The Continental Divide

Davis and Austin at the Continental Divide

Isa Lake which drains "backwards"


On Thursday morning, we began our travel day from Gardiner, MT, to Jackson Hole, WY, through YNP and Grand Tetons National Park. The drive took most of the day with scenic stops along the way. We stopped at several more geyser sites before reaching the Continental Divide. It begins at Cape Prince of Wales, AK, and ends at Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America. The Continental Divide is the "line" that separates the watershed/rivers that drain into the Pacific Oceans from those that drain into the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico. The Continental Divide follows a line of high peaks through the Rockies and the Andes. More interesting about the place we stopped on the Continental Divide called Isa Lake which straddles Craig Pass between Old Faithful and West Geyser Basins is that the east side of the Lake drains to the Lewis River (west) to the Pacific and the west side of the Lake drains to the Atlantic Oceans through the Firehole River (east). It is the only lake in the world that drains backwards to two different oceans!