2007-07-10 10:05:43 · 4 answers · asked by John S2005 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
A very good question, and the answer is no.
Just think about it for a minute, the Colorado River surface is over 600' after the Hoover Dam (the last CR dam) but it is at sea level when it reaches the Gulf of California.
FYI, it is 3000 feet at the Grand Canyon.
The Nile is several hundred feet just after the Aswan Low Dam but, again, at sea level at the delta.
Rivers are natures way of getting water from a high place to a low place (usually the sea), the surface of the river decends as the river travels seaward.
Also, surface and bottom do not necessarily decend at exactly the same rates: Where the river depth is shallow the river runs faster than where the depth is deeper and flows more slowly.
But it was a really thoughtful and original question.
2007-07-11 01:56:29 · answer #1 · answered by Radzewicz 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Damn fine question, and (Piglet) I don't think that was quite what the original person was asking.
We all know water, forms its own level. No matter the shape of the container, the surface of the water will always be level. If you spin the water in a centrifuge, the surface will still be level, just not perhaps, horizontal to the ground.
So is the surface water in a flowing river at a SLOPE is a good way to put it. Or does the water at any given point stay horizontal, and travel in "stair steps" and these tiny stair steps are the "ripples"???
Luckily, my dad is a civil engineer, and worked in river flood control for 40 years. Here is the answer from a seasoned engineer:
If the water is traveling at a constant speed, the slope of the surface of the water will be the same as the slope of the river bottom.
If the water is speeding up in the river, the slope of the surface will be slightly greater than the slope of the river bottom.
If the water is slowing down in the river, the slope of the surface will be slightly less than the slope of the river bottom.
Is that what you were asking? -J
2007-07-10 21:06:08 · answer #2 · answered by GPSMAN 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
no. the rate of flow of a river is proportional to the difference in height between an upstream point and a down stream point, and it is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the water.
so in order for water to flow there has to be a difference in height. if you're looking at an apparently flat, smooth river, then the difference in height is miniscule, almost negligible.
2007-07-10 17:16:21 · answer #3 · answered by Piglet O 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.Only the still water surface is horizontal.
2007-07-11 01:00:30 · answer #4 · answered by A.Ganapathy India 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