The Hydrography is a branch of Physical geography who deals with the description of the seas and water currents that exist on the planet.
Discipline that studies, describes and identifies on maps the currents of water present on the earth
And on the other hand, the word Hydrography designates the set of seas, lakes and running waters of a certain geographical area.
Among the topics of interest covered by Hydrography, the following stand out: the flow, the bed, the fluvial sedimentation of continental waters and the basin.
Water is one of the most important components of our planet and by case it is that its knowledge demands a study and specific knowledge.
The importance of water for life, its great presence on the planet and the various types
The waters occupy a notable percentage of the terrestrial surface, more than seventy percent, distinguishing the oceans that are enormous masses of salt water that divide and separate the continents; The seas are also classified among those of salt water but have a smaller proportion with respect to the former.
For their part, rivers and streams are smaller bodies of water that have a pluvial origin and are characterized by their fresh water.
Lagoons and lakes are also freshwater that are formed in cavities with an impermeable bottom and are fed by rivers and streams.
And finally, groundwater, which is what comes from precipitation in all its forms, be it rain, hail, snow, among others, and from melting ice that filters into the ground through the permeability of some rocks.
This infiltrating water moves through the interior of the earth very slowly and by attraction until it comes across an impermeable rock that does not allow liquid to pass through and then it cannot continue on its way, for example, it accumulates in one place and forms what is called an aquifer, a mixture of sand, rock and water.
Salt waters represent the highest percentage with a 94% presence on land, while fresh waters are a minority with only 6%.
On her side, the watershed It is the territory that is drained by a single natural drainage system, that is, a river that flows into a sea or an endorheic place.
It should be noted that it is a frequent situation that the hydrographic basin of a river is taken as a specific natural region, on which detailed analyzes of the specialties it holds are developed.
Another outstanding concept within Hydrography is that of hydrographic slopewhich is made up of a set of rivers that have their respective tributaries and that flow into the same sea.
The rivers that make up the hydrographic slope usually have similar characteristics.
Distinction of Hydrology
As some confusion is usually generated that leads to an equivocal indistinct use of both terms as if they implied the same thing, it is worth noting that the concepts of hydrography and hydrology refer to different issues; hydrology It is the geographical science that is dedicated to the study of the distribution and properties of the waters found in the earth’s crust and in the atmosphere.
Therefore, hydrology deals with studying soil moisture, glacier masses and precipitation, among other phenomena.
This discipline is in charge of preparing hydrographic charts in which the waters are cartographically represented, being identified with the light blue color. The waters are essential for the existence of life on earth and for life to continue to exist; animals, plants and humans need it to live and for example, human settlements have been found since the most remote times always near some body of water.
They are also fundamental for economic development, because they allow the development of various activities associated with it.
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