RUNNING WATER

1. RUNNING WATER 9.1, 9.3, 10.1

2. 9.1 • Running water is an agent of erosion, carrying sediments in streams and rivers and depositing them downstream. • Earth’s water supply is recycled in a continuous process called the water cycle (diagram on page 224).

3. Water running downslope along Earth’s surface is called runoff. a. streams b. rivers c. lakes or oceans d. ground water e. evaporation

4. Soil composition can affect runoff. • Larger particles have more pore space. • Finer particles have very little pore space.

5. The rate of precipitation can affect runoff. • Vegetation can affect runoff. • Slope is another factor that can affect runoff.

6. Tributaries, watersheds, and divides are all parts of a stream system (226). a. tributaries b. watershed c. divide

7. The material that a stream carries is called its stream load (228). a. suspension b. bed load c. solution

8. The ability of a stream to transport material, referred to as its carrying capacity, depends on both the velocity and the amount of water moving in the stream.

9. The total volume of moving water also affects a stream’s carrying capacity. • Discharge is the measure of the volume of water that flows past a given point in a given amount of time (229). a. Mississippi River b. Amazon River

10. As a stream’s discharge increases, its capacity also increases. This happens during heavy rain and snow melting. • A flood occurs when water spills over the sides of a stream’s banks onto the adjacent land (230). a. floodplain b. levee

11. The National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey groups monitor floods in an effort to warn people ahead of time as to what may be coming.

12. 9.3 • Natural lakes, bodies of water surrounded by land, form in different ways in surface depressions and in low areas (238). a. oxbow lakes b. landslides c. glacial lakes

13. Water from precipitation, runoff, and underground sources can maintain a lake’s water supply (239). • Eutrophication occurs when the surrounding watershed enriches bodies of water with nutrients that stimulates excessive plant growth (fertilizers).

14. A wetland is any land area that is covered with water for a part of the year. (240). a. bogs b. marshes c. swamps

15. Wetlands play a valuable role in improving water quality. They serve as a filtering system. • Wetlands are also home to an abundance of wildlife.

16. 10.1 • The hydrosphere is all the Earth’s water (252). a. 97% oceans b. 3% fresh water c. 70-80% of the fresh water is in the ice caps and glaciers.

17. The ultimate source of all water on land is the oceans (evaporation). • Infiltration is the process by which precipitation that has fallen on land trickles into the ground and becomes groundwater (253).

18. The greater the porosity, the easier water can flow through the material.

19. Groundwater (254) • zone of saturation • water table • zone of aeration

20. Gravitational water – water drawn downward by gravity • Capillary water – water drawn upward because of pressure

21. The tendency of a material to let water pass through it is its permeability (255). • Ground water flows through permeable rock and sediments called aquifers. • Impermeable layers are called aquicludes.

22. The flow velocity of groundwater depends on the slope of the water table and the permeability of the material through which the groundwater is moving.

23. When an aquifer comes in contact with an aquiclude, a spring is formed (the water is forced upward, 258). a. hot springs b. geysers