What term describes the entire land area drained by a river and its tributaries?

What term describes the entire land area drained by a river and its tributaries?

• A. Meander
• B. Drainage Basin
• C. Flood Plain
• D. Interlocking Spurs

Answer: (B)

The question is asking for the term that names the whole land area that collects precipitation and drains into a river and all its tributaries. The best fit is drainage basin, also known as a catchment or watershed. This concept covers the entire region where rainfall and runoff flow toward the river system, with the boundary set along high ground that separates one basin from another—the watershed divide. It includes the main river plus every tributary that feeds into it, along with all the water that eventually reaches the network. Meander refers to a bend in the river’s course, not the whole drainage area. The flood plain is the flat land next to a river that can be inundated during floods, not the entire drainage area. Interlocking spurs are a topographic pattern formed by a river cutting through higher ground, not the drainage system as a whole.

The question is asking for the term that names the whole land area that collects precipitation and drains into a river and all its tributaries. The best fit is drainage basin, also known as a catchment or watershed. This concept covers the entire region where rainfall and runoff flow toward the river system, with the boundary set along high ground that separates one basin from another—the watershed divide. It includes the main river plus every tributary that feeds into it, along with all the water that eventually reaches the network.

Meander refers to a bend in the river’s course, not the whole drainage area. The flood plain is the flat land next to a river that can be inundated during floods, not the entire drainage area. Interlocking spurs are a topographic pattern formed by a river cutting through higher ground, not the drainage system as a whole.