Download Rivers - Independent School District 196

Watersheds
• The area of land that
is drained by a river
is called a watershed
or drainage basin.
Large scale watersheds
Minnesota watersheds
Divide
- Wind River Mtns., Wyoming
 Ridges or elevated
regions that separate
watersheds.
River System
 A river and all of
its tributaries.
Tributary
 Smaller streams
that flow into a
larger one.
 Ex: The Vermillion
River.
Velocity-Speed
• The distance that water travels in a given amount of
time. (meters/second) (m/s)
– Higher velocity=more erosion and can carry larger
particles
– Slow velocity=>.27m/s (1ft/s)
• Slowest at sides and bottom b/c friction.
Stream Flow
Volume of water moving through the river in a given
amount of time.
– Importance
•
•
•
•
•
Fast rivers handle more pollution
Volume and velocity effects types of organisms that live in
river
Slow moving conditions = muddier bottom
Fast moving conditions = suspended sediment (dirty looking
water)
Fast moving streams have more D.O.
– Good for plants and animals.
Discharge
 Amount of water that passes a certain point in a given
amount of time, usually one second.
 Measured in cubic feet per second
Transparency
• Measurement of how clear the water is.
• Importance
– Suspended particles absorb sunlight= warm water
•
•
•
Warm water holds less oxygen than cold
Block in sunlight reduces plant life
Suspended particles interrupt bottom dwellers habitat
Vermillion River
 372 square miles
 Includes Scott, Dakota, and Goodhue Counties
 Originates in New Market Township in Scott County
and ends in Hastings
 Joins the Mississippi River just north of Red Wing
The good and bad of the Vermillion
River
Good
Problem areas
 Supports naturally
 Urban and rural non-point
reproducing trout
 Watershed citizens and high
school students volunteer by
collecting data for the river
and its tributaries.
source pollution are threats to
the rivers
 Four wastewater treatment
plants discharge to the
Vermillion River
Human impacts on river
 What are things we do to increase the likelihood of
pollution?
 What things do we do to help decrease point source
and non- point source pollution?