Erosion Effects

Erosion Effects. . Everything humans do has some type of impact on the environment. Sometimes those impacts are not noticeable, and sometimes they are seen and felt on a grand scale. Erosion is an example of a human impact that can be seen throughout the park. One of its most common causes is what is called a "social trail," or a trail that is created when visitors blaze their own path. This problem is especially common near switchbacks, where visitors often create shortcuts., Such use over time causes the vegetation that covers the forest floor to become trampled and can also displace dead leaves and other natural debris. On rainy days, water moving along this new flow path moves even more leaves, debris, and sediment and causes erosion, as pictured here. In this case, the culvert (left) carries less water because the social trail (right). has altered the drainage pattern. , Caption: , Large-scale altering of landscapes often leads to erosion. During the early development of the city and park, the "noses" of Hot Springs and West Mountains were excavated. The resulting dramatic transformation of the landscape produced significant changes to how water now flows across this land's surface and how it impacts the underlying soil and rocks. This photo shows a large landslide in the park's recent past. Landslides like this often lead to property damage and have also resulted in the injury and death of people.