| A | B |
|---|
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, the land, and the oceans |
| evapotranspiration | total loss of water from an area; equals the sum of the water lost by evaporation from the soil & other surfaces & 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 rain, snow, 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 river that is composed of multiple channels that divide & rejoin around sediment bars |
| delta | fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited at the mouth of a stream |
| alluvial fan | 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 |
