Eastern Continental Divide
The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans the United States from south of Lake Ontario through the Florida peninsula, and consists of raised terrain including the Appalachian Mountains to the north, the southern Piedmont Plateau and lowland ridges in the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the south. Water including rainfall and snowfall, lakes, streams and rivers on the eastern/southern side of the divide drains to the Atlantic Ocean; water on the western/northern side of the divide drains to the Gulf of Mexico. The ECD is one of six continental hydrological divides of North America which define several drainage basins, each of which drains to a particular body of water.
Sign on Interstate 68 in Garrett County, Maryland, marking the crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide
U.S. Route 33/West Virginia Route 55 crosses the Divide in Pendleton County, West Virginia
The Divide along U.S. Route 21 in North Carolina
A monument marking the Eastern Continental Divide that shows where the watershed drains, located on the Duluth Town Green in Duluth, Georgia
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain. The general definition used is one followed by the United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada to describe the respective countries' physiographic regions. The U.S. uses the term Appalachian Highlands and Canada uses the term Appalachian Uplands; the Appalachian Mountains are not synonymous with the Appalachian Plateau, which is one of the provinces of the Appalachian Highlands.
The Appalachian Mountains in the background with Penns Valley in Pennsylvania in the foreground in October 2021
Appalachian Mountains broken down by physiographic division, provinces, and sections
Appalachian Highlands physiographic provinces
Appalachian Uplands of Canada's 13 divisions