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122-730: The Kolan River is a river in the Bundaberg Region , Queensland , Australia. The river rises in the Bobby Range, below the Dawes Range in the north-east, and the Burnett Range in the south-west. The river flows generally south and then east towards the settlement of Toweran where the Bruce Highway crosses the river. From this point the river flows south by east and enters Lake Monduran , formed in 1978 by

244-444: A city or village and be named as streets , serving a dual function as urban space easement and route. The most common road vehicle is the automobile; a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor . Other users of roads include buses , trucks , motorcycles , bicycles , and pedestrians . As of 2010, there were 1.015 billion automobiles worldwide. Road transport offers complete freedom to road users to transfer

366-582: A lake , an ocean , or another river. A stream refers to water that flows in a natural channel , a geographic feature that can contain flowing water. A stream may also be referred to as a watercourse. The study of the movement of water as it occurs on Earth is called hydrology , and their effect on the landscape is covered by geomorphology . Rivers are part of the water cycle , the continuous processes by which water moves about Earth. This means that all water that flows in rivers must ultimately come from precipitation . The sides of rivers have land that

488-471: A pipe ; most commonly liquid and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes can also send solid capsules using compressed air. For liquids/gases, any chemically stable liquid or gas can be sent through a pipeline. Short-distance systems exist for sewage , slurry , water , and beer , while long-distance networks are used for petroleum and natural gas . Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by cables instead of an internal power source. It

610-648: A tragedy of the commons , where the flexibility and comfort for the individual deteriorate the natural and urban environment for all. Density of development depends on mode of transport, with public transport allowing for better spatial use. Good land use keeps common activities close to people's homes and places higher-density development closer to transport lines and hubs, to minimize the need for transport. There are economies of agglomeration . Beyond transport, some land uses are more efficient when clustered. Transport facilities consume land, and in cities pavement (devoted to streets and parking) can easily exceed 20 percent of

732-547: A trip hammer , and grind grains with a millstone . In the Middle Ages , water mills began to automate many aspects of manual labor , and spread rapidly. By 1300, there were at least 10,000 mills in England alone. A medieval watermill could do the work of 30–60 human workers. Water mills were often used in conjunction with dams to focus and increase the speed of the water. Water wheels continued to be used up to and through

854-740: A boat along certain stretches. In these religions, such as that of the Altai in Russia , the river is considered a living being that must be afforded respect. Rivers are some of the most sacred places in Hinduism. There is archeological evidence that mass ritual bathing in rivers at least 5,000 years ago in the Indus river valley . While most rivers in India are revered, the Ganges is most sacred. The river has

976-515: A central role in various Hindu myths, and its water is said to have properties of healing as well as absolution from sins. Hindus believe that when the cremated remains of a person is released into the Ganges, their soul is released from the mortal world. Freshwater fish make up 40% of the world's fish species, but 20% of these species are known to have gone extinct in recent years. Human uses of rivers make these species especially vulnerable. Dams and other engineered changes to rivers can block

1098-413: A common outlet. Rivers have a great effect on the landscape around them. They may regularly overflow their banks and flood the surrounding area, spreading nutrients to the surrounding area. Sediment or alluvium carried by rivers shapes the landscape around it, forming deltas and islands where the flow slows down. Rivers rarely run in a straight line, instead, they bend or meander ; the locations of

1220-490: A component for the creation of regulation policy by authorities. Transport engineering , a sub-discipline of civil engineering , must take into account trip generation , trip distribution , mode choice , and route assignment , while the operative level is handled through traffic engineering . Because of the negative impacts incurred, transport often becomes the subject of controversy related to choice of mode, as well as increased capacity. Automotive transport can be seen as

1342-570: A consistent distance apart, or gauge . The rails and perpendicular beams are placed on a foundation made of concrete or compressed earth and gravel in a bed of ballast. Alternative methods include monorail and maglev . A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that operate on the rails. Propulsion is commonly provided by a locomotive , that hauls a series of unpowered cars, that can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by steam , by diesel , or by electricity supplied by trackside systems . Alternatively, some or all

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1464-408: A continuous flow of water throughout the year. This may be because an arid climate is too dry depending on the season to support a stream, or because a river is seasonally frozen in the winter (such as in an area with substantial permafrost ), or in the headwaters of rivers in mountains, where snowmelt is required to fuel the river. These rivers can appear in a variety of climates, and still provide

1586-422: A great impact on the land, and transport is the largest drainer of energy, making transport sustainability a major issue. Due to the way modern cities and communities are planned and operated, a physical distinction between home and work is usually created, forcing people to transport themselves to places of work, study, or leisure, as well as to temporarily relocate for other daily activities. Passenger transport

1708-564: A habitat for aquatic life and perform other ecological functions. Subterranean rivers may flow underground through flooded caves. This can happen in karst systems, where rock dissolves to form caves. These rivers provide a habitat for diverse microorganisms and have become an important target of study by microbiologists . Other rivers and streams have been covered over or converted to run in tunnels due to human development. These rivers do not typically host any life, and are often used only for stormwater or flood control. One such example

1830-495: A large scale. This has been attributed to unusually large floods destroying infrastructure; however, there is evidence that permanent changes to climate causing higher aridity and lower river flow may have been the determining factor in what river civilizations succeeded or dissolved. Water wheels began to be used at least 2,000 years ago to harness the energy of rivers. Water wheels turn an axle that can supply rotational energy to move water into aqueducts , work metal using

