noun
- smaller drainage areas within a larger watershed or river basin
Usage: geography; hydrology
Examples
- The Colorado River basin contains several major subbasins.
- Engineers studied water flow patterns in the mountain subbasins.
- Each of the subbasins drains into the main river system.
- The watershed management plan addresses all subbasins separately.
- Rainfall varies significantly between the northern and southern subbasins.
- Scientists mapped the boundaries of twelve distinct subbasins in the region.