Continental Divide in Yellowstone

The Continental Divide—or Great Divide—indicates where the rivers change direction.

 

Basically the Continental Divide is like the rooftop of the continent. Like on your roof at home, rain that falls on one side will run off and into the front yard while rain that falls on the other side will flow into the backyard.

 

The Continental Divide runs along mountain ridgelines—though not always the highest mountains—and divides the continent’s watersheds.

 

This is the most notable watershed of the North American continent. The mountains comprising it extend generally north-south, thus dividing the continent's principal drainage into waters flowing eastward (e.g., into Hudson Bay in Canada or the Mississippi River in the U.S.) and waters flowing westward (into the Pacific Ocean). Most of the divide runs along the crest of the Rocky Mountains, through British Columbia in Canada and through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico in the U.S.

 

Sources: www.nps.gov, www.answers.com

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