Ch. 11 Vocabulary

Erosion process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to another

Water cycle continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean

Tributary stream that flows into a lake or larger stream

Channel path that a stream follows

Divide boundary between drainage areas that have streams that flow in opposite directions

Load materials carried by a stream

Deposition process by which material is laid down

Watershed area of land that is drained by a water system

Alluvial fan fan shaped mass of material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply

Floodplain area along a ricer that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks

Water table upper surface of underground water

Delta fan-shaped mass of material deposited at the mouth of a stream

Porosity percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces

Aquifer body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater

Point-source pollution

pollution that comes from a specific site

Permeability ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces, or pores

Artesian spring spring whose water flows from a crack in the cap rock over the aquifer

Recharge zone area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer

Sewage treatment plant

facility that cleans waste materials found in water that comes from sewers or drains

Non point source pollution

pollution that comes from many sources rather than one single, specific site

Septic tank tank that separates solid wastes from liquids and that has bacteria that break down the solid waste