From Canada to Connecticut: A Journey through the

Long Island Sound Watershed

What is a watershed?

• A watershed is the entire area of land that water (from streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and precipitation) travels over to get to one larger body of water.

• Watersheds are commonly named for the body of water into which they drain. We live in the Long Island Sound Watershed.

• As the water travels over land, the watershed can be affected both by human and environmental factors.

Long Island Sound

• This is a map of the Long Island Sound Watershed.

• It encompasses 6 states6 states • and 2 countries.

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Topography

• Water flows down from higher to lower elevations– In higher elevations, mountainous terrain, there is an

increase in precipitation, which introduces a source of frozen fresh water.

– When snow melts, the water flows downstream forming rivers or adding to existing ones.

• Watersheds include topographic features such as rivers, highlands, valleys, roads, and tributaries.

• Watersheds can include populated areas such as cities and rural areas.

You are now going to journey through the watershed to see how

each part functions and affects the Long Island Sound.

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1 – Highlands, 2 – Main River

• When snow melts, the water flows downstream forming rivers or adding to existing ones.

• What is the name of the main river in the Long Island Sound Watershed?– Connecticut River

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3- Tributaries

• Many rivers have smaller branches, called tributaries that meet the main river. These tributaries are like the many small veins on a leaf.

• Tributaries can increase the flow rate of a river and introduce nutrients or even pollution.

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4 – Populated Areas

• The river continues through agricultural areas and urban spaces/regions where it can pick up more nutrients and pollutants.

• As water flows near your home and school, can you identify variables that can affect water quality?

A person throwing trash into a river is an example of point source pollution. The trash is being directly introduced into the water by that person.

Agricultural runoff including animal waste and fertilizers are examples of non-point source pollution (NPS). Once the waste is carried by water, you cannot pinpoint the exact animal from which it came. NPS pollution occurs over a larger area.

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5 – Mouth of Estuary

• The tributaries and main river eventually connect to a larger body of water, the Long Island Sound.

• The Long Island Sound is an estuary.

• What is an estuary?

• What are some freshwater inputs?– Rivers, streams, rain

• What is the saltwater input?– The Atlantic Ocean

Estuary

CONGRATULATIONS !!!

You have successfully traveled through our watershed.

Continue on to take a closer look at where you live within the Long

Island Sound Watershed.

•This is an infrared (IR) map of Connecticut. •Green represents areas with green plants/farmland•Purple represents populated areas such as cities

•What do you notice about the distribution of the purple color? •Where do you see most of it?•The arrows indicate heavily populated areas. •What are they located next to?

Rivers

Coastline

Stamford

Hartford

•Why would people choose to live near bodies of water?•Why do you think populations are more dense around rivers?

Long Island Sound

Conclusion

• Now that you have journeyed through the LIS watershed, can you compare and contrast our watershed with another one?

• What factors of water quality would you like to test? Find out if they are the ones we will test in your classrooms when SoundWaters visits your school.

Online Activities

• Visit the SoundWaters site for interactive games about the watershed.

www.soundwaters.org

• Student login: SWstudent09• Student password: watershed