February 21, 2003
Ron Canter - Usu Portages

Ron Canter has sent in an update to an earlier note on portages in the Usumacinta watershed. The full text is below. (Click MORE)

In looking at other rivers around the world, three stand out as good
analogs to the Usumacinta: the Nile, the Ch'ang Chiang, and the Rhine. All
are ancient highways, all are replete with ancient cities and forts, and
all have a gorge section between an easy upper basin and a flat lowland
section. Aswan Dam has been a disaster for Egyptian antiquities, and the
Three Gorges Dam promises to be even worse for China in a lot of ways.
Germany doesn't dare dam the Rhine because of all the castles and towns
that would be lost. Nuff said.
Ron

Posted by Dave at February 21, 2003 08:27 PM