Worksheet 12 - River and Water Puzzles

Worksheet 12 - River and water puzzles

In the following pages you will find a number of fun puzzles from wordsearchs to crosswords and a ‘true or false’ quiz. Feel free to print and use any combination of these puzzles to suit your needs. The answers will be found at the end of all the puzzles.

/ Crossword
Solve the clues in the puzzle and fill the answers in to the appropriate numbered boxes.
/ Wordsearch
Look for the listed words in the grid. Words can be found running forwards or backwards, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Puzzle 1 – Filling in the blanks (answers at end of worksheets)

Use the words in the box to fill in the blanks.(answers at the end of worksheets)
rapids
channel
flows
dry up / riverbanks
flood
low
water / mouth
lake
transportation
tributaries / source
ocean
riverbed
waterfalls
A river is a body of water that ______from high ground to ______ground. The beginning of a river is called the ______. As a river flows down, other smaller rivers called ______join it and it becomes bigger.
The river flows in its ______. The bottom of the river is called the ______. The sides of the river are called the ______. Usually, the river stays in its channel but sometimes, after heavy rains, the river overflows its banks and there is a ______. At other times, during the summer or during a drought, some rivers ______completely and people can walk on the riverbed.
The river usually flows down to a ______or an ______. The place where the river meets the larger body of water is the end of the river and is called the ______.
Sometimes rivers flow very fast over rocks. These areas, which are called ______, are dangerous for boats. And sometimes, rivers flow over cliffs forming beautiful ______.
Rivers are very important for civilization. They provide ______for drinking and irrigation. As well, they were important routes for ______by boats in the past.
Across
1. A place where a river goes over a cliff.
4. Some river do this after heavy rains.
7. Fast flowing water that goes over rocks.
9. The end of a river; the place where it flows into a lake or ocean.
10. A flowing body of water.
12. Something that crosses a river.
13. The place where a river flows. / Down
2. The largest river in the world.
3. A river is a body of water that ______.
5. Some rivers do this during a drought.
6. The bottom of a river.
7. The side of a river.
8. The start of a river.
11. The longest river in the world.

Puzzle 2 – Water Crossword (answers at the end of the worksheets)

Puzzle 3 – Rivers Crossword (answers at the end of worksheets)

Across
3. A manmade construction that is used to block a river.
4. The start of a river.
8. The kind of lake formed when a river meanders.
9. A river is a body of water that ______.
12. The place where a river flows.
13. A flowing body of water.
15. The side of a river.
17. Some rivers do this during a drought.
18. Something that crosses a river.
19. Dirt rocks or sand that is carried by a river. / Down
1. Some river do this after heavy rains.
2. The largest river in the world.
5. The process of wearing away the riverbed or riverbanks by the river.
6. The longest river in the world.
7. The end of a river; the place where it flows into a lake or ocean.
10. A place where a river goes over a cliff.
11. Go back and forth.
14. An area at the river's mouth where saltwater from the ocean and freshwater from the river meet.
16. Fast flowing water that goes over rocks.
17. A triangular shaped island at the mouth of a river that is formed from river sediments.
18. The bottom of a river.

Puzzle 4 – Watercycle Crossword (answers at the end of worksheets)

Across
1. Water going back to the sky (11)
6. Wet and falls from the sky (4)
8. Water that doesn’t soak into the
ground becomes this (3,3)
9. A lake or reservoir would be an example of this (7)
12. Technical word for “soaking in” (12)
13. The level water naturally sinks to (5,5) / Down
2. Word that could describe any form of
water falling from the sky (13)
3. Water vapour joins together to form droplets (12)
4. Plants “sweating” (13)
5. Water dribbling down through the rock (11)
7. Moisture below the surface (6,5)
10. Large expanse of water covers much of the planet (3)
11. Small ice crystals falling from the sky (4)

Puzzle 5 – River/Water related quiz

Answer the following questions with either True or False (answers at the end of worksheets)

1. The River Nile is the longest river in the world?

1. Rivers normally contains saltwater?

1. Small rivers usually have different names such as, creek, brook, stream?

1. The word “Upstream” means the direction where the water is flowing to? (From)

1. The second longest river is located in South America?

1. Water covers half (1/2) of the earth’s surface?

1. Most of the world’s big cities are located near the banks of rivers?

1. The River Ravensbourne is 5 miles long?

1. The amount of water on earth has remain the same for 2 billion years?

1. The Mouth of a river is where a river starts?

1. A Tributary means when little streams & rivers joins a big river?

1. Headwater is the place where a river ends?

1. Estuary is the place where freshwater meets & mix with saltwater?

1. The Ravensbourne river flows through 3 London boroughs?

1. The Ravensbourne river starts from Lewisham?

1. The River Ravensbourne is a tributary of River Thames?

1. A confluence is the meeting point of two of more bodies of water meets?

1. Water can be found in 3 different states/forms ?

1. The Ravensbourne river joins the River Thames at Catford?

1. Valleys are created by water?

Puzzle 6 – River wordsearch

Find the water WORDS below in the grid ABOVE:
Amazon / Bed / Channel / Dam / Delta
Dry up / Erosion / Estuary / Flood / Meader
Mouth / Nile / Oxbow lake / Rapids / River
Riverbank / Sediment / Source / Stream / Waterfall

