Rivers Highlights of some of the World’s Most Famous Rivers!

• This Power Point presentation contains information about some of the most famous rivers in the world!

• Students should use this presentation to help them with their rivers project!

• Remember, consider the manner in which these rivers affect their regions and the people who inhabit them (Human Environment Interaction)

• All information has been taken from our course textbook.

Directions

What Are Rivers? • River: a natural flow of water

that runs through the land (p.H10)

• Pictured right is the Charles River, the longest river located entirely in Massachusetts at approximately 80 miles long!

Essential Question

•List 2-3 reasons that might explain why the earliest human settlements chose to live near rivers?

Why Are Rivers Important? The Case of Ancient India!

• An Ancient Empire existed in modern India near the Indus River Valley from 3500 BCE- 1500 BCE

• This civilization may have had a population of up to 5 million people!

• Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were the two most significant urban centers which have been excavated by archaeologists

• This Empire extended from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea and included:

• Trade networks

• Systems of government

• Cities with paved roads and

• The world’s first sewer system!

• By 1500 BCE this civilization was gone!

• Where did it go?

• One theory which may explain the decline of the Empire involves climate change

• Modern satellite imagery confirms the remains of an ancient river bed which dried up around 1500 BCE

• It is possible that the shifting of this river forced migration towards the Ganges River plain, thus ending the Indus River civilization

Decline of the Indus River Civilization: 1500 BCE

The Great Rivers of the World! (The Shannon River in Ireland, pictured below)

Rivers of the Atlantic South American Region: The Amazon River

• The Amazon River

• World’s largest river system

• Flows eastward across Northern Brazil

• About 4,000 miles long

• Contains about 20% of all water that runs off the Earth’s surface

• Images of the Amazon on the next slide!

The Parana River

• Drains much of central South America

• Flows into Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic ocean

• The Rio de la Plata is an estuary

• Estuary- a partially enclosed body of water where freshwater mixes with salty seawater

Iguazu Falls: Part of the Parana River

Essential Question

•Locate the Rio de la Plata estuary

•Based on the location of this estuary, why does it make sense that an estuary combines salt water and fresh water?

Rivers of Caribbean South America Region: Orinoco River

•Region’s Largest River

•Flows from Venezuela through the Atlantic Ocean

Rivers of Central African Region: The Congo River

• Hundreds of smaller rivers drain Congo basin and flow into Congo river

• River empties into Atlantic Ocean

• Many rapids and waterfalls (especially near mouth)

• Impossible for ships to travel from interior of Cent. Africa to Atlantic

• Important transportation route in interior of continent

• Images of the rapids and waterfalls

Congo River Basin Landform

• Congo Basin

• Basin: a flat region surrounded by higher land such as mountains and plateaus

• Plateaus and low hills surround the Congo Basin

• List 3 adjectives to describe the Congo River Basin

• Images:

Zambezi River • Flows eastward

toward the Indian Ocean

• Most famous for:

• Victoria Falls

• List 3 adjectives to describe the Victoria Falls

Devil’s Pool • Shallow rock pool near edge of

falls

• Safe for swimming during September and December

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dQ8Pr2t6hQ

Rivers of the Western African Region: The Niger River

• Region’s most important river

• Starts in low mountains near Atlantic

• Flows 2,600 miles, empties into Gulf of Guinea

Life along the Niger • Provides life giving water

to region

• Many people farm and fish

• Important transportation route (especially in rainy season)

• River floods in rainy season

Rivers of the Northern African Region: The Nile River

• World’s Longest River

• Formed by the Blue and White Nile

• Flows Northward through Eastern Sahara

• Over 4,000 miles long

• Empties into Mediterranean Sea

Life Near the Nile River • For centuries rain to

the far South caused floods along Northern Nile

• Floods left rich silt in surrounding field

• Silt: finely ground fertile soil that is good for growing crops

Life Near the Nile River (cont) • Farmers use water from the

Nile to irrigate fields

• “Like an Oasis in the Desert”

• Nile forms large Delta near Med Sea

• Delta: landform at mouth of river that is created by deposit of sediment

• Sediment from Nile makes soil extremely fertile for farming

The Nile River Allowed Ancient Egypt to

develop into a Highly Advanced Civilization

Impact of the Nile: The Aswan High Dam!

• Completed in 1970

• Controls flooding along the Nile

• However, dam also traps silt!

• Today, some of Egypt’s farmers must use fertilizer to enrich soil!

Building project related to the Nile: The Suez Canal

• Built in the 1860s by the French

• Narrow waterway connecting the Mediterranean sea and the Red Sea

• Large Cargo ships carry oil and trade goods through the Suez Canal

Essential Question

•Based on the Map, list 2 reasons why closure of the Suez canal would hurt trade between Europe and Asia?

The Nile River & Lake Victoria

• Lake Victoria

• Africa’s Largest Lake

• White Nile river is formed by water that flows into Lake Victoria

• Some Lakes in the region are too hot for swimming!

• Images of Lake Victoria include:

Lake Victoria (Satellite)

Rivers of the Southern African Region

• 3 major rivers:

• Okavango

• Orange

• Limpopo

• Okavango’s water never reaches ocean

• Forms a swampy inland delta, home to:

• Crocodiles, Zebras and Hippos

Augrabies Falls

• Orange River passes through Augrabies Falls

• 19 separate waterfalls

• Limpopo river flows into Indian Ocean

• Waterfalls block ships from entering rivers

• Plenty of water to irrigate farmland

Rivers of Asia: China

• Huang He or Yellow River

• Flows across Northern China

• Picks up large amounts of loess along the way

• Loess: Fertile yellowish soil

• Soil colors the river yellow, hence:

• The Yellow River!

Huang He River: Impact

• Huang He often floods in the summer

• Floods enrich soil with loess but:

• Between the years 1887-1943 10 million people died in floods

• Due to floods, Huang He is also known as:

• China’s Sorrow

• 1931 flood: Killed between 1.7-3 million people

Chang Jiang or Yangzi River

• Chang Jiang or Yangzi River

• Flows across Central China

• Asia’s Longest River

• Major Transportation Route

• Essential Question:

• List 2 ways that living along these 2 rivers can affect life for the local population

Rivers of Asia: India

• The Ganges River

• 1,560 Miles Long

• Rises in the Himalayas Mountains and empties into the Bay of Bengal

• Supports hundreds of millions of people!

• Also very important religiously and spiritually for the native Indian religion of Hinduism

The Ganges River

Sources: • Images:

• http://cdn1.bostonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/charles-river-main.jpg

• http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BKvz5DlNviY/UDW_RFrrFnI/AAAAAAAABKQ/qg5a-7uotUE/s1600/64618881c9.png

• "Athlone" by Ingo Mehling - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Athlone.jpg#/media/File:Athlone.jpg

• http://www.all-about-india.com/images/ganges-map-simple.jpg

• "Varanasiganga" by Babasteve - http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=3267702&context=set-781175&size=o. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Varanasiganga.jpg#/media/File:Varanasiganga.jpg

• Information:

• http://www.britannica.com/place/Ganges-River

• Course Textbook