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Year 7 Geography — A river from source to sea

Follow a river from its source to its mouth and name the parts of the journey — tributary, confluence, valley, delta and basin — and say what the river does to the land along the way.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Which way does a river always flow?

    • a) Uphill in the wet season and downhill in the dry season
    • b) Northwards, whatever the shape of the land
    • c) Towards the nearest town
    • d) Downhill, from higher land towards lower land

  2. 2.Near its source a river wears away the rock it runs over and carries the pieces along with it. What is that wearing away called?

    • a) Condensation
    • b) Evaporation
    • c) Deposition
    • d) Erosion

  3. 3.Tap the confluence — the place where the tributary joins the main river.

    Write the number of the part.

    123456

  4. 4.Why does a river drop the mud and sand it has been carrying once it reaches low, flat land near the sea?

    • a) The river is shallower there, so it holds less of everything
    • b) The mud dissolves as soon as it nears salt water
    • c) The sea pushes the mud back up the river
    • d) It slows down there, and slow water cannot carry as much

  5. 5.The place where two rivers meet and join is called a ______.

  6. 6.Put these parts of a river's journey in order, starting where the river begins and ending where it stops.

    • A wide, slow stretch across low flat land
    • A spring high in the hills, where the river begins
    • A narrow, steep, fast stretch cutting a valley
    • The mouth, where the river empties into the sea

  7. 7.Match each word to what it means.

    • Source
    • Mouth
    • Tributary
    • Basin
    • Where a river empties into the sea
    • Where a river begins
    • All the land whose water drains into one river
    • A smaller stream that joins a bigger river

  8. 8.The place where a river ends, and its water empties into the sea, is called its ______.

Answer key — Year 7 Geography — A river from source to sea

  1. 1. d) Downhill, from higher land towards lower land
  2. 2. d) Erosion
  3. 3. 4 — The confluence
  4. 4. d) It slows down there, and slow water cannot carry as much
  5. 5. confluence
  6. 6. 1. A spring high in the hills, where the river begins 2. A narrow, steep, fast stretch cutting a valley 3. A wide, slow stretch across low flat land 4. The mouth, where the river empties into the sea
  7. 7. Source → Where a river begins; Mouth → Where a river empties into the sea; Tributary → A smaller stream that joins a bigger river; Basin → All the land whose water drains into one river
  8. 8. mouth