What is a river?

• A river is a flow of • Water always flows water. It can be down hill. Gravity large, like the pulls the water Amazon and the down. If something Nile, or small like gets in the way of the River Aire. the flow, the water will flow around it, creating the shape of the river. • Rivers move water all round the world. • They are the life blood of many communities and farm lands. • Many towns and cities are located on rivers. This would allow people easy access to water.

• Can you name the rivers that flow through these cities: Leeds York London The technical details!

Rivers are made up of lots of different features. Read through the next slides to find out the names of all these different features. The Source of a River

• The ‘source’ is the name of the location where a river begins. • Sources of rivers are often areas where high amounts of rainfall or melting snow gather. • The sources of rivers can also be underground springs. A Spring

• A natural occurrence where water flows to the surface of the Earth from underground. • A spring can also be known as a rising or a resurgence. A waterfall

As the name suggests, when the water reaches the edge of land, it simply falls over creating a pool at the bottom of the waterfall. These pools are very dangerous and can be very deep. Never play in or around these pools. Streams

• What is a stream? • A stream has a current. • This is when the flow of water is influenced by gravity as the water moves downhill to reduce its potential energy. Channel

• When a river flows across a stretch of land it wears away the earth to form a channel. • The river then flows through the channel. • Channels often connect two bigger areas of water. Meanders

• A meander is a bend in a river. • It is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley and deposits the particles on the inner banks. • When a meander gets cut off from the main stream, an oxbow lake is formed. An Oxbow Lake

An oxbow lake is where a curved lake formed from a horseshoe bend in a river where the main stream has cut across the narrow end and no longer flows around the loop of the bend. A Valley

• A valley is formed by flowing water. • A very deep river valley can sometimes be called a canyon or a gorge. • Can you think of any famous canyons or gorges? The Grand Canyon & Cheddar Gorge A Lake

Where the land becomes flat, the water spreads out to cover the ground. Where the water cannot flow through the mud and stone at the bottom, this creates a lake. Flood Plain

• A flood plain is an area of land next to a stream or river that experiences flooding during periods of rainfall. • Have you heard the phrase ‘the river has broken its banks’? • What does this mean? Tributary

• A tributary is a stream or a small river that flows into a river or a lake. • A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. • A confluence, where two or more bodies of water meet together, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. A confluence Mouth

• The mouth of the river is where the river flows into the sea. Your Task

• Look at the picture • You need to label, on the next slide. • Source In your book you • Meander need to draw a picture of the river • Tributary and label the • Oxbow lake features. • Mouth • Chanel