ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with simulation of slope development and magnitude and frequency of overland flow erosion in an abandoned hydraulic gold mine. The slopes in the study area have developed over the last century in the gold mine in northern California. This area is now Malakoff Diggings State Historic Park, located approximately 25 km northeast of Nevada City, California. The chapter explains approximate arrangement of drainage lines, with locations of simulated slopes and sediment samplers. The criterion for site selection requires that natural erosion processes should be rapid enough to be adequately measured while still allowing relatively simple mathematical expression. Soil creep rates are measured by downslope displacement and rotation of stakes of varying diameters. The numerical simulation model represents the first attempt to explicitly construct and apply a simulation model of naturally eroding hillslopes by first determining and representing the significant forms of sediment transport, the boundary and initial conditions, and the nature, magnitude, and frequency of hydrologic events.
