Rivers, watersheds and groundwater, and who uses the water
Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
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Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card B. Terms, in our words. A watershed, or drainage basin, is all the land whose water drains to one river. A divide is the high ground that separates one watershed from the next. A tributary is a stream that flows into a larger river. Card C. Three towns (made up for practice). Birch lies on the Ohio just below Pittsburgh. Cove lies on the Ohio near Cairo. Alder lies in West Virginia on Mill Creek, a stream that joins the Ohio between Birch and Cove. On Monday a tank at Birch spills a harmless dye into the Ohio.
Mill Creek flows into the Ohio. What is Mill Creek in watershed terms, Ari asks?
- A tributary, and the land it drains is part of the Ohio’s watershed
- A tributary, but its valley lies outside the red line, which follows the main river
- A divide, since it separates Alder from the main river channel of the Ohio
- A separate watershed, since it has its own name and its own valley
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card B. Terms, in our words. A watershed, or drainage basin, is all the land whose water drains to one river. A divide is the high ground that separates one watershed from the next. A tributary is a stream that flows into a larger river.
Esme says the Ohio watershed is the strip of land within a few miles of the river. What does Map 2 show instead?
- All the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles
- The river and its tributary channels together, drawn as thick and thin blue lines
- A strip along the 981 miles of the river, wider near Pittsburgh than near Cairo
- The states the river touches, outlined in red, whatever the land drains to
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card C. Three towns (made up for practice). Birch lies on the Ohio just below Pittsburgh. Cove lies on the Ohio near Cairo. Alder lies in West Virginia on Mill Creek, a stream that joins the Ohio between Birch and Cove. On Monday a tank at Birch spills a harmless dye into the Ohio.
The dye is spilled at Birch on Monday. Which town on the cards will the dye reach along the Ohio, Jun asks?
- Cove, which lies downstream toward Cairo
- Alder, since Mill Creek is part of the Ohio’s watershed and drains to it
- Alder and Cove, since both lie inside the red line on Map 2
- Neither, since a harmless dye is carried off by the current and vanishes
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card B. Terms, in our words. A watershed, or drainage basin, is all the land whose water drains to one river. A divide is the high ground that separates one watershed from the next. A tributary is a stream that flows into a larger river. Card C. Three towns (made up for practice). Birch lies on the Ohio just below Pittsburgh. Cove lies on the Ohio near Cairo. Alder lies in West Virginia on Mill Creek, a stream that joins the Ohio between Birch and Cove. On Monday a tank at Birch spills a harmless dye into the Ohio.
Alder is in the Ohio watershed, yet the dye does not reach Alder. How can both be true, Kira asks?
- They cannot both be true: a town in a watershed receives what enters its river
- Alder drains to the Ohio, but the dye moves down the Ohio, not up the creek
- Mill Creek flows toward Pittsburgh, so its water meets the dye first
- Alder lies outside the red line, so the dye cannot reach it
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card C. Three towns (made up for practice). Birch lies on the Ohio just below Pittsburgh. Cove lies on the Ohio near Cairo. Alder lies in West Virginia on Mill Creek, a stream that joins the Ohio between Birch and Cove. On Monday a tank at Birch spills a harmless dye into the Ohio.
Rain falls on a hill in West Virginia on Mill Creek’s side of a divide. Where can that water go, Luz asks?
- Into the Ohio, where it stays, since the Ohio is where the river system ends
- Down Mill Creek into the Ohio, and on to the Mississippi at Cairo
- Up to Pittsburgh, where the Ohio begins, and then down the river
- Over the divide, to a river outside the Ohio’s watershed
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide).
Card A says streams flow into the Ohio from both sides, including from West Virginia. What does that say about the watershed, Noah asks?
- It spreads out on both sides of the river and includes land in West Virginia
- It lies north of the river, since the Ohio runs southwest from Pittsburgh
- It is the same as West Virginia, since the streams come from there
- It ends at the river banks, where the tributaries begin
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card B. Terms, in our words. A watershed, or drainage basin, is all the land whose water drains to one river. A divide is the high ground that separates one watershed from the next. A tributary is a stream that flows into a larger river.
Why is the red line on Map 2 called a divide, Pia asks?
- It marks the point where the Ohio meets the Mississippi at Cairo
- It divides one state from the next along the river, as a border would
- It splits the Ohio itself into an upper half and a lower half along its length
- It follows high ground; water inside drains to the Ohio, water outside elsewhere
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide).
Ren writes: “Water from Pittsburgh reaches the Mississippi.” Does Card A support that?
- No: the Ohio is a tributary, so its water stays inside its own watershed
- Yes: the Ohio runs from Pittsburgh to Cairo and joins the Mississippi
- No: the card gives no travel time, so the claim cannot be judged
- Yes, since the divide at Cairo carries water from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi
Use this
Card A. Two maps of the Ohio River watershed. Map 1 (rivers): the Ohio River runs 981 miles southwest from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi. Smaller streams flow into it from both sides, including from West Virginia. Map 2 (watershed): a red line traces the edge of the land that drains to the Ohio, about 204,000 square miles (USGS). Key: thick blue line = main river; thin blue line = stream flowing in; red line = watershed edge (divide). Card C. Three towns (made up for practice). Birch lies on the Ohio just below Pittsburgh. Cove lies on the Ohio near Cairo. Alder lies in West Virginia on Mill Creek, a stream that joins the Ohio between Birch and Cove. On Monday a tank at Birch spills a harmless dye into the Ohio.
Tala’s note says: “Mill Creek is the source of the Ohio.” Which fix is right?
- Change it: Alder is the source, since it is at the top of the watershed
- Change it: the Ohio has no single start, since many streams flow into it
- Leave it: a stream that flows into a river is that river’s source
- Change it: Mill Creek is a tributary; Card A starts the Ohio at Pittsburgh
A reporter asks whether the Birch spill also reaches Pittsburgh. What does Card A support, Zee asks?
- No, since the spill is harmless and ends before the next city
- Yes, since rivers carry water in both directions along their length
- Yes, since Pittsburgh is in the same watershed as Birch
- No: Pittsburgh lies upstream, and the Ohio flows away from it