What is a RIVER????

What is a river?

A river is a natural waterway on the Earth's surface, which channels freshwater from the mountains to the sea.

Rivers begin as small trickles of water up in the mountains. This is its source, and it eventually forms a small stream which then flows down the mountain. The water erodes the land, carving a bigger channel and forms the main river.

Upstream areas are characterized by steep V-shaped valleys, waterfalls, and fast flowing water among boulders and rocks. In the middle part, the river winds its way slowly through the flatter land, and continues to widen its channel by meandering and depositing material that is too heavy to carry in the water. As it makes its way out to the sea, it flows even more slowly and starts to deposit even more material in and around its own channel. At its mouth, where the river meets the sea, there is a sudden drop in velocity, and all the material that was being carried in the water column is deposited right there. As the material builds up from continuous deposition, the mouth of the river gets blocked and the river has to find new outlets into the sea by carving new streams wherever it can. This is the formation process of a delta and is characteristic of all river mouth areas.

by Mad Lillah.....