West Virginia watersheds

​​​ What is a watershed? After you learn what a watershed is, It is important that you understand how to determine watershed boundaries and become familar with our state's topographic maps. West Virginia has 32 watersheds divided according to hydrologic unit codes (HUC) that contribute to the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The waters west of the eastern continental divide flow into the Ohio River. The Ohio joins the Mississippi River at Cairo, IL. The Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans, LA. The eastern continental divide also changes the course of five of our eastern rivers towards the Potomac River. The Potomac flows into the Chesapeake Bay southeast of Washington DC. A few streams in the southeastern corner of the state flow towards the James River. ​

Click-Here to view a Story Map that describes a selection of West Virginia's water bodies.​

Mapping tools

• National Map Viewer: USGS geospatial map that provides data visualizations, downloadable files and the ability create personalized maps
• Waters GeoViewer displays: Snapshot of EPA Office of Waters Program data using a map interface
• WV Map - Public gateway to online mapping resources in the mountain state. It provides access to a wide vareity of geographic data from the Internet
• WVDEP's TAGIS/GIS mapping tools
  
• WVHUC-ANcodes​: A spreadsheet tool with containing all basins within West Virginia. Searchable by stream name, stream and HUC codes. ​
  
• WV GIS Technical Center: Watershed boundary data set
  

Additional Resources

• Definition of the USGS hydrologic unit code (HUC) - Excel Format, PDF Format
• USEPA Surf Your Watershed (West Virginia watersheds)
  
• Organizing Watershed Partnerships: Guidelines to help organize watershed partnerships
• US map showing organizations actively involved in local watershed activities: If your organization is not represented on the map, contact the River Network.
  
• TEAM Manual: Describes how to conduct a basic watershed survey
• We All Live in a Watershed - Video that provides an introduction to basic watershed concepts and discusses watershed management approaches.
• Watershed Poster: WVDEP's educational map of our major basins; it's a great tool for learning more about our state's watersheds.
  
• WVDEP's Water Use Section Public Information Portal:​ Developed in cooperation with Marshall University's Center of Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences (CEGAS). The portal provides information related to water use in West Virginia.