Journey of a River – (adapted from The Royal Geographical Society)

Read through this document, it has photos to look at, information and activities to do. You can print it off at home if it is easier to see.

There are 5 activities to do, so you can do the work over 5/6 weeks.

Rivers, and the landscape that surrounds them, have different characteristics as they move from the upper course, into the middle and lower course.

Key Objectives

WALT: Understand how rivers are formed

WALT: Understand that the features of a river and the surrounding landscape change from source to mouth

Web Links: To ensure prior knowledge of the water cycle go to Crickweb; To download Google Earth

Look at the photographs below of the River Severn.

Wellesley College, Leica M8 and Voigtlander 15 f/4.5 LTM lens © Soe Lin, Flickr

Humber Bridge © Alex Liivet, Flickr

Each photograph shows the river at different points in its course.

What are the photographs showing? What does the landscape look like? What features can be seen? Is the surrounding land steep or flat? Is the river bed narrow or wide? How does the water change? Is the water turbulent or calm? What is the evidence that these bodies of water are rivers? (The photograph of the estuary

could be thought of as coastal)

The photographs are of the same river, the River Severn – the UK’s longest river. Explain that a river can take on different characteristics at different points in its course. These photographs show the River Severn in the upper course, middle course and at the lower course – where the Severn Estuary becomes tidal and eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the mud flats which signify that the tide is out. Locate the River Severn on Google Earth, or use an atlas.

Main Activity

Rivers can be divided into stages, the upper course, middle course and lower course.

The Upper Course:

High Force Waterfall © Lincoln Eye, Flickr Little Luckiamute River © Ian Sane, Flickr

Peru - Cusco Sacred Valley & Incan Ruins 153 - steep-sided Urubama valley © McKay Savage

What can you see? The source of a river is often in upland areas. Here, high levels of precipiation (rain and snow) combined with steep slopes and sparse vegetation result in water flowing overland.

The source of a river is often in upland areas. Here, high levels of precipiation (rain and snow) combined with steep slopes and sparse vegetation result in water flowing overland.

In the upper course the river bed is narrow and rocky. As it moves over rocks, the water becomes turbulent and appears fast-flowing. The water has enough energy to transport boulders and rocks in its swift current.

The river erodes downwards carving the valley floor. As the valley deepens the sides become unstable and collapse. Over time this leads to the formation of V-shaped valleys.

Waterfalls are also a feature of the upper course. The river can erode layers of soft rock, leaving behind an over-hang of harder rock. (The formation of waterfalls will be covered in greater depth in Lesson five).

Eventually, tributaries join together, feeding into the river, increasing its width and speed as it moves downhill.

The Middle Course:

Cuckmere Meander © Dave Moyes, Flickr

Thames Path © Gabriella Szekely, Flickr

As the land becomes flatter the river moves into its middle course. The river becomes wider and deeper and begins to loop and curve, or meander. The photograph of the meander on the River Cuckmore and the flat land near the River Itchen illustrate this well. You may also like to use Google Earth to see if you can show pupils a meander of a river near your school.

In the middle course the shape of the river is under constant change. The water erodes, transports and deposits soil and other material.

Erosion: This causes the wearing away of the river bank and river bed. Erosion occurs on the outside of the meander where the water is moving at its fastest. The water can also carve out, or undercut the river bank, taking rocks and soil away and leaving the river bank prone to collapse.

Transportation: Eroded material is then taken away downstream.

Deposition: Any eroded material is finally deposited. Deposition occurs on the inside of a meander, where the water is moving slowly.

View from above Cross section

The Lower Course: The land is very flat, with gentle, wide valleys – we are nearing sea level. The river will be at its widest here. Many rivers have estuaries, which are characterised by wide, flat land and a wide channel as the river flows into the sea. Deposition occurs at the estuary where the river deposits large amounts of material. At low tide this material a mixture of find sediment and mud is exposed. However, with the high tide these deposits are washed away by the sea.

Meandering River through the flat fields of Northwest Scotland © Ben-Benjamin

Thames Estuary © Quietloner, Flickr

ACTIVITIES: 1. Draw a diagram depicting/showing the journey of a river. The diagram should be annotated/labelled - add detail. Photograph it and email it to school.

Here is an example of one.

2. Make a 3-dimensional model of the course of a river. Photograph it and email it to school.

3. Find out more about how an oxbow lake is formed and write an explanation and illustrated diagram of one.

4. Draw a map of the UK and draw on it the major rivers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Remember to use a key. Take a photograph and email it to school.

5. Use an atlas to name and locate the longest rivers in each continent. Also, expect pupils to include countries and/or cities in which the source and mouth of each river is located. Name the five oceans.