A watershed is the line separating neighboring drainage basins. In hilly country, the divide lies along topographical peaks and ridges, but in flat country the divide may be invisible – just a more or less notional line on the ground on either side of which falling raindrops will start a journey to different rivers, and even to different sides of a country or continent. (1) There are three types of watersheds they are: Continental divide, Major drainage divide, and Minor drainage divide. In a continental divide the waters on each side flow to different oceans (1), In a major drainage divide the waters on each side of the divide never meet again, but do flow into the same ocean (1), and in a minor drainage divide is the waters part but eventually meet again at a river confluence (1).
These types of watershed effect what oceans get what water. A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean. (2) This also involves the other three watersheds. When there is a watershed the water is soaked into the ground and travels to a body of water to create the water cycle. Rivers don’t need to have their water soak into the ground that water is already flowing into a larger body of water, creating a watershed.
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Bibliography
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_divide
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_basin
1 comment:
Hi!Your blog is fantastic!
I am Yong Chen,a master student in San Diego State University,California.Your watershed image is very helpful for my watershed protection project.
Can I use it?
Please send me an email ychen@rohan.sdsu.edu.
Thanks a lot!
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