If changed by development, the authors found the present Osage valley landscape expressive. Illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, period maps, and vintage images, this book tells the dramatic saga of human ambition pitted against natural limitations and forces beyond man's control.

Rivers have played an extraordinarily important role in creating the world in which we live. They create landscapes and provide water to people, plants and animals, nourishing both town and country. The flow of rivers has enthused poets and painters, explorers and pilgrims. Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can bear trade and sediment, culture and conflict. A river may inspire or it may terrify. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Worshipped and revered, respected and feared, rivers reflect both the natural and social history of our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The creation of river dams and the storage of water have been a strategy for survival for many centuries. Reservoirs have diverse functions, providing irrigation, water supply, storage of water, flood control, navigation and power generation. The silting of a reservoir is an unavoidable process. Although it cannot be halted, silting can be slowed down and controlled by a variety of soil conservation practices and by modifying agricultural practices in the catchment area. Other methods of reducing silting include the placing of certain engineering structures in the river system and the introduction of adequate strategies of reservoir operation. Silting and Desilting of Reservoirs includes aspects such as hydraulics, sediment transport, silting, sediment distribution, calculation and prediction of silting and solutions to reservoir silting.

Planning and Evaluation of Irrigation Projects: Methods and Implementation presents the considerations, options and factors necessary for effective implementation of irrigation strategies, going further to provide methods for evaluating the efficiency of systems-in-place for remedial correction as needed. As the first book to take this lifecycle approach to agricultural irrigation, it includes real-world examples not only on natural resource availability concerns, but also on financial impacts and measurements. With 21 chapters divided into two sections, this book is a valuable resource for agricultural and hydrology engineers, conservation scientists and anyone seeking to implement and maintain irrigation systems. - Uses real-world examples to present practical insights - Incorporates both planning and evaluation for full-scope understanding and application - Illustrates both potential benefits and limitations of irrigation solutions - Provides potential means to increase crop productivity that can result in improved farm income

Outlines the role of science in restoring or otherwise altering unwanted downstream effects of dams, including eroding river banks, changes in waterfowl habitat, threats to safe recreational use, and the loss of river sand bars, examining seven selected areas of the country -- the upper Salt River in central Arizona; the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington; the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas; the Chattahoochee River in Georgia; the Platte River in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska; the Green River in Utah; and the Colorado River in Arizona -- to focus on specific downstream effects of dams and the management issues related to their operation.