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Encyclopedic
Entry
Encyclopedic Entry
The Jinsha is nicknamed
"the River of Golden
Sands."
Photograph by Xi Luo,
MyShot
Germ-Killing Ganges
Hindus have always
believed that the water of
the Ganges River has
purifying powers.
Although millions of
people bathe in the river
regularly, it does not
usually spread cholera,
typhoid, or other water-
borne diseases. Scientists
have found that unique
bacteriophagesviruses
that destroy bacteriakill
germs in the water of the
Ganges.
A river is a large, natural stream of flowing water. Rivers are
found on every continent and on nearly every kind of land.
Some flow all year round. Others flow seasonally or during
wet years. A river may be only kilometers long, or it may span
much of a continent.
The longest rivers in the world are the Nile in Africa and the
Amazon in South America. Both rivers flow through many
countries. For centuries, scientists have debated which river
is longer. Measuring a river is difficult because it is hard to
pinpoint its exact beginning and end. Also, the length of rivers
can change as they meander, are dammed, or their deltas
grow and recede.
The Amazon is estimated to be between 6,259 kilometers
(3,903 miles) and 6,800 kilometers (4,225 miles) long. The
Nile is estimated to be between 5,499 kilometers (3,437
miles) and 6,690 kilometers (4,180 miles) long. There is no
debate, however, that the Amazon carries more water than
any other river on Earth. Approximately one-fifth of all the
freshwater entering the oceans comes from the Amazon.
Rivers are important for many reasons. One of the most
important things they do is carry large quantities of water from
the land to the ocean. There, seawater constantly evaporates.
The resulting water vapor forms clouds. Clouds carry
moisture over land and release it as precipitation. This
freshwater feeds rivers and smaller streams. The movement
of water between land, ocean, and air is called the water
cycle. The water cycle constantly replenishes Earths supply
of freshwater, which is essential for almost all living things.
Anatomy of a River
Key Concepts
basins currents dams deltas erosion
freshwater hydroelectric energy
landscape mouths physical
geography rapids rivers sources
streams trade tributaries
watersheds waterways
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In addition, the Ganges
holds up to 25 times more
dissolved oxygen than
any other river in the
world. The oxygen helps
prevent putrefaction
(rotting) of organic matter
in the river. Scientists do
not know why the river
retains so much oxygen.
Mythical Rivers
The ancient Greeks
believed that five rivers
encircled Hades, the
underworld. These rivers
are Styx (hate),
Phlegethon (fire), Acheron
(sorrow), Cocytus
(lamentation or sadness),
and Lethe (forgetting).
The Greeks believed that
dead souls had to cross
the River Acheron, a
branch of the Styx, to
reach the underworld.
They crossed on a ferry
piloted by Charon, the
ferryman of Hades.
Flip-Flopping Flow
The Amazon River used
to flow in the opposite
direction. Today, the river
flows from the mountains
of Peru in the west to the
Atlantic Ocean in the east.
But millions of years ago,
it actually flowed from
east to west, emptying
into the Pacific Ocean.
The flow flipped when the
Andes mountains started
growing at the end of the
Cretaceous period
(around 65 million years
ago).
No two rivers are exactly alike. Yet all rivers have certain
features in common and go through similar stages as they
age.
The beginning of a river is called its source or headwaters.
The source may be a melting glacier, such as the Gangotri
Glacier, the source of the Ganges River in Asia. The source
could be melting snow, such as the snows of the Andes,
which feed the Amazon River. A rivers source could be a lake
with an outflowing stream, such as Lake Itasca in the U.S.
state of Minnesota, the source of the Mississippi River. A
spring bubbling out of the ground can also be the headwaters
of a river. The source of the Danube River is a spring in the
Black Forest of Germany.
From its source, a river flows downhill as a small stream.
Precipitation and groundwater add to the rivers flow. It is also
fed by other streams, called tributaries. For instance, the
Amazon River receives water from more than 1,000
tributaries. Together, a river and its tributaries make up a river
system. A river system is also called a drainage basin or
watershed. A rivers watershed includes the river, all its
tributaries, and any groundwater resources in the area.
The end of a river is its mouth. Here, the river empties into
another body of watera larger river, a lake, or the ocean.
Many of the largest rivers empty into the ocean.
The flowing water of a river has great power to carve and
shape the landscape. Many landforms, like the Grand Canyon
in the U.S. state of Arizona, were sculpted by rivers over time.
This process is called weathering or erosion.
The energy of flowing river water comes from the force of
gravity, which pulls the water downward. The steeper the
slope of a river, the faster the river moves and the more
energy it has.
