Questions tagged [rivers]
For questions about large streams of water (or other liquids) flowing in a channel to other bodies of water on planetary scales.
49
questions
19
votes
4answers
5k views
Could terrain like this form on Earth? If so, how?
I am creating an RPG and came across an image that I wanted to base my landscape on. It is shown above. Is it possible for terrain like that to form on Earth (ignore the wildlife)? If it is, how could ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
Could a river be gravitating around a planet? [duplicate]
I am building a sort of space odyssey and I was wondering about something...
In a DnD game I used to DM, Starfinder I believe it was called, there was this asteroids belt and in it was some sort of ...
3
votes
3answers
255 views
Is a confluence of more than two rivers plausible?
Two rivers converging into one is obviously extremely common, most often when one is clearly dominant over the other (whereby the lesser one is the 'tributary' of the greater) but also sometimes where ...
0
votes
4answers
233 views
How significantly would the course of rivers change over 10,000 years?
This one is rather straightforward. A character falls into a magically-induced coma for about 10,000 years and then wakes up to find the world around him different in quite a few ways. There's not a ...
13
votes
2answers
947 views
What are the requirements for a river delta to form?
I know that when some rivers (such as the Nile) flow out to sea, they break up into several smaller channels. But I was wondering about the necessary features of the land and water for it to occur.
12
votes
12answers
2k views
Rivers without rain
On Earth, rivers are possible because rain and snow deposit water in high places. That water then forms rivers when flowing to lower places.
Would it be possible to have the phenomena of rivers ...
17
votes
6answers
5k views
What is the steepest gradient that a canal can be traversable without locks?
For a civilization that depends heavily on canals for transportation, what limits are there on how steep canals can before they flow too fast to traverse? I know that barges were normally pulled by ...
6
votes
5answers
354 views
Salty or fresh or brackish waters?
So this is a small map of all the continents on the small planet of Parsas Decem. As far as most of the rivers go, I’ve got it figured out. What I’m wondering is, can salt water flowing in from the ...
7
votes
4answers
701 views
How common is it for a river to enter a valley from a flatter plain?
before I get into my question I wanted to thank everyone for their input in my first thread about the general principles of river drawing. I have taken your comments under consideration and began ...
8
votes
4answers
350 views
I'm going to have to redraw most of my rivers - what do I need to know to make them true to life?
I'm new here but I've been a worldbuilder for the last decade or so. I'm pretty late to the 'mapping out your country' party and I've only been at it for about 8 months, but I'm starting to see some ...
18
votes
14answers
6k views
Designing a river which does not overflow
... And if it absolutely has to, then such river should overflow in predictable matter.
I have a city idea in mind, where such the city has a river contained in an artificial tunnel beneath such city....
6
votes
10answers
935 views
Is it possible for a river to flow in a spiral pattern?
The question
This question has a few parts:
1. Is it possible for a river to naturally form in the shape of a spiral?
2. If not, would an artificially-formed river, in the shape of a spiral, ...
1
vote
1answer
105 views
Volcano near river mouth
When a volcano is under the sea, but close to the coastline, it creates islands.
I have a volcanic island near (less than 20km away) a river mouth.
Is this feasible? I couldn't find any real example.
...
3
votes
2answers
127 views
If a lake feeding a large river system was suddenly drained, how would it impact the area? [closed]
In my book series, there is a very small planet (slightly smaller than Earth's moon). This is called Planet Squid, and it has a climate and group of cultures very similar to those of sub-saharan ...
8
votes
3answers
403 views
Could a river on Earth be made of a liquid other than water?
So far as I can research, all rivers on Earth are flowing water. There are other substances that are liquid at room temperature. Are there any natural processes that could create a river of something ...
24
votes
23answers
4k views
Why would robots settle at a river?
In this settings, robots are a humanoid looking personal device that try to mimic the owners traits and behavior, even though they 'realize' they are not their owner, but rather a helping robot. The ...
