Whether they work on a timescale of eons or within the space of a few astonishing hours, rivers are, in a real sense, the architects of our landscapes. This dynamic program illustrates the water cycle, categorizes types of streams, and explains fluvial processes with dramatic footage of the Amazon, Mississippi, Rhine, Nile, Ganges, and Mekong rivers. Viewers learn how rivers are formed, how they carve their channels into soil and rocks, and how they eventually flow to larger rivers, to lakes, or to the sea. Depicting erosion and deposition processes, the video shows the effect of gradient on water velocity and what this means in terms of the water’s load capacity as well as its shaping action on surrounding land forms. Sea level impact is also discussed. (23 minutes)