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The Rogue River Basin, Southwestern Oregon

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The Rogue River Basin, Southwestern Oregon Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon Department of State Lands Preliminary Assessment of Channel Stability and Bed-Material Transport in the Rogue River Basin, Southwestern Oregon Open-File Report 2011–1280 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Gravel bars and bedrock outcrop on the Rogue River at its confluence with Lobster Creek. (Photograph by Krista L. Jones, U.S. Geological Survey, July 2010.) Preliminary Assessment of Channel Stability and Bed-Material Transport in the Rogue River Basin, Southwestern Oregon By Krista L. Jones, Jim E. O’Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, and J. Rose Wallick Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Oregon Department of State Lands Open-File Report 2011–1280 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2012 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov. Suggested citation: Jones, K.L., O’Connor, J.E., Keith, M.K., Mangano, J.F., and Wallick, J.R., 2012, Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Rogue River basin, southwestern Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open- File Report 2011–1280, 96 p. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. ii Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................................................................ iii Figures ........................................................................................................................................................................... iv Tables ............................................................................................................................................................................ vi Conversion Factors and Datums................................................................................................................................... vii Significant Findings ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Locations and Reporting Units ....................................................................................................................................... 4 The Rogue River ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 Geographic, Geologic, and Geomorphic Setting ........................................................................................................ 6 Historical River Descriptions ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Hydrology ................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Occupation, Land Use, and Landscape Disturbance ............................................................................................... 16 Gold Mining .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Gravel Mining ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 Dams .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Forest Management and Fire ............................................................................................................................... 20 Navigation Improvements and Dredging............................................................................................................... 20 Study Area ............................................................................................................................................................... 22 Grants Pass Reach .............................................................................................................................................. 25 Merlin Reach ........................................................................................................................................................ 27 Galice Reach ........................................................................................................................................................ 29 Lobster Creek Reach ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Tidal Reach .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Upper Applegate River Reach .............................................................................................................................. 37 Lower Applegate River Reach .............................................................................................................................. 39 Illinois River Reach ............................................................................................................................................... 41 Approach and Key Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 43 Assessment of Aerial and Orthophotographs ........................................................................................................... 43 Compilation of Historical Maps and Survey Data ..................................................................................................... 47 Review of Previous Hydrologic and Geomorphic Studies ........................................................................................ 49 Review of Gravel-Operator Information and Surveys ............................................................................................... 51 Specific Gage Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 53 Compilation and Review of Bridge-Inspection Reports ............................................................................................ 56 Delineation of Bar and Channel Features, 1967/69–2009 ........................................................................................ 58 Distribution and Area of Bars ................................................................................................................................ 61 Results for Repeat Bar Delineation, 1967/69–2009 .............................................................................................. 64 Results for Repeat Channel Centerline and Width Delineations, 1967/69–2009 .................................................. 77 Analyses of Bed-material Particle Sizes ................................................................................................................... 78 iii Discussion and Synthesis of Study Results ................................................................................................................. 82 Reach Characteristics .............................................................................................................................................. 83 Bed-Material Transport Conditions ........................................................................................................................... 83 Historical Changes in River Morphology .................................................................................................................. 87 Outstanding Issues and Possible Approaches ............................................................................................................. 88 High-resolution Topographic Data ............................................................................................................................ 88 Streamflow Data ....................................................................................................................................................... 88 Bed-Material Transport Rates and Sediment Budget ............................................................................................... 89 Detailed Channel Morphology Assessment .............................................................................................................
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