What is the Continental Divide

I felt so ashamed after my visit to Yellowstone. Even my hoobie shook his head - I did not know what is the Continental Divide!!! While driving in Yellowstone National Park, I noticed people stopping by signages "Continental Divide" and taking pictures. I felt so dumb that I did not know what it is. That' why this saying is true "Travel feels an empty mind with an open one".

Well, my geography and general knowledge in such areas have never been good (no interest). After the trip, I made sure I took a conscious effort to find out.

In short, this divide is the line of high ground that separates the oceanic drainage basins of a continent; the river systems of a continent on opposite sides of a continental divide flow toward different oceans.

Don't get it ?

The Continental Divide in the Americas is the line that divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Rain or snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean while precipitation on the west side drains and flows toward the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the divide runs along the crest of the Rocky Mountains, through British Columbia in Canada and through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico in the U.S. Its central point is Colorado, where it has many peaks above 13,000 ft (3,962 m).