Japurá River

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/japur-river

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is the Japurá River?2,820 kilometers (1,750 miles)
2. What is the river basin?Amazon Basin
3. What is the primary function?Major tributary contributing significant water volume and nutrients to the Amazon River
4. Where does the Japurá River start?It starts high in the Andes mountains of Colombia, where many small streams come together. From there it travels eastward through Brazil before meeting the Amazon.
5. Why is the Japurá River important for the Amazon?The river brings a lot of water to the Amazon, especially during the rainy season, helping keep the big river full. Its waters also refill the floodplain areas called várzea, which are home to many plants and animals.

Fluvial System: A network of rivers and streams that drain a particular area of land.
Várzea: Seasonally flooded alluvial forests found along the Amazon River and its major tributaries.
Hydrological Cycle: The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.