Water Resources and Rivers

Flashcards containing key vocabulary and definitions related to water resources and river dynamics.

Landscape

The character and shape of the land surface in a region.

Landforms

The individual shapes (valleys, cliffs, beaches, etc.) that make up landscapes.

Topography

The variation in land surface elevation, represented on topographic or shaded relief maps.

Erosion

The grinding away and removal of the Earth’s surface.

Deposition

The accumulation of transported sediment.

Drainage Basin

The drainage network that collects water from a broad region and drains into a specific trunk stream.

Discharge

Volume of water flowing past a given point in a river, varying with time and weather conditions.

Bed load

Coarse particles that roll, slide, and bounce along the bottom of a stream.

Meandering Streams

Rivers that flow in a sinuous pattern, causing erosion on one side and deposition on the other.

Floodplain

Areas that will be submerged when a river is at flood stage.

Alluvial Fan

Conical, fan-shaped structures built at the base of a mountain front from rapidly dropping sediments.

Deltas

Sediment deposited at the mouth of a stream when it enters standing water.

Ephemeral Stream

A stream that does not flow all year, common in places with low rainfall and high evaporation rates.

Potholes

Holes in the bedrock formed by the abrasive action of sand and gravel swirled by turbulent eddies.

Flood Stage

Water level above the bank of a river.

Natural Levees

Sand ridges that parallel the channel of a river, formed during floods.

Hydrologic Cycle

The continuous cycle of water movement through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Stream Piracy

The process in which one stream captures the flow of another stream.

Braided Streams

Multiple channel systems with interlaced channels and high sediment loads.

Permanent Stream

A stream that flows all year, typically found where there is abundant rainfall and groundwater discharge.