Geography For Schools

The Cambridge online dictionary defines a river as "a natural wide flow of fresh water across the land into the sea, lake or another river".

Rivers flow from a higher altitude to a lower altitude due to gravity

Rivers are important shapers of the land because of the following;

• They move material (the load) from one place to another: transport
• They remove material: erosion
• They leave material: deposit

Because of erosion, transportation and deposition, rivers are dynamic and constantly changing.

The bottom of the river is called the river bed and the sides of the river are called the river banks.