Download - What is a Watershed ?
What is a Watershed ?
How Important is Water?
The Human Body is about 65% water (on
average).
The surface of planet Earth is covered by about
70% water.
Water Impacts Our Lives Everyday
Where does water come from?
The Water Cycle
Where does the rainwater go?
Downhill
Watershed divide: Ridges that separate two watersheds
Watershed : All of the land that drains water into one place
Watershed Divide
How many watersheds are pictured? 3
1
32
Watershed
The land that drains water into a stream, river or lake. It can be small or extremely large.
Atlantic
Gulf of Mexico
Pacific
Mississippi River Basin (Watershed)Ohio River Basin (Watershed)
What is the largest watershed (basin) in North America?In what “subwatershed” of the Mississippi will you find most of Kentucky’s land area?
Rivers
A
B
B
B
C
D
G
F
FE
H
I
1
23
4
5
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7
8
Kentucky WatershedsLakes1) Kentucky 2) Barkley3) Cumberland 4) Dale Hollow5) Barren River 6) Nolin River7) Rough River 8) Cave Run
A) Mississippi B) Ohio C) Kentucky
D) Green E) Tennessee F) Cumberland
G) Big Sandy H) Salt I) Licking
Watersheds of the Kentucky and Green Rivers
By starting at the river mouth and drawing a line to separate two rivers from each other, the approximate watershed for that river can be drawn.
River Basins of Kentucky
Large drainage areas can be broken down into smaller ones that “nest” inside them.Sub-watersheds
Hypoxic Zone
Hypo = under, lowOxic = Oxygen
Area where very low level of dissolved oxygen prevents the existence of living things.
Caused by a process called Eutrophication
Cultural Eutrophication• Use of fertilizers and other phosphates in
watershed• Runoff to rivers• Excessive algae growth• Decomposition of dead algae by aerobic bacteria• Depletion of dissolved oxygen• Dead Zone forms
Hypoxic Zone Resources:http://www.gulfhypoxia.net/
http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/hypoxia/