Why do some rivers flow faster than others?
I guess the actual size, width and depth has something to do with it, but I have seen three similar sized rivers in different places in the past year, and they all flow at differing speeds:
THAMES in London – quite sedately
SEINE in Paris – quicker than the Thames
ISAR in Munich – very fast, like white water rapids
All three rivers were of similar size and width in those places, but why do some flow faster than others?
Its to do with gradients and height.
Geographically speaking, London is lower than Paris and Munich. Paris is slightly higher than London but slightly lower than Munich. Munich is the highest of the 3, therefore the river flows faster as it has to drop a further distance on a steeper slope which brings us to gradients, the steeper the gradient, the faster the water will flow, so if both height and gradient are high, the water will flow faster.
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