Meet the Creek that Splits the United States in Half

Move over Panama Canal, there’s another waterway that connects one side of the continent to the other. These waters part ways in Wyoming.

2 minute read

April 23, 2014, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


River Map Better

pavalena / Shutterstock

Jesus Diaz shares knowledge of the geographic point of interest known as “Parting of the Waters,” found in the Teton Wilderness Area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. There, a mountain stream called North Two Ocean Creek meets the Continental Divide and splits into two streams headed opposite directions. One of the streams becomes Atlantic Creek, flowing 3,488 miles east and then south and joining the Yellowstone, Missouri and Mississippi rivers—finally culminating in the Gulf of Mexico. The other stream becomes Pacific Creek, flowing 1,353 miles west and joining the Snake and Columbia rivers—eventually spilling into the Pacific Ocean.

The MyWyoming tourism site has more on the experience of standing one foot in the Pacific and one foot in the Atlantic.

In case you're curious for more waterway-related nomenclature, the streams flowing away from each other are called distributaries—Parting of the Waters just happens to occur at the Continental Divide. For another famous example, reference the Casiquiare River in South America, which flows away from the Orinoco River toward the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon.

And Wyoming includes another place where distributaries split to eventually find very different bodies of water, according to the MyWyoming tourism site: “[at] Three Waters Mountain, near Union Pass, water wends its way to three different major bodies of water, the Gulf of California (the drop travels 1,300 miles), the Pacific (a 1,400-mile trip), and the Gulf of Mexico (3,000-miles distant).”

Monday, April 21, 2014 in Sploid

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Albuquerque, New Mexico at sunset.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico

An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

May 16 - Source NM

Close-up on white bike helmet lying on pavement with blurred red bike on its side in background abd black car visible behind it.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes

Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

May 16 - Wood TV 8

Muni bus on red painted bus-only lane in downtown San Francisco, California.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels

Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.

May 16 - Mass Transit