GG231 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Flood, Meander Cutoff, Flood Forecasting
Document Summary
Surface flow (runoff) finds its way to small streams, which are tributaries of larger streams or rivers. Drainage basin/watershed/river basin/catchment the region drained by a single stream. Each stream has its own drainage basin that collects rain & snow. A large river basin (e. g. red river basin) is made up of hundreds of small watersheds drained by smaller tributary streams. Gradient the slope of the surface over which it flows. The gradient of the river is determined by calculating the drop in elevation of the channel over some horizontal distance and is commonly expressed in meters per kilometer. The gradient of the river is greatest in its headwaters, decreases downstream, and is lowest at the river mouth, which is its base level. At higher elevations, the steeper the gradient of the river facilitates erosion and downstream transfer of sediment. Base level lowest elevation of a river. Longitudinal profile a graph showing downstream changes in a river"s elevation.
