Watershed Explained

Maybe the simplest definition of a watershed comes from the National Geographic: A watershed is an area of land that drains rainwater and snowmelt into streams and rivers.

In other words, 

Illustration of a Watershed

• "What's a Watershed? Seacoast Science Center
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) definition of a watershed
• Explainer: What is a watershed?  by Earth.org
• How watersheds work, HowStuffWorks
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency, What is a watershed pdf

John Wesley Powell watershed description and map

John Wesley Powell, the 19th century geologist, and explorer described a watershed as: “that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community.” (Science Friday)

• The Map That Changed How We View the West, from Science Friday
• Report on the Arid Lands of the United States, Library of Congress
• The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West But Nobody Listened, from Smithsonian Institution
• Map image, Arid Region of the United States, retrieved from researchgate.net

Linked content in this article was retrieved online on 02/12/2024 unless otherwise indicated.

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