Angst over drought and hugely declining levels of rivers like the Colorado River, Columbia River, and the Fraser River - all expected to only get worse with climate change - are key societal issues that have massive implications for large cities, particularly in the Canadian West and the American Southwest. To date, there is no single volume that addresses the generality of the obvious thirst for information and analysis of the collective impact of rivers on North American society from a diverse historical, political, social, economic, and biological/physical viewpoint. This is not a specialist book on rivers. It is an exploration of the physical diversity of 12 great rivers of North America and the critical roles they have played in the development of (largely) post-European colonization of North America. The story and historical narrative will appeal to naturalists, people interested in environmental history, and those interested in the interactions between our physical environment and human development. Includes an extensive bibliography, along with a list of each river and its physical dimensions, human population size, books and music that speak to each river.