the drainage basin Flashcards
what is the water cycle
the way water is evaporated from the sea , goes through the air and flows back to the sea through rivers or the ground
what is a drainage basin
the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. in other words, any rain that falls in a particular area of land will end up in one particular river
what do all systems have…
- things which go into them (inputs)
- places where things are stored (stores)
- ways of moving something from one place to another (transfers)
- things which come out at the end (outputs)
what is the input..
precipitation
what is precipitation…
any water falling from the sky: rain snow sleet hail
what are the stores…
interception by vegetation
what is interceptions by vegetation…
leaves and grass catch raindrop as they fall, and store them. if there is too much water stored on a leaf it can fall to the ground
what are the transfers…
surface runoff/overland flow infiltration through-flow percolation groundwater flow
what is surface runoff/overland flow…
water running over the surface of the ground
what is infiltration…
water sinking into the soil
what is through-flow…
water flowing through the soil
what is percolation…
water sinking down through the rocks
what is groundwater-flow…
water flowing slowly from the rock into the river
what are the outputs…
river discharge
evaporation
what is river discharge…
water flowing away in the river
