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Watersheds


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Hi,

 

I think a category for all watershed signs, monuments and artworks will be a great addition, here are some examples:

 

Atlantic-Pacific

 

Art at Rhine-Danube watershed

 

There is also a trail "European Watershed Trail" with many great signs and artwork Wasserscheideweg

 

A great Watershed Fountain

 

Weser-Elbe

 

Schwarzers Meer - Nordsee

 

What do you think? I know we would have some overlaps but I think that's not a big problem.

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A watershed is the border of a drainage basin, where it meets another one, this is the area where all rivers run towards the same sea.

 

As an example, in the Alps there are rivers originating that have their destination in the North Sea, others flow towards the Western Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and even the Black Sea. The Watersheds are the borders of these distinct geographic areas.

 

Now, a watershed is a line, not a point. But sometimes you can find monuments or other makers at special locations along these lines. These are the ones to be waymarked.

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A watershed is the border of a drainage basin, where it meets another one, this is the area where all rivers run towards the same sea.

 

As an example, in the Alps there are rivers originating that have their destination in the North Sea, others flow towards the Western Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and even the Black Sea. The Watersheds are the borders of these distinct geographic areas.

 

Now, a watershed is a line, not a point. But sometimes you can find monuments or other makers at special locations along these lines. These are the ones to be waymarked.

Thanks fi67 for the good explanation!

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It has. Just joking of course. An outdoor water closet is a water shed, right?

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled plea for a new category...

 

I forgot, I have two them listed in the Spring House category. :anibad:

http://www.Waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=0561b2e9-d8e3-4965-b6ed-420b8145b85a

 

I do know what the OP is referring to, I live on a watershed. We have four within a few miles. The watershed signs are common, but that is the only examples of the OP's idea that I can think of, but I'm sure there are more.

I would support the idea for a new category. B)

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I'm not sure about this category, but I will add this bit of information (Source)

 

A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. John Wesley Powell, scientist geographer, put it best when he said that a watershed is:

 

"that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community."

Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. They cross county, state, and national boundaries. In the continental US, there are 2,110 watersheds; including Hawaii Alaska, and Puerto Rico, there are 2,267 watersheds.

 

Given the last paragraph, a total of 2,267 watershed in the US and Puerto Rico, I would say that you have the numbers needed to convince anyone on this side of the "big pond" that they do exist here.

 

A few examples of Watershed Signs can be found Here.

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Here an example for a possible Waymark. I stumbled over this sign while working high up in the Bavarian alps.

It's interesting, at this point are two river starting zones. One side ends up in the North Sea the other side into the Black Sea. That's cool! :grin:

 

bf852e6ab9bf3a5882bbaf928ba0cad5.jpg

 

4626234d21c335ace3e373b448134c3a.jpg

 

c70fb10b656dc922583b0f843e939fbd.jpg

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The major ones here would be called continental divides. The eastern one determining if water flows to the Atlantic ocean through various rivers or the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. The western one for water flowing to the Pacific or to Gulf of Mexico again mostly in Mississippi River. There is also northern one determining if water flows south to Gulf or north to Arctic Ocean (or Hudson Bay). I assume the category would be markers/signs along these type of divides. Only overlap I see is elevation signs as most of the markers I have seen also list an elevation but I am sure there others that don't.

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I'm totally in favour of this category, but my approval is based on the assumption that "watersheds" aren't really what we're looking for in this category. A watershed is an area, not a boundary. It can also be referred to as a drainage basin. It's an area where all the water will flow to a single outlet. I often see signs announcing that you're entering a particular watershed, but these usually aren't very interesting or even unique (I can see the same sign on many roads that enter the same watershed).

 

From the examples given so far, I think what's meant is "drainage divides": the boundaries in between watersheds, or more specifically signs or monuments on these boundaries. These signs are the ones that say things like "all the water to the left flows to X ocean, and the water to the right flows to Y ocean". This includes continental divides. These are far more interesting and any proposal should make it clear that this is what is desired. The name should also be carefully chosen to prevent any misunderstandings.

 

Edit for speeling

Edited by The A-Team
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I just learned that in North America the meaning of this term has moved from border to the whole area. Thanks for the hint! We'll have to consider this when writing the proposal, but it will not make a big difference in this case; you will not find any watershed monuments inside an area, regardless of the terminology.

 

The other points have to be discussed. What will be accepted? Any marker or just special monuments? Should minor divides be accepted as well (the drainage basins of rivers that later join the same stream or lake)?

