Ecological Health & Function
CATEGORY: Channel Form
Channel Morphology Indicator
The channel morphology indicator is scored holistically and qualitatively considering planform shape (aerial shape), dimension (cross-sectional shape/size), and profile (slope). Quantitative measurements may be used to inform qualitative scoring.
Channel Morphology score by Segment
Middle Yampa Segment
Steamboat
Segment
Upper Yampa Segment
Score coming 2025
Elk River
Segment
Score coming 2026
Lower Yampa
Segment
Score coming 2027
Did You Know?
There is an overlap of the metrics considered for the channel morphology category and those considered for other indicators (for example, riverscape connectivity and structural complexity). This is because the physical form of the channel — the morphology, that is — both sets the template for various processes that occur within and around the river, and is itself created by those processes. To use a specific example, a healthy river has a high degree of connectivity with its surrounding floodplain and landscape (scored by the riverscape connectivity indicator) and that healthy degree of connectivity creates forms that are characteristic of a healthy river (scored both here by the channel morphology indicator and also by the macrohabitat indicator). These forms and features then perpetuate the high riverscape connectivity.