Watershed

Defining Factors- Watershed

1. Gravity: force of nature that pulls water downhill.

2. Topography: the form of the land; hills, valleys, plains and other features that influence where and how water will flow.

Definition- Watershed

AKA: water basin & catchment basin

The entire physical area/basin drained by a distinct stream system, separated from other watersheds by ridge-top boundaries.

Watershed Puzzles

Cross county, state and national lines.

Each is a part of a larger picture.

Larger watersheds contain smaller watersheds.

The Great Divide

An area of high elevation that runs through:

• North America • Central America • South America

From the Seward peninsula in North Western Alaska through the Isthmus of Panama and finally through the Tierra del Fuego , near the southern tip of South America.

Continental Divide

All the water in North America eventually empty into 3 oceans:

Pacific

Atlantic

Arctic

DivergenceThis peak, shed waters to the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

Triple Divide Peak- Montana

United States

There are 2,267 watersheds in the United states including Alaska and Hawaii.

Tale of Three Rivers

Mississippi- 4th largest in the world- drains into the Gulf of Mexico.

Columbia- 4th largest river in U.S.- It has the greatest flow of any river draining into the Pacific Ocean.

Chesapeake – largest watershed of the Atlantic Seaboard. It drains into the Atlantic Ocean.

Mississippi River

4th longest in the world.

10th largest in the world.

Largest drainage system in North America. Drains all or parts of 31 states. Its headwaters are in Northern

Minnesota and its mouth is Mississippi river delta at the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Columbia River4th largest River in

the United States.Basin includes

parts of 7 states.Headwaters are in

British Columbia, Canada.

Mouth is in Astoria, Oregon.

Drains into the Pacific Ocean.

Chesapeake River

Drains portions of 6 states including Washington D.C.

Largest East coast basin draining into the Atlantic Ocean.

Chesapeake bay is the largest estuary in the United States.

Texas WatershedsThere are 23 major river

basins that are confined within the state, shared with neighboring states, or shared along an international border.

All of the state’s water drains into:

Mississippi River Gulf Coast Rio Grande River

Texas Rivers

15 Major Rivers.3,700 named streams

Texas river mouths are located in 7 major estuaries including:

Colorado RiverGuadalupe River

All of the state’s water drains into:

Mississippi river- such as: Red river

Gulf Coast- such as: Sabine, Brazos and Colorado.

Rio Grande such as: Pecos River.

Dripping Springs: Onion Creek Watershed

Onion Creek is a small tributary of the Colorado

River. Onion Creek watershed

spans an area of 211 sq. miles

Headwaters- Dripping Springs, TX

Mouth – Colorado River (elevation 374 ft.)

Length- 79 miles (127 km)

Source of falls at McKinney State Park.

Colorado River TX- Watershed

18th longest river in the United States.

5th longest river in Texas (862 mi.)

Longest river in Tx. having both the headwaters and the mouth located within the state.

Headwaters- on the Llano Estacado near Lamesa. (south of Lubbock)

Mouth- Matagorda Bay- near Bay City.

Estacado-large, semi-arid plateau (plain) in the S. Western U. S.

Watershed Vocabulary Tributary- a river or stream

flowing into a larger river or lake.

Mouth of River- where water and sediments empty into a larger body of water.

Headwater- source of the river or stream.

Estuary-tidal mouth of a large river- where the tide meets the stream. (A type of wetland)

Watershed Divide- a relatively high ground that separates watershed basins.