![]() Occasionally, the access to the river presents itself, offering up ideal spots to rest and catch your breath. On clear days, light filtering through the canopy casts dancing shadows on the mossy forest floor.įor the next hour, the trail continues its journey along the southern bank of the Meander River, with the lush myrtles forest becoming ever more sensational. The forest becomes denser, and sassafras and myrtles begin to dominate. Large rocks and buttress roots make up many of the stairs through the cool temperate forests.ģ0 minutes in, the bridge over Staggs Creek is crossed, and the Dicksons Track turnoff is passed soon after as the trail continues to climb. After an initial flat introduction, the trail begins the 480m climb necessary to reach the falls above. ![]() Starting from the Meander Falls carpark, the trail heads south-westerly along the edge of the Meander River. The Meander Falls track begins from the Meander Falls carpark area 3km further. From Meander, take Huntsmans Road 7km to meet Meander Falls Road. As you pass through Deloraine, take the Highland Lakes Road and continue for 10km before reaching Meander. The 10km, 4-hour return walk climbs through stunning cool temperate rainforests along the edge of the Meander River before reaching the 130m high waterfall, cascading over two tiers.įor walkers willing to brave the winter conditions, you may be rewarded by witnessing the falls freezing completely! Getting There View Google Map Directionsįrom Launceston, take the Bass Highway southwest through to Deloraine. Caption by Kathryn Hansen.Perched on the edge of the Great Western Tiers, Meander Falls makes for an impressive day walk in all seasons. NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. "If we want to ensure a naturally functioning river environment, then we need to ensure the presence of an erodible river corridor and the supplies of riverbed sediment that are required for sustaining meandering river dynamics." "Natural habitats that exist within floodplains depend on river migration to both renew habitat and maintain the natural functioning of existing habitat," Constantine said. In addition, meander cutoff rates doubled. ![]() According to Constantine, these features cause erosion and altered river flow that lead to a 1.7-fold increase in the rate of river migration downstream. The extra sediment enhances the growth of point bars-the lighter-colored, vegetation-free areas along the inside bends of the riverbank. The river flows toward the north (left in these images) and receives a large amount of sediment at the confluence with the Rio Grande. Turn on the image comparison tool to see how the river course changed over 28 years. The bottom image was acquired on July 13, 2014, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. The top image was acquired on June 11, 1985, by the Thematic Mapper (TM) on the Landsat 5 satellite. One example is the Rio Mamoré, shown in the image pair above. Those high-sediment rivers also saw more cutoff events, where crescent-shaped oxbow lakes are formed. ![]() ![]() They found that the greater the amount of sediment from external sources (glacial, volcanic, or human activity), the more likely the river was to meander rivers and streams with lower sediment loads wandered less. The Amazon Basin-free of engineering controls and containing a wide range of sediment loads-provides a natural laboratory in which to investigate the relationship.Ĭonstantine and colleagues recently analyzed nearly three decades of Landsat imagery of the Amazon Basin. These shape-shifting, meandering rivers are naturally dynamic, "working their way across their valley floors, recycling floodplain sediment, and building both river and floodplain habitats as a result," said José Constantine of Cardiff University.īut what causes rivers to meander, and why do some meander more than others? These questions have been the subject of research for more than a century, and several hypotheses and studies have focused on the role of sediments. Over periods of years and decades, the courses of some rivers can be all over the map-literally. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |