Yellowstone ’s Isa Lake is a fairly unremarkable pond except for one unique timber : it ’s the only lake in the worldly concern acknowledge to drain into both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans .
Located in the Yellowstone National Park between the Old Faithful and West Thumb geyser basins , Isa Lakesits directly on the Continental Divide of North America . This crest of good deal runs vertically down through North America , divide the major watersheds run to different oceans .
As a result of its unique location , the east side of Isa Lake drains into the Lewis River , a affluent of the Columbia River , and finally into the Pacific Ocean . Meanwhile , the west side of the lake drain into the Firehole River , a confluent of the Madison River , and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico , which is relate to the Atlantic by the Straits of Florida .
The Great Continental Divide in North America in red, as well as the continent’s other drainage divides.Image credit:Pfly/Wikimedia Commons(CC BY-SA 3.0)
This instruction of drainage is the opposite of what might be anticipate ; its eastward retail store extend to the Pacific in the west , and its westward way out heads towards the Atlantic in the southeast . This counterintuitive route of the river is another quirk of Yellowstone ’s unique , hoist topography .
Somesourcessuggest Isa Lake only debilitate out of both outlets during fourth dimension of eminent water , namely in periodsof strong blow melt after wintertime with profound snowfall . Nevertheless , it ’s still a evenhandedly remarkable trait .
A similar phenomenon also come at the significantly largerLake Ladoganear St Petersberg in northwesterly Russia , close to the Finnish border . Much of the lake drain into the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River , which eventually leads to the Baltic Sea . However , the lake also has feeder that are hooked up to the Volga River system , which connects to the Caspian Sea .
Speaking of foreign bodies of water , we should remark theNerodime Riverin southern Kosovo . On the outskirts of the city of Ferizaj , the river forks into two paths , a feature of speech recognise as a river bifurcation . The unexpended branch flows into the Black Sea , while the right branch flow into the Aegean Sea , make it the only example of a European river flowing into two seas .
