WATER - The Drainage Basin

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  • The Drainage Basin
    • An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries (river catchment).
      • The boundary of a drainage basin is a 'WATER SHED'
    • A sub-system within the global hydrological cycle. An open system with external inputs and outputs. The inputs vary, so the amount of water in the system does too.
    • Inputs - main one = precipitation
      • things that can affect the input. Form: rain, snow or hail determines the speed. Amount of water. Intensity: determines flooding/ drought. Seasonality: basin operates at different flow levels at different times of the year. Distribution: in large ones, where tributaries start at different areas.
    • Flows
      • interception, infiltration, percolation (deeper transfer into rocks), throughflow (downslope flow through soil), groundwater flow (flow through pervious rocks)(base flow), surface run-off, river/ channel flow (when water enters a stream or river).
    • Outputs
      • Transpiration, Evaporation, Discharge/ channel flow (into another larger drainage basin (lake or sea).

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