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Photo by Craig Blacklock

Wild and Scenic Rivers: History, Culture, and Paleontology

Cultural, historic, and paleontological resources found along certain Wildand Scenic Rivers tell stories about our human and Earth’s evolutionarypast. While over 31% of Wild and Scenic Rivers have outstanding culturalresources, paleontological features are much rarer.

Our Human Past We can learn a lot about the people that lived along rivers based on what they left behind. These

cultural resources are important to understanding the different uses of rivers. Some examples ofcultural and historic resources include structures, artifacts, and evidence of important historicevents and past land use.

Rivers with Outstanding Cultural Values

Photo: National Park Service Riegel Collection 

St. Croix River, MN & WI

People have lived along the St.Croix River for more than12,000 years. NativeAmericans harvested wild riceand fish from the river, andlater settlers used the St. Croixto transport timber, furs, andother goods. Starting in the1800s, river recreationincreased in popularity.Conservation efforts started inthe 1890s when nearby stateparks were created.

Rio Icacos, Puerto Rico Pre-1490 petroglyphs as well as ceramic shards

from the time of Spanish occupation have beenfound along the Rio Icacos. In the 1930s, theCivilian Conservation Corps built trails, bridges,and other structures around the river.

Photo: Tim Palmer 

Arrowheads, tools, and carvings came from thepeople that crossed into North America from Asiathousands of years ago. Groups living in the areafished for salmon and used other resources of theriver valley. Today, Native Alaskan tribes still usesalmon from the Noatak as a primary food source.

Noatak River, AK

Photo: Freshwaters Illustrated

Photo: Tim Palmer 

Historic settlements built along Wilson Creekwere part of the logging industry. In the 1930sand 1940s, the town of Mortimore hosted theCamp Grandfather Mountain CivilianConservation Corps.

Wilson Creek, NC

Upper Delaware River, PA & NY The Roebling Bridge opened in 1849 as an

aqueduct for canal boats to cross the DelawareRiver. Later, the bridge was restored for vehiclesand pedestrians. Today, the Roebling Bridgeremains one of the oldest surviving suspensionbridges. It was designed by John Roebling who isbest known for his design of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Photo: National Park Service

Photo by Craig Blacklock

Sudbury, Assabet, andConcord Rivers, MA

Wild and Scenic Rivers: History, Culture, and Paleontology

Earth's Evolutionary Past

Paleontology is the study of fossilized plants and animals. Fossils help us understand the history oflife on Earth. A few Wild and Scenic Rivers have remarkable fossils that tell the story about lifemillions of years ago.

John Day River, OR

The Sudbury, Assabet, and ConcordRivers are important in Americanhistory and literature. The firstbattle of the Revolutionary Wartook place on the Old North Bridgein Concord. In the 1800s, the threerivers were featured in the works offamous authors includingHawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau. 

Niobrara River, NE The rocks around the John Day River are a chronology of life

over the last 44 million years. This area is rich with plant andanimal fossils including the remains of palm and banana treesas well as crocodiles, early horses, and rodents. Many fossils areon display at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.

Fossils around the Niobrara River that are between 2 millionand 23 million years old help scientists understand the historyof the Great Plains. Mastodons and North American rhinos(fossil shown above) are just two amazing species whose fossilsare found here.

Rivers with Outstanding Paleontology

Photo: National Park Service

Photo: OARS

Photo: Bureau of Land Management

Over time, humans changed the way they usedthe Verde River floodplains. The oldest sites wereused by hunter-gatherer societies thousands ofyears ago. Other sites show evidence of groupsthat raised and drove livestock through the area.

Verde River, AZ

Photo: Tim Palmer 

Canyons surrounding the Owyhee River gaveshelter to the Shoshone and Paiute tribes.Petroglyphs and shrines give insights into theiruses of the river. Members of these tribes still usethe area for hunting, fishing, praying, andceremonies.

Owyhee River, ID & OR

Photo: Bureau of Land Management