查图加河，阿巴拉契亚山脉，北卡罗来纳州，美国 Chattooga River in the Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina, USA (© mtilghma/Getty Images)

查图加河，阿巴拉契亚山脉，北卡罗来纳州，美国 Chattooga River in the Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina, USA (© mtilghma/Getty Images)

一条值得保护的河流 A river worth protecting

查图加河，美国

长期以来，河流在美国各地的生活中发挥着重要作用，为社区、野生动物和工业提供支持。1968年10月2日，林登·B·约翰逊总统签署《野生与风景河流法》，使其成为法律。该法建立了一个国家体系，用于保护具有卓越景观、休闲、地质、鱼类和野生动物、历史或文化价值的河流及河段。该法使指定河流保持自由流动状态，保护其水质，并旨在守护使它们值得获此指定的特质。

今天的图片展示了查图加河。1974年，该河被纳入这一体系，横跨佐治亚州、北卡罗来纳州和南卡罗来纳州的近57英里河段获指定。查图加河流经阿巴拉契亚山脉，以其风景、激流休闲活动和野生动物而闻名。查图加河常被称为美国东南部的皇冠明珠，可供人们开展漂流、皮划艇和独木舟运动。它甚至还是詹姆斯·迪基1970年小说《Deliverance》中虚构的卡胡拉瓦西河的原型。

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

Rivers have long played an important role in life across the United States, supporting communities, wildlife, and industry. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act into law on October 2, 1968. It created a national system to protect rivers and river segments with outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, or cultural values. The Act preserves designated rivers in a free-flowing condition, protects their water quality, and aims to safeguard the qualities that made them worthy of designation.

Featured in today's image, the Chattooga River became part of the system in 1974, with nearly 57 miles designated across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Flowing through the Appalachian Mountains, the river is known for its scenery, whitewater recreation, and wildlife. Often called the crown jewel of the Southeast, the Chattooga offers opportunities for rafting, kayaking, and canoeing. It even served as the model for the fictional Cahulawassee River in James Dickey's 1970 novel 'Deliverance.'