Attachment_A_Reports_Volume_4.pdf

State of California Request for Qualifications No. C15E0055 Department of Parks and Recreation MALAKOFF DIGGINS STATE HISTORIC PARK Acquisition and Development Division Site Characterization and Remediation Services for Hazardous Materials throughout the Park Site Project

March 2016 Attachments

ATTACHMENT A

Reports

Volume 4

Acquisition and Development Division Site Characterization and Remediation Services for

ATTACHMENT A.12

Yuan, G., The Geomorphic Development of a Hydraulic Mining Site in Nevada County, CA, THE GEOMORPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF AN

HYDRAULIC MINING SITE

IN NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

A THESIS

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED EARTH SCIENCES

AND THE CO•ITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES

OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF SCIENCE

By

Geor;ia \4uan

June 1979

Approved for the De::artmenz:

ard Mallet

Ernest Rich

Approved for the University Committee on Graduate Studies:

Dean o c. Graduate Studies

SPECIAL THANKS

The hours spent seeking help and receiving encourage-ment from the many peo ple mentioned below added richness and spirit to my work during the last few years.

I am forever indebted to Larry Meinert and Rainer

Newberry, who remained encouraging to the end; from the very first venture into the field, through long dark hours in the darkroom, endless evenings and weekends filled with cranky discussion, to the final typing.

To Bernard Hallet and Ernie Rich, who offered patient and extensive review of "work in progress", many thanks.

Thanks to my ever faithful field assistants--Patti Sutch, Liz Haven, Terry Spreiter, Bill Kowalik, Doris Newberry, and Peter Schwarz--for being by far the most cheerful people I have ever been with in the freezing snow, the merciless hot sun, and the chilling rain.

Special thanks to: Clyde Wahrhaftig for generously spending time with me and sharing his unpublished research;

Mary Hill for use of her negatives and photographs; Steve

Pyne for and never failing correspondence about

G. K. Gilbert; T:andy Olsen and Walt Green for their untiring dedication to the problems of terrestial stereo-photograLimetry; Perfecto •Eiri who trustingl y gave me full use of his darkroom; ;:arren Yeend for encouraging words;

Dorothy Munehiro for drafting; and Steve Leona-, Park

Ranger at Malakoff Diggings State Park who always seemed to be around at the right moment.

wish to acknowledge the help of numerous librarians who contributed to my search for historical information, particularly: Mary Dolichek of the USES Photographic

Library; Sara T ; mbv of the Stanford University Archives;

and the volunteers of the Searls Historical Library, Nevada County, California.

Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to Kitty Jones for typing and retyping and retypina

This work :as funded b y the Shell Fund administered by the Department of Geology, Stanford University ; the

Domestic Mining and Mineral Fuel Conservation Fellowship from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare

Program Number 13.567, Grant No. GOO-73-03332; and by a scholarship from the Kerr-McGee Corporation.

iv

ABSTRACT

Rates and patterns of erosion were studied in a small badlands area of Malakoff Diggings, Nevada County, Cali-fornia. Terrestial photogra phs of the area taken in 1909, 1 953, and 1978 provide a unique opportunity to estimate average erosion rates over a 69 year period.

Field observations q uc!c ,==- that of the upper slopes is reduced primarily by slumping of fine grained sediments and that 'parallel retreat of the nearly vertical lower slopes results from surface wash of coarser sediments. The estimated rates of erosion at Malakoff, 40-170 mm/vr, are consistent with the utter part of the broad range of erosion rates for badlands reported in the literature. This result shows that small areas of badlands topography can make an important contribution to the total sediment yield of drainage basins.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL THANKS

ABSTRACT

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF YA?S

INTRODUCTION

Study Area History Genei-al Geology

METHOD OF STUDY

Comparisons of Photographs Relocation of Photographs Generation and Measurement of Hillslope

Profile s Accuracy of Erosion Rates

RESULTS

Pace iii vii vii vii

Slope Evolution 39 Interpretation of Profiles and Rates of Erosion 43

DISCUSSION

Hillslope Development at Malakoff Digings 45 Comparisons of Erosion Rates in Badlands

Topography 48 Hillslope Erosion Rates and Drainace Basin

Erosion Rates 51

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 53

REFERENCES 55

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

6 Figure 1 Annual Precipitation Record, 1909-1977, Nevada County, California

21 Figure 2 Diagrammatic Key for Plates la, lb

23 Figure 3 Diagrammatic Key for Plates 2a, 2b

25 Figure 4 Diagrammatic Key for Plates 3a, 3b

27 Figure 5 Diagrammatic Key for Plates 4a, 4b

32 Figure 8 Hillslope Profile lc Generated from Plates 4a, 4b

33 Figure 9 Hillslope Profile 3 Generated from Plates 2a, 2b

33 Figure 10 Hillslope Profile 4 Generated from Plates 4a, 4b

46 Figure 12 Schematic Representation of Hillslope Devel-

LIST OF TABLES

opment at the Malakoff Diggings

11 Table 1 Sieve Analysis by Yeend (1974)

12 Table 2 Grain Size Distribution

14 Table 3 Mineralogic Characteristics of Fine Grained Sediments

16 Table 4 Photographic Data

36 Table 5 Hillslope Erosion Rates

49 Table 6 Comparison of Erosion Studies in Badlands Topography

LIST OF MAPS

4 Map 1 General Location Nap

9 Nan 2 Tertiary Gravels Exposed in the Environs of Malakoff Diggings, Nevada County, California (after Yeend 1974)

19 Map 3 Schematic Plan View of Malakoff Diggings State Park, Showing Photographic Coverage and Positions of Hillslopes

4 1 Nap 4 Comparison cf Aerial Photographs Showing Cliff Retreat 1939-1977.

vii

Map I. : General Location Map (after Peternon et.aI. 1968)

Today the Malakoff Mine is an elongate pit, 2.4 km long and .8 km wide, bounded on three sides by steep cliff walls

60 to 90 m high cut into the Tertiary gravels. The hillslopes studied are part of the north boundary of the pit.

The elevation of the mine is about §00 m (3000 ft.).

The climate is characterized by warm, dry summers 10° to

30°C (50° to 80° F) and cool wet winters -6° to 2° C (20° to

40° F) with an average rainfall of 158 cm (62 inches) and

1 to 2 m (3 to 4 ft.) of snow each year. Annual rainfall data are shown in Figure 1.

Between the 1860s and the mid-1880s hydraulic mining flourished in the foothills region. The "diggins" dotted the hillslopes exposing the Tertiary gravels along steep badlands slopes. The debris from the mines was transported downstream where increased flooding and deposition of the gravel on agricultural land created animosities between the farmers and the miners. During the early 1880s the farming communities rallied to protect their land from further destruction and ended the era of hydraulic mining by court injunction in 1E84.

The trans:Dort of debris from past mining and from illegal mining cc tinued into the earl.- Dart of this century.

Grove K. Gilbert (7917) documented the deposition of some of the debris in San Francisco Bay where it threatened naviga-bility. Based on surveying and reconstruction of the pre-mining topograp- i.. Lne foothills, he estiated that 1,555

BO

* denotes denoLes is total annual precipitation * :31x year averacje k

Jr

A *

".)0

YEARS

Figure 1 : Annual Precipitation Record, 1909-1977, Nevada City, California million cubic yards (1.2 km 3 ) of material had been removed from the mined region by hydraulic mining. Impressed by the magnitude of the impact of mining on the natural terrain, Gilbert photographed several of the mines, leaving a record of their appearance in 1909.

Gilbert's photograchs, others taken by ::ary Hill for the California Division of Mines and Geology in 1933, and recent (1978) photograohs by the author, provide an excep

-tional opportunity to study the geomorphic develo7Dmenz of hillslopes at Malakoff Diggings during nearly 70 years.

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Aap 2 : Tertiary Gravels Exposed in the Environs of Malakoff Diggings, Nevada County, California (after Yeend 1974) compositionally and texturally similar, but are red in color.

Lindgren attributed these differences in oxidizing conditions to the relative position with respect to the water table, the blue being below the water table and the red above.

The upper gravels are generally finer grained; commonly with silt anda..n ,4 beds, fewer cobbles, and less gold. They are compositionally mature (rich in quartz and quartzites).

Sieve anal yses by Yeend (1974) of 26 samples of the lower gravel and 35 samp les of the upper gravels are given in

Table 1.

Both the upper and lower gravels are excosed at various sites within the mines. A 137m section measured at Malakoff

Diggings by Yeend (1974) shows a gradually fining upward secuence of gravels. He placed the top boundary of the lower gravels at about 40 m above the becroc contact where the grain size changes from mostly pebbles and cobbles to mostly pebbles and granules.

The gravels in the hillslopes examined in the present study lie entirely within the upper gravels of Yeend's

(1974) classification. The hilislope straticraphy was sub-divided into two units based on grain sizo variations clearly evident in the field. Sieve analyses of 26 dry samples from two vertical traverses show the obvious size differences in these units (Table 2). The cla y sized sediments were separated by wettinc the samp les to disa _ne gate them, and then pouring the y through a 60 micron SL.-_:Th They were flocculated frc:_ tha filtrate, dried and ed separately.

1S

Table 1 : Sieve Analysis by Yeend (1974)

Distribution by Weight Percent

Upper Lower

Cobbles and boulders 1 13

Pebbles 41 56

‘ zranule and sand 53 28

Silt and clay 3 3

90 • Upper Unit; Mu = Mean

Unit; MI, =

TT

ML M.

Li

= 40

L.

— 20

4-7

Mu

LTT

M t ti -L . L

TT

PE33LES GRANULES SILT! AY

G I N S I 1 7

Table 2: in Size Distributions

Their clay mineralogies, as determined by x-ray diffraction analyses, are shown in Table 3.

The upper unit which crops out along the upper third

-)f the slopes studied, consists predominantly of sand, silt, -nd clay with occasional granules and pebbles. The clay

9ften occurs as distinct, laterall y continuous beds.

The lower unit contains -coorl y cemented conglomerates with hi gh percentages of pebble size clasts. The matrix consists of sand, silt and clay with occasional iron oxide cement. In some locations the conglomerates are a bright red color, apparently due to a veneer of clay stained with iron oxide. X-ray diffraction analyses show that the clays in both units are dominantly kaclinitic.

Table 3: flineralocric Characterization of Fine Grained Sediments*

Raolinite

Quartz Illite Feldspar

1 present trace present present

3 present present trace abundant trace trace

1 trace present

, z.,._,:........___ present_

3 present abundant- trace

.,... 4 abundant present trace

3 abunc1P.nt present trace abundant abundant trace

7.ne analyses were conducted on selected samples with the smaller t! an 60 micron portion. See text for separation methods.

Analytic conditions of x-ray analyses:

voltage = 16 kV current = 34 TA Ni-filtered Cu k x-ra:s cjoniometer speed = 1/4 minute time constant = 4 seconds range = 100 cps

METHOD OF STUDY

comparisons of Photographs

Hi gh quality photography has only been available for the last 100 years, restricting the use of historical p hoto-craphic comparisons to this period. In 1947, Shepard and

.:3rant utilized terrestial photographs spannin g 50 years to record erosion on wave cut terraces in southern California, with s-,Decial attention to qualitative changes depicted in bedrock and unconsolidated sediments. One of the first attemots to quantify information gained from a comparison of historical photographs was by Veatch (1969) who studied

Nisqually glacier. By establishing his own camera stations and reoccupying them every year, he was able to make both c:uantitative and qualitative estimates of glacial advance and retreat. He compared photographs of different ages by measuring a known marker which appeared in every photograph, thus establishing a scale for individual photographs. Measure-ments of glacier position could then be scaled directly from the photographs. Malde (1973) carried the comparison of

,Jhotographs a step further with a treatment of terrestial

Stereophotography and a discussion of how to duplicate old notocraphs without records of the conditions of photography.

Thus, with high quality old ohotograchs and careful relocation of the old camera positions, recent y.hotographs can be made to stila l changes during relati7e1 ,: long time soans.

13-

The terrestial photographs used in this stud y depict

::-. 3 ci l ands at Malakoff Diggings in 1893, 1909, 1953, and 1973.

sources and photographers for the old photographs are

_fisted in Table 4. The 1978 photographs were taken with a

1-. 7M Olympus single-lens reflex camera usin g Kodak Panatomic-f'lm and a haze filter. As discussed by __aide (1973), accurate duplicate of an old photograph need not utilize t:1- same focal length lens. The important consideration, 7suming minimal optical distortion, is the orientation of

:he camera and the enlargement of the print. elocating

..he position and orientation of the old camera requires

_Ilstinguishing features on the old photo graph which are till present today. These features can then be used to

-rient the camera to repeat the

Jible 4 : Photographic Data old photograph.

Sourceate Date Photographer

1909 Grove K. Gilbert U.S. Geolo g ical Survey, Photogra phic Library, negative size 5"x7"

1953 Mary Hill California 2ivision of Mines and Geology, negative size 4"x5"

1953 Mary ._11 California Division of Mines and Geology, necative size 4"x5"

1909 Grove :,. Gilbert U.S. Geolog ical Survey, Photograhic Library, negative .._z 3"x7"

1893 Nevada Count Society

1973 Present Stu.„ negative size 3.377.

relocation of Photographs

The first ste p in relocating photographs is to identify objects that have remained stationary and recogniz-during the study period and to carefully relocate these field. In photographic comparisons between 1953 and

.:_e same trees were easil y identified in both photo-

For example, 5 trees present in both 1933 and 1978 shcwn in 3, a q'-*°7?1-4r.' .017.4-=c

They could not be used for relocating the 1909 photo-

:raphs because most trees in these photogra phs were noz dis-nctiv identifiable or had died prior to 1978. However, -.the ,- features such as road cuts, gullies, and scarps the 1909 photographs are still visible today.

,:rina the 69 years being studied, these features may have

_..::need slightly, making it necessary to rel y on a composite

: such features in relocating the 1909 photographs. The r ._lative positions of these features change markedly when

% • ed from different camera locations because the terrain very rugged. Therefore by matching a group of features se •.-eral different camera locations it was possible to the correct relocation. Figure 3 shows the features match Plates 4a and 4b. The marker bed in the hill-rovided vertical control while the clearings, scarps

_es provided good horizontal control.

Onoe the camera positions for the old photograhs relocated in the field, the y were :)._:Dtted on a mat, her with their fields of view (nap 3). The Photographs

:en from these positions were enlarged to a clear and work-

Ji: l e size with the same field of view as in the old photo-

This was done by placing the old photog raph on the t;oard of an enlarger and adjusting it so that the pro-

,:ed image of the new photograph merged with the original to g raph. The resuliing pairs of prints, old and new, used this study are included as Plates la through 5b.

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Fijur---0 5 ict jr-cl ci+ c- Kc\ or -17. / 614-0 461 , Generation and Measurement of Hillslope Profiles

Changes in hillslope form are traditionally studied using hillslope profiles that reflect the overall erosional pattern on the hillsloce (Young, 1972; Leopold et al., 1964).

Silhouetted hillslope brofiles showing distinct changes in the time span of the :otogra phy were chosen from each pair of photograbhs. Nine of these profiles were then sel-ected for careful measurement of the retreat in the profile.

Ficures 6 through 11 show profiles traced from the pairs of photographs. The area between the older profile and the newer profile represents the slope retreat durino that time period.

To measure ground retreat* (erosion) the area between the old and the new profile was divided into 20 equal seg-ments and their widths measured perpendicular to the slope surface. These 23 measurements were then recorded and a maximum, minimum, and avera.---e value was determined for each profile pair.

Converting these measurements to estimates of ground retreat requires a photoura;hic scale. The photographic scale was calculated by meas ring a marker bed** i n the

pendicular to the ground surface.

rated from rlakeS al

19 05 t 953

19"7e ist-cqncef.:

ure -T . . ttSlope Frofite-s 26 Genera+-e_ci Cram Flafes 2,612

U

(1) t

+tor rzon-i c4 l 1:7 (5-1-cince et_,At---e. 4.-4i lksioFe. Pro i lP er-te...rcIA-eci rot-Itx 17 1a-k-e-s a , 4 b

U

0.)

t-torizorri-cA l 2i5-t-LInce v-ii1151ope 6 e_ne rct-4-e_cl 'Fro rn 7,a-t-es 3 a, 3b field and measuring the thickness of the same marker bed on the photograph with a glass micrometer read to the nearest

5 x 10-2mm. A typical scale is 6.4 x 10 -2 inches = 3.9 feet or 1:730. mhe estimates of ground retreat were divided by the ti.e period between the photographs tb yield an average erosion rate (Table 5).

Tahle 5

Profile

: Hillslope Erosion RaLes

Plate Figure Period (years)

Scale Erosion Range rates (ram/vr) Average + error

Li 1a,b 6 69 1:536 40-170 110 + 45

2a I a,h 6 69 I :586 40- 30 60 I- 25

2h 2 a 7 25 1.:645 70-1.20 90 40

3 2 a ,h 9 25 1:645 20-130 60 t 25

4 4 a,h 10 69 1:789 20- 70 40 f. 1.5

5J 3a,b 11 25 1:645 30- 30 50 4-_ 20

6 3a,1) 11 25 1:645 60-250 140 60

Accuracy of Erosion Rates

The process of relocating and measuring photographs yielded sources of error involving relocation accuracy which must be estimated indirectly and others due to variability of marker bed thickness and precision of measurements of the marker bed which can be directly quantified.

To estimate the error in the erosion rate due to relo-cation, two possible relocations of the same photograph were compared. Two photographic relocations of the same view were taken from distinct nearby locations on the same day.

One photograph shows no perceptible difference in perspective from the original historical photocraph, while the other

1973 relocation was deliberately chosen to show a barely detectible perspective difference of the same view. An average erosion rate was calculated from each relocation using the method described earlier. The difference in these two erosion rates is due to the chance in perspective from the two locations. This process was repeated for pairs of photographs for each of three views and the maximum diff-erence in erosion rates obtained from two relocations was about 40,6.

The portion of the relocation error introduced strictly by chancim; the camera position of 4- e pnotocraph can be determined from a direct comparison of two photographs taken from relocations sufficiently far a=t to show just perceo-t 4 ble d i "n-r, ilc r, in perspective. no erosion has occurred between the two 1978 photogra phs, any difference in the hilislope profiles will be entirely due to differences in relocation.. This a pparent erosion should be similar to the difference found in the two erosion rates calculated from the comparisons discUssed above. To verify this, each pair of 1978 relocations was superim posed and an average apparent erosion rate calculated usin g the same method as described earlier for calculating the actual erosion rate.

This apparent erosion was compared with the actual erosion calculated from the properly relocated Photograph. The maximum apparent erosion was found from two 1978 photographs o f Plate lb taken 80 m aUart at about 1 200 m from the base of the cliff. The actual erosion calculated for Profile la on Plates la and lb was 7.6m whereas the apparent eros-ion was 2 m, making the apparent erosion about 30% of the actual erosion. Thus the ap parent erosion due to relocation error is estimated to be a maximum o f 30-40%. The variaility of the marker bed thickness used to determine Photocraphic scale is within 15% in the area studied. The accuracy of measurements on the finished photo graphs is insignificant; typica' measurement being 3 mm .C' mm.