1952-556: A peak in the 1970s, when between two or three dams were completed every day, and has since begun to decline. New dam projects are primarily focused in China , India , and other areas in Asia . The first civilizations of Earth were born on floodplains between 5,500 and 3,500 years ago. The freshwater, fertile soil, and transportation provided by rivers helped create the conditions for complex societies to emerge. Three such civilizations were

2074-891: A ritualistic sense has been compared to the Christian ritual of baptism , famously the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River . Floods also appear in Norse mythology , where the world is said to emerge from a void that eleven rivers flowed into. Aboriginal Australian religion and Mesoamerican mythology also have stories of floods, some of which contain no survivors, unlike the Abrahamic flood. Along with mythological rivers, religions have also cared for specific rivers as sacred rivers. The Ancient Celtic religion saw rivers as goddesses. The Nile had many gods attached to it. The tears of

2196-425: A river can take several forms. Tidal rivers (often part of an estuary ) have their levels rise and fall with the tide . Since the levels of these rivers are often already at or near sea level, the flow of alluvium and the brackish water that flows in these rivers may be either upriver or downriver depending on the time of day. Rivers that are not tidal may form deltas that continuously deposit alluvium into

2318-1026: A river's banks can change frequently. Rivers get their alluvium from erosion , which carves rock into canyons and valleys . Rivers have sustained human and animal life for millennia, including the first human civilizations . The organisms that live around or in a river such as fish , aquatic plants , and insects have different roles, including processing organic matter and predation . Rivers have produced abundant resources for humans, including food , transportation , drinking water , and recreation. Humans have engineered rivers to prevent flooding, irrigate crops, perform work with water wheels , and produce hydroelectricity from dams. People associate rivers with life and fertility and have strong religious, political, social, and mythological attachments to them. Rivers and river ecosystems are threatened by water pollution , climate change , and human activity. The construction of dams, canals , levees , and other engineered structures has eliminated habitats, has caused

2440-701: A roadway, a terminal, and facilities for parking and maintenance. For rail, pipeline, road, and cable transport, the entire way the vehicle travels must be constructed. Air and watercraft are able to avoid this, since the airway and seaway do not need to be constructed. However, they require fixed infrastructure at terminals. Terminals such as airports, ports, and stations, are locations where passengers and freight can be transferred from one vehicle or mode to another. For passenger transport, terminals are integrating different modes to allow riders, who are interchanging between modes, to take advantage of each mode's benefits. For instance, airport rail links connect airports to

2562-460: A section of the river behind them into a lake or reservoir. This can provide nearby cities with a predictable supply of drinking water. Hydroelectricity is desirable as a form of renewable energy that does not require any inputs beyond the river itself. Dams are very common worldwide, with at least 75,000 higher than 6 feet (1.8 m) in the U.S. Globally, reservoirs created by dams cover 193,500 square miles (501,000 km ). Dam-building reached

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2684-460: A slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel . Some ships, such as submarines , use nuclear power to produce the steam. Recreational or educational craft still use wind power, while some smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or more propellers or, in the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet. In shallow draft areas, hovercraft are propelled by large pusher-prop fans. (See Marine propulsion .) Although it

2806-438: A water body is that body's riparian zone . Plants in the riparian zone of a river help stabilize its banks to prevent erosion and filter alluvium deposited by the river on the shore, including processing the nitrogen and other nutrients it contains. Forests in a riparian zone also provide important animal habitats . River ecosystems have also been categorized based on the variety of aquatic life they can sustain, also known as

2928-841: A water cycle that involved precipitation. The term flumen , in planetary geology , refers to channels on Saturn 's moon Titan that may carry liquid. Titan's rivers flow with liquid methane and ethane . There are river valleys that exhibit wave erosion , seas, and oceans. Scientists hope to study these systems to see how coasts erode without the influence of human activity, something that isn't possible when studying terrestrial rivers. Transportation Transport infrastructure consists of both fixed installations, including roads , railways , airways , waterways , canals , and pipelines , and terminals such as airports , railway stations , bus stations , warehouses , trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fuel docks and fuel stations ), and seaports . Terminals may be used both for

3050-530: Is a protected area at the river mouth. The river descends 515 metres (1,690 ft) over its 195-kilometre (121 mi) course . Other water storage facilities that are supplied with water from the river include the Bucca Weir and the Kolan Barrage. Macfadyena unguis-cati , commonly known as Cats Claw Creeper, is a rapidly growing clinging vine that has been killing gumtrees on the banks of

3172-445: Is a tributary , and the place they meet is a confluence . Rivers must flow to lower altitudes due to gravity . The bed of a river is typically within a river valley between hills or mountains . Rivers flowing through an impermeable section of land such as rocks will erode the slopes on the sides of the river. When a river carves a plateau or a similar high-elevation area, a canyon can form, with cliffs on either side of

3294-412: Is a key in the value chain in manufacturing. With increased specialization and globalization , production is being located further away from consumption, rapidly increasing the demand for transport. Transport creates place utility by moving the goods from the place of production to the place of consumption. While all modes of transport are used for cargo transport, there is high differentiation between

