NAME:______

Day 3. Human-River Interactions Worksheet

Description: Today, we will examine how rivers interact with people. To study these interactions, we will visit three sites, Salmon Hole in between Burlington and Winooski, the Chittenden Mill in Jericho, and an abandoned mill site in Bolton.

Specific skills and general knowledge: By the end of the day, you should be able to identify abandoned milldams in the field and recognize the sediments such dams trap in their ponds.

Gear: Garmin 12 GPS units and laminated maps. Contact is Andrew Stevens, Stevens Gas, 878-5845, for the Bolton site.

Salmon Hole, between Burlington and Winooski – Here we will start our day examing the changes along the river corridor in what was once a busy industrial setting. We will practice rephotography and determining how the landscape has changed over time. Breaking into two large groups and then subgroups from there, we will attempt to relocate and rephotography as many images as possible. For each image, try and establish the original site of the photograph. When you have done that, reshot the image as accurately as possible and record its GPS coordinates.

Chittenden Mill, Jericho – We will stop here in order to see an extant mill, the geometry of its now-removed dam, and the extent of mill pond sedimentation. Before leaving this site, answer the following questions:

  1. Describe the evidence you used to determine where the mill pond used to be.
  1. Describe how you identified the spillway that used to pass excess river water not used by the mill for power.
  1. In terms of the landscape, where was the mill located and why?
  1. Work in small groups to re-photograph one of the historic images and measure the photographer’s location with GPS.

Bolton Flats Mill – This is a complex site, largely overgrown and changed somewhat dramatically from the way it must have once looked.

A. The dam and the mills

  1. Find the original dam site, measure its GPS coordinates, and describe how the dam was constructed and the materials used in its construction.

Northing:Easting:

  1. Find the two mill raceways, one on either side of the dam site. Describe how you knew these were raceways, the channels that carried water from the millpond past the mills and powered the millwheels.
  1. Find whatever evidence exists (scanty at best) to suggest where the mills were located. List this evidence below.
  1. Find the sediments that filled the now-vanished mill pond. Describe what these sediments look like in terms of their texture and sorting.

/ To help place these mills and dam site in perspective, here is a portion of the 1875 Beers Atlas. Can you find both mills?.
  1. Before you leave the site, wander around and make sure that you see the following:
  1. The waterfall and bedrock cascading channel below the dam site
  2. Water-polished bedrock with flutes indicative of bedrock abrasion
  3. Stone work to stabilize small hillslope drainage channels
  4. Stone work to stabilize roads on steep slopes


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