Comparing spatial patterns of thrust belt architecture and bedrock river morphology across the southern Bolivian Andes

Rivers set the pace of mountain landscape evolution, but their ability to incise into rock is often governed by numerous factors. The degree to which variations in lithology, relief, rock uplift rates, and climate may affect the form of channel profiles remain largely open questions. Empirical models of bedrock river incision, such as stream power (E = KA^mSⁿ), oversimplify these potentially important factors. For example, the influence of many factors such as channel geometry, hydraulic roughness, sediment flux, and substrate erodibility are combined into the coefficient of erosion, K. Here we investigate the spatial patterns of rock erodibility, bedrock river slope, concavity, and stream power-based estimates of incision across the southern Bolivian Andes. We hypothesize that bedrock river morphology correlates with the thrust-belt geology. For example, channels cutting through the strongest and least fractured rock units will exhibit the highest steepness values. We estimate rock erodibility by measuring (a) compressive rock strength with a Schmidt hammer and (b) fracture density from exposures proximal to river channels at ~80 total sites from all the major rock units exposed throughout the study area. We use a hydrologically-conditioned 90 m digital elevation model to map patterns of channel steepness (k_sn) and concavity (θ) indices. Furthermore, we use the stream power model, combined with a previous local calibration of K, to estimate patterns of river incision along the study area rivers. The combined strength and fracture density measurements suggest the Neogene volcanics, Cretaceous sediments, and Devonian metasediments are the least erodible units and the Silurian and Ordovician metasediments are the weakest. In general, changes in channel steepness often correlate with (1) changes in rock erodibility, (2) high rock uplift rates associated with active structures in the Subandes, and (3) the major hinterland structural transition between the Eastern Cordillera and Interandean zone. Therefore, most variations in channel steepness can be explained by the thrust belt structure. Furthermore, initial results from the stream power model predict incision rates that are broadly consistent with previous erosion-rate estimates for the region. By quantifying the spatial variations and patterns in rock erodibility and bedrock channel morphology, this study suggests that the structural architecture of an orogen is important when modeling mountain river incision.