The document discusses the three main functions of rivers: erosion, transportation, and deposition. It describes the four primary ways that rivers erode the landscape: abrasion, attrition, hydraulic action, and solution. It also outlines the four methods that rivers transport sediment: traction, saltation, suspension, and solution. Finally, it explains that rivers deposit their sediment loads when their volume or speed decreases, such as when entering a lake or plain with a gentler slope.