Question

River capture has the ability to show how nature can shape the landscape and create interesting landmasses of different shapes .Research on these with special emphasis on their character and importance in the "implication of the river capture for human activities ,settlements ,recreation ,agriculture and ecosystem "(100 Marks )

Answer 1

Importance in the settlement

Answer 2

River capture and its effects and the consequences of human activities

River capture has the ability to show how nature can shape the landscape and create interesting landmasses of different shapes

• River drainage systems and river flow directions are not always permanent aspects of the topography.
• A river can flow in a different direction as a result of geological changes, and become a tributary of a different drainage system.
• Glaciers and tectonic movement associated with earthquake faults are the main geological changes that have resulted in river capture.
• The majority of river capture occurrences over the last 300,000 years have been caused by glaciation.
• Tectonic movement, particularly landscape elevation, is substantially slower than glacial processes, and tectonic river capture typically takes hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.

Implication of the river capture for human activities ,settlements ,recreation ,agriculture and ecosystem

• Farming has a variety of effects on rivers and river landscapes.
• The volume of water within the channel is reduced as water is collected from rivers for irrigation (watering crops).
• Its ability to dissolve and transfer materials is reduced as a result.
• Deposition is more likely to occur when the river's water level decreases.
• Hedgerows and other natural cover have been destroyed as farms have gotten more intensive.
• This reduces interception, resulting in increased surface run-off.
• Ploughing land also causes more soil to be eroded during rainstorms, increasing sediment load in rivers.
• Further downstream, the amount of deposited material will grow.
• Many farms have drainage systems in place to channel water away from the land and into waterways.
• This results in a quick movement of water to rivers, which increases discharge and pollution levels.
• People discovered that if they were near a water source, they could stay in one spot and cultivate enough food to sustain their population.
• Waterways began to serve more purposes as time passed. The use of rivers, lakes, and oceans for transportation began.
• People began building boats and exploring the land around them.