For most of my life, I have lived next to the Merrimack River in Lowell, Massachusetts a city that is about 40 minutes north of Boston. I wanted to take time and visit the river at one of its most interesting points where I could see exposed igneous rocks and where the river still had some good current. The first thing I noticed as I approached the river bank was how much higher the water level was than I normally see it. From previous views of the river, I could tell that the valley has a U-shape wherein the middle in some places has sometimes exposed sediment if the water level is low enough. A lot of the river banks have gone through bank cavings due to hydraulic action where the sediment under the bank has been loosened by the stream. The river also looks to be carrying a lot of suspended loads since the water is very cloudy and not clear at all. Where there is exposed bigger sized rocks you see varying sizes which could be caused by abrasion making bigger rocks break apart into smaller pieces. This river has a perennial stream which flows continuously all year. That being said there is some potential for flooding as I have seen in recent years. The banks are high up but the river is often close to the edges of the banks especially when ice melts after heavy snowfall. Looking at past aerial shots that I took with my drone of the river I would say that it does meander and has quite a few curves even though it doesn't look like it from my visit. This is the first time that I thought more deeply about the river that I have come to be used to living next to, I am glad that I was able to learn more about it.
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