Why do I need to know this stuff? Good question!
An understanding of how riparian areas are formed
and how they function is the first step in figuring out
how to successfully maintain their productive nature
for your ranch. Think of this section as a shop
manual for riparian areas.

The stream's engine is the mass
of water moving downhill. How
much horsepower the stream's
engine has depends on slope,
amount of flow and resistance
along the bank and channel.
Horsepower, whether measured
in a car, a tractor or a stream is
a calculation of the amount of
work that can be done.

The work of a stream is to erode
material from its banks or bed and
then to transport that material
downstream. Streams meander in
order to balance the work they do
with the energy they have.

If the engine idles, not much
horsepower is generated; the
stream isn't doing much work.
However, when the engine races
its horsepower is unleashed,
allowing the stream to work harder
at eroding and transporting.

A simple doubling of the
speed of a stream's flow
allows it to erode four
times as much and to
carry 64 times the amount
of material. That's power!

Producers need to understand
these simple physics, to avoid
unleashing a problem, without
knowing how it happened.