A beach scene showing waves and sand dunes

Shift: to change position, direction, form, character. From Anglo Saxon, scyftan, to divide, to order, to drive away, Danish, skifte, to change, to shift, to divide.

Reference: Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary.


"The shifting sands of time" is a cliche, but sands really do shift over time, as do the boundaries of the watershed, the life within the watershed, and all of our human creations as well. These dunes are on the Oregon coast, not very close to the Schuylkill River geographically, but they are both part of the same amazing physical and biological processes that sustain us...and they are both constantly shifting.....

Things that "shifted" or changed through time along the Schuylkill are the same as along any river, in any watershed. Perhaps the Schuylkill is notable for the industries that grew up and then passed away within it, and for the waves of immigrants who passed into and out of its valley. Or perhaps for the towns that arose and fell as centers of population and influence as the tides of immigration and the cycles of business came and went. Or for the changes in the ecosystem over the years - changes mostly caused by mankind. And of course there is the story of the river, which is really the story of all rivers, and the earth itself. Here are links that will allow you to explore these topics:

Back to: The Schuylkill River