corrasion or abrasion. This is the mechanical grinding of the river
transportation. Dissolved load
traction load against the banks and bed of a river. Corrasion takes place
in two different ways: comes from chemical weathering
and solution by the river.
Lateral Corrasion: This is sideways erosion, which widens the river
valley. Suspended load is material carried
in suspension clay, and in
Vertical Corrasion: This is the downward action, which deepens the river
valley. turbulent water, silt. Bedload is
material that rolls or slides along
(b) Corrosion or Solution the river bottom, in some cases
This is the chemical or solvent action of water on soluble or partly soluble only during floods.
rocks with which the river water comes in contact. For example, calcium
carbonate, when it comes in contact with water it is easily dissolved and
River erosion deepens, lengthens,
removed in solution.
and widens the valley. Headward
(c) Hydraulic Action erosion is down-cutting at the
This is the mechanical loosening and sweeping away of materials by the head of a stream; it lengthens the
river water itself. No load of material is involved. The action is performed valley. The valley widens by creep
by lifting and quarrying effect of rushing water. The force of moving and land sliding and by lateral-
water dislodges the rocks. Some of the water splashes against the river cutting by the stream.
banks and surges into cracks and crevices. This undermines the soft rocks
with which it comes into contact. It picks up the loose fragments from its
bank and bed and transports them away.
(d) Cavitation
Turbulence leads to marked pressure variations within the water and bubbles of water vapour form where the
pressure is low and implode with considerable violence when carried to a point of high pressure. The miniature
shock waves set by such implosion have a strong effect upon nearby rock and even the hardest rock become pitted
and finally broken by the continual repetitions of this process
(d) Attrition
This is the wear and tear of the transported materials themselves when they roll and collide with one another. In the
process the coarser boulders are broken down into smaller pieces. The angular edges are smoothened and rounded
to form pebbles.
The various erosional processes help the stream to
(i) Deepen its channel by down cutting of the stream bed.
(ii) Widen its channel by bank caving and undercutting.
(iii) Extend its channel by headward erosion or regressive erosion by streams and gullies.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 142

 HEADWARD EROSION
Headward erosion is erosion at the origin of a stream channel, which causes the origin to move back away
from the direction of the stream flow, and so causes the stream channel to lengthen. The stream erodes away
at the materials at its headwaters in the opposite direction that it flows moves away from the mouth to the
head. Once a stream has begun to cut back, the erosion speeds up because of the steep gradient of the
water that is flowing down. As water erodes a path from its headwaters to its mouth, it tries to cut an ever -
shallower path. This leads to increased erosion at the steepest parts, which is headward er osion. In the
process of headward erosion the waterfalls will move backward and keep changing its position. If headward
erosion continues long enough, it can cause a stream to break through into a neighbo uring
watershed and capture drainage and the river that previously flowed to another stream (see River Capture).

(ii) Transportation
Rivers carry rock particles from one place to another. This activity is known as transportation of load by a river. The
load is transported in four ways:
(a) By traction: The heavier and larger rock fragments like gravel, pebbles etc. are forced by the flow of river water
to roll on the floor of the river. These fragments can be seen rolling, slipping and bumping. This process is
known as traction and the load is called traction load.
(b) By saltation: Some of the fragments of the rocks move along the bed of a stream by jumping continuously. This
process is called saltation.
(c) By suspension: The holding-up of small particles like sand, silt and mud by the water, as the stream flows, is
called suspension.
(d) By solution: Some parts of rock fragments (minerals) are dissolved in the river water and are thus transported.

Figure 15.4 : Transportation Processes in River.

The transporting power of a river depends upon its velocity, volume and size of the particles constituting the load.
The transporting power increases rapidly with the increase in velocity. If the velocity of a stream water is doubled,
its transporting power is increased 64 times; while with a similar increase in volume, it is only doubled. Further, a
stream can carry a much larger load of fine materials than a load of coarse type.

The River Profile

A river will cut back and lower the land surface over which it is flowing, particularly in the upper reaches. In
addition, deposition of material will take place in the lower reaches where the speed of the river becomes much
slower. If a line is drawn to represent a river from its source to the sea this line is known as a long profile. The
various landforms that the river produces can be best studied in its three distinct sectionsthe upper, middle and
lower courses.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 143

 Figure 15.5 : River Profile : Showing Three Distinct Sectionsthe Upper, Middle and Lower Courses.

The Upper Course (Mountain Course)

The upper course river is dominated by erosion.
The upper or mountain course begins at the source of the river in hilly or mountainous areas. The river tumbles
down the steep slopes and as a result its velocity and erosive power are at their maximum. Consequently valley
deepening assumes its greatest importance at this stage. Normally weathering, also, plays its part on the new
surfaces exposed along the banks of the stream. The weathered rock material is carried into stream partly through
the action of gravity and partly by rain water flowing into the river. The weathering helps in widening a valley at
the top, giving it a typical V shape appearance. Such valleys are known as V shaped valleys. They are common in
areas with heavy rainfall and non-resistant rocks.
If the bedrock is hard and resistant, the part played by
weathering and erosion may be insignificant. In this
case the widening of the valley at its top may not take
place; and the down cutting process of a vigorous river
may lead to the formation of a gorge, i.e., a river valley
with almost vertical sides.
In India, deep gorges have been cut by the Brahmaputra
and the Indus in the Himalayas. Deep gorges also
develop in limestone regions and in rocks lying in dry
climates. The narrow and very deep gorge or the
canyon with vertical walls is also known as I shaped
valley. A canyon is the deepest gorge with steep sides
running for hundreds of kilometres, e.g. Grand Canyon of the river Colorado in U.S.A. Some of the more
outstanding features that are developed in the upper course of a river include rapids, cataracts, cascades and
waterfalls.
(a) Rapids, Cataracts, Cascades and Waterfalls
The part of the river where the current is flowing with more than normal swiftness is called a rapid. Rapids form
due to the unequal resistance of hard and soft rocks traversed by a river, the outcrop of a band of hard rock may
cause a river to jump or fall downstream. At the outcrops erosion is less because of its resistant nature. The softer
rocks are more easily eroded. Thus, the slope of the river above each outcrop decreases while below it the slope
increases over the soft rocks, allowing the water to fall more rapidly.

Figure 15.7 : Rapid Formation due to Rock Resistance.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 144

Waterfalls result because of many differing situations and geological conditions. Their formation can be because of
a variety of reasons. They form
due to the differential erosion of soft rocks when hard and soft rocks lie vertically, i.e., when a transverse bar of
resistant rock lie across the rivers course, e.g., the Nile cataracts, Niagara, Kaieteur Falls (Guyana), Gibbon Falls
(Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming);
due to plateau scarp formation caused by upliftment and resultant steep precipitous slope, allowing the water to
fall, e.g., Livingstone falls, Aughrabies falls, Gersoppa falls in India.
due to faultinglater forming a fault-line scarp such as Victoria falls on the Zambezi River.
due to formation of glacial hanging tributary valley, e.g., Yosemite Falls, California.
due to a river forming a valley within a valley (see Rejuvenation), such as, Hundroo waterfall, Ranchi, India.
due to formation of hanging valleys (see Glacial Topography) when the tributary stream, which is at higher
level joins the main stream.
Waterfalls also form
along the edge of a cliffed coast; e.g., Litter Water on a Devon coast near Hartland.
along the long profile of river when the rapids recede
These are liable to occur at any part of the river course, but they are most numerous in the mountain course where
changes of gradient are more abrupt and also frequent.
Cascades represent all degrees of slopes ranging between the two extremes of a waterfall and a rapid. These are
small waterfalls or a stepped series of small waterfalls and rapids.
Pot holes are cylindrical holes worn in the solid bedrock often at the foot of a rapid or waterfall. They are formed as
a result of evorsion, i.e., grinding action of the whirling particles on the bed rock caused by eddies formation.

Name and Location of Waterfall Height in metre (in ft)

Angle F., Venezuela 979 (3212ft)
Sutherland Fall, New Zealand 580 (1904ft)
Ribbon F., Yosemite, USA 491 (1612ft)
Upper Yosemite F., USA 436 (1430ft)
Uitshi, Guyana 366 (1200ft)
Staubbach, Switzerland 264 (866ft)
Vettisfoss, Norway 260 (852ft)
Kaieteur, Guyana 251 (822ft)
Victoria, Africa 110 (360ft)

The Middle Course (Valley Course)

In the middle course, the work of the river is predominantly transportation with some deposition. Alluvial fans,
meanders and inter-locking spurs are the important features of this course of the river.
In the middle course, lateral corrasion tends to replace
vertical corrasion. Active erosion of the banks widens the Valley widening begins after a stream has
V shape valley. The volume of water increases with the reached grade, usually first near the mouth.
confluence of many tributaries and this increases the river Meanders are common features. In mature
load. Thus, work of the river during this course is
valleys, the meander belt occupies most of the
predominantly transportation with some deposition.
width of the valley. Old age valleys are much
Rivers, which sweep down from steep mountain valleys to
a comparatively level land, drop their loads of coarse sand wider than the meander belt.
and gravels as there is sudden decrease in velocity. The

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 145

load generally assumes a fan-like shape, hence it is called
an alluvial fan. A graded stream is one that has just the right
Sometimes several fans made by neighbouring streams gradient to be able to transport the debris
often unite to form a continuous plain known as a delivered to it by its own erosion, tributaries,
piedmont alluvial plain. The Gangetic Plain and the downslope movements, and rain wash. The
Canterbury Plain, New Zealand are examples of Piedmont gradient of a given stretch is maintained by
alluvial plain.
the rivers eroding or building up its bed in
As water flowing under gravity, it seldom flows straight response to climate or other conditions. The
for a long distance. So a winding course soon develops.
concave slope of the long profile of a river
The irregularities of the ground, forces the river to swing
provides for the most uniform rate of work along
in loops, forming meanders (a term derived from the
winding River Meanders in Turkey). As the stream flow the river, balancing slope with discharge and
on, the meanders migrate progressively outwards with velocity.
interlocking spurs alternating with the under cut slopes.

The Lower Course (Plain Course)

In the lower course the river is often slower in its flow and the channel is usually wider and deeper. The river
moving downstream across a broad, level plain is heavy with debris brought down from the upper coarse. Vertical
corrasion has almost ceased, the lateral corrasion still goes on to erode its banks further. The work of the river is
mainly deposition, building up its bed and forming extensive flood plain. In course many tributaries join the river
and the volume of water increases, coarse materials are dropped and the fine silt is carried down towards mouth of
the river. Large sheets of material are deposited on the level bed and split the river into several complicated
channels. These splitting of the river is known as braided stream.
During annual floods large quantities of sediments are spread over the low-lying adjacent areas. A layer of
sediments is thus deposited during each floods, gradually building up a fertile flood plain. A mould or a raised
ridge of coarse material collects along each bank of the river are called levees.
In the lower course of the river meander becomes much more pronounced. The outer banks or concave bank is so
rapidly eroded that the river becomes almost a complete circle. A time comes when the river cuts through the
narrow neck of the loop. The meander, now cut off from the main stream takes the form of an oxbow lake. This lake
gradually, turning into swamps disappears in course of time. Numerous such partially or fully filled oxbow lakes
are marked at short distance from the present course of rivers like the Ganga.
Upon entering a lake or a sea, the river deposits all the load at its mouth giving rise to the formation of a delta. Delta
is a triangular feature with its apex pointing up stream and is marked as a fan-shaped area of fine alluvium. The
Greek letter ( ) closely resembles the triangular delta of the river Nile. Some deltas are extremely large. For instance,
the Ganga delta is almost as big as the whole of West Malaysia.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 146

 The Upper Mountain Course The Middle or Valley The Lower or Plain Course
Course
Erosional Topographic Features
V- Shaped Valley Lateral corrasion tends to Flood Plain: Depositional features by large
Resemblance to English letter V, replace vertical corrasion quantities of sediments carried by rivers in their
produced by rapid cutting and and the valley has the open lower course. Characterised by many distinct
deepening stream floor, comparatively V-shape in cross section features that include
narrow (vertical corrasion) and the
Major work of the river is Levees: A bank of coarse debris flanking a
steeply rising valley sides,
transportation with some floodplain river, formed by the concentration of
Gorge-canyon deposition. suspended sediment during overbank
Predominant vertical corrosion gives discharge.
The river slope is gentle
rise to deep narrow and steeped V-
compared to a youthful Crevasse splays: When the breaching of
shaped valleys called gorges.
valley. levees takes place, water escapes through a
However, it can also result from
recession of waterfalls, for example, Truncated spurs are series of distributary channels depositing coarse
the Niagara gorge. formed by the lateral sediment called crevasse splays
A canyon remarkable similarity with erosion. Backswamps are marshy areas of low lying
gorge but formed in arid regions, e.g., The river meanders more flood plain adjoining a natural levee.
the Grand Canyon, Colorado pronouncedly due to reduce Yazoo river: A tributary stream which flows for
Rapids may be caused by a sudden slope and increased volume some distance parallel to the main channel
steepening of the slope or by unequal of water. The meandering because levees prevent it from entering the
resistance of hard and soft rocks river forms Point bar mainstream.
traversed by the river. More numerous deposits that are alluvial
in upper reaches of the river where deposits on the inside of a
structural control is important. meander bend
Cataract: Falls greater than those of The valley floor is wide and
rapids. covered with a layer of
Waterfalls: If the face of the resistant sediments.
rock becomes vertical, the stream
plunges over the crest as a waterfall,
for example, Great falls of
Yellowstone.
Potholes formed at the riverbed as a
result of evorsion, i.e., grinding action Ox-bow lake: A crescent shaped lake or
of the whirling particles on the bedrock marshy area, occupying a former river meander
caused by eddies formation. that has been cut off by the breaching of the
Plunge Pool: The great force of water meander neck.
falls usually wears out a plunge-pool Delta: An accumulation of river borne
beneath. sediments at the mouth of river (in a sea or
Structural Benches. Differential lake) where the rate of deposition exceeds the
erosion of hard and soft rock way lie rate of removal by wave action or tidal currents.
alternately in the V-shaped valley
leads to rapid erosion of the soft rock
to form step like valleys.
Interlocking Spur are caused by
vertical erosion of river where spurs
alternate on each side of the river as if
they are interweaving.
River cliff: Undercut concave bank of
river often stand up as river cliff
Slip off slopes: is characterised by
gentle slope of the convex bank of
river, which receives deposition mostly
of sand and gravel.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 147

 Landform Origin Morphology
Gorge and Canyon Rapid down cutting by fast
Deep, narrow, V shaped moving streams, when the
valleys, streams are antecedent, when
the down cutting is faster than
Steep precipitous walls
the rate of upliftment, and when
the waterfalls recede.

Rapid Differential erosion (More

A place where the water flows erosion on soft strata than on
with more than normal velocity hard) across alternating layers of
hard and soft rocks.

Waterfalls Cliff formation, faulting, rapid

Fall of water from a great height erosion at the base of rapids.

Pot holes Grinding action by the particles

Circular, hollows in the channel trapped in the stream.
of the rivers

Landform Characteristics Origin

Point bar The alluvial deposit on the Deposition by upward circulating currents moving
inside of a meander bend. around a meander bend.
Crescent in shape.
Composed of unconsolidated
gravel, sand, and/or silt.
Braid bar An alluvial deposit within the A deposit by flood waters with subsequent
stream channel. enlargement.
Generally elongated in shape.
Composed of unconsolidated
gravel, sand, and/or silt.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 148

Levee An alluvial deposit on the A deposit by flood waters due to a sudden loss of
perimeter of the channel. water velocity along the channel borders.
An elongated ridge parallel to
the channel.
Composed of sand and/or silt.
Floodplain The area adjacent to the Deposition by flood waters outside the channel.
channel covered in times of
flood.
Variable in size,
topographically flat.
Composed of sand and mud.

Alluvial Fan A large alluvial deposit at the

Deposition by a river at a major base of mountains or hills.
break in slope where river Fan-shaped.
flows from confined valley on Composed of gravel, sand and
to open plain. mud.

Alluvial plain A large alluvial deposit Deposition by flood waters from many streams.
covering hundreds to millions
of square miles.
Topographically a smooth, flat
to gently sloping surface.
Composed of sand, silt, and
clay.

Delta
A delta is a Greek letter shaped deposit of alluvium at the mouth of the river, when the river is old enough, and
not string enough to transport its load. If the conditions are favourable a delta will be built up consisting of a three-
fold succession of deposits termed bottomset, foreset and topset beds.

Figure 15.9 : Idealised delta showing Topset, Foreset and Bottomset Beds; part of the Topset Beds form sub-areal
portion of the delta cut through by Distributary Channels.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 149

Conditions Necessary for the Formation of a Delta
A number of factors or conditions do dispose towards the deposition of deltaic sediments:
(a) The quantity of sediment supplied,
(b) The depth of the water at the rivers mouth,
(c) The strength of waves and currents,
(d) The extent of the tidal range and its influence,
(e) The flocculation (the process by which particles of sedimentary matter coagulate) caused by salt water.
Thus, delta formation takes place when there is a large river, a high amount of river load, the water is shallow
offshore, the coastline is tectonically stable, there is sheltering of the coast and the coast has a small tidal range.
Under these conditions flocculation takes place, i.e., particles aggregate and accumulate leading to emergence of a
deposited material from the water.
Types of Delta
Four types of delta are sometimes distinguished:
(a) Estuarine, e.g., Rhine, Amazon where infilling of an estuary occurs.
(b) Arcuate or fan-shaped, e.g., Nile, Niger, Rhine.
(c) Cuspate or pointed like a tooth, e.g., Ebro, Tiber.
(d) Birds-foot type with fingering branches, e.g., Mississippi.

Figure 15.10: Types of Delta.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 150

Rejuvenation
The process, whereby a river, as a result of a fall in base-level or a climatic change, regains its powers of
downcutting, is called rejuvenation. If a river valley is uplifted or the sea-level becomes lower, the rate of flow in
the lower course will be increased. This will lead to a renewal of down cutting until the river has cut down to the
new level of the sea. This transformation of the river work, from deposition to erosion, resulting in increased down-
cutting, is said to be rejuvenation of the river Rejuvenation leads to formation of various types of topographic
features called collectively as Rejuvenated Topography.

