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<br />(jvG~7 <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />Modelling 01 Sdnd deposition in Colorado Ri'Ver )65 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Debris flows and floods from streams in side canyons (Howard and Dolan. 1981; <br />Schmidt. 1987; Webb nal., 1989; Schmidt and Grar. 1990; Metis no/.. 1994; <br />Schmidt and Rubin. 1995) form debris fans that partially constrict the channel. <br />and recirculation lones are generated in the lee of the channel constriction. The <br />spacings between debris fans ace controlled 10 a large degree by bedrock structure <br />(Dolan tt al., 1978). The bed of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park <br />is about 600/. bedrock. talus blocks or boulders. Sand supplied to the mainstem river <br />by tributary floods is stored primarily along the channel sides and in recirculation <br />lones. Sand is slored temporarily on tbe cbannel bonom (Howard and Dolan. 1981; <br />Wilson. 1986; Schmidt and Gear. 1990). <br />The four study reaches discussed in this report are located between 112 and <br />l40km below the dam. starting about 6k.m downstream from the confluence with <br />the Little Colorado River (Figure 14.1), one of the two main sand-supplying <br />tributaries. The reaches modelled in previous studies tended to have narrow con- <br />strictions with large, abrupt expansions that produced large, weU-developed recircu- <br />lation lones. These large zones can be effective at storing large volumes of sand. <br />Reaches modelled in this study have channel constrictions aod recirculation lones, <br />but the expansions are narrower or more constrained and the resulting recirculation <br />zones are smaller than the pre\iously modelled reaches. In the two downstream <br />reaches in this study. tbe recirculation-zone sand deposits are less significant than <br />the channel-margin deposits. To clanfy the discussion and to avoid repeated. lengthy <br />descriptions of morphological featurcs in the reaches, these features are designated <br />"'itb letters in the accompanying figures. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />.. <br />" <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />.~"--- <br /> <br /> <br />.- <br />, <br /> <br />.~ <br /> <br />'C <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Figurr '4.' .Aerial pholos 01 study Sites and map shoINing S1udy Sire-locations. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />-- <br />