FROM THE EDITOR.

• Author: Kiernan, James Patrick
• Position: Brief Article - Editorial

Tales of two great rivers, the Colorado and the Amazon, run through this issue. Flowing from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California, the Colorado has become perhaps the most dammed up and strictly regulated river in the world. But with the greening of the river's delta after a series of wet years, Jeffrey Cohn looks at the recent remarkable recovery of the delta's ecology and the complex issues that threaten to muddy the waters. Longtime Americas contributor Loren McIntyre--whom the National Geographic Society credits with discovering the source of the Amazon--shares his remembrances of over a half century's journeys on that river sea.

A mountaineering missionary? Joshua Goodman introduces us to Father Alberto Maria de Agostini, who in the early twentieth century dedicated his life to the exploration of Patagonia and the affectionate study of its native peoples. This priest's lofty legacy--he was the first to ascend, photograph, and map many peaks--is today remembered best by those who've climbed in his footsteps.

Before photography, portraits of daily life, local custom, and landscape...