Understanding Water Processes: From Streams to Oceans

UNIT 8: RUNNING WATER, GROUNDWATER, AND OCEAN PROCESSES Randa Harris and Brianne Smith I NTRODUCTION Think how many times a day you take water for granted – you assume the tap will be flowing when you turn on your faucet, you expect rainfall to water your lawn, and you may count on water for your recreation. Not only is water necessary for many of life’s functions, it is also a considerable geologic agent. Water can sculpt the landscape dramatically over time both by carving canyons as well as depositing thick layers of sediment. Some of these processes are slow and result in landscapes worn down over time. Others, such as floods, can be dramatic and dangerous. What happens to water during a rainstorm? Imagine that you are outside in a parking lot with grassy areas nearby. Where does the water from the parking lot go? Much of it will run off as sheet flow and eventually join a stream. What happens to the rain in the grassy area? Much of it will infiltrate, or soak into the ground. We will deal with surface and ground water in this lab, as well as ocean processes. All are integral parts of the water cycle, in which water gets continually recycled through the atmosphere, to the land, and back to the oceans. This cycle, powered by the sun, operates easily since water can change form from liquid to gas (or water vapor) quickly under surface conditions. Both surface and ground water are beneficial for drinking water, industry, agriculture, recreation, and commerce. Demand for water will only increase as population increases, making it vital to protect water sources both above and below ground. Learning Outcomes: After completing this chapter, you should be able to: • Understand how streams erode, transport, and deposit sediment • Know the different stream drainage patterns and understand what they indicate about the underlying rock • Explain the changes that happen from the head to the mouth of a stream • Understand the human hazards associated with floods • Know the properties of groundwater and aquifers • Understand the distribution of groundwater, including the water table • Learn the main features associated with karst topography • Understand the challenges posed by karst topography Key Terms: Drainage basin Drainage pattern Drainage divide Stream gradient Permeability Porosity Discharge Natural levee Aquifer

Karst topography Floodplain Entrenched meander S TREAMFLOW AND P ARTS OF A S TREAM The running water in a stream will erode (wear away) and move material within its channel, including dissolved substances (materials taken into solution during chemical weathering). The solid sediments may range in size from tiny clay and silt particles too small for the naked eye to view up to sand and gravel sized sediments. Even boulders have been carried by large flows. The smaller particles kept in suspension by the water’s flow are called suspended load. Larger particles typically travel as bed load, stumbling along the stream bed (Figure 1). While the dissolved, suspended, and bed loads may travel long distances (ex. from the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans), they will eventually settle out, or deposit. These stream deposited sediments, called alluvium, can be deposited at any time, but most often occur during flood events. To more effectively transport sediment, a stream needs energy. This energy is mostly a function of the amount of water and its velocity, as more (and larger) sediment can be carried by a fast-moving stream. As a stream loses its energy and slows down, material will be deposited. Under normal conditions, water will remain in a stream channel. When the amount of water in a stream exceeds it banks, the water that spills over the channel will decrease in velocity rapidly due to the greater friction on the water. As it drops velocity, it will also drop the larger sandy material it is carrying right along the channel margins, resulting in ridges of sandy alluvium called natural levees (Figure 2). As numerous flooding events occur, these ridges build up under repeated deposition. These levees are part of a larger landform known as a floodplain . A floodplain is the relatively flat land adjacent to the stream that is subject to flooding during times of high discharge (Figure 2). Figure 1. An illustration depicting dissolved, suspended, and bed load. Author: User "PSUEnviroDan" Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain

Figure 2. The creation of natural levees over time. Author: Julie Sandeen Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 S TREAM D RAINAGE B ASINS AND P ATTERNS The drainage basin of a stream includes all the land that is drained by one stream, including all of its tributaries (the smaller streams that feed into the main stream). You are in a drainage basin right now. Do you know which one? You can find out on the internet. Go to the Environmental Protection Agency’s webpage (epa.gov) and search for Surf Your Watershed to find out. The higher areas that separate drainage basins are called drainage divides. For North America, the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains separates water that drains to the west to the Pacific Ocean from water that drains to the east to the Gulf of Mexico. As water flows over rock, it is influenced by it. Water wants to flow in the area of least resistance, so it is attracted to softer rock, rather than hard, resistant rock. This can result in characteristic patterns of drainage. Some of the more common drainage patterns include: • Dendritic – this drainage pattern indicates uniformly resistant bedrock that often includes horizontal rocks. Since all the rock is uniform, the water is not attracted to any one area, and spreads out in a branching pattern, similar to the branches of a tree. • Trellis – this drainage pattern indicates alternating resistant and non-resistant bedrock that has been deformed (folded) into parallel ridges and valleys. The water is attracted to the softer rock, and appears much like a rose climbing on a trellis in a garden.

