Why do almost all rivers in the world flow North to South?

[DaveC426913]

I meant that tongue in cheek ...

Ah. That was not at all apparent.

 

[BWV]

Ah. That was not at all apparent.

There was a ;) in the post

 

[DaveC426913]

There was a ;) in the post

Not that I can see. (And I had checked first, cuz I was gonna suggest a smiley might be warranted.)

 

[BWV]

Not that I can see. (And I had checked first, cuz I was gonna suggest a smiley might be warranted.)

;)

 

[BWV]

Here is a global map of continental divides, a lot of drainage to N,W and E

 

[DaveC426913]

Here is a global map of continental divides, a lot of drainage to N,W and E

As well as the ... fifth cardinal direction, I guess?
Downward? Inward? (Endorheic)

 

[berkeman]

As well as the ... fifth cardinal direction, I guess?
Downward? Inward? (Endorheic)

 

[Iceman81]

TL;DR Summary: Why do almost all rivers in the world flow from North to South?

I recently heard the narrator of a podcast state that the current of almost all rivers in the world flows from North to South. The narrator said the Nile River is one of very few rivers in the world that flows from South to North.

I cannot figure out why almost all rivers in the world have a current that flows from North to South. It is my understanding that gravity is the force that drives the current in rivers. Gravity causes the water in a river to move toward the lowest ground possible. So if almost all rivers in the world flow North to South, it seems like the lowest ground at the end of almost all rivers would be at the southern most point of the river. But why would the lowest point at the end of almost all rivers be at the southern most end of a river? To me, I don't see any reason why the flow of rivers would not be divided roughly equal with approximately 25% flowing to the South, 25% flowing to the North, 25% flowing to the East, and roughly 25% flowing to the West.

Why does the current of almost all rivers in the world flow from North to South?

While I'm finding a lot of the comments entertaining, I have three things I'd like to reinforce/add:
Rivers flow in all directions. If you look at any large body of water (ocean or lake) or any major river:
Tributaries/rivers joining said body of water:
From the South will flow North into this body of water.
From the West will flow East into this body of water.
From the North will flow South into this body of water.
From the East will flow West into this body of water.
Water flows downhill, period.
I was falsely taught in grade school that almost every river flows South. I come across this statement frequently, and, what I want to know is: Where does it come from? I think there must have been a geography book from the 40's or 50's that taught this, because frequently it's boomers who state this (I'm 66).

 

[DaveC426913]

Where does it come from?

I'd guess that most geography lessons concentrated on the middle latitudes where the bulk of the population resides, myopically analogous to the way that Western maps habitually used to put NorthAm at the centre, thus:

 

[susanhobbit]

Ok.....maybe the narrator was wrong

That is a very specific answer, but not very satisfying. The Rhine and the Elbe (maybe) could be called world-class rivers. Have you ever seen the Mersey or the Trent? And it's very geopolitically biased. How about the Congo? The Mekong, the Yellow Rivers? The continental divide map is the best response. But I bet if you list all the world rivers, using a liter/minute flow as a standard, you would find a slight north-south bias.

[Post edited by a Mentor]

 

[harborsparrow]

The fact that a podcast narrator says a thing is meaningless. I have heard podcasters make all sorts of wrong statements while speaking with apparent total conviction. No matter the credentials of any speaker, absolutist claims about "all rivers" may be considered a red flag of caution, as I doubt anyone alive has examined them all.

I see no evidence whatsoever to believe the given assertion about rivers, as I can think of multiple counter examples, including large rivers.