In summary, thr ,,, e-- ,--- ,-- were determined: relocation, 4,L; marker bed variability, 15%; and measurement :)recision, RESULTS

Slope Evolution

Schumm (1956a,b) described the development of badlands in both humid and semiarid climates and attributed similar-ities in hillslope form to the importance of surface runoff and infiltration rates. Schumm (1956a) discussed two types of hillslope Profiles in semiarid badlands in South Dakota:

the rounded convex forms of the Chadron Formation and the sharp-crested slopes of the Brule Formation. Based on field experiments, he found that the infiltration capacity of the Chadron far exceeded that of the Brule, though both consist of poorly consolidated sediments. In addition, he observed: "a large number of miniature natural bridges occurring in drainage channels cut into the Chadron" (Schumm., 1956a, p. 643) and therefore characterized the Chadron as a rock eroded by subsurface flow and slow creep of surface particles. In contrast, he observed rapid runoff and rilling on the Brule slopes and correlated it with rapid parallel retreat and the maintenance of steep sloPes and sharp divides. Schumm's work also shows that creep and freeze thaw action may be important in arid climates with clay-rich sediments.

The Perth Ambov, New Jerse y badlands, developed in a humid climate, closely resembles slo pes found in the Brule

Formation. The s=eer) slones were arzificially durinc a mining operation. Schulz::, (1956a) attributed the maintenance of steep profiles and parallel retreat in these sloes to the high runoff potential of the unvegetated hillsloPes.

The slope profiles at Malakoff are generall y character-ized by sharp divides with steep cliff faces and basal fans.

The bedrock, as described in an earlier section, varies sic-nificantly in grain size, with finer sediments most abundant in the upper slooes. As a result, two distinct processes of erosion contribute to the badlands development. The upper slopes appear to erode primarily by slumpinc and debris flows.

Failures of this type are most conspicuous in the spring when runoff from the slopes above the badlands at 2.:alakoff drains into the mine and saturates the upper sediments. Active debris flows with slump blocks scattered over their surfaces were observed moving to the base of the slopes in the re-entrants. On the promontories fines from the upper units are washed downsiope and often coat the exposed hillslope below. The distribution of these slump blocks in the upper unit is quite evident in a comparison of aerial photocraphs from 1939, 1946, 1966, 1972 and 1977. Map 4 shows the out-line of the top of the badlands slope in each successive photograph. The colored areas represent the retreat of this c il f edge with time. '27: iattern of retreat su? Q t= that considerable localized erosion occurs sPoradicall-: in the badlands.

In contrast to u9Per slopes, which are _art

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3-I 1D 6u i AncLis GLiduk-160-4-(x-id .1aae -10 Laos ) od LA.-I 0v-,4

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0.00c) I tiD-3 pco_Addo eroded by mass wasting, the lower slopes appear to be eroded by surface wash and rain splash that winnow out the finer grained material cementing the pebbles and granules.

As in other badlands studies, this process is correlated with parallel retreat of the surface. Because'of the s-oarse vegetation in the badlands and the relatively short slopes

(10-30 meters) , rainsplash erosion probably pla ys an impor-tant role in dislod g in g fine sediments and in enhancin sur-f ace wash (Carson and Kirkby, 1972). In addition, frost action and needle-ice growth may significantly contribute to the slope retreat (R. Curry, personal communication, 1979).

Thus, slumping and surface wash augmented by rainspiash and possibly needle-ice growth, are the most prominent ero-sional processes on the badiand slopes at nalakoff.

Interpretations of Profiles and Rates of Erosion

Using the methods described in the previous section, erosion rates were generated for 9 hillslopes from 4 sets of photographs. Variations in rates with time for each hillslope profile can be obtained by the calculated average erosion rates presented in Table 5.

The average erosion rates represent the total average erosion divided the number of years 1apser between the photographs. However, changes in the hillslope profiles suggest that a major portion of the total volume of erosion took place intermittentl y in the removal of the upper units between 1909 and 1933. This is shown in a comparison of

Profiles la, lb, and lc in which Profile lb, which spans

1953-1978, shows that most of the upper unit has already been eroded away. Profiles la and lc show a view of the same slope in 1909 with a large part of the u pper unit present.

This suggests that the upper slopes were rapidly lowered during the 1909-1953 time period (100-150 mm/ ,•r) possibly due to the initial steepness of the slopes. Between 1953 and 1973 the rates on both the upper and lower parts of the slope were similar (100-290 mm/yr). Profiles 3 and 6 suanning 1953-1973, illustrate the similarities in the overall hillslonc, erosion and suggest that once the upper slope angles have been lowered the rate of erosion decreases to 50-140 run/yr.

As discussed earlier, the different processes acting on the upper and lower slo pes are correlated with changes in the slope morphology evident in the profile comparison.

DISCUSSION

Hillslope Development at Malakoff Diggings

The observed patterns of erosion at Malakoff Diggings studied through the use of aerial and ter,restial photographs and field observations elucidate the development of badlands topography. The generalized geomorphic changes in hilislope form from 1893 to the Present are schematically illustrated in Figure 12. Assuming no significant chan ge in the ero-sional pattern, the future hillslope form may be predicted.

