EIGHT DECADES OF GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE TO THE LITTLE WABASH RIVER IN WHITE COUNTY, SOUTH-CENTRAL ILLIONIS, USA

Geologically-speaking, rivers are extremely dynamic. Water is one of the biggest contributors to erosion. Water bodies such as oceans are constantly wearing-and-tearing away at coasts ever since they formed. Running water is the key component as to why it is so erosive, which is why rivers are so powerful. From creating the Grand Canyon to carving out continental-sized drainage systems, rivers are a powerful force of nature that are home to ecosystems, provide humans with means of shipping and travel, and carry sediments from end to the other. Humans have been able to take over rivers, such as the Colorado River, and have also altered their paths, but the constant motion of rivers is to naturally flow.

It is hard for humans to allow rivers to naturally flow because of developmental issues; both in the urban and agricultural economies. The area of study for this research is the Little Wabash River located in White County, Illinois. According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 75% of the state’s land is devoted to farming, which translates to 72,000 farms – or 27 million acres of land (2018). Illinois, along with the rest of the Midwest region, is a main agricultural base for the U.S. The main problem with croplands are losing millions of acres to river systems that change over decades of time. The purpose of this study was to understand the amount of money that is made from the production of the three common crops produced: corn, wheat, and soybeans. Using aerial imagery and ArcGIS technology, the amount of significant acre-loss in sections of the river over an 80 year span were calculated.