The Amazon, Mississippi, Yellow and Jordan, rivers are some of Earth's most amazing natural wonders. Even better is their simplicity. A river at its most basic level is surface water, moving over land from a higher altitude to a lower one with gravity as the engine. Yet in its simplicity, rivers are one of the most powerful forces in our ecosystem, capable of immense and sometimes dramatic change.
Like the Taylor River in Colorado...
... Once upon a time the water of this river swept across the tops of the stones that now tower above it. Over centuries the water cut down through the earth to create the canyon it runs through today.
Still a relatively young river, the Taylor has the fast moving power to move stones and bolders down its winding path.
While other older rivers wind slowly and steadily on their course to either another river, a delta with an ocean or eventually to the point of drying up. Rivers play such a valuable roll for a multitude of uses like irrigation, drinking water and even power, not to mention a huge supplier of food and global transportation. Geologically, rivers move rock and sediment down stream and have been relied upon for unearthing precious materials like gold, silver and gemstones. ALl of those thing are great, but what I love most about rivers much simpler, and carries considerably less monetary value. My favorite thing about rivers are the smooth, worn down, flattened out river rocks, perfect for an afternoon of skipping.
Just watching the water move past is wonderful too...
River from Jordan Olmsted on Vimeo.
What is your favorite thing about rivers?
~Jordan
*Last time in Nature: Wild Harvest