Quizlet Science Chapter 10: The Flow of Fresh Water

Print Options

This box will be automatically hidden when printing. Return to Set Page


  1. alluvial fan: A fan-shaped deposit that forms on dry land.
  2. alluvium: Rock and soil deposited by a river.
  3. aquifer: A rock layer that stores and allows the flow of water.
  4. artesian formation: A sloping layer of permeable rock sandwiched by 2 other layers of permeable rock.
  5. artesian spring: A spring that forms where cracks occur naturally in the cap rock and the pressurized water in aquifers press to the surface through the crack.
  6. bed load: The load contains pebbles and boulders.
  7. cap rock: In an artesian formation, the top layer is called this.
  8. channel: The path a stream follows.
  9. condensation: This step of the water cylce occurs when water vapor cools into liquid water droplets that form clouds in the atmosphere.
  10. delta: A fan-shaped deposit formed when a load reaches a large bory of water such as a lake or an ocean.
  11. deposition: The process in which material drops, or settles.
  12. discharge: The volume of water a river transports over a given amount of time.
  13. dissolved load: The load contains dissolved materials such as sodium and calcium.
  14. divide: The area in which drainage basins are seperated from each other.
  15. drainage basin: The land drained by a river system, which is ther river and its tributaries.
  16. dripstone: A deposit of calcium carbonate, a type of limestone, is called this.
  17. dripstone column: Where a stalactite and a stalagmite meet each other, forming one object called this.
  18. erosion: The removal and transport of surface material such as rocks and soil.
  19. evaporation: This step of the water cylce occurs when liquid water from the earth's surface and from living organisms change into water vapor.
  20. flood plain: An area that gets flooded by the water in a river due to too much water for the river to hold. It mainly happens when there is a high snowmelt, which is normally during warm seasons.
  21. gradient: The measure of the change in the elevation over a certain distance.
  22. ground water: Water that comes from the earth's surface.
  23. infiltration: This step of the water cylce occurs when the water is pulled into the ground due to the pull of gravity.
  24. karst topography: An area where ground water erosion is noticable at the surface.
  25. load: The material that collects in a stream's water.
  26. mature rivers: This type of river erodes its channel wider rather than deeper, it doesn't have as high a gradient as a youthful river, has more discharge, tributaries, and then also has lessfalls and rapids.
  27. meander: A turn in a river or tributary.
  28. nonpoint-source pollution: This type of pollution is very hard to control, because it comes from multiple sources.
  29. old rivers: This type of river has a low gradeint and extremely low erosive power. These rivers contain more meanders.
  30. percolation: The downward movement through pores and and spaces in the soil due to gravity of water.
  31. permeability: A rock's ability to have water pass through it.
  32. point-source pollution: A single point from which pollution comes from. It is pretty easy to keep this kind of water pollution under control.
  33. porosity: Open spaces in a rock laer expresses...
  34. porosity: The amount of open space between rock particles.
  35. precipitation: This step of the water cylce occurs when rain, sleet, or snow falls from clouds onto the earth's surface.
  36. recharge zone: The ground surface where water enters an aquifer.
  37. rejuvenated rivers: This type of river occurs where land is raised by earth's tectonic forces.
  38. runoff: This step of the water cylce occurs when water collects in rivers, streams, and eventually lakes and oceans.
  39. septic tank: A large underground tank that collects and cleans waste water from a household.
  40. sewage treatment plants: Factories that clean the waste materials out of water that comes from the ser or drains.
  41. sinkhole: A sinking, circular depression.
  42. springs: Where water flows from the ground, it forms these.
  43. stalactite: Looks like an icicle, and is formed by water, and is found at the top of caves.
  44. stalagmite: Looks like an icicle, and is formed by water, and is found at the bottom of caves.
  45. suspended load: The load contains small rocks and soil in suspension, which can make the river look muddy.
  46. terrace: A step-like feature created by a rejuvenated river.
  47. tributary: A smaller stream or river that flows into a larger river.
  48. water cycle: The continuous movement of water from water sources such as into lakes, oceans, the sky, and the ground.
  49. water table: The invisible line seperating, or in between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeriation.
  50. well: A man-made hole deeper than the water table, therfore it would fill up with water.
  51. youthful rivers: This type of river erodes its channel deeper rather than wider, it has a high gradient, so it travels fast, and its sides are steep and straight.
  52. zone of aeration: The upper zone which usually isn't completely filled with water, but with rocks and soil too. ( Is about Ground water)
  53. zone of saturation: The lower zone where water accumilates between small rock particles.