1. LOOKING AT RIVERS ON AN O.S. MAP

2. You may be asked to describe the physical features of a river an an OS map. The following points should be referred to in your answer: Examine the course of the river – is it straight or meandering? Is it in the upper, middle or lower section? What direction is the river flowing in? Are there any changes in direction? Look at the valley shape – is it V-shaped or is the river in its floodplain (contour lines will tell you). If it is a V-shaped valley the contour lines will be in a v-shape pointing uphill

3. Look at contour lines to work out the river’s speed eg if a river is flowing along flat ground, speed will be fairly slow. Look at the contour lines that pass underneath the river. Pick out features of the river eg meanders, ox-bow lakes, waterfall etc … quote 6-fig grid references.

4. Look at land use along the course of the river. How does it change? Think about farming, forestry, settlement, industry and lines of communications

5. River more than 8m wide V-shaped valley Floodplain River flowing down a steep gradient