rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds

Each spring, water Defining Rivers, Streams, Lakes, and Ponds... About three-fifths And less than one-fifth of 1 percent fills rivers and include lakes, ponds, puddles,rivers, streams, a

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A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

Barbara A Somervill is the author

of many books for children She loves

learning and sees every writing

project as a chance to learn new

information or gain a new

under-standing Ms Somervill grew up in

New York State, but has also lived in

Toronto, Canada; Canberra, Australia;

California; and South Carolina She

currently lives with her husband in

Simpsonville, South Carolina.



CONTENT ADVISER

Susan Woodward, Professor of

Geography, Radford University,

Radford, Virginia



4The spring thaw releaseswater that has been bound

up in ice and snow Watertrickles down a Rocky Moun-tain hillside The tricklefeeds a rushing stream The stream swells a lake.Excess lake water pours into Colorado’s South PlatteRiver Each spring, water

Defining Rivers, Streams, Lakes, and Ponds

moves across the land,

renew-ing waterways

Fresh, flowing water is

essential for the survival of the

greenback cutthroat trout The

species is nativeto Colorado’s

mountain streams

Once, greenback cutthroat

trout faced extinction. A

gov-ernment program changed

the cutthroat trout’s fate The

program cleaned up streams

and reduced the use of rivers

by industries The trout could breed and recover itsnormal population numbers

Today, greenback cutthroattrout swim in more than

40 Colorado lakesand streams

The Water Cycle

 A Colorado stream pours down a slope in the Rocky Mountains.

 Cutthroat trout like this one nearly became extinct in Colorado’s lakes and streams.

WORDS TO KNOW extinction (ek-STINGKT-shuhn)

the state of having no more living members of a species

a certain place

?

is fresh Just morethan 97 percent

of earth’s water lies in oceans and seas It is

salt water and is not suitablefor drinking

Freshwater is limited toless than 3 percent of earth’swater supply Glaciers and ice-bergs hold two-thirds of thatice in water About three-fifths

And less than one-fifth of

1 percent fills rivers and

include lakes, ponds, puddles,rivers, streams, and seeps(which are small springs).There is no “new” water.There is only water that hasbeen recycled in hundreds

of ways, thousands of times.Water, then, moves through acycle over long periods of time

A single drop of water in theocean may become water vaporand rise into the air Later, it

 Glaciers like this one in Antarctica hold about 2 percent of the earth’s water.

WORDS TO KNOW

ecosystems in which the

plants and animals are adapted

to a particular climate or

physical environment

groundwater

below the surface of the earth

?

may fall onto the earth as rain

or snow Water drops may mix

with salt They can be frozen

and thawed Water may even

pass through the human body

It is then cleaned naturally or

at a water treatment plant

Then it returns to the ground

and reenters thewater cycle

Rivers and Streams



WORDS TO KNOW

travels over the ground

?

Water goes wherever it flowsmost easily Cracks in rocks and dips in the ground createroutes for running water.

Rivers and streams aremoving freshwater Streamsoften begin in mountains, onhillsides, or in undergroundsprings Runoff water collectsinto a stream The streamfeeds a river The differencebetween a stream and a river isthe amount of water it carries.Rivers carry more water thanstreams When one river feedsanother, it is called a tributary

A river’s age determinesits flow A younger river hasfast-paced water It cuts astraighter path through theground and rock than an older river Fast-moving watererodes, or grinds away, rockand soil

Older rivers wander alongtheir routes As the rivererodes its banks, its path

8

 Rivers cut narrow gorges through dense

woodland.

changes from straight to curvy.

