Continental Divides in North Dakota and North America

To the uninitiated eye, the countryside between Valley City and Jamestown is seemingly among the most unremarkable stretches of Interstate 94 (I-94), not just in North Dakota, but along its entire route from Chicago to Seattle. Granted, the terrain here is pretty flat with gentle undulations amounting to less relief than one finds on the waves of the open ocean. And yes, some travelers battle with insomnia in this stretch where the view cannot seem plainer (nor more planar), although the Red River Valley is arguably plainer and indisputably more planar. And just when the landscape cannot seem any more unremarkable, a highway sign proclaims in oxymoronic fashion (Fig. 1): Continental Divide Elevation 1490 feet. continent? My objectives here are to discuss various concepts incorporated into different definitions of continental divide; to discuss the continental divide that runs in part through North Dakota; and to describe the other continental divides of the North American continent. I will also discuss some of the more interesting features of continental divides, such as triple points, closed basins, and the dynamic nature of continental divides.