Fresh and Saltwater Systems Vocab

Question 1

Freshwater

Answer 1

Water with a low amount of dissolved salts. Humans can drink freshwater if it is clean.

Ex: rain, lakes, rivers, ponds, and tap water

Question 2

Saltwater

Answer 2

Water with a high amount of dissolved salts.
• Most of the Earth’s water is saltwater. Humans cannot drink saltwater.
Ex: oceans and seas

Question 3

Surface Water

Answer 3

Water that we can see above ground. Most of the Earth’s water is visible on the surface.

Ex: rivers, lakes and streams

Question 4

Groundwater

Answer 4

Water that we are unable to see because it is underground. A lot of Earth’s freshwater is underground.

Ex: well water

Question 5

Potable

Answer 5

Water that is safe to dirnk.

Question 6

Water Quantity

Answer 6

Refers to the amount of water available for use.

Question 7

Water Quantity

Answer 7

Refers to the amount of water available for use.

Question 8

Water Quality

Answer 8

Refers to how pure the water is.

Question 9

Water Management

Answer 9

The balance between maintaining water quality and water quantity.

Question 10

Retreating Glacier

Answer 10

If the glacier melts faster than it is replaced by new ice

Question 11

Advancing Glacier

Answer 11

If ice builds up faster than it melts

Question 12

Striations

Answer 12

When glaciers move across rock, the fragments imbedded in the ice cause scratches in the
rock face.

Question 13

Glacier

Answer 13

Masses of snow and ice that slowly move downhill

Question 14

Valley Glacier

Answer 14

Form in mountain ranges

Question 15

Continental Glacier

Answer 15

A huge mass of ice or snow

Question 16

Icecaps

Answer 16

A glacier that forms on relatively flat land.

Question 17

Icefield

Answer 17

Upland area of ice that feeds two or more glaciers.

Question 18

Icefalls

Answer 18

Result from where a glacier flows over a steep cliff and breaks up.

Question 19

Crevasse

Answer 19

A crack in the ice.

Question 20

Wetlands

Answer 20

an area that is saturated with water all or most of the time.
Ex: Marshes

Question 21

Watershed

Answer 21

watersheds or drainage basins are areas of land that drain into bodies of water.

Question 22

Streamflow

Answer 22

The amount of water discharged by a watershed. Watersheds measure the amount of water flowing through a stream channel over some time.

Question 23

Aquifer

Answer 23

a system of water flowing through porous rock.

Question 24

Point Sources

Answer 24

where the source of a pollutant is from a small, defined area.
Ex: Leaking gasoline storage tanks, leaking septic tanks and accidental spills

Question 25

Non Point Sources

Answer 25

where a pollutant comes from a wide area.

Ex: Run-off from farmland treated with pesticides and fertilizers

Question 26

Weathering

Answer 26

the breakdown of rocks/minerals into sediments over time due to physical, chemical or biological activities.

Question 27

Erosion

Answer 27

the transport of sediments from one place to another due to water, wind and/or gravity.

Question 28

Deposition

Answer 28

when sediments are dropped off at a new location.

Question 29

Seawalls & Breakwaters

Answer 29

barriers help to slow down the speed & force of the waves

Question 30

Jetties

Answer 30

Prevent sand from blocking the mouth of rivers/harbours

Question 31

Groins

Answer 31

reduce the movement of sand along the shore

Question 32

What do we call the beginning and the end of a watershed?

Answer 32

The beginning of a watershed is called the headwaters and the end is called the outflow.