River

Rivers tend to be flowing bodies of water from higher to lower elevations. They can be confused with rapids which are usually found in small parts of rivers. When classifying a river, there should be a noticeable flow, with the waterbody not appearing to be at a standstill like a lake or a pond. In other words, no calm or still reflection. Rivers will not have white water since those are involved with rapids which means the river should not have many rocks to form rapids.

The direction of the flow will be "downhill from the force of gravity" and tend towards the coast, as others waterbodies like sea or lake flow towards the coast. In the case of more quickly flowing rivers to the coast, these "fast-flowing rivers carry pebbles, sand, and silt," and "as the river begins to slow down—as in a wetland or where the river widens, such as at the mouth—these sediments sink and build up to form deltas." Additionally, "rivers that overflow their banks also deposit sediment in the surrounding flood plain." The colors of rivers can change due to the weather and soil makeup but blue, brown, and grey are the main ones [1].

The biggest takeaways for rivers are the flow and absence of rocks and white water. These rivers are unison in color. Lastly, rivers are often used for "irrigation in agriculture" and to "produce electricity through hydroelectric dams" with less massive hydroelectric dams than in the case of larger reservoirs [1].

References

[1] National Geographic Society. (2019, July 30). River. Retrieved (2021, July 21), from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/river/