Laserfiche WebLink
33 <br />various limestones, sandstones, and shales below. Granite formations <br />occur in places within the sedimentary rocks, such as the outcrop at the <br />proposed dam site. <br />Surface erosion at the higher elevations (generally above <br />8,000 feet) appears to be slight. Lower and particularly in the sed- <br />imentaxy formations on the Sweetwater, ground cover is less effective <br />in stabilizing the soils, and evidence of past gullying is abundant. <br />Local ranchers report that periodic summer rains of high intensity have <br />scoured nearly every gully below Sweetwater Lake at some time during the <br />past 30 years. Rocks weighing several hundred pounds have been deposited <br />in fans along the valley; finer materials have gone down the Colorado <br />River. During the summer of 1962, there were no storms resulting in <br />obvious erosion. <br />' Where the stream gradients are relatively high (5 percent or <br />more), spring runoff results in considerable channel scouring. Turret <br />Creek above the Currier Ranch with an average gradient of 7 percent is <br />subject to considerable channel scouring and bottom rock movement each <br />year. Mr. Tom Currier reports that a noticeable part of the wet meadow <br />at the upper end of Sweetwater Lake was open water 20 years ago. Between. <br />the Currier Ranch and. Sweetwater Lake there is evidence that the stream <br />channel has shifted back and forth considerably over past years, probably <br />the result of bed-load movement and log jams. <br />_ In May or June of 1962, a land slide occurred on the Y-Z Ranch <br />• several miles above Stillwater Bridge changing the channel of-the South <br />Fork materially. This has been attributed to the saturation of unstable <br />sub-surface formations. Other slides have. occurred in the past. <br />Swede Creek, particularly, shows evidence of instability where <br />