WIP Ulthui - How are my rivers?

[Sarithus]

Hello. Here's my WIP map. I wouldn't say I'm that knowledgeable on geography but I've been looking into rivers. How are mine?

- Mostly always into the sea mouth
- They get wider when multiple rivers meet
- They flow faster downhill and go in that direction
- They can also come from mountains

Questions:

1. Beside Alturath I have rivers branching off into nothing. I've done this because I've seen it on other maps, but what causes them to stop?
2. Must a river that goes into the sea always create a delta?
3. Most of my rivers come from the lakes. Does that mean that around the lakes it has to be of lower elevation since all rivers go downwards in the steepest direction, or can they just flow out slowly?
4. Is there anything that happens to rivers that are flowing very fast from steep high elevated regions that I can draw?

Might have more questions later, thanks.

[ascanius]

First almost every river starts from mountain snow melt, meaning they always originate from the mountains, some rare exceptions. It's the water coming from the heigher elevation of the mountains that flows downhill and where there is an obsticle the water builds up forming a lake. The obsticle can be almost anything such a a low spot between hills.

Lakes rarely have more than one outflow or river leaving the lake. So looking at your maps lakes with multiple outflows such as the central lake next to the city is very unlikely.
The same with rivers. Rivers very rarely split into two, the water is going to always go to the lowest spot. Rivers can have other rivers flow into them but they don't split into two you did this with almost all your rivers. It can happen if the quantity of water is so greate and the terrain is restricting its flow at some point but rare.

I may be wrong but for a river to simply stop it would most likely be due to extreme levels of evaporation through a desert, or some geological variable that I am not aware of such as porous limestone but.....

Not all rivers have to end in deltas.
hope that answeres some questions, Though I don't get what your asking in question 4, do you mean a waterfall? Map looks good otherwise.

[Sarithus]

Thanks the reply. I'll reduce the number of number of branching rivers from the lakes, then.

Perhaps I'm thinking about this in the wrong way, but how would you draw a river flowing into another river without making it look like the main river has split?

[Chick]

Questions:

1. Beside Alturath I have rivers branching off into nothing. I've done this because I've seen it on other maps, but what causes them to stop?
2. Must a river that goes into the sea always create a delta?
3. Most of my rivers come from the lakes. Does that mean that around the lakes it has to be of lower elevation since all rivers go downwards in the steepest direction, or can they just flow out slowly?
4. Is there anything that happens to rivers that are flowing very fast from steep high elevated regions that I can draw?

1. If you have seen this on other maps, throw them away and mark the artist as ignorant of rivers. Rivers NEVER just flow to somewhere and stop. If you think about it, where does the water go?

2. True deltas, yes, but if you mean branching streams through a swamp, no. Deltas are formed by sediment loads that drop when the water reaches the slower moving sea. They are mostly underwater. Occasionally, with a heavy sediment load, the sediment builds up enough over time to emerge to the surface and then is when you get the swampy branching river mouths.

3. The amount of water input to a lake will match the output (outflow plus evaporation). When a lake builds up, it is because there is a depression that fills with water. When the water level reaches the level of the lowest point on the perimeter, it flow out there, forming the outlet. That is why lakes only ever have exactly one outlet.

4. Waterfalls (as ascanius suggested)

[Chick]

Thanks the reply. I'll reduce the number of number of branching rivers from the lakes, then.

Perhaps I'm thinking about this in the wrong way, but how would you draw a river flowing into another river without making it look like the main river has split?

Join the two rivers with the V of the confluence pointing downstream.

http://cgee.hamline.edu/rivers/gfx/m...x/mis_map1.gif

[Sarithus]

Thanks for the help so far. Is this any better? Hopefully I've understood what you mean about the V of the confluence. I've done one in red which I presume is wrong because it'd mean it's splitting.

It's a little bit boring now though. (I should say though, this isn't just one land or country, it's about the size of europe, so I'm going to add more rivers probably. Of course not all of them as you wouldn't be able to see them. Only the big ones.) Does that change anything with it being a continent?



Also, there's two rivers coming out of the sea of rhun to the right. Thoughts on that?

http://geoawesomeness.com/wp-content...age-254377.jpg

[ascanius]

It looks better, it doesn't look boring but looks clean, the way you had your rivers gave it a chaotic look. All those intersecting lines were too much work for the eye to follow and firgure out, it may look more interesting but it misses the point of a map.... Anyway enough composition. Your right though the red river is wrong becaue it is splitting.

Quick question could it be that those maps where the rivers end were in fact showing the rivers' begining? Right now it looks like you could add some smaler rivers that join your major ones (I know there is a word for the starting point of a river but I cannot remeber it). Maybe not the exact starting point but your secondary rivers that join the main ones you have.

[Chick]

No, sorry, it's still wrong. The river must exit from the lake and then run to exactly ONE river mouth at the sea. You have it splitting into two rivers that go to different river mouths at the sea. This can never happen.

You can have a second river that originates at mountains or another lake, and then joins the main river, but the joined river still flows to exactly one river mouth to the sea.

[Sarithus]

No, sorry, it's still wrong. The river must exit from the lake and then run to exactly ONE river mouth at the sea. You have it splitting into two rivers that go to different river mouths at the sea. This can never happen.

You can have a second river that originates at mountains or another lake, and then joins the main river, but the joined river still flows to exactly one river mouth to the sea.

Which river is splitting into two rivers that go to different mouths? I honestly can't see which one you're referring to. All of them either go to a mouth or a lake.

[Freodin]

1. If you have seen this on other maps, throw them away and mark the artist as ignorant of rivers. Rivers NEVER just flow to somewhere and stop. If you think about it, where does the water go?

[pet peeve]
If you have seen this on other maps, consider that the artist was ignorant of rivers or simply did not care. There are many famous original ancient maps that show rivers that are not following reality. This is no reason to throw maps away or think bad about great cartographers like Abraham Ortelius or Gerhard Mercator

If you want to create a world, or make a map correctly portraying a potentially realistic world, take note of the wise words of chick and her colleagues - she knows what she is talking about.

If you want to create a map, as many famous ancient cartographers did - showing foreign and unknown lands to an audience who most likely would never see the lands shown, just as the artist never saw these lands... draw whatever you like.
[/pet peeve]