Im living next to the rhine river in Germany and while sitting next to it I started to wonder: why does it never stop, even though the water is always flowing in the same direction? Where does it come from? Where does it go? Where does it come from, river flow joe?
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Rivers are basically “draining” the “excess” water in a given area. The water starts in the area as precipitation, snow, rain, hail, etc. It accumulates often in the mountains and then “drains” downward to lakes or reservoirs and then flow out downhill towards the ocean (usually) as rivers. Some rivers definitely stop flowing when the water runs out, and then come back the following season. Many rivers keep flowing because there is enough water because the area it drains is so large. The Mississippi River drains like a third of North America.
In a place with mountains and a snowpack, often the river will flow all year round because the last of it melts, hangs out in a lake for a time, and then keeps flowing in time for the next season to start falling.
Sun heats ocean. Hot+water=steam. Steam rises. Wind blows steam into mountain. Mountain cools, steam. Cool+steam=water. Rains onto mountain causing a river.
Also, most rivers do stop, and all rivers at least slow down and speed up seasonally.
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