Bill Nye – Video “Rivers
and Bodies of Water”
Notes from the Video:
ü River = flowing water downhill
ü Water always flows downhill
ü Water erodes and shapes the land
ü As more water flows it creates channels
ü Rill = start of a river (small streams built from drips of water)
ü Streams meet to form rivers
ü Rivers constantly push rocks and soil downstream
ü Ecosystems exist around rivers
ü Fresh water mixes with salt water; ecosystems depend on this
ü Rivers do NOT run straight; they’re constantly changing direction
ü Meander is the name for the river bending back and forth across the
landscape
ü The older the river the more it bends / meanders
ü Rocks can change the direction of water (eg. Rapids in a shallow river or
stream)
ü Dried up rivers create gullies
ü Hydrologist – a scientist that studies rivers and water systems
ü Industries have sprung up near water & rivers over history
ü Waterfalls are formed by erosion – the soft rock gets eroded and the hard
rock layers are left
ü Grand Canyon in the United States of America were made by the Colorado
River
ü Humans create “dams” in the river to create hydroelectric power
ü Hoover Dam – is man-made and creates hydroelectric power….it affects the
ecosystems around it
ü When rivers churn, they oxygenate the water
ü Continental Divide – an area of high elevation that divides the continent
based on the direction of water flow
ü Humans have a huge impact on river systems – both positive (restoring
habitats, helping to keep the rivers clean etc) and negative (littering,
dumping waste & chemicals etc.)
