Enter your travel speed (distance per hour) and the total time spent traveling into the calculator to estimate the total river miles traveled (trip distance). This calculator can also evaluate any of the variables given the others are known.
River Miles Formula
The following formula is used to estimate river miles traveled (trip distance) from average speed and time.
RM = D * T
Variables:
- RM is the total river miles traveled (total distance traveled)
- D is the average travel speed (distance per hour)
- D is commonly measured in miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (km/h)
- T is the total time spent traveling (hours)
To calculate the total river miles traveled, multiply the average travel speed by the total time spent traveling. This will give you the total distance traveled (in miles or kilometers, depending on the units selected). Note: this is a trip-distance calculation and is not the same as a fixed “river mile” marker used for navigation charts.
What Are River Miles?
The term river miles is often used in two ways. (1) In navigation and river management, a river mile is a fixed reference measured along the river channel from the river’s mouth (or from the confluence where that river begins) to a point upstream. (2) In trip planning, people also say “river miles” to mean the number of miles traveled on a river. This page and calculator use the second meaning: estimating how far you travel based on speed and time (optionally adjusted for current).
How to Calculate River Miles?
The following steps outline how to calculate the River Miles (RM) using the formula RM = D * T.
- First, determine your average travel speed (D) in miles per hour.
- Next, determine the total time spent traveling (T) in hours.
- Next, gather the formula from above = RM = D * T.
- Finally, calculate the River Miles (RM) by multiplying the average travel speed (D) by the total time spent traveling (T).
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem :
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
distance traveled per hour (D) = 10 miles per hour
total time spent traveling (T) = 5 hours, so RM = 10 × 5 = 50 miles traveled
