The New River is quite misnamed in that it is extremely old. Geologists calculate the age of the New River to be up to 320 million years old!
From its headwaters near Boone, North Carolina, the New River travels more than 2000 miles to its intersection with the Gauley River to for the Kanawha River. This occurs at the listed coordinates near the small West Virginia towns of Gauley Bridge and Glen Ferris. The Kanawha drains into the Ohio River between Henderson and Pt. Pleasant West Virginia. The Ohio empties into the Mississippi which carries the water to the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans. Depending on flow and other factors, a drop of water may take 110 days to travel from the headwaters of the New to the Gulf of Mexico.
The “Aa+” Stream Type
Stream type “Aa+” is very steep (>10%), well entrenched, has a low width/depth ratio, and is totally confined (laterally contained). The bedforms are typically a step/pool morphology with chutes, debris flows, and waterfalls. The “Aa+” stream types often occur in debris avalanche terrain, zones of deep deposition such as glacial tills and outwash terraces, or landforms that are structurally controlled or influenced by faults, joints, or other structural contact zones. Streamflow at the bankfull stage in the "Aa+" stream type is generally observed as a torrent or waterfall.
The "A" Stream Type
Stream type "A" is similar to the described “Aa+”, in terms of associated landforms and channel characteristics. The exception being that channel slopes range from 4 to 10 percent, and streamflows at the bankfull stage are typically described as step/pools, with attendant plunge or scour pools. Normally, "A" stream types are found within valley types that due to their inherent channel steepness, exhibit a high sediment transport potential and a relatively low in-channel sediment storage capacity.
The "B" Stream Type
The "B" stream types exist primarily on moderately steep to gently sloped terrain, with the predominant landform seen as a narrow and moderately sloping basin. Many of the "B" stream types are the result of the integrated influence of structural contact zones, faults, joints, colluvial-alluvial deposits, and structurally controlled valley side-slopes which tend to result in narrow valleys that limit the development of a wide floodplain. "B" stream types are moderately entrenched, have a cross-section width/depth ratio (greater than 12), display a low channel sinuosity, and exhibit a "rapids" dominated bed morphology.
The "C" Stream Type
The "C" stream types are located in narrow to wide valleys, constructed from alluvial deposition. The "C" type channels have a well developed floodplain (slightly entrenched), are relatively sinuous with a channel slope of 2% or less and a bedform morphology indicative of a riffle/pool configuration. The shape and form of the "C" stream types are indicated by cross-sectional width/depth ratios generally greater than 12, and sinuosities exceeding 1.2. The "C" stream type exhibits a sequencing of steeps (riffles) and flats (pools), that are linked to the meander geometry of the river where the riffle/pool sequence or spacing is on the average one-half a meander wavelength or approximately 5-7 bankfull channel widths.
The "D" Stream Type
The "D" stream type is uniquely configured as a multiple channel system exhibiting a braided, or bar-braided pattern with a very high channel width/depth ratio, and a channel slope generally the same as the attendant valley slope. "D" type stream channels are found in landforms and related valley types consisting of steep depositional fans, steep glacial trough valleys, glacial outwash valleys, broad alluvial mountain valleys, and deltas. While the very wide and shallow "D" stream types are not deeply incised, they can be laterally contained in narrower or confined valleys.
The "DA" (Anastomosed) Stream Type
The "DA" or anastomosed stream type is a multiple-thread channel system with a very low stream gradient and the bankfull width of each individual channel noted as highly variable. Stream banks are often constructed with fine grained cohesive bank materials, supporting dense-rooted vegetation species, and are extremely stable. Channel slopes are very gentle, commonly found to be at or less than .0001. Lateral migration rates of the individual channels are very low except for infrequent avulsion. Relative to the "D" stream type, the "DA" stream type is considered as a stable system composed of multiple channels. Channel width/depth ratios and sinuosities may vary from very low to very high.
The "E" Stream Type
The "E" type stream channels are conceptually designated as evolutionary in terms of fluvial process and morphology. The "E" stream type represents the developmental "end-point" of channel stability and fluvial process efficiency for certain alluvial streams undergoing a natural dynamic sequence of system evolution. The "E" type system often develops inside of the wide, entrenched and meandering channels of the "F" stream types, following floodplain development on and vegetation recovery of the former "F" channel beds.
The "F" Stream Type
The "F" stream types are the classic "entrench-ed, meandering" channels described by early day geomorphologists, and are often observed to be working towards re-establishment of a functional floodplain inside the confines of a channel that is consistently increasing its width within the valley. "F" stream types are deeply incised in valleys of relatively low elevational relief, containing highly weathered rock and/or erodible materials.
The "G" Stream Type
The "G" or "gully" stream type is an entrenched, narrow, and deep, step/pool channel with a low to moderate sinuosity. Channel slopes are generally steeper than .02, although "G" channels may be associated with gentler slopes where they occur as "down-cut" gullies in meadows. The "G" stream type channels are found in a variety of landtypes to include alluvial fans, debris cones, meadows, or channels within older relic channels. The "fanhead trench" which is a channel feature deeply incised in alluvial fans is typical of "G" type stream channels.
There are two requirements to claim this Earthcache.
- You must use the information above to determine the EPA classification of the New River at this point in the stream.
- Determine the width of the New River in meters. To determine this distance, stand at the listed coordinates then enter the UTM coordinates of the opposite bank (17S E 482895 N 4223421). Use your GPSr to estimate the distance in meters.
Although not a requirement, photos at the listed coordinates are welcomed and encouraged. This is a very photogenic spot
Email requirements 1 & 2. Logs that provide spoilers will be deleted.