What is the purpose of the Continental Divide?

Answer 1

A continental divide is a geographic high point. From this point, water flows away (generally east or west, but may include north and/or south as well). All continents have them.

North America has several 'divides'; the general consensus for the Continental Divide is the line of peaks referred to as the Rockies near the western coastline. Near the northern end of the range, the divide is actually a 3-way split ... water runs east (to the Atlantic), west (to the Pacific), and north (to the Arctic).

In addition to defining water flow and ultimately, catchbasins and watersheds, the continental divides also have an impact on weather patterns - specifically because they generally line up along a north/south axis, and the planet rotates in a west-to-east direction.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What is the purpose of the Continental Divide?

Answer 3

The divide has no geological or natural "purpose." It is simply the place from which water (rivers and streams) drain either toward the east or the west. So, if you were standing on the divide, and facing south, everything on your right goes west, and everything on your left goes east.

Interestingly enough, there are several "divides." At the eastern divide, water flowing to the east goes to the Atlantic, water to the west goes to the Mississippi. The eastern divide runs roughly through Granstville, MD, which is much closer to the Chesapeake Bay then it is to the Mississippi. People therefore are surprised to learn that water on the western side of that divide travels hundreds of miles to hit the Mississippi becase the Potomac River and its tributaries are really just a stone's throw away!

Learn about all the divides at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_divide

Nice question.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/avb4V

GaryB nailed that one, it is the Rocky Mountains. In the UK it is The Pyrenees. In Europe it is The Alps and in Asia it is The Himalayas. In Oceana it would or could be The Marianas Trench or the submerged mountains that we really have not went down to climb. The purpose is a Geological Subversion or some Platetectonic thing.

Answer 6

The Continental Divide is a mountain range. I dont know that mountains have much "purpose".

Answer 7

It doesn't have a "purpose." It marks a line where water on the western side of it will drain into the Pacific and water on the eastern side will drain into the Atlantic Ocean (or the Gulf of Mexico).