what is a continental divide?

Answer 1

It is a spot in the mountains that the direction of the flow of the rivers is determined. for example here in BC the continental divide goes 3 ways (north, west and east). Therefore you have rivers that flow to the Arctic ocean, the Pacific and the Atlantic.

Answer 2

A continental divide is a crooked line which can be drawn across any continent such that, on one side of the line, all streams flow toward one ocean, while on the other side of the line, all stream flow toward another ocean. In the USA, there are at least two such divides. There is a continental divide along the Rocky Mountains. All the stream west of this divide flow to the pacific; all the streams to the east of it flow to the Mississippi and the gulf of Mexico. There is a divide between Mississippi bound streams and stream bound for the Atlantic. The Red River of the North, which flows through Grand Forks ND flows to the Hudson Bay, so there is a divide somewhere between that river and those which flow to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

Answer 3

It is a line along a continent, normally running north to south, where all of the water which falls or melts runs either to the east (in the US to the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico which connects to it) or to the west (in the US to the Pacific).

Answer 4

Seperates our beutiful contenent of North America from the East @ West . Such as where the Rocky mountains are .

Answer 5

A group of mountain ranges like the Colorado Rockies.

Answer 6

each year My brother and I go to breckenridge and snow mobile to the top of the Continental devide on on side of rockys is east tna thoer is west ...awesome experiance

Answer 7

A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of the continent. Because the exact border between bodies of water is usually not clearly defined, the continental divide is not always definite for any continent (The International Hydrographic Organization's publication Limits of Oceans and Seas defines exact boundaries of oceans, but it is not universally recognized). Moreover, some rivers empty into deserts or inland seas, and thus do not end up in the oceans.
Continental Divide or Great Divide is the name given to the North American portion of the mountainous ridge which separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean. A secondary, non-mountainous divide further separates other river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean (including those which drain via Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay) from those which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway).

The divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska. It runs northeast-/eastward across the top of the state into the Yukon Territory, Canada, where it turns south and travels through British Columbia (forming part of the B.C.-Alberta boundary), in Canada; then through Montana (forming part of the Montana-Idaho boundary), Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, in the United States; then along the crest of the Sierra Madre Occidental through the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, México and the Distrito Federal, Morelos, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas; thence through southern Guatemala, southwestern Honduras, western Nicaragua, and western/southwestern Costa Rica, and southern Panama.

The physical divide continues (though the name "Great Divide" does not) into South America, where it follows the peaks of the Andes Mountains, traversing western Colombia, central Ecuador, western and southwestern Peru, and eastern Chile (essentially conforming to the Chile-Bolivia and Chile-Argentina boundaries), southward to the bottom of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

In North America, Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, in Montana, is the point at which the three principal continental divides in North America converge. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Another calculation, however, puts a lesser triple divide within the Columbia Icefield in Alberta, by separating Hudson Bay (thus, the rivers that drain into it) from the Arctic Ocean.

The Continental Divide Trail follows the divide through the U.S. from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

Continental Divide or Great Divide is the name given to the North American portion of the mountainous ridge which separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean. A secondary, non-mountainous divide further separates other river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean (including those which drain via Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay) from those which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway).

The divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska. It runs northeast-/eastward across the top of the state into the Yukon Territory, Canada, where it turns south and travels through British Columbia (forming part of the B.C.-Alberta boundary), in Canada; then through Montana (forming part of the Montana-Idaho boundary), Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, in the United States; then along the crest of the Sierra Madre Occidental through the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, México and the Distrito Federal, Morelos, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas; thence through southern Guatemala, southwestern Honduras, western Nicaragua, and western/southwestern Costa Rica, and southern Panama.

The physical divide continues (though the name "Great Divide" does not) into South America, where it follows the peaks of the Andes Mountains, traversing western Colombia, central Ecuador, western and southwestern Peru, and eastern Chile (essentially conforming to the Chile-Bolivia and Chile-Argentina boundaries), southward to the bottom of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

In North America, Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, in Montana, is the point at which the three principal continental divides in North America converge. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Another calculation, however, puts a lesser triple divide within the Columbia Icefield in Alberta, by separating Hudson Bay (thus, the rivers that drain into it) from the Arctic Ocean.

The Continental Divide Trail follows the divide through the U.S. from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

Continental Divide or Great Divide is the name given to the North American portion of the mountainous ridge which separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean. A secondary, non-mountainous divide further separates other river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean (including those which drain via Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay) from those which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway).

The divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska. It runs northeast-/eastward across the top of the state into the Yukon Territory, Canada, where it turns south and travels through British Columbia (forming part of the B.C.-Alberta boundary), in Canada; then through Montana (forming part of the Montana-Idaho boundary), Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, in the United States; then along the crest of the Sierra Madre Occidental through the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, México and the Distrito Federal, Morelos, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas; thence through southern Guatemala, southwestern Honduras, western Nicaragua, and western/southwestern Costa Rica, and southern Panama.

The physical divide continues (though the name "Great Divide" does not) into South America, where it follows the peaks of the Andes Mountains, traversing western Colombia, central Ecuador, western and southwestern Peru, and eastern Chile (essentially conforming to the Chile-Bolivia and Chile-Argentina boundaries), southward to the bottom of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

In North America, Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, in Montana, is the point at which the three principal continental divides in North America converge. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Another calculation, however, puts a lesser triple divide within the Columbia Icefield in Alberta, by separating Hudson Bay (thus, the rivers that drain into it) from the Arctic Ocean.

The Continental Divide Trail follows the divide through the U.S. from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

Continental Divide or Great Divide is the name given to the North American portion of the mountainous ridge which separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Gulf of Mexico), and 2) along the northernmost reaches of the Divide, those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean. A secondary, non-mountainous divide further separates other river systems that drain into the Arctic Ocean (including those which drain via Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay) from those which drain into the Atlantic Ocean (including those which drain via the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway).

The divide begins at Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska. It runs northeast-/eastward across the top of the state into the Yukon Territory, Canada, where it turns south and travels through British Columbia (forming part of the B.C.-Alberta boundary), in Canada; then through Montana (forming part of the Montana-Idaho boundary), Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, in the United States; then along the crest of the Sierra Madre Occidental through the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, México and the Distrito Federal, Morelos, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas; thence through southern Guatemala, southwestern Honduras, western Nicaragua, and western/southwestern Costa Rica, and southern Panama.

The physical divide continues (though the name "Great Divide" does not) into South America, where it follows the peaks of the Andes Mountains, traversing western Colombia, central Ecuador, western and southwestern Peru, and eastern Chile (essentially conforming to the Chile-Bolivia and Chile-Argentina boundaries), southward to the bottom of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

In North America, Triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park, in Montana, is the point at which the three principal continental divides in North America converge. From this point, waters flow to the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Another calculation, however, puts a lesser triple divide within the Columbia Icefield in Alberta, by separating Hudson Bay (thus, the rivers that drain into it) from the Arctic Ocean.

The Continental Divide Trail follows the divide through the U.S. from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.