East in many sections of the Appalachians.) The Army Corps of Engineers and the operators of the dams themselves usually schedule releases in advance and this information is readily available to the public upon request. Many whitewater rivers and creeks exist in rather rural or wild conditions when compared to parts of Europe and thus are located in places where animals can bite back or harm visitors, including children and dogs. (Some require a substantial hike through forest, desert, or mountains to reach the put in and cannot be reached by car at all.) In no particular order or regard to specific geography, they would include grizzly bears, black bears, moose, bull elk, porcupines, cougars, bobcats, more than 15 species of rattlesnakes on both sides of the Mississippi, scorpions, copperheads, water mocassins, and coral snakes. Beavers are sometimes extant on rivers but prefer to build in the calmer sections where there are only minor riffles and their dams are easily portaged or surmounted. Eastern United States There are several places in the East where the water roars, everything from big rivers like the Delaware River to creeks that dive over large waterfalls, many exceeding . In fact, there used to be more of them but over time some of these have been dammed or altered; the upper portions of the Mississippi River near St. Paul Minnesota, for example, used to have very large rapids and several waterfalls. The Mississippi, the divide between East and West itself, used to be a much more wild and turbulent river with more violent spots in its drainage area past Cairo Illinois with the Des Moines Rapids and the Sauk Rapids being either larger than today or undammed. New England The following are some of the rivers in New England that are popular. Ashuelot River, New Hampshire, Class III-IV Bearcamp River, New Hampshire, Class II-IV Contoocook River, New Hampshire, Class III-IV Dead River, Maine, Class III-V Deerfield River, Vermont and Massachusetts, Class II-V. Navigable from spring until just before Halloween, when the water begins to freeze. First rafting companies set up here in the 1980s. Farmington River, Massachusetts and Connecticut, Class III Gale River, New Hampshire, Class I-IV Housatonic River, Connecticut, Class I-V. Closest whitewater to New York City. Kennebec River, Maine, mostly Class II-IV Millers River, Massachusetts, Class III Penobscot River, Maine, Class III-V Quaboag River, Massachusetts, Class III Rapid River, Maine, Class IV