A) the distance traveled by water in a channel times a drop in elevation

b) the drop in elevation of a stream divided by the distance the water travels

c) the water pressure at the bottom of the stream divided by the stream's width

d) the increase in discharge of a stream per unit drop in elevation

Stream discharge physically depends on two factors: stream cross-sectional area and velocity. Area is composed of width and depth. Q (flow) = vel x width x depth.

Stream elevation change, or how steep a stream is, will affect the velocity. Higher sloping streams (like those with few meanders) will travel faster than sinuous, snaking streams that have a lower elevation drop per length of stream.

base level

A stream gradient is the grade measure by the ratio of drop in elevation of a stream. It is expressed as feet per mile.

One method to figure out which direction a stream is flowing, is by elevation. Usually, streams flow towards higher elevation