The curves are called

mean-ders A very old river has many

meanders The more a river

curves, the slower it moves

Look at a map of theMississippi River, the longestriver in the United States

The Mississippi begins as asmall stream at Lake Itasca,

9

Missour i R ive r

Miss issip

pi R ive r

Il

lin

sR iver

T en ne sse e R iver

Minnesota TheMississippi’s manytributaries add to itsflow The largesttributaries are theIllinois, the

10

Missouri, the Ohio, and theRed rivers By the time itreaches Louisiana, the Missis-sippi is wider and carries morewater than it did in Minnesota.The land area that a riverdrains is called a watershed.All the runoff, streams, andrivers of the watershed flowinto the same body of water,which could be a larger stream,

a lake, or the ocean TheMississippi drains almost allthe land between the RockyMountains and the Appa-lachian Mountains

Rivers and Ecosystems

ecosystems. The age, flow,and water quality of a riverdefine the type of ecosystemthat is formed Fast-moving

WORDS TO KNOW

ecosystems (EE-koh-siss-tuhmz)

communities of plants and

ani-mals and their relationships with

the surrounding environments

streams provide excellent

homes for trout The water

is quick and clear and has

little plant life

Slow-moving rivers often

carry soil and silt The water

is murky Water plants grow

along the banks Slow-moving

rivers can also form deltas.

The MississippiRiver and Africa’sNile River deltashave many smallislands that becomenew wetland ecosystems

The islands support plant and animal life, includingreeds and water grasses, as

WORDS TO KNOW

silt, sand, and gravel at the mouth of a river

?

well as shellfish, waterbirds,

and wading birds

Fish and water plants that

live near a river’s source may

be different from living things

farther downstream The

Col-orado River begins high in the

Rocky Mountain forests It

rushes through desert in Utah,

Nevada, and Arizona It ends

as a stream trickling into theGulf of California The trout ofthe upper Rockies differ great-

ly from the catfish of western Arizona

south-Lakes and Ponds

water, as opposed to the ning water found in rivers and

run-PROFILE: LAKE NATRON

Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa, has an incredibly foul smell The lake supports

shrimp, and insects somehow survive vile Lake Natron water.

The lake lies just south of the equator, where after- noon temperatures can soar to 150°

Fahrenheit (66° Celsius) In that heat, water evaporates quickly Little rain falls

in the area Underground hot springs full

of sodium carbonate refill the lake The water is caustic It burns or eats away human and animal flesh.

Flamingos are the only large animals that wade in Lake Natron without suffering burns Flamingos feast on algae and brine shrimp without fear

of predators No predators dare risk the stinging waters of Lake Natron.

streams Land completely

sur-rounds lakes and ponds The

difference between lakes and

ponds is the same as the

differ-ence between rivers and

streams: Lakes are simply

larger ponds

Although lake water

doesn’t flow like river water, it

does move Wind affects lakes

of all sizes Wind pushes the

water, forming waves Large

lakes, such as Europe’s Caspian

Sea and North America’s Lake

Superior, may have huge waves

that can sink ships Wave action

mixes and moves lake water

Seasonal changes also

move lake water In autumn,

surface water cools and sinks

Top layers of water trade places

with bottom layers This action

is called turnover

13

 Canada’s Lake Louise is one of the

most beautiful lakes in North America.

WORDS TO KNOW

one-celled plants

?

river in the worldthat flows bothnorth and south ofthe equator At 4,145miles (6,669 kilome-ters), the Nile is theworld’s longest river.

There are twobranches of theNile—the Blue Nileand the White Nile

The Blue Nile is fed

by Lake T’ana inEthiopia LakeVictoria, Africa’slargest lake, serves asheadwaters of the White Nile

Asia’s rivers provide water for earth’s most populat-

fresh-ed region China’s largestrivers are the Yangtze (3,720miles or 5,985 km) and theHuang, or Yellow, River

15

WATCH IT!

Discover the story of cichlids, the amazing fish of Lake Tanganyika, Africa, in National Geographic’s Lake Tanganyika:

Jewel of the Rift [ASIN:

0792241525] The video features fabulous photography and music, along with a truly inter- esting story.



Lakes can hold freshwater,

salt water, or alkali water The

Great Lakes are freshwater

lakes The Great Salt Lake in

Utah and the Dead Sea are salt

lakes Lake Natron in Africa is

an alkali, or soda, lake

Rivers and Lakes

around the World

found on every continent

Even frozen Antarctica has

freshwater in places beneath

the glacial ice Bodies of

fresh-water nourish plants and

ani-mals alike, including humans

Most of Africa’s freshwater

collects in eight river basins:

the Nile, Congo/Zaire, Niger,

Zambesi, Limpopo, Kasai,

Orange, and Volta Africa’s

Congo/Zaire River is the only

WORDS TO KNOW

around a river from which water drains into the river

?

