synonyms: catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, water basin, watershed
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.14605
Area of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, dam, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean.
Notes:
- A drainage basin includes the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels, separated from adjacent basins by a drainage divide.
- A drainage basin acts like a funnel, collecting all the water within the area covered by the basin and channeling it into a waterway. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a ridge, hill, or mountain, which is known as a water divide.