Animal Info - Glossary W

Wadi: A shallow, usually sharply defined depression in a desert region, frequently comprising a bed or valley of a stream that is usually dry except during the rainy season and that often forms an oasis.
Warren: A maze of passageways.
Warty: A term applied to certain species of wild pigs. The "warty pigs" are so-called because the adult males typically develop three pairs of warts: on the cheek swellings, on the jaw angle, and above the canine root flanges.
Watershed: A watershed consists of all of the land area that drains to a particular body of water.
Weaning: The time when a young animal stops nursing and begins utilizing other food.
Weir: 1. A fence set in a waterway for catching fish; 2. A dam in a stream to raise the water level or divert its flow..
West Indies: The West Indies are composed of the islands of the Caribbean Sea and can be divided into the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles.
White water: Several different types of water occur within the Amazon River basin. Opaque, so-called "white" water (actually yellowish-brown in color) is turbid, laden with sediments. It is brought from the Andes by the main, relatively straight, and fast-flowing "whitewater" rivers.
Windward Islands: The Windward Islands are southeastern islands of the Caribbean and include Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Grenada. They're called the Windward Islands because they are exposed to the wind ("windward") of the northeast trade winds (northeasterlies). The Windward Islands are part of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea.

Last modified: May 25, 2005;