Two Ocean Pass is a mountain pass

Mountain pass

A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...

 on North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

's Continental Divide

Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...

, in the Teton Wilderness

Teton Wilderness

Teton Wilderness is located in Wyoming, United States. Created in 1964, the Teton Wilderness is located within Bridger-Teton National Forest and consists of 585,238 acres . The wilderness is bordered on the north by Yellowstone National Park and to the west by Grand Teton National Park and the John...

, which is part of Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

's Bridger-Teton National Forest

Bridger-Teton National Forest

Bridger-Teton National Forest is located in western Wyoming, United States. The forest consists of , making it the second largest National Forest outside of Alaska. The forest stretches from Yellowstone National Park, along the eastern boundary of Grand Teton National Park and from there rides...

. The pass is notable for Parting of the Waters

Parting of the Waters

Parting of the Waters is an unusual hydrologic site at Two Ocean Pass on the Continental Divide, within the Teton Wilderness Area of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. Two Ocean Pass separates the headwaters of Pacific Creek, which flows Westerly to the Pacific Ocean, and Atlantic Creek,...

, where one stream, North Two Ocean Creek, splits into two distributaries

Distributary

A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...

, Pacific Creek and Atlantic Creek, which ultimately flow into their respective ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

s. Atlantic Creek water eventually flows into the Yellowstone River

Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Yellowstone National...

 and empties into the Atlantic via the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 and Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. Pacific Creek water eventually flows into the Snake River

Snake River

The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 and empties into the Pacific via the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

.

External links

• Two Ocean Pass National Natural Landmark, National Park Service
  National Park Service
  The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
  
  website.
• Parting of the Waters: a creek that flows to two oceans
• America's Little-Known Natural Wonders: Spectacular destinations you may not know about, By Christopher Vourlias, Forbes Traveler via Yahoo Traveler, 9/1/09.