Laserfiche WebLink
DRAFT Febmary 25, 1998 <br />• <br />shows a strong relationship to the source lithology of the adjacent upstream debris fan. <br />These observations suggest that the Green River through the eastern Uinta Mountains has <br />been dominated by aggradation during recent geologic time. <br />The depositional settings created by debris fans consist of (1) channel-margin deposits in <br />the backwater above the debris fan, (2) eddy bars in the zone of recirculating flow below <br />the constriction, and (3) expansion gravel bars in the expansion below the zone of <br />recirculating flow. These fan-eddy complexes are the storage location of about 70 <br />percent, by area, of all fine- and coarse-gained alluvium contained within the canyons <br />above the low-water stage. Immediately adjacent meandering reaches contain an order of <br />magnitude more alluvium by area but have no debris fan-created depositional settings. <br />Guensch, G.R., and L C. Schmidt. 1996. Channel Response to High Discharges in 1996, <br />Green River at Ouray and Mineral Bottom. 1996 Annual Progress Report. Department of <br />Geography and Earth Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. 16p. <br />The channel response of the Green River to the 1996 flood was measured in areas <br />considered to contain critical Colorado squawfish nursery habitat. These areas are located <br />at Ouray and Mineral Bottom. Cross sections at each of these study reaches were <br />• surveyed during various flood stages in 1996. Each reach was also topographically <br />mapped. Cross sections surveyed in 1996 were compared with surveys from 1993 and <br />1994. At Ouray, the 1996 flood created higher elevation sand bars than existed after the <br />1993 or 1994 floods. Bar building occurs during flood recession. At Mineral Bottom <br />bars do not build nearly as high, relative to the peak flood stage, as they do at Ouray. As <br />a result, less nursery habitat is available at Mineral Bottm than at Ouray. Our data <br />illuminate several characteristics of the Mineral Bottom study reach that may explain its <br />geomorphic behavior. The channel at Mineral Bottom is generally narrower than at <br />Ouray, has a slightly higher gradient, and is more isolated from its historic floodplain due <br />to its high banks. The topographic maps show that bar complexity at Ouray in 1996 was <br />less than in 1994 or 1995 but greater than that following the 1993 flood of slightly less <br />magnitude. <br />Harvey, M.D., and R.A. Mussetter. 1994. Green River Endangered Species Habitat <br />Investigations. Resource Consultants & Engineers, RCE Ref. No. 93-166.02. Ft. Collins, <br />Colorado. 4-1 to 4-4. <br />This investigation of a known Colorado squawfish spawning bar located at the head of <br />Gray Canyon on the Green River tested the researchers proposed physical <br />process-biological response model (PRM) for spawning habitat formation. This model <br />was initially developed from data and analyses conducted about 27 km upstream from the <br />Yampa and Green Rivers confluence in the lower Yampa River Canyon (Harvey et al., <br />• <br />22