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Last modified
1/26/2010 2:58:39 PM
Creation date
10/12/2006 4:17:58 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Water Supply Protection
File Number
8200.760
Description
Yampa River
State
CO
Basin
Yampa/White
Water Division
1
Date
6/27/1984
Author
USGS
Title
Sediment Transport in Lower Yampa River, Northwestern Colorado
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
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<br />to substantial alteration of the Yampa River through Dinosaur National Monu- <br />ment. This study was undertaken to determine the prevailing conditions of <br />streamflow and sediment discharge through Deerlodge Park, and to estimate the <br />effect of changes in hydrology or sediment supply on the sediment budget. <br /> <br />The Yampa River drains approximately 8,000 mi2 in northwestern Colorado <br />and south-central Wyoming, and is a major component of the upper Colorado <br />River system (fig. 1). The Little Snake River, a principal tributary, drains <br />approximately 3,730 mi2 and joins the Yampa River in Deerlodge Park. <br />Mean-annual runoff from the Yampa River basin is approximately 1.5 million <br />acre-ft/yr. Altitudes in the watershed range from 5,065 ft at the river's <br />mouth to over 12,000 ft in the headwaters in the Park Range. Precipitation <br />varies from less than 12 in./yr in the western part of the basin to over 60 <br />in./yr at higher altitudes along the Continental Divide. Most of the precip- <br />itation falls on the basin as snoW from November through April, although <br />intense localized thunderstorms occur during the summer months. <br /> <br />Tertiary and Cretaceous sandstones, mudstones, and shales underlie most <br />of the basin (Tweto, 1979) and are the source of most of the material trans- <br />ported by the Yampa River in its lower reaches. The Yampa River is entrenched <br />into Permian and Pennsylvanian sandstones and limestones of the Uinta Mountain <br />uplift for the last 45 mi of its course; little of the transported sediment is <br />derived from these formations. <br /> <br />Immediately upstream from the Yampa River Canyon is Deerlodge Park, a <br />broad valley where the Little Snake River joins the Yampa River. The Yampa <br />River Canyon was formed in the Uinta Mountain uplift (Hunt, 1969), and it lies <br />within the boundaries of Dinosaur National Monument. Entering the canyon, the <br />river gradient steepens and the channel is entrenched in bedrock. Riverbanks <br />are predomi nant ly bedrock or talus materi a 1. Sand, gravel, and cobbles are <br />found 1 oca lly in bars or along banks where the ri ver gradi ent 1 essens, or <br />where the canyon width increases. Mobile sediments periodically are scoured <br />from the bed and banks and redeposited as floodflows pass through the canyon. <br /> <br />The canyon of the lower Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument is a <br />unique feature in the Western United States. With no major dams, and modest <br />water consumption (approximately 10 percent of annual streamflow, Steele and <br />others, 1979) , the Yampa River, in its lower reaches, retains a relatively <br />pristine character. As such, the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument <br />offers the visitor a rare opportunity to observe and study the biological and <br />geomorphological setting of a relatively undisturbed river system. Annual <br />streamflow in the Yampa River has been measured and sediment yields estimated <br />for prevailing conditions; however, the effects of changes in either of these <br />two variables previously have not been addressed. The objectives of this <br />investigation are: <br /> <br />1. To establish the relation bet~een sediment discharge and water <br />discharge for the Yampa River above the entrance to Yampa <br />Canyon at Deerlodge Park. <br />2, To determine the mean annual hydrograph and flew-duration <br />relation for the prevailing streamflow at Deerlodge Park. <br />3. To compute the mean annual sediment supply to the Deerlodge <br />Park reach. <br /> <br />2 <br />
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