Friday, March 1, 2013

Slow Melt into Spring

This is the season of snow melting, rain and slush, freeze-thaw, cold nights and sap-running days. It is the time when things start to move.

So, how does the snow melt in your backyard? Where does it melt first? Last?

Where do the puddles collect? Where are the squooshy spots in the lawn?

When the snow melts, where does the water go? Can you follow it? Draw a map?

The snow in my yard melts into tiny rivulets that, if there's too much to percolate into the soil, runs into a gully. More water collects until, half a mile away, it joins a creek with no name. That wanders along the base of a hill and eventually winds up in Catatonk Creek, which eventually joins the Susquehanna which winds through the hills of southern New York and northern Pennsylvania and then finally heads towards the Chesapeake Bay.

Where does your water go?
This post is part of STEM Friday. Check out more science, technology, engineering and math resources here.

No comments:

Post a Comment