a watershed in one storm

Rainline

Choose a mark, place it on the land, then start rain. The storm has a fixed volume; water is held by the ground, gathers in low places, and finds the steepest available route to sea.

A dry landscape. Place a mark; then send the same storm across it.
rain still arriving0
held by ground0
reached the sea0

At first the colours show height. During rain, blue is moving water, pale pools are retained water, and the white thread is the current catchment's eventual route. This is a deliberately small model, not a flood prediction.