Geog. Which way do rivers run, as seen on a large map?

Question

Which direction do your rivers run? N--E--S--or West or non or all or what? Where do they begin, I know they meet others sometimes. Do all rivers have springs?
maggie3966

Answer 1

Find the location where a river meets an ocean and then follow the river's flow direction backward to the source.The downhill flow of a river will always be from the head-water to the ocean. There may be lakes or ponds involved at intermediate points, so be sure to follow the flows completely.

Answer 2

Thank you. What an interesting question.

I think, most rivers run downhill, even if they could run uphill for a while because of water pressure. Ultimately, rivers run down towards the sea.

So, if you studied a geographical map, the contour lines would provide you with a good idea of where the river runs and why. Water follows the course of least resistance.

From what I know, not all rivers have springs. We need to distinguish between parent and child rivers. "Child" rivers are probably tributaries, or offshoots from main (parent) rivers. However, sometimes, tributaries collect as a main river. I think this is the case with the Amazon river. Combinations of springs, and rainfall, might contribute to a river's existence.

Some rivers exist for short spells, for example when it rains in the mountains and the rundown creates a river. Others are seasonal, for example the Nile river. Still, other rivers, like the Zambezi in Africa, is a mighty river which has a yearlong, strong flow.

There are some rivers that I find most interesting. These are the ones who apparently "disappear" in a hole in the ground, then runs underground for hundreds of miles at a time, only to pop out again as a mighty river. Such a river might be perceived to have a spring just because the "source" appears to emerge from the ground, when in actual fact, it was just one, main river that ran above, and below, the ground. If I recall, the Crocodile river, in Africa, might serve as an example of this river.

Last, it's probably a good idea to distinguish between natural, and man-made rivers as man-made rivers might behave slightly differently to natural rivers.

I hope this helped.

Answer 3

The Nile runs North
The Mississippi Runs South
The Amazon Runs East

All rivers flow Downhill
Some rivers begin at the base of Glaciers, from snow melt, some begin in lakes, Rain forest rivers.
Some are yellow rivers, originating in beer drinking areas. These are called Saturday night rivers.
Most rivers have springs, that feed water into them at various locations.

Answer 4

Downhill.

Answer 5

They run south north of the equator and north south of the equator.