key words Flashcards
drainage basin
rain falling in this river flows to another river
tributary
small river or stream joining a larger river
confluence
a point where two rivers join
source
the start of the river
mouth
the end of a river into a sea or lake
watershed
boundary of a rivers drainage basin
transpiration
plants lose water vapour
Evapouration
the change of state from a liquid to a gas
infiltration
water going into the soil
interception
plants stopping precipitation from falling to the surface
surface runoff
the movement of water onland going into a river
throughflow
the movement of water going through the soil into a river
erosion
the wearing away of land by the water
transportation
movement of material by water
deposition
the dropping of materials by water
interlocking spurs
fingers of land that jut out into the valley that rivers go around
waterfall
where a river or stream goes over a steep drop
gorge
a steep drop where a waterfall used to be
meander
a bend in the river
oxbow lake
a U-shaped lake which occurs when a river or meander is cut off
floodplain
a flat area of land which floods recently
natural leeve
a ridge higher on both banks of the river valley
delta
sediment is deposited at the mouth of the river
river velocity
the speed at which the river moves
river discharge
the volume of water
thaleg
the fastest line on the river course
geology
the study of earth and what it is made of
permeable
a rock or a soil that allows water to pass through it
impermeable
a rock or soil that does not allow water to pass through it
antecedent rainfall
amount of moisture already in the ground before rainfall
saturated
when the ground is holding as much water that it can absorb
deforestation
humans cutting down trees
afforestation
the planting of trees
