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<br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />.~ <br />I <br />! <br /> <br />w, ~ <br /> <br />1494 <br /> <br />W, L. GRAF <br /> <br />tape or were surveyed for comparision with <br />similar measures made photogrammetri- <br />cally as checks on photo measures, Land- <br />mark measures were made from vertical <br />aerial photos taken with mapping cameras <br />to check the accuracy of ground photos for <br />the 5 sites not surveyed in the field, <br />Sediment samples from the river bed, <br /> <br />ephemeral forms, forms stabilized by <br />tamarisk, and alluvial deposits above pres- <br />ent flood levels provided information about <br />materials at 5 sites along the last 120 km <br />(75 mil of the Green River. Minerological <br />analysis of the samples was accomplished <br />with low-power magnification. Trees <br />drilled with a Swedish increment borer <br /> <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />._,-,-. -1'-'-'-'-1 <br /> <br />. , <br /> <br />! I <br /> <br /> <br />I SALT LAKE . <br /> <br />I · <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I D A H 0 <br /> <br />NEVADA <br /> <br />UTA H <br /> <br />o <br />I <br />o <br /> <br />MI. <br /> <br />............. <br />, '-..... <br />.............. <br />200 <br />I <br /> <br />,'-- <br />.-L.~ <br /> <br />I <br />100 <br />KM. <br /> <br />Figure 6. Colorado River basin, adapted from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1946). <br /> <br />provided sequences of tree rings for age d. <br />termination of the surfaces on which tI1 <br />trees were growing. <br /> <br />RESUL TS <br /> <br />Spread of Tamarisk <br /> <br />An accurate assessment of the gene <br />rate of spread and data of introduction <br />specific areas for tamarisk is a prerequislj <br />to a clear understanding of the impact o~ <br />the plant on geomorphic systems, By OJ <br />taining photographs taken during sever, <br />different years at the same site, I was able , <br />identify the approximate year of ramaos <br />invasion for the site in question. 1n mo~ <br />cases, the precise, year c~uld not b,e ide~1 <br />nfied, but the period dUring whIch Il1fesra'j <br />tion occurred could be narrowed to 4 yr Ol! <br />less by identifyng the latest photo WithOWI,i <br />tamarisk and the earliest photo with L~ <br />plant, By plotting the middle years of suJil <br />periods for a number of frequenth- Phot~1 <br />graphed sites against an arbitrary distan(l <br />measured along the Colorado and Greeo,' <br />Rivers, an accurate record of the spread 011 <br />the plant developed (Fig, 8; Table 2) <br />'I <br />Tamarisk spread through the study area Int <br />and near Canyonlands National Park bel <br />tween ]925 and ]931. ' <br />Tamarisk spread consistently throughoU1 <br />the Colorado and Green systems withoUI <br />responses to the installations of reservoir> <br />unlike the situation described by Harri! <br />(1966) for other southwestern drainag< <br />areas, A simple linear regressionberwetO <br />time and distance shows that the planl <br />spread generally upstream at about 1~1 <br />km/yr (12 mi/yr) from the sourhwesteO:j <br />part of the basin, The annual prodwction ori <br />600,000 windborn seeds for each lllatuf1i <br />tamarisk tree accounts for the rapid rate oil <br />spread (Robinson, ]958), ' <br />The invasion chronology of tamarisk isl <br />significant because it indicates that if thel <br />fluvial I3ndforms were in equilibrium Wl!~! <br />stream discharges before the arriv:;ll of the! <br />pia nt, and if new states of equilibriulll were! <br />established after the arrival of the plant, the! <br />new states have probably prevailed longesti <br />in the lower reaches of the Colorado Basin" <br />New states of equilibrium probably ap- <br />peared most recently in reaches lIPstreal!1[ <br />from the confluence of the Co!orado ana: <br />Green Rivers. <br /> <br />Geomorphic Responses t <br /> <br />The commonly occurring terrace 3 to 51!1V <br />(9 ro 15 It) ,hove low-w"" Iml h""J <br />