Science 8 Unit 5 Topic 3 Fresh Water Systems Lakes, Ponds Wetlands, Streams, Rivers, and Groundwater

Science 8 Unit 5 Topic 3

Fresh Water Systems

Lakes, Ponds Wetlands, Streams, Rivers, and Groundwater


Freshwater systems Exist above ground in lakes,

ponds, streams, and wetlands

Exist as ground water

Exist in the air as water vapour.

Exist in three different states: Solid Liquid Gas


Lake Ponds + Wetlands Lakes and ponds are holes in the

ground filled with water Lake is deeper . . . Sunlight does

not go to the bottom (depending on clarity the

amount of dissolved solids suspended in the water)

Wetlands are low areas that are almost always saturated with water. Wetlands provide a habitat for a surprising number of organisms


Streams and rivers Flowing waterways . . . Fast flowing

rivers and streams are usually rich in oxygen

Stream or river profile is a description of its characteristics:

Flow rate Steepness of bed Erosion rate of its’ banks


Streams and rivers cont’ Source of streams and rivers may be high in the

mountains (melting snow and ice from glaciers)

Small streams gather into one channel forming a river.

In the early stages flow is swift and the river is fairly straight.

As the river reaches lower elevations it slows and meanders (curves.) It begins to drop the sediment it was carrying to form deltas. Really good example: Fraser River flowing to Vancouver.


Streams and rivers cont’

The Fraser River begins in the mountains ends in the Pacific Ocean


Watershed It is all the area of land that drains into one main body of water.

It can contain streams rivers lakes. The location of the highest land on

the continent determines the direction of the flow. This is called the continental divide. In N. America, it’s the Rocky Mountains.

Also called a drainage Basin

The river begins at the Headwaters and ends at the Outflow usually at the mouth of the river.


7 Major Watersheds in Alberta

Peace/Slave + Athabasca + Hay River flow into Arctic Ocean

Beaver + North and South Saskatchewan Rivers flow into Hudson’s Bay

Milk River flows into the Gulf of Mexico


Run-off and Erosion

Moving water is a powerful force. Washes soil away wears away or

dissolves rock (universal solvent remember?)

The sediment load of the river/stream is determined by the flow, steepness, vegetation, what the banks and bottom are made of (rock or soil)


Why is monitoring sediment important? When we know how much and

what makes up the sediment in rivers and streams we can determine the source of pollutants and measure their impact on plants, animals and our drinking water supply.


Project for this topic

A webquest Individual work Small groups (groups of 3

students) Presentations


What is this Webquest The quest begins with role-play.

Acting as members of a Watershed Advisory Task Force, students will work on the development of a new water policy, first as individuals and then as part of a team. The quest culminates with each team presenting their recommendations to Alberta Environment (the class).

We will quickly discover we all live downstream.


What are the timelines? Class 1 today, review topic, pick

groups. Classes 2 + 3 research

stakeholder point of view. Class 4 put together team

presentation Class 5 make presentations (may

need 1 extra day)

Documents

Science 8 Unit 5 Topic 3 Fresh Water Systems Lakes, Ponds Wetlands, Streams, Rivers, and Groundwater