Actually, Virginia has many watersheds. All the land that drains to a particular body of water is called a watershed. A river’s watershed is made up of smaller watersheds as creeks and streams filter into larger ones before finally flowing into a single river. Virginia has 13 major watersheds, with the most dominant being the Chesapeake Bay system (Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation). Within their drainage basins, the four major Virginia rivers defining the Chesapeake Bay watershed—the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James—provide habitats for native animals, trees, and assorted plant life, while supplying water for various human uses including drinking, irrigation, and transportation.
Watersheds have played a vital role in the development of Virginia, serving as transportation routes, means of communication between communities, and the determining factor in the location of towns, cities, and farms, and in some cases, battles.
Today, Virginia’s watersheds have often been the battleground when environmental, industrial, and agricultural issues have come into conflict. Dealing appropriately and decisively with theses issues is one of the major challenges facing 21st Century Virginians.
For Further Reading:
Curtin, Philip, Grace Brush, and George Fisher, eds. Discovering the Chesapeake: The History of an Ecosystem. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.
This Vignette Provided By
Drawn from an Encyclopedia Virginia entry by B. R. Cohen, assistant professor, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, University of Virginia.
