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Module 3 Homework - Catchment-Scale Controls on River Geomorphology

See Corresponding Learning Module

Module 3 Overview

The Assignment

note

We strongly encourage you to perform this assignment (and subsequent assignments) using QGIS, an open source, free desktop GIS. If you are more comfortable with ArcGIS Pro, it can also be accomplished using that software, however components of other labs/assignments will be completed in a QGIS plugin, Riverscapes Studio that is not available in ArcGIS Pro.

An important first step of riverscape assessment and reading riverscapes is to understand the catchment-scale controls on river geomorphology. In other words, setting your riverscape within the context of its watershed and understanding how watershed characteristics influence river form and function, as well as how that varies across different landscapes. The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to concepts of catchment-scale assessments (e.g. setting and morphometrics) which will allow you to write site descriptions for any riverscape you may work in the future.

You will be assessing watershed context and calculating a variety of morphometrics for the Logan River Watershed as well as a watershed of your choosing. To do so you will leverage Riverscapes Context Riverscapes Projects (see Resources below), which provides a quick and easy way to get the watershed boundary, DEM, and drainage network lines, PRISM precipitation rasters, etc. in addition to other contextual GIS datasets. You will interact with these projects using the Riverscapes Viewer for QGIS (or ArcPro).

On your website, please make a web-page for module 3 (this is what you'll turn in for Canvas for the Logan River Watershed (a 10 digit HUC - 1601020303) and another watershed that you select). Your page should have sections for the Logan River and your chosen waterhed, with headings for each of the assignment tasks listed below. I describe the bare minimum you need to include in each task on your page, but you may want to provide additional context. Briefly explain your methods as well, including how you calculated each of your metrics/values. Make sure all questions are answered. After calculating morphometrics for both watersheds, please include a brief discussion comparing and contrasting the two watersheds based on your calculated metrics.

info

The instructions below are for the Logan River Watershed. You will repeat the same steps for a watershed of your choosing. There a few tasks only applicable to the Logan River Watershed (noted below). Choose a watershed that is of interest to you, or one that you may want to work in the future. It can be anywhere in the conterminous US, but make sure you can find the necessary data to complete the assignment.

Assignment Tasks

1 - Map(s) of Logan River Watershed & Your Chosen Watershed

  1. Make a Location Map (e.g. where in Utah is the Logan River Watershed; can skip if you make an interactive embedded map in step 2).
  2. Describe the following for your watershed (with any useful accompanying figures or maps):
  • What is the climate of the watershed (e.g., mean annual precipitation and temperature)?
  • What is the geologic setting of the watershed?
  • What are the dominant vegetation communities and their distribution in the watershed (e.g., forests, grasslands, rangelands, crops, developed, etc.)?
  • What is the physiographic setting(s) of the watershed (e.g., US EPA Ecoregions)? A map of landscape units (e.g., level III/IV Ecoregions) and how they intersect the drainage network would be helpful.

2 - Longitudinal Profile

  1. Produce a longitudinal profile graph (distance (meters) vs. elevation (meters)) by pulling a elevation profile of the Logan River from Franklin Basin (around 42.0353,-111.599127) down to mouth (around 41.741216, -111.938460). You will repeat this for the mainstem river of your chosen watershed.
  2. What is the base-level control of Logan River today (the feature and its elevation)?
  3. What was the base-level control of the Logan River about 18,000 years ago (feature and elevation)? Logan River Watershed ONLY
  4. What is the mainstem length of the Logan River in kilometers?
  5. What is the concavity (show calculation)?
  6. Label any knickpoints (if present) and pose a working hypothesis about the controls?

3 - Catchment Morphometrics

For both watersheds:

  1. What is its catchment length in meters?
  2. What is its catchment area in square meters and in square kilometers?
  3. What is the the catchment perimeter length in meters and kilometers?
  4. Calculate the circularity ratio.
  5. Calculate the form factor of the watershed.
  6. What is the catchment relief of the watershed?
  7. What is the relief ratio of the watershed?
  8. What is the drainage density of the perennial drainage network?
  9. What is the drainage pattern of the drainage network?

4 - Stream Order

For the perennial drainage network of both watersheds:

  1. What is the stream order at mainstem river's mouth?
  2. What is the stream order of Temple Fork at its mouth? Logan River Watershed ONLY
  3. What is the stream order of Beaver Creek? Logan River Watershed ONLY
  4. Does the Logan River appear to obey the Hortonian laws of stream network composition?
tip

If you are inexperienced with GIS, there are great resources online to help you get started. See the Resources section below for some helpful videos and links to get you started with Riverscapes Context and Riverscapes Viewer in QGIS. If you need additional help, please attend office hours or schedule a meeting with the instructor.

Resources

Riverscapes Context

A Riverscapes Context Project for HUC 1601020303 (Logan River) from the Riverscapes Consortium. - Riverscapes Project viewable in QGIS or ArcPro with Viewer. This project has the watershed boundary, DEM and drainage network lines (you can also go find them on other USGS and USDA websites), as well as a ton of additional context.

If you are interested in other Riverscapes Projects for the Logan River, see here.

Riverscapes Context for HUC 1601020303 for WATS 6900/6155

View in Riverscapes Web Viewer

How to:

Open Riverscapes Project in GIS with Riverscapes Viewer

⏱️ < 20 minutes (first 7 all you actually need)

Riverscapes Viewer

Documentation on using Riverscapes Viewer in QGIS or ArcPro

Open Riverscapes Project in QGIS with Riverscapes Viewer

⏱️ 3 minutes

Create a profile in QGIS

⏱️ 3 minutes

Resources from Previous Versions of this Course

Google Earth Files

In a previous version of the class we allowed people to use Google Earth Pro to compelte the profile part of the assignment. Here is a KMZ of mainstem:

Open KMZs in Google Earth Pro and view Profile

⏱️ < 4 minutes