3416-406: Is a key necessity for specialization —allowing production and consumption of products to occur at different locations. Throughout history, transport has been a spur to expansion; better transport allows more trade and a greater spread of people. Economic growth has always been dependent on increasing the capacity and rationality of transport. But the infrastructure and operation of transport have

3538-424: Is a solution that makes use of a certain type of vehicle, infrastructure, and operation. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several of the modes, with the latter case being called inter-modal or multi-modal transport. Each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen on the basis of cost, capability, and route. Governments deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and

3660-453: Is able to quickly transport people and limited amounts of cargo over longer distances, but incurs high costs and energy use; for short distances or in inaccessible places, helicopters can be used. As of April 28, 2009, The Guardian article notes that "the WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time." Land transport covers all land-based transport systems that provide for

3782-504: Is also important for the lumber industry , as logs can be shipped via river. Countries with dense forests and networks of rivers like Sweden have historically benefited the most from this method of trade. The rise of highways and the automobile has made this practice less common. One of the first large canals was the Canal du Midi , connecting rivers within France to create a path from

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3904-406: Is also the essence of tourism , a major part of recreational transport. Commerce requires the transport of people to conduct business, either to allow face-to-face communication for important decisions or to move specialists from their regular place of work to sites where they are needed. In lean thinking , transporting materials or work in process from one location to another is seen as one of

4026-564: Is an ancient dam built on the Nile 4,500 years ago. The Ancient Roman civilization used aqueducts to transport water to urban areas . Spanish Muslims used mills and water wheels beginning in the seventh century. Between 130 and 1492, larger dams were built in Japan, Afghanistan, and India, including 20 dams higher than 15 metres (49 ft). Canals began to be cut in Egypt as early as 3000 BC, and

4148-448: Is at a higher elevation than the river itself, and in these areas, water flows downhill into the river. The headwaters of a river are the smaller streams that feed a river, and make up the river's source. These streams may be small and flow rapidly down the sides of mountains . All of the land uphill of a river that feeds it with water in this way is in that river's drainage basin or watershed. A ridge of higher elevation land

4270-405: Is because any natural impediment to the flow of the river may cause the current to deflect in a different direction. When this happens, the alluvium carried by the river can build up against this impediment, redirecting the course of the river. The flow is then directed against the opposite bank of the river, which will erode into a more concave shape to accommodate the flow. The bank will still block

4392-405: Is by airline, it amounts to forty percent of the value. Time has become especially important in regards to principles such as postponement and just-in-time within the value chain, resulting in a high willingness to pay for quick delivery of key components or items of high value-to-weight ratio. In addition to mail, common items sent by air include electronics and fashion clothing. Transport

4514-427: Is common to watercraft, making the hull a dominant aspect of its construction, maintenance, and appearance. In the 19th century, the first steam ships were developed, using a steam engine to drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move the ship. The steam was produced in a boiler using wood or coal and fed through a steam external combustion engine . Now most ships have an internal combustion engine using

4636-453: Is correlated with and thus can be used to predict certain data points related to rivers, such as the size of the drainage basin (drainage area), and the length of the channel. The ecosystem of a river includes the life that lives in its water, on its banks, and in the surrounding land. The width of the channel of a river, its velocity, and how shaded it is by nearby trees. Creatures in a river ecosystem may be divided into many roles based on

4758-407: Is dominated by the automobile and mass transit. The latter consists of buses in rural and small cities, supplemented with commuter rail, trams, and rapid transit in larger cities. Long-haul transport involves the use of the automobile, trains, coaches , and aircraft, the last of which have become predominantly used for the longest, including intercontinental, travel. Intermodal passenger transport

4880-409: Is frequently a benefits shortfall for transport infrastructure projects. Animals used in transportation include pack animals and riding animals . A vehicle is a non-living device that is used to move people and goods. Unlike the infrastructure, the vehicle moves along with the cargo and riders. Unless being pulled/pushed by a cable or muscle-power, the vehicle must provide its own propulsion; this

5002-497: Is in part because of a projected loss of snowpack in mountains, meaning that melting snow can't replenish rivers during warm summer months, leading to lower water levels. Lower-level rivers also have warmer temperatures, threatening species like salmon that prefer colder upstream temperatures. Attempts have been made to regulate the exploitation of rivers to preserve their ecological functions. Many wetland areas have become protected from development. Water restrictions can prevent

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5124-475: Is most commonly done through a steam engine , combustion engine , electric motor , jet engine , or rocket , though other means of propulsion also exist. Vehicles also need a system of converting the energy into movement; this is most commonly done through wheels , propellers , and pressure . Vehicles are most commonly staffed by a driver . However, some systems, such as people movers and some rapid transits, are fully automated . For passenger transport,

5246-611: Is most commonly used at steep gradient . Typical solutions include aerial tramways , elevators , and ski lifts ; some of these are also categorized as conveyor transport. Spaceflight is transport outside Earth's atmosphere by means of a spacecraft . It is most frequently used for satellites placed in Earth orbit. However, human spaceflight mission have landed on the Moon and are occasionally used to rotate crew-members to space stations . Uncrewed spacecraft have also been sent to all

5368-411: Is only subject to the owner of the vehicle, who operates the vehicle themselves. For public transport and freight transport, operations are done through private enterprise or by governments . The infrastructure and vehicles may be owned and operated by the same company, or they may be operated by different entities. Traditionally, many countries have had a national airline and national railway . Since

