Is drainage basin and catchment area the same thing?

Question

Is drainage basin and catchment area the same thing?

Answer 1

Disagree , but it is probably a more qualified statement in wilk than mine , a basin suggests an area of low lying land however a catchment area suggests an whole area of high and low land that drains to a basin . Also a catchment area is also used in other areas than drainage .

Answer 2

Most certainly are the same thing.

Drainage basin, area of land that contributes the water it receives as precipitation (except for losses through evaporation, transpiration from plants, incorporation into the SOIL or GROUNDWATER, etc) to a RIVER or network of rivers. Drainage basins are defined by topographical features, called drainage divides, which determine the direction of flow of water.

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.

Sounds much the same to me.

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_ba...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catchment_a...

yes they are

Answer 4

Except for the split hair, they are same.