DRAINAGE BASINS

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  • DRAINAGE BASINS
    • Area of land drained by a river.
      • The part of the hydrological cycle that happens on land goes into the drainage basin
      • Drainage basins are open systems:
        • There are inputs of water to drainage basins
        • Water flows through then and is stored in them
        • There are outputs of water from drainage basins
      • WHAT GOES ON:
        • INPUTS: precipitation.
        • FLOWS: surface run off, channel flow, infiltration, throughflow, groundwater, percolation
        • STORES: channel storage, groundwater, interception storage, surface storage
        • OUTPUTS: evaporation, transpiration, river flows into the sea
    • Features
      • Separated by a boundary called a watershed.
        • Watershed: ridges of high land- water falling either side of these ridges will go into different drainage basins.
      • KEY FEATURES
        • TRIBUTARY: smaller river (e.g. stream) that joins main river.
        • SOURCE: where the river starts, usually in an upland area (e.g. mountains)
        • CONFLUENCE: point where two rivers join
        • MOUTH: river flows into the sea or a lake

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