5490-402: Is part of permafrost ice caps, or trace amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere. However, there is evidence that rivers flowed on Mars for at least 100,000 years. The Hellas Planitia is a crater left behind by an impact from an asteroid. It has sedimentary rock that was formed 3.7 billion years ago, and lava fields that are 3.3 billion years old. High resolution images of the surface of

5612-729: Is performed by high-capacity tramways and rapid transits , often making up the backbone of a city's public transport. Freight trains traditionally used box cars , requiring manual loading and unloading of the cargo . Since the 1960s, container trains have become the dominant solution for general freight, while large quantities of bulk are transported by dedicated trains. A road is an identifiable route , way, or path between two or more places . Roads are typically smoothed, paved , or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel; though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance . In urban areas , roads may pass through

5734-633: Is rarely static, the exact location of a river border may be called into question by countries. The Rio Grande between the United States and Mexico is regulated by the International Boundary and Water Commission to manage the right to fresh water from the river, as well as mark the exact location of the border. Up to 60% of fresh water used by countries comes from rivers that cross international borders. This can cause disputes between countries that live upstream and downstream of

5856-440: Is slow compared to other transport, modern sea transport is a highly efficient method of transporting large quantities of goods. Commercial vessels , nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007. Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for transcontinental shipping ; short sea shipping and ferries remain viable in coastal areas. Pipeline transport sends goods through

5978-701: Is that of the Mississippi River , whose drainage basin covers 40% of the contiguous United States . The river was then used for shipping crops from the American Midwest and cotton from the American South to other states as well as the Atlantic Ocean. The role of urban rivers has evolved from when they were a center of trade, food, and transportation to modern times when these uses are less necessary. Rivers remain central to

6100-553: Is the Sunswick Creek in New York City, which was covered in the 1800s and now exists only as a sewer-like pipe. While rivers may flow into lakes or man-made features such as reservoirs , the water they contain will always tend to flow down toward the ocean . However, if human activity siphons too much water away from a river for other uses, the riverbed may run dry before reaching the sea. The outlets mouth of

6222-455: Is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part in economic growth and globalization , but most types cause air pollution and use large amounts of land . While it is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make traffic flow and restrain urban sprawl . Human-powered transport, a form of sustainable transport , is the transport of people or goods using human muscle-power, in

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6344-842: Is what typically separates drainage basins; water on one side of a ridge will flow into one set of rivers, and water on the other side will flow into another. One example of this is the Continental Divide of the Americas in the Rocky Mountains . Water on the western side of the divide flows into the Pacific Ocean , whereas water on the other side flows into the Atlantic Ocean . Not all precipitation flows directly into rivers; some water seeps into underground aquifers . These, in turn, can still feed rivers via

6466-439: Is where a journey is performed through the use of several modes of transport; since all human transport normally starts and ends with walking, all passenger transport can be considered intermodal. Public transport may also involve the intermediate change of vehicle, within or across modes, at a transport hub , such as a bus or railway station . Taxis and buses can be found on both ends of the public transport spectrum. Buses are

6588-599: The 2024 Summer Olympics . Another example is the restoration of the Isar in Munich from being a fully canalized channel with hard embankments to being wider with naturally sloped banks and vegetation. This has improved wildlife habitat in the Isar, and provided more opportunities for recreation in the river. As a natural barrier , rivers are often used as a border between countries , cities, and other territories . For example,

6710-487: The Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea . The nineteenth century saw canal-building become more common, with the U.S. building 4,400 miles (7,100 km) of canals by 1830. Rivers began to be used by cargo ships at a larger scale, and these canals were used in conjunction with river engineering projects like dredging and straightening to ensure the efficient flow of goods. One of the largest such projects

6832-501: The Industrial Revolution as a source of power for textile mills and other factories, but were eventually supplanted by steam power . Rivers became more industrialized with the growth of technology and the human population . As fish and water could be brought from elsewhere, and goods and people could be transported via railways , pre-industrial river uses diminished in favor of more complex uses. This meant that

6954-791: The Lamari River in New Guinea separates the Angu and the Fore people in New Guinea. The two cultures speak different languages and rarely mix. 23% of international borders are large rivers (defined as those over 30 meters wide). The traditional northern border of the Roman Empire was the Danube , a river that today forms the border of Hungary and Slovakia . Since the flow of a river

7076-525: The Nile and the Ganges . The Quran describes these four rivers as flowing with water, milk, wine, and honey, respectively. The book of Genesis also contains a story of a great flood . Similar myths are present in the Epic of Gilgamesh , Sumerian mythology, and in other cultures. In Genesis, the flood's role was to cleanse Earth of the wrongdoing of humanity. The act of water working to cleanse humans in

7198-568: The River Continuum Concept . "Shredders" are organisms that consume this organic material. The role of a "grazer" or "scraper" organism is to feed on the algae that collects on rocks and plants. "Collectors" consume the detritus of dead organisms. Lastly, predators feed on living things to survive. The river can then be modeled by the availability of resources for each creature's role. A shady area with deciduous trees might experience frequent deposits of organic matter in

7320-627: The River Lethe to forget their previous life. Rivers also appear in descriptions of paradise in Abrahamic religions , beginning with the story of Genesis . A river beginning in the Garden of Eden waters the garden and then splits into four rivers that flow to provide water to the world. These rivers include the Tigris and Euphrates , and two rivers that are possibly apocryphal but may refer to

