Drainage-network position |
UM |
Upper main stem |
MM |
Middle main stem |
LM |
Lower main stem |
UT |
Upper main-stem tributary |
MT |
Middle main-stem tributary |
LT |
lower main-stem tributary |
Valley type/stream meandering |
N |
No valley development, stream unconfined and flows on glacial deposits |
C |
Confined, V-shaped valleys with no flood plain, bedrock, or colluvial |
E |
Unconfined valley, entrenched meanders; stream meanders follow valley course, affected by geologic setting; some flood plain |
A |
Unconfined valley with alluvial meanders, stream meanders reflect fluvial processes; valley wider than meander belt, wide flood plain |
B |
Confined valley formed in bedrock, no flood plain |
Dominant bedrock type for segment |
SED |
Slate/sedimentary |
GAB |
Duluth gabbro complex |
VOL |
Felsic and mafic volcanics |
IN |
Intrusions |
BUR |
Bedrock buried by glacial deposits |
Glacial landform/deposits |
SD |
Supraglacial drift |
OW |
Outwash |
IC |
Ice contact |
LA |
Glacial lake |
SH |
Post-glacial shoreline/beach |
BED |
Bedrock surface |
TP |
Till plain |
UN |
Undifferentiated |
Dominant watershed land cover |
U |
Urban |
D |
Developing urban |
A |
Agriculture |
F |
Forest |
W |
Wetland |
G |
Grass |
S |
Shrubland |
R |
Roads |
Channel type |
CO |
Colluvial |
BE |
Bedrock |
CA |
Cascade |
SP |
Step-pool |
PB |
Plane-bed |
PR |
Pool-riffle |
AR |
Artificial |
WE |
Wetland |
Dominant substrate |
BD |
Bedrock |
BO |
Boulder |
CO |
Cobble |
GV |
Gravel |
SA |
Sand |
FINES |
Fines/Organic debris |
AR |
Artificial – concrete and others |
Mode of sediment transport |
SOi |
Source—incision |
SOb |
Source—bluff erosion |
SOw |
Source—bank erosion, widening |
T |
Transfer |
SIc |
Sink—lateral and mid-channel sand/gravel bars |
SIb |
Sink—overbank sedimentation |
SIa |
Sink—aggradation |
SIp |
Sink—fines in pools |
Flood attenuation |
NO |
None |
FP |
Flood-plain attenuation |
WE |
Wetland storage |
Dominant geomorphic processes |
H |
Headcutting |
I |
Incision |
EBL |
Bluff/terrace erosion |
EBA |
Bank erosion |
W |
Widening |
LM |
Lateral migration |
OS |
Overbank sedimentation/levee formation |
BF |
Mid-channel/lateral bar formation |
A |
Aggradation |
EX |
Expansion of flow area |
ST |
Stable |
Causes for geomorphic disturbance |
CL |
Logging, agriculture, clearing |
UP |
Upstream changes in sediment/water inputs |
UR |
Urban development |
CA |
Man-made channel alterations |
RO |
Road drainage |
DI |
Ditching |
HI |
Hiking trails |
GV |
Gravel pits |
NO |
None |
Potential changes in sediment/water inputs |
Y |
Yes |
N |
No |
Potential sensitivity to change |
LO |
Low—little or no change in overall channel morphology expected |
MO |
Moderate—minor changes in substrate size, width, pool depth |
HI |
High—substantial, readily detectable changes in channel morphology with a change in an important factor |