A river is fresh water flowing across the surface of the land, usually to the sea. Rivers are found on every continent and on nearly every kind of land.
10.1 The Journey of a River Figure 1 shows the journey a river takes from its source to the sea.
Source: Place where a river begins
Confluence: Point where a river joins a larger one Estuary: Part of the river
mouth that is tidal
Delta: A fan-shaped area of land found at the mouth of a river
River Basin
Tributary: A stream or river that joins a larger river
Flood plain: Area that gets covered with water when the river floods
River basin: The land that water flows across or under on its way to a river
1. Key features of a river Working with others
Using an atlas or Google Maps, and working with the person next to you, identify two cities in Ireland located on rivers and two foreign cities located on rivers.
Question Time
Can you match these three features of a river with the correct photograph? Flood plain
Tributary Mouth
Mouth: Place where the river enters the sea
Main river B A C 135
FUN FACT!
Most of the world’s major cities are located near the banks of rivers.