Three ways humans can increase the risk of flooding in rural areas are:

• Deforestation
• Intensive farming, leaving fields bare in the winter
• Overgrazing
• Increased use of polytunnels

Find out more about human and physical causes of flooding.

Interlocking spurs are fingers of land that jut out into the river valley that streams and rivers are forced to flow around in the upper course.

Find out more about the landforms of erosion in the upper course of a river.

The characteristics of rapids include:

• the turbulent flow of water
• white water
• uneven river bed
• steep gradients.

Find out more about the landforms of erosion in the upper course of a river.

Where the river flows into a sea or ocean it’s velocity is reduced leading to deposition. 

Find out more about river deposition.

The main characteristics of levees are:

• raised river banks
• consist of gravel, stones and small sediment
• steep on the channel side, gentle sloping on the land side
• relatively flat top covered in grass

Find out more about landforms in the lower course of the river.