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<br />Other sedimentary formations in the basin include: Wasatch and Green River <br />Formations which consist of loosely cemented, interbedded sandstones, siltstones <br />and mudstones; the Washakie Formation, an interbedded sandstone, siltstone, <br />mudstone and conglomerate; and the Bridger Formation, with shale, mudstone, <br />claystone, siltstone and sandstone. All these formations are relatively young and <br />very erodible in the far western part of the basin where the Paleozoic sedimentary <br />rocks, primarily limestone, sandstone and siltstone are exposed on the surface. <br />Shales are more common in the Cretaceous formations and mudstones are more <br />common in the Tertiary units. These formations are widely exposed due to sparse <br />vegetation and are relatively erodible resulting in high sediment yield from the <br />tributaries. <br /> <br />The four major tributaries in the lower Little Snake Basin include: Muddy <br />Creek, Sand Creek, Powder Wash and Sand Wash (Figure 1). The geology of <br />these tributaries are described by Gregory (Rei 1991). Of these four streams, <br />Sand Wash and Muddy Creek are the most prodigious producers of sediment. <br />Muddy Creek drains the Green River and Wasatch Formations and the Sand Wash <br />basin is underlain almost entirely by the Bridger Formation. Sand Creek delivers <br />sediments primarily from the Washakie Formation, the youngest formation (Eocene <br />Epoch) in the Little Snake Basin. Powder Wash drains the Wasatch and Green <br />River Formations. Many of the small streams in these formations are incised. <br />Muddy Creek provides relatively fine sediments while Sand Wash contains high <br />concentrations of sand-sized sediments. There are no quantitative estimates of <br />sediment yield from these tributary systems. <br /> <br />River-basin geology also effects channel morphology, river valley slope, <br />sediment contribution and river substrate at local scales. For example, the Little <br />Snake River Canyon beginning at RK 14 creates a bedrock control which results in <br />a mild sand-bed slope for several kilometers upstream. The geology thus creates <br /> <br />10 <br />