All fresh water comes from precipitation. How does a river flow? All fresh water comes from precipitation.

River Systems A river and all of its tributaries together make up a river system. Tributary: streams and smaller rivers that feed into a main river. Tributaries flow downhill- pulled by the force of gravity.

Exploring a River

Exploring a River Headwaters: many small streams come together at the source of the river. (Where the river starts) Meander: looping curves in a river. Oxbow Lake: when a meander curves back on itself and the rivers takes a new, straight course.

Exploring A River Delta: sediment deposited at the mouth of a river. Mouth:where the river flows into the ocean or another body of water. Flood Plain: broad, flat valley through which a river flows.

Watershed Land area that supplies water to a river system. Also known as a drainage or river basin. Large rivers maybe a part of a larger river’s drainage/river basin. 17 different river basins in NC Part of Western NC drains into Ohio River basin. We live in the Broad River Basin.

Divides One watershed is separated from another by a ridge of land called a divide. Streams on each side of a divide flow in different directions.

Eastern Continental Divide West (past Asheville) rivers will drain into Mississippi River and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. East (Us) rivers will drain into the Atlantic Ocean.