View source for Spanish Glossary

English to Spanish glossary.
<br />
{| {{table}}
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''English'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Spanish'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;"|'''Explanation'''
|-
| Alluvial deposits||Depósitos aluviales||Sediments deposited by modern rivers and streams
|-
| Alluvial river||Río aluvial||River with a bed consisting of sediments deposited by this river and still actively remolded by erosion and sedimentation
|-
| Alluvium||Alluvium||Sediment deposits
|-
| Anabranched river||Río anastomosado, Río anaramificado||River consisting of a network of channels separated by large islands that are usually vegetated
|-
| Anadromous||Anadromo||Adjective indicating fish that spawn in fresh water after spending most of their lives and becoming mature in the sea. See also 
|-
| Aquifer||Acuífero||Water-bearing layer of porous subsurface material that can yield usable quantities of water
|-
| Backswamps||Retro-ciénagas||Wetlands in the lowest areas of the valley floor away from the main channel, storing fine-grained suspended-load sediments
|-
| Backwater effect||Efecto de remanso||Influence from downstream conditions on water levels and flow velocities
|-
| Bank||Orilla||Lateral channel boundary
|-
| Bankfull discharge||Caudal de banca llena||Discharge at which water levels reach the top of the river banks
|-
| Bar||Barra de sedimentos||Submerged or emerged bedform of sand, gravel, or other unconsolidated material, built in shallow water and much longer than the water depth
|-
| Base flow||Caudal base, Caudal de estiaje||Sustained low flow in a stream, mostly fed by groundwater discharge
|-
| Bathymetry||Batimetría||Spatial distribution of water depths below an agreed plane of reference water levels. As this plane has a slope in rivers, bathymetry should not be confused with 
|-
| Bed level||Nivel del lecho, Cota del lecho||Elevation of bottom of river or stream above a horizontal datum
|-
| Bedload||Carga de fondo, Carga de lecho, Carga de arrastre||Sediment transported by rolling, sliding or jumping over the bed
|-
| Bed-material load||Carga de material del lecho||Transport of sediment that is also found in the river bed. It can be transported as both  and 
|-
| Bedrock||Roca madre||Consolidated subsurface material that underlies soils or other unconsolidated material
|-
| Bed shear stress||Tensión de arrastre sobre el lecho||Tangential forces per unit bed area exerted by the flow on the river bed, as a measure of flow strength. See also  and 
|-
| Bed topography||Topografía del lecho||Spatial distribution of bed elevations with respect to a horizontal datum, not to be confused with 
|-
| Bench||Berma||Sediment deposition unit along a bank face. Also 
|-
| Benthic||Béntico||Living at or in the bottom of a fresh or salty body of water. Opposed to 
|-
| Benthos||Bentos||Plants and animals that live in, on or attached to the bottom of water bodies
|-
| Berm||Berma||Sediment deposition unit along a bank face. Also 
|-
| Biogeographical region||Región biogeográfica||Relatively large area that contains characteristic assemblages of natural communities and species that are the product of broad environmental influences and common evolutionary and immigration history. See 
|-
| Bivalve||Bivalvos||A mollusk with two shells, for instance a clam or a mussel
|-
| Boulders||Cantos rodados gruesos||Rock fragments larger than 200 mm in diameter
|-
| Braided river||Río trenzado||River consisting of a network of smaller channels separated by small and often temporary non-vegetated islands called braid bars
|-
| Buffer strip||Franja o banda de amortiguación||Vegetation along a stream left intact after logging or land clearing, preventing fine sediment from entering into the stream
|-
| Cascade||Cascada||Stream bed covered with disorganized boulders in steep confined channels
|-
| Catadromous||Catádromo||Adjective indicating fish that spawn in the open sea after spending their lives and becoming mature in fresh water. See also 
|-
| Catchment||Cuenca||Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. Also  or . Catchment is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Chute channel||Canal de corta||Channel across a bar or floodplain, shortcutting the flow in the main channel
|-
| Clay||Arcillas||Mineral soil particle smaller than 0.002 mm in diameter
|-
| Cobbles||Cantos||Rock fragments between 63 mm and 200 mm in diameter
|-
| Crenal||Crenon||Zone of stream source in longitudinal habitat zonation, also . See also  and 
|-
| Crevasse||Crevasse||Breach in natural levee
|-
| Crevasse splay||Lóbulo de derrame, Crevasse splay||Local accumulation of sand or gravel, deposited by water escaping from the channel through a 
|-
| Crossing||Cruce||Relatively shallow zone between two consecutive bends in navigable rivers. Also 
|-
| Cross-over||Paso||Relatively shallow zone between two consecutive bends in navigable rivers. Also 
|-
| Crustacean||Crustáceo||Invertebrate animal (without backbone) with a hard exoskeleton (external support or protection of the body) and at least five pairs of jointed legs on the thorax
|-
| Current||Corriente||Movement of water in a water body
|-
| Datum||Nivel de referencia, Datum||Reference elevation level, for instance mean sea level
|-
| Degradation||Degradación||In hydromorphology: Lowering of bed elevation by erosion or removal of sediment. In ecology: Damaged condition of habitat
|-
| Discharge||Caudal||Volume of water that flows through a section per unit of time
|-
| Drainage basin||Cuenca de drenaje||Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. Also  or .  is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Dune||Duna||Bedform with a height in the order of tens of percent of the water depth. Two-dimensional dunes have long crests perpendicular to the flow. Three-dimensional dunes have short crests.