The initial slope is shown as it was in 1893 based on the terrestial pnotograph in Plate 4b. Betw een 1393 and

1909, a debris dam constructed to impound the debris result-ing from renewed mining at Malakoff, resulted in significant infilling of the mine floor. Based on a com parison of photos in Plate 4, as much as 1/3 of the lower cliff walls appear to be buried, making distant views of the cliff appear to be at different scales. The gentle forested u:Dland slopes contrast sharply with the steep unever scarp left by the hydraulic mining. Surface wash quickly caused riflin g on the steep slopes and debris fans at the base. The rills on the slopes deeened, forming gullies, seParating cravel towers and spire:7. Trees and shrubs had begun to grow on some of th. - ebris fans. The r emo7a' e ' the uo_ per unit on some of the hilislopes resulted in the further development of

L-s and -ravel tower=. continued to deepen, separating the spires from the rest of the hill-slope during the last 25 years. The mass movements respon-sible for the retreat of the upper slopes, as documented through aerial photographs, are also reflected in the bending and toppling of trees near the cliff edge. The continued retreat of the upper slopes and the development of basal fans will eventually result in the burial of the lower

Portions of the sloe b y debris fans and the return of the slope profile to a more characteristic relativel y gentle, pre-mining slope. Unless the steep slopes are maintained by continued mining or by other means of removing debris from the base of the slopes, the fans will eventually bury the badlands slopes.

Comparisons of ErosionRates in Badlands Topography

Studies of erosion rates have often been conducted in badlands because measurable erosion occurs in short time intervals and the barren slo pes provide an opoortunity for observing erosional processes. The rate measured at Y:ala-koff are similar to those reported in 3 other studies of badlands erosion in a range of climates and litholocies.

These studies, outlined in Table 6, fall naturally into two groups according to the measured erosion rates: rates greater than 20 mm/yr and rates less than 20 mm/yr.

Schumm (1956a) documented that the develo pment of badlands topography is not restricted to arid or semiarid climates.* In his study in Perth Amboy, Schumm measured ground retreat with wooden dowels over a 10-week period.

The lack of vegetation on these unconsolidated mine backfill sediments and the persistently steep slopes caused rapid runoff. Wahrhaftig (personal communication, 1978)** studied badlands in an area near Suntrana Creek, Alaska.

In this humid polar climate, the poorly consolidated gravels

*Climatic conditions in this study are classified in terms of temoerature and rainfall averages, 7enerally documented by the individual authors in each study. Other references used for climate classification werf =, Leopold et al. 1964) and Young (1972), pp. 222-238.

**Recorded rainfall data: 43 inches (109 cm)/yr, Schumm (1956a) ; 15 inches (38 cm)/yr, Wahrahf .:ici- (Personal communi-cation, 1978) ; 62 inches (138 cm)/yr, present study.

and interbedded sandstones exposed in some of the slopes formed badlands. Wahrhaftig calculated the amount of material eroded from the basin during storm events by studying alluvial fan build-up and divided this by the area over which the badlands occurred to estimate the erosion rate. The rates obtained in both these studies are comparable with the rates measured at Malakoff.

Three similarities may have contributed to the agreement of these measured rates: the lithologies, the climatic conditions, and the im pacts of mining. In each case, the badlands were developed in unconsolidated sediments in humid climates. In addition, in two cases mining activity resulted in the exposure of barren slopes too steep to revegetate easilv•in a region where natural slopes are normally vege-tated. In Wahrhaftig's study the unvegetated steep slopes occurred naturally as patches within vegetated slopes.

The development and maintenance of the badlands slopes were aided by their steepness that inhibited the re-establishment of new vegetation. These results suggest that slopes in humid climates stripped of their normal ve getative cover have exceptionally hign erosion rates. This relationship is graphically shown in Carson and Kir. :21) The converse is su pl;orted the three studies of badlands conducted in arid or semiarii climates in which eros::= rates of less than 23 mm/yr were recorded on slopes which are normally unvegetated.

Hillslope Erosion Rates and Drainage Basin Erosion Rates

The erosion rates measured in this and 3 Previously discussed investigations of badlands topography are orders of magnitude greater than rates of denudation calculated for larger drainage basins based on sediment yields.

Judson and Ritter (1964), for example, calculated a regional erosion rate of .5 inches/1000 years (1.3 x 10 -2 mm/yr) for the entire Sacramento River basin ci 2.3 x miles - (7.1 x 10 4 km2 ). The total area of the cliffs at

-1 Malakoff Diggings is aporoximately 2.5 x 10 - km -"', five orders of magnitude sma l ler than the entire Sacramento basin. The 9 average erosion rates calculated for the bad-lands at Malakoff combine to give an average erosion rate of 90 mm/yr or an avera ge annual sediment yield of 2.3 x 104 m'. This sediment yield is about 2.5% of the total sediment yield calculated by Judson and Ritter (1964) for the entire

Sacramento basin. A portion of this sediment will not enter the drainage system, as evidenced by the growth of basal fans at Malakoff, however if only a very small portion of the eroded sediments enter the rivers, the y still contribute disProportionatel. high lercentage of the total sediment yield.

This area assumes an av ,..:ra.2e cliff height of 60m and about 4 km of cliff

Hilislope Erosion Rates and Drainage Basin Erosion Rates

The erosion rates measured in this and 5 previously discussed investigations of badlands topography are orders of magnitude greater than rates of denudation calculated for larger drainage basins based on sediment yields.

