What is a flood hydrograph and what are its main features?

What is a flood hydrograph and what are its main features?

• A. Rising limb, peak discharge, falling limb, and baseflow
• B. Constant discharge with no rising limb
• C. Only peak discharge matters
• D. Baseflow only, no rising limb

Answer: (A)

A flood hydrograph shows how river discharge changes over time during a flood. Its defining features are the rising limb, where discharge increases as rainfall generates runoff; the peak discharge, the highest flow reached; the falling limb, where discharge declines as the watershed drains; and baseflow, the background discharge sustained by groundwater that the stream returns to after the event. The shape and timing depend on catchment properties like soil infiltration, vegetation, slope, and groundwater storage. So this combination—rising limb, peak discharge, falling limb, and baseflow—captures the full pattern of a flood hydrograph. The other statements either omit parts of the response (no rising limb) or oversimplify by focusing only on the peak or on baseflow.

A flood hydrograph shows how river discharge changes over time during a flood. Its defining features are the rising limb, where discharge increases as rainfall generates runoff; the peak discharge, the highest flow reached; the falling limb, where discharge declines as the watershed drains; and baseflow, the background discharge sustained by groundwater that the stream returns to after the event. The shape and timing depend on catchment properties like soil infiltration, vegetation, slope, and groundwater storage. So this combination—rising limb, peak discharge, falling limb, and baseflow—captures the full pattern of a flood hydrograph. The other statements either omit parts of the response (no rising limb) or oversimplify by focusing only on the peak or on baseflow.