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Continental Divide



 
 
For continental divides in general, see Continental divide
Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the drainage basin that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean , and 2)...
.
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
ous, hydrological divide of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 that separates the watersheds
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 that drain into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
 or the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 (including those which drain into either the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans via Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
).

Although there are other continental divides on the North American continent, the Great Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of both the American and Canadian Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
, at a generally much higher elevation than the other divides.

divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales
Cape Prince of Wales

Cape Prince of Wales is the westernmost point on the mainland of the Americas.Located on the Seward Peninsula of the U.S. state of Alaska near the city of Wales, Alaska, Cape Prince of Wales is the terminus of the Continental Divide, marking the division between the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean coasts, as well as marking the limit betwe...
 in Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
.






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For continental divides in general, see Continental divide
Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the drainage basin that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean , and 2)...
.
Northamericadivides
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
ous, hydrological divide of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
 that separates the watersheds
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 that drain into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
 or the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 (including those which drain into either the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans via Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
).

Although there are other continental divides on the North American continent, the Great Divide is by far the most prominent of these because it tends to follow a line of high peaks along the main ranges of both the American and Canadian Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 4,800 kilometre from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States....
, at a generally much higher elevation than the other divides.

Geography

The divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales
Cape Prince of Wales

Cape Prince of Wales is the westernmost point on the mainland of the Americas.Located on the Seward Peninsula of the U.S. state of Alaska near the city of Wales, Alaska, Cape Prince of Wales is the terminus of the Continental Divide, marking the division between the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean coasts, as well as marking the limit betwe...
 in Alaska
Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
. It runs northeast-/eastward across the north of the state into the Yukon Territory, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, where it turns south and travels through British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
 (forming part of the B.C.-Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
 boundary), in Canada; then through Montana
Montana

Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....
 (forming part of the Montana-Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
 boundary), Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
, Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
, and New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
; then along the crest of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Occidental

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico and the extreme southwest of the United States, extending 1500 km from southeast Arizona southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua , Durango , Zacatecas, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato , where it joins with the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Eje Volc?nico Transversal...
 through the Mexican
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 states of Chihuahua, Durango
Durango

Durango is one of the constituent states of Mexico. Its population is 1,509,118. It has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur....
, Zacatecas
Zacatecas

Zacatecas States of Mexico of Mexico is located in the north-central region and it is bounded to the northwest by Durango, to the north by Coahuila, to the east by San Luis Potos?, to the south by Aguascalientes and Guanajuato and to the southwest by Jalisco and Nayarit....
, Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes

Aguascalientes is a States of Mexico of Mexico, situated in the center of the country. The name means "hot waters" in Spanish language and originated from the abundance of hot springs in the area, thus the corresponding adjective for the state and its inhabitants is the whimsical demonym hidroc?lido ....
, Jalisco
Jalisco

Jalisco is a Mexican state in Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. In the 2005 census, Jalisco had a population of 6,752,113 people....
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato

Guanajuato is a state in the central highlands of Mexico. It is named after its capital city, Guanajuato, Guanajuato, which comes from the local indigenous P'urh?pecha language, meaning "Hill of Frogs"....
, Querétaro
Querétaro

Quer?taro is a state in the center of M?xico.Its capital is the city of Santiago de Quer?taro, although in general parlance the name "Quer?taro" is used for both the city and the state....
, México, the Federal District
Mexico City

Mexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the most important economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country; the most populous city with over 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008....
, Morelos
Morelos

Morelos is one of the 31 constituent states of Mexico. Morelos has an area of about , making it the second-smallest of the country's states. Morelos is bordered by Mexico State to the north-east and north-west, the Distrito Federal to the north, Puebla to the east, and Guerrero to the south-west....
, Puebla
Puebla

Puebla is a Political divisions of Mexico located in the center east of the country, to the east of Mexico City.The state of Puebla borders the states of Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo , Mexico State, Tlaxcala, and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south....
, Oaxaca
Oaxaca

The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca }} is one of the 31 Mexican state of Mexico, located in the southern part of the country, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec....
, and Chiapas
Chiapas

Chiapas is the southernmost States of Mexico of Mexico, located towards the southeast of the country. Chiapas is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest, and Oaxaca to the west....
; thence through southern Guatemala
Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast....
, southwestern Honduras
Honduras

Honduras is a democratic republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras ....
, western Nicaragua
Nicaragua

Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democracy republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York....
, and western/southwestern Costa Rica
Costa Rica

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, and southern Panama
Panama

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation....
.