 The T’is Isat Falls drain Ethiopia’s T’ana Lake into the Blue Nile River.

(2,903 miles or 4,671 km)

The Huang is called China’sSorrow because its floods havekilled millions of people TheMekong River, a major Asian

river, begins in China, andflows through Thailand, Laos,Kampuchea, and Vietnam.India’s main rivers includethe Brahmaputra and the

16

N

Za m ezi River

Lim popo Ri ver

Orange River

Volta

Kasa iR ive r

Lake Chad

Lake Victoria

Lake Natron Lake Tanganyika

Lake Nyasa

Lake Mai-Ndombe

Atlantic Ocean

500 KM

500 Miles 0

Ganges The Brahmaputra

River starts on the Tibetan

Plateau in China It passes

through the Himalayan

Mountains and eastern Indiabefore joining the GangesRiver in Bangladesh TheGanges is India’s sacred river

17

Indian

Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Arctic Ocean

M ek

on g R iver

Ya ng tze Riv er

Ye nis ei R iv er

Caspian

Sea

Lake Balkhash

Lake Baikal Aral

0

 Asia’s major rivers and lakes

the bed is dry again Thecontinent’s largest “wet”river is the Murray/Dar-

south-east Australia

Australia also has manydry lakes The world’s largestdry salt lake is Lake Eyre Itcovers 3,254 square miles(8,428 sq km) In the past

100 years, Lake Eyre hasheld water only three times.The most appropriatelynamed dry lake is LakeDisappointment It lies inAustralia’s western desertand undoubtedly disap-pointed many travelers hoping to find water

South America’s greatrivers lie east of the AndesMountains The Amazon, the world’s second longest

It is certainly the deepestlake Baikal plunges 5,314feet (1,620 meters) into theground That’s more than

WORDS TO KNOW

river system (RIV-ur SISS-tuhm)

a major river and its tributaries

?

river, begins as a stream

in the Andes Hundreds of

tributaries pour into the

Amazon, including the

Madeira, the Purus, and the

Rio Negro The Plata-Paranáriver system ranks as theworld’s seventh largest river

It passes through Brazil,Paraguay, and Argentina

Lake Mackay

Lake Eyre Lake Torrens

Lake Frome

N

Water reservoir

250 KM

250 Miles 0

0

 Australia’s major rivers and lakes

PROFILE: SOUTH AMERICAN

WATERFALLS

South America claims two stunning

waterfalls The world’s tallest

water-fall—Angel Falls (3,212 feet or 979 m)—

spills into the Orinoco River in

Venezuela The Iguazú Falls (above)

are short by comparison They are just

237 feet (72 m) high However, the falls

stretch across 2 miles (3 km) of the

Argentina/Brazil border They make up

in width what they lack in height.

before emptying into theAtlantic Ocean

Many great rivers carveNorth America’s lands TheMississippi/Missouri system

is the largest In Canada, theYukon, Mackenzie, and Fraserrivers flow in the west In theeast, Canada and the UnitedStates share the Saint

Lawrence River In the west, the Rio Grande marksthe border between the UnitedStates and Mexico

south-Canada and the UnitedStates also share the GreatLakes—Superior, Michigan,Huron, Erie, and Ontario.Man-made locks and canalsconnect the Great Lakes to theSaint Lawrence River, whichflows into the Atlantic Ocean.The Saint Lawrence Seaway

20

is one of the busiest shipping

lanes in the world

Europe’s rivers and lakes

have endured difficult

condi-tions due to pollution and

over-population Rivers such as theDanube and the Rhone passthrough many countries Get-ting those countries to worktogether for cleaner water has

21

Lake Maracaibo

Lake Titicaca

WJ van Blommestein Lake

60˚W 70˚W

R io

Sã o F ran cisco

To ca

in s R

 South America’s major rivers and lakes

not always been successful.

