Spring Creek, Providence, UT
24 Jan. 2021
Fig. 1. Ice and snow build up in and around Spring Creek in the winter. Reeds, mature trees and other shrubs densely vegetate the area around the river. Sediment consists of coarse gravel and occasional boulders.
The riverscape I chose to visit was Spring Creek, which runs through Providence Canyon in Providence, Utah (Figs. 1, 2).
This was an entirely new experience to me, and it was neat to see the river in the context of the entire surrounding landscape. I did find it a little difficult to discern geomorphic units and feel confident in what their history or futures might have been, but I did my best.
Individual Landforms (Geomorphic Units)
The landscape was beautiful and snowy this morning, and it was easy to see how Spring Creek links the canyon to the valley below. Spring Creek cuts through the canyon and is the most obvious form of erosion in the area. The snowmelt clearly adds to the creek in the spring. There is also a dirt road (anthropogenic influence) that surely adds to the erosion/deposition in the canyon. The area is also heavily vegetated, with trees growing densely near the edges of the creek and more sparsely all along the canyon above.
The area surrounding the creek is heavily vegetated with reeds, mature trees, and herbaceous materials. The sediment is largely coarse gravel, with occasional cobbles and boulders (Fig. 1).
Fig. 2. Location of Spring Creek and Providence Canyon.
2. Reach Scale (Over Time)
Snowmelt and transfer of groundwater and precipitation to Spring Creek have the most influence on the reach over time. It is a perennial creek, meaning that sediment flow and erosion can occur year-round. The process of water moving through the reach causes erosion in the channel and the mountains that make up Providence Canyon. Over time, this cuts the canyon deeper and deposits more sediment into the valley below.
3. Controls on Landforms (Over Time)
Due to anthropogenic influences on the reach, Spring Creek appears to be a relatively stationary stream, not meandering too much in the floodplain, especially after leaving the canyon. The dirt road leading up the canyon has been there for years, and there is a lot of channel straightening and even controls (a sharp-crested weir and sluice gate, see Figs. 3, 4) near the mouth of the canyon. As Spring Creek enters the valley, it is channelized and controlled as it runs along property lines and begins to conform to the boundaries set by the neighborhoods below rather than naturally occurring boundaries (Fig. 5). Over time, the river upstream (in Providence Canyon) will have much more room to meander, while the channels and controls entering the valley leave Spring Creek with little choice as to where to go.
Fig. 6. Bear River Watershed, including parts of Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
4. Catchment Scale
Spring Creek is part of the larger Bear River Basin, which covers Cache Valley and parts of Idaho and Wyoming (Fig. 6). The basin eventually drains to the Great Salt Lake, meaning that the water flowing through Spring Creek eventually finds its way there, as well. Compared to other rivers and streams in this watershed, Spring Creek seems to be small. Some issues in the watershed that may be influenced by Spring Creek include sedimentation and pollutants from local agriculture and animals.
Overall, some of the things that stood out to me the most were the anthropogenic influences along the river. The sharp-crested weir, sluice gate, and artificial channelization/rip-rap stood out to me as an engineer. I also really saw how, for such a small creek, Spring Creek can really make a big difference in the canyon and valley below. It helps to shape the geomorphology of the area and contributes to erosion and deposition far beyond the small section of the reach that I walked.
Sources
Bear River Watershed. (2017). Bear River Watershed Information System. https://bearriverinfo.org/watershed-description/bear-river-watershed/index
ScienceBase (USGS). (2015). Bear River Watershed Conservation Area: Conserving Wildlife Habitat on Working Landscapes [Interactive Map]. Data Basin. https://databasin.org/datasets/2a73be8f459c4b3da3a6efdf150accd4/