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• Radial – this drainage pattern forms as streams flow away from a central high point, such as a volcano, resembling the spokes in a wheel. • Rectangular – this drainage pattern forms in areas in which rock has been fractured or faulted which created weakened rock. Streams are then attracted to the less resistant rock and create a network of channels that make right-angle bends as they intersect these breaking points. This pattern will often look like rectangles or squares. • Deranged – this drainage pattern does not follow the rules. It consists of a random pattern of stream channels characterized by irregularity. It indicates that the drainage developed recently and has not had time to form one of the other drainage patterns yet. Figure 3. Drainage patterns. Author: Corey Parson Source: Original Work License: CC BY-SA 3.0

S TREAM G RADIENT A ND T HE C YCLE O F S TREAM E ROSION Stream gradient refers to the slope of the stream’s channel, or rise over run. It is the vertical drop of the stream over a horizontal distance. You have dealt with gradient before in Topographic Maps. It can be calculated using the following equation: Gradient = (change in elevation) / distance Let’s calculate the gradient from A to B in Figure 4 below. The elevation of the stream at A is 980’, and the elevation of the stream at B is 920’. Use the scale bar to calculate the distance from A to B. Gradient = (980’ – 920’) / 2 miles, or 30 feet/mile. Figure 4 . Gradient calculation. Stream gradients tend to be higher in a stream’s headwaters (where it originates), and lower at their mouth (where they discharge into another body of water, such as the ocean). Discharge measures stream flow at a given time and location, and specifically is a measure of the volume of water passing a particular point in a given period of time. It is found by multiplying the area (width multiplied by depth) of the stream channel by the velocity of the water, and is often in units of cubic feet (or meters) per second. Discharge increases downstream in most rivers, as tributaries join the main channel and add water. Sediment load (the amount of sediment carried by the stream) also changes from headwaters to mouth. At the headwaters, tributaries quickly carry their load downstream, combining with loads from other tributaries. The main river then eventually deposits that

sediment load when it reaches base level. Sometimes in this process of carrying material downstream, the sediment load is large enough that the water is not capable of supporting it, so deposition occurs. If a stream becomes overloaded with sediment, braided streams may develop, with a network of intersecting channels that resembles braided hair. Sand and gravel bars are typical in braided streams, which are common in arid and semiarid regions with high erosion rates. Less commonly seen are straight streams, in which channels remain nearly straight, naturally due to a linear zone of weakness in the underlying rock. Straight channels can also be man-made, in an effort at flood control. Streams may also be meandering, with broadly looping meanders that resemble “S”- shaped curves (Figure 5). The fastest water traveling in a meandering stream travels from outside bend to outside bend. This greater velocity and turbulence lead to more erosion on the outside bend, forming a featured called a cut bank. Erosion on this bank is offset by deposition on the opposite bank of the stream, where slower moving water allows sediment to settle out. These deposits are called point bars. As meanders become more complicated, or sinuous, they may cut off a meander, discarding the meander to become a crescent-shaped oxbow lake. Check out Figure 6 to see the formation of an oxbow lake. Figure 5. Parts of a meandering stream. The S-curves are meanders. The arrows within the stream depict where the fastest water flows. That water erodes the outside bank, creating a steep bank called the cut bank. The slowest water flows on the inside of the meander, slow enough to deposit sediment and create the point bar.

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Figure 6. Formation of an oxbow lake. A meander begins to form and is cut off, forming the oxbow. Author: User “Maksim” Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Even though streams are not living, they do go through characteristic changes over time as they alter the landscape. The ultimate goal of a stream is to reach base level (the low elevation at which the stream can no longer erode its channel – often a lake or other stream; ultimate base level is the ocean). While trying to reach this goal, the stream will experience the cycle of stream erosion, which consists of these stages: • Youthful (early) stage – these streams are downcutting their channels (vertically eroding); literally they are picking up sediment from the bottom of their channels in an effort to decrease their elevation. The land surface will be above sea level, and these streams form deep V-shaped channels. • Mature (middle) stage – these streams experience both vertical (downcutting) and lateral (meandering) erosion. The land surface is sloped, and streams begin to form floodplains (the flat land around streams that are subject to flooding). • Old age (late) stage – these streams focus on lateral erosion and have very complicated meanders and oxbow lakes. The land surface is near base level.

Figure 7. Streams displaying the youthful, mature, and old age stages within the cycle of stream erosion. Note that the youthful stream does not have a floodplain. Figure 8. An example of a youthful stream (Whooping Creek) on a topographic map. Note how the contour lines are close to the blue stream – this indicates that the land slopes near the stream, creating a V shaped channel, rather than a flat floodplain.

Figure 9. An example of a mature stream (the Altamaha River) on a topographic map. Note the meanders – this river has begun to laterally erode, creating a floodplain. Note also that there aren’t contour line near the stream – all this area is a flat floodplain. Figure 10. An example of an old age stream (the Red River, on the right) on a topographic map. Oxbow lakes, like Gold Point Lake, are common in old age streams. Though the image isn’t zoomed out enough to show this, the river has a very large flat floodplain, so there are very few contour lines near the stream.

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An interruption may occur in this cycle. If a stream suddenly begins to downcut again, if sea level dropped (so base level dropped) or if the area around it was uplifted (think building mountains), then the stream would become rejuvenated. If the rejuvenated stream was in the old age stage, it will begin to form a deep V-shaped channel within that complicated meandering pattern that it has. This creates a neat geologic feature called an entrenched meander (Figure 11). Entrenched meanders can be recognized on topographic maps by their lack of a floodplain (so the elevation of the land beside the stream will quickly rise) and complicated meander pattern. Figure 11. Entrenched meanders along the San Juan River, Goosenecks State Park, Utah. L AB E XERCISE Part A – Drainage Patterns Map 1 is a portion of a topographic map from Bright Angel, Arizona. Study the map and answer questions 1-4 below.

Map 1. A portion of the Bright Angel, AZ 1:62,500 topographic map, courtesy of the USGS. 1. What type of stream drainage pattern is present on this map? a. radial b. rectangular c. deranged d. trellis e. dendritic 2. Based on the drainage pattern type, what is the underlying bedrock like in this area? a. rocks have been fractured or faulted in this area, with weakened rock making right-angle bends b. alternating resistant and non-resistant bedrock in ridges and valleys c. uniformly resistant bedrock, likely with horizontal rocks

3. Are the streams in this area downcutting or laterally eroding? a. downcutting b. laterally eroding 4. In what stage in the cycle of stream erosion is this area? a. mature b. youthful c. old age Map 2 is a portion of a topographic map from Grandfather Mountain. Study the map and answer questions 5-7 below. Map 2. A portion of the Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina 1:24,000 topographic map, courtesy of the USGS. 5. In which direction does North Harper Creek flow? a. southwest b. east c. west d. northwest 6. Calculate the stream gradient of North Harper Creek. Start at the index contour just to the right of A, to the index contour just to the right of B. The distance between these two points is 1.85 miles. What is the stream gradient? a. 0.003 ft/mile b. 889 ft/mile

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c. 324 ft/mile d. 1,000 ft/mile 7. Characterize the floodplain of North Harper Creek. Pick the best answer. a. its floodplain is broad b. its floodplain is moderate c. it does not have a floodplain – it is youthful d. this information cannot be determined Google Earth 8. Using Google Earth, search for 32 21 58.25N 91 8 46.47W and zoom to an eye altitude of ~50 miles. This is the Mississippi River. How would you describe the river at this location? a. straight b. braided c. meandering d. none of these choices 9. What landforms can be found along this stretch of the river? a. entrenched meanders b. estuaries c. a deep V shaped channel d. oxbow lakes 10. Search for 41 24 53.20N 122 11 36.30W and zoom to an eye altitude of ~25 miles. This is Mount Shasta. What type of stream drainage pattern would you expect in this area? a. Deranged b. Trellis c. Rectangular d. Radial e. Dendritic 11. What does this type of drainage pattern indicate about the area? a. rocks in the area are alternating resistant and non-resistant, forming parallel ridges and valleys b. stream channels radiate outward like wheel spokes from a high point c. rocks in the area are homogeneous and/or flat lying d. stream channels flow randomly with no relation to underlying rocks or structure

