9781422280829

River rafting requires an entirely different kind of vessel than canoeing or kayaking. Although it is possible to navigate river rapids in a kayak or even a specially designed white-water canoe, rafting is a popular group activity done using an inflatable raft from single rider packrafts to 10-foot (3 m) neoprene rafts that can hold up to a dozen rafters. In the United States, the advocacy group American Whitewater has worked since 1954 to “conserve and restore America’s whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely.” The organization has more than 100 paddling club affiliates across the country. American Whitewater works to protect waterways and provide access to them for its members. The organization also keeps a national database of white-water rivers and has developed a classification system that identifies the severity of the rapids that are found on each river. The United States has more than 100 white-water rafting rivers. The eastern part of the country generally has less water volume, so its rivers are considered to be more technical, meaning more precise paddling and attention to hazards are needed. In the West, rivers run at much

higher volumes. This results in bigger rapids, and therefore the West is where most of the country’s class V and VI rapids are found. The International Scale of River Difficulty (I is easy; VI is extreme) was developed to create a universal standard of comparison for rivers around the world. The scale is not designed to be rigid as the rivers they measure certainly are not. Time of year and water levels are just two examples of variables that may raise or lower the difficulty level of a river.

Class III and IV rapids can be found on Tennessee’s Ocoee River.

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