7442-787: The Sumerians in the Tigris–Euphrates river system , the Ancient Egyptian civilization in the Nile, and the Indus Valley Civilization on the Indus River . The desert climates of the surrounding areas made these societies especially reliant on rivers for survival, leading to people clustering in these areas to form the first cities . It is also thought that these civilizations were the first to organize

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7564-485: The climate . The alluvium carried by rivers, laden with minerals, is deposited into the floodplain when the banks spill over, providing new nutrients to the soil, allowing them to support human activity like farming as well as a host of plant and animal life. Deposited sediment from rivers can form temporary or long-lasting fluvial islands . These islands exist in almost every river. About half of all waterways on Earth are intermittent rivers , which do not always have

7686-685: The cultural identity of cities and nations. Famous examples include the River Thames 's relationship to London , the Seine to Paris , and the Hudson River to New York City . The restoration of water quality and recreation to urban rivers has been a goal of modern administrations. For example, swimming was banned in the Seine for over 100 years due to concerns about pollution and the spread of E. coli , until cleanup efforts to allow its use in

7808-511: The damming of the river in order to mitigate severe flooding in the river's lower reaches. The river then flows east and then finally north by east and reaches its mouth north of Moore Park . The Kolan River is joined by nineteen tributaries including the main tributary, Gin-Gin Creek, a watercourse that is 92 kilometres (57 mi) long. The lower reaches of the river are surrounded by sugar cane fields. The Mouth of Kolan River Regional Park

7930-484: The discharge of a river, the amount of water passing through it at a particular time. The flow of a river can act as a means of transportation for plant and animal species, as well as a barrier. For example, the Amazon River is so wide in parts that the variety of species on either side of its basin are distinct. Some fish may swim upstream to spawn as part of a seasonal migration . Species that travel from

8052-465: The extinction of some species, and lowered the amount of alluvium flowing through rivers. Decreased snowfall from climate change has resulted in less water available for rivers during the summer. Regulation of pollution, dam removal , and sewage treatment have helped to improve water quality and restore river habitats. A river is a natural flow of freshwater that flows on or through land towards another body of water downhill. This flow can be into

8174-436: The sea . The sediment yield of a river is the quantity of sand per unit area within a watershed that is removed over a period of time. The monitoring of the sediment yield of a river is important for ecologists to understand the health of its ecosystems, the rate of erosion of the river's environment, and the effects of human activity. Rivers rarely run in a straight direction, instead preferring to bend or meander . This

8296-521: The water table , the groundwater beneath the surface of the land stored in the soil . Water flows into rivers in places where the river's elevation is lower than that of the water table. This phenomenon is why rivers can still flow even during times of drought . Rivers are also fed by the melting of snow glaciers present in higher elevation regions. In summer months, higher temperatures melt snow and ice, causing additional water to flow into rivers. Glacier melt can supplement snow melt in times like

8418-491: The 1980s, many of these have been privatized . International shipping remains a highly competitive industry with little regulation, but ports can be public-owned. As the population of the world increases, cities grow in size and population—according to the United Nations, 55% of the world's population live in cities, and by 2050 this number is expected to rise to 68%. Public transport policy must evolve to meet

8540-523: The Kolan River, leaving damaged tracts of riverbank. In 2007 a water hyacinth outbreak occurred within the Kolan River system. The name of the river is derived from a Gubbi-Gubbi expression, kalang , meaning good. River A river is a natural freshwater stream that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation , such as an ocean , lake , or another river. A river may run dry before reaching

8662-420: The air generates lift. A gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners and military cargo aircraft. Two things necessary for aircraft are air flow over the wings for lift and an area for landing . The majority of aircraft also need an airport with the infrastructure for maintenance, restocking, and refueling and for

8784-424: The animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in teams , to pull sleds or wheeled vehicles . A fixed-wing aircraft , commonly called an airplane, is a heavier-than-air craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish this from rotary-wing aircraft , where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to

8906-695: The bodies of humans and animals worldwide, as well as in the soil, with potentially negative health effects. Research into how to remove it from the environment, and how harmful exposure is, is ongoing. Fertilizer from farms can lead to a proliferation of algae on the surface of rivers and oceans, which prevents oxygen and light from dissolving into water, making it impossible for underwater life to survive in these so-called dead zones . Urban rivers are typically surrounded by impermeable surfaces like stone, asphalt , and concrete. Cities often have storm drains that direct this water to rivers. This can cause flooding risk as large amounts of water are directed into

9028-597: The cars can be powered, known as a multiple unit . Also, a train can be powered by horses , cables , gravity , pneumatics , and gas turbines . Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on paved roads, making trains more energy efficient , though not as efficient as ships. Intercity trains are long-haul services connecting cities; modern high-speed rail is capable of speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph), but this requires specially built track. Regional and commuter trains feed cities from suburbs and surrounding areas, while intra-urban transport

9150-444: The changing priorities of the urban world. The institution of policy enforces order in transport, which is by nature chaotic as people attempt to travel from one place to another as fast as possible. This policy helps to reduce accidents and save lives. Relocation of travelers and cargo are the most common uses of transport. However, other uses exist, such as the strategic and tactical relocation of armed forces during warfare , or