Cause of Rejuvenation
Rejuvenation of the river, i.e., the increase in the speed of the river and its erosive, power can be caused by a wide
range of factors, such as:
1. Upliftment of land, which will increase the river velocity, and consequently the erosive capacity,
2. Tilting of land, which will again increase river velocity,
3. Lowering of outlets, that increases vertical incision,
4. Volcanic activity that can dam the river flow and then its subsequent collapse causes the water to gush with
tremendous velocity,
5. Decrease in stream load, diverts the energy of the river towards energy and down-cutting,
6. Climatic changes, in such a manner that the volume of water carried increases, due to an increase in the amount
of rainfall,
7. River-capture, which diverts entire or part of the water of the river for incisive action.
Possible consequences of rejuvenation are:
1. The extension of the river course from the old to the new shoreline;
2. Renewed erosion starting from the mouth to form a steeper section which may recede upstream (headward
erosion);
3. Where the new profile meets the old, a break of slope or knick point (often marked by a waterfalllike Hundroo
on Subarnrekha) may occur. The presence of several knick points on a river (showing as steps in the long
profile) indicates a number of base-level changes.

Figure 15.11 : Block Diagram of a River Valley Showing a Valley-in-

Valley Situation.
4. Remnants of the old valley floor are cut into, forming paired
river terraces; and
5. Meander becomes incised: either
Entrenched: eroded vertically: steep, having symmetrical
sides, or
Ingrown: eroded laterally: having asymmetrical sides.
River Capture
River capture is the action of a river acquiring the headstream of a
second river by drainage area at the expense of the other.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 151

The process is carried out by a more powerful (captor) river, which erodes its valley faster than its neighbour (the
captured river).
Steep gradients, higher volume of water, weak nature of the riverbed, relatively little load are some of the conditions
that must be present which will allow one stream to capture another.

IMPORTANT TERMS
Attrition Downwearing Stream Load
Backwearing Graded Stream Subaerial Erosion
Bankfull Gravity Slope Suspension
Base level Hydraulic Action Terminal Velocity
Capacity Impaction Traction
Cavitation Maturity Stage Turbulent Velocity
Channel Abandonment Normal Cycle Uniform Slope
Closed System Old Stage Vertical Accretion
Competence Open System Waning Slope
Concave Slope Overbank Flow Waxing Slope
Convex Slope Peneplain Youth Stage
Deferred Junction Saltation
(See in Glossary)

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 152

 18

Introduction
Runoff, moving on limestone surface in finding its way underground, gives rise to different types of landforms.
Limestone is very soluble, and although all chemical processes of rock-weathering involve aqueous solutions, in one
special case, however, solutions of massive quantities of abnormally soluble rocks gives rise to landforms that are
developed in a representative Croatia, hence the name, Karst landforms.

Distribution of Important Karst Areas

Southern France, Yucatan and Tabasco in Mexico, Celebes, South East Asia, New South Wales and Western
Australia, Great valley Region of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennesse, Indiana Kentucky, Central Florida,
and the Salem Springfield plateau of Missouri. In India karst landforms are found in Meghalaya, Jammu and
Kashmir and Kumaun region of Himalayas, in Vindhyan region, and Kadapa region of Andhra Pradesh.
Since they all have different lithologies, structure, height of water-table and climate, karst topography display
different aspects.

Factors Favouring Karst Development

1. Presence of soluble rocks like limestone at the surface.
2. Those soluble rocks need to be dense, highly jointed and thinly bedded. The highly jointed nature imparts
permeability to the rock, in the absence of which the whole of the rainfall will be absorbed if the rock is over all
porous and permeable throughout.
3. The rainfall must be at least moderate. Almost all the karst areas have moderate to abundant rainfall. Thus, arid
and semi-arid regions do not display karst development.

Landforms Developed in Karst Regions

The landforms developed in the karst region belong to two groups:
1. Those formed by erosion.
2. Those formed by deposition.

Mechanics of Erosion
The most important way in which the landform is developed in karst region is by carbonation. Limestone is easily
dissolved by water, more so when it contains high proportion of carbon dioxide giving rise to weak carbonic acid
(H2O + CO2H2CO3). A solution of limestone, under the action of weak carbon dioxide solution, dissolves the
Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 164
carbonate and bicarbonate ions forming temporary hard water. The carbon dioxide of the water increases with the
acidity of rainwater, when there is microbiological activity in the soil, in snow banks where the carbon dioxide is
concentrated in their pores. Thus, in meltwater where two masses of water saturated with calcium carbonate
(CaCO3) meet they free some carbon dioxide on mixing.
Calcium carbonate solution is facilitated by water turbulence, great volume of water passing over a rock surface
(where the volume is meagre, there is hardly any solution, for example, in deserts), and texture of limestone.
Features Produced by Erosion
1. Terra Rossa: The weathering residue of the well-exposed limestone left at the surface are called Terra Rossa.
2. Lapies: In places of high relief, where the surface is not covered by terra rossa, i.e., limestones is exposed at the
surface. The running water, running across the surface of blocks, forms straight, grooved, pitted, etched, fluted,
rugged surface called lappies. Lappies (French name) is known by various names Karren in Germany, Bogaz in
Yugoslavia, Clints or Grikes in North America.
3. Limestone pavement is a common feature in karst regions characterised by enlarged cracks into the trenches.
4. Sinkholes. A sinkhole is a depression or solution holes developed at the surface of directly exposed limestone.
It is commonly funnel-shaped and broadly open upward, but there can be many variation from this. The whole
region littered with sinkholes and associated forms is called Karst Plain. Where sinkholes are numerous,
individual sinkholes coalesce to form compound sinkholes.
5. Swallow-holes or swallet. Coalescence of closely spaced sinkholes into one large sinkholes called Swallow-
holes.
6. Dolines. Further coalescence of swallow holes into large depressions is called Dolines.
7. Solution pan is very much like doline, except that it is much shallower and can occupy a much larger area.
8. Karst lakes are formed when the doline become clogged with in-washed clay to an extent when it will start
holding water above the regional water table.
9. Karst window is an opening on the upper surface due to collapse of sink-holes or dolines.

Figure 18.1 : Formation of Uvalas and Caves.

10. Uvala is a large possibly elongated depression that results from subsidence of large roof over underground
courses or by the coalescence of many dolines.
11. Polje is an elongated basin having flat floor and steep enclosing walls formed by solutional activity or due to
down folding or due to differential erosion. Although much like uvala, it basically differs from uvala in that, it is
much larger than uvala.
12. Blind valleys occur when the surface stream disappears through a swallow hole or sink hole.
13. Semi-blind valleys are formed at a later stage of subsurface development, where river is diverted underground
for much of the time but is able to resume its former surface during times of high flow.
14. Dry valley bed is the continuation of a valley below the point where the stream is in its sink.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 165

15. A Karst Valley or a solution valley is a special form of blind valley that occurs into soluble rock when
subsurface drainage totally defeats the surface flow. It has all the properties of a stream valley except that it
lacks a stream. Karst valleys are common in areas of nearly flat-lying interbedded limestone, shale and
sandstone.

Figure 18.2 : Stages in the Development of Blind Valley

Figure 18.3 (a) : Features associated with Rivers in Karst Land.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 166

 Figure 18.3 (b) : Features Associated with Rivers in Karst Land.
16. Caves or caverns. Caves are water worn features formed as surface streams become diverted underground by
opening of fissure joints and bedding planes. Caves include large chambers and smaller channels running both
vertically (shafts) and horizontally (galleries).
17. Subterranean cut off is an underground diversion of a part or the whole of a surface stream beneath a meander
spur along an entrenched valley through natural tunnels.
18. Natural tunnels and bridges. Collapse of the natural tunnel roof leads to formation of natural bridges. The
natural bridges are better termed as Karst Bridges because they result from solution of groundwater.
19. Hums. Hums are residual hills analogous to monadnocks and bornhardts, which remain after the karst
landscape, have been fully developed. These hills are called Haystacks Hills or Pepino Hills in Puerto Rice and
Mogotes in Cuba.
Depositional features
The dissolved material may be finally deposited when certain conditions are met relating to:
1. Various chemical reactions.
2. Changes in temperature-pressure conditions.
3. Loss of CO2.
4. Evaporation of water.
Speleothems. It is the name given to all type of deposits. They are formed because degassing leads to precipitation
of calcite. This process gives rise to various depositional features:
1. Dripstone. As water enters the cave (usually from a fracture in the ceiling), part of it evaporates and a small
amount of calcium carbonate is left behind. Such succeeding drop adds more calcium carbonate, so that
eventually a cylindrical or cone-shaped projection is built downward from the ceiling. Many beautiful and
strange forms result. These are known as dripstone.
2. Stalagmites A column of calcium carbonate, which grows upwards from the floor of a cave.
3. Stalactites: Formed due to deposition of calcium carbonate from ceiling.
4. Drapes or Curtains are formed in caves where rivulet of underground water flows along an inclined roof. The
curtain, attached to the ceiling hangs downwards. The continuous dripping of water may be facilitated by roof
joint, producing a fluted curtain or wavy screen across the cave.
5. Other depositional features include Helictites, Globulites, etc.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 167

 Figure 18.4 : Generalised Diagram showing Karst Features such as Sinking Streams, Uvala, and Cave Features (A),
and Types of Doline (B).

