Geostrophic contour
= Geostrophic contour
{title2=$H/f=\mathrm{constant}$}
In nearly columnar flow between rigid boundaries, a geostrophic contour is a contour of column height divided by the <Coriolis parameter>. If relative <vorticity> is negligible, conservation of <shallow-water potential vorticity> constrains leading <geostrophic flow> to these contours. Motion across them stretches or squashes columns, generating relative <vorticity>; for constant $f$, the contours are simply contours of $H$.