Additional Vocabulary for Chapter 4 1. Continental Divide 2. Watershed 3. Rain Shadow

Continental Divide of the United States  The natural boundary line separating waters that flow into the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico from those that flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Western Continental Divide  Rocky Mountain Range  East of the Rockies- Flows into the Gulf of Mexico  West of the Rockies- Flows into the Pacific Ocean

Map of Western Continental Divide

Eastern Continental Divide  Appalachian Mountains Appalachian Mountains Appalachian Mountains  Land Draining East- flows to the Atlantic Ocean  Land draining West and Southwest- flows to the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Map of Eastern Continental Divide

Continental Divides: Fun Fact!!  Every continent except Antarctica has a continental divide, and like North America, a few have more than one. In South America, the Continental Divide lies along the Andes Mountains. Andes Mountains.Andes Mountains.

Watershed  Area of land where all of the water drains off and flows into the same place

Map of Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The Rain Shadow  A patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant- growing, rainy weather  On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow.  On the other side of the mountain—the rain shadow side—all that precipitation is blocked.

Cascade Mountains Sierra Nevada Mountains

Map of the Great Basin