headwaters
1
5.5
- noun
- /ˈhɛdˌwɔtərz/
- Specialized
:
manantial
- Wildlife thrives near the headwaters, as many animals gather at the source of the river for water.
- headwaters forest
- river headwaters
Examples
-
The river begins at the headwaters, where the melting snow from the mountains flows into a small stream.
-
For the Critical Headwaters Area, a landslide-ravaged zone of 140,000 hectares in the upper catchments of the Waiapu, Waipaoa, and neighboring rivers, the objective of the project was complete afforestation.
Academic text (1991) -
Hiking to the headwaters of the river allowed us to see where the water originates in the alpine lake.
Synonyms
65
5.6
The source of a river or stream
6
7.2
The source or small streams at the start of a river
2
8.0
The spring where a river or stream begins
1
5.6
The place where a river begins, often in the hills
A small stream that forms the start of a river
The place where a stream or river starts
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Headwaters comes from head ('top' or 'beginning') and waters ('river water'). It means the place where a river or stream first starts to flow, so the headwaters are the river's source.