Rivers: A Very Short IntroductionRivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
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19th century Africa agriculture alluvial Amazon areas Bangladesh Bohai Sea boundaries braided river changes China climate Congo countries culture dams Danube delta deposited desert discharge downstream drainage basin early ecology economic ecosystems effects environmental erosion Europe European example fish flood floodplains flowing water fluvial Ganges global habitat hence Hindu human impacts important increase Indus influence irrigation kappa kilometres Kumbh Mela lakes land landscape levées Liquid histories meander Mekong metres Michael million Mississippi Missoula floods mountains Murray-Darling Basin natural Nature's driver Nick Middleton Niger River Nile North America numerous nutrients occur oxbow lakes period plants rainfall regions reservoir result Rhine river banks river basin river channel river flow river systems River Thames river water Roads that move Sacred flows salmon scale season sediment soil spawning species square kilometres stream supply Tamed rivers Thames transport tributaries typically urban valleys vegetation Volga watermills Yellow River