Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers - 50% of all the water on Earth eventually ends up in a river or stream during the water cycle - streams & rivers account for most of the erosion of Earth’s surface River Systems - rain running down a slope eventually reaches a permanent body of running water such as a stream - streams or rivers that flow into other streams or rivers are called a tributary tributary
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers - a river and all of its tributaries is called a river system - streams & rivers account for most of the erosion of Earth’s surface - the drainage basin, or watershed, of a river includes all the land that drains into the river either directly or through its tributaries - the high land that separates one drainage basin from another is called a divide
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers - the major divide of the United States, called the Continental Divide, is located in the Rocky Mountains – rain falling east of the Continental Divide eventually flows into the Atlantic Ocean and rain falling west eventually flows into the Pacific Ocean flows into the Pacific Ocean flows into the Atlantic Ocean
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers Characteristics of Streams and Rivers - the ability of a stream or river to erode and transport sediment is affected by the velocity of the water, the stream’s gradient (steepness), its discharge, and the shape of its channel - faster moving rivers/streams erode materials quicker because they have greater energy buildup - the steepness of the slope of a river/stream is called its gradient
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers - the discharge of a stream or river is the amount, or volume, of water that passes a certain point in a given amount of time - discharge usually increases as the river gets further downstream as tributaries continually add water - discharge can also be increased by rain, melted snow, or melted glaciers stream river
Ch.13, Sec.1 – Streams & Rivers - the path through which the water flows in a stream/river is called its channel - streams/rivers with straight channels have faster moving water & channels that are shallow and winding have slower moving water