The sign read “Continental Divide, 1619 feet.” I couldn’t help
but smile when I saw that sign while recently driving across the
top of a small hill on highway 281 between Sheyenne and New
Rockford. No lofty snow-capped peaks here. The sign of course
identified the continental divide between the Sheyenne River
which flows eastward near the town of Sheyenne and the James
River which flows eastward on the north side of New Rockford. As
you North Dakota geography junkies all know, the Cheyenne River
lies within the Hudson Bay drainage while the James River is in
the Missouri River drainage which of course flows to the Gulf of
Mexico. Perhaps like you, I have noticed similar signs on
Interstate 94 between Jamestown and Valley City and also east of
Harvey on highway 52, although I didn’t notice it the last time
I traveled that highway. To check the watersheds of the state, I
took a quick look at the 3rd edition of John Bluemle’s The Face
of North Dakota, published by the North Dakota Geological
Survey. The Missouri