The River Flows North - But It's Not Unique!

[Ocklawaha]

Rivers That Flow North
(actually downhill) in a northerly direction

THE FACTS: Unless the land it totally flat, rivers of water run downhill. The vast percentage of rivers on the planet flow in
a southerly direction because the source (usually in the mountains) is to the north of the mouth.

If the source of a river is at a higher elevation than the mouth, that river will run from the source to the mouth. However,
if that (higher) source is to the south of the mouth, that river will then flow to the north (downhill).

Below is a partial list of rivers (length listed when known) that do just that. We haven't listed rivers that run to the northwest,
or rivers that don't meet the exact requirements

Athabasca Alberta, Canada, 765 miles
Bann Northern Ireland, 80 miles
Bighorn Wyoming and Montana, USA, 336 miles
Cauca Colombia, 597 miles
Deschutes Oregon, USA, 250 miles
Eel Northern California, USA, 78 miles
Erne Ireland and Northern Ireland, 60 miles
Essequibo Guyana, 600 miles
Fox Wisconsin, USA, 200 miles
Genesee New York, USA, 144 miles
Jordan Utah, USA, 45 miles
Lena Russian Federation, 2735 miles
Little Bighorn, Wyoming and Montana, USA, 80 miles
Magdalena Colombia, 1062 miles
Mojave Southern California, USA, 100 miles
Monongahela Eastern USA, 128 miles
New Virginia and West Virginia, USA, 255 miles    
Niagara Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, USA/Canada, 39 miles
Nile Africa, 4150 miles
Ob Russian Federation, 2289 miles
OCKLAWAHA, Florida, 74 miles
Oswego New York, USA, 24 miles
Otter Creek Vermont, USA, 75 miles
Pend Oreille Washington, USA, 62 miles
Red Minnesota, North Dakota, USA (into Canada),
318 miles
Richelieu Quebec, Canada, 208 miles
Saginaw Michigan, USA, 20 miles
Saint Johns Florida, USA, 275 miles
San Joaquin, California, USA, 366 miles
San Pedro Mexico (into Arizona), 142 miles
Shennandoah Virginia and West Virginia, USA, 55 miles
Truckee, California, 121 miles
Withlacoochee, Florida, 157 miles
Wilamette Oregon, USA, 188 miles
Wallkill New Jersey and New York, USA, 88 miles
Yellowstone, WI, MT and ND, USA 670 miles
Yenisey Russian Federation, 2548 miles
Youghiogheny Eastern USA, 151 miles

[riverkeepered]

What actually makes the St. Johns unique is its gradient.  The St. Johns only drops about 27 feet over its 310 mile length, or about an inch a mile.  As a result, it has been called one of the laziest rivers in the world.   Due to tidal influences and the slow flow, our river does not flush itself efficiently.  Pollutants that are discharged into the St. Johns stay in the river for a long time.  Dredging the river will cause more saltwater to push farther upstream while water withdrawals in Central Florida would further reduce its flow, increasing residency time and concentrations of pollutants.

[Ocklawaha]

I get the gradient part but I do not believe the river will be any more damaged by making it deeper then it is today. The difference in volume of salt water filling that void, will be equalized by a similar amount of fresh water filling it in cycle. Drawing water out in Orlando, and running a 'pollution pipe' from GP to the middle of the river are far more risky, IMO.