The world around us
36
What parts do
rivers have?
Rivers can be short or long,
deep
or
shallow
. Spanish rivers have less water in summer because there is less
rainfall. The longer rivers have watersheds in the Atlantic Ocean.
A catchment is the area of land that is
drained
by a river. Catchments can be large or small.
The
source
of a river is usually found in elevated ground such as a
mountainside
. The first part of a river
usually flows through a narrow channel with
steep
valley sides.
The
middle course
is wider and it flows through valleys which are less steep. Rivers flow down hill.
The lower course of the river flows through
floodplains
, going downhill still, but less steeply. It is here that
the river can be joined by other rivers. These are called
tributaries
. The river continues, through flat lands
called the
delta
until it reaches the sea.
Finally, the last part of the river is the
mouth
of the river, where it reaches its
watershed
.
R E A D & T H I N K
1
Talk to your partner.
a)
What Spanish rivers do you know?
b)
Do rivers flow uphill or downhill?
Rivers
source
tributary
floodplains
the mouth
the delta
The sides of a river are called its
banks
. A river flows downhill fast
at first, then more slowly as it
approaches its end. Floodplains are
large areas of flat land. Sometimes
the delta is split into different
channels as the river reaches the sea.
