Talk:Triple Divide Peak (Montana)

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About triple points[edit]

The article says of the peak: "...making the locale one of the few places on the Earth whose waters feed three oceans." And I was just looking at another page which more positively said: "This is not the only triple point feeding three oceans" -- which was marked "citation needed". Well, both statements may have been made in good faith by application of simple logic to Eurasia: rivers in Eurasia feed all four of the world's oceans, tracing the four watersheds (BrE usage) must meet at two points, and the only question is whether there is a watershed between the Arctic and Indian drainage basins or between the Atlantic and Pacific drainage basins. This is simply topology, but it's wrong, because in fact the whole of central Eurasia is a giant endorheic basin. See the (rather wonderful) map here: Notable endorheic basins and lakes. It is an immediate observation from this map that there can be no such point in Eurasia, and there are no other land masses bordered by more than two oceans (except sort of Antarctica; but there are no rivers, and no water drainage, so this hardly counts). Now the WP:LAWYER brigade will be ready with accusations of "reason" (oops, sorry, what do they call it?), but I think at least any suggestion that there are other such points could be removed. Imaginatorium (talk) 15:07, 29 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Correct on all counts above.DLinth (talk) 05:55, 1 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The article expands significantly on that issue, which hinges on whether Hudson Bay is considered to be part of the Arctic or Atlantic Oceans.--MONGO 16:12, 29 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
I think not. This is a separate issue -- if you consider Hudson Bay as Atlantic rather than Arctic, then the triple point is Snow Dome, further to the north. But in any event there can only be one triple point in N America -- this is the separate question of whether there are any corresponding triple points anywhere else in the world (and the answer appears to be "No"). Imaginatorium (talk) 16:36, 29 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Removed the passage so it's clear the focus is this peak, not unknown others elsewhere.--MONGO 23:14, 29 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Re-inserted this topic. Inclusion of this is certainly relevant, as it's not only unique in the world, but the source of the name of the peak and the immediate tributaries on all sides of the peak.DLinth (talk) 05:55, 1 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]