Mid Hudson Watershed
Watershed is the term used to
describe the geographic area of land that drains water to a shared
destination. The drainage system (and the watershed) also includes
the geographic area surrounding the stream system that captures
precipitation, filters and stores water, and determines water
release into stream systems. The stream system is the visible,
aboveground portion of a larger drainage system. A watershed,
therefore, is an area of land that drains water, sediment, and
dissolved materials to a common outlet
Any activity that changes soil permeability, vegetation type or
cover, water quality, quantity, or rate of flow at a location can
change the characteristics of a stream or even the watershed at
downstream locations. Land use practices such as clearing land for
timber or agriculture, developing and maintaining roads, housing
developments, and water diversions may have environmental
consequences that greatly affect stream conditions even when the
land use is not directly associated with a stream. Proper planning
and adequate care in implementing projects can help ensure that one
activity within a watershed does not detrimentally impact the
downstream environment.
In recent years, watersheds
across the United States have become a focal point for
community-based environmental conservation. Through the
collaborative efforts of watershed groups – consisting of the
people living and working within each watershed – major
improvements in water quality, fisheries enhancement, wildlife
habitat, and overall quality of life have been accomplished. A
watershed provides water for drinking, recreation, and agriculture,
and is a rich source of biological diversity that includes habitat
for many threatened and endangered species.
This cache is in Henry Hudson
Park in Selkirk, N.Y.
The river is the Hudson
River:
The Hudson River extends 315
miles from its source in the Adirondacks at Lake Tear of the Clouds
to New York Harbor and is the main draining point for the Mid
Hudson Watershed
Now, how to earn your
smiley
To
demonstrate surface flow and drainage patterns,
1. At the I.P.
take a waypoint and note your elevation.
2. Go to N42 32.869 W073 45.525 and take another
waypoint and note your elevation, calculate the difference between
the 2 numbers, look back at the I.P. I was amazed by the difference
in the elevation it did not seem that much to me.
3. Email me the answer, Do not post it on the
cache page even encrypted.
3. take a picture of yourself with the river in
the background, if you are shy or do not have someone with you,
take a picture of your GPS with the river in the background.