The movement of water in a river is called a current. The
current is usually strongest near the rivers source. Storms
can also increase the current. A swift current can move even
large boulders. These break apart, and the pieces that are
carried in the moving water scrape and dig into the river
bottom, or bed.
Little by little, a river tears away rocks and soil along its bed,
and carries them downstream. The river carves a narrow,
V-shaped valley. Rapids and waterfalls are common to rivers,
particularly near their sources.
Eventually, the river flows to lower land. As the slope of its
course flattens, the river cuts less deeply into its bed. Instead,
it begins to wind from side to side in looping bends called
meanders. This action widens the river valley.
At the same time, the river begins to leave behind some of the
rocks, sand, and other solid material it collected upstream.
This material is called sediment. Once the sediment is
deposited, it is called alluvium. Alluvium may contain a great
deal of eroded topsoil from upstream and from the banks of
its meanders. Because of this, a river deposits very fertile soil
on its flood plain. A flood plain is the area next to the river that
is subject to flooding.
The deepest part of a river bed is called a channel. The
channel is usually located in the middle of a river. Here, the
current is often strong. In large rivers, ships travel in
channels. Engineers may dredge, or dig, deeper channels so
more water can flow through the river or the river can
transport larger ships.
Near the end of its journey, the river slows and may appear to
move sluggishly. It has less energy to cut into the land, and it
can no longer carry a heavy load of sediment. Where the river
meets the ocean or a lake, it may deposit so much sediment
that new land, a delta, is formed.
Not all rivers have deltas. The Amazon does not have a true
delta, for instance. The strength of the tides and currents of
the Atlantic Ocean prevent the build-up of sediment. Deltas
almost always have fertile soil. The Nile Delta and the
Ganges Delta are the chief agricultural areas for Egypt and
Bangladesh, for instance.
Rivers Through History
Rivers have always been important to people. In prehistoric
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times, people settled along the banks of rivers, where they
found fish to eat and water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.
Later, people learned that the fertile soil along rivers is good
for growing crops. The worlds first great civilizations arose in
the fertile flood plains of the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in
southern Asia, the Tigris and the Euphrates in the Middle
East, and the Huang (Yellow) in China.
Centuries later, rivers provided routes for trade, exploration,
and settlement. The Volga River in Eastern Europe allowed
Scandinavian and Russian cultures, near the source of the
river, to trade goods and ideas with Persian cultures, near the
mouth of the Volga in southern Europe. The Hudson River in
the U.S. state of New York is named after English explorer
Henry Hudson, who used the river to explore what was then
the New World.
When towns and industries developed, the rushing water of
rivers supplied power to operate machinery. Hundreds of
factories operated mills powered by the Thames in England,
the Mississippi in the United States, and the Ruhr in
Germany.
Rivers remain important today. If you look at a world map, you
will see that many well-known cities are on rivers. Great river
cities include New York City, New York; Buenos Aires,
Argentina; London, England; Cairo, Egypt; Kolkata, India; and
Shanghai, China. In fact, rivers are usually the oldest parts of
cities. Paris, France, for instance, was named after the Iron
Age people known as the Parisii, who lived on the islands and
banks of the Seine River, which flows through the city.
Rivers continue to provide transportation routes, water for
drinking and for irrigating farmland, and power for homes and
industries.
Rivers of Europe
The longest river in Europe is the Volga. It flows
approximately 3,685 kilometers (2,290 miles) across Russia
and empties into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has been used
for centuries to transport timber from northern forests, grain
from farms along its valley, and manufactured goods. The
river is also known for its sturgeon, a type of large fish whose
eggs are used to make a famous delicacyRussian caviar.
The Thames, in England, is one of Europes most historic
rivers. Along its banks stands the city of London, a bustling
urban area for more than a thousand years. By 100 CE,
London had already become an important Roman settlement
and trading post. Because of its location on the river and near
the seacoast, London became Englands principal city and
trade center.
Europes busiest river is the Rhine, which runs from the Alps
in Switzerland, through Germany and the Netherlands, and
empties into the North Sea. It flows through many industrial
and farming regions and carries barges laden with farm
products, coal, iron ore, and a variety of manufactured goods.
Rivers of Asia
Asias longest and most important river is the Yangtze, in
China. It flows from the Dangla Mountains, between Tibet and
Chinas Qinghai province. It empties in the East China Sea
6,300 kilometers (3,915 miles) later. The Yangtze is a
highway for trade through the worlds most populous country.
The Yangtze is also an agricultural river. Its valley is a major
rice-growing region, and its water is used to irrigate fields.
Many Chinese live on the river in houseboats or sailboats
called junks.
The Yangtze River is the home of the worlds most powerful
hydroelectric power plant, the Three Gorges Dam. Eventually,
the plant will be able to constantly produce 22,500 megawatts
of power. Chinas rural population will have access to
affordable electricity for homes, businesses, schools, and
hospitals. Creating the Three Gorges Dam was one of the
largest engineering feats in history. Engineers dammed the
Yangtze, creating a 39.3-cubic-kilometer (31.9 million acre-
foot) reservoir, or artificial lake.
The Ganges is the greatest river on Asia's Indian
subcontinent. It is sacred to the millions of followers of the
Hindu religion. For thousands of years, Hindus have
worshipped the river as a goddess, Ganga Ma (Mother
Ganges). Hindus believe the rivers water purifies the soul
and heals the body. Millions of people use the Ganges every
day for bathing, drinking, and industry.
The historic Tigris and Euphrates river system flows from
Turkey through Syria and Iraq and into the Persian Gulf. The
rivers lie in an area called the Fertile Crescent. The region
between the two rivers, known as Mesopotamia, is the so-
called cradle of civilization. The earliest evidence of
civilization and agriculturefarming and domestication of
animalsappears in the Fertile Crescent.
Rivers of North America
In North America, rivers served as highways for native tribes
and, later, for European explorers.
French explorers began traveling the St. Lawrence and other
rivers of Canada in the 1500s. They found an abundance of
fish and other wildlife, and they encountered Native American
tribes who hunted beaver. The explorers took beaver pelts
back to Europe, where they were used to make fashionable
hats. Soon, hunters explored and traveled networks of rivers
in North America in search of beaver pelts. The establishment
of trading posts along the rivers later opened the way for
permanent European settlers.
The St. Lawrence River is still a major waterway. The river,
which empties into the Atlantic, is linked to the Great Lakes by
the St. Lawrence Seawaya series of canals, locks, dams,
and lakes. The St. Lawrence Seaway allows oceangoing
ships to enter the interior of the continent.
The Mississippi is the chief river of North America. It flows
approximately 3,766 kilometers (2,340 miles) through the
heart of the United States, from its source in Minnesota to its
delta in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.
Spanish and French explorers first traveled the Mississippi in
the 1500s and 1600s. In 1803, the United States bought
almost the entire Mississippi River Valley from France as part
of the Louisiana Purchase. After that, the Mississippi was
widely traveled by traders and settlers on rafts, boats, and
barges.
With the introduction of the steamboat, a new, industrial, era
began on the Mississippi. Paddle wheelers carried trade
goods up and down the river. Soon, workboats were joined by
cruise ships and other luxurious passenger vessels. Writer
Mark Twain, who was once a steamboat pilot on the river,
described this era in his book Life on the Mississippi.
Over time, the Mississippi increased in importance as a trade
route. Today, it carries cargo ships and barges in lines that
may extend for more than a kilometer. Large quantities of
petroleum, coal, and other bulky goods are conveyed on the
river by massive barges pushed by powerful towboats.
North Americas Colorado River is famous for forming the
Grand Canyon in Arizona. For millions of years, the river has
cut its way through layers of rock to carve the canyon. Long
ago, the river flowed through a flat plain. Then the Earths
crust began to rise, lifting the land. The river began cutting
into the land. The Grand Canyon is now about one and a half
kilometers (one mile) deep at its deepest point, and 29
kilometers (18 miles) wide at its widest.
Rivers of South America
The strength of the Amazon River in South America dwarfs all
other rivers on the planet. The amount of water flowing
through the Amazon is greater than the amount carried by the
Mississippi, the Yangtze, and the Nile combined.
The Amazon begins as an icy stream high in the Andes
mountains of Peru. It flows through Brazil and empties into
the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon and its tributaries drain a
basin that covers an area equal to three-fourths of the
contiguous United States.
The first Europeans to see the Amazon were Spanish
explorers, who traveled it in the 1500s. They encountered a
group of natives who all appeared to be women, or so the
story goes. The explorers called the people Amazons, after
female warriors described in Greek mythology. The name
Amazon was later given to the river.
For much of its course, the Amazon flows through the worlds
largest tropical rain forest. The region has abundant and
unusual wildlife, including flesh-eating fish called piranhas;
huge fish called pirarucu, which can weigh more than 125
kilograms (275 pounds); and giant snakes called anacondas.
Some Amazon tribes remain independent of Western culture.
The Tagaeri people, for instance, continue to live a nomadic
life based around the Amazon and its tributaries in the rain
forest of Ecuador. Because of the demand for timber from the
rain forest, the land of the indigenous people of the Amazon is
shrinking. Today, there are fewer than 100 Tagaeri living in
the rain forest.
Rivers provide energy to many South American communities.
