What is the difference between catchment area and river basin?

Answer 1

River basin:

River basin is the portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries. It encompasses all of the land surface dissected and drained by many streams and creeks that flow downhill into one another, and eventually into one river. The final destination is an estuary or an ocean. As a bathtub catches all the water that falls within its sides, a river basin sends all the water falling on the surrounding land into a central river and out to the sea

The river catchment

The river catchment, or drainage basin, is all the land from the mountain to to the seashore, drained by a single river and its tributaries.

Catchment areas vary greatly in size - a big river may have a catchment area of several thousand square kilometres, whereas a smaller tributary will have a catchment area of only a few hectares.

Catchments are separated from each other by watersheds. The characteristics of any river (physical, chemical, biological) are determined by the nature of the catchment and the activities , both human and natural, that take place in it.

Answer 2

The catchments of large rivers are called river basins while those of small rivulets and rills are often referred to as watersheds. Watersheds are small in area while the basins cover larger areas.