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Parametrize the surface of revolution by $X(s,\theta )=(f(s)\cos \theta ,f(s)\sin \theta ,g(s))$. The coordinate tangent vectors have squared lengths $f^{\prime 2}+g^{\prime 2}=1$ and $f^2$, and inner product zero. Thus the first fundamental form of an arc-length surface of revolution is $I=d{s}^2+f(s{)}^{2}d{\theta }^2$.

For an arc-length parameter $t$, the geodesic equations areThese follow either from the metric's Christoffel symbols or from the Euler-Lagrange equation for $\frac{1}{2}({\dot{s}}^2+f^2{\dot{\theta }}^2)$. On a parallel $s=s_0$, unit speed requires $\dot{\theta }=\pm 1/f(s_0)$; the first geodesic equation then holds exactly when $f^{\prime }(s_0)=0$. Thus geodesic parallels of a surface of revolution are precisely the critical points of the radius function.

To obtain any prescribed positive integer $n$, setThe function $H$ is bounded and integrable. Choose $\epsilon >0$ so $\epsilon \sup |H|<1$, and choose $R>\epsilon {\int }_{\mathbb{R}}|H|$. Then $f>0$, $g$ is smooth, and $f^{\prime 2}+g^{\prime 2}=1$. The derivative $f^{\prime }=\epsilon H$ vanishes at exactly $1,\dots ,n$. Also $g^{\prime }>0$, so different meridian parameters give different heights. The resulting surface has exactly $n$ geodesic parallels.

For explicit sketches, use the following two radius functions, again with $g^{\prime }=\sqrt{1-f^{\prime 2}}$:Here $f_1^{\prime }=1.2s{e}^{-s^2}$ has only the zero $0$, while $f_2^{\prime }=0.6(s^2-1)e^{-s^2}$ has exactly the zeros $-1,1$. Both radii stay positive and both derivatives have absolute value below one. The highlighted rings are the geodesic parallels; the surfaces continue beyond the displayed window.

If every parallel is a geodesic, then $f^{\prime }=0$ everywhere, so $f=R$ is a positive constant. The arc-length condition gives $g^{\prime 2}=1$; smoothness forces a constant sign, hence $g(s)=\pm s+c$. The surface is a circular cylinder of radius $R$. It is a circular cylinder because the meridian is a straight line parallel to the axis.