Hydrography studies water courses.
Hydrography is the part of geography that is responsible for describing the waters of planet Earth . The concept is also used to name all the waters of a region or a country.
For example: "This scientist is one of the most renowned hydrography experts in the country" , "Brazil's hydrography is very rich" , "The environmental organization asked for the protection of national hydrography" .
What hydrography studies
Hydrography studies characteristics such as flow , bed , basin and fluvial sedimentation of continental waters. It is common to consider a river basin as a specific natural region and to develop detailed analyzes of its specificities.
The territory that is drained by a single natural drainage system (a river that flows into a sea or an endorheic lake) is known as a hydrographic basin . Another important notion for hydrography is the idea of a hydrographic network , a surface transport network for water and sediment.
A hydrographic slope , on the other hand, is formed by a set of rivers with their respective tributaries that flow into the same sea . The rivers that form the hydrographic slope usually have similar characteristics.
Differences with hydrology
It is important to distinguish between hydrography and hydrology . Hydrology is the geographical science dedicated to the study of the distribution and properties of the waters present in the Earth's crust and in the atmosphere. This science, therefore, studies soil humidity , precipitation and glacial masses, among other topics.
Despite its differences, hydrography is related to hydrology, as well as geology and climatology, among other sciences. It is correct to say that the main point that hydrography studies are continental water resources, that is, the fresh water that is available for human uses, an element of great importance for a few decades now.
Thanks to hydrography it is possible to care for and use rivers.
Hydrography, essential for human subsistence
Human beings need these water resources to satisfy their most basic needs , such as hygiene and food; Let us not forget that drinking water is essential for our health, since it is an essential nutrient for most of our body's functions. On the other hand, science has shown that 60% of our body is made up of liquid; All our tissues have a certain percentage of water, even bone and capillary.
Hydrography, therefore, is a fundamental science for our development and our survival as a species, given that we find ourselves in an era in which we depend on intense and constant research work by a portion of society to be able to feed ourselves. and grow properly, unlike the rest of the animals, which face the world with their own tools.
Use of rivers
From the point of view of hydrography, rivers have a large number of possible uses, which are detailed below:
* irrigation in agricultural plantations;
* navigation and creation of canals and river ports;
* production of hydroelectric energy in waterfalls and dams, both natural and artificial;
* creation of parks for tourism and recreation, where activities such as swimming and other sports can be carried out;
* Given the richness of minerals found in a large part of its channels, mining takes advantage of them to obtain metals (gold and silver) and materials that are used for construction (sand and gravel).
Hydrography is structured at the national level in several countries, and there is also an international organization in the Principality of Monaco that coordinates hydrographic information, called the International Hydrographic Organization and founded in 1921.