Fresh and Saltwater Systems: Checkpoint 3/4 Flashcards
What is freshwater?
Naturally occurring water that lacks the salt content found in seawater
List four examples of precipitation
rain snow sleet fog/dew etc.
True or False: higher elevations have higher tempertures and less precipitation
False! It has much higher precipitations and much lower tempertures.
What is a glacier?
Large moving bodies of ice, glaciers can be many meters or even kilometres thick, and they store vast amounts of freshwater.
Glaciers that cover a large area of land are known as?
Continental Glaciers/ Ice Caps
When the temperture is warmer, the glacier is advancing or retreating?
retreating
When the temperture is cooler, the glacier is advancing or retreating?
advancing
Some glacier features include what four things?
Moraines
Eskers
Drumlins
Kettle lakes
What is a watershed?
An area of land that drains into one main lake or river. The “vertical edges” of a watershed are elevated areas
What is the continenetal divide?
The highest point of land on a continent; rivers flow into different oceans depending on which side of the divide they begin.
Where do most streams originate?
At higher grounds/elevations
In the erosion zone of a river, what is the speed of the water and what is the size of the sediments?
very fast and the size of the sediments are very large
In the transfer zone of a river, what is the speed of the water and what happens to the sediment?
moderate and the sediment is carried down the river
In the Depositional zone of a river, what is the speed of the water and what happens to the sediment?
very slow and the sediments collect and deposit at the end of the river.
What is a river delta?
A landform created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth and enters slower-moving water (ex. lake, ocean)
