Watershed

A watershed is a system of how water can get from one body of water to a larger body of water. Watersheds work by a simple concept, which is that water flows to the lowest point of a terrain due to gravity. The borders of a watershed are defined by hills or mountains, which create a natural divider, because water cannot flow up that surface. These are known as “watershed divides”. An example of a watershed is the Etobicoke River Watershed. Streams of water flow downward, to form larger streams of water, which will eventually lead into the Etobicoke River. The Etobicoke River would then lead into Lake Ontario, which would lead the water through the St. Lawrence River, opening into the Atlantic Ocean. Everything is in a watershed, even your house
is in a watershed! The flow of a watershed always goes from largest to smallest. If water is not flowing through a river, it may soak into the soil, and become groundwater. Groundwater would keep sinking down, until it reaches a layer of stone or solid material. The flow would lead the water back into the ocean, or lake. If groundwater is near an Ocean, it would become salty groundwater. If groundwater is near a Lake, it is fresh groundwater. When a river splits off, the split part is known as a “tributary”. Tributaries can also split into more tributaries. Tributaries which split off of the original river are known as “Primary Tributaries”. Tributaries that split off of the primary tributaries are known as “Secondary Tributaries”. Tributaries that split off of the secondary tributaries are known as “Tertiary Tributaries”, and so on… floods are one on the main natural disasters which are likely to happen within a watershed. Watersheds are used in many people’s living. They may use a watershed as their source of drinking water. Watersheds are an important system for all living beings, as every living being on this planet, be it humans, plants, animals, or more. We all need water to survive, and knowledge on watersheds can be very helpful.