A View of the River
With the Midwest under water, America had a chance to see how effectively it had “improved” its rivers. We’ve straightened and dredged them, revetted and rerouted them, made massive efforts to control them, yet our actions have been less than successful. Too often, physical changes made to a river conflict with natural processes, resulting in damage rather than alleviating it. Applying available knowledge on how rivers form and act could prevent such problems. Luna B. Leopold seeks to...
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With the Midwest under water, America had a chance to see how effectively it had "improved" its rivers. We've straightened and dredged them, revetted and rerouted them, made massive efforts to control them, yet our actions have been less than successful. Too often, physical changes made to a river conflict with natural processes, resulting in—rather than alleviating—damage. Applying available knowledge on how rivers form and act could prevent such problems. In this book, Luna Leopold seeks to organize such knowledge. Widely regarded as the most creative scholar in the field of river morphology, Leopold presents a coherent description of the river, its shape, size, organization, and action, along with a consistent theory that explains much of the observed character of channels.The laws of physics that govern rivers allow for variations, many of them dictated by random chance. Thus, a river's adaptation, as Leopold describes it, tends toward the most probable form, the one with the least variance among hydraulic parameters. We see how this probabilistic tendency plays out as Leopold views the river as a whole from headwater to mouth, in the drainage net, in the behavior of meanders, and in aspects of sediment transport.Grounded in hydraulics, geomorphology, and surveying, as well as in extensive fieldwork on rivers in the eastern and Rocky Mountain states, Leopold's view of a river is at once technical and personal, providing both a firm foundation for understanding the behavior of rivers—including instructions for getting started in backyard hydrology—and a wealth of firsthand observations by a thoughtful and experienced scientist. It will be of immediate interest and great use as we seek to develop, preserve, and appreciate our most fluid natural resource. Vic Baker - Science Luna Leopold is responsible for perhaps the most important research on rivers over the past 50 years. In this very personal book he reflects upon that experience, providing insights that go far beyond mere research results.
Preface1The River Channel12River Measurement303Down the Channel System404Meanders and Bars565Distribution of Discharge in Space and Time836Rivers of the World987Flow Variability and Floods1108Relationships between Channel and Discharge1269A Field Example: Watts Branch14810The Hydraulic Geometry16811Sediment Load18312The Drainage Network21913Energy Utilization24514River Morphology: The Most Probable State271References283Symbols289Author Index291General Index293
\ ScienceLuna Leopold is responsible for perhaps the most important research on rivers over the past 50 years. In this very personal book he reflects upon that experience, providing insights that go far beyond mere research results.\ — Vic Baker\ \ \ \ \ \ ScienceLuna Leopold is responsible for perhaps the most important research on rivers over the past 50 years. In this very personal book he reflects upon that experience, providing insights that go far beyond mere research results.\ — Vic Baker\ \ \ BooknewsResponding to the destruction frequently caused by and to our rivers because we have insufficient knowledge of the characteristics of rivers and the effects of our actions that alter their form and process, Leopold (geology emeritus, U. of California, Berkeley) presents a coherent picture of the river, its shape, size, organization, and action, along with a theory that explains much of the observed character of channels. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
