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<br />reach (river-miles 140 to 170) averaged 175 meters. The average channel width for the entire <br />Colorado River study area was 158 meters. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION <br /> <br />Channel Width - Green River <br /> <br />As expected from previous studies, average channel width for the lower monitoring reach of the <br />Green River was substantially narrower than the upper reach (table 3), averaging about 37 percent <br />less (lower reach = 137 meters, upper reach = 216 meters). These results are comparable with <br />previous studies. Andrews (1986) reported the average channel width from Jensen to Ouray as <br />186 meters, based on only 15 cross section measurements of the Green River on large-scale aerial <br />photographs. This number is approximately 7 percent less than the average width of about <br />200 meters for roughly the same reach in this study, based on 236 cross section measurements on <br />video. The discrepancy may be related to a number of factors, but it is probably chiefly due to the <br />dates of data collection. Andrews'photographs were acquired in 1978, and our video was acquired <br />in 1989. The high flood years of 1983 and 1984 widened the channel width from about 1 to <br />5 percent on various reaches below the Jensen gauge (Pucherelli et al., 1987) and this would be <br />reflected in the video data. Secondly, this study was based on considerably more cross sections than <br />Andrews' which presumably produced a more accurate channel width measurement. Lastly, <br />Andrews' measurements were derived from aerial photographs, and our data were derived from <br />aerial video. <br /> <br />Andrews' reported a channel width of 142 meters for a IS-mile reach below the GS Green River, <br />Utah, gauge. This measurement was based on only 14 cross sections and is about 6 percent less <br />than our measurement of 151 meters for a similar reach based on 99 cross sections. This difference <br />in channel width is similar to that for the upper reach and was affected by the same study variables <br />listed above. <br /> <br />Pucherelli et al. (1987, 1988) determined channel width for portions of the upper and lower <br />monitoring reaches. They reported a channel width of 205 meters for river-miles 237 to 310 <br />(exclusive of river-miles 249 to 251), based on channel area calculations from 1986 aerial <br />photography. Channel width in this study for river-miles 236 to 315 was approximately 206 meters. <br />Pucherelli et al., (1988) reported a channel width of 140 meters for a portion of the lower <br />monitoring reach from river-miles 94 to 121. The present study recorded a channel width of about <br />148 meters for river-miles 94 to 120, which is about 5 percent wider. <br /> <br />Sidle et al. (1989) noted that measuring channel width by cross-sectional methods may overestimate <br />channel width. Although our channel width measurements are within range of previous <br />investigators, they may be slightly overestimated if the cross section is slightly off perpendicular with <br />respect to the channel. We believe that the large number of cross sections measured in the present <br />study should remove most of the error. Regardless, by using consistent techniques, our video <br />monitoring data will be comparable from year to year. <br /> <br />Channel Width - Colorado River <br /> <br />Channel width of the Colorado River was about 13 percent narrower for the lower reach than the <br />upper reach (table 3). Presumably, the more braided nature of the upper reach accounts for this <br />difference. <br /> <br />6 <br />