Theme 2 - Rivers Flashcards
water cycle
evaporation
sun’s energy warms oceans and lakes, turning it into water vapor.
water cycle
transpiration
Water evaporates from the leaves of plants
water cycle
evapotranspiration
water moving from the surface into the atmosphere through evaporation + transpiration
water cycle
condensation
The water vapor rises, cools, and condenses into clouds
water cycle
precipitation
The water falls back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
water cycle
surface runoff / overland flow
water that flows over the land’s surface and into bodies of water
water cycle
interception
water is caught / intercepted
by vegetation such as trees
water cycle
infiltration
water seeps into the ground through the soil
water cycle
throughflow
the movement of water through the soil
water cycle
percolation
water seeping through permeable rocks beneath the surface
water cycle
groundwater flow
moving water that has seeped into the ground and is stored in aquifers
water cycle
aquifer
a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater
water cycle
surface storage
water held on the Earth’s surface in lakes, ponds, and puddles
water cycle
fastest flow of water
throughflow
water cycle
slowest flow of water
groundwater
water cycle
impermeable rock
rock that doesnt allow water to pass through
water cycle
permeable rock
rock that allows water to pass through
drainage basics
source
where the river begins, up in the mountains
drainage basics
mouth
the point where the river ends, flowing into the sea
drainage basics
confluence
where two river channels meet
drainage basics
tributary
small channels that branch off from the main channel
watershed
the boundary of the drainage basin
drainage basics
floodplain
a generally flat area of land next to a river or stream
river basics
discharge
the volume of water that flows through a river channel in a given time
river basics
load / bedload
the sediment that moves along the bottom of a river or stream, carried by the force of flowing water
river basics
silt
fine-grained dirt, soil, or sediment that rivers carry and drop along their courses
river basics
long profile
a line that shows the slope of a river from its source to its mouth
river basics
cross profile
a section taken sideways across the river channel or valley