Download Chemical Reactions, Chemical Equations, Electricity

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River Basins & Underground Water
Permeable – allows water to pass through
Impermeable – does not allow water to pass through
Water Table – top of the saturated zone
Saturated Zone – the area of permeable rock or soil that is totally
filled or saturated with water
Unsaturated Zone – the layer of rocks and soil above the water
table, no water
Aquifer – underground layer of rock or sediment that holds water
and allows water to flow through it
Artesian Well – water rising because of pressure within an aquifer
(natural well)
Watershed – all the land that feeds water into a river (river basin)
Wetland – land area covered with water during some part or all of
the year: marshes, swamps, bogs
Estuary – an area where salty ocean water mixes with fresh water
from rivers
Topography – the study of Earth’s natural and artificial features by
surveying and mapping
Floodplain – a nearly flat plain along the course of a stream or river
that is naturally subject to flooding
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Biodiversity – the existence of a wide variety of plant and animal
species in their natural environments
Sediment – matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid such as a
lake, river, or pond
Runoff – something that drains or flows off such as the rain that
flows off from the land into streams
Point Source Pollution – pollution that comes from a single
identifiable site
Non-point Source Pollution – pollution that comes from many
places or a source that is not easily identified