Two Ocean Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, in the

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 (2,370 km2). The wilderness is bordered on the north by Yellowstone N ...

, which is part of

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

's Bridger-Teton National Forest. The pass is notable for Parting of the Waters, where one stream, North Two Ocean Creek, splits into two

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...

, Pacific Creek and Atlantic Creek, at Parting of the Waters

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

. These two creeks ultimately flow into their respective

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

s. Atlantic Creek water eventually flows into the

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, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountain ...

and empties into the Gulf of Mexico via the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

and

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Pacific Creek water eventually flows into the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

and empties into the Pacific via the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

Recreation

The

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail, CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua (state), Chi ...

reaches this location in northern

. It is accessible by foot or horseback from the south via Brooks Lake Trail head off of Highway 287 or from the north via an extensive hike from Fox Park near Yellowstone National Park's southern border.

Fish dispersal

The pass is thought to have provided access for the Yellowstone cutthroat trout to have colonized

Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Wyoming and the largest in Yellowstone National Park. The lake is above sea level and covers with of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is , its greatest depth is at least . Yellowst ...

and the rest of the

watershed above Lower Falls. Similarly, it has been considered as an alternative explanation for the arrival of non-native

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

in Yellowstone Lake, which has traditionally been attributed to illegal or accidental

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpar ...

Climate

Two Ocean Plateau has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfc'').

Gallery

File:PSM V47 D187 Two ocean pass looking east.jpg, A drawing made in 1894 of Two Ocean Pass with a view to the northeast.Barton Warren Evermann: Two-Ocean Pass. In: Popular Science Monthly. V. 47, 1895, pp. 175–186
/ref> Atlantic Creek exits the pass between the hills in the upper center part of the image. Pacific Creek exits to the southwest in the bottom center of the image. North Two Oceans Creek enters from the left top center of the image and divides into its two distributaries and South Two Ocean Creek enters from the right center of the image and is also shown dividing into two streams. Evermann Creek also enters the area from the west (left center, just above the tents). File:Two oceans parting.JPG, Here Two Ocean Creek splits in two directions on the Continental Divide. Water on the left in this 2011 photo goes to the Atlantic and water on the right to the Pacific Ocean.

References

External links

Two Ocean Pass National Natural Landmark

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...