The Eastern Continental Divide, in conjunction with other continental divides of North America, demarcates two watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean: the Gulf of Mexico watershed and the Atlantic Seaboard watershed. Prior to 1760, the divide represented the boundary between British and French colonial possessions in North America. The ECD runs south-southwest from the Eastern Triple Divide in Pennsylvania to the watershed of the Kissimmee River, which drains via the Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee Waterway to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
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| Area | Point | Summit or other feature |
|---|---|---|
| PA: Eastern Triple Divide | triple watershed point: watersheds of the Atlantic Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, & Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the respective headwaters of Pine Creek (West Branch Susquehanna River), the Allegheny River, and the Genesee River. | |
| PA: Babcock Ridge | ||
| PA: List of tunnels in Pennsylvania | summit near Allegheny/Gallitzin Tunnels | |
| PA: Allegheny Mountain | summit above Allegheny Mountain Tunnel (Pennsylvania Turnpike) | |
| PA: Allegheny Mountain | summit above Sand Patch Tunnel | |
| PA: Savage Mountain | railroad cut on Great Allegheny Passage | |
| PA/MD: Savage Mountain | highest summit of the Mason–Dixon Line | |
| MD: Interstate 68 | crossing | |
| MD: Savage Mountain | saddle point at planned route of 1828 C&O Canal | |
| MD: Backbone Mountain | highest Backbone summit on ECD (near MD/WV border) | |
| WV: Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia | Midland Trail: planned crossing for the 19th century James River and Kanawha Turnpike | |
| WV/VA: Interstate 64 | crossing | |
| VA: Jefferson National Forest | saddle point at Johns Creek headwaters (James River tributary), and near triple point of Mississippi River (W) & Chesapeake Bay (NE)/Albemarle Sound (Roanoke River) (SE) | |
| VA: Appalachian Trail | Parallel Route Begin | |
| VA: Appalachian Trail | Parallel Route Begin | |
| VA: Interstate 81 | crossing | |
| VA: Interstate 77 | crossing | |
| NC: Thurmond Chatham Wildlife Management Area | triple point of New River and Yadkin/West Prong Roaring rivers | |
| NC: Interstate 40 | crossing | |
| NC: Interstate 26 | crossing | |
| NC: U.S. Route 276 | crossing | |
| NC: U.S. Route 178 | crossing, approx. 1 mile north of NC/SC border | |
| NC/SC: French Broad watershed | tributary of the Tennessee River along NC/SC border dividing mountain ridges running southeast meets Santee watershed flowing into Atlantic | |
| NC/SC: Sassafras Mountain | located along the South Carolina-North Carolina border in northern Pickens County, South Carolina and southern Transylvania County, North Carolina nearest to the town of Rosman, North Carolina | |
| NC/SC: Savannah watershed | across the border of Pickens County, South Carolina & Greenville County, South Carolina up into Transylvania County, North Carolina, Jackson County, North Carolina, and Macon County, North Carolina to dividing mountain ridges to Tennessee River tributaries | |
| NC: Highlands, North Carolina | ||
| NC: Cowee Gap | divides Tennessee (Cullasaja) and Savannah (Chatooga) rivers | |
| GA: Black Rock Mountain State Park | a Blue Ridge summit | |
| GA: ACF River Basin at Young Lick | triple point at intersection of 3 GA counties: Hiwassee (Towns Co)/Chattahoochee River (Habersham Co) on the west & on the east: Savannah River (Rabun Co) | |
| GA: Altamaha watershed | triple point along border of Hall & Banks (GA) counties: Chattahoochee River-Banks (west) & Altamaha River-Hall/Savannah River-Banks (east) | |
| GA: Suwanee watershed | triple point: Chattahoochee River/Suwanee (west) & Altamaha River (east) | |
| GA: Interstate 85 | crossing (1 of 5) | |
| GA: Interstate 85 | crossing (2 of 5) | |
| GA: Norcross, Georgia | through Norcross historic district | |
| GA: Interstate 85 | crossing (3 of 5) | |
| GA: Interstate 285 | crossing (1 of 2) | |
| GA: Atlanta | near Dekalb Av | |
| GA: Interstate 75/85 | crossing | |
| GA: Interstate 20 | crossing | |
| GA: Interstate 85 | crossing (5 of 5) | |
| GA: Interstate 75 | crossing (2 of 4) | |
| GA: Interstate 285 | crossing (2 of 2) | |
| GA: Interstate 75 | crossing (3 of 4) | |
| GA: Fall line of the United States | near Macon, Georgia, this intersection is a triple physiographic point of the Piedmont (to the north) and the Gulf & Atlantic coastal plains (southwest & southeast). | |
| GA: Interstate 75 | crossing (4 of 4) | |
| GA: Satilla watershed | triple point: Suwanee (west) & Altamaha River/Satilla River (east) | |
| GA: St. Marys watershed | triple point: Suwanee (west) & Satilla River/St. Marys River (east) | |
| FL: St. Johns watershed | triple point: Suwanee (west) & St. Marys River/St. Johns River (east) | |
| FL: Interstate 10 | crossing | |
| FL: Florida Trail | Central Florida crossing over the Florida crustal arch | |
| FL: Withlacoochee watershed | triple point: Suwanee/Withlacoochee River (Florida) (west) & St. Johns River (east) | |
| FL: Miami watershed | triple point: Withlacoochee (west) & St. Johns River/Miami River (east) | |
| FL: Kissimmee/Okeechobee watershed | south point of ECD @ Withlacoochee & Miami/Kissimmee triple point (Kissimmee drains to both Gulf & Atlantic via Lake Okeechobee & Okeechobee Waterway) |
Famous quotes containing the words eastern and/or divide:
“From this elevation, just on the skirts of the clouds, we could overlook the country, west and south, for a hundred miles. There it was, the State of Maine, which we had seen on the map, but not much like that,—immeasurable forest for the sun to shine on, the eastern stuff we hear of in Massachusetts. No clearing, no house. It did not look as if a solitary traveler had cut so much as a walking-stick there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“To divide one’s life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry on its dull wall-existence by the arbitrary timetables we have drawn up in consultation with those permanent commuters, Earth and Sun. But we, unlike trees, need grow no annual rings.”
—Clifton Fadiman (b. 1904)