Where It All Begins
by
Web Editor
—
last modified
Jan 05, 2026 01:21 PM
Where it All Begins
A watershed is a region of land that drains to a particular body of water such as a river or a lake. Water enters the watershed as rain or snowmelt in the highlands.
Water moves from the “watershed divide” at the highest elevations to the body of water at the lowest point in a watershed. It can travel overland as surface water, or flow underground as groundwater. The water may cross many parts of the landscape as it flows from the top to the bottom of a watershed. Along its way, it nourishes the land and all the living things that inhabit the watershed.
