E-QUIZ 21: River Banks
This weeks quiz asks, ” how do you determine the left from the right
bank of a river”.
This weeks quiz asks, ” how do you determine the left from the right
bank of a river”.
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July 30th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
The left and right banks are defined as such if you are going downstream; thus if you are floating downstream, the bank on your left is the left bank. If you are going upstream, the bank on your left is the right bank.
July 31st, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Sounds like how you determine the right and left sides of a vehicle….. The left side is the driver’s side and the right side is the passenger’s side…… Of course, if you are in some countries, such as the UK, where the driver is on the opposite side, then the rights and the lefts are reversed….. Sort of like the banks of a river changing R and L depending on your direction – upstream or downstream…. Am I confused yet?……
July 31st, 2006 at 4:00 pm
To MRambler, yes.
To Jek, can a river flow backwards? I believe it has happened. I’m going to give it to you anyway since you have the concept…..although you don’t know the bow from the stern in a raft and steer like a sailor after leave.
The correct answer is; “Stand with your back to the source and face to the sea or outlet”. Your right is the rivers right etc.
SPECIAL QUIZ FOR JEK WORTH 2.5 POINTS……..drifting a river, which end is the bow? Minus 2.5 points if you don’t get it.
July 31st, 2006 at 5:37 pm
“Stand with your back to the source and face the sea or outlet.” Doesn’t this definition falter when a river may temporarily run perpendicular (normal) to this source-outlet line, or even backtrack (possible, given the topography)? What about rivers that have multiple tributaries?
No, I’m not “drifting” for points.
August 1st, 2006 at 11:56 am
Huskysooner,
You have opened a “plethora” of unanswered questions of the most importance, worthy of a federal grant. Should we drop this weeks quiz, and Jeks points, until the government can answer these vital questions?
August 1st, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Nay, nay. I thought Jek’s explanation didn’t exhibit these problems.
August 1st, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Yes, until rivers run backwards then Jek’s explanation doesn’t work so well. (earthquakes, avalanches, tidal waves) But really, who gives a rats ass. We all know which way is up.
August 1st, 2006 at 6:28 pm
HS’s questions are good. Even if no one cares which bank is which in those conditions, his questions are still relevant for “Red Right Returning”. Here’s a good quiz back at ya Anon!: What does “Red Right Returning” refer to and why?
Bow == front. Stern == rear. I used to watch Star Trek you know.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Mr. Jek,
My family were all in the Navy. When returning to port keep red channel markers on your right…or else.
Yes, the bow is the front and the stern is the rear but which is which drifting a river.
I thought this weeks quiz would be good for anyone planning a trip to Paris.
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:43 pm
But, why would anyone want to go to Paris, Texas?…….
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:08 pm
I hear they have a big tower there and two banks.
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:00 pm
Nope, you must be thinking about that place they call Par-ee’ that’s located in one of those across the water foreign countries…… The one in Texas is flatland prairie and not much else…..
August 3rd, 2006 at 5:24 pm
I’ll bet they don’t have a Left Bank in Paris texas either.
August 8th, 2006 at 9:45 am
Evidently on certain fishing boats, the pointy end is still the bow even though it points upstream. I imagine that looks sort of silly drifting downstream, flat-part first (stern). My source? Anon himself.
August 8th, 2006 at 4:38 pm
In response to an earlier question, “Can a river run backwards?”, the answer is yes, but only in a limited sense. I’m excluding earthquakes, tidal waves, hurricanes, etc. as exceptional events (though each could conceivably reverse the flow of a river for a brief time). The example I’m thinking of here is a river that routinely reverses itself for some significant length of time and distance. All rivers that actually end at the sea will tend to have a form of tidal reversal (“backwash” if you will) during high tide. Certain offshoots of the Amazon experience this phenomenon in such a strong form that they actually reverse their flow for several miles upstream (temporarily downstream). This surge is actually strong enough to produce significant waves that good surfers can ride for several miles upstream. Of course, you have to avoid logs, debris, salt water crocodiles, anacondas, and the occasional piranha to make the trip (just kidding on the piranha), but it’s supposed to be quite the journey for a surfer…
August 8th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Jek is referring to a conversation we had about drift boats…..where the pointy end faces up stream while the rower and flat end face down stream…..The direction of travel determining which end is the bow.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
ie. the flat end pointing down stream in the direction of travel is now the bow. The pointy end is the stern. (Jek, the pointy end in this case is not the bow)
August 10th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Lawman,
Also in the lower Columbia River where the tide reverses the flow upstream for some miles, as you no doubt noticed at Jeks and Tarns wedding.