Factory waste, shipping, andlarge human populations placeheavy demands on rivers

The problems challengingEuropean rivers and lakes are the same for freshwaterresources around the world

22

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Fr er

iv er

wa n River

Great Salt Lake

Lake Winnipeg Lake Manitoba

Lake Superior

Lake Michigan

Lake Huron

Lake Erie

Lake Ontario

Lake Athabasca

Great Slave Lake

Great Bear Lake

0

 North America’s major rivers and lakes

Overcrowded riverbanks

damage Asia’s Yangtze and

Huang rivers as much as

they do Europe’s Rhine

Pollution in the Ganges is far

Lake Ladoga Lake Peipus Lake

Vänern

Th ames Riv er

Rhin e

iv er Danub e River

D nie

R iver

10˚W 20˚W 30˚W

Take a look at author Steve

(10-centimeter) tree trunk.They bring down the birchtree in about 15 minutes Next comes the hard work.The beavers strip thebranches from the trunk anddrag them to a stream Theyare building their lodge acrossthe fast-flowing mountain

Focus on Key Species

York’s Adirondack Mountains,

a beaver family sets to work

The adults gnaw a 4-inch

24

water The tree’s leaves, twigs,

and bark provide their food

They use tree trunks, limbs,

mud, and rocks to build their

home Their building skills are

so good that even a stick or

two of dynamite would barely

dent a beaver’s dam

Keystone Species

animal or plant that is vital

for the survival of an

ecosys-tem The species may change

the land or create new

habi-tats Or the species may

be the main food of habitat

predators Keystone species

of rivers and lakes are

andphytoplankton.

Beaver lodges and dams

change water flow and create

ponds and marshes

What was once ing water becomesstill water Animalsand plants that cannot live in fast-flowing streamwater take advan-tage of the beavers’

rush-efforts Cattails, wildirises, lilies, reeds,bulrushes, and watergrasses spring up

The new plant lifeattracts insect andbird species

In the NorthAmerican west,salmon is a keystone riverspecies About 140 differentanimal species depend onsalmon for survival Importantspecies that feed on salmon

25

 Beavers gnaw tree trunks and strip branches to build dams strong enough to

block raging rivers.

WATCH IT!

Beavers are among nature’s best engineers They are always busy, always building, and always interesting Discover their fasci-

[ASIN: B00003XAMO].



WORDS TO KNOW copepods (KOH-puh-pahdz)

small water animals related to shrimp that are the main food

of many small fish, reptiles, and insects

phytoplankton

plants, such as algae or diatoms

?

BEAVERS IN THE NEWS

Two conservation groups in Great Britain plan to reintroduce beavers to Scotland.

They will place four Norwegian beaver families, each with a male, a female, and three kits, in the Knapdale Forest

of Argyll, Scotland.

Beavers have not lived in Great Britain for

400 years.

In the 1500s, beavers were prized for their thick fur.

The species was hunted to extinc- tion in the British Isles This event will mark the first time a native species extinct in Great Britain is rein- troduced there.

include grizzly bears, otters,and bald eagles The youngsalmon feed off adult salmon

carcasses. Dead salmon alsorelease nutrientsinto thewater River plants feed andthrive on the nutrients provid-

ed by rotting salmon

The health of a lakeecosystem depends on tinyplants and animals called phy-toplankton and copepods.Phytoplankton feed young fish, insect larvae,and dozens

of other animal species

Copepods are tiny animals that

Some are not even as large asthe head of a pin They eatphytoplankton, insect larvae,and fish eggs In turn, cope-pods are the basic food, or firstlink, in the animal food chain

26

WORDS TO KNOW

bodies of dead animals

stage of development between

eggs and pupae when they look

like worms

nutrients (NOO-tree-uhnts)

substances needed by plants,

animals, or humans for growth;

key elements of a food

zooplankton

unable to propel themselves

They feed water insects,

wad-ing birds, and mature fish

Without phytoplankton

and copepods, fish, birds, and

water mammals could not

exist These microscopic

ani-mals and plants are the basic

elements of life in freshwater

WORDS TO KNOW endangered (en-DAYN-jurd)

close to extinction; few bers of a species still surviving

mem-microscopic (mye-kruh-SKOP-ik)

too small to be seen with the naked eye; only seen with the help of a microscope

risk of becoming endangered

?

