Jeffrey F. Mount
California Rivers and Streams
The Conflict Between Fluvial Process and Land Use
$31.95, £21.95 paperback
9780520202504
Available Now
376 pages,
November 1995, Available worldwide
Also in: California & The West: Natural History; General Ecology
November 1995, Available worldwide
Also in: California & The West: Natural History; General Ecology
California Rivers and Streams provides a clear and informative overview of the physical and biological processes that shape California's rivers and watersheds. Jeffrey Mount introduces relevant basic principles of hydrology and geomorphology and applies them to an understanding of the differences in character of the state's many rivers. He then builds on this foundation by evaluating the impact on waterways of different land use practices—logging, mining, agriculture, flood control, urbanization, and water supply development.
Water may be one of California's most valuable resources, but it is far from being one we control. In spite of channels, levees, lines and dams, the state's rivers still frequently flood, with devastating results. Almost all the rivers in California are dammed or diverted; with the booming population, there will be pressure for more intervention.
Mount argues that Californians know little about how their rivers work and, more importantly, how and why land-use practices impact rivers. The forceful reconfiguration and redistribution of the rivers has already brought the state to a critical crossroads. California Rivers and Streams forces us to reevaluate our use of the state's rivers and offers a foundation for participating in the heated debates about their future.
Water may be one of California's most valuable resources, but it is far from being one we control. In spite of channels, levees, lines and dams, the state's rivers still frequently flood, with devastating results. Almost all the rivers in California are dammed or diverted; with the booming population, there will be pressure for more intervention.
Mount argues that Californians know little about how their rivers work and, more importantly, how and why land-use practices impact rivers. The forceful reconfiguration and redistribution of the rivers has already brought the state to a critical crossroads. California Rivers and Streams forces us to reevaluate our use of the state's rivers and offers a foundation for participating in the heated debates about their future.
"Even though one may not be personally familiar with the rivers of California or their watersheds, the principles of limnology and land-use planning in this book will apply to other regions. . . . Mount writes well and develops new ideas and thoughts very effectively."—Choice
"The book is intended to educate [and] build appreciation of the state's rivers and provide a vehicle for participating in the debate about their future. . . . Will be useful to those who are interested in how rivers work and how we interact with them. Natural historians who may have wondered why rivers seem to behave in such chaotic, but seemingly predictable, fashion will find answers here. . . . Though the book is written on behavior of California's river, it has drawn many parallel lines with the rivers of several countries. Hence the book is recommended for widespread use to understand and protect rivers—small and big—across the globe."—Environment and Ecology (India)
"Will appeal to those who, for a variety of reasons, are interested in how rivers work and how we interact with them. . . . It is not quite a field guide, but the reader will take on a new appreciation for the particular watershed he or she lives in and may even learn to recognize particular features of that watershed."—Perpetuity
"The book is intended to educate [and] build appreciation of the state's rivers and provide a vehicle for participating in the debate about their future. . . . Will be useful to those who are interested in how rivers work and how we interact with them. Natural historians who may have wondered why rivers seem to behave in such chaotic, but seemingly predictable, fashion will find answers here. . . . Though the book is written on behavior of California's river, it has drawn many parallel lines with the rivers of several countries. Hence the book is recommended for widespread use to understand and protect rivers—small and big—across the globe."—Environment and Ecology (India)
"Will appeal to those who, for a variety of reasons, are interested in how rivers work and how we interact with them. . . . It is not quite a field guide, but the reader will take on a new appreciation for the particular watershed he or she lives in and may even learn to recognize particular features of that watershed."—Perpetuity
"A thinking person's guide to the physical processes behind the problems of managing California's rivers in a flowing historical narrative style that's a pleasure to read."—Peter M. Sadler, University of California, Riverside
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I. How Rivers Work
1. Introduction to the Rivers of California: The First 4 Billion Years
2. Water in Motion
3. A River at Work: Sediment Entrainment, Transport, and Deposition
4. The Shape of a River
5. Origins of River Discharge
6. Sediment Supply
7. River Network and Profile
8. Climate and the Rivers of California
9. Tectonics and Geology of California's Rivers
Part II. Learning the Lessons: Land Use and the Rivers of California
10. Rivers of California: The Last 200 Years
11. Mining and the Rivers of California
12. Logging California's Watersheds
13. Food Production and the Rivers of California
14. A Primer on Flood Frequency: How Much and How Often?
15. The Urbanization of California's Rivers
16. The Damming of California's Rivers
17. The Future: Changing Climate, Changing Rivers
Acknowledgments
Part I. How Rivers Work
1. Introduction to the Rivers of California: The First 4 Billion Years
2. Water in Motion
3. A River at Work: Sediment Entrainment, Transport, and Deposition
4. The Shape of a River
5. Origins of River Discharge
6. Sediment Supply
7. River Network and Profile
8. Climate and the Rivers of California
9. Tectonics and Geology of California's Rivers
Part II. Learning the Lessons: Land Use and the Rivers of California
10. Rivers of California: The Last 200 Years
11. Mining and the Rivers of California
12. Logging California's Watersheds
13. Food Production and the Rivers of California
14. A Primer on Flood Frequency: How Much and How Often?
15. The Urbanization of California's Rivers
16. The Damming of California's Rivers
17. The Future: Changing Climate, Changing Rivers
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