9272-481: The cheapest mode of transport but are not necessarily flexible, and taxis are very flexible but more expensive. In the middle is demand-responsive transport , offering flexibility whilst remaining affordable. International travel may be restricted for some individuals due to legislation and visa requirements. An ambulance is a vehicle used to transport people from or between places of treatment, and in some instances will also provide out-of-hospital medical care to

9394-414: The city centres and suburbs. The terminals for automobiles are parking lots , while buses and coaches can operate from simple stops. For freight, terminals act as transshipment points, though some cargo is transported directly from the point of production to the point of use. The financing of infrastructure can either be public or private . Transport is often a natural monopoly and a necessity for

9516-481: The civilian mobility construction or emergency equipment. Passenger transport, or travel, is divided into public and private transport . Public transport is scheduled services on fixed routes, while private is vehicles that provide ad hoc services at the riders desire. The latter offers better flexibility, but has lower capacity and a higher environmental impact. Travel may be as part of daily commuting or for business , leisure, or migration . Short-haul transport

9638-405: The complete draining of rivers. Limits on the construction of dams, as well as dam removal , can restore the natural habitats of river species. Regulators can also ensure regular releases of water from dams to keep animal habitats supplied with water. Limits on pollutants like pesticides can help improve water quality. Today, the surface of Mars does not have liquid water. All water on Mars

9760-436: The effect of normalizing the effects of rivers; the greatest floods are smaller and more predictable, and larger sections are open for navigation by boats and other watercraft. A major effect of river engineering has been a reduced sediment output of large rivers. For example, the Mississippi River produced 400 million tons of sediment per year. Due to the construction of reservoirs , sediment buildup in man-made levees , and

9882-531: The end of its course if it runs out of water, or only flow during certain seasons. Rivers are regulated by the water cycle , the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Water first enters rivers through precipitation , whether from rainfall, the runoff of water down a slope, the melting of glaciers or snow , or seepage from aquifers beneath the surface of the Earth. Rivers flow in channeled watercourses and merge in confluences to form drainage basins , areas where surface water eventually flows to

10004-451: The fish zonation concept. Smaller rivers can only sustain smaller fish that can comfortably fit in its waters, whereas larger rivers can contain both small fish and large fish. This means that larger rivers can host a larger variety of species. This is analogous to the species-area relationship , the concept of larger habitats being host to more species. In this case, it is known as the species-discharge relationship, referring specifically to

10126-673: The floating of wood on rivers to transport it, was especially important. Rivers also were an important source of drinking water . For civilizations built around rivers, fish were an important part of the diet of humans. Some rivers supported fishing activities, but were ill-suited to farming, such as those in the Pacific Northwest . Other animals that live in or near rivers like frogs , mussels , and beavers could provide food and valuable goods such as fur . Humans have been building infrastructure to use rivers for thousands of years. The Sadd el-Kafara dam near Cairo , Egypt,

10248-412: The flow of the river beneath its surface. These help rivers flow straighter by increasing the speed of the water at the middle of the channel, helping to control floods. Levees are also used for this purpose. They can be thought of as dams constructed on the sides of rivers, meant to hold back water from flooding the surrounding area during periods of high rainfall. They are often constructed by building up

10370-399: The flow, causing it to reflect in the other direction. Thus, a bend in the river is created. Rivers may run through low, flat regions on their way to the sea. These places may have floodplains that are periodically flooded when there is a high level of water running through the river. These events may be referred to as "wet seasons' and "dry seasons" when the flooding is predictable due to

10492-432: The form of walking , running , and swimming . Modern technology has allowed machines to enhance human power. Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving, leisure , physical exercise , and environmentalism ; it is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions. Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can be enhanced through

10614-650: The form of leaves. In this type of ecosystem, collectors and shredders will be most active. As the river becomes deeper and wider, it may move slower and receive more sunlight . This supports invertebrates and a variety of fish , as well as scrapers feeding on algae. Further downstream, the river may get most of its energy from organic matter that was already processed upstream by collectors and shredders. Predators may be more active here, including fish that feed on plants, plankton , and other fish. The flood pulse concept focuses on habitats that flood seasonally, including lakes and marshes . The land that interfaces with

10736-508: The goddess Isis were said to be the cause of the river's yearly flooding, itself personified by the goddess Hapi . Many African religions regard certain rivers as the originator of life. In Yoruba religion , Yemọja rules over the Ogun River in modern-day Nigeria and is responsible for creating all children and fish. Some sacred rivers have religious prohibitions attached to them, such as not being allowed to drink from them or ride in

10858-402: The interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance. Means of transport are any of the different kinds of transport facilities used to carry people or cargo. They may include vehicles, riding animals , and pack animals . Vehicles may include wagons , automobiles , bicycles , buses , trains , trucks , helicopters , watercraft , spacecraft , and aircraft . A mode of transport

10980-428: The irrigation of desert environments for growing food. Growing food at scale allowed people to specialize in other roles, form hierarchies, and organize themselves in new ways, leading to the birth of civilization. In pre-industrial society , rivers were a source of transportation and abundant resources. Many civilizations depended on what resources were local to them to survive. Shipping of commodities, especially

