Watersheds
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| watershed/ˈwɔːtəʃed/ | The area of land from which water drains towards a common outlet, such as a river, lake or estuary. |
| divide/dɪˈvaɪd/ | High ground that separates one watershed from the next. |
| runoff/ˈrʌnɒf/ | Water that flows over land toward streams or other bodies of water rather than soaking into the ground. |
Where the water goes
- When rain falls on a hillside, it flows downhill and collects.
- All the rain in one area ends up in the same river.
- That whole area of draining land is a watershed.
- Watersheds connect everyone who shares the same water.
What a watershed is
- A watershed 流域 is all the land that drains its water to a single river or lake.
- Rain falling anywhere in it flows to the same outlet.
- Big rivers have huge watersheds made of many smaller ones.
- Every point on land belongs to some watershed.
A waterfall in a river basin: a watershed is the land that drains into a stream or lake
A watershed is…
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
A watershed is the whole area of land that drains its water to one common outlet.
The divide
- Two neighbouring watersheds are separated by high ground.
- This high boundary is called a divide 分水岭.
- Rain on one side of the divide flows to one river; rain on the other side flows to another.
- A ridge or mountain crest often marks the divide.
The high ground separating two watersheds is called a…
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
A divide (usually a ridge) separates the land that drains into different watersheds.
Water flowing over the land surface into rivers is called ____.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Runoff is rain that flows over the surface and collects in the watershed's river.
Everything is connected
- Rain becomes runoff 径流 that carries soil, nutrients, and pollutants along.
- Because the whole watershed drains to one place, actions upstream affect everyone downstream.
- A factory or farm upstream sends its pollution down to those below.
- This is why protecting a watershed protects everyone who uses its water.
Inside or outside the watershed?
Sort each idea by whether it correctly describes a watershed.
Pollution added upstream in a watershed stays where it enters the water.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
False. A watershed is connected by flowing water, so pollution added upstream travels downstream to everyone below.
Select all true statements about watersheds.
Difficulty 2/5 · 140 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
How the land is used strongly affects the watershed's water. The other three are correct.
In a watershed, upstream and downstream are linked. Pollution added anywhere upstream — fertiliser, sewage, waste — flows down to every community below. You cannot pollute "your part" of a river without affecting everyone downstream who shares the same watershed.
A shared river:
- A town dumps waste into a river near the top of a watershed.
- The waste flows downstream, past farms, cities, and wildlife.
- Every community below is affected — which is why watersheds are often managed together, not town by town.
A watershed is all the land that drains its water to a single river or lake, separated from its neighbours by a divide. Rain becomes runoff that carries materials downstream, so upstream actions affect everyone below. Protecting the whole watershed protects everyone who shares its water.