Rivers and Groundwater Flashcards
Water table
the dividing line b/w zone of aeration and zone of saturation
Water table is hightest in…lowest in…
Highest in Spring; lowest in late summer
Higher the lake=
Higher the groundwater
Permeability
how easily water flows through a substance; rate usually in mL/Sec
Aquifer
a saturated layer (below the water table); Needs high permeability
Well
Hole or pipe that leads into an aquifer
Pumping wells
Creates cone of depression; lowers water table
Cone of depression
From pumping wells; Lowers water table; V-shaped
Artesian well
Flows to the surface naturally w/out pumps; Due to aquifer being under pressure from impermeable layer; “Sandwiched” b/w two impermeable layers
Groundwater pollution
Sources: septic tanks; landfills; fertilizers/pesticides; underground storage tanks
Geysers
Groundwater heated by magma which boils and then erupts; Ex: Iceland
Erosion by groundwater
Caves, sinkholes, subsidence, and kart topography
Caves
Dissolution of limestone; lowersing of watertable
Sinkholes
bedrock erodes which causes overburden to fall and then soil falls aswell
Subsidence
Slow sinking of ground due to groundwater withdrawl
Karst Topography
Acide water dissolves limestone; Creates series of sinkholes; Common in KY, WV, TN, and IN
Flowing v. Non flowing artesian wells
Flowing are usually down hill and flow b/c reach recharge zone
Purpose of retention basin
To prevent flooding because the ground can’t support all the rain either due to hard desert ground or cemented; Water runs off into retention basin
The steeper the slope…
The more powerful the water
6 in of water to..
sweep off your feet
1 ft of water to…
push a car
2 ft of water to
move a cement mixer
Purpose of levee
to channel snow melt from the mtns to more populated areas and also to protect valuable land
Sublimination
transiontion from ice to vapor
evaportranspiration
plants ‘sweating’ which evaporates into clouds; just leafy plants
infiltration
when water hits the ground and it infiltrates into the ground
Lake is a….
freshwater storage
Spring
opening of a aquifer or groundwater
Why is water cycle a closed system?
B/c not going/losing any water on Earth
Watershed
land that drains into a river system; seperated by divides
Divide
Slopes
Continenetal Divide
seperates Atlantic from Pacific Oceans
Sediment load
sediment carred by water
Dissolved load
dissolved minerals/ pollutants in solution; Creates foam
Suspended load
silt/clay; Makes water cloudy/ gives it color
Bedload
along bottom; largest particles stream can hold; Most erosive
Base level
the lowest point a stream can erode its channel to; The way it flows; Ultimate base level is sea level
Gradient
rise/run
Discharge
amount of water lfowing past a point; dis= velocityxwidthxdepth
mouth
where river empties into another body of water; baselevel
delta
deposit of sand at mouth
Early stream characteristics
V-shaped valley due to downcutting; steep; rapids/waterfalls; large sediements in bedload; lots of eroision; straight; narrow
Late stream characteristics
large floodplanes (farmland); flat; meanders; pointbar/cutbank; oxbow lakes; large deltas; lots of deposition
Formation of waterfalls
differential erosion; ex: Niagra
Formation of oxbow lakes
a cut off meander
Formation of levees
natural or artificial slope/wall parallel to river; Natural form during floods
Yazoo straems
run parallel to main river; forms during flooding on floodplain
Rejuvenated stream
base level is lowered due to uplift of land upstream; renews downcutting
Braided streams
cris-crossing all over itslef
Dendritic
“Treelike;” forms when underlaying material is uniform (all the same rock)
Trellised
reistent ridged; waterfalls
Rectangular
forms in areas of faults/joints
Radial
volcanic cones
