Water temps

Question
What end of a lake or river heats up the fastest in the early spring? The north or the south?

Answer
Zach; The South end and the North end of a lake warm faster.

Both of the above are true but it depends on whether you live in the Northern or the Southern hemisphere.

Joking aside, the northern area of a lake will often heat up faster than the southern side in the Northern Hemisphere.  The reason for this is that the sun is always somewhere to the South anyplace above the Tropic of Cancer. The opposite is true if the lake is in the Southern hemisphere.    The only time this is not true is on the moment, actually the instant the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer. (Capricorn, in the Southern Hemisphere. All of this means that the sun hits the North shore of a lake for a longer period of the day than it hits the Southern shore.   There might be occasions when this would not hold true because of some natural or man made obstruction to the sun's hitting the North shore.  A line of tall trees on an island running parallel to the Northern shoreline might keep that shoreline in shade much of the day.

Other factors might interfere also.  For example if the water along the Northern shore line is very clear while that along the Southern shoreline is muddy due to a river or creek emptying in on that side.  Muddy water absorbs sunshine easier than clear water.  There may be other factors such as wind, clouds or currents preventing the North shore from warming faster than the Southern shore.

This isn't a homework question is it?  Well anyway, I hope this has answered your question.
Thank you for calling on me to answer your question.

I am
Jack L. Gaither        (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia