watershed areas
River catchment zones
Watershed areas are regions where all water drains into a common outlet—a river, lake, or ocean.
Every raindrop falling within a watershed eventually flows to the same destination: The Chesapeake Bay watershed area covers six states.
Environmental policy often focuses on watershed areas because pollution anywhere in the region affects water quality downstream.
- drainage basinArea feeding one waterway
- river basinLand draining to one waterway
- divideSeparate into parts
- headwatersRiver's starting point
- mountain streamsSmall highland watercourses
ridge line · flow · bank · aquifer · floodplain · flood zone · erosion control · valley floor · rain garden · runoff · springs · biodiversity hotspots · endemic species · current · tributary · rainfall · ecosystem · source
- land conservationsoil conservation, conservation areas, protected areas, land trusts, protected lands
- aquatic environmentswetlands, marshes, lakes, rivers, streams
- ecosystemsrainforest, forest, desert, jungle, ocean
- forest recreationcampgrounds, camping sites, camping areas, hiking trails, trail maps
- rural terrainhills, valleys, ridges, slopes, foothills
- aquatic zonescoastal zones, marine habitats, aquatic habitats, continental shelf, deep sea
watershed areasocean
Massive saltwater body
sea · the ocean · ocean basins · marine environments · coastal waters
watershed areasopen water
Unobstructed body navigable freely
water bodies · deep water · high seas · international waters