EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -A watershed is an area of land that drains rainfall and snowmelt into streams and rivers.

Detailed explanation-2: -A watershed is the area of land (catchment area) that captures rain and snow, and then stores, filters, seeps or drains this water into a common water body (marsh, stream, river, or lake).

Detailed explanation-3: -For example, the watershed of a lake would include not only the streams entering that lake but also the land area that drains into those streams and eventually the lake. Drainage basins generally refer to large watersheds that encompass the watersheds of many smaller rivers and streams.

Detailed explanation-4: -It’s a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean.

Detailed explanation-5: -Water movement through a watershed: Within all watersheds, small streams (1) join together to form larger streams (2) and larger streams join together to form rivers (3). Rivers eventually empty into the ocean (4) where the water may stay for some time or evaporate and form precipitation.