Question

america’s rivers. rivers usually offered easier means to inland areas than did land routes.
a river’s source is usually a spring, lake, or melting glacier located at high elevations in mountains or hills. a river flows downstream, from higher elevations toward lower elevations. upstream is the direction opposite the flow. when you look downstream, the right bank of the river is on your right, and the left bank is on your left.
as a river runs along its course, other streams join it. a river and all its tributaries— other large body of water. the river ends, or empties into a large body of water, is its mouth. a slow - moving river emptying into calm waters often builds a delta. a delta is a fan - shaped place of land made up of mud and sand deposited by the river.
below is a drawing of a river system. the items on the drawing locate features of the system. write the letter of the correct feature in the blank. then answer the questions that follow.
image of a river system with labels a - j and a compass rose
i 1. mouth f 3. upstream j 5. delta h 7. left bank
a 2. source e 4. downstream b 6. tributary g 8. right bank

1. how many tributaries does this river have? ______
2. which is at a higher elevation, point g or point h? ______
3. what feature shows that this is a slow - moving river emptying into calm waters?

______

1. would an explorer following a river inland from the coast travel upstream or downstream? explain your answer. ______

Explanation:

• Question 9: A tributary is a stream that joins a river. By counting the distinct streams (other than the main river) that flow into the main river in the diagram, we can determine the number of tributaries.
• Question 10: Rivers flow from higher elevations (source areas) toward lower elevations (mouth). Point G is closer to the mountainous (higher elevation) region compared to Point H (which is near the mouth - lower elevation area).
• Question 11: A delta is formed when a slow - moving river empties into a large body of water (like a lake or ocean). The sediment carried by the river is deposited, creating the fan - shaped delta.
• Question 12: Since rivers flow from inland (higher elevation) to the coast (lower elevation, near the mouth), an explorer going inland from the coast would be moving against the flow of the river. Upstream is the direction opposite to the river's flow.

Answer:

1. Three
2. Point G
3. Delta
4. Upstream. Because rivers flow from inland (higher elevation) to the coast (lower elevation), going inland from the coast is against the river's flow (upstream).