G ROUNDWATER It is best not to envision groundwater as underground lakes and streams (which only occasionally exist in caves), instead think of groundwater slowly seeping from one miniscule pore in the rock to another. Have you ever been to the beach and dug a hole, only to have it fill with water from the base? If so, you had reached the water table, the boundary between the unsaturated and saturated zones. Rocks and soil just beneath the land’s surface are part of the unsaturated zone, and pore spaces in them are filled with air. Once the water table is reached, then rocks and soil pore spaces are filled with water, in the saturated zone (Figure 12). Figure 12. The water table is the boundary between the unsaturated zone and saturated zone. Author: USGS Source: Wikimedia Commons License: Public Domain The water table is said to mimic topography, in that it generally lies near the surface of the ground (often tens of feet below the surface, though this can vary greatly with location). The water table rises with hills and sinks with valleys, often discharging into streams. The water table receives additional inputs as rainfall infiltrates into the ground, called recharge. Its position is dynamic – during droughts the water table will lower and during wet times, it rises. Two important properties of groundwater that influence its availability and movement are porosity and permeability. Porosity refers to the open or void space within the rock. It is expressed as a percentage of the volume of open space compared to the total rock volume. Porosity will vary with rock type. Many rocks with tight interlocking crystals (such as igneous and metamorphic rocks) will have low porosity since they lack open space. Sedimentary rocks composed of well sorted sediment tend to have high porosity because of the abundant spaces between the grains that make them up. To imagine this, envision a room filled from floor to ceiling with basketballs (similar to a rock composed completely of sand grains). Now add water to the room. The room will be able to hold a good deal of water, since the basketballs don’t pack tightly due to their shape. That would be an example of high porosity. Permeability refers to the ability of a geologic material to transport fluids. It depends upon the porosity within the rock, but also on the size of the open space and how interconnected those open spaces are. Even though a material is porous, if the open spaces aren’t connected,

water won’t flow through it. Rocks that are permeable make good aquifers , geologic units that are able to yield significant water. Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone are good aquifers. Rocks that are impermeable make confining layers and prevent the flow of water. Examples of confining layers would be sedimentary rocks like shale (made from tiny clay and silt grains) or un-fractured igneous or metamorphic rock. In an unconfined aquifer, the top of the aquifer is the water table. Groundwater generally flows from areas of higher elevation to lower elevation in the shallow subsurface. Note the flow paths in Figure 13. Approximately 20% of the water used in the United States is groundwater, and this water has the potential to become contaminated, mostly from sewage, landfills, industry, and agriculture. The movement of groundwater helps spread the pollutants, making containment a challenge. Figure 13. Groundwater flow in both confined and unconfined aquifers. Author: USGS Source: USGS License: Public Domain K ARST T OPOGRAPHY The sedimentary rock limestone is composed of the mineral calcite, which is water soluble, meaning it will dissolve in water that is weakly acidic. In humid areas where limestone is found, water dissolves away the rock, forming large cavities and depressions which vary in size and shape. As more dissolution occurs, the caves become unstable and collapse, creating sinkholes. These broad, crater-like depressions are typical of karst topography , named after the Karst region in Slovenia. Karst topography is characterized by sinkholes (absent of water), sink lakes (sinkholes filled with water), caves, and disappearing streams (surface streams that disappear into a sinkhole). Living in karst topography poses its challenges, and approximately one fourth of Americans in the lower 48 states live in these regions. Sinkholes can appear rather rapidly and cause great damage to any structures above them. Examine Figure 14 to see more a diagram of sinkhole formation.

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Figure 14. The formation of a dissolution sinkhole (filled with water) in limestone. Author: USGS Source: USGS License: Public Domain Sinkholes can be recognized on a topographic map as a depression – circles with hachured marks inside. Check out Figure 15 to see the symbol and an example from a topographic map. Figure 15. At left is the symbol for a sinkhole, a circle with hachured marks, and at right are examples of sinkholes from a topographic map. L AB E XERCISE Part B – Groundwater Flow Many gas stations use underground storage tanks (UST) to store fuel below the ground (you have likely seen a tanker truck at a gas station filling up the UST). These UST’s could leak, and gasoline could possibly reach the water table. In the diagram below, a business using a well has detected gasoline in their groundwater. To detect the source of the potential leak, contour the water table’s surface and determine its flow path. There are several gas stations in the diagram, and each has the potential to have the leaking UST. Seven monitoring wells are installed in the

