The River Course

What is The River Course?

Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains The River Course. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.

Check that you can explain The River Course in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding The River Course helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.

The River Course in detail

A river changes from source to mouth. In the upper course, the channel is narrow and shallow with large angular boulders, a steep gradient and high erosion. In the middle course, the river widens and deepens, with more water and smaller stones, and begins to meander.

In the lower course, the river is wide and deep with a flat gradient, fine silt and clay, and large meanders, and it deposits more than it erodes. Velocity generally increases downstream because the channel is smoother and more efficient, even though the slope is lower. The long profile shows the change in gradient, and the cross profile shows the shape of the valley.

How the interactive helps you understand The River Course

Click a step, or use the Previous and Next buttons, to move through the sequence one stage at a time. Auto-play moves on for you.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of The River Course.

Real-life uses and examples

• Describe a real place where The River Course can be seen, using a map or photograph.
• Explain how The River Course affects people, jobs and land use in a region.
• Support an answer about The River Course with a named case study and specific evidence.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing general statements without a named place or example.
• Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain The River Course.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.