Reclamation Information Sharing Environment (RISE)

This geospatial dataset includes geomorphic mapping and mapping of Quaternary terraces for 1939, 1950, 1980, 1994, 2006, and 2017 for the Clearwater River watershed located in western Washington, USA. This work is part of a larger geomorphic analysis and hydraulic modeling study on the Clearwater River. This baseline data on geomorphic channel change supports efforts to prioritize reaches for river restoration and floodplain reconnection. Based on the geomorphic mapping, we interpret that lateral river migration leads to the disconnection of historical geomorphic units from the active geomorphic corridor but also creates new geomorphic units near meander bends. There is an overall decrease in bare alluvium and less dynamic lateral channel movement between 1980 and 2017. Reconnecting formerly active channels, which were part of the active geomorphic corridor as recently as 2006, could create access to new habitat away from the mainstem channel. The geomorphic mapping effort is documented in Technical Report No. ENV-2023-099: Geomorphic Analysis and Hydraulic Modeling on the Clearwater River in Western Washington, which is available at https://data.usbr.gov/catalog/8042/item/133840.