Zigzag River ( #AtoZChallenge )

 Rivers flow hither and yon, round and about, fast and slow.  Rivers go where rivers go and then the cycle begins again...

Zig Zag River

The Zigzag River flows from its headwaters on Mt. Hood( Photo by instagrammer tomgolfkam).

          Zig zagging across this continent as well as continents throughout the world, rivers are everywhere.  The rivers come in all sizes and appearances.   They wind, they snake, they crawl, and often they rampage with an apparent frenzied rage as they persist in getting to their ultimate destinations.

 

          Some rivers move in a zig zag path while one river is named "Zigzag".  The Zigzag River in Oregon is only 12 miles long but it boasts some formidable whitewater rapids in its final 3 miles before it reaches the confluence with the Sandy River.  In this part of Oregon the Zigzag name is everywhere from the Zigzag Glacier where the Zigzag River begins to the Zigzag Falls along the river course to the small community of Zigzag at the merging of the Sandy River.   You get a larger than normal dose of Z's in this part of Oregon.

         To close my A to Z Rivers of America series let us look at a final river running through New Mexico and Arizona--the Zuni River.   Considered sacred by the Zuni tribe, their namesake river struggles for survival in the arid desert where it sometimes flows.  In drier seasons the river might go from a trickle to apparent nothingness.  Yet the river persists as it has persisted for seemingly as long as the Earth has been around.  From the fossils that are found in the surrounding river basin to the Zuni people who lived on this land long before Europeans arrived, the Zuni River exemplifies the longlastingness of rivers.

        Dream of rivers.  Experience rivers.  Watch the rivers flow and imagine what has been and what will be.  The rivers belong to all of us.  They help economies thrive and ecosystems to survive.  You can't hug a river, but you can love them.  Love them for the life they provide.   Rivers are life.

      Can you think of a river that is more harmful than not?   Do you think it is good to control rivers with artificial measures like dams or channels?    If you could name a river, what name would you like to use?

Yellowstone River ( #AtoZChallenge )

One of the spectacular aspects of rivers is the presence of waterfalls.  Some rivers have none while some have many. Some waterfalls tower while others merely cascade.  The water flows when, where, and how it must and goes where it will...

 

Yellowstone River

Yellowstone Falls on the Yellowstone River (Wikipedia)

      Rivers are everywhere.  We might tend not to notice the rivers because they have always been there and they are always there.  One river leads to another and another until that one final river merges into the sea.  The Yadkin River of North Carolina joins the  Uwharrie River, to become the Pee Dee River which continues into South Carolina.

      Go to Mississippi and you will find the Yalobusha River which eventually joins the Tallahatchie River to become the Yazoo River.  Mississippi has a number of rivers with names derived from native languages that make for interesting pronunciation challenges.  How about the Yockanookany River – can you say it quickly three times?   Then there is the Youghiogheny River in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Maybe it's time for something simple instead.

       I give you the Yellow River.  Oh wait, there's the Yellow River of Alabama and Florida, and the Yellow River in Indiana, or the Yellow River in Iowa. Apparently that was a popular name back in the river naming days.  And it is easy to say and to spell.

       Thinking of Yellow I turn to one of my favorite rivers--the Yellowstone River running for 692 miles though Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota.  The river runs through Yellowstone National Park where there are some impressive sights such as Yellowstone Falls.  Interstate 94 follows along the Yellowstone for much of the way across Montana as the river heads to its final destination of the Missouri River.  

        Yes the rivers just keep on rolling, one river to the next.

        

         Have you visited Yellowstone National Park?  Do you have a favorite waterfall?  Which rivers have you followed for considerable distance as you drove a highway?   

       

X: You Pick a River ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Since X doesn't really have a river that I can think of then maybe we'll let readers have a break from my thoughts and hear what you have to say... 

          In my A to Z series on rivers I've been mainly discussing rivers that mean something special to me.  How about some of you?   Do you have a particular river that is a favorite of yours or one that has a special meaning to you?   Let us know your thoughts in the comments...