Most  valleys  have  been  cut  ant  of  the  land  by  running
water.
In  the  picture  (Fig.  26)  you  see  several  valleys.  Rain
falls  into  each  of  these,  some  of  it  sinking  into  the  soil  and
some  running  off  down  the  slopes.  Into  which  valley  will
the  water  flow  that  falls  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  ?

When  it  rains  upon'  the  roof  of  a  house  (Fig.  27),  the
water  is  divided  along  the  highest  part,  some  flowing
down  one  side,  some  down  the  other.  The  same  thing
happens  when  water  falls  on  the  land.  Because  the  water
parts,  or  divides,  at  the  highest  place  between  two  valleys,


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HOME  GEOGRAPHY


this  place  is  called  a  divide  or  water  parting,  or  sometimes  a

watershed.  The
dotted  lines  in
the  picture
(Fig.  26)  show
some  divides.
How  irregular
the  lines  are !

A  divide  some-
times stands  out
sharply,  as  on
the  roof  of  a
house ;  but  in
many  places  it
is  difficult  to
find,  for  the
land  there  may
appear  to  be
Can  you  point  out  such  a  place  in  Fig.  26  ?


FIG.  27.-

A  house  roof,  to  show  that  the  water  is  divided  along
the  highest  part.
flat.
If  you  wish  to  know  how  wide  one  of  these  valleys  is,  where
would  you  begin  to
measure  ?  Would  it  not
be  from  the  divide  on
one  side  to  the  divide
directly  across  on  the
other  side?  Of  course
it  would,  for  the  divides
form  the  boundaries  of
the  valley  (Fig.  28).
A  divide  or  water-
shed is  the  highest
ground  separating
two  valleys.
FIG.  28.
The  line  A-B  shows  the  width  of  this  valley.
Observe  that  the  valley  is  much  wider  than
the  stream.