1
vote
0answers
92 views
Effect of source of river and its flow pattern on a budding civilization [closed]
Rivers can either be rain-fed or snow-fed. And most of the bigger civilizations of the past were located on the river banks.
The climate of the region is temperate, but nearby there is a mountain ...
4
votes
3answers
864 views
Drawing rivers on a continental scale map
I created the above map using Photoshop and used Wilbur to erode the terrain a bit and calculate possible river flows. Still needs work but I need to create a river mask before I can go on. My method ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
Are the mountains and rivers on this map okay?
It's not finished yet, so it's still pretty empty. But I can't stop worrying about the rivers and mountains, so I ask for help. It's about 1100-1200 miles from north to south.
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Would a “city on a bridge” be friendlier to the environment than a more typical city on land? [closed]
The "city on a bridge" that I'm envisioning has the entire population living their entire lives on a habitable bridge or a series of such bridges over major rivers, only going on land for recreation ...
6
votes
1answer
253 views
How could a mammal develop that has long legs but lives in a semi aquatic area?
This probably sounds fairly ridiculous- I know, but in short I've been developing a sort of future earth. It's not extraordinarily accurate, but I've been trying to at least keep the obvious in check. ...
22
votes
6answers
9k views
Is my world map unrealistic?
Just to say this first, the map is intentionally on a slant, and so the Northern cold areas are displayed at more of a North-West Angle, for example.
I am designing the world from scratch, and am ...
36
votes
12answers
8k views
How to stop a massive canal system from silting up?
Based on the desert world from this question I need to transport around 500 cubic kilometres of water / year across a desert. Using this calculator. this can be achieved if the main feeder canal is ...
2
votes
4answers
539 views
Roughly how much water would my desert civilization need every year?
In my desert canal world all water is supplied from the poles to the temperate zones via a canal network. I want to work out the amount of water that that is needed, so that I can work out the ...
3
votes
4answers
310 views
How fast a current can ancient water way travel overcome?
This question has similarities to this one but concerns canal travel in more ancient times and is aimed at finding an approximate speed of flow not variables.
Background
Assume an Earth-like world ...
0
votes
5answers
503 views
Reason to not use boats when there is a is river [closed]
In my fantasy world, there is a massive river that flows through the heart of the empire. This river is used for obtaining potable water as well as feeding crops, however, boating is strictly ...
2
votes
2answers
196 views
Argyria and Dwarven Industrial Runoff
The two stereotypes that I've seen the most about Dwarves are that they live in mountains and mine for precious metals and the like. Recently, I've been thinking of an interesting place to take that.
...
0
votes
1answer
481 views
How loud is a river at 100 foot distance? [closed]
The river is 60 feet across and flowing about 10 feet per second at its fastest point. It has boulders but no real whitewater. It is too deep and strong to cross by foot.
So, it looks pleasant, but ...
5
votes
3answers
198 views
With medieval technology and governance, what advantages would a long tunnel have over river travel? [closed]
Background
I'm working on a high-fantasy setting with the ANSI standard complement of fantasy races. I'm using a map of Earth, since all the geological work has been done for me. Here, the dwarves ...
6
votes
4answers
454 views
Almost tidally locked to moon and the tides it would create
I have a world with a moon, much like Earth and the Moon, except that the planet is almost tidally locked to the moon. The moon therefore appears to move only very slowly through the sky, and takes, ...
7
votes
6answers
928 views
How would a half-steppeland, half-desert kingdom with only a single river function?
On one of the continents in one of my fantasy worlds, I have a kingdom. The kingdom is comprised of two different geographical regions, a steppeland area in the kingdom's north and a desert region in ...
3
votes
1answer
115 views
Building a Covert Network Backbone up the Mississippi
Many of the world's internet backbone cables are underwater. But most of these cross deep oceans; how far could you bury cable up the Mississippi without anyone noticing? Could you reach St. Louis? ...
30
votes
10answers
6k views
How do I simulate the path of a river?