IMPORTANT TERMS
Cave Hums Solution Pan
Cave Pillar Karren Stalactite
Caverns Karst Plain Stalagmite
Curtains Lapies Subaerial Weathering
Dolines Limestone Pavement Swallet
Drapes Natural Bridges Swallow Hole
Dripstone Natural Tunnels Terra Rossa
Geode Polje Uvala
Glacio Karst Ponor
Heligmites Sinkholes
(See in Glossary)

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 168

 19

Introduction
Arid landforms also called Aeolian landforms are those landforms that form in arid climatic conditions, sometimes
considered to be synonymous to desert landforms. Such landforms form under the characteristic climatic conditions
of high temperature range, low humidity, high wind velocity, due to sparse vegetative cover, and meagre role of
water in landform formation. These climatic characteristics are found in Polar areas, Mid-latitude Continental
regions, subtropical high pressure belt areas, and/or coastal areas. High aridity regions can also have various types
of underlying surface such as sand (called sandy desert), bare rock called hammada, angular fragments of stone
called reg, salt pans like Dasht-i-Kavir, or salt marshes like Rann of Kachchh.
Deserts

On the basis of Location On the basis of Climate On the basis of Surface Cover

Polar, e.g., Greenland, Physiological, e.g., Sandy (erg), e.g., Rub-al-

Antarctica Antarctica Khali

Rocky (hammada), e.g.,

Mid latitude Continental, Cold desert, e.g., Gobi, Sahara
e.g., Gobi, Nevada Laddakh, Patagonia.

Stony (reg), e.g., Sinai,

Negev (Israel)
Subtropical, e.g., Sahara, Hot desert, e.g., Simpson,
Atacama Gibson, Rub-al-Khali.
Salty, e.g., Dasht-i-Kavir,
Takla Makan
Coastal, e.g., Namib,
Atacama California Saltymarsh, e.g., Rann of
Kachchh

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 169

 Type of desert area Character
Desert uplands In this type of desert, geological controls of relief are important, bedrock is exposed, relief
is high.
Desert piedmonts These are zones of transition separated from the uplands by a change of slope, but which
receive runoff and sediments from the uplands. These areas have erosional forms (such
as pediments) and depositional forms (such as alluvial fans).
Stony deserts These consist of stony plains and structural plateaux and may have a cover of stone
pavement.
Desert river and floodplains These are features of desert lowlands.
Desert lake basins These are depressions, which are often salty and receive drainage from in-flowing
streams.
Sand deserts These are often covered by sand dunes and dominated bv wind action.
Although, wind is comparatively a minor agent of geomorphic change, primarily because of the low density of air as
compared to water, they are most obvious in arid regions where lack of vegetation allows winds to be more active
than any other agent of erosion.

Erosion by Wind
Wind erosion takes place in three ways:
1. Deflation. Deflation is the lifting and rolling of loose particles of rock, such as dust grains of sand and pebbles
in the air.
2. Abrasion. Sand blast action using the entrained sand grains as tools against rock surfaces or either grains acting
in a way similar to that of the artificial sand blast used in etching glass.
3. Attrition: The process by which wind-borne particles collide with one another and are reduced into millet seed
sand.

Wind Erosional Features

1. Deflation hollows. Deflation hollows, are formed by the exacavation of loose soil by blowing wind. Where such
excavations reach downwards and cut the water table they form oases. Example: Qattara Depression in Egypt
and Great Dust Bowl in the Western USA. Other Examples of deflation hollows are the pans of South Africa
and the Kalahari, and depressions of N. African and Mongolian deserts.
2. Desert pavements. Where deflation has been active on ground surface littered with loose fragments of a wide
range of sizes, the finer particles are blown away and pebbles are left behind called lag deposits. By rolling or
jostling these pebbles become closely fitted together forming desert pavement.
3. Ventifacts, driekanter and zweikanter. Some pieces of rocks which are heavy to move either by deflation or by
rolling and jostling or which have become wedged in the ground become abraded on the windward side and
the surface becomes planed down and polished.
When the stone is polished on one side, it is called einkanter, when they are two faced they are called
zweikanter, and when three sided then driekanter or ventifacts.
4. Rock pedestal. Continued abrasive action undercuts the upstanding rocks at their bases (where sand
concentration is highest) to produce fantastic and grotesque like pillars called rock pedestal.
Such rock pillars will be further eroded near their bases where the friction is greatest. This process of under
cutting produces rocks of mushroom shape called mushroom rock or Gour in Sahara.
5. Zeugens. They are formed when rocks of varying hardness are horizontally bedded. Frost action and other
agencies, when they break the hard rock capping, expose points of weaknesses in the rock. It then becomes
exposed to the abrasive action of the wind. Prolonged abrasive action erodes the hard rock and also the soft rock

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 170

 strata underlying it. When this process goes on a tabular mass of resistant capping rocks upon softer rocks
beneath are formed as straight side ridges, called zeugens or pilzfelsen.
6. Yardangs are sharp sinuous ridges and parallel depressions, which are formed due to differential abrasion.
Where there are thin alternations of hard and soft strata lying vertically the soft strata are eroded more rapidly
than the hard one, thus the hard strata, stand out in high relief with deep groves between them. When the wind
is blowing steadily over this type of strata the softer materials are eroded forming passage ways between deeply
undercut overhanging ridges. These rocks-cum-ridges are called Yardangs. Yardangs commonly occur in
clusters and are aligned to the direction of prevailing winds. They are common in the central Asian deserts and
in the Atacama desert (Chile) (Turkestan desert).

Landform & Origin

Characteristics
Desert pavement A residual gravel sheet formed from the
A flat gravel- deflation and erosion of finer particles
covered surface

Deflation hollow Continuous deflation for prolonged period over

Wide shallow basin friable shale and clay
and depression
upto the water
table.

Ventifacts/ Abrasion of rocks on the ground from three

Dreikanter sides by winds that changes its direction.
Three sided or
three faced stones
that has been
polished and worn
away

Rock Pedestral or Abrasion of soft rocks at the base of alternate

Gara. horizontal layers of hard and soft rocks
Mushroom shaped
rock standing on a
thin base

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 171

Zeugen Frost action of the hard rock capping
Cap type hard prolonged abrasive action cuts the hard rock,
features standing blows it away and exposes the soft rock strata
over soft rocks below it.

Yardang Excavation of softer materials of abrasion

Sharp ridges of leaving the hard rocks has ridges.
hard rocks and
parallel
depressions of soft
rocks to form long
passage with a
local relief up to
30m. Aligned
parallel to wind
direction

Depositional Landforms
Deposition in arid regions take two forms:
(i) Sand deposition, and
(ii) Clay deposition.

Sand Deposition
Sand deposition leads to formation of various types of dunes.
Windblown sand commonly accumulates in dunes that migrate downwind as sand is transported up the windward
slope and accumulates in the relatively guest areas on the lee slope.
Dunes are 'hills of sand', well represented in erg desert formed by the accumulation of sand and shaped by the
movement of winds.
A variety of dune types results from variation in sand supply, wind direction, and velocity. The most significant
ones include (a) Transverse dunes, (b) Barachan dunes, (c) Longitudinal dunes, (d) Star dunes and (e) Parabolic
dunes.
Barkhans are sand dunes having a crescent or bow like shape and their slope is in the direction of wind whereas seif
dunes are long, narrow ridges of sand that lie parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds. Parabolic sand dunes
are crescent shaped sand dune convex in the direction of wind flow.
Unless fixed by vegetation, dunes move slowly across the desert. The wind moves the sand grains up the gentle
slope of the dune, and the grains fall off the top forming the slip-face.
When a critical height is reached about 30 cm, a slip face forms on the lee side of the dune. Sand moves up the
windward side of the dune by saltation and creeps to and over the brink of the crest, increasing the slope until it
exceeds the angle of repose for loose sand and avalanches down the lee side. The wind ward side of dunes generally
slopes about 10 to 15, where as the slip face stands at the angle of repose of loose sand, about 30 to 34.
Dunes can be classified into two-free dunes whose is primarily a function of wind characteristics, and impeded
dunes whose morphology is influenced significantly by the effects of vegetation, topographic barriers or highly
localised sediment sources.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 172

Landform Characteristics Origin
Barchan dune A crescent-shaped dune, concave in the Limited sand supply
direction of wind flow No vegetation
Migration is common Constant wind direction

Longitudinal dune Ridges of sand parallel to the direction of Moderate sand supply
wind flow Wind variable but from
some quadrant

Transverse dune A ridge of sand perpendicular to the Abundant sand supply

direction of wind flow No vegetation
Constant wind direction

Irregular dune An accumulation of sand without pattern Wind deposition

Abundant sand
Variable wind direction

Star dune Formed due winds from

different directions that
converge at central
point.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 173

TYPE FORM AND POSITION MODE OF DEVELOPMENT
Blowout Circular rim around depression Localized deflation

Parabolic dune U or V shape in plan view with arms opening Deposition of sand locally
upwind to enclose a blowout deflated upwind; arms are
usually fixed by vegetation

Lunette Crescent-shaped opening upwind Accumulation downwind of

localized sediment source such
as desiccated lake basin or pan

Nebkha Roughly elliptical to irregular in plan, Accumulation around and

streamlined downwind downwind of vegetation clump

Lee dune Elongated downwind from topographic Accumulation on protected lee

obstruction side of obstacle

Fore dune Roughly arcuate with arms extending Accumulation in zone of

downwind either side of obstruction disrupted airflow immediately
windward of obstacle

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 174

 Figure 19.1 : Types of Dune Forms.

