The 1983 hydraulic jump in Crystal Rapid: Implications for river- running and geomorphic evolution in the Grand Canyon

At Crystal Creek, a debris fan was emplaced in 1966, constricting the channel of the Colorado River to about 0.25 of its upstream width between 1967 and 1983, forming a major rapid. The hydraulics of Crystal Creek rapid are described, and an analysis is presented to support the hypothesis that the major wave in the rapid was a normal wave (one type of hydraulic jump). Hydraulic jumps rarely occur in natural river channels with erodible beds, but one was present at Crystal Rapid because of the unusually severe constriction of the Colorado River by the 1966 debris fan. A quantitative model for river debris fan shapes is proposed and is used to estimate prehistoric flood levels from the observed constrictions: the 0.5 value of river constriction found at the more mature debris fans in the Grand Canyon suggests that peak flood discharges of approximately 11 320 m3/s have occurred. -from Author