The Itaip Dam crosses the Paran River on the Brazil-
Paraguay border. Construction of the dam required the labor
of thousands of workers and cost more than $12 billion. The
dams power plant can regularly produce some 12,600
megawatts of electricity. The huge reservoir formed by the
dam supplies water for drinking and for irrigation.
Rivers of Africa
Africas two largest rivers are the Nile and the Congo.
One tributary of the Nile, the White Nile, flows from tiny
streams in the mountains of Burundi through Lake Victoria,
Africas largest lake. The other tributary, the Blue Nile, begins
in Lake Tana, Ethiopia. The two join at Khartoum, Sudan. The
Nile then flows through the Sahara Desert in Sudan and
Egypt, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Because the
area where the tributaries meet is close to the two sources of
the Nile, the area is called the Upper Nile, even though it is
farther south geographically. The Lower Nile runs through
Egypt.
One of the earliest civilizations in the world developed along
the Lower Nile. Ancient Egyptian civilization arose about
5,000 years ago. It was directly related to the Nile and its
annual flooding. Each year, the river overflowed, spreading
rich sediment across its broad flood plain. This made the land
extremely fertile. Egyptian farmers were able to grow plentiful
crops. In fact, ancient Egyptians called their land Kemet,
which means Black Land, because of the rich, black soil
deposited by the river.
Egyptians also used the Nile as a major transportation route
to both the Mediterranean and the African interior. The
Pschent, or double crown worn by Egyptian monarchs,
combined symbolism from both the Upper Nile and Lower
Nile. A tall, white crown shaped like a bowling pin represented
the lands of the Upper Nile. This crown was combined with a
pointy red crown that had a curly wire protruding from the
front. The red color symbolized the red soils of Lower Egypt,
while the curly wire represented a honeybee. When putting on
the Pschent, an Egyptian ruler assumed leadership for the
entire Nile.
The Nile provided enterprising Egyptians with material to form
a powerful civilization. From papyrus, a tall reed that grew in
the river, Egyptians made a sort of paper, as well as rope,
cloth, and baskets. Egyptians also built great cities, temples,
and monuments along the river, including tombs for their
monarchs, or pharaohs. Many of these ancient monuments
are still standing.
The Congo River flows across the middle of Africa, through a
huge equatorial rain forest, before emptying in the Atlantic
Ocean. The Congo is second only to the Amazon in terms of
water flow. It is the deepest river in the world, with measured
depths of more than 230 meters (750 feet). Huge urban
areas, including the capital cities of Brazzaville, Republic of
Congo, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, sit on
the banks of the river.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the river is the principal
highway for transporting goods such as cotton, coffee, and
sugar. Boats traveling the river range from dugout canoes to
large freighters.
The river also supplies an abundance of fish to central Africa.
Fishermen use baskets and nets hung from high poles across
rushing falls and rapids to catch fish. They also use more
traditional nets operated from either onshore or on boats.
Rivers of Australia
Much of Australia is arid, but rivers still run through it.
Australias principal rivers are the Murray and the Darling,
both in the southeastern part of the continent. The Murray
flows some 2,590 kilometers (1,610 miles) from the Snowy
Mountains to a lagoon on the Indian Ocean. Near the town of
Wentworth, the Murray is joined by the Darling, a 2,739-
kilometer (1,702-mile) river that flows from the highlands of
the eastern coast.
Indigenous Australians placed great importance on the
Murray River. The Murray valley had the greatest population
density on the continent before the arrival of Europeans in the
1600s.
By the mid-1800s, European farmers had settled along both
rivers and some of their tributaries. Most Australian farmers
raised sheep and cattle. Riverboats began plying the waters,
and towns grew up along the banks.
Much of Australias farmland still lies within the Murray-
Darling basin, where river water irrigates some 1.2 million
hectares (3 million acres). The region is the chief supplier of
the countrys agricultural exportswool, beef, wheat, and
oranges.
Polluted Rivers
For centuries, people have depended on rivers for many
things. Rivers have provided waterways for shipping,
convenient construction sites for cities, and fertile land for
farming. Such extensive use of rivers has contributed to their
pollution. River pollution has come from directly dumping
garbage and sewage, disposal of toxic wastes from factories,
and agricultural runoff containing fertilizers and pesticides.
By the 1960s, many of the worlds rivers were so polluted that
fish and other wildlife could no longer survive in them. Their
waters became unsafe for drinking, swimming, and other
uses. One of the most famous examples of a polluted river
was the Cuyahoga. The Cuyahoga is a busy river in the U.S.
state of Ohio that empties into Lake Erie. It is a major highway
for goods and services from the Midwest to the Great Lakes.
