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 ivers flow from the mountains to the sea. Nothing could be simpler; nothing could be more complex. With these words, Michael Collier sets the stage for this unique blend of art and science.  Whether it's the Colorado twisting and slashing down
from the high mountains, the stately Mississippi rolling
through America's heartland, or the Hudson, the
Delaware, the Englishman, the New, the Dead, the
White, the Platte, the Gauley, the James, the Missouri,
the Niobrara, the Bighorn, the Paria, the Rio Grande,
the San Joaquin, the San Juan, the Columbia, the
Teklanika, or the Knik, Collier's photographs celebrate
the beauty and grace of North America's rivers.
The photographs are stunning, but this is more than
a picture book. Collier is a geologist and a gifted science
writer, as well as an award-winning photographer. For
Collier, rivers are not only to be marveled at, but to be
understood. With vivid text and clear captions, he
guides the reader into his images, pointing out the
fundamental geological processes they reveal: the
erosive power of a single river carving a 6,000-foot deep
canyon, the violent tectonic event that vaulted a river
over a mountain, the forces that cause one river to
meander, another to drop over a cliff, and a third to
separate into a sprawling delta.
Michael Collier piloted his little Cessna thousands of
miles, across mountain ranges, over valleys, through
canyons to bring back the story of America's rivers. In
words and remarkable images, he tells that story with
clarity, insight, understanding and deep affection. | |
 White River below Augusta, Arkansas  Green River and Colorado River, Utah's Canyonland National Park | |||