|-
| Ecoregion||Ecoregión/ Región ecológica||See  and .
|-
| Emergent plant||Planta emergente||Plant rooted in shallow water with much of the stem and most of the leaves above the water
|-
| Eurytopic||Eurioica||Adjective for aquatic species that tolerate both stagnant and flowing water conditions. See also  and 
|-
| Floodplain||Llanura de inundación||Land bordering a river or a stream, built up of sediments from overbank flows and subject to inundation at floods
|-
| Flow resistance||Resistencia al flujo||Forces opposing the discharge of water. A low flow resistance implies high flow velocities and small water depths. A high flow resistance implies low flow velocities and high water depths.
|-
| Flow velocity||Velocidad de la corriente fluvial||Distance travelled by flowing water per unit time, as a measure of flow strength. See also  and 
|-
| Geomorphic unit||Unidad geomorfológica||Area containing a landform created by erosion or deposition inside or outside the river channel. Also ,  or . Geomorphic unit is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Glide||Tabla||Zone of relatively shallow flow as an intermediate feature between shallower riffles and deeper pools, similar to the somewhat steeper 
|-
| Gravel||Gravas||Rock fragments between 2 and 63 mm in diameter
|-
| Habitat||Hábitat||Place where a particular species or life stage lives and grows. Essentially, it is the (mostly physical) environment that surrounds a species population or age group
|-
| Hydraulic roughness||Rugosidad (Hidráulica)||Parameter governing 
|-
| Hydraulic unit||Unidad hidráulica||Spatially distinct patch of relatively homogeneous surface-flow and substrate character. Hydraulic unit is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Impoundment||Presa de regulación||Structure built to maintain a desired water level
|-
| Infauna||Infauna||Benthic animals that burrow into the substrate
|-
| Invertebrates||Invertebrados||Animals without a backbone
|-
| Island||Isla||Landform surrounded by areas of the channel bed and emerged at bankfull stage
|-
| Krenal||Crenon||Zone of stream source in longitudinal habitat zonation, also . See also  and 
|-
| Landscape unit||Unidad de paisaje||Portion of a catchment with similar landscape morphological characteristics. Also physiographic unit. Landscape unit is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Levee||Mota||See . Levee can also refer to a man-made dike along the Loire river in France or along North-American rivers that belonged to French Louisiana between 1682 and 1803, such as the Mississippi river
|-
| Limnetic||Limnético||Related to the environment of lakes and ponds. Adjective for aquatic macroinvertebrates that prefer standing water
|-
| Limnophilic||Limnófilo||Adjective for aquatic species that prefer stagnant water. See also  and 
|-
| Lotic||Lótico||Related to fast-moving water, such as in most streams and rivers
|-
| Macroinvertebrates||Macroinvertebrados||Animals without backbones (“invertebrates”) that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye (“macro”, larger than 0.5 mm)
|-
| Macrophyte||Macrófita||All aquatic higher plants, mosses and characean algae, but excluding single-celled phytoplankton and diatoms
|-
| Macrozoobenthos||Macrozoobentos||Aquatic macroinvertebrates living at or in the bottom
|-
| Meandering river||Río meandriforme||River with a single channel and a  larger than 1.5
|-
| Measure||Medida||See  and 
|-
| Mesohabitat||Mesohábitat||Spatially distinct patch of relatively homogeneous  patches serving species or life stages as . See 
|-
| Microhabitat||Microhábitat||Spatially distinct patch of uniform substrate, plant cover or physical structure which is relevant for species, e.g. as spawning or feeding substrate
|-
| Mitigation measure||Medida de mitigación||Activity to reduce the impact of a pressure
|-
| Mollusks||Moluscos||Unsegmented invertebrate animals (without a backbone) that possess an external or vestigial calcium carbonate shell
|-
| Morphological unit||Unidad morfólogica||See 
|-
| Mud||Lodo, Barro||Loose slushy fine sediment consisting of clay, silt, fine sand, and organic material. Often water-formed and deposited on the bottom of lakes, rivers and estuaries
|-
| Natural levee||Mota natural||Elevated feature along river channel, composed of sediments deposited by overbank flows leaving the main channel
|-
| Oxbow lake||Porción de meandro abandonado||Lake formed when a river meander is cut off from the main channel
|-
| Pebble||Guijarro||Gravel particle
|-
| Pelagic||Pelágico||Living and feeding in the water column. Opposed to 
|-
| Physiographic unit||Unidad fisiográfica||See 
|-
| Phytoplankton||Fitoplancton||Microscopic plants that float or drift almost passively in water
|-
| Point bar||Punto bar||Bar along the inner bank of a river bend
|-
| Pool||Poza||Relatively deep, still section in a river or stream. Pools alternate with  or  in gravel-bed rivers and with  or  in navigable rivers
|-
| Potamal||Potamon||Zone of lowland rivers in longitudinal habitat zonation. See also  or  and 
|-
| Pothole||Pothole||Deep circular hole scoured in bedrock as a result of abrasion by transported particles trapped in the hole
|-
| Pressure||Presión||In hydromorphology: Force per unit area exerted on a surface by the weight of the water above that surface. In the Water Framework Directive: Direct environmental effect of a driver such as agriculture, industry, hydropower generation or navigation
|-
| Rapids||Rápido||Stream bed with boulders organized in irregular transverse lines (ribs), in steep confined channels
|-
| Reach||Tramo||Section of river along which boundary conditions are sufficiently uniform for the river to maintain a near-constant internal set of process-form interactions. Reach is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Region||Región||Relatively large area underleying similar broad influences of climate, relief, tectonic processes, etc. Also  or . Region is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms. It typically contains characteristic assemblages of natural communities and species.
