Waterfalls

• It is important to be able to draw and clearly label waterfalls for the Geography GCSE exam. You can find a picture of a waterfall in a Geography text book or good encyclopaedia. Here are the main facts and labels you need to know:
• The rock on the top of the waterfall is a hard rock, it is good to give an example such as Limestone.
• The rock underneath and behind the waterfall is a soft rock which can be easily worn away. Again, a good example of this is shale.

HOW THE WATERFALL FORMS:

• A step is present in the soft rock which forces the water downwards.
• The water starts to erode as it is pushed down and creates a plunge pool.
• The water keeps eroding and the waterfall gets bigger.
• At this point the water starts undercutting the soft rock behind the waterfall.
• This process continues and hard rock is broken off as the waterfall retreats.
• Spray from the waterfall undercuts more.