Rivers Hold on tight!

Goal: By the end of today you should be able to… 1.Explain why rivers are an important natural resource. 2.Draw a river including important parts of the river.

Brainstorm with your partner: 1.Rivers are an important natural resource. Why? 2.Can you name the 10 longest rivers in the world?

What do you notice about the location of these rivers?

Many great civilizations of the world developed alongside rivers and rivers continue to benefit people today. Rivers are important because: 1.They are a source of water 2.They are a source of food…not only because of the fish and other animals that live in them but also because… 3.Rivers provide water for crops and move nutrients from place to place in the flowing water 4.They allow people to move around (transportation and communication.) 5.They are a source of energy (dams and waterwheels)

We are going to study the Nile River in class and discuss why it was so important to Ancient Egyptians and why it is still important today. But before we do that you need to know more about rivers…

How do rivers begin?

How do rivers begin? With the water cycle… 1.Clouds release their precipitation over the hills. 2.Most of this water soaks into the ground to become groundwater. 3.Some groundwater comes to the surface to form springs. 4.Springs join together to make streams. 5.As the streams trickle down the hillside they join together, getting bigger as they go, until they become rivers. Rivers begin in elevated (high) areas that receive a lot of precipitation.

Stages and parts of a river: Upper (youthful) stage: The river is very steep at this stage and the water is moving quickly causing a deep v-shaped valley. 1.The upper course of a river starts at the source of the river. 2.The course is the route the river takes to the ocean or sea from the source. 3.You might find waterfalls in this stage. The river picks up rocks and nutrients as it erodes hills and the bottom of the river.

Stages and parts of a river: Middle (mature) stage: The elevation begins to flatten out during this section and the water moves more slowly. 6.On either side of the middle course of the river are floodplains, these areas are flat and often become flooded when heavy rainfall causes the river to overflow. 7.Sometimes another river (a tributary) will join a river; the joining point is called a confluence. Eroded material continues to be picked up and moved by the river.

Stages and parts of a river: Lower (old age) stage: The river is moving slowly at this point and the land is quite flat. 10.The lower course of the river has larger meanders, bends in the river. 11.The river has less energy now and so carries less material, it deposits the soil and other materials which eventually form small islands or deltas. 12.The lower course of the river leads to the mouth of the river; the mouth of the river is where the river meets the sea.

Video: BrainPop ‘Rivers’

ACTIVITY 1: Draw a river You need to draw a river labeling all important parts of the river and writing your OWN definition to explain what each part is. You can refer to the PowerPoint on Moodle for help and look at the example in class. *Only use BLUE for water!!! You can use other colors to label or draw things along your river. 1.You must label each stage – upper, middle and lower 2.You must include these important 8 parts of a river, in order: -Mouth- Course -Floodplains- Tributary -Confluence- Meander -Delta- Mouth When you are finished you can start Activity 2 on Moodle.