Why Do Most Rivers Flow South?

River Flow Process

Rivers flow downhill, and sources are usually high in the mountains where water comes. So firstly, rivers flow down due to gravity, not south. But it seems water flows from north to south.

A river that flows between its sides is known as a channel. It creates many paths or delta by its flow. Most rivers flow north to south due to the Coriolis effect and gravity.

Why do most rivers flow south?

River water flowing down hits the mouth and enters the ocean. When something moves into the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the Earth’s rotation creates Coriolis force. That’s why the river in the Northern hemisphere turns to the right. The east or west depends on where the river’s flowing. The Earth’s rotation is the most important factor in determining where this river water goes. The Coriolis force scales work exactly as the sine of the latitude.

  • By moving north, it gets bigger and more positive.
  • By moving south, it gets negative.

In the northern hemisphere, the river water turns to the right. This happens for the effect of Coriolis force. So it’s turning to the side and flowing along the coast.

Anywhere the water flow direction depends on location. That makes sense because the water flows clockwise in the southern hemisphere due to the Earth’s rotation. The water’s going counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.

The earth’s diameter at the equator at 40,000,76 kilometers is much greater than at the poles at zero kilometers. The equator’s land is moving much faster than the land everywhere else, about 1638 kilometers per hour at the equator, compared to about half that at 60 degrees north latitude. Coriolis influences objects traveling across the face of the earth due to this constant eastward rotation.

If you tried to throw a baseball from the equator up to your friend standing at the North Pole, your ball would appear to veer to the right. It would maintain the greater momentum of the place it started from. Although the Coriolis effect is a thing, applying this principle to draining water in Earth’s two hemispheres is bunk. The Coriolis effect influence bigger, slower-moving fluids, global air, and ocean currents.


More Articles About River:

Why Do Rivers Curve?

How Do A River Form?

Why Is River Important?

Julia Rose

My name is Julia Rose. I'm a registered clinical therapist, researcher, and coach. I'm the author of this blog. There are also two authors: Dr. Monica Ciagne, a registered psychologist and motivational coach, and Douglas Jones, a university lecturer & science researcher. I would love to hear your opinion, question, suggestions, please let me know. We will try to help you.

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