Do All Rivers Flow North to South? No.

Rivers Flow Downhill, Not by Compass

Absolutely not. River direction is determined solely by topography (gravity), not cardinal direction.

The Rule

Water flows from higher elevation to lower elevation, following the path of least resistance. The compass bearing is irrelevant.

Examples of Non-North-to-South Rivers

• East to West: Columbia River (USA), Colorado River (USA/Mexico), Yukon River (Canada/USA), Amur River (Russia/China).
• West to East: Nile River (Africa – mostly), Amazon River (S. America), Yangtze (China), Mississippi River (USA – overall SSE but meanders wildly), Danube (Europe).
• North to South: Mississippi (headwaters to Gulf), Volga (Russia), Niger (Africa – NE to SW arc).
• South to North: Red River (US/Canada), St. Johns River (FL), Lena (Russia), Ob, Yenisey (Siberia – huge northward flow to Arctic).
• Circular/Complex: Niger (boomerang), Mekong (SE then SW).

Why the Myth Persists

• Map orientation (north up) makes southward flow "look like down."
• Many major rivers (Mississippi, Nile, Volga) do flow generally south, creating availability bias.
• Coriolis effect influences large-scale patterns (e.g., western intensification of ocean currents), but does not dictate individual river direction.

Rivers flow downhill. That is the only universal rule.