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The River as Bridge

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Submitted By lilhoopgurl
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The River as Bridge
Rivers have potential resource use and can be used to develop land. The increasing expression of human activity and climate variability on humid, terrestrial hydrologic systems has made the integrated nature of large river basins more apparent. This increased expression results in river bridging. Rivers bridge water and land together, such as oceans and mountains. They mediate between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems which provide a natural habitat for both land and water species. Rivers do this by shaping the lay of the land through erosion, flooding, and meandering. Complex landscapes with fertile floodplains are formed because rivers carry and deposit sediments. Rivers also bridge the environment and culture. Human culture has become one of the determining factors that account for the high variability of the quality and quantity of water at any specific time and place. Humans have shaped rivers for irrigation, navigation, and flood protection. Ancient cultures and societies used river systems to construct elaborate irrigation and flood-control projects that enabled the emergence of cities and civilizations. Rivers travel long distances which help them connect a wide diversity of people and places. This makes them environmentally and culturally rich. Rivers represent the capacity for transformation in many cultures. Rivers and floodplains provide a wide range of ecosystem services. The importance of rivers and streams for freshwater, food, and recreation is well known, but there is increasing evidence that running waters are degrading. The constant use of river basins has altered the quantity, quality, and regimen of water and ecological resources of the different regions. The global climate system has also interacted with the regional terrestrial hydrology. This includes hurricane and snowmelt flooding, persistent droughts, stream

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