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Historic Changes in Channel Morphology of Mississippi River Tributaries: Southwestern Mississippi

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Historic Changes in Channel Morphology of Mississippi River Tributaries: Southwestern Mississippi Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1990 Historic Changes in Channel Morphology of Mississippi River Tributaries: Southwestern Mississippi. Elaine Grace Yodis Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Yodis, Elaine Grace, "Historic Changes in Channel Morphology of Mississippi River Tributaries: Southwestern Mississippi." (1990). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5105. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5105 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Com pany 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313 761-4 700 800 521-0600 Order Number 9123248 Historic changes in channel morphology of Mississippi River tributaries: Southwestern Mississippi Yodis, Elaine Grace, Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1990 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 NOTE TO USERS THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT RECEIVED BY U.M.I. CONTAINED PAGES WITH SLANTED AND POOR PRINT. PAGES WERE FILMED AS RECEIVED. THIS REPRODUCTION IS THE BEST AVAILABLE COPY. HISTORIC CHANGES IN CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRIBUTARIES: SOUTHWESTERN MISSISSIPPI A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Elaine G. Yodis B.A., State University of New York at Albany, 1982 M.A., State University of New York at Albany, 1984 December 1990 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the Mississippi State Highway Department in Jackson, Natchez, McComb, and Yazoo City for generously furnishing the bridge plans essential to this investigation, and in particular, the help of Michael Allen; and Stanley Noyszewiski, of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, Chicago, 111., for providing important historical data. I would also like to thank Lawson Smith and Roger Saucier of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, the engineering firm of Jordan, Kaiser and Sessions in Natchez, the Hydrologic Data Section of the U.S. Geological Survey in Jackson, and the Soil Conservation Service offices in Jackson and Natchez for their help. Numerous other local, state and federal agencies have contributed to the completion of this study. I am especially grateful of the support of my advisor, Dr. Richard H. Kesel, who has played a substantial role in the guiding of my dissertation research. Financial support for this investigation have been provided by the Robert C. West Field Research Award, Louisiana State University; and Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................ iii LIST OF TABLES ............................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................. vii ABSTRACT .......... xi I INTRODUCTION ................................ 1 P u r p o s e ................................... 3 S c o p e ................................... 4 Channel Modifications ..................... 6 Homochitto River ..................... 6 St. Catherine Creek ................... 7 Background .................................. 9 The Geomorphic System ................. 9 Base Level C o n c e p t ................... 11 Literature Review ......................... 12 Experimental Studies of Base Level C h a n g e ................... 12 Base Level Change by Channelization ..................... 16 Channelized Streams in Mississippi and Tennessee ............. 20 Research Methodology ....................... 23 Types of Data Available............... 23 Field Methods ......................... 24 Data Analysis Methods ............... 25 II PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ................... 27 Study A r e a .................................. 27 Homochitto River ..................... 27 Bayou Pierre ......................... 28 Coles Creek ........................... 28 Buffalo River ......................... 28 St. Catherine Creek ................... 29 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) CHAPTER PAGE Geomorphology and Geology ................. 29 Mississippi River Floodplain ........ 29 Basin Geology ......................... 32 Geologic Structure and Tectonics........................... 35 Valley Geomorphology ................. 35 C l i m a t e ......... ........................ 42 S o i l s ...................................... 43 Vegetation and Landuse ..................... 44 III HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS ................. 48 Discharge Characteristics ................. 48 Flood History ....................... 49 Stages at Specific Discharges ............. 49 Changes in Channel Capacity ............... 54 IV CHANGES IN CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY ............. 61 Response to Foreshortening Homochitto River ..................... 62 St. Catherine Creek ................... 84 Influence of Basin Size on Knickpoint Migration Rates ........ 101 Control Rivers ............................. 103 Buffalo River ....................... 103 Bayou Pierre and Coles C r e e k ........ 108 V SEDIMENT REGIME ........................... Ill Changes in Point Bar A re a s ................. 112 Buffalo River ......................... 112 Homochitto River ............. 112 VI MODEL OF CHANNEL RESPONSE TO FORESHORTENING ......................... 117 Meandering Phase ( I ) ....................... 117 Foreshortening Phase (II) ................. 119 Degradational Phase (III) ................. 119 Aggradational Phase (IV) ................... 121 Recovery Phase ( V ) ......................... 121 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) CHAPTER PAGE VII CONCLUSIONS................................. 124 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................... 127 APPENDIX .................................... 139 VITA ........................................ 145 V LIST OF TABLES Data cn Basin Characteristics ............. 2 Comparison of Response of Rivers to Channelization ................. 3 Summary of Stage and Discharge Record . 4 Rank Order of the Largest Floods ........ 5 Homochitto River Gradient in Zone of Original Knickpoint ..................... 6 Comparison of Incision and Lateral Migration Rates in the Lower 30 mi Reach of the Homochitto River ............. 7 Changes in Average Bankful1 Width for the Homochitto River from 1943 to 1984 . 8 Changes in Cross-Section Area at Bridge Sites Along the Homochitto River ........ 9 Knickpoint Migration Rates for the Homochitto River ......................... 10 St. Catherine Creek Rate of Knickpoint Migration .................................. 11 Channel Dimensions of the Spanish Bayou System ......................... ........ 12 Migration Rates for Bridge Sites on Buffalo River between RM 27 and 37 .... 13 Data for Buffalo River Average Bankfull Widths from 1943 to 1984 ................... 14 Data for Buffalo River Point Bar Areas . 15 Data for Homochitto River Point Bar Areas ...................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1 Schematic diagram of base level change by channel foreshortening.................. 2 2 Study area in southwestern Mississippi . 5 3 Foreshortening of the Homochitto River . 7 4 Foreshortening of St. Catherine Creek . 8 5 Characteristics of knickpoints ........... 15 6 Effects of channelization ............... 18 7 Evolutionary model of bank slope development for channelized streams in western Tennessee ..................... 21 8 Evolutionary model for channelized streams in northern Mississippi .......... 22 9 Incised channel of St. Catherine Creek . 30 10 Geologic structure in the study area ... 36 11 Valley cross-section, Buffalo River at RM 3 2 .................................. 37 12 Valley cross-section, South Fork Coles Creek at RM
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