Planimetric Channel Change along the Lower Chippewa River in West-Central Wisconsin, 1938-2008

Abstract

The Chippewa River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River in west-central Wisconsin, appears to be an exceptionally dynamic stream. This seems particularly true of the river downstream from Eau Claire, as suggested by numerous abandoned channels and bars of fluvial sediment found far from the present active channel. In this research, our objective was to identify and quantify recent planimetric channel change along a 52-km reach of the lower Chippewa River.