Transportation plays a large role in the character of the Mill Creek Watershed, affecting the region’s land use, commerce and public health. From an infrastructure standpoint, the watershed contains (NEED NUMBER AND SOURCE) linear miles of roads, (NUMBERS) of railway tracks, as well as sidewalks, bikeways, and greenways. These highways include Interstates I-75, I-71, I-74, and I-275, which all pass through the watershed. Respectively located to the north and south of the Watershed, the Dayton International Airport and the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport provide another transportation option. Both the four interstates and the many state, county, and local roads in the region handle a growing number of commuters. According to the 2008 OKI 2030 Regional Transportation Plan, 398,465 Hamilton County residents commuted somewhere for work in 2000; 15.6 percent of these residents traveled outside of Hamilton County for these purposes. This percentage has increased from the 1970s, where only 10.1 percent of commuters left the county. Butler County ha...
After 1830, the construction of railroads and macadam turnpikes began to bring improved transportation facilities to come American communities, but the transportation revolution did not affect most rural roads until the twentieth century. Antebellum investors, public and private,...
Removal of the mountaintops causes environmental impacts from blasting. The blasting has caused rocks to be deposited into valleys on the hillsides, burying almost 2,000 miles of streams which feed the Mississippi River. Slurry, the residue which is used to clean the coal can wash into groundwater and may contain arsenic, lead, manganese, iron, sodium, strontium, and sulfate. A recent research study is beginning to link these environmental impacts to the grave health concerns in the Appalachian communities. During most of the Mountaintop removal mining’s history coal industries have been able to obtain permits easily to operate, but once under the Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) those permits now take more time to obtain. The permit process requires all applications to be reviewed before being given out to coal
Kai T. Erikson studied the effects of the Buffalo Creek flood and interviewed the survivors left in the community. Erikson documented his research and his analysis in his ethnography Everything in its Path. The flood was unique in the way that it affected the community so drastically and the calamity that it caused in its wake. Buffalo Creek is a small mining community in rural West Virginia. The community has deep roots in the land and has always trusted the land to provide for them as well as trusting the company to treat them fairly. The community is made up of families that have been there for several generations and treats everyone in the community as a family member. Individuals in Buffalo Creek pride themselves on their hard work and
Harlan County region has historically been a coal mining area located in the heart of the Cumberland Mountains, which is characterized by moderate to steep hillsides and narrow valleys. Large open tracts of land are minimal, which places constraints on wastewater treatment options (EPA, 2004). Consequently, small-scale wastewater package plants are prevalent. Path Fork, Cawood, and Evarts cities are located along tributaries of the upper Cumberland River and each had numerous examples of “straight-pipe” discharges (EPA
The Colorado River Delta is a vast stream of water that begins in the Rocky Mountains and flows to the Gulf of California. It is the primary source of water for the western part of the United States, making the golden nectar available to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Mexico. Because of miscellaneous international treaties and over 40 dams built along the river’s path (Ficklin 1), it is slowly becoming the most controlled of all watersheds. With the populations of these towns becoming greater, the amount of pull on the river from the society has increased as a rapid rate. Normally that would not be a problem but given the context, water sources are not as dynamic--fluid, if you will, as the world would often appreciate.
Carbon emissions from the steamboats polluted the air (Roark, 261). The building of roads was a major connecting point for states. There were some arguments about who would pay for these new roads.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Colorado River is formed by small streams created by a huge amount of snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains. The ecology and flow of the river varies highly by region. The river is divided into two different regions, the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin. Beginning in the early 1900s, western states began to build dams in the Colorado river, diverting the water flow to fast growing cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix. The river now services over 30 million in the southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico (Patrick 1). Diverting the water of the nation’s seventh-longest river may be seen has a great accomplishment, however to others this is a great crime against nature. Over the past couple years the river has been running significantly low, since a drought has come up the southwest. At the lakes edge, “bathtub rings”, lines in the rock walls, can be seen showing the decrease in water level. It is recorded in some areas of the river that the water has lowered 130 feet since 2000. Some water resource officials say those areas will never be filled back to normal. The surrounding states must adjust to living with less water or further actions need to be taken to save the river’s water. There has been some talk about adding water to the river to replenish the river but nothing has hap...