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I'm totally in favour of this category, but my approval is based on the assumption that "watersheds" aren't really what we're looking for in this category. A watershed is an area, not a boundary. It can also be referred to as a drainage basin. It's an area where all the water will flow to a single outlet. I often see signs announcing that you're entering a particular watershed, but these usually aren't very interesting or even unique (I can see the same sign on many roads that enter the same watershed).

 

From the examples given so far, I think what's meant is "drainage divides": the boundaries in between watersheds, or more specifically signs or monuments on these boundaries. These signs are the ones that say things like "all the water to the left flows to X ocean, and the water to the right flows to Y ocean". This includes continental divides. These are far more interesting and any proposal should make it clear that this is what is desired. The name should also be carefully chosen to prevent any misunderstandings.

 

Edit for speeling

 

Thanks for your thoughts! It will take some time to write a good category!

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I think this is a good idea for a new category! It's only about two weeks ago that I thought about a possible category to waymark such a marker I have seen on vacation (I did not take a picture :sad:).

 

I think it should include every monument and every (simple) marker about all watersheds.

 

Nice that you like it! That's one thing I learned during the years, make pictures from all interesting things no matter if there is a category or not. :laughing:

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...Goodness, that picture looks like it could have been taken from my area. I'm always struck by how similar our landscape is...

 

I swear it's made in Bavaria. Thanks for letting me know so I can save my money, no need to travel to Washington, oh wait, isn't there the HQ? I have to book a flight. Now.

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Isn't that already covered by River Origins, Destinations and Confluences?

No, the category you named above waymarks real rivers-lakes-seas at a watershed you see normally no water.

 

Correct. Watersheds are not rivers.

I've seen a few watershed markers in my travels, and I think a category for them would be good. The key would be a good description so that we learn something.

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Is this at the separation between water sheds? (Since you mention that there is normally no water at one of these.)

 

If so, then in English they are known as divides. If not, I'm still not clear on what a watershed is, if it's not near water.

 

Now a water closet is a different thing .....

 

I think a divide is different as we know them. Watersheds are like a river drainage, where rain falls and it drains into a river.

 

Edit to add:

 

Now I'm even more confused about watersheds.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chesapeake_Bay_watershed

Edited by Manville Possum Hunters
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A watershed is the border between drainage basins. That's the international meaning. Only in US English, the basin itself is called watershed.

 

You are almost always in such a basin (except for in the ocean); markers do only make sense at the border, so it does not really matter if it is the name of the border or the area.

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If there are many roads entering a single (relatively small) watershed and there are many signs/markers announcing that watershed, should there be some sort of proximity restriction on the Waymarking?

The geographical distribution of these waymarks would be more or less linear, like along any border. I don't think that anywhere in the world a large number of parallel roads cross an elevation (what a drainage divide or watershed often is). So this question is extremely hypothetical and we do not need to care about a potential problem that probably does not even exist on this planet.

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If there are many roads entering a single (relatively small) watershed and there are many signs/markers announcing that watershed, should there be some sort of proximity restriction on the Waymarking?

The geographical distribution of these waymarks would be more or less linear, like along any border. I don't think that anywhere in the world a large number of parallel roads cross an elevation (what a drainage divide or watershed often is). So this question is extremely hypothetical and we do not need to care about a potential problem that probably does not even exist on this planet.

 

I thought elyob had a valid question. The watershed signs that I see are on main highways and interstates, and there are multipul signs.

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I am not sure, if we are talking about the same thing. Multiple signs at the same road are almost impossible, this could only happen when the road follows the drainage border, and this would be the least logical way to build a road for most geological terrains.

 

There are three watersheds within only a few miles from my home. The clinch river, copper creek, and holston river watersheds.

 

http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/whatis.cfm

 

I think we are talking about the same thing. :unsure:

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Yes, that is correct. Every river has a watershed, no matter how small the river is. The watershed of a tributary to a larger river is also part of the larger watershed. And so on until the river flows into an ocean.

 

From a Waymarking point of view the important question is, where are signs and markers and which ones are valid for the category? In the areas I know, there are many rivers, but little watershed markers. Only top level watersheds, continental divides, are considered to be interesting to the public and in mountain areas those drainage divides are often not accessible, so the number of existing markers is not that big and they are something special.

 

But if in other areas those markers are much more common and and also label lower level watersheds, then this is an important information and we have to discuss how to deal with them in the potential category.

 

There are millions of locations where you cross a watershed, but how many of them have a sign that tells you and which ones should be accepted in the category?

 

Here in Europe a restriction is not necessary at all. Is it different in the US?

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Just imagine crossing into a watershed area along a larger highway, there would be in most cases one sign on each side of the highway/river.

