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Science 10 November 1978:
Vol. 202. no. 4368, pp. 629 - 631
DOI: 10.1126/science.202.4368.629
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Articles

Structural Control of the Rapids and Pools of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon

ROBERT DOLAN 1, ALAN HOWARD 1, and DAVID TRIMBLE 2

1 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22903
2 North American Exploration, Berkmar Drive, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901

Most of the major rapids along the 450-kilometer course of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon are within fracture zones that run perpendicular to the river. Steep tributaries flowing within the zones of bedrock weakness move large debris to the Colorado, forming the rapids. Accelerated flow through the rapids scours the deep pools that are located below them.

Submitted on February 27, 1978
Revised on May 24, 1978


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The morphology of river channel confluences.
J. L. Best and J. L. Best (1986)
Progress in Physical Geography 10, 157-174
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