Earth/Environmental Science Essential Vocabulary
Chapter 6
1. Water Cycle- the constant movement of water among the oceans, the
atmosphere, geosphere, and the biosphere
2. Infiltration- the movement of surface water into rock or soil through cracks
and pore spaces
3. Gradient- the slope of a stream over a certain distance
4. Stream Channel- the course that the water in a stream follows
5. Discharge- the quantity of water in a stream that passes a given point in a
period of time
6. Tributary- a stream that empties itself into another stream
7. Meander- a looplike bend in the course of a stream
8. Bed load- sediment that is carried by a stream along the bottom of its channel
9. Capacity- the total amount of sediment a stream is able to transport
10. Delta- an accumulation of sediment formed where a stream enters a lake or
an ocean
11. Natural Levee- an elevated landform that parallels a stream and acts to
confine its waters, except during floodstage
12. Floodplain- the flat, low-lying portion of a stream valley subject to periodic
flooding
13. Flood- occurs when the discharge of a stream becomes so great that it
exceeds the carrying capacity of its channel and overflows its banks
14. Drainage Basin- the land area that contributes water to a stream
15. Divide- an imaginary line that separates the drainage of two streams; often
found along a ridge
16. Zone of saturation- zone where all open spaces in sediment and rock are
completely filled with water
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Groundwater- water underground in the zone of saturation
Water table- the upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater
Porosity- the volume of open spaces in rock or soil
Permeability- a measure of a material’s ability to transmit fluids
Aquifer- rock or soil through which groundwater moves easily
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Spring- a flow of groundwater that emerges naturally at the ground surface
Geyser- a hot spring or fountain that ejects water at various intervals
Well- an opening bored into the zone of saturation
Artesian Well- a well in which the water naturally rises above the level of
the water table
26. Cavern- a naturally formed underground chamber or series of chambers most
commonly produced by solution activity in limestone
27. Travertine- a form of limestone that is deposited by hot springs or as a cave
deposit
28. Karst Topography- an area that has a land surface or topography with
numerous depressions called sinkholes
29. Sinkhole- a depression produced in a region where soluble rock has been
removed by groundwater