Ann Zwinger ran the Green River from its source in the Wind River Range down to its confluence with the Colorado — by kayak, raft, and on foot — and wrote the whole river as a naturalist. She covers the geology of the canyons it cuts, the plants on the banks, insects, birds, the beaver, and the history: Powell’s expeditions, the outlaws, the ranchers, the dam at Flaming Gorge that changed the water temperature and everything living in it. Her own pen-and-ink drawings run throughout. It won the Burroughs Medal and it’s a good model for how to write one river completely.
Run, River, Run