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Ellis Abel Learns.

In my own words

Why I love rivers

The branching channels of the Godavari River delta meeting the Bay of Bengal, photographed by the crew of space shuttle Endeavour. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Rivers" page.
The branching channels of the Godavari River delta meeting the Bay of Bengal, photographed by the crew of space shuttle Endeavour. NASA · Public domain
  • Water always finds the low way down.
  • It carries the land with it.
  • The river made this whole valley.

What it really is

A river moves water and sediment downhill, and reshapes the land as it goes.

Three things to try today

  1. Find the nearest river and where it ends up.
  2. Pour water down a pile of sand and watch.
  3. Look for where it cuts and where it drops.
A USGS scientist stands in North Sylamore Creek in Arkansas filling sample bottles and measuring the stream water on site. Real USGS photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Rivers" page.
A USGS scientist stands in North Sylamore Creek in Arkansas filling sample bottles and measuring the stream water on site. U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain

For the grown-up reading this

Erosion and deposition in a sandbox is the same physics as the Grand Canyon.

Why I love rivers — 4,299 places across America

Alabama (87)
Alaska (33)
Arizona (43)
Arkansas (86)
California (273)
Colorado (85)
Connecticut (27)
D.C. (1)
Delaware (5)
Florida (158)
Georgia (185)
Hawaii (8)
Idaho (54)
Illinois (155)
Indiana (117)
Iowa (112)
Kansas (116)
Kentucky (129)
Louisiana (81)
Maine (21)
Maryland (35)
Massachusetts (53)
Michigan (120)
Minnesota (111)
Mississippi (88)
Missouri (131)
Montana (61)
Nebraska (97)
Nevada (22)
New Hampshire (13)
New Jersey (45)
New Mexico (40)
New York (90)
North Carolina (127)
North Dakota (57)
Ohio (124)
Oklahoma (88)
Oregon (51)
Pennsylvania (88)
Rhode Island (6)
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (5)
South Carolina (65)
South Dakota (68)
Tennessee (114)
Texas (340)
Utah (48)
Vermont (16)
Virginia (158)
Washington (77)
Washington, D.C. (1)
West Virginia (64)
Wisconsin (95)
Wyoming (25)

Love something else too

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