Pretend this is all the water in the world.

This 2 ½ cups represents all fresh water.

Out of the 2 ½ cups comes ¾ cup representing all unfrozen fresh water.

One-fifth of this ( ¼ tsp) is in the Great Lakes. This 1 ¼ teaspoons is all the water in lakes and rivers. One-fifth of this ( ¼ tsp) is in the Great Lakes.

How to draw watersheds This activity, designed to help students define the boundaries of a watershed, is part of the Watershed Wonderland lesson found at Michigan Geographic Alliance website under Online Resources. www.cst.cmich.edu/mga

W A T E R S H D A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it (ground water) or drains off of it (surface water) goes into the same place. drained by a river, river system, or other body of water separated from other watersheds by higher land (drainage divide) Human activity within a watershed in one location can affect all locations In the contiguous US, there are 2,110 watersheds; including Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, there are 2,267 watersheds. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. A watershed is like a large bathtub. When a drop of water hits anywhere in that bathtub, it eventually finds its way to the drain. The edges of the bathtub define the watershed boundary. They can cross county, state, and national boundaries.

Watershed Wonderland Find and label the Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw River.

Watershed Wonderland Trace the Saginaw River….

Watershed Wonderland and all its tributaries.

Watershed Wonderland And trace the other rivers flowing into the bay.

Watershed Wonderland Without crossing a river, outline the Saginaw Bay Watershed.

Watershed Wonderland Put a dot on the mouth of the Muskegon River.

Watershed Wonderland Trace the Muskegon River and its tributaries

Without crossing a river, outline the Muskegon River Watershed. Watershed Wonderland Without crossing a river, outline the Muskegon River Watershed.

Watershed Wonderland Using 4 different colors, trace the rivers flowing into each of the Great Lakes that surround Michigan.

Watershed Wonderland Drawing boundaries (without crossing a river) shows the watershed boundaries for all the Great Lakes.

Watershed Wonderland These lines represent the higher elevations in Michigan, and are near the sources for all our rivers.

This map shows the locations of highlands in Michigan Michigan Elevation Watershed Boundaries Great Lakes Watershed Boundaries This map shows the locations of highlands in Michigan

(source) Michigan Elevation Notice where the rivers of Michigan start! Which way do all rivers flow?

Explain this sentence: Michigan Elevation Explain this sentence: The topography of Michigan determines the direction of the rivers in Michigan.

Find the mouth of the Muskegon River Michigan Elevation Find the mouth of the Muskegon River Find the mouth of the Muskegon River

Draw the Muskegon Watershed boundaries Michigan Elevation Draw the Muskegon Watershed boundaries

Where does our water come from? Highlands of Michigan

Downhill to Lake Michigan Where does our water go? Downhill to Lake Michigan

Where does our water go? Can you name the Lakes and Rivers on its journey? Can you name the Lakes and Rivers on its journey? St. Lawrence River Lake Huron Lake Michigan Lake Ontario St. Clair River Lake Erie Lake St Clair Detroit River

Can you draw the Great Lakes Watershed?

Start on the south side of the St. Lawrence River Remember not to cross a river!

Great Lakes Watershed

What is the largest watershed in the U. S.? Let’s try the same thing with the major watersheds of the US. We’ll do the largest one first – what do you think that is? Start with dots on either side of its mouth

You can start your drawing on either side of the Mississippi River’s mouth (define that word).

Mississippi Watershed It will look something like this. Don’t worry if yours isn’t exact. Just be sure you haven’t crossed a river.

Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed This is the Mississippi River Watershed. It is the largest river system in North America. It drains all or parts of 31 U. S. states and nearly 40% of the landmass of the continental United States. What might be some problems when so many states have needs and impacts on the same watershed?

Columbia River Watershed Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed Drawing our line between the Snake and the Sacramento Rivers gives us a general outline of the Columbia River Watershed, although we can’t tell from this map that it extends into British Columbia, Canada. That means, not only several states, but also 2 different countries need to agree on how to use and take care of the watershed. What is dividing the Columbia River Watershed from the Mississippi Watershed? (Rocky Mountains).

Columbia River Watershed Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed It’s hard to tell from this map, so look at your topographical map. What mountain range feeds the California Rivers? They flow out to what ocean through an opening in the Coastal Ranges.

Columbia River Watershed Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed Colorado Watershed We can draw the divide between the Rio Grande and the Colorado, but looking at the topo map shows us that there are lots of mountains around the Colorado River.

Columbia River Watershed Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed Colorado Watershed Because of the mountains, there is another divide here that separates an area of land into its own watershed, with some very unusual characteristics. Because the area is surrounded by mountains, and is noted for its lack of rain, it is called a closed drainage basin and there is no outflow of water to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. All the precipitation that falls in this area either evaporates or seeps into the ground. What is this area called?

Columbia River Watershed Great Basin Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed Colorado Watershed This area is called the Great Basin, and includes the highest point in the contiguous US (Mt. Whitney, 14,494 feet above sea level), as well as the lowest point (Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level).

Columbia River Watershed Great Basin Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed Colorado Watershed Rio Grande Watershed Gulf Coast Watershed The hills in West Texas form a watershed boundary between the Rio Grande Watershed and the Gulf Coast watersheds. Both of these flow into the Gulf of Mexico, and since the land is so flat, the slow-moving rivers form deltas.

Columbia River Watershed Great Lakes Watershed North Atlantic Watersheds Great Basin Mississippi Watershed Mississippi Watershed California Watershed Colorado Watershed South Atlantic Watersheds Rio Grande Watershed Gulf Coast Watershed Similar to the Gulf Coast watersheds are the South and North Atlantic Watersheds. The rivers in these smaller watersheds flow east to the Atlantic Ocean from the mountain range that stretches from Canada to Georgia. What is the name of that important range? (Appalachian Mts). The rivers are shorter in this area of the country. The Great Lakes Watershed, containing 20% of the world’s fresh water, drains to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River System.

Draw an arrow in each of the watersheds you have labeled to show the general direction the water flows toward its mouth. (Define the term). Draw a line that shows the division between rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (or Gulf of Mexico, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean). What is this line called?

It runs generally through the Rocky Mountains from Northern Canada to Mexico.

Watersheds are another way to regionalize the United States.