lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

Vesijako Vesijako (also Vesijakaa) is a lake in Finland. It is situated in Padasjoki in the region of Päijänne Tavastia.Lummene Lummene (also Lummenne) is a lake in Finland in the municipality of Kuhmoinen in the Central Finland region. The lake is a bifurcation lake. One outflow from it is eastwards into the lake Päijänne, which is a part of Kymijoki basin and drains ...

Finnish Lakeland Finnish Lakeland or the Finnish lake district ( , "Lake Finland", ) is a large landscape region in central eastern Finland. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of Lakeland Finland's lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous es ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Kymijoki The Kymi (, ) is a river in Finland. It begins at Lake Päijänne, flows through the provinces of Päijänne Tavastia, Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso, and discharges into the Gulf of Finland. The river passes the towns of Heinola and Kouvola. The to ...

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki (" Kokemäki River", ) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary tributaries of the ...

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...

Inhottu Inhottu ( Finnish: ''Inhottujärvi'') is a rather small lake in the Karvianjoki main catchment area. It is located in the region of Satakunta in Finland.Karvianjoki basin in the

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

region of western Finland both have two outlets: from Inhottu the waters flow into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Eteläjoki River in

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

and into lake Isojärvi through the Pomarkunjoki River. From lake Isojärvi the waters flow to the Gulf of Bothnia through the Pohjajoki river in Pori and through the Merikarvianjoki river in

Merikarvia Merikarvia (; ) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region. The neighboring municipalities are Isojoki, Kristinestad, Pomarkku, Pori and Siikainen. The municipality has a population of 3,169 (2024) and it covers an are ...

. In the Karvianjoki basin there have formerly been two other bifurcations, both eradicated by human actions. Another example is Bontecou Lake, a shallow, man-made bifurcation lake in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

.

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in the southern part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was formed by the construction of the Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across ...

in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

is a reservoir created by damming

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The river begins at the confluence of the Bow River, Bow and Oldman Rivers in southern Alberta and ends at the Saskatchewan River Forks in ce ...

and

Qu'Appelle River The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just s ...

. The lake continues to drain into the two rivers, but the Qu'Appelle receives a much enlarged flow (in essence, a diversion of flow from the South Saskatchewan) from the damming. Both rivers eventually drain into

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

via

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

and the

Nelson River The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay near Port Nelson, Manitoba, Port Nels ...

. Also located in Saskatchewan is

Wollaston Lake Wollaston Lake () is a lake in the north-eastern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is about north-east of Prince Albert. With a surface area of (excluding islands; if islands are included), it is the largest bifurcation lake ...

, which is the source of Fond du Lac River draining into the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

and of Cochrane River draining into

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

and the Atlantic Ocean.

Isa Lake Isa Lake is located in Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lake straddles the Continental Divide of the Americas, continental divide at Craig Pass. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples have lived in the ...

in

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

is a natural bifurcated lake which drains into two oceans. Its eastern drainage is to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

(part of the Atlantic Ocean) via the

Firehole River The Firehole River is located in northwestern Wyoming, and is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Ju ...

, while its western drainage is to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

via the Lewis River. Peeler Lake in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

's Hoover Wilderness is a natural bifurcated lake that lies along the

Great Basin Divide The Great Basin Divide in the western United States is the ridgeline that separates the Great Basin from the Pacific Ocean watershed, which completely surrounds it. The Great Basin is the largest set of contiguous endorheic watersheds of No ...

. It has two outlets, one of which drains east into the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

, and one of which drains west to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

.

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee ( ) is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the List of largest lakes of the United States by area, eighth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest ...

in Florida is a particularly rare example of a trifurcation lake. Via the artificial

Okeechobee Waterway The Okeechobee Waterway or Okeechobee Canal is a relatively shallow artificial waterway in the United States, stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida's east coast. The waterway can support tows such as ba ...

, it flows east to the Atlantic Ocean through the

St. Lucie River The St. Lucie River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 18, 2011 estuary linked to a coastal river system in St. Lucie County, Florida, St. Lucie and Martin County, ...

and west to the Gulf of Mexico through the

Caloosahatchee River The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National ...

. Meanwhile, part of the lake's water naturally flows south through the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the K ...

into the

Florida Bay Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland (the Everglades, Florida Everglades) and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited ...

. As a result of this artificial trifurcation, the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...

of North America terminates at the lake rather than further south near

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

.

Heavenly Lake on the North Korea–People's Republic of China border.

Lake Pedder Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in South West Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the ...

in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, as a result of damming, drains east as the

Huon River The Huon River ( , Aboriginal_Tasmanians#South_East, Mellukerdee/palawa kani: ''Taloonne'') is a perennial river in the South West Tasmania, southwest and southeast regions of Tasmania, Australia. At long, the Huon River is the fifth-longest in ...

and west as the Serpentine, a tributary of the

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

.