area, and you have data about the water table elevation within each well. Using that data (in elevation above sea level), contour this map as you would any other. Add the water table elevations to the map, and using pencil, contour the groundwater elevations using a contour interval of 5 feet. Noting that the gas should flow with the groundwater, determine the direction of groundwater flow and note the most likely gas station to be the source of the gasoline leak (in a real-world scenario, once the likely culprit was determined, more monitoring wells would be installed and they would be tested for gasoline residue). Monitoring Well Water table elevation (ft) 1 606’ 2 604’ 3 618’ 4 612’ 5 622’ 6 624’ 7 621’ Figure 16. Groundwater contamination exercise. 12. Which gas station is the most likely source of the gasoline leak? a. Station A b. Station B c. Station C

13. Is the school likely to be at risk of contamination from this same leak? a. Yes b. No 14. Is the City Hall likely to be at risk of contamination from this same leak? a. Yes b. No Map 3 is a portion of a topographic map from Livingston, Tennessee. Study the map and answer questions 15-17 below. Map 3. A portion of the Livingston, Tennessee 1:24,000 topographic map, courtesy of the USGS. 15. Locate Nettlecarrier Creek. In which direction does it flow? a. northwest b. southwest c. northeast d. southeast

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16. There are several landforms located to the north of Nettlecarrier Creek. What are these landforms called? a. hills b. disappearing streams c. volcanoes d. sinkholes 17. What type of bedrock is present in the area where those landforms are located? a. sandstone b. limestone c. granite d. chert e. schist O CEAN P ROCESSES How much change do you think occurs along shorelines? These are areas in constant motion – they experience surface currents from the ocean, as well as the action of tides. They may also have rivers full of sediment that gets deposited in the ocean. As the transition area between continental and marine environments, shorelines undergo rapid change. While shorelines can be areas with high long-term average erosion rates, most erosion occurs rather dramatically during storms. Hurricanes, especially, can dramatically alter the coast. Coastlines can be very variable. Have you ever been to the beach in California or somewhere else along the west coast? In comparison to beaches along the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico, they are very different. Since the beaches are different, they experience different impacts from erosion. Atlantic and Gulf coast beaches tend to experience more deposition, with sandy beaches, dune fields, and barrier islands, and also little tectonic activity (since the east coast is not near a plate boundary). In contrast, Pacific coast beaches have relatively narrow beaches, lower sediment supply, and steep cliffs and mountains, along with tectonic activity near plate margins. Humans love to be near the beach, and as a result, have built structures on the beach that they expect to withstand the sea, even though coastline environments are not stable ones. Lots of money is spent to try to prevent and control erosion. In the east coast, there has been lots of development along barrier islands. These islands feel the full force of storms and are there to absorb the storm’s energy before it hits the mainland. They never make good locations for homes. In the west coast, beaches are getting more and more narrow, cliffs are becoming steeper, and landslides are common. L AB E XERCISE Part C – Coastline Hazards The following questions will be short-answer questions – you will have to type in your answers within the quiz. 18. Pick your favorite beach location (this can be somewhere you have traveled to before, or just somewhere you would like to go). List the location and geologic setting (active or passive).

19. What impacts will sea level rise have on the population density and native vegetation and wildlife at this location? 20. What impacts will sea level rise have on the local economy and tourism at this location? What impacts will the money required to mitigate the effects of sea level rise have at this site? 21. Is the location that you chose economically important enough to save? If so, what measures will be needed to protect the shoreline? 22. Whether your site should be saved or not, how does either one of these choices affect the population further inland and the economy of a coastal state? Part D – Water and the National Parks The national parks have all been impacted in some way by water – whether it is by surface streams, groundwater, or the ocean. Today we are going to head to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. The former president spent a lot of time in this remote area, and his time there helped shape his conservation policy (he established 5 national parks and protected many other areas). Spend some time looking over the national park website for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, then answer the questions below. 23. In Google Earth, go to 46 58 19.88N 103 29 34.63W and zoom into an eye altitude of ~30,000 feet. This is the Little Missouri River within the park. How would you describe this river? a. low sinuosity b. straight c. meandering d. all of the choices are correct 24. In the same location, zoom into an eye altitude of ~3,000 feet. Look at the bank on the northeast side of the bend in the river. How will the river processes affect the road?