Clay Deposition
Loess: Wind borne fine dust deposited beyond the desert limits is known as loess. Loess accumulates as a blanket
deposit that can completely cover the pre-existing surface. The dust is derived either from the rock flour near glacial
margins or from desert regions. They are fine loam, rich in lime, very coherent and extremely porous in nature. Most
extensive deposits of loess is found in north-west China in the loess plateau of Hwang-Ho basin, but the original
term loess comes from a village in Alsace (France). Similar deposits called limon in Germany, France and Belgium,
and adobe in America.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 175

 Figure 19.2 : Features in the Arid Landscape.

Water in the Desert

The role of water in the deserts is equally important in forming many landforms.
Although the rainfall of the deserts is very low (120-250 mm), but it is quite likely to have a few very heavy
rainstorms. These lead to flash floods, which wash out a great amount of accumulated, weathered material. The
material is deposited on flat and low land. This form of erosion, although irregular, is very powerful and gives rise
to steep sided ravine-like valleys called wadis. The sides and bottoms of the wadis are usually covered by material
weathered from the overhanging rock walls, and by wind blown sand. At the entry to the wadi, there is a fan area of
detritus which has been washed out in previous flash floods.
The largest fragments carried by the water are deposited when the wadi reaches the pediment to form a coarse
alluvial fan. Where several fans are joined together, the term bajada, bahada or peri-pediment is applied. The finest
material will be carried out into the plains and will form an area of fine sand and clay. This area of deposition is
known as playa. These lakes are salty because of high evaporation, e.g., the shotts of North Africa and playas of
North America. When the playa lake basin is more or less rimmed by a mountain, it is called a bolson. The basin is
characterised by the centripetal drainage, which leads to the formation of enclosed lakes.
Playa surfaces are covered with salts precipitated from the ephemeral lakes, which existed on them. These salt beds
are called salinas.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 176

 Figure 19.3 : Various Features that are formed by running water in Arid Regions.

IMPORTANT TERMS
Abrasion Impeded Dunes Stony Desert
Bahada Loess Surface Creep
Deflation Nebkhas Suspension
Deflation Basins Parabolic Dunes Torrential Showers
Deflation Hollows Rock Pedestal Ventifacts
Desert Pavement Rocky Desert Whaleback
Desert Varnish Saltation Yardangs
Draas Sand Ripples Zeugens
Driekanter Sandy Desert Zweikanter
Einkanter Seif Dunes
Free Dunes Star Dunes
(See in Glossary)

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 177

 20

Introduction
A glacier is a sheet of ice that covers a large continental area of a mountain region, and is constantly in motion.
Glaciers form in some cold areas, not everywhere. Many areas of the world receive snow and ice during the winter
months. However, in most areas the warm summer causes the snow and ice to melt. Glaciers form only in those
areas where the temperature remains too low for all of the snow to melt.
As the snow piles up, the pressure increases at the bottom of the snow pile, and the snow compacts. Snow that melts
quickly, refreezes, forming ice. Fresh snow is about 90 per cent air. Once half of the air spaces in the snow pile have
been filled with ice, the pile is called nevee or Firn. Firn takes about a year to form. Eventually firn becomes
compressed and changes into a solid body of ice. The transition from snow to firn and from firn to ice may take
three to five years in places where warm temperatures cause snow to melt. In colder parts of the world, this
transition may take as long as 100 years.

Types of Glacier
Glaciers are of two types: Continental and Valley or Alpine.
There are only two large continental glaciers remaining: one in Greenland and the other in Antarctica. However,
many mountains around the world have smaller glaciers called Alpine glaciers.
A continental glacier may be as much as 4 km thick and so heavy that it causes the rocks below it to sink into the
mantle. If the ice sheet covering Greenland were suddenly to melt, the island would rise by nearly 1 km. The South
Pole is under approximately 3 km of ice. However, there is no glacier at the North Pole. Glaciers form on land, but
the North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean, where there is a thin layer of frozen sea water. Continental glaciers themselves
are of many types: Icesheets like Antarctica, Ice cap like Baffin, and Ice shelves like Roche-Ronn Filschner Ice shelf.
Valley glaciers include sub-types such as Alpine type (Hubbard, Siachen), Cirque glaciers, and Piedmont glaciers
like Melaspina. There are pieces of glaciers, called icebergs, in the polar seas. An iceberg is a great mass of
freshwater ice freed from a glacier by a process called calving. Calving is the process of breaking off of the front or
snout of a glacier on reaching the sea, forming an Iceberg. The term can also describe the further break-up of iceberg
themselves.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 178

Glacier Type Characteristics
Cirque glacier Occupies bowl-shaped depression on the side of a mountain.
Valley glacier Flows from cirque(s) onto and along floor of valley, e.g., Hubbard, Siachen.
Fjord glacier Occupies a submerged coastal valley and its base lies below sea level. May have steep terminus that
recedes rapidly by frontal calving.
Piedmont Terminates on open slopes beyond confining mountain valleys and is fed by one or more large valley
glacier glaciers, e.g., Melaspina, Alaska.
Ice cap Dome-shaped body of ice and snow that covers mountain highlands, or low-lying lands at high latitudes, and
displays generally radial outward flow, e.g., Baffin, Canada.
Ice field Extensive area of ice in a mountainous region that consists of many interconnected alpine glaciers. Lacks
domal shape of ice caps. Its flow is strongly controlled by underlying topography.
Ice sheet Continent-sized masses of ice that overwhelm nearly all land within their margins, e.g., Antarctica,
Greenland.
Ice shelf Thick glacier ice that floats on the sea and commonly is located in coastal embayments, e.g., Ross Ronn
Filschner shelf.

Glacier Movement
Even though glaciers are solid ice, they can still move and expand. As pressure builds up from the glaciers weight,
some of the ice becomes deformed and flows like hot plastic. Individual ice grains respond to the pull of gravity by
sliding past one another, allowing the ice to flow slowly downhill. Movement also occurs as melted water filters
through the glacier and along the ground under the glacier. There it provides lubrication between the ice and the
ground, allowing the glacier to slide smoothly on a film of water. Glacial movement increases during the warmer
months because there is an increase in the amount to melt water.
The speed of movement varies; some glacier move only a few centimetres a year, others several hundred metres a
week. When a glacier leaves the upland area and enters a lowland area, the ice spreads outwards and several
glaciers may coalesce to form an ice sheet. Ice sheets move very much slower than valley glaciers.
Ice sheets and glaciers move outwards from the cold region in which they were formed into warmer areas. Here the
ice will slowly melt.

Erosional processes
No one knows exactly how glaciers erode. The processes of erosion are thought to include:
(a) Plucking (Quarrying): This process occurs when ice freezes on pre-shattered rock and carries it away as the
glacier moves downslope. Since ice has a low tensile strength (resistance to breaking under strain), the rocks
must first be broken by freeze-thaw action or pressure release. Quarrying is the predominant process of glacial
erosion.

Figure 20.1 : Glacial Erosion.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 179

(b) Abrasion: Abrasion is the process of grinding away of bedrock by fragments or bedrock incorporated in the ice.
Evidence of abrasion includes: polished rock surfaces; deep grooves in soft rock and fine striations in resistant
rock; rock flour (finely ground rock material).
(c) Pressure release: Rocks were consolidated under the weight of overlying strata. When the glaciers remove these
strata, and then melted water, burst upwards, cracking and shattering, forming a loosened layer easily
removed by later re-glaciation.

Erosional Landforms
Nivation hollow
When snow collects in a mountain hollow, it may be converted into
firn or neve, and with the alternating freeze and thaw process of
weathering going on under the neve, the base of the hollow may be
deepened and the sides of the hollow become steeper. This is called
nivation hollow.
Cirque
As the hollow deepens, the neve becomes compacted into ice and the
extra weight may cause the ice to flow downhill. Thus, a small
glacier is born. This is called as But the hollow with its accumulation
of neve grows deeper which ultimately leads to formation of an
amphitheatre like hollow. This deep amphitheatre-shaped rock
basin with steep sides and an opening downstream is called Cirque.
This is known in different names in different parts of the world.
This feature is called Cirque in France, Cwm in Wales and Corie in
Scotland.The backwall of the cirque is always very steep and high
and often rises over 300 metres above the level of the cirque floor.
Being very deep, the cirques often have a lip or rock entrance and
then descend steeply to join the main valley. The base of the cirques
contain a lake called astarn lake.
Aretes
Cirques develop on all sides of a peak. When two cirques develop
on the sides of peak they grow by cutting back. Thus the two sides
are worn away until a knife edged ridges may develop as a result.
The narrow ridge thus formed is known as an Arete.

Pyramidal Peak or Horn

If a mountain has a number of cirque basins around its flanks,
cirques will cut back by erosion and in time a pinnacle shaped like a pyramid will be formed. This is called a
Pyramidal peak or Horn and the Matterhorn on the Swiss-Italian border is a good example.

U Shaped Valleys
The glaciers having originated move in their own carved out U shaped valley. This is so called because the glacial
valley has flat floor and steep sides, which provides U, shape. U shaped glaciated valleys were formerly river
valleys, which have been greatly deepened by ice erosion when the temperature changed and heralded an ice age.
The glacier, which occupied the rivers V shape, modified it to a U shaped form. When the ice melted the nearly
vertical sides of the valley were seen. The materials derived from the Steep U shaped valley got weathered and
collapsed on the floor. The collapsed material nearly choked the valley with scree, and was deposited in the centre
of the valley, and on the floor. The floor contained some lakes that were derived out of the ice that melted from the
earlier glacier. These lakes are called ribbon lakes. The sediments that were obtained from the walls got deposited
in some of the lakes, which formed at the end of the Ice Age. Subsequently many of these lakes have been drained,
but U shaped feature still remains. When these U shaped valleys get drowned they become fiords.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 180

Hanging Valleys and Truncated Spurs
The U shaped Glacial valley consists of one main valley and many tributary glaciers. The main glacier cuts much
more deeper than the tributary glacier. Where a tributary valley with a small glacier meets a main valley containing
a larger glacier, the floor of the smaller valley will not be eroded at the same rate as the main valley. When the ice
melts it will be found that the two valleys join one another at different levels, and the higher valley is known as a
Hanging Valley while the ridges between the valleys stand as truncatedspurs. When the spurs were truncated
during glaciation, the stream valleys lying between them were cut back and left hanging above the level of the main
valley. So, a hanging valley is a tributary valley that lies above the main valley and is separated from it by a steep
slope down which the stream may flow as a Waterfall or a series of Rapids.
The Long Profile of a Glaciated Valley
The long profile of a glacial valley is very different from that of a river. The meeting of a number of tributaries at the
head of the valley gives a trough end appearance.
However this profile, like that of the river, is an idealised one and in fact wherever the resistance of the rock varies
the valley will be narrow and ice will be impounded. The ice breaking through this narrow section will flow faster
and, therefore, the amount of erosion will be greater just below the barrier. When the ice eventually melts, the long
profile of the valley may show a number of deepened basins (possibly now lakes), separated by rock barriers
usually of more resistant rock. This will lead to formation of glacial stairway. Thus U shaped glacial valleys
usually have rock barriers at some point in their profile and elongated or ribbon lakes may occupy these
depressions.

Figure 20.3 : Characteristic features of Glacial Erosion.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 181

Roche Moutonnees and Crag and Tail
The material being carried along at the base of the glacier in
the U shaped valley will grind down the bedrock so that in
some cases a smoothed rock surface results. In other cases
the rocks may be plucked away leaving a jagged surface. A
landform which illustrates these two features is the Roche
Moutonnee which has a smooth upper surface and a jagged
down-valley surface. This is French word which literally
means fleecy(woolly)rock. From a distance it looks like a
lawyer's wig.
In other areas the passage of ice over such a resistant block
may cause a smooth up-valley slope and a plucked down-
valley slope on to which material has been deposited in the
form of a tail. These features are known as crag and Tail.

Depositional Features
The deposition from glacier takes place when the glacier
melts. Glacial melting takes place at the snout, or at the base
of the glacier. These deposits are of two types Till deposits and Glacio-fluvial deposits.

Till Deposits
Till deposits comprise of moraines and drumlins.

Figure 20.5 : Moraines of Valley Glacier.

Moraines are of heterogeneous shape and size materials, which can be found at different locations. These moraines
are named according to their positions. Lateral moraines are found on the margin of the glacier; Medial moraine at
the centre; Terminal moraine at the end; Recessional moraine after the recession of the glacier; Push moraine after
the bulldozing effect of an advancing glacier; Ground moraine at the base, Englacial moraine within the glacier and
Supraglacial moraine above the glacier.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 182

Drumlins are small, elongated ridge, which is composed of material deposited at the base of the ice as it moved
over lowland areas. The mounds are between 15 metres to 30 metres high, up to 1 kilometres in length, and
between 200-400 metres wide. Drumlins occur in groups called ''baskets of egg'' topography.

Glacio-fluvial Deposits
Deposition taking place under and along the sides of a retreating glacier, it can be seen that there must be great deal
of melt water flowing from the ice as it melts, and this water will carry some of the finer moraine and deposit it as
Outwash Material. This can generally be distinguished from glacial moraine because it will be much finer in grain
size. The deposition that takes place forms an outwash plain called as sandur in Iceland. Outwash Plains contain
kames, kettles and eskers.
Kame is an isolated mound or low ridge of water-sorted sands and gravels that has been deposited by melt water at
the margin of a stagnant or decaying ice-sheet or glacier. The sorting action of the water leaves the deposit with
distinct layers or beds.

Figure 20.6 : Formation of Eskers.

Figure 20.7 : Ice Contact Fluvio-glacial Landforms and Deposits.

Eskers form in contact with ice from materials deposited by meltwater streams flowing in, on or below a glacier or
ice sheet. Esker is along narrow winding ridge composed of coarse sand and gravel, which are well sorted and
stratified. The courses of the eskers are generally aligned at right angles to the ice front, thus providing an indication
of the direction of ice. Some eskers are only tens of metres long but others may extend for hundreds of kilometres
and reach heights of over 30 metres.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 183

Landform Characteristics Origin

Striations Rocks scarred with thin parallel Plucking and Abrasion.

scratches.
Cirque A bowl-shaped depression near the Erosion at the head of an alpine
crest line of ridges and peaks. glacier.

Tarn A small lake or pond within a cirque. Water-filled cirque depression.

Arete A jagged, narrow ridge separating two or Headward erosion of two or more
more cirques. glaciers form opposite sides of a
ridge.

Horn An isolated rockspire separating several Headward erosion of several

cirques. glaciers around a mountain peak.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 184

Col A gap in an arete connecting two Headward erosion of glaciers.
cirques.

Glacial valley A deep, steep-side valley with a flat Erosion of a pre-existing stream
bottom and 'U' shaped cross profile. valley by a glacier.

Hanging valley A tributary valley that intersects the main The intersection of a tributary
valley at a higher elevation. glacier with the main trunk glacier.

Truncated spur Steep, cliff-like valley sides. Two cirques cut back towards each
other Ice in main valley eroded
more rapidly than ice in the
tributary valleys often producing a
waterfall.

Ribbon lake Long, narrow lake in a glacial trough. Over deepening by abrasion by
sub glacial debris moving in a
rotational movement; filled with
water after deglaciation .

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 185

Roche moutonne Ice- smoothened rocks with a steeper Resistant rock remains after ice
side facing down- valley. abrasion on the ice-direction-facing
side and plucking on the lee.

Landform Characteristics Origin

Moraine Composed of till. Rock rubble deposited directly from
Variation in size and shape variable, glacial ice.
depending on specific origin. Common to all glaciers.

Drumlin An elongate oval hill. Unique to continental glaciers.

Principally composed of till, sometimes Origin uncertain.
with bedrock core.
Often in clusters called baskets of egg"
topography.

Outwash plain An alluvial apron in front of the glacial Drift deposited by melt-water
terminus. streams.
Composed of stratified drift.

Esker A meandering narrow ridge. A sub-glacial stream channel

Composed of stratified drift. deposit.
Common in continental glaciers..

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 186

Kame An irregularly shaped topographic high. A subglacial delta or fan deposit.
Composed of startfied drift. Common in continental glaciers.

Kettle A closed depression in the outwash The melting of remnant ice in the
plain. outwash plain.
Often circular in shape.
Commonly filled by water.

IMPORTANT TERMS
Abrasion Fiords Ice Cap Piedmont Glacier Trimline
Arete Firn Ice Dome Pro-glacial Lake Truncated Spur
Bergschrund Glacial Plucking Ice Sheet Ribbon Lake Tunnel Valleys
Calving Glacial Surge Ice Shelf Roche Moutonnee U-shaped Valley
Cirques Glacial Trough Kettles Rock Basins Valley Glacier
Col Glacier Moraine Rock Drumlins Whalebacks
Crag and Tail Glaciers Stairway Nivation Hollow Rock Steps
Crevasses Hanging Glacier Nunataks Seracs
Eskers Hanging Valley Outlet Glacier Sublimation
Fiards Horn Paternoster Lake Till-plains
(See in Glossary)

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 187

 21

Introduction
The landform formed due to the action of sea water is called Marine Landforms. Since these landforms form near or
on the coast, therefore they are also called as Coastal Landforms.

