9405

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9405
• Author: Pitlick, J. and M. Van Steeter.
• Title: Changes in Morphology and Endangered Fish Habitat of the Colorado River.
• USFW Year: 1994.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder.
• Copyright Material: NO

Sediment data have been collected at these gages intermittently. Sediment measurements
made at the Cameo gaging station from 1982 to 1984 indicate that the total sediment load of the
Colorado River is dominated by suspended sediment (Butler, 1986). In typical years, the rating
curve of water discharge versus sediment concentration shows a pronounced hysteresis with
concentrations of suspended load being significantly higher on the rising limb of the hydrograph
than on the falling limb (Fig. 3). Presumably this trend is related to differences in the sources of
water and sediment within the Colorado River basin. In early spring, much of the runoff in the
main stem of the Colorado River is derived from lower elevation tributaries that drain erodible
shale and sandstone formations. In late spring, more runoff is derived from higher elevation
tributaries that drain the resistant crystalline rocks of the Front Range and the Sawatch Range.
E
c
2
ca
1
c
m
U
C
O
U
C
m
a
m
N
'a
m
C
m
a.
y
7
U)
04
1983 '
o ¦
0 1984 '
03 0 1985
a .•
O O O
O ¦
o
0 8
¦ 4
O
o tP d
O ?
10 ¦ O
°
O
00
O p
O
O
I '"d O
102 103 104 105
Discharge (cfs)
Figure 3. Suspended sediment data and rating curve for the Colorado River near Cameo, CO.
Closed symbols indicate measurements taken prior to the annual peak discharge and
open symbols indicate measurements taken after the annual peak discharge.
4