BLOGLET FOUR - June 2006

Last week I went on a big boat across the sea. This week we have been staying in a place where there is a big river. Most rivers go to the sea so there is a connection between my last two weeks. You can see a picture of the river I was staying near. Unfortunately on the day Richard wanted to take pictures it was raining so I didn't get out of the campervan. You can still look at the pictures but you can't see me. If you want to cross a river you have to use a bridge or go by boat. In the picture is a road bridge. You can also see two ducks on the river. Rivers can flow for a long distance. See if you can find out which is the longest river in the world. I can tell you it goes a very long way. What is the longest river in your country?

Where a river starts is called its source. Rivers will usually start up in the mountains and are formed from falling rain or water trickling out of the hillside. At first it will just be a stream but as it goes faster and gets wider it is called a river. It will try and take the shortest route down to the sea or maybe into a lake. Sometimes rivers can get so high that they will overflow on to the ground around them. This is called flooding. If you live near a river it is a good idea to have your house on high ground. Some of these buildings are quite close to the river but a bank or a wall between them and the water.

Boats can go along the rivers taking people and goods. The picture shows a paddle steamer on the river near me. You can see the smoke coming out of the funnel as it gets ready to move. In the last picture, if you look very closely, you can see a pole sticking out of the water with numbers on it. This tells people how deep the river is so they can be aware of when it is getting close to the flood level.