The process of erosioncloseerosionThe wearing away of pieces of rock, soil or other solid materials. can create different landforms. The erosional features are often found in the upper coursecloseupper courseThe highest section of a river located in the mountains. of the river.
A waterfallclosewaterfallA steep drop in a river. is a sudden drop along the river course. It forms when there are horizontal bands of resistant rock (hard rock) positioned over exposed, less resistant rock (soft rock).
In the upper course there is more vertical erosionclosevertical erosionWhen the land is eroded or worn away in a downwards direction, eg a river that is high up will erode vertically because gravity pulls the water downwards.. The river cuts down into the valley. If there are areas of hard rock which are harder to erode, the river will bend around it. This creates interlocking spurscloseinterlocking spurHill that a river meanders around in a V-shaped valley. When viewed from downstream, these spurs appear to be locked together. of land which link together like the teeth of a zip.
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