COAST AND SHORE

Coast, is a generally loosely defined term for the land bordering the shore; those land surfaces modelled
conspicuously by waves now as well as in the past.
Shore is a narrow strip of land between the low water mark and the highest point reached by storm waves
and high tides. It is a zone of periodic submergence, sometimes dry, sometimes under water.
Shoreline is the line of contact between land and water.
Beach is a deposit made by waves that rest on the shore.

Figure 21.1 : The Zonation of Coastal System according to Beach Profile.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 188

The coastal or marine landforms are produced by the action of waves. Waves action includes corrosion, hydraulic
action, pneumatic action and corrasive scour.
Wave
The size of waves is determined by the time in which the wind has been blowing, where as the fetch (distance over
water where the wind blows in a single direction) determines the intensity of wave action. Both the process
determine whether erosion or deposition dominates, particularly on beaches. When the waves break at the shore, it
produces an uprush of water, that is called as Swash. Swash is followed by a return flow of water called Undertow
or Backwash. When swash is more powerful than backwash it is called Constructive wave and when the backwash
is more powerful than swash it is called Destructive wave.

Processes of Marine Erosion

1. Solution. Solution is simply the solvent action of sea water. This is of limited importance in the case of coastal
areas, if formation except in those coastal areas which have a limestone lithology.
2. Wave quarrying. This is a process in which the pressure of waves and oscillatory motion of water removes the
material, already loosened by chemical and mechanical weathering processes. The unconsolidated sediments
and points of weaknesses in the rock such as cleavage, joints and fractures are extremely susceptible to wave
quarrying and become enlarged.
3. Abrasion. Abrasion is caused by repeated forward and backward movement of sand, gravel and pebble over
the rock surface which are hurled against the coast by breaking waves. The efficiency of abrasion depends on
the presence of tools in the wave and the frequency with which these are moved to and fro across the surface.
4. Hydraulic action. When water is thrown against the shore by breaking waves, it causes the air in the cracks and
crevices to be compressed suddenly. When the waves retreat, the air expands suddenly and often explosively.
This causes rocks to shatter and cracks become enlarged and extended.
5. Pneumatic actionis caused by the impact of trapped air which periodically expands and contracts in cracks.
6. Attrition action. The particles are themselves worn down by friction and impact, and become finer and finer.

Factors Affecting Erosion by Waves

The action of waves is not uniform in all parts but it varies from one place to another. The major factors affecting the
intensity of erosion include:
1. The magnitude and force of the waves,
2. Direction of attack by the waves,
3. Nature and shape of the coastlines,
4. Slope and height of the coastal rocks,
5. Depth of water, intensity of tides,
6. Climatic conditions, and
7. The influence of plants and animals.
The effect of waves is less if the rocks are hard and it is more if the rocks are soft. Similarly, in the rainy areas, the
erosion is more as the wave action is assisted by the erosional work of the surface run-off. Plants and animal also
weaken the rocks in the coastal areas by making holes in them. These weakened rocks can be easily eroded by
waves.

Landforms Produced by Erosion

Waves, like streams erode the coastal rocks with or without the help of rock fragments present in the water. Due to
the continued erosion by waves the coastline keeps retreating and a number of topographical features are formed in
the process. The marine erosional landforms are:

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 189

 Figure 21.2 : Profile across Coast showing Notch, Cliff, Arch, Stack and Wave-cut Platform.

Sea Cliff
The maximum impact of the waves is observed on the lower part of coastal rocks and consequently the lower part of
the rocks is eroded more rapidly than the upper part. This result in the formation of a hollow under the rock called
notch and with passage of time this excavation in the lower part of the rock keeps on becoming larger.
The upper part of the rock is thus left projecting out towards the sea. After sometime, this projecting part fall into
the sea under its own weight. As a result a vertical wall is left. This vertical wall is called a Cliff. In India number of
sea cliffs are found along the Konkan Coast of India.
Headland
An extension of land seaward from the general trend of the coast; a promontory, cape, or peninsula. A headland is
formed on those coasts where hard and soft rocks are arranged alternately perpendicular to the coast. Under such a
circumstance, the waves erode the soft rocks faster than hard rocks. The harder rocks keep protruding to the sea
while the soft rocks are worn away. The protruding section forms the headland while the worn away portion forms
cove or a bay. The headland is subjected to intense wave attack while the cove or the bay remains relatively
protected.
Sea Caves
When the upper part of the headland protruding in the sea is hard and the lower part is soft, the erosion is not
uniform. The lower part of the rock in such circumstances is eroded much faster than the upper part. Due to
differential erosion, a hollow is created in the lower part of the rock. When the waves pound against this hollow, air
present in the hollow gets compressed. When the wave comes out of the hollow, the pressure on air is also released
and it expands. Due to continuous compression of the air in the hollow, the rocks are subjected to a great pressure
and they break. In this process, the hollows in the lower part of the rock keep on enlarging. With passage of time
they attain the form of caves and are known as Sea Caves. Formation of caves depends upon the nature of the
coastline and the force of the waves.
Sea Arches
When a part of coast extends to some distance into the sea, sea waves working from opposite directions cut a
passage through the soft rocks. In the initial stages, this passage is a narrow hole eating into the same wall, but as
both the sides erode and the cave enlarges so much so that back to back they join each other, what is left behind is an
arch that looks like a bridge. These broad door-like features are called Sea Arches or Natural Bridges.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 190

Sea Stacks and Stumps
When the roof of an arch is broken by erosion or under its own weight or due to any other reason a part of the
original rock remains standing as a solitary mass. This type of a feature is called a Sea Stack. Stacks are of a number
of types depending upon their shape and the nature of the rocks. Sometimes they take the shape of an island but
such islands are not permanent. Small underwater stacks are known as Stumps.

Figure 21.3 : Formation of Cave, Arch and Stack.

Blow Hole and Geo

Coves are basically excavations along belts of weaknesses of all types, especially along joints. When these lines of
weaknesses occur along cave roofs, the hydraulic action of wave compressed air leads to the falling in of joint
blocks, leading finally to the development of hole in the roof. This is known as a blow hole or Gloup (from the noise
made by the water gurgling inside). Spray occasionally may be seen to rise through the aperture. When the roof
finally falls and the fallen debris removed, long narrow inlets are developed called a geo (Norse: geohard, gyaa
creek).

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 191

 Figure 21.4 : Blow Hole Formation.

Depositional Landforms
At various places on the coastline, the wave transporting power decreases resulting in deposition. Deposition can
also occur where rivers enter the sea or where tidal currents neutralise each other or where embayments such as
headland cove/bay combination in the coast provide shelter. Any kind of check or obstruction to water movement,
carrying beach material or suspended load, is likely to cause deposition and formation of depositional features.
Much of the sediment is derived from land and delivered to the sea by major rivers. The changes, manifested in
various landforms, continue until the final configuration is at equilibrium with the available wave energy.
Deposition is likely to take place from the materials derived from wave cut platform and cliff retreat.
A number of topographical features are formed due to deposition by waves and currents. Some of these
topographical features are discussed below:
Beach
Most of the material eroded and picked up by the waves is deposited near the coast. All the material that has been
derived from the erosion of the retreating cliff gets deposited on the coast. In this way, beaches are wave deposited
platforms not wave cut platforms. Due to this deposition, the sea becomes shallow and a part of the coastal area is
raised above the water level. This type of depositional features along the coast is called a Beach. Beach is gently
sloping, concave and gravel accumulation occupying the foreshore and backshore, the product of onshore sediment
deposition. The configuration of a beach and the nature of the deposits covering it are related to coastal profile,
types of debris available, wave pattern, and the rate of deposit. On mountainous coasts, beaches are narrow and
broken, and often composed of poorly sorted debris; along plain coasts, beaches may extend laterally for hundreds
of kilometres and are usually composed of well-sorted sand. Beach sands on coasts of high relief may be rich in
minerals such as feldspar; beach sands on plain coasts consist of quartz and minerals such as rutile and garnet. Some

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 192

tropical beaches are composed almost exclusively of shell fragments. Most of the beaches form in the bay or cove
where the intensity of wave erosion is minimum and wave deposition is maximum. Beaches can be of many types
depending on their shape, cusp beaches like Gokarna, Karnataka, Kovalam, Kerala or linear beaches such as
Marina, Chennai; depending on the type of materials that form they can be stony beaches, sandy beaches etc and
depending on their location they can be bay head beaches or lagoonal beaches.
Sand Bar
Sometimes the deposits of sand and gravel laid down by waves and currents form embankment, separating
shoreline from the sea. They, thus form, barriers between the sea and the mainland. Such deposits are called Sand
Bars. They sometime pose difficulties in navigation. The worlds largest sand bar is Cape Hatteras. In India, the
formation of a sand bar has led to an island development, Sriharikota that has enclosed Pulicat lake.
Spit
When one end of a bar is attached to the coast and other extends into the sea, it is called a Spit. These spits are
formed by accumulation of materials brought by waves like sand and gravel.Many wonderful spits in various stages
of growth are to be found along the southern shores of Baltic, where they often enclose extensive lagoons. These
spits and lagoons are known as nehrungs and haffs, respectively. As spits grow outwards and connect the shore
with an offshore island, it forms a tombolo and the island is known as s tied island.

