Triple divide

thumb|400px|Map showing worldwide drainage basins and triple divides

A '''triple divide''' or '''triple watershed''' is a point on Earth's surface where three drainage basins meet. A triple divide results from the intersection of two drainage divides. Triple divides range from prominent mountain peaks to minor side peaks, down to simple slope changes on a ridge which are otherwise unremarkable. The elevation of a triple divide can be thousands of meters to barely above sea level. Triple divides are a common hydrographic feature of any terrain that has rivers, streams and/or lakes.

Topographic triple divides do not necessarily respect the underground path of water. Thus, depending on the infiltration and the different geological layers, the hydrologic triple divide is often offset from the topographic triple divide.

A '''hydrological apex''' is a triple divide whose waters flow into three different oceans. Depending on definition, Triple Divide Peak in the U.S. state of Montana, or Snow Dome in Canada are the only such places on Earth.<ref group="notes" name="hudson">Sources disagree on whether Hudson Bay is part of the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean. If Hudson Bay is considered to be part of the Atlantic ocean, then the apex is at Snow Dome, while if Hudson Bay is considered to be part of the Arctic Ocean, then the apex is at Triple Divide Peak.</ref>

==Africa== An unnamed hill on the border between the Central African Republic and South Sudan: the exact point is at {{Coord|09|08|24|N|23|28|07|E|format=dms|name=Congo-Nile-Lake Chad Triple Divide}}. Water from this point flows to the Atlantic Ocean via the Congo River, to the Mediterranean Sea via the Nile, or to endorheic Lake Chad. At this point meet the second, third and eighth largest drainage basins in the world, making it one of the most important triple divides on earth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barbour|first=K.M.|title=Essays on African Population|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0YVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA319|access-date=2013-05-04 |year=1961|publisher=Taylor & Francis|chapter= A Geographical Analysis of Boundaries in Inter-Tropical Africa|id=GGKEY:W5HTG750C3U}}</ref>

==Antarctica== Antarctica is completely circled by the Southern Ocean, and has no triple divides.

Older definitions of the oceans did not include the Southern Ocean, and instead had the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans touch the shores of Antarctica. Based on this outdated definition, Dome Argus is the highest point in the East Antarctic ice sheet and could be considered a triple divide if it is assumed that the ice forms a watershed. ({{Coord|80|22|S|77|21|E|type:mountain_region:AQ_scale:100000|format=dms|name=Dome Argus}})<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=12364|title=Dome Argus|website=Peak Bagger|access-date=December 28, 2021}}</ref>

==Asia== Asia is dominated by endorheic basins. In Northeastern Mongolia, the endoheric basin meets the watersheds of the Selenga and the Amur, rivers that flow to the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. In Tibet, the basin meets the watersheds of the Nu and the Yangtze, rivers that flow to the Indian and the Pacific Ocean, respectively.

==Australia== Australia has two continental drainage divide tripoints, both close to each other along Queensland's Great Dividing Range. Both are named after two 1845 exploration party leaders who sought to solve the question of Australia's rivers, Thomas Mitchell and Edmund Kennedy. * Mitchell Junction is in North Queensland, on Triple C Pastoral Station, near the White Mountains National Park. Water falling on the tripoint can flow either to the Pacific Ocean via the Burdekin River, to the Indian Ocean, via the Flinders River flowing to the Gulf Of Carpentaria and the Indonesian Throughflow and lastly to Lake Eyre via Cooper Creek. approximately {{coord|-20.349540608585798|145.05459085035665|format=dms|name=Mitchell Junction}} * Kennedy Junction is in Central Queensland, on Caldervale Station, near Carnarvon National Park. Water falling on the tripoint can flow either to the Pacific Ocean via the Fitzroy River, to the Southern Ocean, via Murray/Darling River and to Lake Eyre via Cooper Creek. {{coord|-24.9227|146.8241|type:city_region:AU-QLD|format=dms|name=Kennedy Junction}}<ref>{{Queensland Globe|accessdate=9 June 2019}}</ref>

