Watersheds/Water Quality Flashcards
What category do Animals belong to? (Abiotic, or Biotic)
Biotic
What category does Soil belong to? (Abiotic, or Biotic)
Abiotic
What does Abiotic mean?
Nonliving things in an environment
What does Biotic mean?
Living or once living things in an environment
What determines an ecosystem type?
Abiotic Factors, Distribution to plants and people, and the usage of land.
What do Abiotic Factors include?
Water supply, Topography, landforms, geology, soils, sunlight and air quality, and oxygen availability.
The _______ of an ecosystem is directly related to the water quality.
Health
_______ _______ describes the condition of the water including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics.
Water Quality
We determine water quality by how much water is useful for drinking, ______, cleaning, or swimming.
Cooking
_______ from rain or groundwater in aquifers picks up the “characteristics” of the land area it travels across or through.
Runoff
If the land area is polluted, those pollutants are moved by the water through the _______
Ecosystems
What is a Watershed?
A Watershed is an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel.
Where are watersheds?
In mountains, cities, forests, farms, anywhere where there is land.
What makes up a river system?
A river and all its tributaries.
What are tributaries?
Smaller streams and rivers that feed into a main river.
Why do tributaries flow toward the main river following a downhill path?
The pull of gravity.
Why do we need to take care of our watersheds?
So that the water that runs off the land leads to clean water too.
What is an example of a divide?
Hills or Mountains
Why does the water that flows off the land end up in different rivers and streams?
Because streams and rivers on each side of each side of the divide flow in different directions.
How many watersheds does VA (Virginia) have?
14 Watersheds in total.
What are the 3 watersheds near us called?
Chesapeake Bay watershed
James River watershed
York River watershed
What watershed are we part of?
The Chesapeake Bay watershed. (And Chesapeake Bay Coastal)
How many main bodies of water do watershed systems lead to in VA?
3
What 3 main bodies of water does watershed systems lead to in VA?
Chesapeake Bay (then Atlantic Ocean)
The North Carolina Sound
The Gulf Of Mexico
What depends on where the water divides?
Where the water leads.
What is a wetland?
An area of land that is covered with a shallow layer of water during some or all of the year.
Wetlands form in places where _____ is trapped in low areas or where groundwater seeps onto the surface of land.
Water
The _____ of wetlands can be very small or very large. (covers thousands of square miles)
Size
Some wetlands fill up with water during the _____ and can dry up during the Summer.
Spring
Some wetlands can be covered with water all _____ round.
Year
What are marshes?
Grassy areas covered by a shallow layer or stream of water.
What do marshes contain?
Cattails, Rushes, Tule, and other tall grass-like plants.
What are swamps?
look like a flooded forest, with trees and shrubs growing in the water.
Where are most swamps located?
South, in the warm, humid climate.
What are bogs?
found in cooler, northern states, form in depressions left by melting ice sheets.
Water is usually ______ and contains many mosses.
Acidic
What do Coastal Wetlands usually contain?
Both fresh, and salt water.
What are Salt Marshes?
are found along both coasts of the U.S. Contain tall, strong grasses the grow in a rich muddy bottom.
What are mangrove forests?
are found along the central and southern coasts of Florida. Contain short trees with thick roots.
Wetlands provide ______ for many living things because of its sheltered waters and rich supply of nutrients.
Habitats.
______-_______ residents of wetlands include: frogs, salamanders, turtles, racoons, muskrats, birds, and many insects.
Year-Round
Temporary residents include Ducks, _____ and other waterfowl.
Geese
These animals stop at wetlands on their way to or from their ______ homes.
Winter
Before the _______’s many farmers thought of wetlands as a _______.
1970’s
“Wasteland”
They would drain and fill in wetlands to make ________
Farmlands
Why are wetlands important?
-Provide natural water filtration (waste material filter out)
-Traps silt and mud
-control flooding by absorbing extra runoff from heavy rains
Water is the key to these wetlands in _______
Florida
The _______ provide habitats for many rare or endangered species.
Everglades
Nearby farming has introduced harmful ______ to the Everglades.
Chemicals
Building roads and homes has also been ______
Harmful
A new threat has developed _______ (People releasing pets that have gotten too big!)
Pythons
What is an estuary?
An estuary is where a river meets the sea.
Many _____ and ______ species thrive in estuaries.
Plant
Animal
Estuaries are good places to build _______
Communities
Estuaries have been _______
Overfished
The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary where fresh and _______ meet and are mixed by sides.
Saltwater
Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the _______ United States and one of the most productive
Contiguous
What is the pH?
The measure of how Acidic or basic the substance (water) is.
What is the salinity?
The amount of dissolved salts in the water.
What is the Turbidity?
The clarity (how clear it looks) of the water.
What is Coliform?
The bacteria found in the water (environment)
