The Western Continental Divide is an imaginary line that sits atop a continuous ridge of mountain summits that divide the continent into two main drainage areas in North America. It roughly follows the ridge of the Rocky Mountains .

Learn how to create your own. Adventure Motorcycle Route along the Rocky Mountains: This map was created by a user. In Canada, the main continental divide is known as the Continental Divide of the Americas, or Great Divide. The water separated along the Great Divide eventually reaches one of the Arctic, Atlantic or Pacific Oceans (with the exception of certain “closed watersheds” in Saskatchewan and Alberta ).

It runs from northwestern Canada, south along the crests of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, then on into Mexico, where it follows the peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental ( mountains ).