The Great Divide

The Great Divide. . You are perched on one of the most geographically significant lines in North America -- the Great Divide, sometimes called the Continental Divide. This line of high terrain at the crest of the continent forms the boundary between two great continental watersheds. , Watersheds. , A watershed is a region of land in which all water drains toward a common river, lake, or ocean. Each watershed is bounded by high terrain, like the rim of a funnel. , Going East, Going West. , Face east from this point, and all the land you see drains toward rivers that coalesce and empty into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Mexico. Face west and you'll survey lands that drain toward the Pacific. , Within the two major watersheds of North America are many secondary watersheds, each of which serves a major river or lake. Just a few miles southwest of Togwotee Pass is Three Waters Mountain, a peak that forms a juncture point between three such watersheds. , Depending on where it lands on the slope of Three Waters Mountain, a drop of rain or flake of snow may end up flowing in the Colorado, the Columbia, or the Missouri rivers. Two raindrops that fall just yards apart may wind up thousands of miles apart by they time they reach the ocean.