| Abstract: | The Santa Cruz River, an ephemeral river that drains 8,581 square miles in southeastern Arizona, has a long history of channel instability. Since the late 19th century, lateral channel erosion has caused extensive property damage, particularly in Pima County. During the flood of 1983, about $100 million damage was caused in the Tucson area alone; most damage resulted from bank erosion on the Santa Cruz River and its tributaries. The nature, magni- tude, location, and frequency of channel change on the Santa Cruz River were highly variable in time and space from 1936 through 1986 along a 70-mile reach in Pima County, Arizona. Four mechanisms of lateral channel change--channel migration, avulsion and meander cutoff, channel widening, and arroyo widening--were identified on the Santa Cruz River. The dominant mechanism in a reach depends on channel morphology and flood magnitude. The dominant vertical change has been degradation. The timing and magnitude of channel change at a particular location are controlled primarily by hydroclimatic factors such as magnitude, duration, intensity, and frequency of precipitation and floods. The location of channel change and its magnitude in response to a given discharge are controlled largely by topographic, geologic, hydraulic, and artificial factors. Although much of the present morphology of the Santa Cruz River is the result of recent large floods, a direct link between hydroclimatic con- ditions and channel change is not always evident because resistance of the channel to erosion varies with time. (USGS) |
| Genre: | USGS Numbered Series |
| ProdID: | 20389 |
| Citation Author: | Parker, J. T. |
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| Citation Language: | ENGLISH |
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| Citation Phsyical Description: | vi, 65 p. :ill., maps ;28 cm. |
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| Citation Publisher: | U.S. Geological Survey ;
U.S.G.S. Earth Science Information Center, Open-File Reports Section [distributor], |
| Citation Series: | Open-File Report |
| Citation Series Code: | OFR |
| Citation Series Number: | 93-41 |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Channel change on the Santa Cruz River, Pima County, Arizona, 1936-86; 1993; OFR; 93-41; Parker, J. T. |
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| Citation Year: | 1993 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Channel change on the Santa Cruz River, Pima County, Arizona, 1936-86; 1993; OFR; 93-41; Parker, J. T. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1993/0041/report-thumb.jpg |
| URL (DOCUMENT): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1993/0041/report.pdf |
| Date Other: | Sat, 1 Jan 1994 00:00 -0600 |
| Publisher: | U.S. Geological Survey ;
U.S.G.S. Earth Science Information Center, Open-File Reports Section [distributor], |
