water surface?

Question

Why does water in some places look more rippled than in others? I know depth has something to do with it but sometimes there are patterns in water that is the same depth

Answer 1

It has to do with turbulence, the higher the turbidity the more "rippled" it looks. Factors that have an effect on turbidity include the depth of the channel, the width of the channel, the shape of the channel, how smooth are the sides and bottom of the channel, and the density of the fluid flowing through the channel. You might say that water is water but if there is a lot of sediment in the water it can change the density. Typically these factors are not constant, even over a short distance.