| A | B |
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| watershed | the land area that drains water to a particular stream, river, or lake. It is a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations between two areas on a map, often a ridge |
| floodplain | a strip of relatively flat and normally dry land alongside a stream, river, or lake that is covered by water during a flood |
| delta | an accumulation of sediment formed where a stream enters a lake or ocean |
| estuary | a funnel-shaped inlet of the sea formed when the mouth of a river flooded |
| tributary | a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger river or stream |
| transpiration | process by which water that is absorbed by plants, usually through the roots, is evaporated into the atmosphere from the plant surface, such as leaf pores |
| permeability | the ability of a material to allow the passage of a liquid, such as water through rocks. Permeable materials, such as gravel and sand, allow water to move quickly through them |
| evaporation | the process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf surfaces |
| erosion | the process in which a material is worn away by a stream of liquid (water) or air, often due to the presence of abrasive particles in the stream |
| condensation | the process of water vapor in the air turning into liquid water |
| aquifer | a geological formation or structure that stores and/or transmits water, such as to wells and springs |
| precipitation | rain, snow, hail, sleet, dew, and frost |
| reservoir | a pond, lake, or basin, either natural or artificial, for the storage, regulation, and control of water |
| sediment | material in suspension in water or recently deposited from suspension |
| artesian water | ground water that is under pressure when tapped by a well and is able to rise above the level at which it is first encountered |
| meander | a loop-like bend in the course of a stream |
| oxbow lake | a curved lake formed when a stream cuts off a meander |
| alluvial fan | a fan-shaped deposit formed when a stream's slope is abruptly reduced |
| runoff | that part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that appears in uncontrolled surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers |
| recharge | water added to an aquifer. For instance, rainfall that seeps into the ground |
