So Much to Learn: Dye Tracing the Current River Landscape, Part III | the Confluence
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spring/summer ’19 pg. 13 SO MUCH TO LEARN: It rained hard a few days before Anne Dye Tracing the Current Keller injected dye into the Halbrook Branch of Upper Gladden Creek in the Meramec River Landscape, Part III headwaters. She estimated that it was running at about 75 gallons per minute over a low water bridge in Dent County. A half-mile downstream by quinta scott of her injection point, the stream dried out and remained dry for several miles. She recovered her packets from Welch Spring with positive results.1 Tuesday November 10, 1818: It was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Millions of years ago the the edge of a prairie where we had described the progression of Ozarks region was a peneplain, halted. Wood was rather scarce; but landscapes in the eastern Current a relatively flat plateau, across we made shift to build a good fire. River watershed in the journal he which the rivers the Meramec, kept as he explored the Ozarks the Current, the Gasconade, Wednesday November 11, 1818: In in 1818 and 1819. He began his and others meandered. At passing two miles, we crossed a small tour in Potosi; traveled south least 320,000,000 years ago, stream running south-east, which through the Cortois and Huzzah maybe more recently, a slow uplift evidently had its source in the little valleys; crossed the West Fork of pushed up the plain. The rivers lake at our last night’s encampment. the Black River to the headwater responded by cutting deep val- Welch Spring: Halbrook The trail beyond this was often faint; streams of the Meramec; crossed leys, maintaining their meanders Branch of Upper Gladden upland savannas pockmarked by and leaving behind remnants of Creek-Meramec Headwaters in the course of eight or ten miles, we began to ascend elevations covered little lakes (sinkholes); entered the peneplain—Schoolcraft’s with pines, but of so sterile and hard the forested lands that clothe prairies—on ridges between a soil that we lost all trace of it. We the valleys of Current River watersheds. All are relatively level wound about among those desolate tributaries; and descended plains, where local relief is seldom pine ridges a mile or two, till, from through their sheer valleys to the more than 100 feet. Sinkholes one of the higher points, we descried river itself. He crossed the river litter all. Some deliver water to a river in a deep valley, having a just south of Montauk Spring. underground systems. Major dense forest of hard wood, and every Schoolcraft described the tributaries to the Current, Big indication of animal life. Overjoyed Current River landscape of 1818 in and Spring Valley creeks, which at this, we mended our pace, and, by much the same way the Missouri are also losing streams, head at the dint of great caution, led our pack- Department of Conservation barren (prairie) edge and deliver horse into it. It proved to be the river (MDC) would describe it in 2002 water to springs. In Schoolcraft’s Currents, a fine stream, with fertile when it published its Atlas of time, stubby post oaks grew on banks, and clear sparkling waters. Missouri Ecoregions and defined it fragipan, poorly drained soils on - henry rowe schoolcraft, 18182 as the Current River Hills ecoregion. the ridges. Today, we find cattle grazing on fescue pastures. The MDC named such landscapes Oak Savanna/Woodland Plains. spring/summer ’19 pg. 14 On the process of selecting a dye injection site: pg. 15 “It is based on lots of field work and lots of walking the hollows of the Ozarks. It is a combination of art and science, and an ability to understand the land and how it functions.” The MDC described much as 250 feet. At the end River, Schoolcraft crossed narrow, the forested breaks remain intact. This is the last of a three-part The third part explores Schoolcraft’s “desolate pine of the nineteenth century, rugged ridges that dropped down Hardwoods covered the river series on our undetstanding of the Current River country, its ridges” as the Oak-Pine loggers moved in and stripped as much as 500 feet along steep floodplain, which is lined in tall Ozark National Scenic Riverways prairies, its losing tributaries, Woodland/Forest Hills, where the woodlands. Today, dense slopes, anchored by oaks, into bluffs. Huge springs, which draw in the Current River watershed and its springs. Again, Thomas the soil is cherty. Historically, a second-growth oak and or oak- the fertile Current River Valley. water from all parts of the since 1964. The first covered the Aley’s work guides us through woodland mix of oaks and pines pine forests dominate the hills. The MDC named this region the watershed, feed a steady stream establishment of the Ozark the landscape. In 1973 Aley covered the rolling hills, where Current River Oak Forest Breaks. of water to the river. 