An umbrella species is aprotected animal or plant thatspreads its legal protectionover other creatures Manateestravel through rivers, feeding

on sea grass or water cinths They need protection

hya-28

people from hunting

an animal or digging

up or cutting down aplant With riversand lakes, laws maylimit boats, fishing, building,

Ecosystems in Action book.

Follow the Columbia River

from its source to the sea,

through several

ever-changing ecosystems.



from speedboats, fishing nets,

and pollution Laws establish

areas in which boats can

trav-el only at slow speeds or not

at all Other fish, reptiles, and

amphibians that live in the

river share the manatees’

protection Reduced river

traffic and pollution-free

water helps all river beings—

not just manatees

Umbrella species may live

in or near lakes and rivers If

they feed in freshwater, their

food sources must be

protect-ed along with their habitats

Bald eagles are an umbrella

species of freshwater biomes

Bald eagles were once an

endangered species Their

populations dropped during

the late 1940s and early

1950s Scientists found that

DDT, a chemical compoundused to kill insects, reducedbald eagle populations Bald eagles are at the top

of their food chain They eatfish, such as salmon and trout,which feed on smaller fish.Small fish ate the bodies of

Bald eagles require pollution-free 

rivers and lakes to survive.

insects killed by DDT Thechemicals stayed in the insectsand fish, and eventually ended

up being eaten by eagles DDTcaused eagles to lay eggs withweak shells Eggs broke wheneagles sat on them to brood

Some eggs hatched young withbirth defects

Protection for bald eagleswas not protection of theeagles’ territory It was protec-tion from DDT The eaglesgained an advantage becauseDDT was banned and therefore

no longer poisoned insects.Other species that might haveeaten DDT-poisoned foodshared that benefit

Piping plovers are anotherexample of an umbrella species

in a freshwater biome Ploversare shorebirds that breed onthe sand dunes of Lake Mich-igan There are only a fewdozen nesting pairs left in thearea The plovers share theirterritory with sandhill cranes,herons, bufflehead ducks, and turtles Scientists want to

30

 This eagle has made a catch! It is fish for

dinner tonight.

protect the piping plover’s

hab-itat In doing so, they will also

protect the plovers’ neighbors

Flagship Species

species that attract the public’s

attention Salmon, beavers,whooping cranes, and baldeagles are flagship species

of freshwater environments

The problems faced byflagship species become publicissues When a flagship species

31

 Protecting the nesting areas of migrating birds like the great blue heron will help

preserve wading bird species.

makes news, politicians takenotice Laws to protect flagshipspecies also protect otherspecies and ecosystems.

Consider the situationwith bald eagles They werenot the only species damaged

by DDT Other birds of prey,such as American peregrinefalcons, osprey, and vultures,also suffered However, the

bald eagle is a national symbol

of the United States cians had more interest in sav-ing bald eagles than vultures.Laws passed to protect baldeagles saved the vultures, too

Politi-Indicator Species

the health of an ecosystem.Many species indicate, or show,

problems in that ecosystem.

Pollution, overbuilding,

erosion, and overhunting

or overfishing change

eco-systems Indicator species

measure those changes

Insects make excellent

indicator species They

quick-ly die or fail to produceyoung in unhealthy situa-tions One way to check if

a local pond is healthy is tocount the number of dragon-flies or damselflies hovering

in the air If there are few or

no dragonflies, the pond is

too polluted to support life

is healthy and food is ful, mussel colonies grow

plenti-34

LOOK IT UP!

Visit a dragonfly pond! Find out

about the plants and animals

living around a small pond at

4Along the Amazon River

of South America, a giant

river otter swims in a quick,

tight spiral The faster the

water moves, the tighter the

water swirls The movement

creates a whirlpool that sucks

fish from the river muckbelow The otter grabs itsprey in its paws It eats theentire fish, head first Ottersuse this whirlpool trick toenjoy an easy catch

Giant otters need about

10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) offood each day Their favoritemeal is catfish, but they also

PROFILE: PERU’S GIANT RIVER

OTTER PROJECT

Peru’s Giant River Otter Project identifies

otter habitats and observes otters in the

wild The giant river otter is just one of

the many species unique to the Amazon

River (below) and its tributaries Project

scientists found mercury pollution in

sev-eral sites where giant river otters feed.

