Water resource region explained

A water resource region is the first level of classification used by the United States Geological Survey to divide and sub-divide the United States into successively smaller hydrologic units as part of the U.S. hydrologic unit system.

This first level of classification divides the United States into 21 major geographic areas, or regions. These geographic areas contain either the drainage area of a major river, or the combined drainage areas of a series of rivers.[1] [2]

List of water resource regions

Region HUC[3] Region nameRegion description[4] Region locationRegion sizeRegion populationRegion map
01The drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into:
    1. the Bay of Fundy the Atlantic Ocean within and between the states of Maine and Connecticut
  2. Long Island Sound north of the New York-Connecticut state line
  3. the Riviere St. Francois, a tributary of the Saint Lawrence River
Includes all of Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. 73753sqmi
02The drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into:
  1. the Atlantic Ocean within and between the states of New York and Virginia
  2. Long Island Sound south of the New York-Connecticut State Line
  3. the Riviere Richelieu, a tributary of the Saint Lawrence River
Includes all of Delaware and New Jersey and the District of Columbia, and parts of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. 106334sqmi
03The drainage that ultimately discharges into:
  1. the Atlantic Ocean within and between the states of Virginia and Florida
  2. the Gulf of Mexico within and between the states of Florida and Louisiana
  3. the associated waters
Includes all of Florida and South Carolina, and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 279664sqmi
04The drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into:
  1. the Great Lakes system, including the lake surfaces, bays, and islands
  2. the Saint Lawrence River to the Riviere Richelieu drainage boundary.
Includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 141984sqmi
05The drainage of the Ohio River Basin, excluding the Tennessee River Basin. Includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. 162916sqmi
06The drainage of the Tennessee River Basin. Includes parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 40908sqmi
07The drainage of the Mississippi River Basin above the confluence with the Ohio River, excluding the Missouri River Basin. Includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. 189968sqmi
08The drainage of:
  1. the Mississippi River below its confluence with the Ohio River, excluding the Arkansas, Red, and White River Basins above the points of highest backwater effect of the Mississippi River in those basins
  2. coastal streams that ultimately discharge into the Gulf of Mexico from the Pearl River Basin boundary to the Sabine River and Sabine Lake drainage boundary.
Includes parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. 106741sqmi
09The drainage within the United States of the Lake of the Woods and the Rainy, Red, and Souris River Basins that ultimately discharges into Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. Includes parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. 90759sqmi
10The drainage within the United States of:
  1. the Missouri River Basin
  2. the Saskatchewan River Basin
  3. several small closed basins.
Includes all of Nebraska and parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. 520960sqmi
11The drainage of the Arkansas, White, and Red River Basins above the points of highest backwater effect of the Mississippi River. Includes all of Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas. 247988sqmi
12The drainage that discharges into the Gulf of Mexico from and including Sabine Pass to the Rio Grande Basin boundary. Includes parts of Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. 181886sqmi
13The drainage within the United States of:
  1. the Rio Grande Basin
  2. the San Luis Valley, North Plains, Plains of San Agustin, Mimbres River, Estancia, Jornada Del Muerto, Tularosa Valley, Salt Basin, and other closed basins.
Includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. 132517sqmi
14The drainage of:
  1. the Colorado River Basin above the Lee Ferry compact point which is one mile below the mouth of the Paria River
  2. the Great Divide closed basin.
Includes parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. 113347sqmi
15The drainage within the United States of:
  1. the Colorado River Basin below the Lee Ferry compact point which is one mile below the mouth of the Paria River
  2. streams that originate within the United States and ultimately discharge into the Gulf of California
  3. the Animas Valley, Willcox Playa, and other smaller closed basins.
Includes parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. 140146sqmi
16The drainage of the Great Basin that discharges into the states of Utah and Nevada. Includes parts of California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. 141717sqmi
17The drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into:
  1. the Strait of Georgia and of Strait of Juan de Fuca
  2. the Pacific Ocean within the states of Oregon and Washington; and that part of the Great Basin whose discharge is into the state of Oregon.
Includes all of Washington and parts of California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. 302334sqmi
18The drainage within the United States that ultimately discharges into the Pacific Ocean within the state of California; and those parts of the Great Basin, or other closed basins, that discharge into the state of California. Includes parts of California, Nevada, and Oregon. 168579sqmi
19The drainage within the state of Alaska. Includes all of Alaska. 720535sqmi
20The drainage within the state of Hawaii. Includes all of Hawaii. 6428sqmi
21The drainage within:
  1. the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
  2. the Virgin Islands of the United States
  3. other United States Caribbean outlying areas.
Includes land areas over which the United States has some degree of interest, jurisdiction, or sovereignty. 3582sqmi
22South Pacific region 496.48sqmi

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Science in Your Watershed - Locate Your Watershed. USGS. 2015-11-28.
  2. Web site: Hydrologic Unit Maps. USGS. 2015-11-28.
  3. Web site: McManamay RA, Bevelhimer MS, Kao SC, Yaxing W, Martinez-Gonzalez M, Samu N. National Hydropower Asset Assessment Environmental Attribution. USGS-Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 2016-10-12. 2013.
  4. Web site: Boundary Descriptions and Names of Regions, Subregions, Accounting Units and Cataloging Units. USGS. 2015-11-28.

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