A | B |
Alluvium | Well sorted materials found in stream deposits. |
Aquifer | Stores of groundwater that contain permeable soils. |
Aquitard | Layers that hinder of prevent the movement of water. |
Artesian Well | A well with water that rises to the water table level. |
Backswamp | Poorly drained areas where natural levees are formed. |
Base Level | The lowest point to which a stream can erode its channel. |
Bed Load | The movement of materials in a stream along the bottom of the river. |
Capacity | The maximum load that a stream can carry based on the discharge. |
Cavern | Underwater erosions that result in large open spaces. |
Competence | The maximum size particle that the stream can carry determined by its velocity. |
Cone of Depression | The conical shape that is the result of removal of water by a well. |
Cutoff | The connection of two meanders to make a shorter channel. |
Delta | Large deposits of sediments as water velocity slow down dramatically. |
Dendritic Pattern | Tree like stream drainage of water. |
Discharge | The volume of water flowing past a certain point over a given unit of time. |
Dissolved Load | Transported mineral matter and sediments in solution. |
Distributary | Smaller channels created in a delta. |
Divide | An imaginary line that separates one drainage basin from another. |
Drainage Basin | The area of land that contributes water to the stream. |
Drawdown | The movement of the water table as water is removed from a well. |
Flood | When the discharge of the stream becomes too great and it over flows its banks. |
Floodplain | The flat valley floor created by the side to side motion of the river. |
Geyser | Intermittent hot springs or fountains in which columns of water are ejected with great force. |
Gradient | The slope of the stream. |
Groundwater | Water that has soaked into the ground. |
Hot Spring | Water that is 6.9 C warmer than the annual mean temperature. |
Hydrologic Cycle | The unending circulation of the Earth’s water supply. |
Infiltration | The movement of water into the soil or ground water systems. |
Karsts Topography | A topography consisting of numerous sink holes. |
Meander | The side sweeping motion of streams as they move back and forth. |
Natural Levee | Flat floors on the banks of valleys created by rivers. |
Oxbow Lake | The piece of stream that is left after a cut off has connected two meanders. |
Permeability | The ability of water to transmit water through interconnected pores. |
Porosityz | The quantity of water that can be stored in the spaces between the rocks. |
Radial Pattern | When a stream diverges from a center point out, like spokes on a wheel. |
Rectangular Pattern | Many right angle bends that can be seen in the bedrocks. |
Runoff | Surplus water that runs along the surface. |
Sinkhole | When top layers of the ground falls down as a result of loss materials underneath. |
Sorting | Similar size particles are deposited together. |
Spring | A natural flow of groundwater to the surface. |
Stalactite | Dripstone features that hang from the ceiling. |
Stalagmite | Stone formations found on the floor as a result of water dripping from stalactites. |
Suspended Load | Transported materials that are not dissolved but just carried. |
Transpiration | Plants releasing water vapor into the air. |
Trellis Pattern | Stream drainage with parallel steps looking like garden steps. |
Water Table | Upper level of the zone of saturation. |
Well | Most common method of removing ground water. |
Yazoo Tributary | Small rivers that are formed in backswamps. |
Zone of Aeration | Zone above the water table and below the surface that is not saturated with water. |
Zone of Saturation | Water that is not held at the surface and where all of the spaces between the particles are filled with water. |