Rivers are the “nerve system” of the
continent’s ecology, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reminds us in his
foreword to Rivers of North America. As
population, industry and agriculture grow, the need for fresh water
increases. But meeting that demand often entails the wholesale
diverting, damming and draining of rivers.
Rivers of North America is the first
comprehensive effort to detail the current state of the
continent’s rivers. This marvelous resource began as a
coffee-table book. Four years later, ambitiously expanded, it
covers more than 200 rivers, from southern Mexico to the Arctic.
Its 22 chapters, written by scientists and hydrologists, discuss
specific basins or regions such as the Colorado River Basin and the
Pacific Coast rivers of Canada and Alaska. Rivers describes the
physiography, geomorphology, hydrology, biodiversity and ecology of
each system, in addition to detailing human impacts and special
features. Winner of a 2005 Award for Excellence in Projects and
Scholarly Publishing by the Association of American Publishers and
a Library Journal “Best Reference Work” citation, this
large-format, full-color volume contains copious maps and
illustrations.
The well-organized book conveys the
“bewildering heritage” of the continent’s rivers and examines
contemporary challenges. For example, the future of the Columbia as
a salmon river ecosystem is “bleak”; the Gila River no longer
reaches its historical mouth at the Colorado. However, the Koyukuk,
the last major tributary of the Yukon River upstream of the Bering
Sea, is “almost pristine” and borders the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. Here is yet another reason to resist North Slope drilling:
to conserve a rare gem at a time when experts say most rivers are
already beyond restoration.
As a research tool and
baseline guide — and as a prescription for wiser management
— Rivers of North America is well worth its hefty price.
Rivers of North America
Edited by Arthur C. Benke and Colbert E. Cushing
1,144
pages, hardcover: $99.95.
Elsevier Academic Press, 2005
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline An encyclopedia of rivers.
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