What is difference between basin, watershed and catchment? Can we say basin is bigger than watershed and watershed is bigger than catchment? Or can we say watershed is a line but basin and catchment are the area that catch the rainfalls and conduct to outlet?
Basin, watershed, and catchment are quate the same but watershed is American term and catchment is Inggris term and basin stand for river basin is American term too
Well,
Watershed; It is an area covered by a system of surface and subsurface water flowing into a common terminus, indicates a geo-hydrological unit comprising of all land and water within the confine of drainage divide.
Drainage basin/ Catchment area; an area drained by a river and/or its tributaries.
Spesific characteristics of watershed its outflow to single outlet sea or ocean, if outflow to the river is called Sub Watershed
A catchment area is an area of land where all surface water from rain, melting snow, or ice converges to a single point at a lower elevation, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean. Catchment area is the topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchments, such as a ridge or a crest. Thus catchment area is synonymous to drainage basin or watershed. Usually smaller catchment areas are referred as "Watersheds" and larger catchment areas are referred as "River Basins".
Actually your argue all very well, but it should be discussed together to your statement that smaller catchment is watershed and larger catchment is river basin is unusually, watershed is generally as an hydrological unity. River basin in America classified as big river
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