Unit E: Fresh and Saltwater Systems

Potable water

Water that is safe to drink.

Watershed

A region of interconnected rivers and streams that drain into a common body of water.

Reservoir

An artificial way of storing water.

Water quality

The cleanliness and purity of water, including the presence of living organisms, organic material, chemicals, and metals.

Salinity

The total amount of salts found in water.

Hardwater

Water that is high in dissolved minerals

Water testing

Evaluating water quality based on taste, odor, turbidity, toxins, bacteria, mineral content, pH, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, and dissolved solids.

Waves

Surface movements of water are caused by disturbances or variations that transfer energy. by circular movements of particles

Tides

Regular rising and falling of large bodies of water are caused by the gravitational force of the moon and the rotation of the earth.

Erosion

Wearing away of the shoreline due to wave action.

Deposition

Building up of the shoreline through the deposition of materials.

Tsunamis

"Tidal" waves caused by earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides.

Distillation

Removing water from a solution by boiling off the water, collecting the steam, condensing it, and leaving impurities behind.

Reverse Osmosis

Forcing water through a selectively permeable membrane to remove impurities.

Stream profile

Description of a stream's characteristics, including flow rate, steepness of the bed, and erosion rates of its banks.

Chemical weathering

Erosion or wearing away of rock due to chemicals in the water.

Continental drainage systems

The network of rivers and streams that drain into a main lake or river.

Glaciers

Large bodies of moving ice that shape and create drainage basins.

Kettle lake

A round lake formed by chunks of ice left behind and melting.

Moraines

Deposits of rocks and gravel at the edges and ends of glaciers.

Drumlins

Small tear-drop shaped hills formed over moraines.

Eskers

Snake-like structures formed by the deposition of rocks and gravel as the glacier melts.

Climate

The average weather measured over a long period of time.

Ocean currents

Movements of water caused by wind, convection, salinity, and earth rotation.

Chinook

moisture from oceans carried over a mountain by a strong wind, turning into warm air

delta

sediment deposited from streams in a fan-like structure

Watershed

The area of land that drains into one main lake or river.