The Long Profile of a River – S6 Geography Notes

These Senior Six Geography notes explain the long profile of a river and how a river works towards a graded profile through degradation and aggradation. They discuss the factors that stop a river from reaching grade, including faulting, hard rock bands, lakes, braiding, rejuvenation and human activity. The notes also describe the cross profile and the features found at each stage of a river: interlocking spurs, waterfalls, rapids, gorges, potholes and plunge pools in the upper course; bluffs and slip-off slopes in the middle course; and meanders, flood plains, levees, braided channels and ox-bow lakes in the lower course. Examples are drawn from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, and practice questions are included.