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Map Layer Info

     
 
Continental Divide of the United States

What this map layer shows:

The natural boundary line separating waters that flow into the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico from those that flow into the Pacific Ocean.
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Background Information
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The Continental Divide, also called the Great Divide, is a natural boundary line separating waters that flow into the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico from those that flow into the Pacific Ocean. It runs north-south from Alaska to northwestern South America. In the conterminous United States, it follows the crest of the Rocky Mountains. The National Atlas of the United States® compiled this map layer by extracting the appropriate lines from the Hydrologic Unit Boundaries layer of the National Atlas.

The Continental Divide map layer shows the Continental Divide in the conterminous United States. The divide itself continues into Mexico on the south and into Canada and Alaska on the north.