Precipitationshed

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/precipitationshed

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the boundary determination?Defined by topographic features known as drainage divides or watershed boundaries
2. What is the key processes involved?Precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, groundwater recharge, transpiration, and evaporation
3. How does a precipitationshed decide where water goes?The edges of a precipitationshed are made by hills and ridges. Water that falls on one side of these ridges flows into one shed, while water on the other side flows into a different one.
4. What happens to rain inside a precipitationshed?Rain can become surface runoff that flows into streams, or it can soak into the soil and become groundwater. Plants also release water back into the air, and some water evaporates from the ground and water bodies.

Hydrology: The scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth.
Drainage Divide: A ridge of land that separates two adjacent drainage basins.
Aquifer: An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials.