Detailed Long Profile of the Lower Chippewa River : Evidence of Ongoing Episodic Incision

Abstract

During the Late Wisconsin ice age, the Lower Chippewa River (LCR) served as an important meltwater stream and aggraded, partially filling its valley with glacial outwash. Subsequently, the river incised into the outwash forming a series of terraces, of which the Wissota Terrace is the highest (home of the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire upper campus). Irregularities on a long profile constructed from 1:24,000 topographic maps suggest that episodic incision is still occurring along the LCR thousands of years after it began (a long profile shows change in elevation over the distance of the river). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that episodic incision is still occurring today.