Year 5's quiz on Beginning river features

What part of a river do you think is being shown here?

• River source

• River mouth

• Meander

• Delta

This is the Amazon river. Wow! How come it is able to run through so many countries?

• Because it's really long and winding

• Because it has lots of meanders that stretch and curve into other countries

• It has many, many tributaries that come from all parts of South America

• water from waterfalls splash down and destroy the rainforest

This is a satellite photo of a section of the Amazon. What THREE river features can you physically notice?

• The river mouth

• Waterfalls

• Meanders

• Tributaries

I'm sure you'll recognise this! This is Dotonbori in Osaka. How do we know that the waterway here is an artificial canal, not a natural river?

• Because there are buildings next to it

• Someone's managed to build a bridge across it

• It's perfectly straight without any curves or meanders

• Because the water's moving slowly

The Victoria falls, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa. Wow, what a sight! If we come back in a few thousand years, what will have changed?

• Nothing. Nature is eternal

• The rocks you can see around it would all have become smoother because of erosion

• The waterfall would've cut further back into the mountain because of erosion

• The area below would fill with water and eventually create a lake

At the LEFT of this picture you will see an 'oxbow lake' - it's no longer part of the river but is a lake by itself. How do you think it was formed?

• It's a dead meander. The river curved too much and a meander broke off, then the river carried on next to it

• The trees in the middle of it are too tough so erosion can't destroy them

• It's the remains of an ancient waterfall that became cut off from the river

• It was once a circular lake, but trees are growing back from one side

Which direction does a river flow?

• Towards the source

• Towards the nearest lake

• Towards the place wit hthe softest rock

• Towards the mouth

Where would a river usually be widest?

• At the mouth

• At the source

• Somewhere in between

• It's always the same width