Underground Rivers - University of New Mexico

In a cave completely water
filled, flow is in the direction
of hydraulicx head, the
combination of pressure, and
elevation.
What though, if the cave's
not filled?
For cave rivers, there's no
problem if it's all downhill.
There's no problem with the
fluid mechanics, that is, but
there may be problems for
the boater.
An uphill exit isn't physically
impossible. Sufficiently-rapid
flow can shoot up an adverse
slope for a short distance,
though not to the flow's initial
elevation. The kayak ride
would be a quick one
Chapter 26 -- Subterranean Water Bodies
Chapters 16-25 contain a wealth of fictional underground rivers. Blyton's The River of Adventure
runs a river into a cavern. Wright's The Hidden Tribe runs the river back to daylight.
In the real world, outflowing caves substantially outnumber inflowing ones, and through-flowing
ones are rarer yet, but as we will see in chapters to follow, all three exist. All observe the same
mechanical rules that govern a river that's not beneath a lid.
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