Close Menu

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Most Viewed

    Actor Jeremy London Calls Mississippi Home

    August 1, 2024

    Old Sayings Say It Best

    May 22, 2024

    The Julep Room: A Hole in the Wall with History

    January 8, 2024

    Snoop Dogg’s Mississippi Roots Run Deep

    October 22, 2024
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Sunday, June 22, 2025
    Trending
    • Galls on My Red Bay
    • Sounds of Summer – Cicadas
    • Pascagoula Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2025
    • Tiny Artist, Big Heart: How a Mississippi Child Turned Art into Aid
    • Take Those Kiddos Fishing!
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube TikTok
    Login
    Our Mississippi HomeOur Mississippi Home
    • Living

      Take Those Kiddos Fishing!

      June 19, 2025

      The Local Lemon

      June 18, 2025

      Culture Capitals: Laurel Voted the Cultural Heart of Mississippi by Mondly Survey

      June 17, 2025

      Let’s Go! EXPLORE Gulf Coast: Reimagining Outdoor Living Along Mississippi’s Coast

      June 17, 2025

      Permanent Skateparks? Coast Skaters Say It’s Time

      June 16, 2025
    • Arts / Culture

      Tiny Artist, Big Heart: How a Mississippi Child Turned Art into Aid

      June 20, 2025

      Hattiesburg Hosts Festival South

      June 2, 2025

      Lumberton Students Create Mural to Honor Late Teacher, Strengthen Community Art Efforts

      June 2, 2025

      Lighthouse Academy and Resurrection Catholic School Unite to Write ‘His Story’ with Mississippi Song Writers Alliance

      May 30, 2025

      Ragtime, Jazz Shine at Oxford’s Annual Old-Time Piano Contest

      May 15, 2025
    • Entertainment

      Fireworks on the Water Returns to Light Up the Night in Columbus

      June 18, 2025

      Mississippi’s Giant House Party: The Magic of the Neshoba County Fair

      June 9, 2025

      The Enchanting World of Cole Blalock: A Magician’s Journey

      May 8, 2025

      MSU Welcomes American Kennel Club for Diving Dogs Premier Cup this Saturday, Televised by ESPN

      April 10, 2025

      HUBFEST is Back and Eaglepalooza Returns After Six-Year Hiatus

      March 17, 2025
    • Food & Dining

      Southern Roots & Savory Bites: 5 Family-Owned Restaurants Worth the Drive in Mississippi

      June 19, 2025

      Po-Boys & Paper Towels: A Love Letter to the Gulf Coast Classic

      June 16, 2025

      Shrimp, Strategy, and Southern Charm: The Revival of Sunday Supper

      June 8, 2025

      The Glory of a Southern Biscuit: Buttered, Spiced, and Smothered

      June 1, 2025

      Chef Jon “JD” Davis–The 2025 King of Mississippi Seafood

      May 28, 2025
    • Environment

      Galls on My Red Bay

      June 21, 2025

      Sounds of Summer – Cicadas

      June 21, 2025

      Mississippi’s Hidden Rainbow: Painted Buntings Take the Stage

      June 16, 2025

      Prescribed Fires Save Forests

      June 14, 2025

      When the Limpkin Came to Mississippi: A Birding Mystery Unfolds

      June 13, 2025
    • Lagniappe
      • Business
      • Sports
      • Education
      • Health & Wellness
      • OurMSVoices
      • People
    Subscribe
    Our Mississippi HomeOur Mississippi Home
    Home»Environment»What Is a Watershed Anyway?
    Environment Qu’est Que C’est

    What Is a Watershed Anyway?

    Mark W. LaSalle, Ph.D.By Mark W. LaSalle, Ph.D.May 21, 20233 Mins Read6 Views
    Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy Link

    The concept of a watershed can be overwhelming to comprehend. We may recognize pieces and parts, but the whole is often abstract in our minds. As with many concepts, a visual example helps, and in this case, is found in the venation of leaves.

    Beginning with the petiole, which represents the discharge point of a watershed, the main vein is the river for which watersheds are named. Secondary veins represent tributaries, that are further divided into increasingly smaller streams that flow from the edges of the leaf.

    The tissues between veins are the wetland and upland habitats within the watershed. The leaf edges denote the boundaries of one watershed from the next. In the natural world, these boundaries are ridges in the landscape that direct rainwater in more than one direction, downhill into watersheds on either side.

    cannon auto

    And yes, the world we know is divided into countless watersheds of whatever size we choose to define. The discharge point is the key to defining any given watershed. The Mississippi River watershed, for example, flows to the mouth of the river, discharging water into the Gulf of Mexico from lands that cover 1.2 million square miles. Water flows across this area through countless rivers and streams.

    Smaller watersheds within this larger one can be defined by selecting any point of discharge along the way. Using the leaf as an example, the veins and tissues that lie above any one point, ending at the boundary of the leaf, constitute a defined watershed – ad infinitum.

    As a young Boy Scout and later as an Adopt-A-Stream volunteer, I learned to read topographic maps to find rivers and streams, depicted by blue lines, and trace them to where they end, that marked the edges of a watershed. Inevitably, a nearby blue line began, heading in another direction – part of an adjacent watershed. With patience, you can draw a line between these stream ends to show the boundaries of any watershed – down to your chosen discharge point.

    The water falling within a watershed may be absorbed by vegetation and soil, evaporate into the atmosphere, seep into the groundwater, or flow across the landscape into those ever-increasing-sized channels, ending at the discharge point. And that is the definition of a watershed – a defined area through which water flows to a certain point.

    Finding the boundaries of the watershed within which you live is a challenge to master but is a great step toward understanding how water moves across our landscape and our role in the process.

    Hope to see you in our great outdoors!

    Photos and graphics by Mark W. LaSalle

    Previous ArticleHistory…Alive! At Landrum’s Homestead and Village
    Next Article Hannah Jewel (Everhart) Returns to Mississippi With New Name and Bright Future
    Mark W. LaSalle, Ph.D.

    Mark is a naturalist and wetland ecologist, providing expertise on wetlands, water quality and environmental impacts of humans. He has also developed and conducted a number of environmental education programs and workshops for youth, teachers, realtors, and the general public on a variety of subjects including wetlands, natural history, and environmental landscaping. Mark is a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (B.S. and M.S. degrees) and Mississippi State University (Ph.D.). Mark is the recipient of the Chevron Conservation Award, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation Conservation Educator Award, the Gulf Guardian Award, and the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award.

    Related Posts

    Qu’est Que C’est

    Galls on My Red Bay

    June 21, 2025
    Environment

    Sounds of Summer – Cicadas

    June 21, 2025
    Environment

    Mississippi’s Hidden Rainbow: Painted Buntings Take the Stage

    June 16, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest good news happening in Mississippi!

    cannon banner
    Most Popular

    Actor Jeremy London Calls Mississippi Home

    August 1, 20246K Views

    Old Sayings Say It Best

    May 22, 20246K Views

    The Julep Room: A Hole in the Wall with History

    January 8, 20244K Views
    Our Picks

    Galls on My Red Bay

    June 21, 2025

    Sounds of Summer – Cicadas

    June 21, 2025

    Pascagoula Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2025

    June 20, 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest good news from Our Mississippi Home.

    Our Mississippi Home
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube TikTok RSS
    • About OurMSHome
    • Advertise
    • Community Partners
    • Privacy Policy
    • Guidelines
    • Terms
    © 2025 Our Mississippi Home. Designed by Know_Name.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Ad Blocker Enabled!
    Ad Blocker Enabled!
    Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please support us by disabling your Ad Blocker.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?