What is a River?

A River is a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another water body.

Important Characteristics of Rivers:

� Rivers normally contain freshwater.
� Rivers are found on every continent and nearly every kind of land.
� A river begins at a source (or more often several sources), follows a path called a course, and ends at a mouth or mouths. The passage where the river flows is called the river bed and the earth on each side is called a riverbank.
� The movement of water in rivers is called a current. The current is usually strongest near the river�s source.
� Rivers can flow down mountains, through valleys or along plains, and can create canyons or gorges. Some flow all year round. Others flow seasonally or during wet years.
� A river may be only kilometers long, or it may span much of a continent.
� Rivers and their tributaries are the veins of the planet, pumping freshwater to wetlands and lakes and out to sea.
� Rivers have always been important to people. In prehistoric times, people settled along the banks of rivers, where they found fish to eat and water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.
� Rivers are the cradles of civilization. All the major civilizations such as the Mesopotamian, Indus Valley, the Egyptian and the Chinese civilizations have developed on the banks of rivers.
� Centuries later, rivers provided routes for trade, exploration, and settlement.
� Rivers continue to provide transportation routes, water for drinking and for irrigating farmland, and power for homes and industries.

Fun Facts About Rivers

� 18 countries do not have a single river.
� Bangladesh, known as �the land of the rivers� with over 700 rivers.
� Russia has more rivers than any other country. Research says it has around 100,000 rivers.
� The oldest river in the United States is named the New River. It runs through North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Read More: Rivers Of The World: Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, Mississippi and Other