What is a "watershed"?
A "watershed" is an area draining into a river, lake, or
other waterbody. Ecology and other state natural resources agencies
have divided the state into 62 "Water Resource Inventory Areas" or "WRIAs"
to delineate the state's major watersheds.(1)
Learn about your watershed
Select a watershed of interest from the list in the left
column or from the map below to view links to
on-line
environmental information (both at Ecology and from outside
sources) for the watershed.
For more information . . .
. . . on why watersheds are important, what threatens watershed health,
things you can do, local examples of watershed stewardship, contacts for more
information on various watershed topics, and more, see
Working for Washington's Future: Healthy Watersheds,
Healthy People.
1 Federal agencies frequently use an alternative watershed system
based on USGS Cataloging Units or "HUCs" (Hydrological Unit Code). The federal system is similar to the
WRIA system except that the basin groupings differ and the units extend beyond the Washington state boundary
into Canada, Oregon, and Idaho.
