America's Waterways

An orange tributary of the Kugororuk River.

Alaska's Rivers Are Turning Orange as Thawing Permafrost Releases Metals Into Waterways

A new study identifies at least 75 Arctic streams where minerals, especially iron, are staining water with a rusty hue

Wildlife officials released 830,000 fall-run Chinook salmon fry into Fall Creek. A large but unknown number of them died as they passed through a tunnel on the Klamath River.

Hundreds of Thousands of Salmon Die After Release in Northern California's Klamath River

The juvenile Chinook salmon likely died from pressure changes as they swam through an old tunnel in the Iron Gate Dam, slated to be removed this year as part of a massive demolition project

Returning Rapids Project investigator Chris Benson examines old photos of the Colorado River to see how it has changed over time.

Citizen Scientists Document a Recovering Colorado River

The Returning Rapids Project charts a resurgent waterway and its surrounding ecosystems

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Hear What’s Happening to the Colorado River From a Photojournalist Who Has Spent His Entire Life Alongside It

In the latest episode of “There’s More to That,” learn about the Western waterway that affects the lives of everyone in the United States

Archaeologists collect samples from a prehistoric caribou hunting site on Alpena-Amberley Ridge in Lake Huron.

Clues to the Lives of North America's First Inhabitants Are Hidden Underwater

Submerged prehistory holds insights on the first humans to live in North America

A $25 million plan to uncover 1,100 feet of Jordan Creek and build three bridges is moving forward in Springfield, Missouri.

How 'Daylighting' Buried Waterways Is Revitalizing Cities Across America

Urban centers are exhuming creeks and streams once covered up to control floodwater—and bringing life back in the process

The birds gather by the thousands along the Platte River.

See Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Gather in Nebraska

Every year, travelers attempt to witness the birds on their long journey north

The Nenana Ice Classic tripod is on display alongside the Tanana River and the Alaska Railroad tracks, next to the community "watchtower" building. The tripod will be raised on the ice of the Tanana River on March 5, 2023.

The River That's Kept Alaska Guessing for More Than a Century

The Nenana Ice Classic, started in 1917, is a high-stakes guessing game over the date, hour and minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River

Wesley Miles, a Pima archaeologist, points out that the placement of this new canal parallel to a prehistoric channel “says something about our ancestors’ engineering skills.”

This Native American Tribe Is Taking Back Its Water

With a new state-of-the-art irrigation project, Arizona’s Pima Indians are transforming their land into what it once was: the granary of the Southwest

On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the bare, whitened trunks of a “ghost forest” are one of the effects of surging waters that turn woodland into marsh.

Why Marshlands Are the Perfect Lab for Studying Climate Change

At the border between land and sea, an extraordinary set of experiments is helping us prepare for an uncertain future

The current drought reveals lost items from earlier, wetter times, like this sunken boat near Iceberg Canyon.

The Breathtaking Glen Canyon Reveals Its Secrets

Water woes threaten America’s second largest reservoir—but leave new vistas in their wake

Sunrise near St. Joe, a mining town that fell into decay about a century ago. Today, it’s a destination for people exploring the Buffalo River.

What Makes the Buffalo River the Jewel of the Ozarks

An unabashed tribute to the wild Arkansas waterway that became the nation’s first national river 50 years ago

The Mississippi Delta, seen from space in 2001.

The 70 Million-Year-Old History of the Mississippi River

Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation

Blue Hole Regional Park, just south of Austin, Texas, is sought after for its canopy of bald cypress trees and its two rope swings.

The Sublime Sensation of the Swimming Hole

Kick off your shoes and jump into summer's most refreshing tradition on a lazy afternoon

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