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in pennsylvania water
dominates the land
86,000 miles of rivers divide the landscape
shaping life in every direction
it controls the way we travel, the way we live
our designs, and the type of energy we use
carrying us on its back
and keeping us on the go. But how often do we take time
to think about where all this water comes from
or how long will flow safe and to our glass
to begin the day
on a remote hilltop farm in north central Pennsylvania
rain falls and flows to three separate sides
of the North American continent
these vast drainage basins are created
where two continental divides come together to form a single peak
this is the TRIPLE DIVIDE
one of four triple continental divides in North America
it's a phenomenon that forms headwaters
for three major East Coast river systems
giving birth to the Allegheny and Genesee rivers
the Allegheny River begins its journey
on the hilltop farm and crosses New York border
before finding its way to the Ohio River in Pittsburgh
where it then travels half the country before emptying into the gulf of mexico
the Genesee River flows
directly north into the Saint Lawrence River Basin
at Lake Ontario
TRIPLE DIVIDE headwaters also travel south east into the West Branch
of the Susquehanna River where it flows to its end
at the Chesapeake Bay for the TRIPLE DIVIDE
Everything is Downstream