The scientists are trying to reduce

pollu-tion in otter habitats As they study the

otters, scientists can decide what is

need-ed to preserve the species.

eat crayfish and frogs Theyhunt, eat, and rest through-out the day Although otterslive in burrows on land, they hunt in the water Theyare active, aggressive fresh-water predators

Predators of Every Size

come in all sizes and shapes.The tiniest is the copepod,which is both predator andprey Large predators includebrown bears, otters, croco-diles, alligators, and watersnakes Predators live besideand in the water They huntfrom both above and underwater They crawl, slither, fly,swim, and pounce

Mammals are the largestpredators Brown bears fish

while salmon are spawning.

The rest of the time, they eat

land animals and plants River

otters and weasels hunt for

fish, frogs, beavers, shrews,

and muskrats Although they

catch their food under water,

they usually eat their catches

on land or while floating on

their backs in the water

Reptiles sun themselves

on riverbanks in most warm,

freshwater regions They

usu-ally live on land, but

croco-diles and alligators spend as

much time in the water as on

solid ground These

danger-ous hunters glide through

water almost unseen They

quickly seize prey and kill it

in their powerful jaws Yet

mother crocodiles transport

their young in their mouths

without leaving

a scratch

The world’slargest snake is also

a water predator

The anaconda ofSouth Americalurks among thereeds at the water’sedge Anacondaseat wild pigs, deer,fish, other reptiles, and evenjaguars They eat prey whole

Their bodies digest skin,bones, and fur

Birds That Fish

the sky, talons stretched, andscoop up trout for dinner

Others bob along on thewater, waiting for a meal toswim by Then they dive down

37

WATCH IT!

Crocodiles: Here Be Dragons

(ASIN: 6304474598) gives ers a close-up look at Nile croco- diles and their lives as fierce predators and gentle parents.

view-

WORDS TO KNOW

produc-ing eggs or young

?

PROFILE: THE NILE CROCODILE

Nile crocodiles can bring down

wilde-beests or zebras with no trouble They

attack lions and water buffaloes A

Nile crocodile’s jaws can break a man’s

leg in two with one bite In fact, Nile

crocs cause more human deaths than

lions, tigers, or rhinos.

Nile crocodile hatchlings must hide

from predators For their first few

years, they are preyed upon by male

crocodiles, birds, and large fish It

takes about seven years for a crocodile

to reach adult age Adult Nile

croco-diles can weigh more than 1,500

pounds (680 kg) and can reach 20 feet

(6 m) in length Only humans hunt

adult Nile crocodiles.

and snap up prey in their bills.Still others wade into the waterand peck at fish, mussels, andworms hiding in the shallows Birds of prey rely almostentirely on meat for their diets.Some birds of prey are fish-eaters Besides bald eagles,African fish hawks and ospreyhunt fish They catch fishwhile flying, and then return

to their nests to eat

Birds do not have to bebirds of prey to be predators.Ducks may upend themselves

to hunt snails, mussels, andfish Other birds dive for theirfood Dippers—common

around fast-flowing mountainstreams in the Rockies and theAndes, as well as in Europeand Asia—dive down tostreambeds to find snails

38

and small fish that hide among

the rocks In North and South

America, Africa, and Asia,

kingfishers perch on

overhang-ing branches Whenfish swim beneaththem, they plungeinto the water

http://www.KidsGoWild.com

to find out how to join.



Cranes, egrets, herons,

and flamingos are wading

birds Their long legs allow

them to walk through

shal-low water in search of small

fish, shellfish, and insects

The shape of their bills suits

the type of food the birdseat Bills can be spoon-shaped, thin and straight,

or curved A spoonbill scoops up its food Cranesand egrets peck with long,sharp bills