IdahoPTV Home > Science Trek > Dams > Glossary
Dams: Glossary
B
- barrier
- anything that blocks something from moving
- buttress
- wall
C
- canyon
- a steep sided valley caused by the movement of river water
- complex
- complicated
- concrete
- stone-like material used for construction
E
- earthen
- made of earth materials such as rocks, sand, soil
- engineers
- a person trained to design construction
F
- flooding
- excess water
- foundation
- the underlying base
G
- generator
- a machine or device that turns mechanical energy into electricity
- glacial ice
- ice found in glaciers
H
- horizontal
- level with the ground
- hydroelectric
- electricity created with the use of water
I
- ingenuity
- cleverness or creativity in problem-solving
- irrigation
- water moved from one place to another to grow crops
K
- keyways
- grooves
L
- landslides
- land that shifts or slides due to water, earthquakes or other events
N
- notches
- grooves
P
- potential energy
- the stored energy that an object or substance has because of its position or state
- pressure
- pushing
R
- recreation
- activities done for fun - swimming, skiing, fishing
- regulated
- to control or direct
- renewable
- able to be replenished over time; cannot be used up
- reservoir
- a body of water that builds up behind a dam
S
- sediment
- the rock, sand and dirt that are carried by a river
- spillway
- a structure or channel designed to release water from behind a dam
T
- turbines
- a machine used to create electricity through the use of moving water
Click on a Topic:
-
-
-
Animals
-
-
Earth Science
-
-
Environment
-
-
Human Body
-
-
Science Fundamentals
-
-
Space
-
-
Technology
-
-
Other
-
