Wayne William Jarrett, age 10, of Allentown, Penna., for his question:

What is the Continental Divide?

The Continental Divide is an important item of geography and, sad to say, many reference books fail to mention it. Nevertheless you will find it clearly marked on a good map. Look for it down the ridge of the Rocky Mountains.

This ridge, the Continental Divide, is a cradle of streams and rivers. The streams born on the eastern side flow eastward. Those born on its western side flow west. It is a dividing line for streams and rivers.

Water, of course, cannot flow uphill. It must always flow down. A line across our continent swoops up and down. The land rises from the Pacific Ocean over the Coastal Range, dips down over a wide valley, up again over the Sierra Nevada Range and then rises steadily over the great Rockies. The eastern Rockies dip down to the great plains and finally the land rises again to form the Appalachians. The highest part of the continent is the Rockies and there we find the Great Divide, over which no river can cross.