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.
for instance

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

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