Rivers - Where does a river end?

oxbow lake

Eventually a river meets the sea and the place where it does is called the mouth. The last of the mud is deposited at the river’s mouth. A wide mouth is called an estuary. Some estuaries are enormous – the estuary of the Amazon is 333 kilometres wide!

Sometimes a lowland river winds so much that the looping meanders almost touch. The river may eventually erode away the narrow area of land between two loops so that its course runs straight and a horseshoe-shaped area of water is stranded – an ox-bow lake.

Table of Contents

Rivers and the Water Cycle

How does a river start?

Where does a river end?

Humans Influence on Rivers

Why Britain's rivers are at risk

Life in a Lowland River

Life at the Bottom

Bird Life on the River

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