What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land which drains into a particular body of water. Just as when you pour water in a bathtub, it all ends up in the drain, when it rains on the surface, that water flows to a particular body of water. That water can flow both above the ground through lakes, streams, and wetlands, or below the ground through groundwater and springs.
The Shiawassee River Watershed
The Shiawassee River is approximately 110 miles long with connections to several other water systems including the Flint River, Cass River and Titabawassee River. Together these rivers form the Saginaw River which drains into the Saginaw Bay. The Shiawassee River also defines the southern boundary of the Saginaw Bay Watershed, which flows directly into Lake Huron. The Shiawassee River watershed is 1,160 square miles and drains about 742,400 acres. With waters that eventually reach the Great Lakes, the Shiawassee River has a much larger impact than many realize. The following image shows the river near the headwaters in Oakland County.
Map of the Shiawassee River Watershed
Some facts about the Shiawassee River Watershed
Many communities are built on the banks of the River, in fact over 180,000 residents call the Shiawassee River watershed home.
Though most of this land is used for agriculture, residential and other urban land use has begun to increase in recent years.
The Shiawassee River is one of the best preserved warm-water river systems in the southern Great Lakes ecoregion. It supports approximately 59 species of fish and 12 species of freshwater mussel.
The river also plays an integral role in the travels of migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds and ducks.
The swamps and fens adjacent to the river's headwaters are some of the best examples of their kind left today and they support several globally rare species such as the Indiana bat, Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, Blanding's turtle and insects such as the Powersheik skipperling.
What is Threatening the River and Watershed?
- Pollution and the dumping of trash and debris in the river
- Invasive species such as the Garlic Mustard
- Water quality degradation
- Altered hydrology
- Intensive agriculture production
- Incompatible land use such as development
Local Information
The posted coordinates will take you to a foot bridge over the Shiawassee River in Curwood Castle Park. There are no posted hours for the park. However, Curwood Castle is open from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM daily (closed Monday).
Logging Requirements
- Take a picture of you or your entire team on the bridge with the Shiawassee River in the background. If you do not want to post your picture, you may take a picture of your GPS with the bridge and river in the background. *Photographs are optional per Earthcaching guidelines.*
- Look closely at the river as you stand on the bridge. Describe the water's color and clarity. What do you think can have an effect on the water's appearance?
- Name the eight counties that are encompassed by the Shiawassee River Watershed. The large map in the description above contains the answer. (Hint: Clinton County is not one of them)
- Everything we do in this community will eventually impact the Great Lakes. Why?
To gain credit for this earthcache, post the picture from #1 with your online log. Also, send an email to me via my profile with the answer for question #2, question #3, and question #4. Both the picture and the email must be done within 48 hours of logging the cache as a find. Any logs not meeting the above criteria will be deleted.
This earthcache was developed with permission from the City of Owosso, Michigan.
Information obtained from the Friends of the Shiawassee River.
