Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and include the biotic (living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its many parts. [1] [2] River ecosystems are part of larger watershed networks or catchments, where smaller headwater streams ...
The headwaters of a river are the smaller streams that feed a river, and make up the river's source. [4] These streams may be small and flow rapidly down the sides of mountains . [ 5 ] All of the land uphill of a river that feeds it with water in this way is in that river's drainage basin or watershed. [ 4 ]
Dendritic drainage: the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet, seen from space: snow cover has melted in the valley system. In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is ...
The river system, especially the Mississippi River, was used by Union armies as a means of invading and was host to several large battles during the U.S. Civil War. Mark Twain is regarded as having a large impact on molding U.S. literature into what it is today because of his profound works on adventures and life on the rivers. [20]
The headwater of a river or stream is the point on each of its tributaries upstream from its mouth or estuary into a lake, sea, or confluence with another river. Each headwater is considered one of the river's sources, as it is the place where surface runoffs from rainwater, meltwater, or spring water begin accumulating into a more substantial ...
The stream order or waterbody order is a positive whole number used in geomorphology and hydrology to indicate the level of branching in a river system.. There are various approaches [1] to the topological ordering of rivers or sections of rivers based on their distance from the source ("top down" [2]) or from the confluence (the point where two rivers merge) or river mouth ("bottom up" [3 ...
These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as a new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already ...
Watershed delineation is the process of identifying the boundary of a watershed, also referred to as a catchment, drainage basin, or river basin.It is an important step in many areas of environmental science, engineering, and management, for example to study flooding, aquatic habitat, or water pollution.