CONTINENTAL DIVIDES - Every continent except for Antarctica has a continental divide. Continental divides separate one drainage basin from another. They are used to define the direction that an area's rivers flow and drain into the oceans and seas. The best-known continental divide is in North America and it runs along the Rocky and Andes mountain ranges. Most continents have multiple continental divides and some rivers flow into endorheic basins (inland bodies of water), such as the Sahara Desert in Africa. The Continental Divide in the Americas is the line that divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Rain or snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean. Precipitation on the west side drains and flows toward the Pacific Ocean. The continental divide runs from northwestern Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico. Then, it follows the crest of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental and along the Andes Mountains through South America. To say that any continent, including North America, has a single continental divide is not entirely true. It is easiest to talk about the continental divides of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia as a whole because many of the drainage basins span all four continents. Along the entire western coast of Europe and Africa, the rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

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Continental Divide

What Is the Continental Divide?

By Matt Rosenberg

Every continent except for Antarctica has a continental divide.

Continental divides separate one drainage basin from another. They are used to define the direction that an area's rivers flow and drain into the oceans and seas.

The best-known continental divide is in North America and it runs along the Rocky and Andes mountain ranges.

Most continents have multiple continental divides and some rivers flow into endorheic basins (inland bodies of water), such as the Sahara Desert in Africa.

The Continental Divide of the Americas

The Continental Divide in the Americas is the line that divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

·      Rain or snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean.

·      Precipitation on the west side drains and flows toward the Pacific Ocean. 

The continental divide runs from northwestern Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico.

Then, it follows the crest of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental and along the Andes Mountains through South America.

More Water Flow Divides in the Americas

To say that any continent, including North America, has a single continental divide is not entirely true.

We can continue to divide the flow of water (called hydrological divides) into these groups:

·      East of the Rocky Mountains and north of the Canada-U.S. border, the rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean.

·      Most rivers of the central U.S. flow into the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Indirectly, this is an Atlantic Ocean drainage.

·      Rivers on the east side of Mexico and Central America also drain into the Gulf of Mexico.

·      Rivers around the Great Lakes and along the entire east coast of Canada and the U.S. flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

·      South America has a true east-west continental divide. Everything east of the Andes flows into the Atlantic Ocean and everything west flows into the Pacific.

The Continental Divides of the Rest of the World

It is easiest to talk about the continental divides of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia as a whole because many of the drainage basins span all four continents.

·      The Atlantic Ocean: Along the entire western coast of Europe and Africa, the rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

·      The Mediterranean Sea: The southern part of Europe, most of the country of Turkey, and many rivers in the northern part of Africa drain into the Mediterranean Sea. Most notably, the Nile River flows north and has a drainage basin that reaches south past the equator.

·      The Indian Ocean:  The rivers of countries that surround the Indian Ocean flow into it. This includes most of the eastern coast of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia as well as the majority of Australia.

·      The Pacific Ocean: Along the eastern coast of Asia and Australia, the rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. This includes China and much of Southeast Asia along with all of the island nations that fill this area of the Pacific.

·      The Arctic Ocean: The majority of Russian rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean.

·      Endorheic Basins: Asia and Africa are home to the largest endorheic basins where the rivers empty into deserts, large lakes, or inland seas.

Matt Rosenberg

Geography Expert

Education

M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge

B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis

Introduction

Award-winning professional geographer

Author of two books on geography

Experience

Matt Rosenberg is a former writer for ThoughtCo. He covered geography for ThoughtCo and About.com for over 20 years. He was an adjunct professor of geography at California State University, Sacramento, a city planning and GIS intern for local government, and is a former newspaper columnist.

Rosenberg has been featured on PBS and NPR, and he has conducted many interviews about geographical topics for television, radio, and newspapers. He was director of emergency services for the American Red Cross and served on more than two dozen major disaster relief operations around the United States. He has traveled widely across North America and has visited or studied in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He is a member of the Association of American Geographers and the National Council for Geographic Education.

Education

Matt Rosenberg holds a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of California, Davis and a master's degree in geography from California State University, Northridge. 

Publications and Awards

"The Handy Geography Answer Book" (Barnes & Noble, 2004)

"The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook" (Three Rivers Press, 2002)

Excellence in Media Award, National Council for Geographic Education, October 2006

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