Find out more about the drainage basin or watershed you live in by visiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s How’s My Waterway ?. The drainage basin of a stream includes all the land that is drained by one stream and all of its tributaries. Many colleges and universities also have their own collections/museums.
Here in California, there are a number of large collections, including the San Diego Natural History Museum, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and Kimball Natural History Museum. Typically, natural history museums will have wonderful displays of rocks, including those from your local region. Also, visit National Parks, CA State Parks, museums, gem & mineral shows, or join a local rock and mineral club. We recommend completing as many math and science courses as possible. If you are interested, talk to your geology instructor for advice. Many of these career options require a college degree and postgraduate work. Additional career pathways are available in the private sector including in mining and natural resource extraction or in hazard mitigation and assessment. Many are employed by universities where they teach and/or do research, and state and federal agencies, including geological surveys, like the California Geological Survey or United State Geological Survey (USGS). Like many other geoscientists, working with other disciplines is common, with a heavy influence from both math and technology.
Those who study water, water resources, or the landforms made by water, may have many titles, including hydrologist, hydro-geologist, geomorphologist, or geochemist to name a few. Rivers and lakes make up only a small fraction of Earth’s freshwater resources.
Earth’s freshwater sources are mostly locked within glaciers and ice caps and as groundwater. Figure 9.2: Most of the Earth’s water is found in oceans and is therefore saltwater. Additional water resources are also found in the ground, and will be discussed in another chapter ( Figure 9.2). The majority of water is found in oceans, but freshwater can be found in lakes, rivers and trapped away in glaciers and ice sheets. At Earth’s surface, this cycle, powered by the sun, operates easily since water can change form from liquid to gas (or water vapor) quickly. This movement of water through the Earth System is referred to as the hydrologic (water) cycle ( Figure 9.1). Water is continually recycled through the atmosphere, to the land, and back to the oceans. What happens to the rain in the grassy area? Much of it will infiltrate, or soak into the ground. Where does the water from the parking lot go? Much of it will flow across the surface and eventually join a stream. What happens to water during a rainstorm? Imagine that you are outside in a parking lot with grassy areas nearby. Water is always changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years. Figure 9.1: Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle (hydrologic cycle), describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Some of these processes are slow and result in landscapes worn down over time others, such as floods, can be dramatically fast and dangerous. Water can sculpt the landscape dramatically over time, by both carving canyons and depositing thick layers of sediment. How many times a day do you take water for granted? Do you assume the tap will be flowing when you turn on your faucet? That the shower will turn on, the toilet will flush, and you’ll have water to cook your meals? Not only is water necessary for many of life’s functions, it is also a considerable geologic agent.
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