Final answer:
A drainage basin is an area where water from precipitation collects and drains into a common outlet. The Mississippi River Basin is a vast example, covering 40% of the continental United States and includes important features such as levees, oxbow lakes, and floodplains. Rivers are important for agriculture, water supply, and ecosystems but face international disputes over water use.
Step-by-step explanation:
A drainage basin is an area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. An example of a river drainage basin system is the Mississippi River Basin, which is one of the largest in the world, covering about 40% of the continental United States.
The Mississippi River Basin includes smaller basins like the Ohio River and Missouri River basins. Key features of river systems that one might find within the Mississippi River Basin include levees, which are natural or artificial embankments to prevent overflow; oxbow lakes, which are curved lakes formed in the former path of a river; and floodplains, which are areas adjacent to a river that are subject to flooding.
Rivers and their basins play a crucial role in the environment as they provide essential water resources for agriculture, human consumption, and as habitats for diverse ecosystems. They also face challenges such as managing water supply conflicts, for example, the disputes over the Colorado River involving Mexico and the southwestern U.S.