1. River Systems 01/21/15 11-1b pgs. 272-274 IN: Which stage of the water cycle brings most of the water to Nevada?

2. Terms to Learn and Objectives Terms to learn: *erosion*tributary*drainage basin*divide *channel*load Objectives: Identify the watershed of the Colorado River. Determine the location of the Continental Divide. Explain factors the effect how a river causes erosion on the land.

3. What is this a picture of? Grand Canyon What carved the canyon? Colorado River What is this process called? Erosion

4. Colorado River System

5. What do rivers do? Erosion Transportation Deposition

6. Erosion - the removal and transport of surface material, such as rock and soil.

7. River Systems

8. Tributaries – smaller streams or rivers that flow into larger ones.

10. Drainage basin (also sometimes called a watershed) – the land drained by a river system.

11. Cut and paste the diagram of the Colorado River Drainage Basin. Color each of the five tributaries a different color. Label each tributary.

12. The Colorado River Watershed 5 main tributaries: *Green *San Juan *Little Colorado *Virgin *Gila

13. Divide - an area of higher ground than the basins it separates.

14. All water on this side drains into the Pacific Ocean.  All water on this side drains into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. 

15. Find the Continental Divide Put a dot at the end of each tributary that leads from the east to the west. Connect the dots.

16. The line should connect right about here

18. Stream Erosion All rivers start as streams. As more rock and soil are transported downstream, channels become wider and deeper.

19. Channel – the path that a stream follows.

20. What factors effect the rate of stream erosion? Gradient Discharge Load

21. Gradient – the steepness of a river or stream. (kind of like the slope)

22. Discharge - the amount of water a stream or river carries in a given amount of time.

23. Load - the materials carried in a stream’s water.

24. OUT: How does the water cycle help develop river systems?