Horrible Geography: Raging Rivers

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I’m in a place called Ironbridge where the River Severn runs through. And later locals Riley and Maisie will be joining me on the riverbank to explore. But first, let’s zoom out. Semi-permeable: This land cover can soak up some water, but not as much as permeable surfaces. Examples: Farmland, soccer fields and lawns. De-Graft: Yeah, when a river gets too full, usually because of heavy rainfall, it can overflow or it can flood. Now, the land around a river that floods is called a floodplain.

The river begins in the valley formed by Rattlesnake Ridge to the east and Taylor Mountain to the west in the Raging River State Forest, managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. It flows northwest, crossing State Route 18, and then continues north past Tiger Mountain, crossing Interstate 90 near Preston, Washington, and joining the Snoqualmie River near Fall City, Washington. The Raging River watershed is part of the larger Puget Sound drainage basin. The average annual flow in the river is 149 cubic feet (4.2m 3) per second [4] and the drainage area is 32 square miles. [5] History [ edit ] Engineers consider constraints (limitations) when building a community. These constraints might include the material and time requirements of building up the community, as well as the social, ethical and environmental considerations that are imposed by the building up of the community. As with most large projects, knowledge comes with experience. Engineers building up the community of Chicago did not have the experience they have now in knowing the effects of large communities of paved areas (which leave little land exposed to soak up rainwater). If those engineers had known then that this would become a problem, they might have planned scattered parks and areas with permeable surfaces to "soak up" the storm water. However, since the city was already designed and built as it is today, engineers are working to improve that situation by designing and maintaining a very expensive system for managing storm water underground to prevent floods. I’m on the River Severn at this point here on the map… But the river actually starts up in the Cambrian Mountains of mid-Wales here, and runs all the way into the Bristol Channel down here. The second longest river in the UK after the River Severn is the Thames, which stretches right across here and all the way through London. Karen Sykes (February 13, 2003). "Hike Of The Week: Take your dog and bike to these nearby woods". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Explain some of the ways that engineers work with communities to protect rivers and prevent floods.

In the winter of 2012 the Washington Department of Natural Resources began a public planning activity to guide the development of recreation opportunities in the Snoqualmie Corridor, including specifically the Raging River State Forest. Today we have been talking about rivers and the water cycle. Can anyone tell me what a river is? Right, it is a landform that has water in it at least some of the year. Can anyone name a river in our area? Good, these are all rivers near where we live. Thinking about those rivers, what do we find along the sides of them, or what do you see in the riparian area? Right, we might find plants, animals or a bike path. So, for what purpose might we use a river? People use rivers for recreation (swimming, fishing, etc.), to irrigate farms to grow food, and even for transportation in areas where waterways are a good way to move about. Engineers also know that rivers are a good resource. They design ways for us to keep rivers clean to use for drinking water and other purposes. Engineers also know about the water cycle and its importance in the movement and use of water. De-Graft: Well historically, people used rivers to transport goods and bring trade to different areas. So, what kind of things do you think were transported on this river in the past? Permeable: This type of land cover easily soaks up excess water. Example: Land with native plants growing on it. This type of land usually has not been compacted by human activities.

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The middle part of a river is on lower ground. Some streams and smaller rivers feed into it and they are called tributaries. The river carves its own path out to the sea and creates bends called ‘meanders’. Sometimes a river becomes so bendy it creates an easier route straight across and cuts off the meander. This forms what is called an ox-bow lake. a b Ervin, Keith. "Raging River forest acreage to fill gap in I-90 Greenway". Seattle Times . Retrieved 30 January 2013.

Permeable Pavement - Students design and create models of rivers to see how human impacts change the permeability of riparian areas.Floodplain Modeling - In this activity (a part of the Natural Disasters unit), students design and create models of rivers to examine floodplains and how dams change the shape of rivers. The water cycle is also important to our fresh water supply used for drinking water, growing crops and industrial production. Since humans cannot drink the salty water from the oceans, we rely on freshwater from lakes, river and aquifers (underground reservoirs) to meet our needs for fresh water. When engineers alter the land by developing communities and roads, it changes the water cycle. For example, many problems with flooding in Chicago are due to the existence of so many paved areas. Originally, Chicago was built on marshy soil that absorbed significant amounts of water. Now, the heavy amount of water runoff during big storms has no place to go since pavement cannot absorb moisture. The water runs off the impermeable surfaces and into the local rivers, bringing them to dangerous near-flood levels. Engineers had the design challenge to build large underground storage tanks to hold storm water that can be used during storm-free times. Sometimes these tanks cannot hold the massive amount of water that flows as the result of a storm, so engineers in Chicago have suggested other alternatives to handle storm water runoff, including rooftop gardens, permeable alleys, green infrastructure, downspouts (which reduce the flow of water into the storm sewers), and rain gardens. Refer to the associated activity Permeable Pavement for students design and create models of rivers to see how human impacts change the permeability of riparian areas. Close your eyes and think about when it rains on the school grounds. What happens to the water if it rains onto a grassy area? Right, the rain water soaks into the ground and plant roots "drink" the water. What happens if it rains onto the sidewalk or parking lot? Correct again! The rain water collects in puddles or runs off of the sidewalk into the grass or the street. Have you ever seen a really large puddle on the sidewalk or road where the rain has nowhere to go? Sometimes these puddles are so big that they make it hard to get to the other side (of the puddle, or the sidewalk!). Open your eyes. As all rivers continue they become deeper and wider. The majority of rivers then eventually join the sea at what is called it’s mouth, often forming an estuary.