What is the Difference between Catchment Area and River Basin?
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 9th, 2023
The difference between Catchment Area and River Basin can be understood in the way river water gets collected and drained. A catchment area is a specific area where water collects before being drained by the river. A river basin is a drainage basin into which a river and its tributaries drain all of its water. A river basin is made up of multiple watersheds.
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Difference between Catchment Area and River Basin
The major differences between River Basin and Catchment Area are presented in the table given below:
| Catchment Area | River Basin |
| A catchment area in human geography is where a location, such as a city, service, or institution, draws a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. | A depression or dip in the surface of the Earth is known as a basin. Basins have sides that are higher than the bottom and a bowl-like shape. |
| Catchment areas can be defined based on where people naturally gravitate to a location (for example, labor catchment area) or by governments or organizations for the provision of services. | They may resemble the sink or tub in your own bathroom and come in an oval or circular shape. Some of them contain liquid. Some are vacant. |
| Catchment areas are frequently defined by governments and community service organizations for planning and public safety purposes, such as fire departments, police departments, ambulance bases, and hospitals. | Basins are created by forces both above and below the ground, such as erosion (like earthquakes). They may develop slowly over many years or almost instantly. |
| A catchment area is a term used in business to describe the area from which a retail location draws its customers. | River drainage basins, structural basins, and ocean basins are the three main categories of basins. |
Catchment Area vs River Basin
A river drains the water collected from a particular area called the ‘catchment area’, and the area drained by a river and its tributaries are called a river basin or a drainage basin.
- The small area that separates one drainage basin from another is called a ‘watershed‘.
- A river basin can be called a formation of several watersheds.
- Although watersheds are smaller in the area and river basins cover larger areas.
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