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River Patterns Water

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River Patterns
Print River Patterns Reading Comprehension with Fifth Grade Work

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Print River Patterns Reading Comprehension

Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.49

Vocabulary

challenging words:

annular, dendritic, leaf-shaped, recede, trellis, concentric, racket, radial, drainage, bedrock, floodplains, oxbow, spokes, magma, circular, radiate

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River Patterns By Trista L. Pollard

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¹     What is wet and always running? It isn't soggy mechanical sneakers; it's a river! The rivers of the world have one thing in common - they are always flowing. However, did you know that there are different types of river channel patterns and river drainage patterns? Channel patterns are the paths that rivers cut through land. Drainage patterns are patterns that rivers form when their water drains into larger bodies of water, like oceans. Let's take a plunge into the world of rivers.
 
²     The most uncommon river channel pattern is a straight river. Straight river channels are extremely rare in nature. They are most often man-made. Most rivers do not have straight river banks or sides. When riverbanks are straight, the water in the deepest part of the river moves from side to side along the river bottom. Sediment is deposited on both sides, and eventually, this forms bars of sediments. As a result, shallow areas and deep pools begin to develop in the river, naturally changing the straight river channel into a meandering pattern over time.
 
³     Meandering rivers usually flow through relatively flat areas where flooding is common. A meander is a sharp loop or bend in a river's course. Imagine a snake gliding along a sandy path. If you were to view a meandering river from the sky, it would look like a wet snake zigzagging through the land. As the water flows through curves on the deepest part of the channel, the water flowing on the outside of the curve moves faster than the water on the inside of the curve. The fast-moving water gradually erodes or wears away the outside bank. The eroded sediment is carried away by the water. Fast-moving water can carry more sediment than slow-moving water. As sediment-carrying water slows around the inside banks of a river, the sediment falls out of the water and is deposited on the floor of the river. The sediment builds up the inside bank making it move toward the river.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

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