Geography- Water Security Definitions (River features)

Drainage basin

The land drained by a river system

Watershed

The edge of highland surrounding a drainage basin. It marks the boundary between two drainage basins

Source

The beginning or start of a river

River

Natural wide flows of freshwater across land that store water temporarily before it flows into another water body

River banks

Physical confine of a river

Confluence

The point at which two rivers or streams join

Tributary

A stream or smaller river which joins a larger stream or river

Distributary

Where rivers branch off to form smaller streams

Mouth

The point where the river comes to an end, usually when entering a sea

Groundwater

Groundwater is water that is stores in layers of soil and rocks following percolation of water, lying above an impermeable layer

Water table

The top level of saturated ground in the soil- it rises and falls depending on the amount of rain