The physical divide continues into South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, where it follows the peaks of the Andes Mountains, traversing western Colombia
Colombia

Colombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the north west by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, central Ecuador
Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west....
, western and southwestern Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and eastern Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
 (essentially conforming to the Chile-Bolivia
Bolivia

The Republic of Bolivia , named after Sim?n Bol?var, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west....
 and Chile-Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
 boundaries), southward to the southern end of Patagonia
Patagonia

Patagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Located in Argentina and Chile, it comprises the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east....
 and Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago separated from the southernmost tip of the South American mainland by the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago forms Cape Horn....
.

In North America, a pair of secondary, non-mountainous divides further separate other river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean and those that drain into Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
, James Bay
James Bay

James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut....
, and Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay

Ungava Bay is a large headlands and bays in northeastern Canada separating Nunavik from Baffin Island. The bay is shaped like a rounded square with a side length of about 180 km and has an area of approximately 33,000 km? ....
) which open into the North Atlantic from those which drain into the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Labrador
Labrador

Labrador is a region of Atlantic Canada. Together with the island of Newfoundland from which it is separated by the Strait of Belle Isle, it constitutes the province of Newfoundland and Labrador....
 (including those which drain via the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
 and Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior....
).

Triple Divide Peak
Triple Divide Peak

Triple Divide Peak is located in Glacier National Park , Montana, United States. It is a hydrologic apex of the North American continent . The Continental Divide and the Laurentian Divide meet at the summit of the peak, and all water that falls at this point can flow to the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean Oceans and to Hudson Bay, which o...
 in Glacier National Park, in Montana, is the point at which two of the principal continental divides in North America converge, the Great Divide and the Northern Divide. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico, and the Arctic Ocean via Hudson Bay. Citizens of the United States and most geographers, geologists, meteorologists and oceanographers generally consider this point to be the hydrological apex of North America. This is the only place on earth where two oceanic divides meet, i.e. where waters from a single point area feed into three different oceans. This status of Triple Divide Peak is the main reason behind the designation of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park as the "Crown of the Continent" of North America.

Another triple divide or triple point occurs in Canada on a prominent peak directly on the border between Alberta
Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
 and British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
, called Snow Dome
Snow Dome (Canada)

Snow Dome is a mountain located on the Continental Divide in the Columbia Icefield, at the intersection of Banff National Park, and Jasper National Park, in Alberta, and the British Columbia border in Canada....
 because the Columbia Icefield
Columbia Icefield

The Columbia Icefield is an icefield located in the Canadian Rockies, astride the Continental Divide of North America. The icefield lies partly in the northwestern tip of Banff National Park and the southern end of Jasper National Park....
 completely covers the summit. From this peak, water flows into the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River
Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is named after the Columbia Rediviva, the first ship from the western world known to have traveled up the river....
 system; the Arctic Ocean via the Athabasca River
Athabasca River

The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. The impressive and scenic Athabasca Falls is located upstream about from the Jasper, Alberta....
 and MacKenzie River
Mackenzie River

The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at 1,738 km and, together with its headstreams the Peace River and the Finlay River, the second longest river in North America at 4,241 km in length....
 systems; and Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay is a large , relatively shallow body of water in northeastern Canada. It is approximately 850 miles long and 650 miles wide. It drains a very large area that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana, and the southeastern area of Nunavut...
 via the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River

The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river flowing east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
 system. Canadians generally consider Snow Dome to be the hydrological apex of North America because they consider Hudson Bay to be an extension of the Atlantic Ocean, and also because Snow Dome is higher than Triple Divide Peak. The IHO, International Hydrographic Organization
International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization was originally established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau . The present name was adopted in 1970 as a result of a revised international agreement among member nations....
, lists Hudson Bay as part of the Arctic Ocean)

In fact, there are such triple divide points wherever any two continental divides meet. North America can be considered to have five major drainage systems: into the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, plus Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Within this system there are four continental divides and three triple points, the two mentioned previously and a third near Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing, Minnesota

Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Minnesota, United States. The population was 17,071 at the United States Census 2000. The city was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range....
 where the Northern Divide intersects the Eastern Continental Divide
Eastern Continental Divide

The Eastern Divide or Eastern Continental Divide is a continental divide in the United States that separates the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of St....
. Since there is no true consensus on what a continental divide is, there is no real agreement on where the triple points are. However, the main Continental Divide described in this article is a far more distinctive geological feature than the others and its two main triple points are much more prominent.

The Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide Trail

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail is a United States National Scenic Trail running 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada. It follows the Continental Divide along the Rocky Mountains and traverses five U.S....
 follows the divide through the U.S. from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. A less-developed Canadian extension called the Great Divide Trail
Great Divide Trail

The Great Divide Trail, or GDT, is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Continental Divide between Alberta...
 continues on through five National Parks of Canada and six provincial parks to end at Kakwa Lake in northeastern British Columbia.

