1
Wheres Water? Unit Surface Water Rivers,
Lakes, and Ponds
2
River Systems

• The streams and smaller rivers that feed into a
  main river are called tributaries
• Tributaries flow downward toward the main river,
  pulled by the force of gravity
• A river and all its tributaries together make up
  a river system

3
River Features

• Headwaters
• Tributaries
• Flood plain
• Oxbow lake
• Meander
• Mouth
• Delta
• Estuary

4
River Features

• The many small streams that come together at the
  source (beginning) of a river are called its
  headwaters
• The steep slope of the land causes the river to
  flow quickly

5
River Features

• Meanders-looping curves in a river
• Meanders can curve back on themselves. The river
  may then cut a new, straight course, eventually
  leaving an oxbow lake

6
HorseshoeBendof the Colorado River near Page,
AZ
7
Ox Bow lake on Mississippi
8
River Features

• The broad, flat valley through which a river
  flows is its flood plain

9
River Features

• The mouth of a river is where the river flows
  into another body of water
• A delta is created when the river slows down and
  deposits the sediment it was carrying

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11
Delta Formation
DEPOSITON OF MATERIAL BY THE RIVER WHEN IT
ENTERS THE SEA
12
Mississippi Delta from Space
MISSISSIPPI
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Watersheds

• The land area that supplies water to a river
  system is called a watershed
• Watersheds are sometimes known as drainage basins
• We live in the Delaware River Watershed

14
Divides

• A ridge of land that separates one watershed from
  another is called a divide
• Mountains are an example of a divide

15
Divides
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Estuaries

• An estuary is a coastal inlet or bay where fresh
  water from rivers mix with salty ocean water

17
River Features Practice

• Mississippi River

18
Place a box around a tributary of the Mississippi
River
19
Identify a tributary of a tributary of the
Mississippi River
20
Put a X around the Headwaters of the Mississippi
River
21
Circle a meander of the Mississippi River
22
Circle an Oxbow Lake along the Mississippi River
23
Name a state that is in the flood plain of the
Mississippi River
24
Put a star at the mouth of the Mississippi River
25
Put a star at the mouth of the Missouri River
26
Put a star at the mouth of the Ohio River
27
Shade in an area of the Mississippi River
Watershed
28
Identify a divide of the Mississippi River
Watershed
29
Mississippi River Features

• What is this land formation at the mouth of the
  Mississippi River called?
• The fresh water of the Mississippi River mixes
  with the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico and
  enters the Atlantic Ocean. What is the term for
  fresh water mixing with salt water?

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Surface Water Part II Ponds and Lakes
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Ponds

• Ponds are freshwater
• Ponds are shallow
• Ponds form when water collects in
• low-lying areas of land
• Plants grow at the bottom of ponds

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Lakes

• Lakes are freshwater
• Lakes are deep
• Lakes form when water collects in low-lying areas
  of land
• Plants do not grow at the bottom of deep lakes

Lake Baikal, Russia
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Lake Formation

• Lakes can be formed by natural processes or human
  efforts
• 1. Volcanic lakes
• 2. Glacier- made lakes
• 3. Human- made lakes
• A lake that stores water for human use is called
  a reservoir

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Volcanic Lake
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Glacier-Made Lakes
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Human-Made Lakes
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Lakes Can Change

• Seasonal changes- water temperature at different
  depths changes during the year
• Lake turnover-nutrients mix
• Nutrients-substances such as nitrogen and
  phosphorous that plants and algae grow

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Lakes Can Change

• Long-term changes
• Eutrophication-Algae and scum forms on the
  surface of the water
• becomes so thick that it blocks out sunlight and
  plants cannot carry out photosynthesis
• Death of a body of fresh water

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Eutrophication
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Eutrophication
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Ponds and Lakes

• SAME
• Freshwater
• Still, standing water
• Form when water collects in hollows and low-lying
  areas of land

• DIFFERENT
• Lakes are deeper
• Plants dont grow at the bottom of deep lakes
• Sunlight cannot reach the bottom of a deep lake
  and photosynthesis cannot occur

44
Crater Lake and Lake Nyos Links

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_lake
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/a
  ugust/21/newsid_3380000/3380803.stm