Continental divide is the term used to designate the line of elevated land that separates areas drained to opposite sides of a continent. In North America, it is also called the Great Divide, and it separates westward-flowing and eastward-flowing waters. In South America, the continental divide follows the western portion of the Andes Mountains. In Europe, the divide separates streams flowing to the Atlantic and Arctic oceans on the north and to the Mediterranean and Black seas on the south. In Asia, the divide separates drainage into the Arctic and Pacific oceans on the north and east from drainage into the Indian Ocean on the south. The African divide separates drainage into the Atlantic Ocean from drainage into the Indian Ocean. See also Great Divide.