There are not too many of these in one location, but consider the variable that for example the Clinch river watershed signs may be posted in different States and towns. There may be several exact watershed signs along different highways.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinch_River

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The Clinch River watershed is a good example. An interstate highway, several US federal highways, state highways (in different states), county roads (in different counties) and many, many town roads, streets, lanes and trails all enter and exit this watershed. In some regions of the world, there will be watershed signs at many of these entry points.

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This is supposed to be a category for signs and markers, not the areas. In my opinion it does not matter how many there are for the same watershed.

 

Some watersheds are huge, the one I live in covers 100,000 sq. miles. Just the fact that they seem to be much more prevalent in the US than here should be considered. But it is still not as much that a restriction would make sense, I think. If a restriction, then not based on proximity or distinct watersheds, because there is little technical support for that and it would be a nightmare for the officers. Only the highest level of streams and all their tributaries would be a possibility, but I would prefer it to be completely open.

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I am sure that the category description will be fine without mention of proximity restrictions. There just could be many waymark submissions from some regions.

 

One of the problems that I have encountered is that the signs are along busy interstate highways where stopping is prohibited unless it is an emergency.

 

Hopefully my Drive-By Waymarking skills will pay off. I know that everyone thinks this a joke, but I'm turning out some decent photos from the passanger side of a motor vehicle. :)

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Werte Forengemeinde,

 

schön, daß Tante Hossi das schon mehrmals aufgewärmte Süppchen "Watersheds" wieder zum Vorschein bringt... Es sollte doch möglich sein, da es weltumspannend immer und überall "Watersheds/Wasserscheiden" gibt, endlich auch hier mal eine Kategorie ins Leben zu rufen. Schön, daß Bäche und Flüsse das gesammelte Oberflächenwasser wieder dem Meer zurückführt ... ;)

 

Euer *SportBaer*

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Maybe I can add some background information that may help to solve to confusion some American waymarkers have.

The problem is not English as first language or not, as one of the voters suggested. The problem is the difference between British (and in this case also international) and American English. The original British meaning of the term is "divide", probably as a loan word from German "Wasserscheide", but with a connection to an Old English verb "sceadan" with the same meaning. This usage is also the generally accepted one in international hydrology and is the one we used in the category description. In the US there was a shift of the original meaning from the borderline of a drainage basin to the whole area; this happened around 1870 for unclear reasons without any inherent logic and was maybe the result of a misunderstanding. We were not fully aware of how much this small difference was going confuse people when the category description was written.

So, Americans can replace all "watershed" with "drainage divide", until the description has taken account of the problem.

One thing, I did not find out: On what side of this terminology watershed (British usage) are Canadians?

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2 hours ago, fi67 said:

Maybe I can add some background information that may help to solve to confusion some American waymarkers have.

The problem is not English as first language or not, as one of the voters suggested. The problem is the difference between British (and in this case also international) and American English. The original British meaning of the term is "divide", probably as a loan word from German "Wasserscheide", but with a connection to an Old English verb "sceadan" with the same meaning. This usage is also the generally accepted one in international hydrology and is the one we used in the category description. In the US there was a shift of the original meaning from the borderline of a drainage basin to the whole area; this happened around 1870 for unclear reasons without any inherent logic and was maybe the result of a misunderstanding. We were not fully aware of how much this small difference was going confuse people when the category description was written.

So, Americans can replace all "watershed" with "drainage divide", until the description has taken account of the problem.

One thing, I did not find out: On what side of this terminology watershed (British usage) are Canadians?

When traveling in Canada, we have found watershed boundary markers that also use the term "divide."

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As with many things in Canada, we are bilingual.  We understand both terms, watershed and/or (drainage) divide.  Many of us learned metric and Imperial measurements.  My height is still feet and inches.  I still buy fruit by the pound.  I put so many litres of fuel in the car and drive so many kilometres on a full tank.  However, I still think of fuel economy as miles per gallon.  It's hot outdoors if it's 30 degrees but I set the indoor thermostat to 68 degrees.  Don't worry about us Canadians.  We're stuck somewhere between the rest of the English-speaking worlds.

Edited by elyob
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Divide is the proper term.  Continental Divide is just a subset of all Divides, and are much too rare (lack of prevalence).  In North America, there is really only one Continental level Divide, splitting the waters that run into the Pacific Ocean from those in the Atlantic.  There are other useful divides, such as that which splits water flowing into the main Atlantic Ocean versus that which runs into the Gulf of Mexico, and which does not really divide the continent.

The place we lived in before we moved down to the Ozarks was just a few feet from the divide between the Illinois River watershed and the Rock River water shed.  May not sound like much, but the two rivers run into the Mississippi River something like 400 miles apart.  But there was no sign for that divide.

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