RiverSafe - Activities

Correct

Eddies

An eddy is the area of swirling water that forms behind an obstacle in the river like a boulder.

River corners will almost always have an eddy on the inside of the corner. Often the water flow will reverse and flow back upstream. Eddies can be quiet flat water turbulent and swirling whirlpool-like.

The area where the downstream current meets the eddy is called the eddyline. The eddyline mixes the flow in an unpredictable way and can draw swimmers under the surface.

Whitewater is aerated (full of air bubbles) and is not very buoyant so it does not support a swimmer like normal water.

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