Physical Geography - Drainage Basin Features

Question 1

What is a drainage basin?

Answer 1

An area of land drained by a main river and its tributaries, taking the water to the sea

Question 2

What does one mean by ‘source’ of a river?

Answer 2

The start of a river’s course

Question 3

What is the watershed?

Answer 3

An area of high land/elevation that separates one drainage basin from another

Question 4

What is a spring/stream?

Answer 4

A point where water flows out of the ground and begins to flow as a stream

(can be a small river)

It may be at the source of a river

Question 5

A confluence is the ______________

Answer 5

point where a tributary joins the main river

Question 6

Is this a source or mouth of a river?

Where a stream or river starts

Answer 6

Source

Question 7

Is this a source or mouth of a river?

Where the river ends/meets a larger body of water (i.e. sea, ocean, lake)

Answer 7

Mouth

Question 8

Is this a consequent or subsequent stream?

Smaller streams

(tributaries)

Answer 8

Subsequent stream

Question 9

Is this a consequent or subsequent stream?

The main stream

(main river)

Answer 9

Consequent stream

Question 10

Is this a tributary of distributary?

I am a smaller river and I flow into a larger/main river

Answer 10

Tributaries

Question 11

Is this a tributary of distributary?

I am a small stream, I branch off from the mainstream and flow into the sea, ocean or lake

Answer 11

Distributary

Question 12

I am a perennial stream

Answer 12

I flow annually/all year round

Question 13

I am a seasonal stream

Answer 13

I flow periodically / intermittently / inconsistently / prolonged

i.e. in times of drought/dry season there is no water in the channel