Student Activity for the Map of the
Humboldt River System

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Educational Series E-32

Trace the Watershed of the Humboldt River System

Elisabeth M. Price
O'Brien Middle School
20 September 1999

Investigative question:

  • What factors can influence our watershed?
    •

    Objective:

  • Identify and understand the meaning of a watershed.
    •

    Grade Level: Elementary School (1 - 6)

    Background Information:

  • This map addresses the watershed of the Humboldt River system. The watershed includes the main river, tributaries and lakes, plus the hillsides from which water flows into those rivers, tributaries and lakes.

    • Student Product:

  • Map with tracings of the rivers, tributaries, and lakes of a watershed area. Discussion of features that might affect the quality of the water such as locations of towns and industry upstream, and locations of water treatment and wastewater treatment plants.

    • Materials for each student:

  • Humboldt River Systems map
    Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
    Nevada State road maps (for locations of roads and additional towns).

    • Procedure:

    1. In order for students to become familiar with the map, take the class outside with their maps to identify features the students can see from the school yard. Locate these features on the map, and locate the school on the map. Have the students in pairs, groups, or as a whole class discuss the way the features look on the shaded relief map and compare them to what the students actually see. If possible, take students to see the river or a tributary in the watershed they will be studying.
    2. Back in class, trace in blue the main river of the watershed, the Humboldt River. Identify the beginning and end of the river.
    3. Trace the tributaries in the same blue color. Discuss how water in the tributaries flows down from a hill side and intersects the main river.
    4. Color in blue any man-made reservoirs that are on the river or tributaries.
    5. Discuss the location of the rivers. If the students do not say the following points, tell the students that: A. Water runs down hill. B. Water cannot run up hill over a mountain or rise. C. The force of the water lets it move rocks and sediment downstream and cut a river valley.
    6. In green, draw an approximate boundary of the watershed by tracing mountain tops such that a watershed boundary is drawn around all of the rivers, tributaries, and lakes that are colored blue. Remember that the line cannot cross any river lines, colored or not. Notice that it is possible to draw a line all the way around the watershed. This situation is peculiar to areas such as the Great Basin in which water from rain and snow fall flows into streams that do not leave the basin to join rivers that flow to the ocean. Compare the Humboldt River Watershed to a river in the Eastern US such as the Mississippi River.
    7. Discuss the sources of water in the Humboldt River and its tributaries: rain and snow. Discuss the variations in water amount of to be found in the river and tributaries as a function of elevations and season of the year. When would the amount of water in the tributaries be the greatest? What factors would affect that amount of water (snow accumulation and temperature)?
    8. Use other maps as necessary (Nevada State road maps) to locate towns, railroads, and roads within the watershed area. Mark these in orange.
    9. Discuss in small groups factors that could affect water quality, including natural and man-made factors. List factors the students find: towns, steep slopes, industry, roads.
    10. Investigate water treatment before and after use by locating the water treatment and waste water treatment plants for the big towns in the watershed area. Mark these locations in purple.

    Extensions and possible review or discussion questions:

    1. Locate and discuss possible changes made by man-made diversions or uses of water along the Humboldt River such as the Rye Patch Reservoir.
    2. Look up and discuss the meaning of definitions of "watershed" and "drainage basin" in the Water Words Dictionary on the web site of the Nevada Division of Water Planning: http://water.nv.gov/WaterPlanning/dict-1/ww-dictionary.pdf .
    3. Compare the outline of the watershed developed in class to that shown at the NBMG web site: www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/e32/w.jpg .
    4. What are the major tributaries to the Humboldt River from the north? From the south?
    5. Name at least one mountain range drained by each tributary.
    6. What is the lowest part of the Humboldt River Watershed called? What town is nearest this place?
    7. Devise a plan to calculate the approximate number of square kilometers of land drained by the Humboldt River. Using a Nevada state map, calculate and compare the total area of the state to the area drained by the Humboldt River.
    8. If the Humboldt River drains such a large area, where does the water from that area go? Discuss a variety of possible answers to this question. Illustrate the process of evaporation by evaporating some water from a plate. Placing the plate with water in the sun will model the Humboldt Sink. After evaporation, students should look for a residue. If the tap water doesn't leave a noticeable residue, repeat the experiment with a bit of added salt. This models the alkali flats that can be seen in many areas.
    9. It might be interesting to calculate the drop in elevation between various areas along the Humboldt, to reinforce the fact that water flows down hill. Use a topographic map of the area to compare the elevation at a source of a tributary of the Humboldt River to that at the Humboldt Sink, for example.
    10. The Humboldt River system is important to more than just the people who use and enjoy the water. What other animals and aquatic life might use the waters of the Humboldt?