SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER
Unit 1 Section 3
Terms
surface water
groundwater
water table
channel
tributary
watershed
divide
aquifer
porosity
permeability
stream load
gradient
discharge
recharge
FACTS
• 97% of Earth’s water is salty
• 3% is fresh water
• About ____% is physically drinkable
• Fresh water can be found __________ and ___________ the
surface
• We obviously use the fresh water for drinking but we also use it for
• Agriculture, Industry, Transportation, and Recreation
• Also provides a home for many animals
SURFACE WATER
• Streams, lakes, and rivers are all types of ___________
______________
• It can come from precipitation, such as rain, or from the
ground
• A ________________ is water that comes directly from
underground
• Runoff is water that flows over Earth’s surface
GROUNDWATER
• Not all runoff becomes surface water
• Water drains into soil and filters down into underground
rock, collecting in spaces between rock particles
• The water found in these spaces is
______________________________
GROUNDWATER
• Most drinking water in the US comes from
__________________________
• We must drill down into the
_____________________________ which are
underground
• The upper boundary, or surface of groundwater is known
as the ______________ ________________
A STREAM
• Bodies of water flow from ____________ to
_____________ ground
• Water that doesn’t seep into ground flows as streams, or
rivers
• The water in a stream or river will erode rocks and soil
from the banks
A Stream
• The path a stream follows is called a
_________________________
• Over time a channel will get _______________
and ________________ as the stream continues
to erode rock and soil
NETWORK OF STREAMS AND RIVERS
• When small streams flow into rivers and then eventually into a river system, a
stream is considered a _______________________ to the rivers
• These streams and rivers are all types of runoff
• Streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, floodplains, and groundwater contribute
to an area called a ______________________ which is an area of land drained
by a river system
• A _______________ is two areas of high land that contribute to a watershed
UNITED STATES WATERSHED
• The largest watershed in the US is the
_____________________________
• From the __________________ mountains to the
______________________ mountains
• It also spans the entire length of the US
Picture
WATER FLOW FACTORS
• Plants:
• Porosity and Permeability:
• Steepness of land:
IN RIVERS AND STREAMS
• The measure of change in elevation over a certain
distance is called _______________________
• So it describes steepness and slope of the land
• High gradient will result in
__________________________
IN RIVERS AND STREAMS
• The amount of water moving through a channel at any given time is
called _________________________
• During warm weather when water is melting rapidly and during a
heavy storm flow is going to ______________________
• An increase in flow will result in an ____________________ of river
speed
IN RIVERS AND STREAMS
• Materials found in a stream is called the __________________________
• Streams with high flow have a ________________________ stream load
• Faster the stream, larger the particles
• Stream load will be deposited where water speed
__________________________
• This is commonly where streams or rivers enter lakes and oceans
TRICKLING INTO EARTH
• Groundwater is either stored or flows as streams under Earth’s
crust
• A body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows it
to flow is called an __________________________
• The water table will rise or fall depending on how much water is in
an aquifer
• Where might we find the water table above the ground?
FILLING TINY SPACES UNDERGROUND
• Pores
• Permeability
RECHARGE VS. DISCHARGE
• Surface water that seeps into ground that also
reaches the water table and enters an aquifer is the
process of recharge
• The process where groundwater becomes surface
water is known as discharge
• A spring is an example of ___________________
Recharge vs. Discharge
•Discharge also happens when water is removed
from a well
•Discharge and Recharge circulate the same water
between underground and the surface
PEOPLE USE FOR GROUND AND SURFACE WATER
• _______% is used from washing clothes, bathing, washing dishes, and flushing
toilets
• _______% is used for watering lawns and gardens (how much is left?)
• In agriculture _______% is used for irrigation and water for livestock to drink in
the US
• About ______% of water in the US is used industry (they use it to cool elements
in power plants)