watershed

wa·ter·shed  (wôtr-shd, wtr-)

n.

1. A ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems. Also called water parting.

2. The region draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.

3. A critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point: "a watershed in modern American history, a time that ... forever changed American social attitudes" Robert Reinhold.

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[Probably translation of German Wasserscheide : Wasser, water + Scheide, divide, parting.]

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watershed

Noun

1. the dividing line between two adjacent river systems, such as a ridge

2. an important period or factor that serves as a dividing line: a watershed in history

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watershed  (wôtr-shd)

1. A continuous ridge of high ground forming a divide between two different drainage basins or river systems.

2. The region enclosed by such a divide and draining into a river, river system, or other body of water.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	watershed - a ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems water parting, divide line - a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent continental divide - the watershed of a continent (especially the watershed of North America formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico)
	2.	watershed - the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet; "flood control in the Missouri basin" catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, drainage basin, river basin, basin detention basin - a storage site (such as a small reservoir) that delays the flow of water downstream retention basin - a storage site similar to a detention basin but the water in storage is permanently obstructed from flowing downstream geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region - a demarcated area of the Earth
	3.	watershed - an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments depend; "the agreement was a watershed in the history of both nations" turning point, landmark juncture, occasion - an event that occurs at a critical time; "at such junctures he always had an impulse to leave"; "it was needed only on special occasions" Fall of Man - (Judeo-Christian mythology) when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, God punished them by driving them out of the Garden of Eden and into the world where they would be subject to sickness and pain and eventual death road to Damascus - a sudden turning point in a person's life (similar to the sudden conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus of arrest Christians)

Translations

watershed [ˈwɔːtəʃɛd] n (GEO) → cuenca;

(fig) → momento crítico

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watershed [ˈwɔːtəʃɛd] n (Geo) → ligne f de partage des eaux (fig); moment m critique, point décisif

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watershed [ˈwɔːtəʃɛd] water n (Geog) → Wasserscheide f (fig); Wendepunkt m

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watershed [ˈwɔːtəʃɛd] n (GEO), (fig) → spartiacque m