==Europe== [[File:Pass Lunghin.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Landmark at Lunghin Pass in Grisons, Switzerland.]] {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col" | Landmark name ! scope="col" | Coordinates ! scope="col" | Location ! scope="col" | Watersheds ! scope="col" | Divides ! scope="col" | Refs |- |Lunghin Pass |{{coord|46|24|48.71|N|9|39|48.53|E|format=dms|name=Lunghin Pass}} |Piz Lunghin, Switzerland | * North Sea (Rhine) * Black Sea (Danube) * Mediterranean Sea (Po) | | |- |Klepáč |{{coord|50|09|27.01|N|16|47|27|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|name=Klepáč}} |Králický Sněžník Mountains, Czech Republic and Poland | * North Sea (Orlice to Elbe) * Black Sea (Morava to Danube) * Baltic Sea (Eastern Neisse to Oder) | |<ref>{{cite web |title=Klepáč – Trójmorski Wierch (CZ/PL)|url=http://www.sharing-water.net/klepac-mountain-triple-point-of-the-european-watershed|publisher=Sharing Water|access-date=2023-10-06}}</ref> |- |Unnamed point |{{coord|47|56|29.2|N|5|30|17.2|E|format=dms|name=Langres Plateau Triple Divide}} |Langres, France | * North Sea (Meuse to Rhine) * English Channel (Seine) * Mediterranean Sea (Tille to Saône to Rhône) | | |- |Witenwasserenstock |{{coord|46|31|41.9|N|8|28|27.3|E|type:mountain_region:CH_scale:100000|format=dms|name=Witenwasserenstock}} |Valais and Uri, Switzerland | * North Sea (Rhine) * Adriatic Sea (Po) * Mediterranean Sea (Rhône) | | |- |Roundway Hill |{{coord|51|22|39.0|N|1|59|08.2|W|format=dms|name=Roundway}} |Devizes, Wiltshire, United Kingdom | * North Sea (River Kennet to the Thames) * English Channel (Hampshire Avon) * Atlantic Ocean (Bristol Avon to the Severn) | |<ref>{{cite web |title=Catchment Data Explorer|url=https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/|publisher=Environment Agency|access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref> |}

==North America== thumb|300px|upright=1.4|Triple Divide Peak and Snow Dome are the major triple divides of North America [[File:Flickr - Nicholas T - Triple Divide.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Landmark at the triple divide in Potter County, Pennsylvania.]] thumb|207x207px|Triple Divide Peak, Montana thumb|200px|Snow Dome, British Columbia North America has 3 triple divides in the United States which are intersections of continental divides, and a fourth one in British Columbia. Waters at these triple divides flow into three different oceans, seas or gulfs. Triple Divide Peak in Montana is considered the triple divide "hydrological apex" of North America, though Snow Dome on the Alberta-British Columbia border also has a claim depending on how the Arctic and Atlantic oceans are defined. North America is the only continent that has a triple point dividing basins draining into three different oceans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=1750 |title=Ocean Triple Divide Points |publisher=Peakbagger.com |accessdate=2017-07-01 |archive-date=2017-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625091740/http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=1750 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Where the Continental Divide splits and joins to form the boundary of the Great Divide Basin, it forms two triple points.

