| Term | Definition |
|---|
| alluvium | rock and soil deposited by streams |
| alluvial fan | fan shaped deposits that form on dry land |
| aquifer | a rock layer that stores and allows the flow of ground water |
| artesian spring | a spring that forms when cracks occur naturally in the cap rock and the pressurized water in the aquifer flows through the cracks to the surface |
| channel | the path a stream follows |
| delta | a fan-shaped deposit of sediment at the mouth of a stream where the stream empties into a large body of water |
| deposition | the process by which material is dropped or settles |
| discharge | the volume of water transported by a stream ina given amount of time |
| divide | an area of higer ground that seperates drainage basins |
| drainage basin | an area drained by a river system, including the main river and all of its main tributaries |
| erosion | the removal and transport of material by wind, water or ice |
| flood plain | an area along the river formed from sediments deposited by floods |
| gradient | a measure of the change in elevation over a certain distance |
| ground water | water that is stored in underground caverns or in porous rock below the earth's surface |
| karst topography | ares where the effects of ground water are noticeable at the surface |
| load | materials carried in a stream |
| nonpoint-source pollution | pollution that comes from many sources and that cannot be traced to specific sites |
| permeability | a rock's ability to let water pass through it |
| point-source pollution | pollution tha comes from one particular source area |
| porosity | the amount of open spacce between individual rock particles |
| septic tank | a large underground tank that collects and cleans waste from a household |
| sewage treatment plant | a factory that cleans materals out of water that comes from sewers or drains |
| tributary | a small stream or river that flows into a larger one |
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water from water sources in the air, onto land, into and over the ground, and back to water sources |
| water table | an underground boundary where the zone of areation and the zone of saturation meet |
Combine with other sets