Puzzle 7 – River wordsearch

Find the water WORDS below in the grid ABOVE:
River / Dry up / Amazon / Rapids / Riverbank
Flow / Mouth / Source / Stream / Waterfall
Flood / Bridge / Nile / Channel / Bed
Sediment / Confluence / Deposition / Tributary / Transportation
Find the bodies of water below in the grid ABOVE:
Bay / Cove / Creek / Geyser / Inlet
Lagoon / Lake / Marsh / Oasis / Ocean
Pond / Pool / Puddle / River / Sea
Straight / Stream / Swamp / Tide pool / Waterfall

Puzzle 8 – Water wordsearch

Puzzle 9 – Word descriptions

There are bodies of water all over our planet. Describe the different bodies of water using the words small, large, fresh, salt, deep, shallow, protected, still, and flowing. Try to use at least two adjectives per description.

(Note: ‘fresh’ and ‘salt’ can be combined with ‘water’ as freshwater, saltwater).

A sea

/ Is a large body of salt water
A lake
A river
A pond
A stream
An ocean
A puddle
A bay

A creek

A cove
An inlet
A lagoon
An oasis
A tide pool

Puzzle 10 – An introduction to rivers – Questionnaire (answers at the end of the worksheets)

Using your General Knowledge, answer the following associated river questions.

1.What is a River?

2.List 3 Rivers you know around the world:

1.) / 2.) / 3.)

3.List 3 uses of Rivers:

1.) / 2.) / 3.)

4.Why are rivers important?

5.What is a River Source

6.What is a Mouth of a river?

7.Does a river look the same in the Beginning and the End?

8.What is a Tributary?

9.What is a Meander? (draw a picture of a meander)

10.What is the longest river in Africa?

11.What is the longest river in South America?

12.Which continent has no rivers?

Puzzle 11 – Water Cycle – Questionnaire (answers at the end of the worksheets)

1. The water cycle is the Earth's way of;

Getting rid of water
Recycling water
Using up all of our water
Cleaning our water

2. There are ____ stages in the water cycle.

2
3
4
5

3. The water cycle begins with ______.

Condensation
Evaporation
Precipitation
Trick question-the water cycle has no beginning or end

4. When the Sun heats up the puddle of water in your backyard and turns it into water vapour, this process is known as ______.

Condensation
Evaporation
Precipitation
Collection

5. When you look outside & it’s raining, the water falling down is in what stage of the water cycle?
Evaporation
Collection
Condensation
Precipitation

6. In what stage of the water cycle would you see clouds forming?

Collection
Condensation
Precipitation
Evaporation

7. In the collection stage of the water cycle, water finds itself back in oceans, streams, and rivers by way of ______.

The suction force that comes from large bodies of water
Gravity and the fact that things tend to flow downhill
Animals that carry the water back
People

8. As time goes by, water goes through the water cycle again and again, the amount of water on Earth ______.

Increases
Decreases
Stays the same
Goes up and down

9. The water that was around when dinosaurs roamed the Earth:

Is gone, and has been for a long time
Is about halfway gone
Is the same water we use today
Would be really dirty if it were still around

10. Once water makes it all the way through the water cycle, the water ______.
Starts the cycle over again
Has beaten that cycle and moves on to a more advanced cycle
Is done with its journey
Can take a break for awhile

ANSWERS

Puzzle 1 – Filling in the blanks (answers)

Use the words in the box to fill in the blanks.(answers at the end of worksheets)
rapids
channel
flows
dry up / riverbanks
flood
low
water / mouth
lake
transportation
tributaries / source
ocean
riverbed
waterfalls
A river is a body of water that FLOWS from high ground to LOW ground. The beginning of a river is called theSOURCE. As a river flows down, other smaller rivers called TRIBUTARIES join it and it becomes bigger.
The river flows in itsCHANNEL. The bottom of the river is called the RIVERBED. The sides of the river are called the RIVERBANKS. Usually, the river stays in its channel but sometimes, after heavy rains, the river overflows its banks and there is a FLOOD. At other times, during the summer or during a drought, some rivers DRY UP completely and people can walk on the riverbed.
The river usually flows down to a LAKE or an OCEAN. The place where the river meets the larger body of water is the end of the river and is called the MOUTH.
Sometimes rivers flow very fast over rocks. These areas, which are called RAPIDS, are dangerous for boats. And sometimes, rivers flow over cliffs forming beautiful WATERFALLS.
Rivers are very important for civilization. They provide WATER for drinking and irrigation. As well, they were important routes for TRANSPORTATION by boats in the past.

