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Chapter 2
Waterforms of Pennsylvania
L E S S O N 5
Key Questions
KeyWords
waterform
tributaries
source
mouth
run-off water
groundwater
wetlands
reservoirs
dams
hydroelectric
nuclear
water cycle
Waterforms
W
hat is a
waterform
? Do you
remember that we have many
landforms in our state? Land-
form features canbe plains,mountains, and
plateaus. Awaterform is similar, onlywe are
talking about water, not land. A waterform
is a type of physical feature that holdswater
or allows water to flow from high places to
lower places.
There are many names used to describe
waterforms. You can get an idea of the size
of a flowing waterform by its name. For
example, the smaller waterforms that have
flowing water are called such names as
springs, runs, creeks, and streams. Smaller
waterforms emptying into largerwaterforms
are called
tributaries
. Larger flowing
waterforms are called rivers. Howmany of
these waterforms do we have in Pennsyl-
vania? See page 10 in Lesson 2 for help.
Our River Systems
P
ennsylvania has three main river
systems that drain thewater from the
land. Remember, to have a river sys-
tem, many smaller rivers and tributaries
flow into it. Let us talk about one you
already read about— the Delaware River. It
forms a natural border between New York
and New Jersey. Its
source
begins in New
York State.Useyour finger on amap to trace
how it flows south along Pennsylvania’s
border. The
mouth
of the Delaware River
1. What are the different
waterforms of Pennsylvania?
2. What are the names of our
major rivers andwhere are
they located?
3. Where are our major
reservoirs located?
4. How do people use our
waterforms?
