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Data

Inputs

LayerData TypeDescriptionSource
flowlinesGeopackage Feature Classthese polylines represent the river network. The features must have two attributes, one that represents the feature type (perennial, intermittent, pipe, canal, artificial path, etc (this is the NHD FCode field in the United States)), and the other is the total upstream drainage area of each feature (TotDASqKm in the NHD)Riverscapes Context
flowareasGeopackage Feature Classpolygons that represent larger flow areas that are big enough to be represented cartographically as polygonsRiverscapes Context
waterbodyGeopackage Feature Classpolygons representing ponds, lakes, and reservoirsRiverscapes Context

Data Layers Produced by the Channel Area Tool

Intermediates

Filtered NHD Waterbodies

A subset of the NHDWaterbody layer filtered using specified NHD FCodes.

Filtered NHD Areas

A subset of the NHDArea layer filtered using specified NHD FCodes.

NHD Waterbodies and NHD Areas combined

The NHDArea and NHDWaterbody layers combined.

Bankfull Network

The NHDFlowlines layer with an attribute 'bankfull_m' added that is used to buffer the network. This layer is the network without the segments that fall within NHDWaterbody or NHDArea features.

Bankfull Polygons

Polygons derived by buffering the bankfull_network feature using the 'bankfull_m' attribute. This value is calculated using region equations for bankfull width.

Difference Polygons

The bankfull polygons with areas that overlap the NHDArea layer removed.

Outputs

Channel Area Polygons

A polygon feature class representing the bankfull channel for the input network. The filtered NHDArea and NHDWaterbody features are combined with the buffered NHDFlowline features to create a single feature class.


Output Attributes (For U.S. application using NHDPlusHR as input)

Channel Area Output (channel_area)

FieldUnitsDescription
fidNAUnique identifier for each polygon
GNIS_IDNAA unique ID associated with the 'GNIS_Name'
GNIS_NameNAThe Stream Name
ReachCodeNAA unique identifier for each reach from the NHD attributes
FTypeNANHD FType - broad flowline types (e.g., natural stream, pipeline, canal)
FCodeNHD FCode for each reach, reprenting specific flow types (e.g., perennial, intermittent, ephemeral)
NDHPlusIDNAUnique identifier for each reach in the NHDPlus dataset
TotDASqKmkm2Total drainage area in square kilometers from NHD attributes
DivDASqKmkm2Total drainage area in square kilometers partitioned among diversions, side channels, etc. from NHD attributes
level_pathNAA unique identifier for each individual stream from the NHD attributes
upstream_level_pathNAThe level path of the next segment upstream
downstream_level_pathNAThe level path of the next segment downstream
divergenceNAAn integer code from NHD attributes indicating channel divergence and type of divergence
stream_orderNAStrahler stream order from NHD attributes
us_stateNAThe state in which the reach is located
ecoregion_iiiNALevel III ecoregion from the EPA
ecoregion_ivNALevel IV ecoregion from the EPA
bankfull_mmThe bankfull width calculated using the regional regression used
area_m2m2the area of the channel polygon