The “Major Basins of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the 23 major basins of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project. The Project is subdivided by ‘incremental gross drainage areas’ associated to individual hydrometric gauging stations. The maximum area that could contribute runoff to each gauging station, less that of its upstream neighbour(s) is called an ‘incremental gross drainage area’. Conceptually, the major basins are collections of the “incremental gross drainage areas” associated with particular major river or lake reach (for example, reaches of the Saskatchewan or Athabasca River). In practice, each major basin consists of the collection of incremental gross drainage areas, whose gauging stations’ numbers have collections of the same three first characters. For example, the Assiniboine River major basin contains the incremental gross drainage areas whose gauging station numbers start with 05J, 05M, or 05N.

The "Total Gross Drainage Areas of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013" dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the maximum area that could contribute surface runoff (total gross drainage areas) for each gauging station of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project. These polygons overlap as upstream land surfaces form part of multiple downstream gauging stations’ total gross drainage areas. Drainage area includes all land whose surface runoff contributes to the same drainage outlet or gauging station. Many gauging stations share the same headwaters, thus the overlapping areas (or polygons). The majority of the drainage areas in this dataset have shared areas.

The “PFRA Sub-basins of the AAFC Watersheds Project – 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the 47 sub-basins within the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project, tailored for the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) business needs.

The “Incremental Gross Drainage Areas of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the incremental gross drainage areas of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project. The Project area is subdivided by hydrometric gauging station. The maximum area that could contribute runoff to each station, less that of its upstream neighbour(s) is called an ‘incremental gross drainage area’.

The "Areas of Non-Contributing Drainage within Total Gross Drainage Areas of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013" dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the areas within the “total gross drainage areas” of each gauging station of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project that DO NOT contribute to average runoff. A “total gross drainage area” is the maximum area that could contribute runoff for a single gauging station – the “areas of non-contributing drainage” are those parts of that “total gross drainage area” that DO NOT contribute to average runoff. For each “total gross drainage area” there can be none to several unconnected “areas of non-contributing drainage”. These polygons may overlap with those from other gauging stations’ “total gross drainage area”, as upstream land surfaces form part of multiple downstream gauging stations’ “total gross drainage areas”.

The “Gross and Effective Drainage Area Boundaries of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing line features representing boundaries associated with the ‘incremental gross drainage areas’ of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project. The project is subdivided by hydrometric gauging station. The maximum area that could contribute runoff to each station, less that of its upstream neighbour(s) is called its ‘incremental gross drainage area’. Two types of boundary are provided: ‘gross’ and ‘effective’. ‘Gross’ boundaries separate adjacent incremental gross drainage areas. ‘Effective’ boundaries delimit, within each incremental gross drainage area, the separation between areas that supply runoff, based on average runoff, from those that don’t.

The "Effective Drainage Area of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013" dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the areas of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) Watersheds Project that could, for the entire project areas, be expected to contribute to surface runoff under average runoff conditions.

The “Hydrometric Gauging Station Network of the AAFC Watersheds Project - 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing network line features representing links between hydrometric gauging stations of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project. Each line connects a gauging station to its downstream neighbour(s), indicating its drainage direction. This network is a ‘drainage’ network, not a ‘stream’ network. That is, the lines do not in any way portray the actual stream path between stations. In some instances, a lake, for example, an area may have several gauging stations. In such cases, one of the gauging stations is designated the ‘primary’ gauging station for calculation purposes, and to maintain proper hydraulic relationships between gauging stations, where only the primary stations are connected to the downstream portion of the network.

The "Total Effective Drainage Areas of the AAFC Watersheds Project – 2013” dataset is a geospatial data layer containing polygon features representing the areas within the “total gross drainage areas” of each hydrometric gauging station of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Watersheds Project that would contribute to average runoff. A ‘total gross drainage area’ is the maximum area that could contribute runoff for a single gauging station – the ‘total effective drainage areas’ are those parts of that ‘total gross drainage area’ that would contribute surface runoff to an average runoff. For each “total gross drainage area” there can be only one “total effective drainage areas”. These polygons may overlap with those from other gauging stations’ “total gross drainage area”, as upstream land surfaces form part of multiple downstream gauging stations’ “total gross drainage areas”.