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River Systems 01/21/15
11-1b pgs. 272-274
IN: Which stage of the
water cycle brings
most of the water to
Nevada?
Terms to Learn and Objectives
 Terms to learn:
*erosion *tributary
*channel *load
 Objectives:
*drainage basin
*divide
 Identify the watershed of the Colorado River.
 Determine the location of the Continental Divide.
 Explain factors the effect how a river causes erosion on
the land.
 What is this a
picture of?
 Grand Canyon
 What carved
the canyon?
 Colorado
River
 What is this
process called?
 Erosion
Colorado
River System
What do rivers do?
 Erosion
 Transportation
 Deposition
Erosion - the removal and transport
of surface material, such as rock
and soil.
River Systems
Tributaries – smaller streams or
rivers that flow into larger ones.
Drainage basin (also sometimes
called a watershed) – the land
drained by a river system.
 Cut and paste the diagram of the Colorado River
Drainage Basin.
 Color each of the five tributaries a different color.
 Label each tributary.
The Colorado River Watershed
5 main tributaries:
*Green
*San Juan
*Little Colorado
*Virgin
*Gila
Divide - an area of higher ground than
the basins it separates.
All water on
this side
drains into
the Pacific
Ocean.

All water on
this side
drains into
the Gulf of
Mexico and
the Atlantic
Ocean.

Find the Continental Divide
 Put a dot at the end of each tributary that leads from
the east to the west.
 Connect the dots.
The line should connect right about here
Stream Erosion
 All rivers start as streams.
 As more rock and soil are transported
downstream, channels become wider
and deeper.
Channel – the path that a stream
follows.
What factors effect the rate of
stream erosion?
 Gradient
 Discharge
 Load
Gradient – the steepness of a river
or stream. (kind of like the slope)
Discharge - the amount of water a
stream or river carries in a given
amount of time.
Load - the materials carried in a
stream’s water.
OUT: How does the
water cycle help
develop river systems?