In 1969, the oily pollution in the Cuyahoga was so great that
the river actually caught firesomething it had done more
than a dozen times in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Since the 1969 fire, stricter laws have helped clean up
polluted rivers. The laws have restricted the substances
factories can dump into rivers, limited the amount of
agricultural runoff, banned toxic pesticides such as DDT, and
required treatment of sewage.
Although the situation in some parts of the world has
improved, serious problems remain. The Citarum River in
Indonesia, for instance, is often cited as the most polluted
river in the world. Textile factories near the Citarum dump
toxic wastes into the river. The garbage floating on top of the
river is so thick that water is invisible.
Even after communities have limited river pollution, toxic
chemicals may remain. Many pollutants take years to
dissolve. The pollutants also build up in the rivers wildlife.
Toxic chemicals may cling to algae, which are eaten by
insects or fish, which are then eaten by larger fish or people.
At each stage of the rivers food web, the amount of the toxic
chemical increases.
In parts of North America and Europe, there is also the severe
problem of acid rain. Acid rain develops when emissions from
factories and vehicles mix with moisture in the air. The acid
that forms can be toxic for many living things. Acid rain falls
as rain and snow. It builds up in glaciers, streams, and lakes,
polluting water and killing wildlife.
Environmentalists, governments, and communities are trying
to understand and solve these pollution problems. To provide
safe drinking water and habitats where fish and other wildlife
can thrive, rivers must be kept clean.
Dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or diverts the flow of water along
a river. Humans have built dams for thousands of years.
Dams are built for many purposes. Some dams prevent
flooding or allow people to develop or reclaim land
Vocabulary
previously submerged by a river. Other dams are used to
change a rivers course for the benefit of development or
agriculture. Still others provide water supplies for nearby rural
or urban areas. Many dams are used to provide electricity to
local communities.
In 1882, the worlds first hydroelectric power plant was built
on the Fox River in the U.S. city of Appleton, Wisconsin.
Since then, thousands of hydroelectric plants have been built
on rivers all over the world. These plants harness the energy
of flowing water to produce electricity. About 7 percent of all
power in the United States, and 19 percent of power in the
world, comes from hydroelectric plants. China is the worlds
largest producer of hydroelectric power.
Hydroelectric power is renewable because water is constantly
replenished through precipitation. Because hydroelectric
plants do not burn fossil fuels, they do not emit pollution or
greenhouse gases. However, hydroelectric power does have
some negative effects on the environment.
Dams and hydroelectric plants change the flow and
temperature of rivers. These changes to the ecosystem can
harm fish and other wildlife that live in or near the river. And
although hydroelectric plants do not release greenhouse
gases, rotting vegetation trapped in the dams reservoirs can
produce them. Decaying plant material emits carbon dioxide,
a major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
Dams also have an effect on people living near the rivers. For
example, more than 1.3 million people had to move from their
homes to make way for Chinas Three Gorges Dam and its
reservoir. Human rights organizations claim that many of
these people did not receive the compensation they were
promised in return for being displaced.
In addition, dams can affect fish populations and the fertility of
flood plains. Fish may not be able to migrate and spawn.
Farmers that depended on the fertile flooding may be cut off
from the river by a dam. This can harm the livelihood of
fishermen and farmers who live along the river, as well as
consumers who must pay higher prices for food.
Dams with very large reservoirs may also trigger earthquakes.
Earthquakes happen when two or more of the tectonic plates
that make up Earths crust slide against each other. The
weight of the water in the reservoirs can cause existing
cracks, or faults, in these plates to slip and create an
earthquake.
River Management
River management is the process of balancing the needs of
many stakeholders, or communities that depend on rivers.
Rivers provide natural habitats for fish, birds, and other
wildlife. They also provide recreation areas and sporting
opportunities such as fishing and kayaking.
Industries also depend on rivers. Rivers transport goods and
people across continents. They provide affordable power for
millions of homes and businesses.
Farmers and agribusinesses often rely on rivers for
transportation. Rivers also supply water for irrigation.
River managers must consider the needs of all the current
and future stakeholders.
abundance Noun large amount.
acid rain Noun precipitation with high
levels of nitric and sulfuric
acids. Acid rain can be
manmade or occur
naturally.
agribusiness Noun the strategy of applying
profit-making practices to
Term Part of Speech Definition Encyclopedic Entry
the operation of farms and
ranches.
agriculture Noun the art and science of
cultivating the land for
growing crops (farming) or
raising livestock (ranching).
algae Plural Noun (singular: alga) diverse
group of aquatic organisms,
the largest of which are
seaweeds.
alluvium Noun gravel, sand, and smaller
materials deposited by
flowing water.
