Great Divide, also called Continental Divide, is the high ground in North America that separates streams flowing into the Pacific Ocean from those flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic Ocean. The northern section of the Great Divide is in the United States, in the Seward Peninsula and Brooks Range of Alaska. The divide twists through the Canadian territory of Yukon, then curves across British Columbia and forms part of that province’s boundary with Alberta. It reenters the United States in western Montana.
The divide forms part of Montana’s boundary with Idaho, and then winds through Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. It then enters Mexico. It passes through the plateau between Mexico’s Sierra Madre ranges. In Central America, it lies roughly along the mountain ranges near the Pacific Ocean.
See also Continental divide; Divide.
