Rivers

56 Pages·1961·3.855 MB·English

by  Irving Adler, Ruth Adler

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RIVERS
Irving and Ruth Adler
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The John Day Company — New York
:
Books by Irving and Ruth Adler
NUMBERS OLD AND NEW
THINGS THAT SPIN: FROM TOPS TO ATOMS
SHADOWS
THE STORY OF A NAIL
WHY?
RIVERS
Books by Irving Adler
SEEING THE EARTH FROM SPACE
HOT AND COLD
WEATHER IN YOUR LIFE
DUST
THE TOOLS OF SCIENCE
THE SUN AND ITS FAMILY
MAN-MADE MOONS
MONKEY-BUSINESS
HOAXES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
HOW LIFE BEGAN
MAGIC HOUSE OF NUMBERS
THE STARS: STEPPING STONES INTO SPACE
TOOLS IN YOUR LIFE
FIRE IN YOUR LIFE
TIME IN YOUR LIFE
THE SECRET OF LIGHT
©
1961 byIrvingandRuthAdler
All rights reser\ed. This book, orparts thereof, must notbe repro-
duced in any form without permission. Published by The John
Day Company, 62 W^est 45th Street, New York 36, N.Y., and on
thesamedayinCanadabyLongmansGreen&Company,Toronto.
LibraryofCongressCatalogueCardNumber: 61-12714
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
U. SL 1254553
Contents
Rivers 4
HowRiversAreBom 6
Currents 8
Weathering 9
WearingAway Mountains 10
VaUeys 12
TheGrandCanyon oftheColorado 14
Waterfalls 16
WaterGaps 18
NaturalBridges 20
Potholes 21
TreasureHunting 22
Watersheds and Divides 24
Rivers ThatArePirates 26
TheLowerRiver 28
Meandering 30
ARiverChanges Its Bed 32
ARiverChanges Its Face 33
TamingaWild River 34
MakingElectricity 36
Rivers andTravel 38
WherePeopleLive 40
.
WaterforPlants .>* 42
WaterforPeople 42
KeepingWater Clean 43
Deltas 44
TheJourney ofa Drop ofWater 46
WordList 48
Rivers
^
This is a book about rivers.
Rivers are important for people. Rivers
are important forplants and animals, too.
Rivers help livingthings in many ways.
The water that people and animals
drink often comes from rivers.
Some of the fish that people eat are
taken from rivers.
Manyplantsareusedbypeopleasfood
Growing plants need water. In some
places rivers help bring water to the land
where the plants grow.
Rivers are natural roads. People use
boats, barges and rafts to carry things
from one place to another along a river.
Rivers help people in other ways, too.
.^^
Rivers turn waterwheels, making the ma-
chines in mills and factories work. Rivers
turn the machines that make electricity.
Rivers can help people enjoy their free
time. Some people like to go fishing or
boating. Many people like to swim. Al-
most everyone likes to look at the pretty
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scenery along a river.
Rivers can also do harm. When rivers
flood their banks, they can carry away
people's homes and belongings.
Inthisbookweshallfindouthowrivers
areborn. Weshallseehowrivers go down
to the sea and what they do to the land as
they go there. We shall see how people
work to change rivers so that rivers will Pi^^
always be helpful friends. \
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water ^
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uiut intothe stream
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Hoti; Rivers Are Born
Rivers are born high up in the mountains, from rain
and melted snow.
Much of the rain that falls sinks into the earth. This
is called ground water. Some of this water flows out of
the ground again through openings in the rocks. When
ground water comes out again like this it is called a
spring. The spring water then flows downhill and joins
other springs to make streams. The streams also get
ground waterthat goes into them right from the ground.
Some rain flows downhill right away. The rain water
flows along gullies and ditches into the streams. When
thereisalotofrain, thestreamsbecomefull. Whenthere
is no rain for a long time, some streams dry up. Ground
water keeps other streams flowing even in dry weather.
6