- Triple Divide Peak (Montana)
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Triple Divide Peak 
View from Triple Divide PeakElevation 8,020 ft (2,444 m) [1] Prominence 180 ft (55 m) [1] Location Location Flathead County, Montana, Glacier County, Montana, USA Range Lewis Range Coordinates 48°34′23″N 113°31′00″W / 48.57306°N 113.5166667°WCoordinates: 48°34′23″N 113°31′00″W / 48.57306°N 113.5166667°W[2] Topo map USGS Mount Stimson, MT Triple Divide Peak (8,020 feet (2,444 m)) is located in the Lewis Range, Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana.[3] It is a hydrologic apex of the North American continent (the other is Snow Dome in Jasper National Park, on the border between Alberta and British Columbia, Canada). The Great Divide and the Laurentian Divide meet at the summit of the peak, and all water that falls at this point can flow to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and Arctic Ocean, making it (and surrounding Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park) one of the few places on the Earth whose waters feed three oceans.
Rainfall on the western side of the peak (after several creeks) enters the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, which in turn enters the Clark Fork River, Pend Oreille River, and the Columbia River which empties into the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon. Flathead Lake and Lake Pend Oreille are also fed by this system of rivers, as well as some man-made lakes on the Columbia River.
After several creeks, the northeastern slope of the mountain sheds water toward Saint Mary Lake, which feeds the St. Mary River, which in turn flows into Oldman River, Saskatchewan River, and the Nelson River, which empties into Hudson Bay, which connects to the Arctic Ocean, according to some sources. Other sources, however, consider Hudson Bay to be part of the Atlantic Ocean and thus Snow Dome to be the continent's hydrological apex.[4][5][6] Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis, also in Manitoba, are part of the Hudson Bay watershed as well, feeding Lake Winnipeg via Dauphin River.
Moisture on the southeastern slopes feeds into Atlantic Creek, which in turn enter the North Fork of Cut Bank Creek, Marias River, Missouri River, which joins the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans. This ultimately reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
Images of Triple Divide Peak 
Looking south from Triple Divide Mountain, 1917[7]See also
Colored regions represent the major drainage patterns of the continents to the oceans, dark gray are endorheic basins that retain the water. Triple peak is at the jointure of purple, light green and yellow basins
Cited references
- ^ a b "Triple Divide Peak, Montana". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=4815. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ "Triple Divide Peak". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:777769. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ "Triple Divide Peak, Montana" (Map). TopoQuest (USGS Quad). http://www.topoquest.com/place-detail.php?id=777769. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ Sanford, Robert W. (2010). Our World's Heritage: Creating a Culture Worthy of Place in Canada's Western Mountain Parks. Athabasca University Press. p. 160. ISBN 9781897425572. http://books.google.com/books?id=2aPnUlT5HAkC&pg=PA160.
- ^ Canada's watersheds, The Canadian Atlas Online
- ^ The North Saskatchewan River, Great Canadian Rivers
- ^ Holtz, Mathilde Edith; Bemis, Katharine Isabel (1917). Glacier National Park: Its Trails and Treasures. New York: George H. Doran. http://www.archive.org/download/glaciernationalp003161mbp/glaciernationalp003161mbp.pdf.
Categories:- Mountains of Flathead County, Montana
- Mountains of Glacier County, Montana
- Mountains of Glacier National Park (U.S.)
- Geology of the Rocky Mountains
- Water divides
- Great Divide of North America
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