FIND MY WATERSHED

Every place drains somewhere. Find out where yours goes.

Search a U.S. location to reveal its local watershed, the larger basin it belongs to, and the nearby rivers and live gauges connected to that landscape.

Find your watershedSee the larger basinConnect to live rivers

HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS

Three pictures explain the whole idea.

The land draws the boundary, small watersheds nest inside bigger basins, and water links what happens upstream to places farther downstream.

The land draws the boundaryRidges, rain and gravity decide which way water goes.

The land decides where water goes: rain on one side of a ridge can feed one river system, while rain on the other side feeds another.

A watershed comes from topography. Ridges and other high ground separate one drainage area from the next, while rain and snowmelt move downhill into smaller channels and tributaries.

Those channels eventually converge at a common stream, river, lake or other outlet. That shared destination is what makes the land a watershed.

Small watersheds fit inside bigger basinsYour neighborhood drainage is one layer in a much larger river system.

You can be inside several correct watershed boundaries at once.

Your HUC12 is the more local drainage area around the selected location. That smaller watershed sits inside a HUC8 basin that collects water from many neighboring HUC12 watersheds.

The smaller unit answers “what drains this local area?” while the larger unit answers “what broader river basin does that local water eventually join?”

Upstream and downstream are connectedWater carries the effects of weather and land use through the network.

The watershed connects places that may be miles apart.

Rainfall, pavement, farms, dams and other land conditions can change how much water reaches a stream, how quickly it arrives, and what travels with it.

The effect is not identical everywhere, but the drainage network provides a pathway for changes upstream to influence flow, water quality, temperature and habitat farther downstream.

WHY IT MATTERS

UPSTREAM INPUTS → DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS

A watershed connects places that may look separate on a map. Weather, pavement, farms, dams and other changes upstream can shape what happens to water farther downstream.

Rain · pavement · land use · dams

Flow · water quality · habitat · supply

WATER MOVEMENTStormwater & flooding

Heavy rain upstream can raise streams downstream. Pavement and development can also change how quickly runoff reaches a channel.

WHAT WATER CARRIESWater quality

Sediment, nutrients, road salt and other runoff can move through the drainage network rather than staying where they entered the water.

LIVING SYSTEMFish & habitat

Tributaries, temperature, flow, barriers and water quality all help shape habitat across a connected river system.

PEOPLE & WATERDrinking water & reservoirs

Many communities depend on rivers, reservoirs or groundwater influenced by the surrounding watershed, making upstream land use relevant beyond one property.

THE BIG IDEAA watershed makes “upstream” and “downstream” part of the same story.

WANT THE TECHNICAL VERSION?

HUC (pronounced “huck”) is the USGS address system for watersheds.

Hydrologic Unit Codes describe nested drainage areas.

The Watershed Boundary Dataset organizes the country into nested hydrologic units. A 12-digit HUC identifies a relatively local subwatershed; shorter HUCs represent progressively larger drainage areas.

LARGERHUC8subbasin

LOCALHUC12subwatershed

COMMON QUESTIONS

Watershed FAQ

What is a watershed?

A watershed is an area of land where rain, snowmelt and runoff drain toward a common stream, river, lake or other outlet. High ground and ridges usually form the boundaries.

How do I find what watershed I am in?

Search a city, ZIP code or address above, or use your browser location. Get Water Data matches that point to the U.S. Geological Survey Watershed Boundary Dataset.

Why does my watershed matter?

Water connects places. Rainfall, pavement, farms, dams, pollution and land changes upstream can affect streamflow, flooding, water quality and habitat farther downstream.

Can one city be in more than one watershed?

Yes. Watershed boundaries follow terrain rather than city limits, counties or ZIP codes, so a city or neighborhood can cross more than one drainage boundary.

KEEP FOLLOWING THE WATER

Your watershed is part of a bigger river story.

Use live conditions to see what the water is doing, river pages to follow the waterway, and guides to plan where to fish, paddle and explore.

Check live conditions →Explore rivers →Plan with river guides →

A song for the watershed

WATERSHED EASTER EGG“Watershed” — Indigo Girls

A fitting little soundtrack for a page about where water goes and how one place connects to another.

Open on Spotify ↗Open River Jukebox →

Watershed boundaries and hydrologic-unit terminology are based on the U.S. Geological Survey Watershed Boundary Dataset served through the National Hydrologic Geospatial Fabric. USGS data documentation ↗