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Triple divides of North America |- ! scope=col | Landmark name ! scope=col | Coordinates ! scope=col | Location ! scope=col | Watersheds ! scope=col | Divides ! scope=col | Refs |- |Triple Divide Peak |{{coord|48|34|23|N|113|31|00|W|type:mountain_region:US-MT_scale:100000|format=dms|name=Triple Divide Peak}} |Flathead County, Montana | * Pacific Ocean (Columbia River) * Atlantic Ocean (Mississippi River to Gulf of Mexico) * Hudson Bay<ref group="notes" name="hudson"/> (Nelson River) |Continental Divide of the Americas and Laurentian Divide |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/a7e142b0-25de-518f-88ae-05724f8046bf/summary|title=Triple Divide Peak|website=USGS GNIS|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> |- |Snow Dome |{{coord|52|11|13|N|117|19|01|W|type:mountain_region:CA-AB_scale:100000|format=dms|name=Snow Dome}} |Alberta and British Columbia | *Pacific Ocean (Columbia River) * Arctic Ocean (Mackenzie River) * Hudson Bay<ref group="notes" name="hudson"/> (Nelson River) |Continental Divide of the Americas and Arctic Divide |<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada National Parks Act (S.C. 2000, c. 32) |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/N-14.01.pdf |access-date=2021-03-21 |work=Schedule 1 - National Parks of Canada |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> |- |Unnamed hill |{{coord|41.8467340|-77.8372183|format=dms|name=Unnamed hill in Potter County, PA}} |Potter County, Pennsylvania | * Gulf of Mexico (Allegheny River) * Atlantic Ocean (Susquehanna River) * Saint Lawrence River (Genesee River to Lake Ontario) |Eastern Continental Divide and Saint Lawrence River Divide |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uncoveringpa.com/triple-continental-divide|title=Triple Continental Divide|website=Uncovering Pennsylvania|date=24 September 2018 |access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/summary/1201370|website=USGS GNIS|title=Triple Divide|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> |- |Hill of Three Waters |{{coord|47.47223|N|92.96395|W|format=dms|name=Hill of Three Waters}} |approximately {{cvt|2|mi|order=flip}} north of Hibbing, Minnesota | * Hudson Bay (Shannon River (Minnesota) to Nelson River) * Gulf of Mexico (Prairie River (Mississippi River tributary) * Saint Lawrence River (East Swan River) |Saint Lawrence River Divide and Laurentian Divide |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=27715|website=Historical Markers Database|title=Hill of Three Waters or Triple Divide|access-date=December 22, 2021}}</ref> |- |Eastern divide termination |{{coord|30|15.146|N|082|23.578|W|format=dms|name=Eastern Continental Divide termination}}) |Around Haines City, Florida | * Kissimmee River (Lake Marion Creek) * St John's River (Ocklahawa River) * Peace River |Lake Okeechobee basin and the Eastern Continental Divide |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5DG4M_cresting-the-continental-divide-in-florida?guid=fad83b43-51af-47c1-a7d4-76a9c2acef93|website=GeoCaching|title=Cresting the Continental Divide – In Florida?|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> |- |Great Divide Basin |{{coord|42|00|01|N|107|59|02|W|display=inline|name=Great Divide Basin North}} |Wyoming, where the Continental Divide splits and joins to form the boundary of the Great Divide Basin | * Pacific Ocean (Green River) * Atlantic Ocean (North Platte * Great Divide Basin |Continental Divide of the Americas, Great Divide Basin |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/public-info/guide-green-river-basin.aspx|website=Wyoming State Geological Survey|title=The Great Divide and Green River Basins|access-date=December 30, 2021|author=Francis, Julie}}</ref> |- |Guzmán Basin |{{coord|33.1427458|-107.8545162|format=dms|name=Reeds Peak, NM}} |Reeds Peak, New Mexico<ref group=notes name=Guzman>Where the Continental Divide splits in New Mexico and joins in Chihuahua, Mexico, to form the boundary of Guzman Basin are two triple points.</ref> | * Pacific Ocean (Colorado) * Gulf of Mexico (Rio Grande) * Guzmán Basin |Continental Divide of the Americas, Great Divide Basin |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/e04132a7-375a-51fa-a317-d402e8a75ba7/summary|title=Reeds Peak|website=USGS GNIS|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> |- |Chihuahua rim, Guzmán Basin |{{coord|31|19|56.9|N|108|45|21.5|W|format=dms|name=Chihuahua Rim}} |Chihuahua, Mexico<ref group=notes name=Guzman/> | * Pacific Ocean (Colorado) * Gulf of Mexico (Rio Grande) * Guzmán Basin |Continental Divide of the Americas, Great Divide Basin |<ref name=Tripoint>{{cite web|url=https://highpointers.org/us-tripoint-guide/#list_mexico|title=List|website=High Pointers|access-date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> |- |Three Waters Mountain |{{coord|43|23|37|N|109|47|09|W|type:mountain_region:US-WY_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline|name=Three Waters Mountain}}<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=1603660|name=Three Waters Mountain|access-date=August 25, 2013}}</ref> |Wyoming | * Gulf of California (Colorado) * Pacific Ocean (Columbia) * Gulf of Mexico (Mississippi) |Continental Divide of the Americas, Unnamed Divide | |- |Commissary Ridge triple divide |{{coord|42.588347|-110.735839|format=dms|name=Commissary Ridge}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Commissary Ridge Triple Point |url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=5429 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |website=Peak Bagger}}</ref> |Wyoming | * Gulf of California (Colorado) * Pacific Ocean (Columbia) * Great Basin | | |}

Other points are often considered to be triple divides because they separate basins of continental rivers. *Headwaters Hill in Saguache County, Colorado, near Chester (Arkansas River, Rio Grande River, Colorado River). This point has only a weak claim to being a continental triple divide because both the Rio Grande and Arkansas Rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico. ({{coord|38.3477709|-106.2530695|format=dms|name=Headwaters Hill}})<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/76132c4f-b23c-5b49-9bc2-f8beda71c009/summary|title=Headwaters Hill|website=USGS}}</ref>

The highest elevation ({{cvt|13,240|ft|order=flip|disp=or}}) significant triple divide in the lower 48 states of the United States, in Kings Canyon National Park in Fresno/Inyo counties, California, is a sub-peak of Mount Wallace of the central Sierra Nevada: * Crumbly Spire or Mount Wallace South Peak, Fresno/Inyo counties, California (Tulare Lake via Kings River, Owens Lake via Owens River, Pacific Ocean via San Joaquin River) ({{coord|37.141188|-118.654119|format=dms|name=Crumbly Spire}})<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2696|title=Crumbly Spire|website=Peak Bagger|access-date=December 24, 2021}}</ref>

Numerous other triple divide points result from intersection of river basin divides, including:

* Young Lick Knob, Georgia (Savannah, Apalachicola, Mississippi) ({{Coord|34|49|22|N|83|39|09|W|type:mountain_region:US|format=dms|name=Young Lick Knob}})

==South America== thumb|250px|Continental divide of the Americas in South America There are triple points in South America where the divide splits.

==See also== * Continental divide

==Notes== {{reflist|group=notes}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Citations== * {{Cite book|title=Landscape Evolution in the United States: An Introduction to the Geography, Geology, and Natural History|author=Joseph A. DiPietro|publisher=Newnes|date=2012-12-21}}

Category:Drainage basins Category:Hydrology Category:Drainage divides