|-
| Restoration measure||Medida de restauración||Activity to improve the status of degraded waters, be it by improving water quality or by changing hydromorphological conditions
|-
| Rheophilic||Reófilo||Adjective for aquatic species that prefer flowing waters. See also  and 
|-
| Rhithral||Ritron||Zone of streams in longitudinal habitat zonation, identical to the zone of trout and grayling. See also  or  and 
|-
| Ridge||Ridge||Old  incorporated in the floodplain as the channel migrated away
|-
| ||||Zone of relatively shallow and rapid flow in gravel-bed rivers
|-
| Riffle||Rápido||Related to zone adjacent to a stream or river with a high density, diversity, and productivity of plant and animal species compared to nearby uplands
|-
| Riparian||Ripario||Small bedform of a few centimetres high, with a long crest perpendicular to the flow
|-
| Ripple||Rizo||Part of river environment including individuals and patches of sediment, plants, wood, etc. Also . River element is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms.
|-
| River element||Elemento del río||See 
|-
| River sector||Sector del río||Section of river subject to similar valley-scale influences and energy conditions. Also river sector. River segment is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| River segment||Segmento fluvial||Zone of relatively shallow flow as an intermediate feature between shallower riffles and deeper pools, similar to the somewhat flatter 
|-
| Run||Rápido||Mineral soil particle between 0.063 mm and 2.0 mm in diameter
|-
| Sand||Arena||Local removal of sediment from the stream bed by flowing water
|-
| Scour||Remoción, Socavación||Elongated raised feature on top of a 
|-
| Scroll bar||Scroll bar, Barra de desplazamiento||Solid matter eroded, transported or deposited in rivers
|-
| Sediment||Sedimento||Amount of sediment eroded per unit land area in a river catchment
|-
| Sediment yield||Producción de sedimentos||Mineral soil particle between 0.002 mm and 0.063 mm in diameter
|-
| Silt||Limo||Ratio between the distance measured along the channel and the distance measured in the direction of the overall planimetric course or meander belt axis
|-
| Sinuosity||Sinuosidad|| per unit channel width, as a measure of flow strength
|-
| Specific stream power||Potencia específica de la corriente fluvial||Steep accumulation of boulders and cobbles across a channel, generally with a pool downstream that is scoured by flow plunging over the step
|-
| Step||Salto, Escalón||Rate of energy dissipation per unit downstream length, as a measure of flow strength. See also  and 
|-
| Stream power||Potencia de la corriente fluvial||Pressure in the sense of a direct environmental effect of a driver
|-
| Stressor||Agente estresante, Estresor||See 
|-
| Subreach||Subtramos||Sediment transported in the water column, kept from settling by upward turbulent motions of the water. It can consist of both  and 
|-
| Suspended load||Carga en suspensión||Depression between adjacent  that are old 
|-
| Swale||Swale, Zanja||Abandoned inactive floodplain perched above contemporary channel and floodplain
|-
| Terrace||Terraza||Line connecting the deepest points of consecutive cross-sections
|-
| Thalweg||Thalweg||Channel in river typologies. A single-thread river has only one channel in each cross-section. A multiple-thread has more than one channel in each cross-section
|-
| Thread||Ramal del cauce||River with a single channel that locally splits into two channels, as a transitional form between meandering rivers and braided rivers
|-
| Wandering river||Río de trazado errante||Sediments much finer than those in the river bed, transported without dependence on flow strength
|-
| Washload||Carga de lavado||Distinct and significant volume of water
|-
| Water body||Masa de agua||Height of water column. Elevation difference between water level and bed level
|-
| Water depth||Profundidad del agua||Elevation of water surface above a horizontal datum
|-
| Water level||Nivel del agua||Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. Also  or .  is a spatial unit within the multi-scale  of hydromorphological processes and forms
|-
| Watershed||Cuenca hidrológica||
|-
| 
|}