relative pronouns - Isn't "who"/"whose" only used for people?


Why is the usage of whose correct in the following sentence:



In the foothills of that large mountain range are the sources of a river whose course was not fully mapped until this century.



I was under the impression that you have to use which or that when referring to things. When is it okay to use who/whose to modify things?


I thought the sentence would have to be something like "...are the sources of a river, the course of which was not fully mapped..."




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