As rivers flow to the sea, they shape both the land's physical features as well as human society. Each title in this appealing series paints a vivid portrait of a major river: its geography, historical importance, current economic role, and environmental challenges. Full-color maps, photographs, and engaging text combine to illustrate how rivers provide transportation, support trade, provide power to make electricity, and supply people with water for drinking, farming, and many other purposes. The impact on the world's great river systems of human activities, such as the creation of pollution, dams, and climate change are examined. Each book also includes a timeline, a table comparing key facts about the world's major rivers, sidebars, and primary source quotations.