the.com/ridgeline
the spine of a mountain, drawn by gravity and walked by the bold.
means The line along the top of a mountain or roof where two slopes meet, marking the highest connected edge between them.
from A transparent compound of "ridge" and "line." "Ridge" comes from Old English "hrycg," meaning the back or spine of a body — the same word that gives us the ridge of an animal's back and the ridge of a roof. "Line" traces back through Old English "line" to Latin "linea," originally a linen thread used for measuring and marking. So a ridgeline is, quite literally, the thread drawn along the spine.
- watershed split
- Rain on each side flows to different oceans.
- knife-edge
- Some narrow enough to straddle with both legs dangling.
- continental divide
- America's great ridgeline runs Alaska to Patagonia.
- lightning magnet
- High exposed crests draw strikes during storms.
- easy navigation
- Hikers follow them to avoid getting lost.
appalachian trail — 2,190-mile mountain ridge hiking trail from georgia to maine, established 1937
blue ridge mountains — 2,000-mile ridgeline forming the eastern continental divide in the appalachian system
glacier park highline trail — 12-mile ridgeline traverse in montana's glacier national park at 7,000+ feet elevation