Continental-divide
noun
1.
a divide separating river systems that flow to opposite sides of a continent.
2.
(initial capital letters) (in North America) the line of summits of the Rocky Mountains, separating streams flowing toward the Gulf of California and the Pacific from those flowing toward the Gulf of Mexico, Hudson Bay, and the Arctic Ocean.
noun
1.
the watershed of a continent, esp (often caps.) the principal watershed of North America, formed by the Rocky Mountains
continental divide
A region of high ground, from each side of which the river systems of a continent flow into different continental-scale drainage basins. ◇ In North America, the Continental Divide is a series of mountain ridges stretching from Alaska to Mexico, marking the separation of drainage basins that empty into the Pacific Ocean or Bering Sea from those that empty into the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans or the Gulf of Mexico.
An imaginary geographic line defined by the fact that water poured on one side of it would ultimately flow into the ocean on one side of a continent, while water poured on the other side of the line would flow into the ocean on the other side of the continent.
Note: In North America, the continental divide is located in the Rocky Mountains.
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[kon-tn-en-tl-iz-uh m] /ˌkɒn tnˈɛn tlˌɪz əm/ noun 1. an attitude, expression, etc., characteristic of a continent, especially of Europe. 2. an attitude or policy of favoritism or partiality to a continent: American continentalism. 3. the belief or doctrine that the U.S. and Canada should merge into a North American nation, especially for mutual economic benefit.
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[kon-tn-uh n-tal-i-tee] /ˌkɒn tn ənˈtæl ɪ ti/ noun 1. the degree to which the climate of a region typifies that of the interior of a large landmass. n. 1897, a term in meteorology, from German kontinentalität (1895), from Latin continentem (see continent (adj.)).
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[kon-tn-en-tl-ahyz] /ˌkɒn tnˈɛn tlˌaɪz/ verb (used with object), continentalized, continentalizing. 1. to make , as in scope or character. 2. (sometimes initial capital letter) to influence with European ideas or culture.
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