CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:41).
Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-16-21.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 19, 2021. This revised episode from September 2016 is part of a series this year of episodes related to watersheds and river basins.
SOUND – ~ 7 sec
This week, that sound of the Roanoke River, recorded along the Blue Ridge
Parkway near Roanoke, Va., sets the stage for a Virginia rivers quiz game to
highlight some key facts about the Commonwealth major rivers and their
watersheds.
I’ll ask you six questions about Virginia’s rivers. Then I’ll give you the answer after a few
seconds of some appropriate music: “Exploring the Rivers,” by Timothy Seaman of
Williamsburg, Va.
Let the game begin!
Question 1: What river that is very much associated with Virginia’s past and present is not actually IN Virginia.
MUSIC - ~ 5 sec – instrumental
That’s the Potomac River, whose main stem along Virginia’s northern border is owned
by the State of Maryland.
Question 2: Of the James,
Rappahannock, and York rivers, which two have their entire watersheds in
Virginia?
MUSIC - ~ 5 sec – instrumental
The answer is the Rappahannock and the York. A small part of the headwaters of the James
is in West Virginia.
Question 3: What is the largest
river watershed in Virginia?
MUSIC - ~ 5 sec – instrumental
This time the answer IS the James River, whose watershed
covers over 10,000 square miles in Virginia.
Question 5: What’s the longest river
in Virginia, counting only each river’s main stem, not all of the tributaries?
MUSIC - ~ 4 sec – instrumental
Once again, it’s the James, whose main stem travels about
340 miles.
Question 5: What two large Virginia
rivers flow generally north?
MUSIC - ~ 6 sec – instrumental
Virginia’s major northerly-flowing rivers are the New and
the Shenandoah.
And last, question 6: What major river
flows southwesterly into Tennessee?
MUSIC - ~ 6 sec – instrumental
That’s the Clinch River, one of several rivers in
southwestern Virginia flowing toward the Volunteer State in the Tennessee River
watershed, which in turn is part of the watersheds of the Ohio River,
Mississippi River, and Gulf of Mexico.
If you’re thinking that this game left out some major Virginia rivers and river
basins, you’re right! Other main rivers
in the Commonwealth include the Dan, Holston, Powell, and Roanoke. And other major watersheds with areas in Virginia
include those of the Big Sandy River, which forms the border between Kentucky
and West Virginia; the Chowan and Yadkin rivers, whose main stems are in North
Carolina; Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay coastal rivers; and Albemarle Sound
on North Carolina’s coast.
Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and we close
about 25 more seconds of “Exploring the Rivers.”
MUSIC – ~ 27 sec – instrumental
SHIP’S BELL
Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water
Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources
and Environment. For more Virginia water
sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call
the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks
to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this
show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo,
thanking you for listening, and
wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces
Episode 344, 9-19-16.
The sounds of the Roanoke River were recorded by Virginia Water Radio from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Roanoke, Va., on June 15, 2017.
“Exploring the Rivers,” on the 2006 album “Jamestown: On the
Edge of a Vast Continent,” is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind
Records, used with permission. More information about Timothy Seaman is
available online at http://www.timothyseaman.com/. This music used previously Virginia Water
Radio most recently in Episode
475, 6-3-19.
Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.
IMAGES
Map showing Virginia’s major watersheds. Map from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia’s Major Watersheds,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds.
EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT MAJOR VIRGINIA WATERSHEDS
The following table of information about Virginia’s 14 major watersheds is from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia’s Major Watersheds,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/stormwater_management/wsheds.shtml. This information was also included in the Show Notes for Virginia Water Radio Episode 581, 6-14-21, an introduction to watersheds.
|
WATERSHED |
AREA IN SQUARE MILES |
MAJOR TRIBUTARIES |
|
Albemarle Sound Coastal |
577 |
Dismal Swamp, North Landing River, Back Bay |
|
Atlantic Ocean Coastal |
580 |
Chincoteague Bay, Hog Island Bay |
|
Chesapeake Bay Coastal |
2,577 |
Chesapeake Bay, Piankatank River |
|
Chowan |
3,675 |
Nottaway River, Meherrin River, Blackwater River |
|
James |
10,236 |
James River, Appomattox River, Maury River, Jackson River, Rivanna River |
|
New |
3,068 |
New River, Little River, Walker Creek |
|
Potomac - Shenandoah |
5,702 |
Potomac River, S. Fork Shenandoah River, N. Fork Shenandoah River |
|
Rappahannock |
2,714 |
Rappahannock River, Rapidan River, Hazel River |
|
Roanoke |
6,274 |
Roanoke River, Dan River, Banister River, Kerr Reservoir |
|
Yadkin |
118 |
Ararat River |
|
York |
2,669 |
York River, Pamunkey River, Mattaponi River |
|
Holston |
1,322 |
N. Fork Holston River, Middle Fork Holston River, S. Fork Holston River |
|
Clinch - Powell |
1,811 |
Clinch River, Powell River, Guest River |
|
Big Sandy |
999 |
Levisa Fork, Russel Fork, Tug Fork |
SOURCES
Used for Audio
Radford University, “Virginia’s Rivers,” online at http://www.radford.edu/jtso/GeologyofVirginia/VirginiasRivers/Drainage-1.html.
Frits van der Leeden:
The Environmental Almanac of Virginia,
Tennyson Press, Lexington, Va., 1998;
Virginia Water Atlas, Tennyson Press, Lexington,
Va., 1993.
Kathryn P. Sevebeck, Jacob H. Kahn, and Nancy L. Chapman, Virginia’s Waters,
Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Blacksburg, Va., 1986 (out of print).
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Virginia’s Major
Watersheds,” online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/wsheds.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, “Final 2020
305(b)/303(d) Water Quality Assessment Integrated Report,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quality/assessments/integrated-report. Chapter 2, “State Background Information,”
states that Virginia has an estimated 100,923 miles of rivers and streams.
Virginia Museum of Natural History, “Virginia’s Water
Resources,” special issue of Virginia Explorer, Winter 2000,
Martinsville, Va.
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, “West Virginia Watersheds,” online at http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/sos/Pages/Watersheds.aspx.
For More Information about Watersheds and River Basins
College of William and Mary Department of Geology, “The
Geology of Virginia—Hydrology,” online at http://geology.blogs.wm.edu/hydrology/.
Natural Resources Conservation Service/Virginia, “2020 Virginia Water Resources Progress Report,” online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/va/programs/planning/. This report has descriptions of projects in many Virginia watersheds. The 2017 report is online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/va/programs/planning/wo/.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “How’s My
Waterway,” online at https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway.
U.S. Geological Survey, “Water Science School/Watersheds and Drainage Basins,” online at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/watersheds-and-drainage-basins?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects.
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, “Hydrologic
Unit Geography,” online at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/hu.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality:
“Commonwealth of Virginia State Water Resources Plan,” April
2015, available online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quantity/water-supply-planning/virginia-water-resources-plan;
“Status of Virginia’s Water Resources,” October 2020, online (as a PDF) at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/2119/637432838113030000;
“Water Quantity,” online at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quantity.
Virginia Places:
“Continental (and Other) Divides,”
online at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/divides.html;
“Rivers and Watersheds of Virginia,” online
at http://www.virginiaplaces.org/watersheds/index.html.
Virginia Water Resources Research Center, “Divide and Confluence,” by Alan Raflo, Virginia Water Central Newsletter, February 2000, pages 8-11, available online at https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/49316.
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “Rivers, Streams, and Other Surface Water” subject category.
Following are links to some other episodes on watersheds and Virginia rivers. Please note that some of these episodes are being redone in summer 2021; in those cases, the respective links below will have information on the updated episodes.
Big Otter River introduction (Roanoke River watershed) – Episode 419, 5-7-18.
Big Sandy River watershed introduction – Episode 419, 5-7-18.
Blue Ridge origin of river watersheds – Episode 583, 6-28-21
Bullpasture and Cowpasture rivers introduction (James River watershed) – Episode 469, 4-22-19.
Hazel River introduction (Rappahannock River watershed) – Episode 339, 10-24-16.
Headwater streams – Episode 582, 6-21-21.
Jackson River introduction (James River watershed) – Episode 428, 7-9-19.
Madison County flooding in 1995 (on Rapidan River, in Rappahannock River watershed) – Episode 272, 6-29-15
Musical tour of rivers and watersheds - Episode 251, 2-2-15.
New River introduction – Episode 109, 5-7-12.
Ohio River basin introduction – Episode 421, 5-21-18.
Ohio River basin connections through watersheds and history – Episode 422, 5-28-18;
Passage Creek and Fort Valley introduction (Shenandoah River watershed) – Episode 331 – 8/29/16.
River bluffs – Episode 173, 8-5-13.
Rappahannock River introduction – Episode 89, 11-21-11.
Shenandoah River introduction – Episode 130 – 10/1/12.
Smith River and Philpott Reservoir introduction (Roanoke River watershed) – Episode 360, 3-20-17.
South Fork Holston River introduction (Clinch-Powell/Upper Tennessee River watershed) – Episode 425, 6-18-18.
Staunton River introduction (part of the Roanoke River) – Episode 374, 6-26-17.
Virginia surface water numbers – Episode 539, 8-24-20.
Virginia’s Tennessee River tributaries – Episode 420, 5-14-18.
Water cycle introduction – Episode 191, 12-9-13; and water cycle diagrams reconsidered – Episode 480, 7-8-19.
Watershed and water cycle terms related to stormwater – Episode 585, 7-12-21.
Watersheds introduction – Episode 581, 6-14-21.
Water quantity information sources – Episode 546, 10-12-20.
Werowocomoco native people’s civilization history, centered in the York River watershed – Episode 364, 12-12-16.
FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION
Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.
2020 Music SOLs
SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”
2018 Science SOLs
Grades K-5: Earth
Resources
4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources.
Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in
the natural and human-made environment.
6.8 – Land and water have roles in watershed systems.
Earth Science
ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by
geologic processes and human activity.
2015 Social Studies SOLs
Grades K-3 Geography
Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.
2.6 – Major rivers, mountains, and other geographic features
of North America and other continents.
3.6 – Major rivers, mountains, and other geographic features
of North America and other continents.
Grades K-3 Economics
Theme
2.8 – Natural, human, and capital resources.
Virginia Studies
Course
VS.1 – Impact of geographic features on people, places, and
events in Virginia history.
VS.2 – Physical geography and native peoples of Virginia
past and present.
VS.10 – Knowledge of government, geography, and economics in
present-day Virginia.
United States History
to 1865 Course
USI.2 – Major land and water features of North America,
including their importance in history.
World Geography Course
WG.3 – How regional landscapes reflect the physical
environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.
Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade
levels.
Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
