Runoff

Translated by Marina Agarkova

When rain falls on Earth, the water starts moving and flowing downhill through sewers and rivers as runoff. Runoff is extremely important to recharge surface water bodies and groundwater. Furthermore, runoff changes the landscape by action of erosion. It is an integral part of the water cycle (Earth Science Data Systems 2021). 

Translated by Marina Agarkova

Translated by Isabel Zetina

Cuando la lluvia cae sobre la Tierra, el agua empieza a moverse y a fluir cuesta abajo a través de alcantarillas y ríos en forma de escorrentía. La escorrentía es extremadamente importante para recargar las masas de agua de la superficie y las aguas subterráneas. Además, la escorrentía modifica el paisaje por acción de la erosión. Es una parte integral del ciclo del agua (Earth Science Data Systems 2021). 

Have you ever heard the phrase "All the rivers run into the sea"? In most cases, this statement holds, with one exception: rivers that end up in lakes. If you imagine mountain ranges as the walls of a bathtub, the ocean is like the bottom of the bathtub, collecting all the water from the bathtub. No matter where you live, you inhabit a land area where all the water, above and below ground, converges into a common body of water (Figure 1). We call this area a watershed. Watersheds vary in size.

Have you ever heard the phrase "All the rivers run into the sea"? In most cases, this statement holds, with one exception: rivers that end up in lakes. If you imagine mountain ranges as the walls of a bathtub, the ocean is like the bottom of the bathtub, collecting all the water from the bathtub. No matter where you live, you inhabit a land area where all the water, above and below ground, converges into a common body of water (Figure 1). We call this area a watershed. Watersheds vary in size.