Mountain Rivers

This chapter presents contemporary Earth science’s view of how the Asian Highlands rose to their current heights, how this rising led to the formation of rivers, and how the mountains and rivers then co-created the Highlands’ contemporary form. This deep-time history explains that the river systems have reorganized multiple times as some became the tributaries of others, flow quantities and directions changed, and their drainage was reorganized. It surmises that this reorganization has probably affected the genetics and diversity of fishes in these rivers, although knowledge of this topic is limited. It includes a boxed sidebar that outlines the origin stories of some Asian Highland communities. This box describes how these stories also focus on the co-workings of earth and water but, in contrast to scientific descriptions, attribute these forces to supernatural beings.