1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910959794403321

Autore

Kimmel Jim <1943->

Titolo

Exploring the Brazos River : from beginning to end / / by Jim Kimmel ; photographs by Jerry Touchstone Kimmel ; foreword by Andrew Sansom

Pubbl/distr/stampa

College Station, : Texas A&M University Press, 2011

ISBN

1-60344-480-7

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (193 p.)

Collana

River books

Altri autori (Persone)

KimmelJerry Touchstone

SansomAndrew

Disciplina

976.4

Soggetti

Stream ecology - Texas - Brazos River Valley

Brazos River Valley (Tex.) Description and travel

Brazos River Valley (Tex.) History

Brazos River Valley (Tex.) Guidebooks

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction -- Water runs downhill -- The Brazos as an ecological system -- The lost river -- Many arms of God -- John Graves's dammed river -- The (almost) free Brazos -- The evolving Brazos -- Appendix: Plant and animal species of the Brazos River.

Sommario/riassunto

From its ancient headwaters on the semiarid plains of eastern New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazos River carves a huge and paradoxical crescent through Texas geography and history. Its average flow is the largest of Texas rivers, but its floods, low flows, silt, and natural salt have often frustrated human desires. It is one of the most dammed of Texas rivers, but its lower four hundred miles constitute one of the longest undammed stretches of river in North America. In Exploring the Brazos River , Jim Kimmel follows this long, changeable river from its rocky "arms" in West Texas, through the stretch made famous by John Graves in his classic book, Goodbye to a River , to its lumbering presence as it flows, undammed and mostly untouched, down the Brazos Valley and into the Gulf of Mexico. Exploring the entire river system, Kimmel first sets the context of climate and geology that determines the characteristics of the Brazos. He then explains the ecological processes that define the Brazos



watershed before focusing on four reaches of the river, from the headwaters to the mouth. Each chapter features the captivating photography of Jerry Touchstone Kimmel and includes maps, charts, and descriptions of the water, land, ecology, and people. To encourage readers to explore on their own, Kimmel closes the chapters with tips on where best to experience the river and the surrounding countryside. Amateur and professional naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes will find Exploring the Brazos River a practical and inspiring guide for the introduction of--or re-acquaintance with--one of the most important, historic, and diverse natural resources in the Lone Star State. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.