Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Epilogue
Virtually every reader of this topic will have some sort of relationship with a river, or
perhaps more than one. It may involve living on a floodplain or benefiting directly from a
river's flow, maybe as an angler or via a system of plumbing. The number of ways in which
rivers impinge on human society is great, and there are few places on Earth where rivers do
not exert an influence, be it direct or indirect, current or historical.
The aim of this topic has been to celebrate rivers in all their diversity. Bountiful yet capri-
cious, rivers represent different things to different people, sometimes contradictory, at others
complementary. They form vital components to innumerable ecosystems, and nourish both
town and country. That nourishment has been spiritual as much as literal. Rivers are wor-
shipped and revered, respected and feared. From raging torrents to babbling brooks, their
waters have fuelled the thoughts of artists, scientists, philosophers, and generals. In a very
real sense, much of human history has taken place on the banks of rivers.
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus asserted that 'you cannot step twice
into the same river'. All rivers are inherently dynamic. A meandering channel can abruptly
become braided, or a trickle burst out of its banks to inundate a plain. So too the life they
sustain, from mountain peaks to muddy deltas, on timescales ranging from the nymphal life
of a mayfly to the extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin. Humankind's use and abuse of
rivers has been equally diverse and vibrant, ranging from development of the earliest river
boats to the choking of waterways with industrial effluent.
River channels occupy just a tiny fraction of the land surface, but their influence is out of
all proportion to this immediate footprint. No matter how you may perceive rivers, all must
acknowledge the wide and eclectic menu of river-based themes. Together, they reflect both
the natural and social history of our planet.