11102-760: The key driving factors in international trade and globalization since the 1950s. Bulk transport is common with cargo that can be handled roughly without deterioration; typical examples are ore , coal, cereals , and petroleum . Because of the uniformity of the product, mechanical handling can allow enormous quantities to be handled quickly and efficiently. The low value of the cargo combined with high volume also means that economies of scale become essential in transport, and gigantic ships and whole trains are commonly used to transport bulk. Liquid products with sufficient volume may also be transported by pipeline. Air freight has become more common for products of high value; while less than one percent of world transport by volume

11224-434: The late summer, when there may be less snow left to melt, helping to ensure that the rivers downstream of the glaciers have a continuous supply of water. Rivers flow downhill, with their direction determined by gravity . A common misconception holds that all or most rivers flow from North to South, but this is not true. As rivers flow downstream, they eventually merge to form larger rivers. A river that feeds into another

11346-474: The level of river branching in a drainage basin. Several systems of stream order exist, one of which is the Strahler number . In this system, the first tributaries of a river are 1st order rivers. When two 1st order rivers merge, the resulting river is 2nd order. If a river of a higher order and a lower order merge, the order is incremented from whichever of the previous rivers had the higher order. Stream order

11468-414: The loading and unloading of crew, cargo, and passengers. While the vast majority of aircraft land and take off on land, some are capable of take-off and landing on ice, snow, and calm water. The aircraft is the second fastest method of transport, after the rocket . Commercial jets can reach up to 955 kilometres per hour (593 mph), single-engine aircraft 555 kilometres per hour (345 mph). Aviation

11590-561: The local ecosystems of rivers needed less protection as humans became less reliant on them for their continued flourishing. River engineering began to develop projects that enabled industrial hydropower , canals for the more efficient movement of goods, as well as projects for flood prevention . River transportation has historically been significantly cheaper and faster than transportation by land. Rivers helped fuel urbanization as goods such as grain and fuel could be floated downriver to supply cities with resources. River transportation

11712-431: The main source of harmful noise and air pollution in cities; buses allow for more efficient travel at the cost of reduced flexibility. Road transport by truck is often the initial and final stage of freight transport. Water transport is movement by means of a watercraft —such as a barge , boat , ship , or sailboat —over a body of water, such as a sea , ocean , lake , canal , or river . The need for buoyancy

11834-407: The mechanical shadoof began to be used to raise the elevation of water. Drought years harmed crop yields, and leaders of society were incentivized to ensure regular water and food availability to remain in power. Engineering projects like the shadoof and canals could help prevent these crises. Despite this, there is evidence that floodplain-based civilizations may have been abandoned occasionally at

11956-400: The migration routes of fish and destroy habitats. Rivers that flow freely from headwaters to the sea have better water quality, and also retain their ability to transport nutrient-rich alluvium and other organic material downstream, keeping the ecosystem healthy. The creation of a lake changes the habitat of that portion of water, and blocks the transportation of sediment, as well as preventing

12078-431: The movement of people, goods, and services. Land transport plays a vital role in linking communities to each other. Land transport is a key factor in urban planning . It consists of two kinds, rail and road. Rail transport is where a train runs along a set of two parallel steel rails, known as a railway or railroad. The rails are anchored perpendicular to ties (or sleepers) of timber, concrete, or steel, to maintain

12200-399: The natural meandering of the river. Dams block the migration of fish such as salmon for which fish ladder and other bypass systems have been attempted, but these are not always effective. Pollution from factories and urban areas can also damage water quality. " Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a widely used chemical that breaks down at a slow rate. It has been found in

12322-429: The natural terrain with soil or clay. Some levees are supplemented with floodways, channels used to redirect floodwater away from farms and populated areas. Dams restrict the flow of water through a river. They can be built for navigational purposes, providing a higher level of water upstream for boats to travel in. They may also be used for hydroelectricity , or power generation from rivers. Dams typically transform

12444-408: The nature of the cargo transport, in which mode is chosen. Logistics refers to the entire process of transferring products from producer to consumer, including storage, transport, transshipment, warehousing, material-handling, and packaging, with associated exchange of information. Incoterm deals with the handling of payment and responsibility of risk during transport. Containerization , with

12566-600: The patient. The word is often associated with road-going "emergency ambulances", which form part of emergency medical services , administering emergency care to those with acute medical problems. Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transport to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and critical care to all types of patients during aeromedical evacuation or rescue operations, aboard helicopters, propeller aircraft, or jet aircraft. Freight transport, or shipping,

12688-425: The plain show evidence of a river network, and even river deltas. These images reveal channels formed in the rock, recognized by geologists who study rivers on Earth as being formed by rivers, as well as "bench and slope" landforms, outcroppings of rock that show evidence of river erosion. Not only do these formations suggest that rivers once existed, but that they flowed for extensive time periods, and were part of

12810-496: The planets of the Solar System. Suborbital spaceflight is the fastest of the existing and planned transport systems from a place on Earth to a distant "other place" on Earth. Faster transport could be achieved through part of a low Earth orbit or by following that trajectory even faster, using the propulsion of the rocket to steer it. Infrastructure is the fixed installations that allow a vehicle to operate. It consists of

12932-403: The procedures set for this purpose, including financing, legalities, and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and mode. Passenger transport may be public , where operators provide scheduled services, or private . Freight transport has become focused on containerization , although bulk transport

