Earth Geology Topography

Explore the topography of the Bryant Creek watershed

The Bryant watershed has its own unique surface features: its topography. Its hills and valleys result from the effect of running water cutting through the various kinds of rock that make up the bedrock beneath its soils.
 

The gentle and steeply rolling hills and valleys around the edge of the watershed are like most of the Ozarks of southern Missouri. They are at a higher elevation than the center of the watershed. 

It is the central core of the watershed that makes the watershed special. That's where you find the valleys of Bryant Creek and its larger tributary streams. Their steep rock walls (bluffs) are notable features of the Bryant and its sister stream, the North Fork. 

The bluffs and deep steep-walled valleys have resulted from streams eroding through a hard layer of sandstone. To understand how all this works, you need to know about the rock layers themselves (stratigraphy), the geologic structures in the area, and also about stream erosion.