This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 96.73.128.17 (talk) at 16:23, 18 November 2019 (The summary of the definition of geography.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 16:23, 18 November 2019 by 96.73.128.17 (talk) (The summary of the definition of geography.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) principal hydrological divide of North and South America "Continental Divide" redirects here. For other uses, see Continental divide (disambiguation).
The Continental Divide of the Americas (also known as the Great Divide, the Western Divide or simply the Continental Divide; Template:Lang-es) is the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas. The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea) and, along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean.
Although there are many other hydrological divides in the Americas, the Continental Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains and Andes, at a generally much higher elevation than the other hydrological divisions.
Geography is the study of earth and how it formed.
Exceptions
 | This section possibly contains unsourced predictions, speculative material, or accounts of events that might not occur. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources. Please help improve it by removing unsourced speculative content. (February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Many endorheic regions in North and South America complicate the simple view of east or west, "ocean-bound" water flow. Several endorheic basins straddle or adjoin the Continental Divide, notably the Great Divide Basin in Wyoming, the Plains of San Agustin and the Animas Valley in New Mexico, the Guzmán Basin in New Mexico and Chihuahua, Mexico, and both the Bolsón de Mapimí and the Llanos el Salado in Mexico. Such basins can be, and routinely are, assigned to one side of the Divide or the other by their lowest perimeter pass; in other words, an assignment is made by determining how the drainage would occur if the basin were to be progressively filled with water until it overflowed. Large-scale maps, such as those on this page, often show double divide lines when endorheic basins are involved. However, the detailed USGS topographic maps of the United States generally show only the main Divide as determined by the overflow rule. Among other things, this eliminates the need to trace out the boundary for a basin that is very shallow and has a nebulous rim, such as the San Luis Closed Basin in Colorado and the sink of the lost streams of Idaho.
Another rare exception occurs when a stream near a divide splits and flows in both directions, or a lake straddling the divide overflows in both directions. Examples of these are, respectively, North Two Ocean Creek and Isa Lake, both located on the Continental Divide in Wyoming. The Panama Canal has this same feature, but is man-made. Both the Chagres and Gatun rivers flow into Gatun Lake, which empties to both oceans.
Several small lakes along the Divide in the Rocky Mountains between Alberta and British Columbia flow into both provinces and thus into both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. An example is the "Committee's Punch Bowl", a small lake located in the Athabasca Pass.
The Alpine Club of Canada's Abbot Pass Hut sits directly astride the Divide in Abbot Pass on the boundary between Banff National Park and Yoho National Park, and thus rainwater falling on the eastern half of the roof flows via Lake Louise into Hudson Bay, while rain falling on the western half flows via Lake O'Hara into the Pacific Ocean.
See also
Continental divides
Other related
- Great Divide Trail
- Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
- Continental Divide Trail
- Laurentia
- List of railroad crossings of the North American continental divide
- Cromwell Dixon
- Lewis and Clark
Note
- It was named by Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, while touring his vast Canadian fur-trading empire in 1825. According to historical sources, "The small circular basin of water at the summit, twenty yards in diameter, is dignified with the name of the 'Committee's Punch Bowl' in honour of which the Governor treated them (his fur traders) to a bottle of wine as they had 'neither time nor convenience to make a bowl of punch, although a glass of it would have been acceptable.'" The reference is to the governing committee of the Hudson's Bay Company in London, England.
References
- GeoBC (2013). "Committee Punch Bowl". gov.bc.ca. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
External links
- A detailed map of watersheds in North America
- A detailed overview of isolated wetlands from the USFWS
- Detailed article, maps, and boundary data from The National Atlas of the United States
- Parting of the Waters: a creek that flows to two oceans
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Continental Divide (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana)
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Continental Divide (Alaska)
| Physical geography | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
