Drainage basins
A river’s water can fluctuate over time. Understanding the The continual movement of water between the rivers, oceans, atmosphere and land. is useful in order to understand how and why the amount of water fluctuates.
A drainage basin is the area of land around the river that is drained by the river and its A small river that joins the main river channel..
- watershed – the area of high land forming the edge of a river basin
- source – where a river begins
- mouth – where a river meets the sea
- confluence – the point at which two rivers meet
- tributary – a small river or stream that joins a larger river
- channel – this is where the river flows
