THE COMBINED INFLUENCES OF NATURAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT ON THE FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE LAMPREY RIVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the course of its 50 mile journey from its headwaters north of the Pawtuckaway Mountains to New Hampshire’s seacoast, the Lamprey River flows through multiple physiographic environments, many of which have also undergone extensive anthropogenic modification. The interaction of these influences has shaped the physical processes that have led to the morphological condition of the Lamprey as we see it today. Using recently collected fluvial geomorphic assessment data from the state’s Fluvial Erosion Hazard program, I trace how the river has evolved as a result of these influences upon it. The account that this data provides about the Lamprey River, and ways in which it may be used for the best management of the river in the future, will also be discussed.