Amazon Noun in ancient Greek
mythology, a woman
belonging to a tribe of all-
female warriors.
anaconda Noun very large snake native to
South America.
annual Adjective yearly.
arid Adjective dry.
bacteria Plural Noun (singular: bacterium) single-
celled organisms found in
every ecosystem on Earth.
bacteriophage Noun virus that infects bacteria.
barge Noun large, flat-bottomed boat
used to transport cargo.
Blue Nile Noun tributary of the Nile River
flowing from Lake Tana in
Ethiopia and meeting the
White Nile at Khartoum,
Sudan, to form the Nile
River.
boulder Noun large rock.
bustling Adjective busy.
canal Noun artificial waterway.
canyon Noun deep, narrow valley with
steep sides.
carbon Noun chemical element with the
symbol C, which forms the
basis of all known life.
cargo Noun goods carried by a ship,
plane, or other vehicle.
caviar Noun delicacy made from the
eggs of sturgeon or other
fish.
channel Noun deepest part of a shallow
body of water, often a
passageway for ships.
Charon Noun in ancient Greek
mythology, the ferryman
who transported the souls
of the dead across the river
Styx and to the underworld,
Hades.
cholera Noun
infectious, sometimes fatal
disease that harms the
intestines.
civilization Noun complex way of life that
developed as humans
began to develop urban
settlements.
cloud Noun visible mass of tiny water
droplets or ice crystals in
Earth's atmosphere.
coal Noun dark, solid fossil fuel mined
from the earth.
compensation Noun fee or money paid for
goods, services, debt, loss,
injury, or suffering.
consumer Noun organism on the food chain
that depends on autotrophs
(producers) or other
consumers for food,
nutrition, and energy.
contiguous Adjective land, space, or features
that are in direct contact.
continent Noun one of the seven main land
masses on Earth.
crop Noun agricultural produce.
crown Noun headgear worn by a
monarch or other ruler.
cruise ship Noun vessel transporting tourists
on a trip.
current Noun steady, predictable flow of
fluid within a larger body of
that fluid.
dam Verb to block a flow of water.
DDT Noun (dichloro-diphenyl-
trichloroethane) toxic
chemical used as an
insecticide but illegal for
most uses in the U.S. since
1972.
decay Verb to rot or decompose.
delicacy Noun food or dish notable for its
rarity or cost.
delta Noun the flat, low-lying plain that
sometimes forms at the
mouth of a river from
deposits of sediments.
development Noun construction or preparation
of land for housing,
industry, or agriculture.
dissolved
oxygen
Noun measure of the amount of
oxygen in a substance,
usually water.
domestication Noun the process of adapting
wild plants or animals for
human use.
drainage
basin
Noun an entire river system or an
area drained by a river and
its tributaries. Also called a
watershed.
dredge Verb to remove sand, silt, or
other material from the
bottom of a body of water.
dugout canoe Noun small boat made by
hollowing out a log or tree
trunk.
dwarf Verb to make something appear
small by having it appear
next to something much
larger.
earthquake Noun the sudden shaking of
Earth's crust caused by the
release of energy along
fault lines or from volcanic
activity.
ecosystem Noun community and interactions
of living and nonliving
things in an area.
electricity Noun set of physical phenomena
associated with the
presence and flow of
electric charge.
emission Noun discharge or release.
engineering Noun the art and science of
building, maintaining,
moving, and demolishing
structures.
equatorial Adjective having to do with the
equator or the area around
the equator.
erosion Noun act in which earth is worn
away, often by water, wind,
or ice.
evaporate Verb to change from a liquid to a
gas or vapor.
exploration Noun study and investigation of
unknown places.
export Noun good or service traded to
another area.
extensive Adjective very large.
factory Noun one or more buildings used
for the manufacture of a
product.
farm Noun land cultivated for crops,
livestock, or both.
fault Noun a crack in the Earth's crust
where there has been
movement.
feat Noun accomplishment or
achievement.
ferry Noun boat or ship that transports
people, cargo, and goods
across a waterway.
fertile Adjective able to produce crops or
sustain agriculture.
Fertile
Crescent
Noun region extending from the
eastern Mediterranean
coast through Southwest
Asia to the Persian Gulf.
fertilizer Noun nutrient-rich chemical
substance (natural or
manmade) applied to soil to
encourage plant growth.
flood plain Noun flat area alongside a stream
or river that is subject to
flooding.
food web Noun all related food chains in an
ecosystem. Also called a
food cycle.
fossil fuel Noun coal, oil, or natural gas.
Fossil fuels formed from the
remains of ancient plants
and animals.
freighter Noun large ship used for carrying
heavy cargo, or freight.
freshwater Noun water that is not salty.
garbage Noun trash or waste material.
glacier Noun mass of ice that moves
slowly over land.
grain Noun harvested seed of such
grasses as wheat, oats,
and rice.
gravity Noun physical force by which
objects attract, or pull
toward, each other.
