Research paper on the book A River Lost by Blaine Harden

On the book A River Lost by Blaine Harden - Research Paper Example The Columbia River plays host to great variety of anadromous species of fish, which always make a migration cycle from the freshwater habitats of the river to the saline water habitat found in the Pacific Ocean (England, Mazur, Penha and Robbins). The vast majority of these fish species are the salmons, and this was a mare economic substance for the natives who settled around the river. In fact, traders around the region, especially from Western North America, traded for fish at the Columbia River. In addition to being a good source of food, and income for the locals, the river also has heavy flows and steep gradient, which provide massive potential for electricity generation. As such, the river hosts over fourteen hydroelectric dams, which produce enough electricity to cater for the needs of the surrounding communities and businesses. However, the benefits of this river were short-lived owing to the economic investments made on it by the federal government of the United States, an investment that claimed all the tributes and environmental serenity provided by the river. Blaine Hardens writes about the Columbia River in his intriguing excerpt of how external interference led to the destruction of a good river. He names it â€Å"A River Lost†, showing the level of damages done on the river to an extent that it is no longer resourceful to the locals but rather poses great danger to them and their continued survival around the river. The Columbia River, which was initially the â€Å"Great River of the West† fulfilled the dreams of its neighborhood by providing them with cheap electricity, and water used for irrigation and farming purposes, hence flourishing gardens found in the desert. However, these fantasies in the memories of the natives were short-lived, as all this goodness vanished, once the natives suffered exploitation from invaders and inhabitants, as well as, the federal government (Harden 65). This book covers the exploitation