Potomac Highlands Watershed School: Middle School Potomac and Chesapeake Bay Scavenger Hunt

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Click on the next to each question to find the answer.

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	1. How big is the Cacapon River watershed?
	2. Why is riparian (riverside) habitat important in a watershed?
	3. Where does ground water come from?
	4. The drainage area of the Potomac River includes 14,670 square miles in four states.  Which state contains the most land in the Potomac watershed?
	5. What is West Virginia’s state fish? Give one fact about this fish. (Hint: click on the fish’s name to find a fact.)
	6. The average flow in the Potomac River at Washington DC is about 7 billion gallons per day.  How much of this water is withdrawn every day for use by the people in the region.?
	7. How long is the Potomac River and where does it start?
	8. Give two reasons why wetlands are important to watersheds.
	9. The American shad was once one of the east coast’s most abundant and economically important fish.  By the mid-1970s, water pollution, over-harvest and the blocking of spawning habitat by dams led to their decline.  Since 1995, a coalition of federal, state, regional and local agencies and nonprofit groups have been working to open historic spawning and nursery habitat so the shad can recover.  Students in the watershed are helping in this effort.  How many baby shad (called fry) have been raised and released by students?
	10. Why are forests the most beneficial land use for protecting water quality?
	11. There are a number of major rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay.  One of them contributes more than 50% of the Bay’s fresh water.  Which river is it?
	12. What states do you find in the Chesapeake Bay watershed?