Tag: Oregon

  • Shortest River… or Not

    What is a river, exactly? In all seriousness, what differentiates a river from a creek, a brook, a run or some of the other watercourses mapped on Toponymia? Clearly it comes down to size and volume. But where does one draw the line between what should be called a “river” and what should not? So…

  • Vale to Pensacola

    We’re in that wonderful time of the year when people are still getting used to Daylight Saving Time (that’s Saving without an “s” and no I don’t know why that bothers me). On Twelve Mile Circle that also means I’m getting an odd little bump in traffic that only happens when the time changes either…

  • Grotian Traditions, Thalwegs and Winner Take All

    Rivers are a natural boundaries and a pretty obvious way to determine who controls land on either bank. Well, not withstanding occasional riverbed shifts. However rivers are also natural resources in their own right. They provide drinking water, irrigation, food and transportation. Those who control territory abutting a river naturally want to own and control…