1. WATERSHEDS
By, Janet Hooks

2. Appalachian Mountains
Watershed:
The land area that supplies water to a RIVER SYSTEM
* Can also be called a DRAINAGE BASIN
Yadkin
Appalachian Mountains
To Gulf of Mexico
North Carolina Sounds

3. DIVIDES:
Boundary lines that DIVIDE one watershed from another.
They are areas of high elevation compared to the other land around them.
At the top of a divide, the water must flow DOWNHILL to one side or the other because of GRAVITY
Examples: tops of mountain ranges, ridgelines, & hilly areas.
Eventually, the water reaches rivers and flows out to a large body of water like a bay, gulf, or ocean.

5. (smaller streams that feed water into a large river)
RIVER SYSTEM:
A large river
with all of its
tributaries
(smaller streams that feed water into a large river)

6. UNITED STATES WATERSHEDS
The largest watershed in the United States is the Mississippi River Watershed.
The Rocky Mountains (also called the Continental Divide) are the western boundary of this watershed.
The Appalachian Mountains are the eastern boundary.
It drains into the Gulf of Mexico.
Two other major U.S. Watersheds are:
~ Columbia River Watershed
~ Colorado River Watershed
*See the map on page
201 in your textbook

7. Appalachian Mountains
VIRGINIA WATERSHEDS
- About HALF of Virginia’s land drains water into the Chesapeake Bay!
* Hampton is in the Chesapeake Bay watershed!
- Virginia’s smallest watershed is the Yadkin watershed
Hampton lies in the Bay Coastal Watershed
Yadkin
Appalachian Mountains
To Gulf of Mexico
North Carolina Sounds