River Valley development in the Western Provinces

INTODUCTION
Hypothesis
Load shape becomes more rounded and size becomes smaller with distance
from the source this is because the rocks nearer the mouth have been
exposed to more attrition and abrasion then the other rocks nearer the
source
The cross profile gradient is steeper nearer the source because vertical
erosion has occurred more often
The channel width widens further down the river long profile this is because
of vertical and lateral erosion. Vertical erosion leads to the development of
steep sided and narrow valleys while lateral erosion (which occurs nearer
the mouth) makes a wide channel.
METHOD
1. Calculating Load Shape Data
To determine the common characteristics of loads from the different sections we
had to use the following equipment.
Caliper- measure the length of a stones
Scale- to measure the rocks in grams
Plastic Bag- A stone was placed inside the bag to calculate the weight
Quadrat- The quadrat was made using 4X 1m rulers. We placed it at
random location and we randomly picked 10 rocks from inside the
quadrat.

We collected 10 stones from the quadrat using random sampling, two people from
the group closed their eyes while picking the stones, we found that this was the best

method to use because it avoids bias. Once we calculated the weight and length of
the stones we determined its shape using the Powells Index of roundness.
2. Measuring channel width and gradient
In this part of the fieldwork our group measured the channel width and gradient of
3 different sections of the river; the upper, middle, and lower course. We measured
the width be using a tape measure and measuring the width between to ranging
poles. We then used a clinometer to measure the angle between the two ranging
poles. The equipment helped us to investigate out hypothesis about the cross profile
gradient.

Measuring the Water Velocity of a river

To measure the velocity of the river a stopwatch, tape measure, and a floating object
(tennis ball) will be needed. When picking a floating object make sure it cant catch
the wind because then your results will show wind speed instead of water speed.
You would measure the speed inside the
Equipment
Tape measure
Stopwatch
Ball
2 ranging poles
Procedure
1. Pick an ideal spot on the river in which your ball will float.
2. Measure 10 meters with your tape measure and mark them with ranging poles
3. Place the ball at the start of your ranging pole and time how long it takes to
reach the other pole.
4. Divide the distance (10 meters in this case) by the time to calculate the speed.
5. Repeat this procedure 5 times to get an accurate reading

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

The results below were calculated to investigate our hypothesis, about how the load
size will be larger nearer the source. According to the results our hypothesis was
incorrect mostly because the sampling technique that we used. In reality you will
most likely find larger rocks in the source, but our sampling technique resulted in
false readings.

Weight
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1

Average Width of
stones/cm
10
Weight

Upper
course

Middle Lower
Course Course

5
width

0
Upper
course

Middle
Course

Lower
Course

Our results show that the upper course of the river contains the lightest rocks while
the lower course contains the heaviest rocks. The results also show that the upper
course contains the largest rocks in terms of width, while the lower course contains
the smallest. In reality the source will have the largest width, this fact proves that
our sampling technique had a negative effect on our results since in reality the mean
weight was in correct but the width was correct.