1. River Vocabulary
Science 1

2. Point and Non-Point Source Erosion
Point Source Pollution: you can see exactly where the pollution is coming from. Ex: pipe from a factory, oil spill
Non-Point Source Pollution: you can’t see where the pollution is coming from. Ex: runoff from roads or farms, acid rain
Point Source
Non-Point Source

3. Habitat Assessment
Survey of a river showing habitat quality for organisms and human alterations of a river
Good river habitat (little human interference)
Bad river habitat (lots of human influence)

4. Riffle, Run, Pool Riffle: fast, shallow area of a river
Run: fast, deep area of a river
Pool: slow, deep area of a river

5. Channel and Bedrock Channel: main part of river
Bedrock: Solid rock beneath river

6. Embeddedness, Bank Erosion and Sediments
Embeddedness: degree to which rocks are covered by sediment
Bank Erosion: soil eroding into a river
Sediments: small dirt particles like sand, silt and clay

7. Runoff, Watershed, Turbidity
Runoff: sediments or other particles running into a river when it rains
Watershed: area from which water runs into a river or lake
Turbidity (Transparency): clarity of the water

8. Eutrophication, Riparian Zone
Eutrophication: the process of algae blooming and organisms dying
Riparian Zone: area of plant life along the sides of rivers

9. Organic Waste and Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution: hot water being released by a power plant or factory into a river or lake
Organic Waste: waste from organisms

10. Macroinvertebrates
Macroinvertebrates: invertebrates that tend to live at the bottom of a river (under rocks) and can indicate water quality