watersheds
River system boundaries
A watershed is the ridge of high land dividing two drainage basins—rain falling on one side flows to one river system, on the other side to another.
By extension, a watershed is a turning point or dividing line between two phases or conditions: The discovery of penicillin was a watershed in medical history.
The term also refers to the entire drainage basin itself—all the land whose water flows to a single river or lake.
Area feeding one waterway
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- river basinLand draining to one waterway
- divideSeparate into parts
- ridgeNarrow raised strip
headwaters · tributary · confluence · runoff · hydrology · aquifer · streamflow · topography
Decisive moment of change
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
- pivotalVitally important, deciding
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- landmarkNotable point of reference
defining moment · inflection point · paradigm shift · game-changer · crossroads · historic · transformative · decisive
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- riparianRelating to riverbanks
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- wetlandWaterlogged land ecosystem
- biodiversityRange of life forms
conservation · restoration · species · forest cover · land use · buffer zone · wildlife corridor · native plants
Preventing waste or loss
- planningArranging for future events
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
- restorationReturning something to condition
monitoring · pollution control · land use · zoning · best practices · stakeholders · remediation · compliance
drainage basin
Area feeding one waterway
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- river basinLand draining to one waterway
- divideSeparate into parts
ridge · headwaters · tributary · confluence · runoff · hydrology · aquifer · streamflow · topography · continental divide
turning point
Decisive moment of change
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
- pivotalVitally important, deciding
- breakthroughSudden important advance
landmark · defining moment · inflection point · paradigm shift · game-changer · crossroads · historic · transformative · decisive · momentous
ecosystem
Interconnected organisms and surroundings
- riparianRelating to riverbanks
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- wetlandWaterlogged land ecosystem
biodiversity · conservation · restoration · species · forest cover · land use · buffer zone · wildlife corridor · native plants · invasive species
conservation
Preventing waste or loss
- planningArranging for future events
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- sustainabilityCapacity to endure indefinitely
restoration · monitoring · pollution control · land use · zoning · best practices · stakeholders · remediation · compliance · assessment
- Water Engineeringdams, levees, canals, aqueducts, spillways
- hydrometeorologyprecipitation, rainfall, rain, snow, snowpack
- geographycontinents, continent, oceans, countries, country
- earth scienceatmosphere, earthquake, geology, volcano, crust
- ecologyhabitat, ecosystem, balance, niche, food webs
- environmental scienceecology, air quality, ecosystem, ecosystems, soil testing
watershedsrivers
Flowing bodies of water
streams · ocean basins · tributaries · outflows · sinks
watershedsstatus quo
Existing condition of affairs
continuity · non-events · stagnation · business as usual · footnotes
- watershed momentDecisive, transformative event
- watershed areasLand draining to one outlet