Surface Water

An Erosional-Depositional System

Running Water

• When running water is confined to a channel, it is called a stream

• Smaller streams called tributaries flow into larger ones until it forms a river system

V-Shaped Valleys

The action of stream abrasion causes a v-shaped valley to be cut into the landscape

Watershed Areas• The area drained

by a stream is called a watershed area

• Another name for a watershed area is drainage basin

The high land that separates one watershed area from another is called a divide.

The source of a river is called its headwaters. This is where a river has it’s greatest potential energy

The place where a river ends is called the mouth of the river. This is the base level.

Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Ithasca State Park