13054-476: The public; roads, and in some countries railways and airports, are funded through taxation . New infrastructure projects can have high costs and are often financed through debt . Many infrastructure owners, therefore, impose usage fees, such as landing fees at airports or toll plazas on roads. Independent of this, authorities may impose taxes on the purchase or use of vehicles. Because of poor forecasting and overestimation of passenger numbers by planners, there

13176-448: The removal of natural banks replaced with revetments , this sediment output has been reduced by 60%. The most basic river projects involve the clearing of obstructions like fallen trees. This can scale up to dredging , the excavation of sediment buildup in a channel, to provide a deeper area for navigation. These activities require regular maintenance as the location of the river banks changes over time, floods bring foreign objects into

13298-536: The reverse, death and destruction, especially through floods . This power has caused rivers to have a central role in religion , ritual , and mythology . In Greek mythology , the underworld is bordered by several rivers. Ancient Greeks believed that the souls of those who perished had to be borne across the River Styx on a boat by Charon in exchange for money. Souls that were judged to be good were admitted to Elysium and permitted to drink water from

13420-468: The river, and natural sediment buildup continues. Artificial channels are often constructed to "cut off" winding sections of a river with a shorter path, or to direct the flow of a river in a straighter direction. This effect, known as channelization, has made the distance required to traverse the Missouri River in 116 kilometres (72 mi) shorter. Dikes are channels built perpendicular to

13542-552: The river. Areas of a river with softer rock weather faster than areas with harder rock, causing a difference in elevation between two points of a river. This can cause the formation of a waterfall as the river's flow falls down a vertical drop. A river in a permeable area does not exhibit this behavior and may even have raised banks due to sediment. Rivers also change their landscape through their transportation of sediment , often known as alluvium when applied specifically to rivers. This debris comes from erosion performed by

13664-625: The river. A country that is downstream of another may object to the upstream country diverting too much water for agricultural uses, pollution, as well as the creation of dams that change the river's flow characteristics. For example, Egypt has an agreement with Sudan requiring a specific minimum volume of water to pass into the Nile yearly over the Aswan Dam , to maintain both countries access to water. The importance of rivers throughout human history has given them an association with life and fertility . They have also become associated with

13786-457: The rivers themselves, debris swept into rivers by rainfall, as well as erosion caused by the slow movement of glaciers. The sand in deserts and the sediment that forms bar islands is from rivers. The particle size of the debris is gradually sorted by the river, with heavier particles like rocks sinking to the bottom, and finer particles like sand or silt carried further downriver . This sediment may be deposited in river valleys or carried to

13908-412: The rivers. Due to these impermeable surfaces, these rivers often have very little alluvium carried in them, causing more erosion once the river exits the impermeable area. It has historically been common for sewage to be directed directly to rivers via sewer systems without being treated, along with pollution from industry. This has resulted in a loss of animal and plant life in urban rivers, as well as

14030-409: The sea from their mouths. Depending on the activity of waves, the strength of the river, and the strength of the tidal current, the sediment can accumulate to form new land. When viewed from above, a delta can appear to take the form of several triangular shapes as the river mouth appears to fan out from the original coastline . In hydrology , a stream order is a positive integer used to describe

14152-414: The sea to breed in freshwater rivers are anadromous. Salmon are an anadromous fish that may die in the river after spawning, contributing nutrients back to the river ecosystem. Modern river engineering involves a large-scale collection of independent river engineering structures that have the goal of flood control , improved navigation, recreation, and ecosystem management. Many of these projects have

14274-438: The seven wastes (Japanese term: muda ) which do not add value to a product. Transport planning allows for high use and less impact regarding new infrastructure. Using models of transport forecasting , planners are able to predict future transport patterns. On the operative level, logistics allows owners of cargo to plan transport as part of the supply chain . Transport as a field is also studied through transport economics ,

14396-519: The spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera . In modern times, sewage treatment and controls on pollution from factories have improved the water quality of urban rivers. Climate change can change the flooding cycles and water supply available to rivers. Floods can be larger and more destructive than expected, causing damage to the surrounding areas. Floods can also wash unhealthy chemicals and sediment into rivers. Droughts can be deeper and longer, causing rivers to run dangerously low. This

14518-463: The standardization of ISO containers on all vehicles and at all ports, has revolutionized international and domestic trade , offering a huge reduction in transshipment costs. Traditionally, all cargo had to be manually loaded and unloaded into the haul of any ship or car; containerization allows for automated handling and transfer between modes, and the standardized sizes allow for gains in economy of scale in vehicle operation. This has been one of

14640-433: The use of roads, especially when using the human power with vehicles, such as bicycles and inline skates . Human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by watercraft rowing and skiing ; even the air can be entered with human-powered aircraft . Animal-powered transport is the use of working animals for the movement of people and commodities. Humans may ride some of

14762-408: The vehicle from one lane to the other and from one road to another according to the need and convenience. This flexibility of changes in location, direction, speed, and timings of travel is not available to other modes of transport. It is possible to provide door-to-door service only by road transport. Automobiles provide high flexibility with low capacity, but require high energy and area use, and are

14884-656: The vehicle must have a compartment, seat, or platform for the passengers. Simple vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles, or simple aircraft, may have one of the passengers as a driver. Recently, the progress related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought a lot of new emerging technologies for transportation and automotive fields such as Connected Vehicles and Autonomous Driving. These innovations are said to form future mobility, but concerns remain on safety and cybersecurity, particularly concerning connected and autonomous mobility. Private transport

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