Riverboat

A riverboat is a vessel built for travel on inland waters such as lakes, rivers, and man-made canals. It is typically a working craft used to carry freight or passengers, though some are luxury boats designed for entertainment, like tour boats on lakes or harbors. Compared to oceangoing ships, riverboats are less robust, have fewer navigational and rescue tools, and can be made from lightweight composites because they don't face high winds or large waves. Their usefulness depends on how many navigable waterways exist and the quality of nearby roads and railways. They offer slow, inexpensive transport, particularly good for bulk cargo and containers.

Riverboats are limited in size by a river's width and depth and the height of bridges above it. Some are built with shallow drafts—like the paddle-wheel steamers on the Mississippi River, which could operate in water less than two meters deep. Unlike a ferry, which crosses a river, a riverboat travels along the river's course, carrying passengers, cargo, or both for profit, though stationary vessels like riverboat casinos are an exception.

People have fished in rivers and lakes using rafts and dugouts since around 20,000 BC. By 50 BC, Roman sources describe extensive transport of goods and people on the Rhine. Upstream travel relied on sails or oars. In the Middle Ages, towpaths were built so animals or people could pull boats. Steamboats became common in the 19th century.

The most famous riverboats operated on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri rivers in the early 1800s, and on the Colorado, Columbia, and Sacramento rivers in the American West. These boats were designed to draw very little water—it was said they could "navigate on a heavy dew." Australia also has a riverboat history. The Murray River has an inland port called Echuca, where many large riverboats once worked, though lower water levels now limit them. On Western Australia's Kalgan River, the *Silver Star* (1918–1935) lowered its funnel to pass under a low bridge; today, the *Kalgan Queen* lowers its roof to clear the same bridge while taking tourists to local wineries.

Early steam-driven riverboats are what typically come to mind with the word "steamboat." They burned wood in iron boilers, with tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double-acting pistons driving a large stern paddlewheel. This rear paddlewheel was an advantage because it operated clear of snags, was easy to repair, and was less likely to be damaged in a grounding. Burning wood allowed the boat to use fuel from woodcutters along the shore. These boats also carried a brow (a short bridge) on the bow to unload cargo and passengers directly onto unimproved shorelines.

Modern riverboats are usually screw-driven, with pairs of diesel engines producing several thousand horsepower. The standard reference on steamboat development is *Steamboats on Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History* by Louis C. Hunter (1949).

Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, celebrates "Riverboat Days" each summer, honoring the Skeena River's role in the steamboat era. The first steam vessel on the Skeena was the *Union* in 1864. In 1866, the *Mumford* tried to ascend the river but only reached the Kitsumkalum River. In 1891, the Hudson's Bay Company sternwheeler *Caledonia* successfully navigated Kitselas Canyon to reach Hazelton. Several other steamers were built around the turn of the century due to the fish industry and gold rush. The *WT Preston*, a museum ship, was once a specialized river dredge called a "snagboat."

Some large modern riverboats offer accommodation, food, and entertainment comparable to ocean cruise ships, providing scenic, relaxing trips. On the Yangtze River, employees often have double duties as serving staff and evening-costumed dancers. Smaller luxury craft without entertainment operate on European rivers and canals, some offering bicycle and van side trips to villages. High-speed boats on the Yangtze had a special advantage in the Three Gorges, where one-way travel was enforced through narrows; while deeper-draft vessels had to wait for clearance, these boats could zip past by running in the shallows. Smaller riverboats are also used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport, such as in Amsterdam, Paris, and other tourist cities with historical monuments near waterways.