<p>One of my favorites: The Columbia and Kootenay rivers. The Kootenay River initially flows southeast, parallel to the initial northwest flow of the Columbia River. The Kootenay passes within 2 kilometers of Columbia Lake, the source of the Columbia.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/X49i1.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/X49i1.png" alt="Map showing the Kootenay and Columbia rivers"></a><br>
<sub>Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kootenay_River_Map.png" rel="noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kootenay_River_Map.png</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-07T19:20:10.940Z
Even better is that both rivers have a stretch where they're flowing pretty much parallel to themselves :-)
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-07T20:02:10.860Z
@jamesqf - Even better, both rivers eventually make close to 180 degree turns, and better yet, they eventually join.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-08T00:14:09.757Z
The Duncan River doesn't hurt the entertaining nature of this either, almost continuing the alternating pattern.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-14T16:08:33.750Z
Bonus for them being in the same drainage basin :-)
Semidiurnal Simon
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2018-01-07T17:50:49.133Z
2018-01-07T17:50:49.133Z
David Hammen
<p>After about a minute of searching in what I thought was a likely place, here is an example from northern England.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/w8ffm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/w8ffm.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>All you need is two valleys draining in opposite directions, which is not really a particularly interesting or uncommon occurrence.</p>

<p>Note the grid squares are 1 km x 1 km so these are pretty close.</p>

<p>Here's a bigger example I found from southern Greece. The two valleys are about 4 km apart in this example. The basic topographic setup is exactly the same as the previous example.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/G7Bko.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/G7Bko.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-07T09:05:00.153Z
2018-01-07T11:42:59.640Z
2018-01-07T11:42:59.640Z
bon
<p>Some rivers have been moving backwards. This got me thinking about an unusual idea.</p>

<p>Could there be terrain that causes two rivers, within a few miles of each other (10?), to flow in opposite directions? One flows east, the other flows west, passing each other by.</p>

<p>Is there anything like this on Earth already? Is it even possible?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-07T19:30:08.067Z
Like the question, but what do you mean by "some rivers have been moving backwards"?
JeopardyTempest
<hydrology><rivers>
Could parallel rivers flow in opposite directions?
user11944
# Could parallel rivers flow in opposite directions?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-06)

Some rivers have been moving backwards. This got me thinking about an unusual idea.

Could there be terrain that causes two rivers, within a few miles of each other (10?), to flow in opposite directions? One flows east, the other flows west, passing each other by.

Is there anything like this on Earth already? Is it even possible?

**Tags:** hydrology, rivers

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Like the question, but what do you mean by "some rivers have been moving backwards"?  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-07. Score: 7

One of my favorites: The Columbia and Kootenay rivers. The Kootenay River initially flows southeast, parallel to the initial northwest flow of the Columbia River. The Kootenay passes within 2 kilometers of Columbia Lake, the source of the Columbia.

[![Map showing the Kootenay and Columbia rivers](https://i.sstatic.net/X49i1.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/X49i1.png)  
Source: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kootenay_River_Map.png>

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Even better is that both rivers have a stretch where they're flowing pretty much parallel to themselves :-)  
> **username_2**: @username_3 - Even better, both rivers eventually make close to 180 degree turns, and better yet, they eventually join.  
> **username_1**: The Duncan River doesn't hurt the entertaining nature of this either, almost continuing the alternating pattern.  
> **username_4**: Bonus for them being in the same drainage basin :-)  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2018-01-07. Score: 3

After about a minute of searching in what I thought was a likely place, here is an example from northern England.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/w8ffm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/w8ffm.jpg)

All you need is two valleys draining in opposite directions, which is not really a particularly interesting or uncommon occurrence.

Note the grid squares are 1 km x 1 km so these are pretty close.

Here's a bigger example I found from southern Greece. The two valleys are about 4 km apart in this example. The basic topographic setup is exactly the same as the previous example.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/G7Bko.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/G7Bko.jpg)


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