Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers (Springer Series in Physical Environment)

Graf, William L.

ISBN 10: 3540175911 / ISBN 13: 9783540175919

Published by Springer-Verlag, 1988

About this Item

This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has hardback covers. In fair condition, suitable as a study copy. No dust jacket. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,850grams, ISBN:3540175911.

Seller Inventory # 9641809

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers (Springer Series in Physical Environment)
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3540175911
• ISBN 13: 9783540175919
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Lecce, Scott A.
• Condition: Fair
• Weight: 850 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Geography

About this title

Synopsis

From this high promontory, the landforms of the Sonoran Des­ ert take on awesome proportions. The mesas, buttes, cinder cones, basalt flows, mountains, and valleys, all carved and modi­ fied by water in this dry place, must be measured in kilometers and millions of years. Even the colors are dazzling. The volcanic rocks, altered by ancient hydrothermal activity, glow a warm orange and yellow in the October sun. The bright, clear light illuminates each tiny crevice etched by weathering and erosion in the cliffs. Several hundred meters below and about a kilo­ meter away the river rolls, a brown silt-laden ribbon on the floor of the gorge. The water rustles so quietly that I can hear it only when the wind dies. In the distance, sharp mountain peaks rake the bottom of the ocean of air where streamers of clouds stretch over the horizon to the ocean of water. The field is a fitting place to write the preface for a book on geomorphology because of the importance of the field experi­ ence in the development of the science. Dramatic landforms and processes, especially in drylands, have excited the imagination and intellect of artists, writers, and scientists. Each observer has explored a different route to knowing and understanding this thin envelope that is the contact between sky and earth. De­ scriptions of these striking landscapes have appealed to cataclys­ mic forces, operation of machine-like processes, and even ran­ dom occurrences governed by happenstance.

From the Publisher

Review: "Will Graf's Fluvial Processes in Dryland Rivers is a classic. It is well-conceived, comprehensive, theoretical, yet practical, and deals well with both form and process. Few environmental problems in drylands are independent of fluvial processes and climatic variations, agriculture, increasing urbanization, and water demands have all put new strains on streams. The unavailability of Graf's book over the past decade has been problematic to environmental analysts of all types, but especially to hydrologists and fluvial geomorphologists engaged not only in fluvial analysis , but also in fluvial restoration. Thus, the reprinting of this book at a modest price is especially welcome". (Dr. Stanley W. Trimble, Professor, Geography Department, UCLA)

Review: "This book is an excellent summary of semiarid and arid landforms and dryland river morphology. It will be of interest and value not only to geomorphologists, but also to anyone concerned with the dynamics of drylands." (Dr. Stan Schumm)