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Fact Sheet 2013–3026

Streamflow of 2012—Water Year Summary

By Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, and Steve Brady

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (1.06 MB)Introduction

The maps and graphs in this summary describe streamflow conditions for water year 2012 (October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2012) in the context of the 83-year period from 1930 through 2012, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Streamflow Information Program (http://water.usgs.gov/nsip/). The period 1930–2012 was used because, prior to 1930, the number of streamgages was too small to provide representative data for computing statistics for most regions of the country.

In the summary, reference is made to the term “runoff,” which is the depth to which a river basin, State, or other geographic area would be covered with water if all the streamflow within the area during a specified time period was uniformly distributed upon it. Runoff quantifies the magnitude of water flowing through the Nation’s rivers and streams in measurement units that can be compared from one area to another.

First posted May 21, 2013

For additional information contact:
Office of Surface Water
U.S. Geological Survey
415 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
water.usgs.gov/osw

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Suggested citation:

Jian, Xiaodong, Wolock, D.M., Lins, H.F., and Brady, Steve, 2013, Streamflow of 2012—Water Year Summary: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2013–3026, 8 p., https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2013/3026. (Available only online.)




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