Watersheds

In this lesson, we will define watersheds and discuss their importance at a local level.

What is a watershed?

Before we get started, let's define a watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains into a specific body of water.

Do you know which watershed you live in? If not, that's ok! We will learn more about our local watersheds in the sections below.

Now that we've defined a watershed, let's learn a little bit about the ones we live in...

The District of Columbia has three major bodies of water including the Potomac River, Anacostia River, and Rock Creek.

The Potomac River borders the southwestern side of the District. The Lincoln Memorial and Georgetown are both on the Potomac River.

The Anacostia River cuts through the eastern side of the City. The Washington Nationals baseball field and the D.C. United soccer field are both very close to the banks of the Anacostia River.

Rock Creek flows through the western side of the District. Rock Creek flows right by the National Zoo and eventually empties into the Potomac River in Georgetown.

Why is knowing about your local watershed important?

Water isn't the only thing that flows down a river. Trash, plastic, and other waste float down the rivers and can be harmful to people and wildlife. We need to make sure we are doing our part to keep the water in the District of Columbia clean so the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean stay clean for everyone and everything.

Trash, plastic and other waste can also be called pollution. Read the National Geographic article found here to learn more about different types of pollution and how they impacts wildlife.

What is the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed?

The Chesapeake Bay is a body of water that is surrounded by land but also open to the Atlantic Ocean. The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes parts of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and Washington D.C.

Our friends at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have made a great video describing the watershed journey of a raindrop through our very own Chesapeake Bay. Watch below or here.

Mapping Activity:

Let's draw a map of our local watershed! Use the maps in the image carousel below or use an internet search to create your own drawing of the watershed you live in. Take it one step further and connect your watershed to the Atlantic Ocean. Make sure to decorate your map with local wildlife!

Now we can see that since our local watersheds connect to a very large waterbody we do our part to keep it clean. So what can we do to keep our local watershed clean?

1. Pick up trash we see on the street

2. Use reusable grocery bags

3. Tell your friends about watersheds and their importance

"W" is for Water

Let's make a water use collage!

Now that we've learned all about watersheds, let's make a collage highlighting all the uses for water. Look through magazines and cut out pictures that show different uses for water. Glue all of your cut-outs onto a piece of paper to make a collage. This will be a good reminder for us to keep our local waterways clean!

Quiz

Let's see what you learned! Follow this link to our interactive quiz on the Quizalize website.

Additional Resources:

To learn more about watersheds and their importance, check out these informative, kid-friendly links from our friends at the Alice Ferguson Foundation:

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