Puzzle 2 – Water Crossword (answers)

Across
1. A place where a river goes over a cliff.Waterfall
4. Some river do this after heavy rains. Flood
7. Fast flowing water that goes over rocks.Rapids
9. The end of a river; the place where it flows into a lake or ocean. Mouth
10. A flowing body of water.
12. Something that crosses a river.Bridge
13. The place where a river flows.Channel / Down
2. The largest river in the world.Amazon
3. A river is a body of water that Flows.
5. Some rivers do this during a drought.Dryup
6. The bottom of a river. Bed
7. The side of a river.River bank
8. The start of a river.Source
11. The longest river in the world.Nile
Across
3. A manmade construction that is used to block a river.Dam
4. The start of a river.Source
8. The kind of lake formed when a river meanders.
Oxbow lake
9. A river is a body of water that Flows.
12. The place where a river flows.Channel
13. A flowing body of water.River
15. The side of a river.River bank
17. Some rivers do this during a drought.Dryup
18. Something that crosses a river.Bridge
19. Dirt rocks or sand that is carried by a river.
Sediment / Down
1. Some river do this after heavy rains.Flood
2. The largest river in the world.Amazon
5. The process of wearing away the riverbed or riverbanks by the river.
6. The longest river in the world.Nile
7. The end of a river; the place where it flows into a lake or ocean.Mouth
10. A place where a river goes over a cliff.Waterfall
11. Go back and forth.Meander
14. An area at the river's mouth where saltwater from the ocean and freshwater from the river meet.Estuary
16. Fast flowing water that goes over rocks.Rapids
17. A triangular shaped island at the mouth of a river that is formed from river sediments.
Delta
18. The bottom of a river. Bed

Puzzle 3 – Rivers Crossword (answers)

Puzzle 4 – Watercycle Crossword (answers)

Across
1. Water going back to the sky (11)Evaporation
6. Wet and falls from the sky (4)Rain
8. Water that doesn’t soak into the
ground becomes this (3,3)Runoff
9. A lake or reservoir would be an example of this (7)Storage
12. Technical word for “soaking in” (12)Infiltration
13. The level water naturally sinks to (5,5)Water table / Down
2. Word that could describe any form of
water falling from the sky (13)Precipitation
3. Water vapour joins together to form droplets (12)Condensation
4. Plants “sweating” (13)Transpiration
5. Water dribbling down through the rock (11)Percolation
7. Moisture below the surface (6,5)Ground water
10. Large expanse of water covers much of the planet (3)Sea
11. Small ice crystals falling from the sky (4)Snow

Puzzle 5 – River/Water related quiz (answers)

1.The River Nile is the longest river in the world? True

2.Rivers normally contains saltwater? False (freshwater)

3.Small rivers usually have different names such as, creek, brook, stream? True

4.The word “Upstream” means the direction where the water is flowing to? False (From)

5.The second longest river is located in South America? True (Amazon river)

6.Water covers half (1/2) of the earth’s surface? False (3/4)

7.Most of the world’s big cities are located near the banks of rivers? True

8.The River Ravensbourne is 5 miles long? False (11 miles)

9.The amount of water on earth has remain the same for 2 billion years? True

10.The Mouth of a river is where a river starts? False (ends)

11. A Tributary means when little streams & rivers joins a big river? True

12. Headwater is the place where a river ends? False (starts)

13. Estuary is the place where freshwater meets & mix with saltwater?True

14. The Ravensbourne river flows through 3 London boroughs? True (Bromley, Lewisham & Greenwich)

15.The Ravensbourne river starts from Lewisham? False (Bromley – Caesars well/ Keston)

16.The River Ravensbourne is a tributary of River Thames? True

17. A confluence is the meeting point of two of more bodies of water meets? True

18. Water can be found in 3 different states/forms ? True (Gas – vapour / liquid – water / solid - ice)

19. The Ravensbourne river joins the River Thames at Catford? False (Deptford Creek – Greenwich)

20. Valleys are created by water? True

Puzzle 10 – An introduction to rivers – Questionnaire (answers)

Using your General Knowledge, answer the following associated river questions.

1.What is a River?

2.List 3 Rivers you know around the world: There are many to chose from!

1.) Thames / 2.) Loire / 3.) Danube

3.List 3 uses of Rivers: There are many to chose from!

1.) Fishing / 2.) Canoeing / 3.) Sailing

4.Why are rivers important?

5.What is a River SourceWhere a river starts

6.What is a Mouth of a river? The end of a river, where it flows in to a bigger body of water eg. and ocean or lake

7.Does a river look the same in the Beginning and the End?No

8.What is a Tributary?a stream/river which feeding a larger stream/river

9.What is a Meander? (draw a picture of a meander)

A bend in the river.

As the river erodes, to the right side then the left side, it forms large bends, and then horseshoe-like loops called meanders

10.What is the longest river in Africa?The Nile

11.What is the longest river in South America? The Amazon

12.Which continent has no rivers?Antarctica

Puzzle 11 – Water Cycle – Questionnaire (answers)

1.Recycling water

2.4

3.Trick question-the water cycle has no beginning or end

4.Evaporation

5.Precipitation

6.Condensation

7.Gravity and the fact that things tend to flow downhill

8.Stays the same

9.Is the same water we use today

10.Starts over again