Judson and Ritter (1964), for example, calculated a regional erosion rate of .5 inches/1000 years (1.3 x 10 -2 mm/yr) for tne entire Sacramento River basin of 2.3 x 13' miles - (7.1 x 10 -1 km2 ). The total area of the cliffs at

- 7.

Malakoff Diggings is approximately 2.5 x 10 1 km w , five orders of magnitude smaller than the entire Sacramento basin. The 9 average erosion rates calculated for the bad-lands at Malakoff combine to give an average erosion rate of 90 mm/yr or an average annual sediment yield of 2.3 x 104 m'. This sediment yield is about 2.5% of the total sediment y ield calculated by Judson and Ritter (1964) for the entire

Sacramento basin. A portion of this sediment will not enter the drainage system, as evidenced by the growth of basal fans at Malakoff, however if only a very small portion of the eroded sediments enter the rivers, they still contribute disroportionatalv hi _;n percentage of the total sediment yield.

This area assumes an avera.;e cliff height of 60m and about 4 km of cliff fac;,-3.

Campbell (1973) did a similar analys coma-inz:

erosion rates measured directly from badlands in the Red

Deer drainage basin in Alberta. Based on suspended edimt:!nt yields and assuming that about 50% of the eroded material reaches the river, he estimated that the4 se badlands, representing about 1.8% of the area of the basin, coula provide the entire sediment load for the river. He concluded that averaging this sediment yield over the entire area of the drainage basin does not accuratel ,: re present erosion rates in the basin.

The rates of erosion derived from szuuies at Malakoff clearly indicate that erosion in very small portions of a large river basin may contribute significantly to the total sediment yield of the entire basin.

SUMMA 217 AND CONCLUSIONS

Erosion rates for badland slopes at Malakoff Diggings

State Historical Park were determined using comoariscns of terrestial photo graphs spanning 69 years. Camera positions for photogra phs from 1909 and 1953 were relocated in 1973 and specific hillslo2e profiles were traced and compared to calculated total erosion for the time periods laosed between photographs. Three possible errors in this method were identified: relocation, 40%; marker bed variability, 15'1; and measurement accurac y , .2%. The measured erosion rates vary from 40-170 mm/ yr and are consistent with the upper range of rates found in the literature. The high erosion rates at Malakoff abpear to result from the increased susceptibility of slopes in humid climates to surface water erosion caused by devegetation and the creation of steep slopes by mining activities. A comparison of six studies sug gests that badlands in humid climates eroded more rapidly than similar slopes in arid climates.

Though the surface area of the slopes at Malakoff is very small relative to the total area of the Sacramento

River basin, these slopes ma y contribute a portion of the total seiment yield in the basin.

Judson and Ritter (1964) a regional denudation rate of 1.3 x 10 -2 mm/yr for the 7.1 x 10

-t km2 of the Sacra-mento basin. At Malakoff the average erosion rate in the badlands is about 90 mm/yr. th,at portion of the sediments eroded at Malal:off enter the drainage system, they may still contribute a dis propor-tionately high percentage of the total sediment yield calculated by Judson and Ritter (1964). This conclusion emphasizes the possible important contribution of specific areas within farce drainage basins to the total sediment yield. Future studies in geomorphology should focus on the need to provide a more comolete picture of the dis-tribution and relative importance of sediment sources in large drainage basins.

REFERENCES

Campbell,I.A., 1973, :.:ccelerated Erosion'in Badlands Environ-ments, in Fluvial Processes and Sedimentation - Proceedings of the Ninth Hydrology Symposium,. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, p.18-25.

, 1974, Measurements of Erosion on Badlands Surfaces: Zeitschrift fur Geomorpholocie Su pplement Band 21, p.122-137.

Carson,M. .A., and Kirkby,M.,:., 1972, Hillslope Form and Pro-cess, Cambridge: University Press, 475p.

uoie,R.B., and Stabier,H., 190;, Denudation: U.S. Geologi-cal Survey Water Suppl y Paper 234, 1;...78-93.

Engelen,G.D., 1973 , Runoff Processes and Slo pe Development in Badlands National Monument, south Dakota: Journal of Hydrology, vol.13, p.35-79.

Gerber,E., and Scheidegger,l.E., 1973, Erosional and Stress-induced Features on Steep Slopes: Zeitschrift fur Geo-morPhologie Supplement Band 18, p.32-49.

Gilbert,G.K., 1917, The Hydraulic Minin g_ Debris in the Sierra Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 105, I54p.

Jacson,W.T., 19E7, Report on the Malakoff Mine, the North Bloomfield Mining District, and the Town of North Bloom-field, Department of Parks and Recreation: Division of Beaches and Parks, Sacramento.

Judson,S., and Ritter,D., 19E4, Rates of Re gional Denuda-tion in the United States: Journal of Geophvsical Research, vo1.C;9, p3395-3401.

