Watershed Exercise

30 questions to elevate your awareness of Rochester's Watershed.
How much do you know about the health, size and location of our watershed?

We all live in a watershed and just about everything we do either has a positive or negative impact on it. Take this little quiz and see just how much you know about Rochester's watershed and it's history.

1) Point north. Good. The first one is always easy.

2) What time is sunset today? Resource

3) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap. Resource , Resource

4) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water? Resource

5) How many feet above sea level are you? Resource

6) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom here? Resource

7) How far do you have to travel before you reach a different watershed? Can you draw the boundaries of yours? Resource , Resource

8) Is the soil under your feet, more clay, sand, rock or silt? Resource

9) Before your tribe lived here, what did the previous inhabitants eat and how did they sustain themselves? Resource

10) Name five native edible plants in your neighborhood and the season(s) they are available. Resource

11) From what direction do storms generally come? [Resource]

12) Where does your garbage go? Resource

13) How many people live in your watershed? Resource

14) Who uses the paper/plastic you recycle from your neighborhood? Resource

15) Point to where the sun sets on the equinox. How about sunrise on the summer solstice? (See #2 as to when you can conduct your experiment)

16) Where is the nearest earthquake fault? When did it last move? Resource

17) Right here, how deep do you have to drill before you reach water? [Resource]

18) Which (if any) geological features in your watershed are, or were, especially respected by your community, or considered sacred, now or in the past? [Resource]

19) How many days is the growing season here (from frost to frost)? Resource

20) Name five birds that live here. Which are migratory and which stay put? Resource

21) What was the total rainfall here last year? Resource

22) Where does the pollution in your air come from? Resource , Resource

23) What was the dominant land cover plant here 12,000 years ago? Resource

24) What primary geological processes or events shaped the land here? Resource

25) Name three wild species that were not found here 500 years ago. Name one exotic species that has appeared in the last 5 years. Resource, Resource , Resource

26) What minerals are found in the ground here that are (or were) economically valuable? [Resource]

27) Where does your electric power come from and how is it generated? [Resource]

28) After the rain runs off your roof, where does it go? [Resource]

29) Where is the nearest wilderness? When was the last time a fire burned through it? [Resource]

30) How many days until the moon is full? [Resource]

Bonus Questions:

31) What species once found here are known to have gone extinct? [Resource]

32) What other cities or landscape features on the planet share your latitude? [Resource]

How many did you know?

—Info and credits: About the Big Here quiz.

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