Why does the Nile River flow backwards???

Question

duh

Answer 1

It doesn't flow backwards. It flows from south to north because it is going downhill, from the high mountains in the middle of Africa to the Nile delta. The Ancient Egyptians just thought that it flowed "backwards" because it did not flow north to south.

Answer 2

It's already been pointed out that, because the Nile flows south-to-north, it doesn't necessarily flow backwards. In fact, it flows downhill from its source in Lake Victoria or thereabouts (the Ruwenzori Mountains) to the Mediterranean.

But there is one river I know of that actually does flow backwards, and I've seen it!

In the Canadian Maritimes, the Bay of Fundy separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia for the most part. But you can drive from Moncton, N.B., to Halifax, N.S., through an isthmus of land separating the Bay of Fundy from the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In this isthmus, there are two long branches of the Bay of Fundy that you have to drive north of. The town of Truro lies at the end of one of these branches, and the Truro River flows into the bay there.

As you probably know, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. So when the tide comes in, it's a huge amount of water. Where does all that water go? Well, it goes up and up the bay, raising the water level. And the farther up the bay it go, the narrower the bay gets, until finally the high tide reaches the Truro River.

The Truro River is a sleepy little river (well, not little, but not big either) that normally just flows into the sea. But when the tide comes in, the flow in the river actually reverses direction -- and you can see it happen!

It's called a "tidal bore", and I'm told that this phenomenon only occurs a very few places in the world. The incoming high tide overwhelms the normal flow of the river, and you can see what looks like a single wave, stretching all the way across the river, advance upstream, I'd say at the pace of a moderately fast walk.

Before the tidal bore appears, the river meanders along, flanked by mud flats on either side. But when the river reverses direction, the water level rises (high tide, remember) and the mud flats disappear under water.

It's quite a remarkable thing to see, and it occurs at regular intervals, twice a day. In local motels and tourist gift shops, they have printed schedules of when the bore will appear, accurate (depending on conditions) to plus or minus 15-20 minutes.

So there is a river (not the Nile) that really does flow backwards, and it's worth a visit if you're ever up in that neck of the woods. (I think the Chicago River can flow backwards too, but I'm not sure why.)

Answer 3

Not only the Nile, there are several other rivers that flow backwards during parts of the year.

What happenes is that the sea water level rises beyond the level of the river water and instead of the river flowing in to the sea, the sea flows in to the river - this is what you call river flowing backwards. Apart from that, the river nile is I think the only river that flows from Southern hemisphere to the Northen Hemisphere.

Answer 4

No. People say it does but it doesn't. The Nile is made up of two sections, the blue and the white nile. One of those river parts.

Answer 5

Could you please identify the exact position of the observer while he/she was viewing the river.

But consider that water seeks its own level till equibrium is atained. You mean to say Nile River is flowing uphill?????
There should be a miracle happening on that part of the world.

Answer 6

earths waters return from whence they flow, maybe the exact rpm of the planet has a factor on it? The St. Johns in Jax. Fl. flows the same way and I believe there's another one somewhere.

Answer 7

Tidal effects near the mouth.

Answer 8

Yes

Answer 9

See Matahari's answer ... water always FLOWS down. MAC

Answer 10

Define "backwards" and I'll give you the answer-----