Education
Learn watershed modeling
A growing curriculum on how water moves — and how it is modeled. Every lesson runs on real SWATGenX model output, not canned animation, and every number's source is shown on the page.
Most explanations of the water cycle are diagrams that could describe anywhere. These are different: each lesson runs on the actual output of a SWATGenX model of a real place, so the splits you watch — how much rain runs off, soaks in, recharges the aquifer, or returns as baseflow — are the numbers the model produced, labeled with where they came from.
The curriculum is organised into branches. Each one starts from a physical idea, then shows how that idea is turned into a running model — and the branches deepen as we generate more results.
- 17 lessons
- Real model output
- Every number sourced
How water moves
Rain, runoff, rivers — and where a drop actually ends up
The Water Journey
Open
How Long Does a Drop of Water Take From Lake Superior to Lake Erie?
Watch
A raindrop enters Lake Superior. It leaves 190 years later.
Watch
The Lake That Shouldn't Have Fish
Watch
One Creek, Two Oceans — Two Ocean Pass, Wyoming
Watch
The Lake That Flushed Itself
WatchBuilding a watershed model
From a gauge number to a running simulation
Groundwater
The half of the water cycle you cannot see
Contaminants & water quality
What the water carries, and how far
Computation
Making the science run fast enough to be useful
Branches in development
This curriculum grows as our simulations produce results worth walking through. These are the branches we are actively building — driven, like the rest, by our own model output rather than stock illustration.
Want the science these lessons come from? Explore the PFAS fate & transport guide, the Florida nonpoint-source showcase, or the methodology behind every model.