Settling rivers vs the coast

[paralistalon]

Here's something I don't really get. You get higher max population for settling near a river, lake, or oasis. The civopedia says that one reason for this is that rivers provide fresh water for people to drink and to irrigate their crops with. But aren't rivers mostly saltwater? At least, if they are fed from the ocean they are. But settling near the ocean only gives one bonus pop compared to the three you get from a river! Can someone help me reconcile this?

 

[Siptah]

no, rivers are not mostly saltwater. This is really an exception.

 

[Sascha77]

But aren't rivers mostly saltwater?

Say what?

A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river.Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle.

(...)

Water generally collects in a river from precipitation through a drainage basin from surface runoff and other sources such as groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and snowpacks (e.g. from glaciers).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River

So rivers are almost always a source of freshwater. That's one of the reasons why - historically - humans have settled near rivers and why so many of the oldest and biggest cities in the world are near rivers. Like London (Thames), Paris (Seine), Cologne (Rhine), Rome (Tiber), etc.



S.

 

[Olleus]

Rivers are not fed by the ocean. They flow into the ocean. That's just gravity.

 

[Gtdead]

Rivers are rain water flowing from a mountain into the sea. So no, it's not really salt water ;p

 

[leon_daking]

how would a river originate from an ocean? the land would have to be below sea level...

there are rivers where sea water seeps into the stream (some US rivers i think) and some have high salt or sulfur depending on the geology they pass through, but other than that, it should be good to use on crops. definitely better than sea water.

 

[paralistalon]

Oh, my mistake. I grew up in Florida near the coast so a lot of our "rivers" were salt water from what I remember.

 

[Browd]

Here's an article about estuaries, salt water intrusions and the like: https://www.quora.com/Do-saltwater-rivers-exist

 

[bmrigs]

Oh, my mistake. I grew up in Florida near the coast so a lot of our "rivers" were salt water from what I remember.

they are brackish water where the Everglades meet the ocean or gulf.