Exceptions

Many endorheic
Endorheic

An endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. Normally the water accruing in drainage basins flows out through surface rivers or by underground diffusion through Permeability rock to the oceans....
 regions in North America complicate the simple view of east or west, "ocean-bound" water flow. The Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
 of the western United States, the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico

The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Mexican Federal District and the eastern half of the M?xico ....
 and Bolson de Mapimi
Bolsón de Mapimí

The Bols?n de Mapim? is an endorheic river basin located in the center-north of the Mexican Plateau.It is also known as the Comarca Lagunera, and is shared by the Mexican state of Durango, Coahuila, Chihuahua , and Zacatecas....
 in Mexico, the Tularosa Basin
Tularosa Basin

The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the Basin and Range area east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, mostly in Otero County, New Mexico....
 in New Mexico and Texas, and the Salton Trough
Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is a saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, United States, north of the Imperial Valley ....
 are examples of internally draining areas. In these cases, water often drains to low basins, where sedimentation
Sedimentation

Sedimentation describes the motion of molecules in solutions or particle s in suspension in response to an external force such as gravitation, centrifugal force or electromagnetism....
 and evaporation
Evaporation

Evaporation is the slow vaporization of a liquid and the reverse of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid State of matter spontaneously become gaseous ....
 form salt lakes, playa
Playa

A playa is a dry or Ephemeral lakebed, generally extending to the shore, or a remnant of, an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts....
s, salt flats, and alkali flats.

On the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
 in Texas and New Mexico, many thousands of seasonal playa lakes form during wet months, an average of one per square mile. This region is very flat, and water mostly evaporates before draining. Zuni Salt Lake
Zuni Salt Lake

Zuni Salt Lake, also Zu?i Salt Lake or Fence Lake , is a rare high desert lake, and a classic maar. It is located in Catron County, New Mexico, about 60 miles south of the Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, USA....
 is one example of a larger, seasonal maar
Maar

A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma....
 which does not drain to an ocean. There are a number of seasonal lakes of this sort in North America. In areas of karst
KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope is a forerunner....
 topography (such as northern Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
), isolated drainages can also occur. The Great Divide Basin
Great Divide Basin

The Great Divide Basin is a endorheic basin drainage basin in south central Wyoming, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean drainage basins....
 in Wyoming has no natural outlet except as groundwater
Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil porosity spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water....
, and hence it lies between the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds, being part of neither. Water from the North Two Ocean Creek in Wyoming flows into both oceans.

Although Panama
Panama

Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on an isthmus connecting North and South America, some categorize it as a transcontinental nation....
's isthmus provides clear division between Atlantic and Pacific, the boundaries between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans in Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay is a sea between the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean oceans. It is 1,130 km across from north to south. It is not navigable most of the year because of the presence of large numbers of icebergs....
 are not well defined, rendering the easternmost portion of this divide arbitrary.

Images


See also

  • Continental Divide Trail
    Continental Divide Trail

    The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail is a United States National Scenic Trail running 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada. It follows the Continental Divide along the Rocky Mountains and traverses five U.S....
  • Great Divide Trail
    Great Divide Trail

    The Great Divide Trail, or GDT, is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Continental Divide between Alberta...
  • Eastern Continental Divide
    Eastern Continental Divide

    The Eastern Divide or Eastern Continental Divide is a continental divide in the United States that separates the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of St....
  • Lemhi Pass
    Lemhi Pass

    Lemhi Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains on the border between Montana and Idaho on the Continental Divide.The Lewis and Clark Expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 26, 1805, through Lemhi Pass....
  • List of railroad crossings of the North American continental divide
    List of railroad crossings of the North American continental divide

    A crossing of the Continental Divide is necessary for any transcontinental railroad in North America, and has always been one of the hardest obstacles....
  • Laurentia
    Laurentia

    Laurentia , like all craton land, was created as continents moved about the surface of the Earth , bumping into other continents and drifting away....
  • Laurentian Divide
    Laurentian Divide

    The Laurentian Divide or Northern Divide is a continental divide dividing the direction of water flow in eastern and southern Canada and the northern Midwestern United States....
     (Northern Divide}
  • Valparaiso Moraine
    Valparaiso Moraine

    File:Mink_Lake_Valparaiso_Indiana_22.jpgThe Valparaiso Moraine is a terminal moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is a band of high, hilly terrain made up of glacial till and sand that reaches an elevation of near 300 feet above the level of Lake Michigan at its maximum height in Indiana and 15 miles wide at its maximu...


External links

  • from The National Atlas of the United States