White River
November 17, 2009 by Camper
Filed under Utah Campgrounds
White River
Although the Kenny Dam Rangely, constructed in 1985, influences the White River in Utah it continues to exhibit those characteristics of pre-dam rivers in the West. The highest flow on the White River was 8,160 cfs, on July 15, 1929. Common spring flows are around 400 cfs.
In early spring large blocks of ice jam up and scour the banks of the river. Later spring floods bring new sediment rich in nutrients to the river bottoms. The White River cuts through a vast plateau in Utah, named the Powell’s Book Shelves by the Powell Expedition, and later shortened to the Book Cliffs.
The White River canyon crossing the Uinta Basin is an example of a deep canyon walled by young formations. Cliffs of Green River Shales of the Uinta formation separate broad bottoms from the White River. Fossil bearing strata occur on rock outcrops are mostly chelonians (turtles) and ungulates (mammals such as Coryphodon).
Deep below the surface are reserves of coal, oil, tar sand, and veins of rare gilsonite. These minerals foretell the region’s different past: large bodies of water expanding and receding, mud flats and stream deposits are the predominate factors that created the canyon.