In this work, Dr. Mankoff and Dr. Albert research the intimate relationship that humans have always had with great rivers. River floodplains and deltas furnished the rich soils that nurtured both early and recent civilizations. Rivers provided transportation routes during pre-industrial history and also provide access for goods and recreation to the barges and pleasure boats of today. All major rivers are steeped in human and natural history, but few carry along with their flow of water and sediment, such an abondance of historical associations as the Roanoke River of North Carolina.