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<br />6 <br /> <br />understand the mechansims of salt transport, As shown on Figure 1.2, <br /> <br />both ground water flow and surface flow carry the salt load from <br /> <br /> <br />~ one source to another. The non-agricultural source of salt input <br /> <br />~ <br />~ is derived from hillslopes and channels, Dominant hillslope processes <br /> <br /> <br />giving rise to salt input are either mass wasting or liquid flow in <br /> <br />rills and as overland and rill flow. Channel sources arise from <br /> <br />bank collapse and from bed material transport. In this study, the <br /> <br />work is addressed to the role of sediment on salt loading from both <br /> <br />hillslopes and channels, <br />Recent studies (U.S, Department of Agriculture, 1975; Whitmore, <br /> <br />1976; White, 1977; Ponce and Hawkins, 1978; Laronne, 1981; and <br /> <br />Laronne and Schumm, 1981) as well as earlier reports recognize <br /> <br />the large portion of solutes produced by diffuse sources (especially <br /> <br />in the upper basin, Fig. 1.3) and the possibility that the transport <br /> <br />of sediments is the cause for much of the solute pickup, <br /> <br />1.3 Description of Area <br />Most of the water in the upper Colorado River Basin originates <br /> <br />from spring snow melt in the Rocky Mountains. These vegetated <br /> <br />mountain ranges expose primarily crystalline rocks with derived soils <br /> <br />that produce relatively insoluble weathering products. The mountains <br /> <br />are also generally characterized by low sediment yields (Colorado Land <br /> <br />Use Commission, 1974). The lower areas of the basin are principally <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />underlain by sedimentary rocks, many of which (and ,specifically, the <br /> <br />shales), are of marine origin. Figure 1.4 presents a photograph <br /> <br />showing a general view of this area. Salts in the sediments eroded <br />