3 National Scenic Riverways and completed the Hurricane Creek the landscape rises and falls as As he approached the Current Unlike the oak/pine woodland, our early forays into understanding project, opened his Ozark its watershed. Research began Underground Laboratory at in 1912 when Thomas Jacob Protem, Missouri, and began Rodhouse measured the flow of working as a consultant on the Current above and below Big hydrogeology, caves, and the Spring and continues to this day. management of karst regions. One Between 1968 and 1973, Thomas of his first clients was the Ozark Aley conducted his study of the National Scenic Riverways, for Hurricane Creek watershed and whom he delineated the recharge delineated the extent of the areas of the springs that feed Big Spring Recharge area. The the Current River. Schoolcraft’s “desolate creek, a classic losing stream and pine ridges” a tributary of the Eleven Point River, delivers water through subterranean channels that run under the drainage divide between the Eleven Point and the Current to Big Spring, a tributary to the Current River. Aley’s conclusions focused on the interplay between land use on the surface and groundwater quality.4 Sunklands Conservation The second part discussed Area: the Doe Run applications to McHenry Hollow mine lead in the Hurricane Creek watershed and the explosion of research that followed. It Tom Aley described the focused on the efforts of the U.S. process of selecting a dye Geological Survey to map the injection site: “It is based on lots karst landscape of the Current of field work and lots of walking River watershed between 1995 the hollows of the Ozarks. It is and 2001. The project provided a a combination of art and science, geological inventory of the Ozark and an ability to understand National Scenic Riverways. the land and how it functions. The Missouri Department of Losing stream segments are often Conservation sorted out the ideal locations. They are best progression of landscapes in the when most or all of the flow of watershed, catalogued it its Atlas the stream is sinking in a very for Missouri’s Ecoregions, and localized area. This often means published maps in 2002. that you need to be there during or shortly after rainstorms. You spring/summer ’19 pg. 16 pg. 17 “No Dumping.” Montauk Spring Brook so said a sign at the sinkhole. don’t always guess right and may springs and assessed areas that disbursed and emerged from get to a point you have selected are hazardous to the water several smaller pools, gravel bars, only to find that conditions are quality of each spring. In a second and creek beds. Walk along not suitable. contract in 1977 and 1978 he the creek that emerges from delineated the recharge areas of the spring. “You will see water “You also need dye introduction springs north of the Jacks Fork springing from very small points that will give you as much and west of the Current. In 1982 ponds, from seeps, from its useful information as possible. Aley crossed the Current and gravel bed.” If you are concerned with began tracing the sources of protecting water quality, then a springs in its eastern watershed The sources of Montauk site downstream of a source of and north of U.S. 60. By the time Spring puzzled geologists for contaminated water is routinely he and Catherine Aley published decades. It puzzled geologists more useful than a site way out in their Groundwater Study: Ozark James Maxwell and David the woods somewhere. A site National Scenic Riverways in 1987, Hoffman. In the fall of 1971 the near the potential boundary they had conducted at least one pair toured the region east of between a couple of recharge trace of every major spring that Licking for their study of Water areas is more useful than a site feeds the Current. They included Resources of the Current River and where it is pretty obvious where a series of maps delineating the speculated on suitable places 5 the water is likely to go.” recharge areas for all major springs.6 where they could inject dye the following spring. They ruled In 1972 soon after the out Monty Spring, which spills dedication of the Ozark into a stream that cuts through a Montauk National Scenic Riverways in steep-sided hollow, where beaver and Welch Springs: 1971, the National Park Service had built a dam across the stream. results: positive, but very weakly “No Dumping.” So said a sign demonstration of the role of Bean Creek embarked on a series of studies They considered a huge sinkhole, positive. Aley considered, for the at the sinkhole; so said Tom Aley. sinkholes and losing streams in the Injection Site on management of the new park, 600 feet wide northeast of first time, that the springs in the Aley concluded his Hurricane contamination of groundwater including a groundwater study Licking, which drained Current River watershed share Creek study by noting: came in 1920 when the of the Current River watershed.