List

;Systems that cross a continental divide: *The

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...

and

Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former ...

artificially divert water from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

to the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. *The artificial

Gatun Lake Gatun Lake () is a mostly freshwater (slightly saline near the locks) reservoir to the south of Colón, Panama. At approximately above sea level, it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships of their transit across the Isthmus of P ...

in Panama drains into the Atlantic and Pacific. *

Isa Lake Isa Lake is located in Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The lake straddles the Continental Divide of the Americas, continental divide at Craig Pass. Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples have lived in the ...

in Yellowstone National Park drains to the Atlantic and Pacific. * At the summit of

Athabasca Pass Athabasca Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. In fur trade days it connected Jasper House on the Athabasca River with Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.Whittaker, ...

in the Canadian Rockies is a small lake, the

Committee's Punch Bowl The Committee's Punch Bowl is a small tarn on the continental divide straddling the border between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. George Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, named the lake for the London-base ...

, that drains both east and west. *

Lesjaskogsvatnet Lesjaskogsvatnet () is a lake in Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The lake lies in the upper Gudbrandsdalen valley, between the villages of Lesjaskog (on the west end) and Lesjaverk (on the east end). The European route E136 high ...

in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

is the source of the rivers

Gudbrandsdalslågen The Gudbrandsdalslågen (or simply ''Lågen'') is a river which flows through the Gudbrandsdal valley in Innlandet county, Norway. The long river runs through a large valley in Eastern Norway before emptying into Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norw ...

and

Rauma Rauma may refer to: Places * Rauma, Finland, a town and municipality in the Satakunta region of western Finland * Rauma Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway * Rauma (river), a river in the Romsdalen valley in Møre og Ro ...

, which eventually flow into the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (; , , ) is a strait running between the North Jutlandic Island of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea. The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping ...

and the

Norwegian Sea The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separate ...

, respectively. *

Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee ( ) is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the List of largest lakes of the United States by area, eighth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest ...

in Florida east to the Atlantic Ocean, west to the Gulf of Mexico, and naturally south to

Florida Bay Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland (the Everglades, Florida Everglades) and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited ...

. *

Wollaston Lake Wollaston Lake () is a lake in the north-eastern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is about north-east of Prince Albert. With a surface area of (excluding islands; if islands are included), it is the largest bifurcation lake ...

in Canada is the world's largest

bifurcation lake A lake bifurcation occurs when a lake (a ''bifurcating lake'') has Outflow (hydrology), outflows into two different drainage basins. In this case, the drainage divide cannot be defined exactly, as it is situated in the middle of the lake. Exampl ...

, draining both northwest to the Arctic Ocean and northeast to Hudson Bay. ;Other systems: * Bontecou Lake in New York outflows into two watersheds, those of the

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

and Housatonic rivers. *

Lake Diefenbaker Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir and bifurcation lake in the southern part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was formed by the construction of the Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across ...

– in Canada *Lac Sainte-Anne located at N50.14222° W67.86399° north of Baie Comeau Quebec is shown on Canadian government topographical maps as draining into Rivière Toulnustouc and also into Rivière Godbout Est *

Inhottu Inhottu ( Finnish: ''Inhottujärvi'') is a rather small lake in the Karvianjoki main catchment area. It is located in the region of Satakunta in Finland.Isojärvi,

Kivesjärvi Kivesjärvi is a medium-sized lake in Paltamo, Finland. Curiously, the name Kivesjärvi literally means "testicle lake". Some say that the name derive from old giant-related folklore around the region, some say that the name originally related to ...

, Kuolimo,

Lummene Lummene (also Lummenne) is a lake in Finland in the municipality of Kuhmoinen in the Central Finland region. The lake is a bifurcation lake. One outflow from it is eastwards into the lake Päijänne, which is a part of Kymijoki basin and drains ...

,

Vehkajärvi Vehkajärvi is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is located at the border of Pirkanmaa, Päijänne Tavastia and Central Finland regions in the Finnish Lakeland. The lake is mostly in the municipality of Kangasala, with smaller parts in the m ...

and

Vesijako Vesijako (also Vesijakaa) is a lake in Finland. It is situated in Padasjoki in the region of Päijänne Tavastia.Lake Manapouri Lake Manapouri () is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is situated within the Fiordland National Park and the wider region of Te Wahipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Māori History According to Māori peop ...

in New Zealand has been modified as part of a hydroelectric scheme such that it drains (naturally) south to

Foveaux Strait Foveaux Strait ( ; ) is a strait that separates Stewart Island from the South Island of New Zealand. The width of the strait ranges from about , and the depth varies between . The strait was first charted by an American Seal hunting, sealer, O ...

via the Waiau River and (artificially) west via a constructed tunnel to

Doubtful Sound Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Ze ...

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Bifurcation lakes Hydrology Geomorphology Lakes by type

Examples

List

See also

References

Further reading

External links