A Year Flows By

The Wonders of the Bow

Text, Photos and Videos
by Margaret O'Regan Ardan

Note from the Author

There is something magical about the Bow River. Every time I come to the river, it is different. Sometimes the water flows high and fast right up to the riverbank. At other times, it flows low and slow, with lots of shoreline to explore. The plants, bushes and trees along the riverbanks grow and change throughout the year. Life for the animals, birds and insects is different in every season. Nature is always changing. There is always something new to discover.

I hope this little book will help you come to enjoy the wonders of the beautiful Bow River for yourself.

Happy exploring!

About This Book

This book explores the changes that happen along the Bow River from one season to the next. When flipping through the pages, you can tell which season is being explored by the background colour of the page. Green is for spring, yellow is for summer, orange is for fall, and blue is for winter.

You will see some words in italics in the pages of this book. To learn what these words mean, go to the glossary on the last page.

To hear the text being read aloud, click on the icon at the bottom right of each page.

An Icy Beginning

The Bow River comes from the Rocky Mountains. It starts high up in the mountains as a small stream of meltwater flowing from a glacier.

Lots of little creeks flow to join this stream, carrying water from the surrounding land.

Eventually, the stream becomes a big river that we call the Bow River.

You might wonder where all that water is going. The water keeps on flowing almost two thousand kilometers east across Canada until it finally flows into the sea at Hudson Bay. That is a very long journey!

Springtime

Don’t you love it when the weather starts to warm up in the springtime? As the weather gets warmer, the ice and snow all around starts to melt. The melting water finds its way into all the little creeks.