The Northern Chaco Outliers Project: Surface Hydrology of the Lakeview Community
Author
Grundvig, JeremyIssue Date
2022-04-28Keywords
surface hydrologyDigital elevation models
stream routes
stream flow
water control features
ancestral Pueblo
Montezuma County
Advisor
Korgaonkar, Yoga
Metadata
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The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Collection Information
This item is part of the MS-GIST Master's Reports collection. For more information about items in this collection, please contact the UA Campus Repository at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Farming was introduced and thrived in the high desert of the four-corners region since ca. A.D. 500. As subsistence patterns shifted from hunting and gathering to a more sedentary lifestyle based on agriculture, access to reliable water sources became increasingly crucial. Utilizing ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro, a Geographical Information System (GIS), I look at the surface hydrology of an ancestral Pueblo community in southwest Colorado using Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), to calculate the path and velocity of the community’s watershed. Using higher resolutions DEMs which have become available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), I calculate the watershed using DEMs derived from 30-meters, 10-meters and 1-meter. The results are aiding researchers at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center to better understand ancestral inhabitants’ environments by providing models to aid in investigations to include stream flow, historic route changes, possibly water control features, seep spring locations, and agriculture potential. The various DEMs are used to delineate a watershed under 100 square kilometers, focusing on the Lakeview Community. The differing results display how the 30-meter resolution provides insight to prehistoric stream routes while detailed resolutions aid in the investigation of natural springs and the hydrologic impacts of historic irrigation projects. The results are part of a long-term environmental study to better understand how ancestral inhabitants used their terrain and resources and whether a community’s location intentionally sought to take advantage of local hydrology, arable soil or other factors.Type
Electronic Reporttext