Great Lakes Noun largest freshwater bodies in
the world, located in the
United States and Canada.
Lake Huron, Lake Ontario,
Lake Michigan, Lake Erie,
and Lake Superior make up
the Great Lakes.
greenhouse
gas
Noun gas in the atmosphere,
such as carbon dioxide and
ozone, that absorbs solar
heat reflected by the
surface of the Earth,
warming the atmosphere.
groundwater Noun water found in an aquifer.
headwater Noun source of a river.
hectare Noun unit of measure equal to
2.47 acres, or 10,000
square meters.
Henry Hudson Noun (died 1611) English
explorer and navigator.
Hindu Noun religion of the Indian
subcontinent with many
different sub-types, most
based around the idea of
"daily morality."
honeybee Noun insect that, in a hive with
other honeybees, produces
honey.
houseboat Noun
large, flat-bottomed boat
used for residence but not
suitable for open water.
human rights Noun basic freedoms belonging
to every individual,
including the rights to social
and political expression,
spirituality, and opportunity.
hydroelectric
power
Noun usable energy generated
by moving water converted
to electricity.
indigenous Adjective native to or characteristic of
a specific place.
iron Noun chemical element with the
symbol Fe.
Iron Age Noun last of the prehistoric "three
ages," following the Stone
Age and the Bronze Age,
marked by the use of iron
for industry.
irrigate Verb to water.
junk Noun sailboat with square sails
and, usually, a flat bottom,
used mostly in and around
China.
labor Noun work or employment.
laden Adjective full or heavy with.
lagoon Noun shallow body of water that
may have an opening to a
larger body of water, but is
also protected from it by a
sandbar or coral reef.
lake Noun body of water surrounded
by land.
lock Noun structure on a waterway
where gates at each end
allow the water level to
raise and lower as they are
opened and closed.
Louisiana
Purchase
Noun (1803) land bought by the
United States from France,
extending from the
Mississippi River to the
Rocky Mountains, and
Canada to the Gulf of
Mexico.
Lower Nile Noun northern section of the Nile
River.
luxurious Adjective rich or self-indulgent.
machinery Noun mechanical appliances or
tools used in
manufacturing.
Mark Twain Noun (1835-1910, born Samuel
Langhorne Clemens)
American writer.
meander Verb to wander aimlessly.
meander Noun large curve in a lake or
stream.
Mesopotamia Noun area between the Tigris
and Euphrates River in
Iraq.
Midwest Noun area of the United States
consisting of the following
states: Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota, and
Wisconsin.
migrate Verb to move from one place or
activity to another.
mill Noun machine used for grinding
or crushing various
materials.
monarch Noun king or queen.
mouth Noun place where a river empties
its water. Usually rivers
enter another body of water
at their mouths.
myth Noun legend or traditional story.
New World Noun the Western Hemisphere,
made up of the Americas
and their islands.
nomad Noun person who moves from
place to place, without a
fixed home.
ore Noun deposit in the Earth of
minerals containing
valuable metal.
paddle
wheeler
Noun steamboat used mostly on
rivers propelled by one or
more large wheels outfitted
with paddles or scoops.
papyrus Noun aquatic plant native to the
Mediterranean Sea.
Parisii Noun Iron Age people and culture
native to the banks of the
Seine River.
pelt Noun animal skin or fur.
Persia Noun empire in modern-day Iran
that dominated
Mesopotamia from about
550 to 330 BCE.
pesticide Noun natural or manufactured
substance used to kill
organisms that threaten
agriculture or are
undesirable. Pesticides can
be fungicides (which kill
harmful fungi), insecticides
(which kill harmful insects),
herbicides (which kill
harmful plants), or
rodenticides (which kill
harmful rodents.)
petroleum Noun fossil fuel formed from the
remains of ancient
organisms. Also called
crude oil.
pharaoh Noun ruler of ancient Egypt.
piranha Noun carnivorous, freshwater fish
native to South America.
Also called caribe.
pirarucu Noun large freshwater fish native
to the Amazon. Also called
arapaima.
plentiful Adjective abundant or full.
pollution Noun introduction of harmful
materials into the
environment.
precipitation Noun all forms in which water
falls to Earth from the
atmosphere.
prehistoric Adjective period of time that occurred
before the invention of
written records.
protruding Adjective sticking out.
