Rivers Of Europe

Based on the bestselling book, Rivers of North America, this new guide stands as the only primary source of complete and comparative baseline data on the biological and hydrological characteristics of more than 180 of the highest profile rivers in Europe. With numerous full-color photographs and maps, Rivers of Europe includes conservation information on current patterns of river use and the extent to which human society has exploited and impacted them. Rivers of Europe provides the information ecologists and conservation managers need to better assess their management and meet the EU legislative good governance targets. Coverage on more than 180 European rivers Summarizes biological, ecological and biodiversity characteristics Provides conservation managers with information to resolve conflicts between recreational use of rivers, their use as a water supply, and the need to conserve natural habitats Data on river hydrology (maximum , minimum and average flow rates), seasonal variation in water flow Numerous full-color photographs Information on the underlying geology and its affect on river behaviour

Throughout history, rivers have run a wide course through human temporal and spiritual experience. They have demarcated mythological worlds, framed the cradle of Western civilization, and served as physical and psychological boundaries among nations. Rivers have become a crux of transportation, industry, and commerce. They have been loved as nurturing providers, nationalist symbols, and the source of romantic lore but also loathed as sites of conflict and natural disaster. Rivers in History presents one of the first comparative histories of rivers on the continents of Europe and North America in the modern age. The contributors examine the impact of rivers on humans and, conversely, the impact of humans on rivers. They view this dynamic relationship through political, cultural, industrial, social, and ecological perspectives in national and transnational settings. As integral sources of food and water, local and international transportation, recreation, and aesthetic beauty, rivers have dictated where cities have risen, and in times of flooding, drought, and war, where they've fallen. Modern Western civilizations have sought to control rivers by channeling them for irrigation, raising and lowering them in canal systems, and damming them for power generation. Contributors analyze the regional, national, and international politicization of rivers, the use and treatment of waterways in urban versus rural environments, and the increasing role of international commissions in ecological and commercial legislation for the protection of river resources. Case studies include the Seine in Paris, the Mississippi, the Volga, the Rhine, and the rivers of Pittsburgh. Rivers in History is a broad environmental history of waterways that makes a major contribution to the study, preservation, and continued sustainability of rivers as vital lifelines of Western culture.

This volume contains a series of essays which detail the geographical changes and evolution of European rivers since the 18th century. The rivers examined include the Rhone, the Meuse, the Rhine, the Elbe, the Deuro, the Ebro, the Garonne, the Po and the Weser.

Rivers of Europe, Second Edition, presents the latest update on the only primary source of complete and comparative baseline data on the biological and hydrological characteristics of more than 180 of the highest profile rivers in Europe. With even more full-color photographs and maps, the book includes conservation information on current patterns of river use and the extent to which human society has exploited and impacted them. Each chapter includes up to 10 featured rivers, with detailed information on their physiography, hydrology, ecology/biodiversity and human impacts. Rivers selected for specific coverage include the largest, the most natural, and those most affected by humans. This book provides the most comprehensive information ecologists and conservation managers need to better assess their management and meet the EU legislative good governance targets. Includes comparison photos of rivers, along with information on the history and management of each river Presents summary information on hydrological, ecological and freshwater biodiversity patterns and trends of each river Highlights environmental issues of great importance to citizens and governments, including fragmentation by dams, pollution, introduction of nonnative species and reductions in biodiversity

This classic text by Robert Ferguson is an effort to arrange and explain the names of European Rivers.

Urban Rivers examines urban interventions on rivers through politics, economics, sanitation systems, technology, and societies; how rivers affected urbanization spatially, in infrastructure, territorial disputes, and in floodplains, and via their changing ecologies. Providing case studies from Vienna to Manitoba, the chapters assemble geographers and historians in a comparative survey of how cities and rivers interacted from the seventeenth century to the present. Rising cities and industries were great agents of social and ecological changes, particularly during the nineteenth century, when mass populations and their effluents were introduced to river environments. Accumulated pollution and disease mandated the transfer of wastes away from population centers. In many cases, potable water for cities now had to be drawn from distant sites. These developments required significant infrastructural improvements, creating social conflicts over land jurisdiction and affecting the lives and livelihood of nonurban populations. The effective reach of cities extended and urban space was remade. By the mid-twentieth century, new technologies and specialists emerged to combat the effects of industrialization. Gradually, the health of urban rivers improved. From protoindustrial fisheries, mills, and transportation networks, through industrial hydroelectric plants and sewage systems, to postindustrial reclamation and recreational use, Urban Rivers documents how Western societies dealt with the needs of mass populations while maintaining the viability of their natural resources. The lessons drawn from this study will be particularly relevant to today's emerging urban economies situated along rivers and waterways.