river basin

American  

noun

Physical Geography.

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

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river basin Scientific  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of river basin

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

river basin

As Ma performed in the park, Gonzalez stood in the river basin, spray-painting in neon-pink blockbuster letters the name of his organization, East Side of the River, onto pillars under Slauson Avenue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

That includes the upper Indus river basin, which serves parts of China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2025

He pointed the finger at Spain's Aemet weather agency as well as the independent Júcar authority that looks after the river basin and water resources.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2024

“We know now,” Wilkerson said, “that the river basin downtown has a high groundwater table and a really granular type of soil, so there’s a zone in this downtown region where liquefaction is a potential.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2024

On a plateau commanding the Coatzacoalcos river basin, San Lorenzo proper was inhabited mainly by the elite; everyone else lived in the farm villages around it.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann