From a detailed study of the momentum transport equation for charged gaseous fluids moving through a neutral gas, it is suggested that the equatorial F‐region electron‐density distribution (the geomagnetic anomaly) is simply the natural steady‐state distribution one would expect for charged fluids under the influence of gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields and production and loss, when interaction with the neutral medium is negligible. It is shown that this steady‐state distribution maintains itself by means of a longitudinal current system, and a study of the properties of this longitudinal current system leads to a technique for its complete mapping in the upper F region of the ionosphere. Quite importantly, it is shown that the latitudinal electron‐density distribution that characterizes the equatorial anomaly cannot exist when the longitudinal current system is absent. The study of the longitudinal current system also demonstrates the possibility of large errors in temperature calculations that utilize vertical density slope measurements to determine scale height, and a technique is suggested to correct such calculations. Finally, using cited measurements for support, it is possible to suggest the mechanisms responsible for the diurnal and asymmetric behavior of the anomaly.