catchment area

catchment area or drainage basin, area drained by a stream or other body of water. The limits of a given catchment area are the heights of land—often called drainage divides, or watersheds—separating it from neighboring drainage systems. The amount of water reaching the river, reservoir, or lake from its catchment area depends on the size of the area, the amount of precipitation, and the loss through evaporation (determined by temperature, winds, and other factors and varying with the season) and through absorption by the earth or by vegetation; absorption is greater when the soil or rock is permeable than when it is impermeable. A permeable layer over an impermeable layer may act as a natural reservoir, supplying the river or lake in very dry seasons. The catchment area is one of the primary considerations in the planning of a reservoir for water-supply purposes.

catchment area (kach-mĕnt) n. the geographic area from which a hospital can expect to receive patients and on which (in Britain) the designated population of the hospital is based.

catchment The area from which a surface watercourse or a groundwater system derives its water. Catchments are separated by divides. A surface catchment area may overlie an aquifer system, but may be unconnected with the aquifer rock itself if there are intervening impermeable aquicludes. In US usage, a catchment is often termed a ‘watershed’.