This document provides information about how rivers change from their source to mouth, including definitions of river terms and stages. It discusses the upper, middle, and lower stages of a river and defines factors like erosion, gradient, depth, velocity, width, volume, and landforms. It also examines the river drainage system and provides examples about the River Severn and its source, upper course, middle course, and lower course.

1. 25 November, 2014 How do rivers change from their source to
the mouth?
Check that you have made two predictions:
Write two sentences for each:
– Name size, height and what you’d see.
– What will the land be used for?

2. Star Question
How do the following link:
Source of a river
Higher marks are awarded for linking topics together.
In this case weather and climate and rivers.

5. Homework
4th December 2014
SAMLearning task – how rivers shape the land
Centre ID: BN1PB
Username: Forename initial, Surname initial,
DDMMYY of DoB

6. Stages of a River
Source
Mouth
1. Use the text
book to find
definitions of
Factor and definition: Upper Stage Middle Stage Lower Stage
Erosion
Gradient
Depth
Velocity
Width
Volume
Landforms

7. Factor and definition:
Erosion The wearing away of rock and soil by rivers and the coast.
Gradient Steepness of a slope
Depth How deep a river is, measured in centimetres
Velocity The speed and direction of a river, measured in m/sec
Width How wide a river is, measured in meters
Volume How much water is discharged by the river, measured in cumecs
Landforms Distinctive features found along a river – e.g. waterfall.

8. What is the river drainage system?
Starter: Write a description what the start of the River Amazon looks like.
The Amazon – the world’s
greatest river – which follows the
route through the Earth’s largest
forest, as the most bio-diverse
habitat on the planet and is
home to some of the most
remote tribes on Earth.

10. Source: Where a river starts

11. Watershed: the high land that separates
two drainage basins

13. The source
Describe the landscape
and landforms
Describe how the river
and land is used

14. The upper course – The River Severn

16. Tributary: A small river that flows into a
large river
Confluence: The point where two rivers
meet

17. The Middle course of the River Severn
2

18. Mouth: the end of a river where it flows into a
lake or the sea

19. The mouth
Describe the landscape
and landforms
Describe how the river
and land is used

20. The Lower Course of the River Severn

21. • Explain why people build on flood plains. (1)
(Simple point.)
• What effect does this have on the hydrological
cycle? (3) (complex sentence, PEE)
• Describe the main changes of a river between
its source and mouth (4) (4 simple comparative
statements, no opposites)

22. How do rivers shape the land
• Quiz.
• 10 photos
• State the stage of the river (Upper, Middle,
Lower) or River Basin feature

23. 1.
Feature

24. 2.
Stage

25. 3.
Stage

26. 4.
Feature and Stage

27. 5.
Stage

28. 6.
Stage

29. 7.
Feature x2

30. 8.
Feature and stage

31. 9.

32. 10.
Stage

33. The river basin system
• Geog.GCSE
• Page 67
• Questions 1 and 2

34. Amazon
• Watch the film clip
• Take notes on the River Amazon
• Describe the landscape, landforms and how
the river + the land is used.