Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Hydrological System
Goosenecks
and the wash behind the school.
Goosenecks are a geologic feature located approximately 25 miles south of the town of Bluff along Highway 163. They are a series of tight turns of the San Juan River. Over time the river carved a deep canyon exposing rock covering 300 million years. The ancient river cut into the sandstone and then later cut into the underlying bedrock. On the state park website it says that the Goosenecks are famous in geology textbooks “as a classic location for observing entrenched or incised meanders.”
The wash behind the school in located in Montezuma Creek, UT. Montezuma Creek is located at 37°15′37′′N 109°18′6′′W. At the beginning of the school year we received a monstrous storm and the wash was roaring with water. The was has a basic “bed” and then a much larger flood plain. It was many yards wide when it was full and the water was traveling fast. As the wash turns around a bend to go under the road on its way to the San Juan River it has eroded over the years to actually “miss” the bridge that was built over it. They have had to pile up rocks to shape the path of the bend to keep it flowing under the bridge. When it is flowing it carries sediment which is deposited on the edges or left behind as the water slows down and the wash dries up.
and the wash behind the school.
Goosenecks are a geologic feature located approximately 25 miles south of the town of Bluff along Highway 163. They are a series of tight turns of the San Juan River. Over time the river carved a deep canyon exposing rock covering 300 million years. The ancient river cut into the sandstone and then later cut into the underlying bedrock. On the state park website it says that the Goosenecks are famous in geology textbooks “as a classic location for observing entrenched or incised meanders.”
The wash behind the school in located in Montezuma Creek, UT. Montezuma Creek is located at 37°15′37′′N 109°18′6′′W. At the beginning of the school year we received a monstrous storm and the wash was roaring with water. The was has a basic “bed” and then a much larger flood plain. It was many yards wide when it was full and the water was traveling fast. As the wash turns around a bend to go under the road on its way to the San Juan River it has eroded over the years to actually “miss” the bridge that was built over it. They have had to pile up rocks to shape the path of the bend to keep it flowing under the bridge. When it is flowing it carries sediment which is deposited on the edges or left behind as the water slows down and the wash dries up.
Right now the wash is dry and all that is left is a large sandy plain. Waiting for snow or rain to fill the wash again and carry its treasure to the river. The most interesting times are when there is no rain in Montezuma Creek, yet a flash flood of water comes billowing down the wash. I assume that there must be rain or run-off coming from Colorado, flowing towards the San Juan River.
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