There are only a handful of triple divides in the world. From here rain water drains into The North Sea, The Atlantic and The English Channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_divide

by DPaignall

10 comments

  2. You’d imagine this would only happen from a huge mountain. Amazing.

  3. Thanks for the link there. Today I’ve learned a new phrase. One of my fellow mods on this sub is a bit of a geography expert, so he would know about these, I’m sure.

  6. I drive past this all the time. And for those people like me who don’t understand geology, I got Google Gemini to explain it like I was 10.

    Enjoy.

    Okay, imagine your roof on your house. When it rains, the water flows down the slopes of the roof, right? And usually, it flows down to one side, maybe into a gutter that goes to the front of your house, or another gutter that goes to the back.
    Now, imagine a super special roof that has three different slopes meeting at one tiny point, almost like the very top of a pointy hat.
    If a raindrop falls right on that exact tiny point, it has a choice!
    * It could roll down one slope and end up flowing towards the Atlantic Ocean.
    * It could roll down another slope and end up flowing towards the Pacific Ocean.
    * Or it could roll down the third slope and end up flowing towards the Arctic Ocean.
    That special little point on the roof where the raindrop could go in three totally different directions is what we call a triple watershed in geology.
    It’s a spot on the land, usually on a mountain or a ridge, where if a drop of water lands there, it could end up in three different big river systems, and those rivers eventually carry the water to three different very big bodies of water, like oceans! It’s like the land’s “decision point” for where the water goes.

  7. Been up there many times, I have a particular memory of trying poi for the first time and smacking myself right in the knackers.

  8. They should make their bloody mind up ^mutter ^^mutter ^^^etc.

  9. Really interesting!

    I learned a new word: *Endorheic* Refers to a drainage basin or river system where water flows in, but never reaches the ocean or other water system. Over time, salts build up. Think The Great Salt Lake in the USA and the Aral and Caspian Seas in Eurasia.

  10. Roundway is one of our favourite dog walks. The 4 mile round trip (stop for snacks) was our favourite Sundays.

    Our dogs are too old now for it now. We just waddle round the woods now.

    It has the most glorious wildflowers in summer on the hill.

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