| A | B |
|---|
| Acid precipitation | precipitation abnormally high in sulfuric and nitric acid content that is caused by atmospheric pollutants |
| Water cycle | cycle of evaporation and condensation that controls the distribution of the earth’s water as it evaporates from bodies of water, condenses, precipitates, and returns to those bodies of water |
| Desalination | removal of salt or other chemicals from something, such as seawater or soil; can be achieved by means of evaporation, freezing, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and electrodialysis |
| Tributary | a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water |
| Watershed | the region or area drained by a river, stream, etc. |
| Stream load | solid material transported by a stream |
| Delta | a nearly flat plain of alluvial deposit between diverging branches of the mouth of a river, often, though not necessarily, triangular |
| Alluvial fan | a fan-shaped alluvial deposit formed by a stream where its velocity is abruptly decreased, as at the mouth of a ravine or at the foot of a mountain |
| Flood plain | a nearly flat plain along the course of a stream or river that is naturally subject to flooding |
| Levee | an embankment designed to prevent the flooding of a river |
| Water table | underground surface beneath which earth materials, as soil or rock, are saturated with water |
| Permeability | the capability of a porous rock or sediment to permit the flow of fluids through its pore spaces |
| Stalagmite | a conical mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, build up on the floor of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water |
| Stalactite | an icicle-shaped mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water |
