Milwaukee-Area Watersheds

The area of land that drains to a body of water is called a watershed. Milwaukee's three rivers are the Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic. Each has its own watershed. The Root River and Oak Creek watersheds are to the south. Water in the Lake Michigan Direct basin drains directly to Lake Michigan. What watershed do you call home?

Explore how Our Water Stories relate with watersheds and other map layers by downloading the Milwaukee Community Map for Google Earth. Click here for full-screen map. (Local landmarks are shown with dark blue icons. Zoom out to see the Great Lakes Basin within the light blue boundary.)