The Colorado River, before Yuma was built, ran wild. The Colorado River met up with the Gila River in the table-flat floodplains. When irrigation was first created people used gates to control the water flow to the fields. But, before they used the gates a dam had to be built in order to control how much water is flowing. After the dam was built the farmers would open the gates to the fields and let water run in, after the amount of water was needed the people would close the gates and the river kept flowing. This made farmer’s lives
The Mississippi River is one of the world 's extraordinary rivers. It is the longest in the United States, more than twenty-three hundred miles in length, as it structures the outskirts of ten states, just about bisecting the mainland (Currie,2003, 8). This waterway has a long history also, and it has touched the lives of numerous individuals. The Mississippi is said to start at Lake Itasca in Minnesota. In 1832, pilgrim Henry Schoolcraft named this lake, not after any neighborhood Indian name, but rather from the Latin words for "genuine head" which are veritas caput abbreviated to "Itasca" (Currie, 2003, 4). In any case, much sooner than its source was named it was a navigational waterway. The Indians who initially lived on the banks of the stream were known as the Mississippians. From 800 to 1500, these people groups utilized the waterway for exchange. They dug out
A watershed is an area of land that contributes water to a river, lake, wetland, bay or any other body of water, small or large. Watersheds are also known as basins or drainage basins, as they do “drain” off into a larger body of water. There are watersheds all around us. Small streams and creeks are also considered watersheds; so even if you don’t know it, you too live in a watershed. Watersheds consist of all surface water, as well as all ground and underground water. There are watersheds of many different sizes. We Virginia residents live in one of the largest watersheds in the world. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is said to be larger than 64,000 square miles and embody six different states. The six states to which the Chesapeake Bay watershed surrounds are as follows: New York, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and of course, Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay watershed houses more than 17 million people in total. Another fact—a total of 150 creeks, streams, and rivers drain into the Chesapeake Bay River. The Susquehanna, York, Rappahannock, Potomac,and James rivers are the five largest rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.I will be focusing on the latter in this paper—the James River.
The 1927 lower Mississippi River Flood was the worst flood in the history of the United States. Massive rain in the winter of 1926-27 caused water to overflow the banks on the Mississippi tributaries, causing floods to the west in Oklahoma and Kansas, to the east in Illinois and Kentucky. It rained in extraordinary qualities on April 15th, 1927, all through the Mississippi River Valley and brought on monstrous flooding. New Orleans had 15 inches of water, which the river swelled high and flowed fast. In fact, one man recalled that he saw the current sucked a
The Colorado River, which has so many uses and serves so many, is running out of water. The river delivers water and power to nearly 30 million people who live in the basin states. (River Uses) That includes people who live in Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California, Wyoming and Mexico. In addition, the river is crucial to the economy because “throughout the seven basin states, the Colorado River provides water for people and for business and industry - creating jobs for millions, jobs that contribute to local economies and billions of dollars to the nation.” (River Uses) The river is also important as it provides irrigation to about 1.4 million acres of land for fa...
Rivers all over the United States create geological features that fascinate many people, whether it is for work or for play. Rivers also pose a threat to many towns every year as spring rains and snow melt fill these rivers to beyond capacity, causing them to overflow their banks; flooding the surrounding areas. Rivers may cause floods, however, they also provide many benefits to society. One of the most notable is hydroelectric power, which often leads to a river being dammed. A dammed river creates a reliable location for adventure companies to establish whitewater rafting businesses that utilizes the flow of the river through rapids and scenic views to create a thrill for adventure seeking customers.
Biking from Franklin on the Allegheny Valley Trail, average travelers would assume that the path on which they were riding was nothing more than an ordinary trail in an ordinary town. Then around the five mile marker they would see the massive Belmar Bridge rising in the distance. Today the bridge serves as a reminder of our region’s rich history, harkening back to the days when oil wells dotted the landscape and railroads crisscrossed the countryside. At about the eight mile marker, a large rock covered in intricate symbols and markings juts out of the river. Centuries ago, Indian God Rock served as a waypoint for the Native Americans who created the paths on which the railroads were built. The Allegheny Valley, Samuel Justus, and Sandycreek Trails built by the Allegheny Valley Trails connect all eras of our region’s history, from the Native American period to the glory days of the oil industry, the years of economic decline, and the our recent resurgence as a center of tourism and recreation.
One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for recreation purposes. Also, once in Mexico, the river provides water to irrigate half a million acres of farmland, and municipal and industrial water for 2 million people living in this delta region. The river distributes its flow from lakes and canals along its journey as well. Due to climate change, human demand, natural forces like evaporation and human-induced climate change this water supply is in conflict. Also, a recent change that began in March of 2014 will bring a temporary water surge to the delta of the Colorado River for the first time in many years to help restore this region, and it’s possible it could reach the Sea of Cortez once again.