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Stream Slope Methods

ARC provides several methods for estimating stream slope at either the reach level or the cell level. These methods include:

  1. Local Average: This method finds all stream cells within a specified number of cells (Gen_Slope_Dist) of the target stream cell, and averages the slopes between those cells and the target cell. Activated by setting Stream_Slope_Method to "local_average".
  2. Local Average Corrected: This method is similar to the local average method, but forces the slope to be within the inter-quartile range of slopes, computed across all cells in the reach. Activated by setting Stream_Slope_Method to "local_average_corrected".
  3. Reach Average: This method uses the provided stream vector file (usually a shapefile) to estimate the slope from the endpoints of the stream reach. This value is then used for each stream cell in the reach. Activated by setting Stream_Slope_Method to "reach_average" or "end_points". Requires StrmShp_File to be defined.