A Small Creek Connects The Atlantic And Pacific Oceans

Reddit user wheatley_cereal has posted a factoid that we have no doubt is widely-known among Mountain West residents, but of which the rest of the country is almost certainly unaware: It's possible for a fish to swim directly from the Pacific to the Atlantic without having to dodge Panamax ships in the canal zone.

The area is commonly called Parting Of The Waters.

There's even a point marking the divide, called Two Ocean Pass, located in Wyoming. At this pass the Atlantic Creek (which flows northeast to meet the Yellowstone river) with the Pacific Creek (which flows southwest to join the Snake River). The point actually sits directly atop the Continental Divide, where a raindrop has a 50-50 chance of flowing out to the Pacific or down to the Gulf.

It's a bit tricky to follow the full route on Google Maps, but it goes something like this:

Columbia River (Wa.) → Snake River (Ore.) → Teton streams (Wyo.) → Yellowstone Lake (Wyo.) → Yellowstone River (Wyo.) → Missouri River (MT) → Mississippi River

The Reddit user made a rough map:

You can read researcher Mark Miller's description of this incredible phenomenon on his blog »