river basin

noun

, Physical Geography.

1. the area of land drained by a river and its branches.

river basin

1. The land area that is drained by a river and its tributaries. The Mississippi River basin, for example, is a vast area that covers much of the central United States from the central ranges of the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains in the west, funneling toward its delta in southern Louisiana and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

Word History and Origins

Origin of river basin¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The infrastructure bill does earmark millions of dollars to improve river basin ecosystems and help fish get around man-made barriers across the country.

From Time

By 2017, they found, 37 percent of those river basins still weren’t seeing the amount of water flow that they had predrought.

From Science News

The only river basin of any importance is that of the Vilaine, which flows through Rennes.

From Project Gutenberg

Fundulus kansae has been found in the lower part of the Walnut River Basin, especially where petroleum pollution was evident.

From Project Gutenberg

This seems to be the only record of this species from the Walnut River Basin at the present time.

From Project Gutenberg

The lower part of the river-basin was inhabited by the Angrivarii.

From Project Gutenberg

These caons link the buried river basin of the lower stream with the upper river valleys.

From Project Gutenberg