Kallenberger,W.W., 1970, Memories of a Gold D i gger

Careen Grove, California, 5:

Lancibein,V.B., and Schum • ,S.A., 1958, Yield of Sediment in RGlation to Mean Annual Procinita l on: Transactions of the American GeoPhYsical Union, vol.39, p.1076-1084.

Leono l d,L.E., Wo l man,•.G., nd Mi l ler, :.7., Fluvial Processes of GeomorT)holccy, San Francisco: U.H. ::reeman and Co., 522p.

Lindc7ren,W., 1911, The :eroiar .: ravels of the Sierra Nev-ada in California: U.S. Survey Professional

Pa7.:er 73, 226p.

Acquisition and Development Division Site Characterization and Remediation Services for

ATTACHMENT A.13

Humbug Creek Daily Discharge at Gage 3 Data 2011-2013

Cyndie Walck Sticky Note how often are readings taken or are they just 1 x daily? If not then just note that for the sake of the table 1715 was used for each day.

Acquisition and Development Division Site Characterization and Remediation Services for

ATTACHMENT A.14

Hiller Tunnel-Diggins Creek General Data

Data From Hiller Tunnel Outflow Site

Date (mm/dd/yyy) Time (24 hr) Flow (ft³/s) Flow (gal/day) DO (mg/L) Conductivity (µS/cm) Temperature (˚C) pH

10/14/2011 16:30 0.231 149,224 9.80 0.193 12.17 7.32

11/11/2011 12:30 0.140 90,155 12.19 0.254 3.85 7.39

1/27/2012 12:00 0.530 342,524 12.80 0.201 2.47 7.36

2/17/2012 16:00 0.391 252,369 11.93 0.220 3.95 7.46

3/2/2012 13:00 2.046 1,321,949 13.40 0.167 0.66 7.07

1/20/2012 13:00 1.231 795,238 * * * *

12/10/2012 9:30 2.043 1,320,011 * * * *

3/7/2013 16:30 1.121 724,148 11.12 0.142 5.85 7.33

*Data not available

Acquisition and Development Division Site Characterization and Remediation Services for

ATTACHMENT A.15

Daily Humbug Creek Turbidity Data

Water Year 2012 Humbug Creek Turbidity Data Water Year 2013 Humbug Creek Turbidity Data Water Year 2014 Humbug Creek Turbidity Data

Date (mm/dd/yyy) Time (24 hr) Turbidity (JTU) Date (mm/dd/yyy) Time (24 hr) Turbidity (JTU) Date (mm/dd/yyy) Time (24 hr) Turbidity (JTU)

(meter not yet installed)

9/24/2012 17:15 *

(meter not yet installed)

10/1/2012 17:15 *

10/8/2012 17:15 *

10/15/2012 17:15 *

10/22/2012 17:15 3.2

10/29/2012 17:15 *

11/5/2012 17:15 1.7

11/12/2012 17:15 1.1

11/19/2012 17:15 176.2 11/18/2013 17:15 *

11/26/2012 17:15 11.7 11/25/2013 17:15 0.2

12/19/2011 17:15 1.1 12/3/2012 17:15 159.4 12/2/2013 17:15 0.1

12/26/2011 17:15 0.7 12/10/2012 17:15 14.0

1/2/2012 17:15 1.2 12/17/2012 17:15 748.8 Note: Daily reading at same time from a continuous data set

1/9/2012 17:15 1.0 12/24/2012 17:15 217.1 * Data not available

1/23/2012 17:15 637.0 12/31/2012 17:15 22.9

1/30/2012 17:15 5.5 1/7/2013 17:15 15.3

2/6/2012 17:15 7.8 1/14/2013 17:15 20.2

2/13/2012 17:15 322.3 1/21/2013 17:15 11.0

2/20/2012 17:15 2.9 1/28/2013 17:15 21.5

2/27/2012 17:15 7.6 2/4/2013 17:15 3.9

3/5/2012 17:15 32.6 2/11/2013 17:15 4.3

3/12/2012 17:15 5.2 2/18/2013 17:15 3.4

3/19/2012 17:15 994.6 2/25/2013 17:15 2.7

3/26/2012 17:15 24.5 3/4/2013 17:15 10.2

4/2/2012 17:15 58.9 3/11/2013 17:15 2.4

4/9/2012 17:15 14.2 3/18/2013 17:15 1.8

4/16/2012 17:15 94.4 3/25/2013 17:15 2.8

4/23/2012 17:15 21.1 4/1/2013 17:15 159.8

(meter not yet installed)

4/8/2013 17:15 20.3

4/15/2013 17:15 3.8

4/22/2013 17:15 2.3

4/29/2013 17:15 1.6

5/6/2013 17:15 5.2

5/13/2013 17:15 1.1

5/20/2013 17:15 0.8

5/27/2013 17:15 1.0

6/3/2013 17:15 0.6

6/10/2013 17:15 0.3

6/17/2013 17:15 *

6/24/2013 17:15 2.2

7/1/2013 17:15 *

7/8/2013 17:15 *

7/15/2013 17:15 *