Review what a landform is. Students should discuss what they have learned in the previous lesson.
A watershed is another important landform to know. A watershed is an area of land where all of the water within an area drains or collects. Watersheds drain rainfall and snowmelt into streams and rivers.
A watershed is a basin-like landform defined by highpoints and lower streams and valleys. Drop by drop, water is channeled in a certain direction. On the other side of the ridge, there would be a separate watershed, draining in a separate direction.
Watersheds drain rainfall and snowmelt into streams and rivers. Why do rivers and streams flow in this direction? Water flows downhill. What natural features would cause water to flow to a certain area? (Mountains, canyons, rivers, streams, etc).
We live in a basin. It is called the Great Basin. Has anyone heard of Great Basin National Park? It got its name because it is in the middle of the Great Basin area. Point out the general area that your class lives.
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous watersheds in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Oregon and Utah, and some parts of California, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Use the maps to identify where the water drains into our watershed. Our watershed is called the Great Basin watershed. That means that all water (from rain) stays in this immediate area. Usually where does water from rivers go? (The ocean). Landforms surrounding our area (hills and mountain ranges) prevent water from traveling to the ocean.
Play this video to learn how watersheds work, what is apart of the watershed, and how watersheds connect us all.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=111&v=qZeib_s2AuY&feature=emb_logo)
The watershed is essential for all life, even our own life. The water “shed” from an area is carried from the land after rain falls and snow melts. Drop by drop, the water is channeled into soils, groundwater, creeks and streams, making its way to large rivers and eventually out to the sea.
The Great Basin is a special watershed. It is different than most watersheds because the water from the rivers does not flow into the ocean. All the water in the watershed stays within the 200,000 square miles of the Great Basin.
There are different watersheds all over the world and they all look a little different, but they all have similar types of landforms in them. Today you're going to create your own watershed. What will it look like?