This is the real reason why rivers never flow in a straight line

Completely explain the science of why on Earth the river is always tortuous.

If no artificial rivers and lakes are taken into account, it can be confirmed that there is no river system in the world flowing in a straight line. If you don't believe it, you can verify it yourself with Google's Google Earth app.

The straight line is the shortest path, but the rivers seem to . make themselves difficult, as they continually wind up for thousands of kilometers. And the question here is: Why?

A river system in Alaska.

No river has a straight line, but it takes a long time to bend

The curvature of rivers comes from a combination of many elements of nature.

Water always flows down the slope, but the slope may not be straight. But even if the waterway is straight, the river will be bent for a long time. And the curvature of rivers comes from a combination of many elements of nature.

Imagine this: suddenly an otter "gouged out" on one side of the river to make a nest. The hole is small, but it makes the soil on the river bank weak.

The otter "gouged out" one side of the river to make a nest.

Water will gradually flow into the hole with faster and faster speed because the soil layer is eroded, and at the same time make the water on the other shore weaken. The slow water brought sandy soil and built up the remaining shore. And then over time, the river is straightening into a true curve.

Over time, the river section is straightened into curvature literally.

Of course, the otter is just a fun example. In fact, in nature, there are many factors that impact enough to bend a river without needing a digger otter.

A bend in the river, that is, has changed the flow of the water . The diversion of water will create an impact on the river bank, increase erosion, and then the rest will gradually curve as an inevitable rule.

A bend in the river, that is, has changed the flow of the water.

The larger the river section, the farther between the bends. But there is an interesting point of all rivers in the world, which is the length between an S-shaped bend that will be 6 times the width of 2 rivers. That is, a short river section will be like a miniature version of a larger river section.

A short river section.

Will be copies of larger river sections.

This curvature will occur continuously over time. And if there is no obstacle (such as rock, mountain .) there will be two winding sections of the river touching each other.

At that time, the river will flow straight back, leaving behind the past "curved". That "past" is called the oxbow lake.

The process of formation of horseshoe lakes.

The horseshoe lake can be said to be a feature that shows the existence of a nearby river. And you know, on Mars there are also traces of horseshoe pools, suggesting that the Red planet used to be a place filled with oceans and rich river systems.

Mars also has .