River Environments- Key Terms 1

1. The Drainage Basin: Components of the water cycle

1.1. Inputs-

1.1.1. Precipitation- Rain, hail, sleet or snow

1.2. Stores-

1.2.1. Interception by vegetation- Water caught on the leaves of trees and plants, preventing it reaching the ground surface

1.3. Transfers-

1.3.1. Surface runoff- water flowing over the ground surface

1.3.2. infiltration- water soaking from the ground surface into the soil underneath

1.3.3. throughflow- Water flowing laterally (sideways) through the soil

1.3.4. Percolation- water moving from the soil into the rocks deep underground

1.3.5. groundwater flow- water flowing laterally through the rocks deep underground

1.4. Outputs

1.4.1. River discharge- water flowing to a lake or the sea

1.4.2. Evapotranspiration- water evaporated/ transpired from trees and plants

2. The drainage Basin

2.1. The watershed- The boundary of high land separating one drainage basin from another

2.2. Source- The starting point of a river- usually in a mountainous area

2.3. Tributary- A small river that drains into a larger river

2.4. Confluence- The exact point where two rivers meet

2.5. River Mouth- Where the river meets the sea or a lake