What Makes A River Clear?

A river is clearwater when it has a specific chemistry.

Water is the lifeblood of our planet. Everything on the surface of the earth subsists off of water, from the animals to the plants. Seventy-one percent of the earth’s surface is covered in water, and not all of it is the same.

Some waters are sparkling blue and green, while others are more muddied and brown. Then there are waters that are crystal clear, everything visible straight to the bottom of their depths.

Water like this is clean and unpolluted, with none of the average human runoff that can make the water look less than perfect.

You may wonder what can make a river clear and how the water ends up so stunningly clean. There are lots of reasons for this, but often when a river is a clearwater river, it is because it flows very fast.

Also, clearwater rivers tend to have a neutral ph balance, so they are not as acidic or harsh as other water. Most water has dissolved sediment and other debris, and clearwater rivers have much less of this.

Being a clearwater river doesn’t necessarily mean it will be perfectly clear and pristine but when the water rushes by on a calm day, it reflects the sky on it so that it is almost invisible.

Nature truly is captivating when it comes to all the different ways we can view something as seemingly simple as water. Nothing in nature is simple, though, not when these complex systems sustain life so fully on planet earth.

Clearwater rivers are a natural phenomenon that is breathtaking.

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