Water Unit Part 2 Flashcards
Delta
a fan-shaped deposit that forms when a river flows into a quiet or large body of water, such as a lake, an ocean, or an inland sea.
Tributary
a stream that runs into another stream or river.
Gradient
the steepness of the slope of a stream or river
Discharge
the amount, or volume, of water that passes a certain point in a given amount of time.
Deposition
The process by which water loses energy and drops the sediment it is carrying.
Erosion
The process by which material (pebbles, sand, silt, clay, etc.) is removed and carried away.
Weathering
The disintegration and decomposition of rock at or near Earth’s surface.
Load
the eroded rock and soil materials that are transported downstream by a river.
Capacity
is a measure of the total amount of sediment a
stream can carry.
Competence
is a measure that describes the maximum size of the particles a stream can carry.
Oxbow Lake
a curved body of water formed when deposits separate a meander from its river.
Point Bar
a low, crescent-shaped deposit of sand and gravel developed on the inner bank of a meander where the water velocity is slow.
Cut Bank
a steep slope caused by erosion of the outer bank of a meander.
Meander
A loop-like bend in the course of a stream.
Groundwater
Water held underground in pores or crevices in soil or rock.
Infiltration
The movement of surface water into rock or soil through cracks and pore spaces underground.
Permeability
the rate at which water or other liquids pass through the pore spaces of a rock.
Pore Spaces
The open spaces between sediments where water flows up from/flows into
Porosity
the percent of a material’s volume that is pore space.
Specific Retention (Capillary Water)
water that remains in the soil after water is drained out
Aquifer
Underground soil or rock through which groundwater can easily move. A permeable layer of rock and sediment that stores and carries groundwater in enough quantities to supply wells.
Aquitard/Aquiclude
a solid, impermeable area underlying or overlying an aquifer.
Water Table
The top of the water is in the soil or rock. The surface below which the groundwater is saturated with water.
Saturated Zone
the area below the water table, where the pores are filled with water.
Unsaturated Zone
the area below the surface that is above the water table, where the pores are not filled with water.
Sediment Sorting
The grain sorting refers to the range of sediment sizes.
Well sorted = small size range
Poorly sorted = large size range
