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Geography Quiz - River Landscapes 02 (Questions)

This is our second KS3 Geography quiz on river landscapes. Small rivers may also be called by other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, tributary and rill. Some are specific to geographic location, e.g. 'burn' in Scotland and north-east England. As these smaller water courses flow towards the sea, they may merge together, forming a larger river. The area in which water drains into a particular river is called a river basin. You may have heard of places like the Amazon basin, that is the whole of the area that supplies water that goes into the river Amazon.

In the early stages of a river, the bed is steep and the flow is fast. This means that large rocks can be transported. They are smashed into smaller and smaller pieces. Lower down the river, where the land is a lot flatter, the flow is slower and only the smallest particles called silt can be carried along. At the mouth of the river, where it meets the sea or flows into a lake, the silt is deposited as the river flow is slowed down even more. This can build up over a long period of time to form a delta.

1. What is the point where a river starts to flow?
[ ] Ketchup
[ ] Leak
[ ] Sauce
[ ] Source
2. Which is not a way for water to run into a river?
[ ] Contraflow
[ ] Groundwater flow
[ ] Surface runoff
[ ] Throughflow
3. What type of lakes are the remains of old meanders?
[ ] Longbow
[ ] Ox-bow
[ ] Remnant
[ ] Ribbon
4. Some river mouths have what feature?
[ ] Delta
[ ] Glacier
[ ] Gorge
[ ] Rapids
5. What is the correct term for the bottom of a river channel?
[ ] Base
[ ] Bed
[ ] Bum
[ ] Bunk
6. Which of the following can be formed by both deposition and erosion?
[ ] Levee
[ ] Ox-bow lake
[ ] V-shaped valley
[ ] Waterfall
7. A river deposit of very fertile material is called what?
[ ] Alluvium
[ ] Cap rock
[ ] Load
[ ] Moraine
8. The area drained by a river is the drainage…what?
[ ] Basin
[ ] Bowl
[ ] Plateau
[ ] Reservoir
9. Where would a plunge pool be found?
[ ] At the base of a waterfall
[ ] In a delta
[ ] Near the source
[ ] On a flood plain
10. High land separating two drainage basins has what name?
[ ] Border fell
[ ] Drainage spur
[ ] Watermark
[ ] Watershed

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Rivers and Water

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Geography Quiz - River Landscapes 02 (Answers)
1. What is the point where a river starts to flow?
[ ] Ketchup
[ ] Leak
[ ] Sauce
[x] Source
A source is often a spring where water can be seen coming out of the ground. Sometimes the flow of a spring is very low and it is just a marshy spot on the hillside with a small stream trickling away from its lowest point
2. Which is not a way for water to run into a river?
[x] Contraflow
[ ] Groundwater flow
[ ] Surface runoff
[ ] Throughflow
Contraflow is a way of controlling road traffic!
3. What type of lakes are the remains of old meanders?
[ ] Longbow
[x] Ox-bow
[ ] Remnant
[ ] Ribbon
Formed if the meander is cut off from the main river when the river flow rate is high e.g. during a flood
4. Some river mouths have what feature?
[x] Delta
[ ] Glacier
[ ] Gorge
[ ] Rapids
Low-lying land formed from deposited material
5. What is the correct term for the bottom of a river channel?
[ ] Base
[x] Bed
[ ] Bum
[ ] Bunk
The bed of a river in its early stages is usually rocky but in its final stages near its mouth, the river bed is usually mud
6. Which of the following can be formed by both deposition and erosion?
[ ] Levee
[x] Ox-bow lake
[ ] V-shaped valley
[ ] Waterfall
The river erodes a meander, which becomes more and more 'horseshoe' shaped. As the two ends of the 'horseshoe' meet, the river can break through, cutting off the meander from the flow of the river. Silt is then deposited at the ends of the meander as the flow is slower, creating the ox-bow lake
7. A river deposit of very fertile material is called what?
[x] Alluvium
[ ] Cap rock
[ ] Load
[ ] Moraine
Alluvial soil makes good farmland
8. The area drained by a river is the drainage…what?
[x] Basin
[ ] Bowl
[ ] Plateau
[ ] Reservoir
Some river basins can be huge
9. Where would a plunge pool be found?
[x] At the base of a waterfall
[ ] In a delta
[ ] Near the source
[ ] On a flood plain
It is an area where erosion is high and is situated where the water coming over the waterfall lands
10. High land separating two drainage basins has what name?
[ ] Border fell
[ ] Drainage spur
[ ] Watermark
[x] Watershed
Two rivers can have their sources only a few metres apart but if they are on opposite sides of a watershed, their mouths could be hundreds of kilometers apart