The relationship between base flow recession characteristics in steep watersheds and geomorphologic and soil parameters is investigated. The formulation for the groundwater outflow was obtained by means of a hydraulic approach applied to a simple conceptual model for a hillslope. Long‐term flow data of 19 representative basins in the Allegheny Mountain section of the Appalachian Plateaus were analyzed on the basis of this formulation. Results showed that the reaction factor, which is a time scale of base flow recession, is dependent on the mean land slope, the drainage density, and the ratio (K/f) of the hydraulic conductivity and the drainable porosity. On account mainly of the nonuniform distribution of the physical characteristics within a basin, the reaction factor for a given watershed is somewhat variable with time, but the adoption of a constant value is useful to represent average conditions for a recession period. Analysis of the (K/f) dependency showed that macropores and other structural features may greatly affect the watershed base flow. Evaporation from groundwater appears to constitute only a minor portion of overall basin evaporation.