Watersheds and Wetlands

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Watersheds and Wetlands
CHAPTER 1
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Chapter 1
Watersheds Wetlands

• Lesson 1.2
• Watersheds
• Pennsylvanias Watersheds

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PA Academic Standard for Environment Ecology
4.1.10.A

• Describe changes that occur from a streams
  origin to its final outflow.
• Learning Objectives

• Students will identify Pennsylvanias major
  watersheds and their related river systems and
  delineate these watershed boundaries.
• Students will describe changes in a river by
  tracing the rivers flow back to its headwaters
  and identifying major tributaries.

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Watersheds

• What is a watershed?
• Definition drainage basin region drained by,
  or one that contributes water to, a stream, lake,
  or other body of water
• Watersheds are surrounded by topographic highs
  called divides.
• Definition any ridge between two streams
  along which precipitation runs off

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• Example
• The Continental Divide runs through Canada, the
  United States, Mexico, and into Central America.
  It creates the separation between water that
  drains into the Pacific Ocean and water that
  drains into the Atlantic Ocean.

Continental Divide
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Pennsylvanias Watersheds

• All of the water that drains from Pennsylvania
  will eventually make its way to the Atlantic
  Ocean.
• Pennsylvania is organized into 104 watersheds,
  which are further divided into basins and
  sub-basins.

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Pennsylvanias Watersheds

• Great Lakes Basin (Erie Genesee)
• Ohio River Basin
• Susquehanna/Chesapeake Basin
• Potomac Basin
• Delaware Basin

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Covering almost half of the state, the
Susquehanna River Basin is PAs largest watershed
Headwaters New York States Otsego Lake Mouth
Chesapeake Bay
The watershed in which you live, the Delaware
River Basin, drains into the Delaware Bay Major
tributaries include the Lehigh River and the
Schuylkill River. Water from this basin provides
much of NYC with its drinking water.
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Ohio River Drainage Basin Pas second largest
watershed (Largest overall) Drains 34 of PA
Potomac River Drainage Basin Joins the
Susquehanna River at the Chesapeake