There are countless rivers of all sizes spread throughout the world, and many people believe that rivers tend to flow south. Even though there are a lot of rivers that flow south, this is not necessarily the case with all of them. In general, the flow of rivers is dictated by gravity. Water flows from the highest point to the lowest point, which is not necessarily south. Water will always take the path of least resistance, and this is typically determined by gravity.
There are a lot of people who use north and south as colloquial definitions of different points of the river, not necessarily cardinal directions. For example, a lot of people call the uphill portion of the river “north” and the downhill portion of the river, or its mouth, “south.” This does not necessarily mean that these points are north or south. Even though it is true that most rivers flow south, there are actually a lot of rivers that also flow from south to north. Sometimes, the headwaters are located to the south of the mouth, which is why these rivers flow north.
There is a common misconception that there are only two rivers in the world that flow from south to north. The two rivers that most people know about include St. John’s River, which is located in the United States, and the River Nile, located in Africa.
In the United States, there are at least 48 rivers spread across more than 16 states that flow from south to north. This includes approximately nine rivers in Alaska and eight rivers in the state of Washington. South America also has a very high number of rivers that flow from south to north.
Rivers that flow from south to north do so because of gravity. Gravity pulls water from the highest point to the lowest point. Therefore, if a river flows from south to north, it does so because its southern point sits at a higher point than its northern point. For example, the southern portion of the river might be located in the mountains while the northern portion might be located near the ocean. As a result, gravity pulls water from the southern point to the northern point.
The longest river that flows from south to north is the River Nile, which is located in Africa. This river is approximately 4,258 miles long, and it has two main tributaries. The White Nile begins in South Sudan while the Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia. The two rivers come together in Sudan, and they flow northwards through then different countries before they reach the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. The river has played an important role throughout human history. There are several other rivers in the local area that also flow from south to north.