In Creating a realistic world map - Waterways, I asked about exactly what processes affect how rivers flow and meander. With some of that knowledge in mind, I'm curious as to how a worldbuilder (like ...
-3
votes
1answer
156 views
We broke all the river dams. Does it reverse environmental damage/climate change? [closed]
A group of humans, called the Dams, became sick of political feuds involving water. They were completely tired of the wasteful wars the countries fought for water resources. These wars had created a ...
2
votes
5answers
505 views
A river around the earth
Suppose we would create a river, canal or a tube around the earth and water would flow in it. Where would it flow? And if we put some turbines in this flow, could it produce free energy?
6
votes
2answers
668 views
can the same river be deep and fordable
Is it reasonable for a river to be shallow enough to ford in one location, while nearby (say within 5 miles or less), be at least 12 feet (3.6m) deep? The same river can have shallow sections and ...
2
votes
3answers
950 views
How could Reverse Mountain (One Piece) exist? [duplicate]
In One Piece saga there is the so-called Reverse Mountain.
This is a Mountain with sea at east and west, land at north and south.
A river goes from east to west following the mountain. That means ...
1
vote
2answers
165 views
Possible: Canal town (e.g. Venice) in a River Valley?
I'm imagining a town in a river valley. The river runs straight through the town and is diverted or spread out into canals that form a grid in the central, low-lying part of the town. Technology is ...
1
vote
2answers
356 views
What are some of the reasons for a river to split?
I know that rivers do not usually split but they can.
e.g. It can occur due the glacial shift.
Are there any other ways that this could happen? And if it did would one river become dominant a ...
8
votes
4answers
761 views
Natural underground water distribution in a desertic continent
I'm worldbuilding a continent that's mostly desertic (still trying to decide if sand or rocky desert, but definitely a hot desert). All the rain would fall on the edges of it, through a chain of ...
2
votes
2answers
256 views
Sailing the Douro River against the current during 14th century
In my story, a young couple is given a ship to go from Portugal to Spain sailing the Douro River. As it can be noted, this goes against the current of the river.
What should they need/have to do to ...
8
votes
5answers
564 views
How could state borders equal major watersheds?
How can I explain, in a believable way of course, that country borders closely resemble drainage divides? They don’t always match mountain ridges, which are natural borders – as are the rivers ...
19
votes
9answers
14k views
How wide can a river be?
Related but not a duplicate: How long can a river physically be on a planet?
How wide can a river possibly be? Many river are over 10 kilometers wide, but how wide can a river be before it is no ...
15
votes
3answers
2k views
How long can a river physically be on a planet?
How long can a river be? Are there any physical limits on its length, coming from the necessary altitude drop, the triple point of water, or other factors? You can alter whatever parameters you find ...
5
votes
1answer
221 views
Bay evaporated by a volcano
In the world I am designing, I want to have a bay with a tight bottleneck, filled with salt water from the ocean. You can think of the bay as river shaped. To avoid creating a "C" shaped island I want ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
How can a river delta not be at the mouth? (Mississippi example)
I'm creating a bronze age setting and one of the civilizations gets their powers from a river whose irrigation produces a vast food supply. So, I decided to figure out where the most powerful city ...
6
votes
2answers
225 views
Effects of a river that flows through the air to a desert mountain?
Suppose there is an Earth-like world with magic. Someone (maybe wanting a mining city or an isolated power base), thousands of years ago, wanted to build a city on a certain desert mountain, five ...
8
votes
4answers
475 views
Would a salt flat be near a river?
Would a salt flat be near a river?
I have a world with a Nile River-like region and within a few miles, perhaps 10-20, I have a massive salt flat. The arable land of the river brushes up against ...
15
votes
1answer
2k views
Creating a realistic world map - Waterways
This Query is part of the Worldbuilding Resources Article.
My rivers and streams are just about as good as my waterways - that is, not too good. I do know that their paths are impacted by elevation, ...