Lagoon
Sometimes due to deposition of waves and currents both the ends of the bar join to enclose a part of the sea water
between the coast and the bar. This enclosed part of the sea forms a lake of saline water. This saline water lake is
called a Lagoon.

Figure 21.5 : Common Depositional Shore Features Along a Stretch of Coast.

Landform Characteristics Origin

Wave-cut cliff A steep cliff eroded by waves Hydraulic action at the base of
hitting the base. the coast allowing the upper
Composed of local bedrock. structure to collapse.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 193

Headland A point of land extending into an Differential erosion of alternate
open water body. hard and soft rocks. Dependent
Composed of local bedrock of on local topography.
sediments.

Arch A natural bridge type of feature in Formed by wave attack on both

the headland. the sides of the headland and as
both the sides erode and the
cave enlarges so much so that
cutting back to back they join
each other.

Sea stack Isolated, small island just Formed by collapse of the arch.
offshore.
Composed of local bedrock.

Wave-cut bench (platform) A flat erosional surface in front of Wave erosion and retreat of
a wave-cut cliff. shoreline.
Carved into local bedrock.

Blow hole (Gloup) and Geo Hole in the roof through which the Enlargement of the cavity or
water sprays, and which collapses point of weakness in the coastal
in due course. structure.
Geos are like deep long clefts.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 194

Landform Characteristics Origin
Beach Gently sloping, concave and gravel Product of onshore sediment
accumulation occupying the deposition and diminished wave
foreshore and backshore. energy.
Deposits made of materials
derived from the retreat of cliff and
wave cut platform mostly located in
bays and coves. Have variety of
shapes.
Bar A submerged depositional mound Dependent on currents and
or ridge. sediment supply.
Composed of sand and gravel.

Spit A streamlined ridge of sediment Deposition by longshore current

extending in the direction of the that is current along the shore.
longshore current.
Composed primarily of sand.

Tombolo A ridge of sediment connecting an Deposition generally caused by

island to the shoreline. wave refraction around island.
Composed primarily of sand.

Barrier island A long linear island parallel to the Dependent on local geology.
shoreline.
Composed of sand and gravel.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 195

Lagoon A quiet water area behind a barrier Wave barrier creates still water
island or carbonate reef. on its lee side.

Types of Coast
Classification of coasts
Coasts are not the same everywhere, Coasts vary in their morphology, their mechanism of formation, as well as
their function with respect to the geological processes acting on it. Considering the wide variety of coastlines, it
should not be surprising that several different attempts have been made to classify coasts, each based upon a range
of criteria.
I. On the Basis of Changes in Sea Level
On the basis of Changes in sea level, coasts fall into two broad categories: Coastline of submergence and Coastline
of Emergence.
There are some features around the coastlines, which have resulted from changes in the level of the sea. For
example, during the Quaternary Ice Age, the sea-level was 100 metres lower than it is today. Changes in sea-level
have world-wide effects. Changes in sea-level on a global scale is known as Eustasy. In some regions of the world
the continental blocks have been lifted upwards or pushed downwards. This regional effect is known as an isostatic
change. The changes, which have occurred around the coast, is classified into two categories:
a) Coastline of submergence.
b) Coastlines of emergence.
Coastlines of Submergence
Fiord Coasts: Fiord Coasts are formed by the submergence of U-shaped glacial troughs. Fiords are long
narrow inlet of the sea bounded by steep mountain slopes, which are of great height and extend to
considerable depths (in excess of 1,100 m) below sea-level. They have steep walls, often rising straight from
the sea, with tributary branches joining the main inlet at right angles. It is formed by the submergence of
glacially over deepened valleys (through) due to a rising sea-level after the melting of the Pleistocene ice-
sheets. Due to the greater intensity of ice erosion, fiords are deep for great distances towards inland but
there is a shallow section at the seaward end formed by a ridge of rock and called the threshold or sill.
Numerous islands are found at a fiords seaward end. Fiord coasts are almost entirely confined to the higher
latitudes of the temperate regions, which were once glaciated, e.g., Norway, Alaska, British Columbia,
Southern Chile and the South Island of New Zealand. Some of the large fiords are extremely long and deep.
Ria Coasts: These are formed by the submergence of a landmass with mountains that run right angles to the
coasts, (that is transverse or discordant to the coasts) dissected by numerous river valleys in between the
ranges. A rise in the sea level submerges or drowns the lower parts of the valleys with rivers to form long,
narrow branching inlets separated by narrow headlands. Thus a long, narrow river inlet forms that
gradually decreases in depth from mouth to head. They differ from fiords in three important respects, i.e.,
they are not glaciated, and their depth increases seawards. And it is shallower and shorter than a fjord.
Atlantic coasts are typical Ria coasts.
Dalmatian coast: If the structure of the region consists of nearly parallel bands of hard and soft rocks a
series of ridges and valley will run parallel to the coastline. If submergence occurs then the coast is called a
Concordant Coast. Such a coast tends to be straight and regular, unless a considerable relative rise of sea-
level occurs, when outer ranges become lines of islands and parallel valleys form sounds; e.g., coast of
British Columbia. These type of coasts are found in Italy and Dalmatian area of former Yugoslavia on the
Adriatic sea, hence, called Dalmatian Coast. The elongated islands are the crests of former ranges and the
Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 196
 narrow sounds were the former longitudinal valleys. The Dalmatian type of coast is also called Concordant,
or Pacific Type coast. Like the ria and fiord coasts, the mountainous nature of the Dalmatian coastline
hinders inland communication. It has deep, sheltered harbours but no distinguished ports. On the Pacific
coast, however, there are some important ports, such as San Francisco.
Estuarine coasts: Estuarine coasts form as a result of submergence of the mouths of rivers are forming
funnel-shaped features. Estuarine coasts make excellent sites for ports, if their entrances are not silted by
moving sand-banks, e.g., the estuaries of the Thames, Elbe and Plate are the sites of such great seaports at
London, Hamburg and Buenos Aires respectively.
Coastlines of Emergence
Uplifted Lowland Coast: Uplifted Lowland Coast are produced due to the uplift of part of the continental
shelf producing a smooth, gently sloping coastal lowland. Examples of uplifted lowland coasts include the
coast of South-Eastern U.S.A., Western Finland, Eastern Sweden and parts of coastal Argentina, south of the
Rio de la Plata.
Emergent Upland Coast: Emergent Upland Coast are produced by tectonic processes that may uplift a
coastal plateau so that the whole region is raised, with consequent emergent features. A Raised Beach is the
most prominent. The emergent upland coast is quite straight with steep cliffs and deeper off-shore water.
This is the coast where waves have not yet eroded lines of weakness or carved a wave-cut platform. It is
potentially not a good port site. Examples of emergent upland coasts are found in Scotland, the western
coast of the Peninsular India (Malabar), and the western Arabian coast facing the Red Sea.

Figure 21.6 : Types of Coast.

II. On the Basis of Relationship between Coastal and other processes of Erosion and Deposition
On the basis of relationship between coastal and other processes of erosion and deposition two categories are
identified. These are:
Primary Coasts result from the works of subaerial geologic agents, such as streams, glaciers, volcanism, and
earth movements. Primary Coasts are highly irregular coastlines characterised by bays, estuaries, fiords,
headlands, peninsulas and offshore island.
Secondary Coasts are shaped by marine erosion and deposition and are characterized by wave-cut cliffs,
beaches, barriers, bars, spits, and (in some cases) sediment deposited through the action of biological agents,
such as marsh grass, mangroves and coral reefs.

III. On the Basis of Advance and Retreat of the Coasts

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 197

On the basis of advance and retreat of the coasts, they are of two types :
Advancing: where marine deposition or the uplift of the land is dominant.
Retreating: where marine erosion or the submergence of the land is more significant.

Figure 21.7 : Active and Passive Margin of Coast.

IV. On the Basis of Plate Tectonic Theory

On the basis of Plate tectonic theory four types of coasts are recognised:
Diverging plates (the Red Sea) boundary coasts
Converging plates (the island arcs of Japan and the Philippines) coasts
Transform faults boundary coasts (California).
Stable plate boundaries coast (India and Australia).

V. On the Basis of Energy Produced

On the basis of energy produced, various types of coastlines are identified. This, the most recent attempt to
categorise coasts, is gaining credibility because it relates directly to the amount of energy expended by different
types of waves upon a particular stretch of coastline.
High-energy environments: where destructive storm waves breaking on shingle beaches are most typical.
Low-energy environments: where constructive swell waves breaking upon sandy beaches are more
frequent.
Protected environments: where wave action is limited in small, sheltered, sea areas.

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 198

 IMPORTANT TERMS
Arch Currents Sand Bars
Backwash Cuspate Foreland Sea Caves
Barrier Beaches Destructive Wave Shore
Barrier Islands Fetch Spits
Beach Geo Stack
Blow Hole Gravity Waves Stump
Breaker Hook Surf
Capillary Waves Interference Tides
Clapotis Lagoons and Mudflats Tombolos
Cliff Longitudinal Waves Wave Cut Platform
Coast Longshore Current Wave Quarrying
Constructive Wave Notch
Coves Offshore Bars
(See in Glossary)

Basic PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 199