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WATERSHED

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 386 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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WATERSHED , in See also:

physical See also:geography, the See also:line separating the headstreams tributary to two different See also:river-systems or basins. Alternative terms are " See also:water-parting " and " See also:divide." The See also:crest of a See also:mountain See also:ridge forms the most clearly marked water-See also:shed; in a See also:plain See also:country of See also:gentle slope (e.g. the central plain of See also:Ireland) the watershed is often difficult to trace, as the See also:head-See also:waters of two different river systems may See also:merge in marshes or lakes at the highest levels. In a mountainous country, where two streams, flowing in opposite directions but having their See also:sources adjacent, are both gradually eroding or cutting back the See also:land at their heads, a pass is formed. In such cases, where one stream erodes faster than the other, the stronger may ultimately " behead " the weaker, and " See also:capture " some of its waters,. whose flow is diverted from one See also:basin to another.

End of Article: WATERSHED

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