drainage basins
River collection zones
A drainage basin is the area of land where all precipitation collects and drains into a common outlet—a river, lake, or ocean.
Also called a watershed or catchment.
The boundaries between drainage basins are ridgelines or elevated terrain where water flows in different directions: The Continental Divide separates drainage basins flowing to the Atlantic from those flowing to the Pacific.
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- sourcesPoints of origin
- mouthsOral cavities, plural
- watershedDrainage area boundary
- streamsContinuous flows of something
surface water · natural boundary · fen · geomorphology · water flow · channel · flow · confluence · sediment · meander · river mouth · delta · flood plain · erosion · land surface · runoff · precipitation · silting
- hydrologyrivers, streamflow, aquifers, aquifer, lakes
- desert hydrologywadis, oases, arroyos, playas, wells
- erosionerosion, wearing, wearing down, beach erosion, river erosion
- flood controllevee, levees, flood channels, dike, dikes
- water ecologyaquatic habitats, freshwater ecosystems, aquatic plants, hydrophytes, dissolved oxygen
- watershedsriver basins, catchment, catchment area, catchments, watersheds
drainage basinscontinental divides
Ridges separating ocean-bound watersheds
aquifers · ridgelines · mountain ridges · reservoirs · water tables
drainage basinsreservoirs
Bodies storing water supply
aqueducts · canals · irrigation systems · water treatment plants · cisterns