Answer each question with 2-3 sentences.

Question

1. What is a watershed?
2. What is a continental divide and its role in a watershed basin? How does water flow in a watershed?
3. What are some of the bodies of water that are included in a watershed?
4. How is water replenished and circulated back into a watershed?
5. What is an aquifer, and how does it eventually collect and store water?

Answer 1

1. A watershed is an area of land where all the water that drains off it contributes to a common body of water, such as a river, lake, or ocean. It includes all the land and waterways that collect precipitation and channel it towards this primary body of water.

2. A continental divide is a natural boundary that separates one watershed from another, directing the flow of water towards different oceans or sea basins. Water flow in a watershed is typically directed downhill due to gravity, moving through streams and rivers that lead to larger bodies of water.

3. A watershed encompasses various bodies of water, including rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and sometimes wetlands. It also includes the surrounding land that contributes water through surface runoff or groundwater flow.

4. Water is replenished in a watershed through processes like precipitation (rain and snow) and surface runoff from surrounding areas. Additionally, groundwater recharge occurs when water percolates through the soil into aquifers, allowing for the circulation of water back into the watershed system.

5. An aquifer is a geological formation that can store and transmit water, typically composed of permeable rock or sediment. Water collects in aquifers from precipitation and surface water infiltration, where it is stored in the pore spaces of the material until it is extracted or naturally discharged to surface water bodies.