Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:28:56.949Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changing Late Holocene Flooding Frequencies on the Columbia River, Washington

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James C. Chatters  and
Karin A. Hoover
James C. Chatters
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 98926
Karin A. Hoover
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Data from prehistoric fluvial deposits can be used to extend the flood history of a river valley beyond historical records, thus increasing our understanding of variability in large, low-frequency flood events and providing a valuable means for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. We have applied this form of analysis to fluvial deposits from an archaeological site on the upper Columbia River in the state of Washington dating from 120 A.D.∗ to 1948 A.D. It was our expectation that, had flood frequencies remained constant, sedimentation event frequency would conform to an exponential function derived from the Wolman and Leopold model of vertical floodplain accretion. Our findings deviate from this model, showing that flood frequencies comparable to those of the twentieth century existed prior to 1020 A.D.∗ and after 1390 A.D.∗ Large floods were three to four times more common during the intervening centuries. On the basis of field evidence, we can rule out changing channel geometry, leaving climatic conditions as the most probable factors controlling this variation in flood frequency.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , November 1986 , pp. 309 - 320
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, E.D.(1982).Bank stability and channel width adjustment, East Fort River, Wyoming Water Resources Research 18 1184 1192 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, V.R. Pickup, G. Polach, H.A.(1985).Radiocarbon dating of flood events, Katherine Gorge, Northern Territory, Australia Geology 13 344 347 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benson, M.A.(1968).Uniform flood-frequency estimating methods for federal agencies Water Resources Research 4 891 908 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernabo, C.J.(1981).Quantitative estimates of temperature changes over the last 2700 years in Michigan based on pollen data Quaternary Research 15 143 159 Google Scholar
Bureau of Reclamation, (1933).Annual Project History, Columbia Basin Project Vol. 1 USDI, Bureau of Reclamation Washington, D.C Google Scholar
Chatters, J.C.(1984a).Human Adaptation along the Columbia River, 4700-1600 yr B.P. Central Washington University Ellensburg Research Reports 84-1Google Scholar
Chatters, J.C.(1984b).Dimensions of Site Structure: The Archaeological Record from Two Sites in Okanogan County, WA U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle Google Scholar
Costa, J.E.(1978).Holocene stratigraphy in flood frequency analysis Water Resources Research 14 626 632 Google Scholar
Dalrymple, T. Benson, M.A.(1967).Measurement of Peak Discharge by the Slope-Area Method USGS Techniques Water Resources Research Division Bk. 3, Chap. A-2Google Scholar
Denton, G.H. Karlén, W.(1973).Holocene climatic variations: Their pattern and possible cause Quaternary Research 3 155 201 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunne, T. Leopold, L.B.(1978).Water in Environmental Planning Freeman San Francisco Google Scholar
Gumbel, E.J.(1945).Floods estimated by the probability method Engineering News-Record 134 833 839 Google Scholar
Harbor, J.M.(1985).Problems with the interpretation and comparison of Holocene terrestrial and lacustrine deposits: An example from the Colorado Front Range, USA Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie 21 in pressGoogle Scholar
Helley, E.J. LaMarche, V.C.(1973).Historic Flood Information for Northern California Streams from Geological and Botanical Evidence USGS Professional Paper 485-EGoogle Scholar
Hibbert, D.M.(1980).Quaternary Geology and the History of the Landscape along the Columbia between Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams Seattle District Army Corps of Engineers manuscript on fileGoogle Scholar
Jaehnig, M.E.W.(1984).Archaeological Investigations at Archaeological Site 45DO211, Chief Joseph Dam Project, WA U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle Google Scholar
Kochel, R.C. Baker, V.R.(1982).Paleoflood hydrology Science 215 353 361 Google Scholar
Kochel, R.C. Baker, V.R. Patton, P.C.(1982).Paleohydrology of southwestern Texas Water Resources Research 18 1165 1183 Google Scholar
Leopold, L.B.(1973).River channel change with time: An example Geological Society of America Bulletin 84 1845 1860 Google Scholar
Mack, R.N. Rutter, N.W. Bryant, V.M. Jr. Valastro, S.(1978).Reexamination of postglacial vegetation history in northern Idaho Quaternary Research 10 241 255 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patton, P.C. Dibble, D.S.(1982).Archaeologic and geomorphic evidence for the paleohydraulic record of the Pecos River in west Texas American Journal of Science 282 97 121 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porter, S.C.(1986).Pattern and forcing of northern hemisphere glacier variations during the past millennium Quaternary Research 26 27 48 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuiver, M.(1982).High precision calibration of the A.D. radiocarbon time-scale Radiocarbon 24 1 26 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolman, M.G. Leopold, L.B.(1957).River Floodplains: Some Observations on Their Formation USGS Professional Paper 282-C 87 107 Google Scholar