a. the river will erode here, disturbing the roadway b. the river will deposit here c. the river should have no impact on the road 25. Locate several inside bends on this river. What is occurring in these locations? a. deposition b. erosion c. none of the choices are correct

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S TUDENT R ESPONSES 1. What type of stream drainage pattern is present on this map? a. radial b. rectangular c. deranged d. trellis e. dendritic 2. Based on the drainage pattern type, what is the underlying bedrock like in this area? a. rocks have been fractured or faulted in this area, with weakened rock making right-angle bends b. alternating resistant and non-resistant bedrock in ridges and valleys c. uniformly resistant bedrock, likely with horizontal rocks 3. Are the streams in this area downcutting or laterally eroding? a. downcutting b. laterally eroding 4. In what stage in the cycle of stream erosion is this area? a. mature b. youthful c. old age 5. In which direction does North Harper Creek flow? a. southwest b. east c. west d. northwest 6. Calculate the stream gradient of North Harper Creek. Start at the index contour just to the right of A, to the index contour just to the right of B. The distance between these two points is 1.85 miles. What is the stream gradient? a. 0.003 ft/mile b. 889 ft/mile c. 324 ft/mile d. 1,000 ft/mile 7. Characterize the floodplain of North Harper Creek. Pick the best answer.

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a. its floodplain is broad b. its floodplain is moderate c. it does not have a floodplain – it is youthful d. this information cannot be determined 8. Using Google Earth, search for 32 21 58.25N 91 8 46.47W and zoom to an eye altitude of ~50 miles. This is the Mississippi River. How would you describe the river at this location? a. straight b. braided c. meandering d. none of these choices 9. What landforms can be found along this stretch of the river? a. entrenched meanders b. estuaries c. a deep V shaped channel d. oxbow lakes 10. Search for 41 24 53.20N 122 11 36.30W and zoom to an eye altitude of ~25 miles. This is Mount Shasta. What type of stream drainage pattern would you expect in this area? a. Deranged b. Trellis c. Rectangular d. Radial e. Dendritic 11. What does this type of drainage pattern indicate about the area? a. rocks in the area are alternating resistant and non-resistant, forming parallel ridges and valleys b. stream channels radiate outward like wheel spokes from a high point c. rocks in the area are homogeneous and/or flat lying d. stream channels flow randomly with no relation to underlying rocks or structure 12. Which gas station is the most likely source of the gasoline leak? a. Station A b. Station B c. Station C 13. Is the school likely to be at risk of contamination from this same leak? a. Yes b. No

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14. Is the City Hall likely to be at risk of contamination from this same leak? a. Yes b. No 15. Locate Nettlecarrier Creek. In which direction does it flow? a. northwest b. southwest c. northeast d. southeast 16. There are several landforms located to the north of Nettlecarrier Creek. What are these landforms called? a. hills b. disappearing streams c. volcanoes d. sinkholes 17. What type of bedrock is present in the area where those landforms are located? a. sandstone b. limestone c. granite d. chert e. schist 18. Pick your favorite beach location (this can be somewhere you have traveled to before, or just somewhere you would like to go). List the location and geologic setting (active or passive). 19. What impacts will sea level rise have on the population density and native vegetation and wildlife at this location? 20. What impacts will sea level rise have on the local economy and tourism at this location? What impacts will the money required to mitigate the effects of sea level rise have at this site? 21. Is the location that you chose economically important enough to save? If so, what measures will be needed to protect the shoreline? 22. Whether your site should be saved or not, how does either one of these choices affect the population further inland and the economy of a coastal state?

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23. In Google Earth, go to 46 58 19.88N 103 29 34.63W and zoom into an eye altitude of ~30,000 feet. This is the Little Missouri River within the park. How would you describe this river? a. low sinuosity b. straight c. meandering d. all of the choices are correct 24. In the same location, zoom into an eye altitude of ~3,000 feet. Look at the bank on the northeast side of the bend in the river. How will the river processes affect the road? a. the river will erode here, disturbing the roadway b. the river will deposit here c. the river should have no impact on the road 25. Locate several inside bends on this river. What is occurring in these locations? a. deposition b. erosion c. none of the choices are correct

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Unit 8 Lab Running Water, Groundwater, and Ocean Processes Fall 23

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