Baziniai

Baziniai are geographic terms used in hydrology and geography to denote drainage basins or river basins—the land areas from which all precipitation and runoff flow to a common outlet, such as a river, lake, or ocean. The boundary of a basin is defined by the watershed, a high ground that separates adjacent basins. Baziniai can vary greatly in size, from small local basins to continental-scale basins.

They can be classified by drainage type: exorheic basins discharge to the sea; endorheic basins retain water and drain internally. They can also be described by formation: structural basins formed by tectonic activity, and depositional basins formed by sediment deposition; and by climate, which affects water balance.

Key processes include precipitation, infiltration, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, and groundwater flow. Baziniai support ecosystems and provide water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use. They also influence flood hazards, sediment transport, and nutrient cycles. Human management treats basins as integrated hydrological units; transboundary basins require international cooperation in water allocation, pollution control, and conservation.

Prominent examples include the Amazon Basin in South America, the Congo Basin in Africa, the Mississippi River Basin in North America, and the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia.