| A | B |
|---|
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, the land, and the oceans |
| evapotranspiration | the total loss of water from an area, which equals the sum of the water lost by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and the water lost by transpiration from organisms. |
| condensation | the change of state from a gas to a liquid |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls to Earth’s surface from the clouds; includes snow, rain, sleet, and hail. |
| desalination | a process of removing salt from ocean water |
| tributary | a stream that flows into a lake or into a larger stream |
| watershed | the area of land that is drained by a river system |
| stream load | the materials other than the water that are carried by a stream. |
| discharge | the volume of water that flows within a given time |
| gradient | the change in elevation over a given distance. |
| meander | one of the bends, twists, or curves in a low-gradient stream or river. |
| braided stream | a stream or rive that is composed of multiple channels that divide and rejoin around sediment bars. |
| delta | a fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited at the mouth of a stream. |
| alluvial fan | a fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply. |
| floodplain | an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks |
