Drainage basin

A drainage basin's boundaries are determined by watershed delineation, a common task in environmental engineering and science.[citation needed] In North America, surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes, and most of Newfoundland and Labrador.The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, eastern Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America.[9] Its basin includes much of China, eastern and southeastern Russia, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, most of Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands, the northeast coast of Australia, and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes.If water evaporates or infiltrates into the ground at its terminus, the area can go by several names, such playa, salt flat, dry lake, or alkali sink.This water will either remain underground, slowly making its way downhill and eventually reaching the basin, or it will permeate deeper into the soil and consolidate into groundwater aquifers.In the unlikely event that the gauges are many and evenly distributed over an area of uniform precipitation, using the arithmetic mean method will give good results.Isochrone maps can be used to show the time taken for runoff water within a drainage basin to reach a lake, reservoir or outlet, assuming constant and uniform effective rainfall.Modern use of artificial fertilizers, containing nitrogen (as nitrates), phosphorus, and potassium, has affected the mouths of drainage basins.Management of shared drainage basins is also seen as a way to build lasting peaceful relationships among countries.Catchment factors are: topography, shape, size, soil type, and land use (paved or roofed areas).Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding.[5] Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay soils.
The Mississippi River drains the largest area of any U.S. river, much of it agricultural regions. Agricultural runoff and other water pollution that flows to the outlet is the cause of the hypoxic, or dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico .
Major continental divides , showing how terrestrial drainage basins drain into the oceans. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans
Endorheic basin in Central Asia
Drainage basin of the Ohio River , part of the Mississippi River drainage basin
Top-down illustration of a dendritic drainage basin. The dashed line is the main water divide of the hydrography basin.
Digital terrain map of the Latorița River 's drainage basin in Romania
Catchment areaMississippi Riveragriculturalhypoxic, or dead zoneGulf of Mexicosurface waterriver mouthbody of waterdrainage divideridgesconfluenceshierarchical patternimpluviumwatershedwatershed delineationendorheic basindry lakelost undergroundhydrologic unitsdrainage systemList of drainage basins by areacontinental dividesendorheic basinsAtlantic OceanNorth AmericaSaint Lawrence RiverGreat LakesEastern SeaboardCanadian MaritimesNewfoundland and LabradorSouth AmericaWesternCentral EuropeSub-Saharan AfricaWestern SaharaMoroccomediterranean seasCaribbean SeaAppalachianRocky MountainsAlbertaSaskatchewanCentral AmericaMediterranean SeaBlack SeaNorth AfricaAfricaNile RiverSouthernEastern EuropeTurkeyIsraelLebanonArctic OceanWestern CanadaNorthern CanadaContinental DivideAlaskaNorth DakotaSouth DakotaMinnesotaMontanaScandinavian peninsulaKazakhstanMongoliaPacific OceanKorean PeninsulaPacific IslandsAustraliaIndian OceanRed SeaPersian GulfIndian subcontinentAmazonMississippiRío de la PlataGangesCentral AsiaEndorheic lakeInland seaephemeralalkali sinkCaspian SeaAral SeaGreat BasinSahara DesertOkavango RiverKalahari BasinAfrican Great LakesArabian PeninsulaMexicobodies of waterDead SeaEnglishHudson's Bay Companyfur tradeHudson BayRupert's LandBioregionaltreatiesinterstate compactsGreat Lakes CommissionTahoe Regional Planning AgencyOhio Riverhydrologyhydrological cycleprecipitationgroundwaterstream gaugearithmetic meanThiessen polygonisohyetalIsochrone mapsrunoff waterfluvialgeomorphologysedimentdendritichydrographyterrain mapLatorița RiverRomaniaecologynutrientspollutantswater bodyartificial fertilizersnitrogennitratesphosphoruspotassiumeutrophicationWatershed managementU.S. state of Minnesotawatershed districtsconservation authoritiesBraziltransboundary riverNile Basin InitiativeSenegal RiverMekong River Commissionfloodingtopographyland useroofedmountainouspavementsContinental Divide of the AmericasIntegrated catchment managementInterbasin transferInternational Journal of River Basin ManagementInternational Network of Basin OrganizationsMain stemRiver basin management plansRiver bifurcationTenajaTime of concentrationCatchment hydrologyBibcodesnowmeltkarsticCopernicus PublicationsUNESCORiver morphologyAlluvial plainDrainage system (geomorphology)EstuaryStrahler number (stream order)River valleyRiver deltaRiver sinuosityAlluvial riversAnabranchAvulsion (river)Bar (river morphology)Braided riverChannel patternCut bankFloodplainMeanderMeander cutoffMouth barOxbow lakePoint barRiffleRapidsRiparian zoneRiver channel migrationSlip-off slopeStream poolThalwegBedrock riverCanyonKnickpointPlunge poolBedformsAntiduneCurrent rippleAggradationBase levelDegradation (geology)Erosion and tectonicsRiver rejuvenationDeposition (geology)Exner equationHack's lawHelicoidal flowPlayfair's lawSediment transportList of rivers that have reversed directionRiversstreamsspringsAlluvial riverBlackwater riverChannelChannel typesConfluenceDistributarySubterranean 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savannasInundationStorm Water Management ModelReturn periodEffluentIndustrial wastewaterSewageBaer's lawBaseflowBradshaw modelDischarge (hydrology)Drainage densityGroundwater modelHjulström curveHydrographHydrological modelHydrological transport modelInfiltration (hydrology)Relief ratioRiver Continuum ConceptRouse numberRunoff curve numberRunoff model (reservoir)Universal Soil Loss EquationWAFLEXWetted perimeterVolumetric flow rateRiver engineeringAqueductBalancing lakeCheck damDrop structureDaylightingDetention basinErosion controlFish ladderFloodplain restorationInfiltration basinRetention basinRevetmentRiparian-zone restorationStream restorationCanyoningFly fishingRaftingRiver surfingRiverboardingStone skippingTriathlonWhitewater canoeingWhitewater kayakingWhitewater slalomAquiferAquatic toxicologyHydraulic civilizationLimnologyRiver valley civilizationRiver cruiseSacred watersWild riverRivers by lengthRivers by discharge rateDrainage basinsWhitewater riversFlash floodsRiver name etymologiesCountries without riversWetlandsBackswampBeach meadowBofedalesBlanket bogCataract bogCoastal bogKermi bogPlateau bogPolygonal bogRaised bogString bogUpland bogCallowsAlder carrCiénegaClearwater riverCypress domeFen-meadowPoor fenRich fenGrass valleyGueltaIgapóInterdunal wetlandIntertidal wetlandKettleBrackish marshFreshwater marshInland salt marshSalt marshTidal marshHigh marshLow marshMoorlandMudflatMuskegPakihiPalustrine wetlandPeatland, mire, and quagmirePocosinPotholeReed bedSalt pannes and poolsSloughConiferous swampFreshwater swamp forestMangrove forestMyristica swampPeat swamp forestShrub swampWet meadowVárzea forestVernal poolWhitewater riverYaéréBog gardenConstructed wetlandConverted wetlandWater-meadowList of wetland plantsList of fen plantsSphagnumAcrotelmHistosolSapric or muckTropical peatHydric soilMarsh gasOmbrotrophicHalosereHydroserePaludificationSalt marsh diebackClassificationsA Directory of Important Wetlands in AustraliaNational Wetlands InventoryRamsar Classification System for Wetland TypeConservationClean Water ActGreenhouse gas emissions from wetlandsMarsh organRamsar ConventionRamsar siteSalt marsh die-offWetland indicator statusBangladesh Haor and Wetland Development BoardDelta Waterfowl FoundationDucks UnlimitedIrish Peatland Conservation CouncilMeadowview Biological Research StationSociety of Wetland ScientistsWetlands InternationalWildfowl & Wetlands TrustAquatic ecosystemBog bodyBog butterBog ironBog-woodList of bogsTelmatologyTurbaryWill-o'-the-wisp