Past and present geomorphic activity in the Piceance Creek Drainage Basin, Northwestern Colorado

Conference · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Oil Shale Symp. Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5286825

Whitney, J W; Andrews, E D

The Piceance Creek Drainage Basin is characterized by a unique pattern of narrow, nearly parallel, and deeply incised stream valleys separated by broad interfluves. Comparison of the valley orientations with the structural contours of the basin indicates that the Piceance Creek drainage basin is a textbook example of consequent drainage. Structural control of drainage is reflected in several ways--radial drainage is developed off the Piceance Creek dome; linear stream segments, some as long as 15 km, are developed parallel to the basinward dips of the sedimentary formations; and two major streams are developed in synclinal troughs. On the basis of 7 years of hydrologic records, the estimated denudation rate for the entire Piceance Creek Basin is 32.9 t/km/sup 2//year, and varies from 27.9 to 50.6 t/km/sup 2//year in the subbasins. In contrast, the estimated denudation rate of the White River below the town of Meeker is 174 t/km/sup 2//year, of which about 88 percent is suspended sediment. In the Piceance, the rates of mechanical and chemical erosion are about the same. Suspended-sediment removal is about a factor of 10 less than the norm for other comparable semiarid basins, whereas the rate of removal of dissolved solids exceeds average rates by almost 100 percent. The high rate of chemical weathering is most likely the result of rapid dissolution of carbonate in the near-surface rocks; however, the overall low denudation rate chiefly reflects the present condition of sediment storage in the basin.

• Research Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO
• OSTI ID: 5286825
• Report Number(s): CONF-830434-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Oil Shale Symp. Proc.; (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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