Hydrographs and Drainage Basins

Drainage Basins: A drainage basin is the catchment area of a river and its tributaries. The boundary of the catchment area is called the watershed. Drainage basins involve water being returned to the oceans as part of the global hydrological cycle. What is important in drainage basins is not the size of the basin but how much water flows through it.

Key Terms: Discharge: the amount of water passing a certain point at a certain time, measured in cubic metres per second Velocity: the speed of the water within the river, measured in metres per second. Volume: The amount of water in the river system, measured in square metres

Task 1: Using your New Higher Geography textbook, page 12. Answer question (a), (b), (c) and (d) in Activity 2. You have 30 minutes to do this

The Drainage Basin is an OPEN system An OPEN system means that it has INPUTS and OUTPUTS.

INPUTSTRANSFERSOUTPUTS PrecipitationInterceptionEvaporation Surface StorageRivers flowing into the sea Soil Infiltration Soil Moisture Storage Percolation Groundwater Overland Flow Throughflow

Task 2 With the aid of an diagram, describe the movement of water within the drainage basin system. You have 15 minutes to answer this question