Extensions of Streamflow Records in Utah (TP-20)

By: J. K. Reid, L. E. Carroon, and G. E. Pyper

The State of Utah consists essentially of two major drainage basins - the Colorado River Basin on the east and the Great Basin on the west. A small part of the northwest corner of the State is in the Snake River basin. The Colorado River Basin in Utah includes about 46,300 square miles. The altitudes in the basin are below 3,000 feet in the south and over 13,000 feet in the mountains in the northeast. Precipitation generally increases with the altitude and is materially affected by the location of mountain barriers, whereas temperature varies inversely with altitude and latitude. The Great Basin covers about 38,600 square miles in Utah. Altitudes are below 4,200 feet in the northern Great Salt Lake basin and over 12,000 feet at the western end of the Uinta Mountains. The mean annual precipitation varies from less than 5 inches in the lower parts of the basin to more than 60 inches in the Wasatch Range. Streams in the Utah portion of the Great Basin, an area of internal drainage, drain into Sevier Lake in the south and into the Great Salt Lake in the north.

This report is based on a study made from 1964 to 1967 by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights. The purpose of the study was to provide long-term data on streamflow at selected short-term gaging stations in Utah. These data are needed to solve many water-management problems.

Other Information:
Published: 1969
Pages: 110 p.
Location: Utah Statewide
Media Type: Paper Publication