What is a Watershed? Now that you've thought about how you might be connected to the Bay, you're going to learn how people living as far north as Cooperstown, New York, and as far south as Virginia are connected to the Bay. To understand how we are all connected to the Bay, you will need to understand a new science word. A watershed is the area of land that drains into a body of water. In some ways, a watershed can be compared to your sink or bathtub. The basin may be quite large and hold a lot of water. When the tub is emptied, all of that water flows into one drainage hole. The entire basin makes up the watershed of that drain! If Chesapeake Bay is a drain, then all of the land surrounding it - the land that drains into it, is its watershed. Look at the above map of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. You can see that the Bay's watershed is quite large. In fact, the Bay's watershed covers parts of six states and Washington, D.C. Go to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation web site and use your BAY-Sic Facts Worksheet to answer some questions about Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

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