When the lingering sun of late May inches along to peer down on the Tioga River — its water glistening — it does so as birds chirp overhead, as a chipmunk darts through rustling riverbed brush, and as yellow butterflies dance into the gorge. This river doesn’t roar; it trudges along steadily. Water laps over rocks and flushes back to create a current that freshwater kayakers might consider a Class 2. As it does, it leaves behind deposits of minerals dredged up from mines that coal barons dug nearby more than two centuries ago. Standing above the river on a bridge in Blossburg, a North Central Pennsylvania town of 1,500 that straddles the Tioga, it’s not immediately apparent that there’s anything wrong with the red-rocked river. Except, while life teems along its banks, there is virtually nothing beneath the water’s surface. In this stretch of the Tioga, there are no fish. There are no bugs — save for a small number of macroinvertebrates. And there haven’t been for decades. Five coal mines that line its tributaries, left unsealed at the end of their productive lives, have long leaked highly acidic water rich in metals like iron and aluminum, which choke...

After decades of potlucks and paddle-boarding on Maine’s midcoast, rising anger and protests have left the Supreme Court’s chief justice more isolated than ever.

After decades of potlucks and paddle-boarding on Maine’s midcoast, rising anger and protests have left the Supreme Court’s chief justice more isolated than ever.

Northwest Straits Commission Marine Resources Committee surveys show bull kelp forests 'extremely healthy' A drysuit, water shoes and a sun hat aren’t the usual garb of a detective, but they’re essential gear for the group of volunteer sleuths paddling out from Washington Park in Anacortes. The three kayakers are looking for clues — water depth, temperature, maybe a crab — to better understand what drives the health and recovery of bull kelp in the Salish Sea.

Canoers, kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders are invited to race down the Missouri River starting at 9 a.m. Oct. 3.

Extreme whitewater may look like a reckless gamble, but on Idaho’s stoutest rapids, elite paddlers find a sacred language of focus, survival, and profound connection. Our associate editor soaked it all in at the North Fork Championship, kayaking’s gnarliest race.

A Spanish coal mine that once swallowed trucks is now an 865-hectare lake with beaches, kayakers, and deer. The transformation took four years.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west.

A pod of about 10 dolphins delights kayakers in Sydney Harbour this morning, with one kayak tour operator saying it's rare to see the animals that far west. #animals #marine #biology