DRAINAGE BASINS, CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AND HOW CLIMATE INFLUENCES LANDSCAPES

By: Madison Brown

Drainage Basins

•The removal of excess water from soil.

•Area that precipitation flows into a single or set of streams.

•These exist all over the world.

•Elevation (influenced by mountains) makes these basins possible.

Continental Divide

• The lines separating areas that drain into the Atlantic Ocean from those draining into the Pacific Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

• Natural Boundary, all of similar elevation or a continuous ridge of mountains.

• This is an imaginary line!

• This separates the continent into two main drainage areas.

• Generally runs through the crest of the Rocky Mountains.

• Runs through Glacier, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain national parks.

How Climate Influences Landscapes• Hot and humid causes more chemical weathering and physical weathering as well.

• Landscape will tend to be hilly due to the constant evaporation and precipitation that shape the area.• Example: Rainforests!

• Cold and dry- Landscape is flatter because there is not much precipitation and the winds flatten the landscape.

• Too cold, not much vegetation.• Example: Antarctica!

• Hot and dry- Flatter and not much vegetation because it is hot and there’s not enough water.

• Rocks and layered features in a desert are shaped or eroded by wind mainly, and gravity.

Multiple Choice Questions1. How are the continental divides separated?

a. By bodies of water

b. By areas of similar elevation

c. By climate

d. By state

2. What is a drainage basin?

a. Wells of water all over the world

b. The deepest part of the ocean

c. The same as a tributary

d. Areas where precipitation flows into other small bodies of water

3. A hot and humid climate will make the landscape appear to be what?

a. Hilly

b. Sandy

c. Flat

d. Green

Multiple Choice Questions (continued)

4. If the climate you live in has a normal or average daily temperature of -20 degrees Celsius, what would the landscape look like?

a. Full of vegetationb. Very mountainous c. Little vegetationd. No hills what so ever

5. If you are given a rock sample and the rock is very smooth, shiny and round, what kind of climate would this have came from?

a. Hot and humidb. Cold and dryc. Hot and dryd. Cold and humid