9670

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9670
• Author: Pitlick, J.
• Title: Channel Monitoring To Evaluate Geomorphic Changes On The Main Stem Of The Colorado River.
• USFW Year: n.d.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: NO

STUDY AREA
Field studies for this project focused on conditions within specific segments of the 15-
and 18-mile reaches of the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colorado (Fig. 1). The general
setting and characteristics of these reaches are described in detail in a number of previous reports
[Osmundson and Kaeding, 1991; Pitlick et al., 1999; Pitlick and Cress, 2000]. The channel
pattern in the 15- and 18-mile reaches is mildly sinuous; in a number of places the channel splits
into two or more branches, resulting in braided-like pattern. In a long-term sense, however, the
channel is relatively stable overall. Floodplains and low lying alluvial surfaces border the river
channel through most of the study area. In several reaches, the river flows against vertical
bedrock walls underlain by Mancos shale; elsewhere, the channel is confined locally by concrete
rip rap and artificial levees. Floodplains and low lying bars are covered with a mix of recent and
mature vegetation. Dominant woody species include native sandbar willow (Salix exigua) and
cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and non-native tamarisk (Tamarisk chinensis) and russian olive
(Elaeagnus angustifolia).
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Figure 1. Detailed map showing study reaches near Grand Junction, Colorado.
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