A log encased in ferricrete 88.5 cm above the modern thalweg of Prospect Gulch yielded four possible radiocarbon dates, with the most probable (at 33.9%) being 1710.5 ± 14.5. An incision rate of 280 cm/ky was estimated. The incision rate for the Gunnison River basin is 253 cm/ky. Possible features that support our slightly higher incision rate are:
• Bedrock is made up of
highly fractured volcanic
rock
• Mining has stripped the
drainage basin of vegetation
• Bowl-like catchment
upstream
• Concave stream profile,
with 30° slope at our site
• First-order tributary
• High elevation and
precipitation events
