GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Tributaries, also called affluents, do not flow directly into the ocean. Most large rivers are formed from many tributaries. Each tributary drains a different watershed, carrying runoff and snowmelt from that area. Each tributary’s watershed makes up the larger watershed of the mainstem.

Detailed explanation-2: -A confluence occurs when two or more flowing bodies of water join together to form a single channel.

Detailed explanation-3: -The place where a stream or river starts is its source, or headwaters. The source might be a spring, where water flows out of the ground. Or the source might be water from melting snow on a mountaintop, like the stream pictured below (Figure below). A single stream may have multiple sources.

Detailed explanation-4: -One method of classifying streams is through physical, hydrological, and biological characteristics. Using these features, streams can fall into one of three types: perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral.

Detailed explanation-5: -Headwaters are the source of a stream or river. They are located at the furthest point from where the water body empties or merges with another. Two-thirds of California’s surface water supply originates in these mountainous and typically forested regions.