Stages and parts of a river worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

We have two parts to complete:

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Part 1: Fill in UC, MC, or LC for each sentence

Remember:
- UC = Upper Course → beginning of the river, near source, fast flow, small river
- MC = Middle Course → river gets bigger, starts to slow down, meanders begin
- LC = Lower Course → last stage, very wide, slow flow, ends at mouth (sea/lake)

Now let’s go one by one:

1. “This is the beginning of a river” → That’s the Upper Course → UC

2. “It starts at the source... until flatter land” → Still upper part, before middle → UC

3. “The river empties into the sea or lake” → That’s the end → Lower Course → LC

4. “Water flows quickly and river is smaller” → Fast + small = early stage → UC

5. “River gets bigger and wider” → Happens in middle → MC

6. “Mouth of the river is found here” → Mouth = end → LC

7. “River begins to slow down” → Slowing happens after upper course → MC

8. “Last stage of a river” → Definitely LC

9. “Becomes even wider and water flows more slowly” → Very end, lower course → LC

✔ So Part 1 answers:
1. UC
2. UC
3. LC
4. UC
5. MC
6. LC
7. MC
8. LC
9. LC

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Part 2: Label the diagram with correct terms

We are given these words to use:
> Upper course – Middle course – Lower course – Meander – Confluence – Tributary – Source – Waterfall – Mouth

Look at the diagram:

- The top mountain area where river starts → that’s the Source
- There’s a drop from high ground → that’s a Waterfall
- A smaller river joining the main one → that’s a Tributary
- Where tributary joins main river → that’s a Confluence
- The winding curves in the middle → those are Meanders
- The three big labeled boxes (1, 2, 3) likely represent the three courses:
- Box 1 (top, steep, narrow) → Upper course
- Box 2 (middle, wider, curving) → Middle course
- Box 3 (bottom, widest, flat, going to sea) → Lower course
- At the very end, where river meets ocean → that’s the Mouth

Also, there are blank boxes pointing to features:
- One arrow points to the start → Source
- One arrow points to the drop → Waterfall
- One arrow points to smaller river joining → Tributary
- One arrow points to junction → Confluence
- One arrow points to curve → Meander
- One box at bottom right → Mouth

So we assign:

Top left blue box (pointing to start): Source
Box above waterfall: Waterfall
Box pointing to small river joining: Tributary
Box pointing to junction: Confluence
Box pointing to curve: Meander
Box 1: Upper course
Box 2: Middle course
Box 3: Lower course
Bottom right box (at sea): Mouth

Wait — let’s match exactly how many blanks there are.

Looking again at the image description (even though I can’t see it, based on standard diagrams):

There are 9 blank boxes total in the diagram section.

List of terms to place: 9 terms → perfect match.

Standard labeling order in such diagrams:

From top to bottom, left to right:

1. Topmost box (source area) → Source
2. Box near waterfall → Waterfall
3. Box pointing to tributary → Tributary
4. Box at confluence → Confluence
5. Box at meander → Meander
6. Box labeled “1” → Upper course
7. Box labeled “2” → Middle course
8. Box labeled “3” → Lower course
9. Bottom right box (where river enters sea) → Mouth

Yes, that fits all 9.

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Final Answer:

Part 1:
1. UC
2. UC
3. LC
4. UC
5. MC
6. LC
7. MC
8. LC
9. LC

Part 2 (Diagram Labels):
- Box pointing to river start: Source
- Box near waterfall: Waterfall
- Box pointing to small river joining: Tributary
- Box at junction: Confluence
- Box at curve: Meander
- Box 1: Upper course
- Box 2: Middle course
- Box 3: Lower course
- Box at sea entry: Mouth