Do all rivers flow in one direction ?

Question

Do rivers flow towards the equater ? Northern and Southern hemisphere ?
Please explain.This ius not a homework assignment. I am in my 40's.

Answer 1

No. As pointed out some flow away from the equator (many of the rivers flowing into Hudson Bay, in Canada flow away from the equator). Some rivers actually cross the equator (the Nile is one of these, I believe).

Eddys in a river can cause very localized and small amounts of water to flow in a direction opposite to that of the main water flow, so another interpretation of your question is answered.

Finally, deep in the (small) vaults of my mind I seem to remember a river (I think it is in southeast Asia, maybe Vietnam) that flows in opposite directions at different times according to (I think) the tides.

Really, finally, the Chicago River, in Illinois, had it's flow reversed by engineers for some reason.

And, although the Mississippi River flows downhill (like all rivers) it's mouth is actually further from the center of the earth than is the source..due to the oblateness of the Earth.

Your question is interesting in another way. To ancient middle eastern people rivers (the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, specifically) were known well to them and it became synonomous to equate flowing downhill to flowing South. So, when they spread to Egypt the Nile became known (I'm not making this up--it's in Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts) as "the river that, in flowing south flows north." That might not be a direct quote but it's close.

Answer 2

River Flow Direction

Answer 3

If youre asking about rivers all flowing in the same cardinal direction (north, south, east, west and the combinations of them) then no, they dont. The Mississippi flows north to south and the Nile flows the opposite way. If you are asking about rivers flowing in two different directions at the same point and time, your answer is also no. The exception to this is a river flowing in one direction and then curving around and later flowing the opposite way, which commonly occurs when they meander.

http://www.thedustin.com/brochure/brochimages/rivers.jpg

Also, the water in rivers will erode the surrounding land after time and change it, enough to change the course of the river. It is also believed that the Nile flowed in the opposite direction many years ago. Hope that covers what you were looking for.

Answer 4

Rivers flow from areas of high to areas of low topography.

So no matter where you are in the world the River is trying to find the path of least resistance and go "down" as quick as it can.

That means depending on the landscape a river can flow in any direction. Imagine a tall mountain, if you drop water from the east side it will flow downwards on the East face. same thing if you drop it from the west side it will flow down the west face.

Eventually all rivers want to reach the ocean, and they will take any path (any direction) they can to get there.

-hope that wasn't to confusing :o)

Answer 5

Rivers flow according to gravity. For instance I believe the Nile is the only river that flows from south to north because its origin at Mount Victoria is at a much higher elevation than its delta in northern Egypt.

Answer 6

well technically yes all rivers flow in just one direction. When have you hear of a river flowing both north and south at the same time? But als to answer your question no, I live in Pittsburgh and we have one of the only rivers in our hemisphere that runs North instead of south. The Yough.

http://www.sarcasticgazette.com

Answer 7

No, they most certainly do not. They flow from their source, either to the sea, or as a tributary to another river, basically downhill. This can be, north, south, east or west in fact in any direction at all, depending entirely on the lie of the land. Most rivers in the UK, in fact, run roughly (very roughly) east or west but the equator is to the south.(the main exception being the River Severn which does run south)

Answer 8

Let us look at this a different way. Rivers flow either into large lakes or out to sea. On a south coast, the rivers will flow south to reach the sea, on a north coast, the rivers will flow north to reach the sea. In the northern hemisphere you will find a lot of north flowing rivers in Canada, Russia, Alaska, north Africa and the north coast of South America. You will find north flowing rivers flowing into the Great Lakes, Lake Baikal, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea.

In the southern hemisphere the same rules apply, rivers flow to the coast. If it is a north coast they flow north, if a south coast they flow south and so on.

Answer 9

The Nile River flows north dugh. Sorry Im not mean though im actually nice. Peace out

Answer 10

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Nile starts from Khartoum in Sudan in South of Egypt and falls in Mediterranean sea North Egypt. So the river flows from south to north.