What is Meant by a Water Divide? Give an Example.

Question: What is meant by a Water Divide? Give an example.

Answer:  A water divide, also known as a drainage divide, is any high land region that divides drainage basins into 2 halves. It could be a mountain, a plateau, or another terrain that separates nearby drainage basins. A separating range is a mountainous region that acts as a water barrier. A continental divide occurs where the water flows to distinct oceans on every side. A large divide occurs when the water on opposite sides rarely meets yet accumulates in the same ocean. A minor division occurs when the water across each side ultimately merges into a river confluence. Often these divisions are caused by valleys, which result in tribes or sections of the population settling along the shoreline.

Example: Ambala represents a water divide. It is situated amongst the rivers Ganga and Indus.