Pschent Noun double crown worn by
Egyptian pharaohs,
symbolizing Upper and
Lower Egypt.
purify Verb to cleanse thoroughly.
putrification Noun process of rotting or
decaying.
rain forest Noun area of tall evergreen trees
and a high amount of
rainfall.
rapids Noun areas of fast-flowing water
in a river or stream that is
making a slight descent.
recede Verb to go backward or
withdraw.
recreational Adjective having to do with activities
done for enjoyment.
replenish Verb to supply or refill.
reservoir Noun natural or man-made lake
where water is stored.
restrict Verb to limit.
river Noun large stream of flowing
fresh water.
river bed Noun material at the bottom of a
river.
river
management
Noun the art and science of
controlling the flow, path,
and power of rivers.
river system Noun tributaries, mouth, source,
delta, and flood plain of a
river.
rot Verb to decay or spoil.
route Noun path or way.
runoff Noun overflow of fluid from a farm
or industrial factory.
sailboat Noun aquatic vessel that uses
wind to maneuver and
move.
Scandinavia Noun region and name for some
countries in Northern
Europe: Iceland, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, and
Denmark.
seawater Noun salty water from an ocean
or sea.
sediment Noun solid material transported
and deposited by water,
ice, and wind.
settlement Noun community or village.
sewage Noun liquid and solid waste
material from homes and
businesses.
sluggishly Adverb slowly.
soil Noun top layer of the Earth's
surface where plants can
grow.
source Noun beginning of a stream,
river, or other flow of water.
spring Noun small flow of water flowing
naturally from an
underground water source.
stakeholder Noun person or organization that
has an interest or
investment in a place,
situation or company.
steamboat Noun boat powered by steam,
used mostly on rivers. Also
called a steamer.
St. Lawrence
Seaway
Noun series of canals, locks, and
channels, including the St.
Lawrence River, that allows
ships to travel from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Great
Lakes.
stream Noun body of flowing fluid.
sturgeon Noun type of marine or
freshwater large, long, bony
fish.
subcontinent Noun large section of a continent.
submerge Verb to put underwater.
Tagaeri Noun people and culture native to
the Amazon River basin in
Ecuador.
tectonic plate Noun large, moveable segment of
the Earth's crust.
temperature Noun degree of hotness or
coldness measured by a
thermometer with a
numerical scale.
textile Noun cloth or other woven fabric.
Noun
Three Gorges
Dam
electrical power plant along
the Yangtze River in China.
tide Noun rise and fall of the ocean's
waters, caused by the
gravitational pull of the
moon and sun.
timber Noun wood in an unfinished form,
either trees or logs.
topsoil Noun the most valuable, upper
layer of soil, where most
nutrients are found.
towboat Noun powerful boat used mostly
on rivers to tow a line of
barges roped behind it.
toxic waste Noun chemical compound
dangerous to humans and
their environment.
trade Noun buying, selling, or
exchanging of goods and
services.
trading post Noun place established in a
remote or unsettled region,
where goods may be
bought and sold.
tribe Noun community made of one or
several family groups
sharing a common culture.
tributary Noun stream that feeds, or flows,
into a larger stream.
tropical Adjective existing in the tropics, the
latitudes between the
Tropic of Cancer in the
north and the Tropic of
Capricorn in the south.
typhoid Noun infectious, sometimes fatal
disease that harms the
intestines. Also called
typhoid fever.
Upper Nile Noun southern section of the Nile
River.
upstream Adjective toward an elevated part of
a flow of fluid, or place
where the fluid passed
earlier.
urban area Noun developed, densely
populated area where most
inhabitants have
nonagricultural jobs.
valley Noun depression in the Earth
between hills.
vapor Noun visible liquid suspended in
the air, such as fog.
vegetation Noun all the plant life of a specific
place.
virus Noun tiny organism that lives and
multiplies in a living cell.
water-borne Adjective transported or carried by
water.
water cycle Noun movement of water
between atmosphere, land,
and ocean.
waterfall Noun flow of water descending
steeply over a cliff. Also
called a cascade.
waterway Noun body of water that serves
as a route for
transportation.
White Nile Noun tributary of the Nile River
flowing from the highland
rivers of Burundi to Lake
Victoria and meeting the
Blue Nile to form the Nile
River at Khartoum, Sudan.
For Further Exploration
Audio & Video
National Geographic Channel: Worlds Toughest FixesColumbia River Dam
National Geographic Kids: Thames River
Interactives
NOAA: National Ocean ServiceWhere Rivers Meet the Sea Game
Websites
USGS: Water Science for SchoolsEarths Water: Rivers and Streams
National Wild and Scenic Rivers
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Writers
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Melissa McDaniel
Diane Boudreau
Tara Ramroop
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Erin Sprout
Hilary Costa
Hilary Hall
Jeff Hunt
Illustrators
Tim Gunther
Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society
Editors
Kara West
Jeannie Evers
Educator Reviewer
Nancy Wynne
Producer
Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society
Sources
Dunn, Margery G. (Editor). (1989, 1993). "Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography."
Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
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