Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5111

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5111

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Table 3. Habitat features measured for each subbasin of the historic (1867–1868) and recent (1994­–2002), lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho.

[Subbasin and reach locations are shown in figure 1. Derived from MacCoy and Blew (2005). Abbreviations: ft, foot; ºC, degrees Celsius; –, no data]

Habitat features   Subbasins
Upstream of
Eagle Island
Upstream of
Eagle Road
Middleton Mouth
Fish sampling reach numbers
1, 2, and 3 4 and 5 7 9
Embeddedness Historic
Recent 50 percent 75 percent 75 percent 50 percent
Dominant substrate Historic
Recent Cobble Cobble Gravel
Average bankfull width Historic 900 ft North channel 790 ftSouth channel 390 ft 520 ft 620 ft
Recent 140 ft North Channel 400 ftSouth channel 150 ft 280 ft 250 ft
Channel forms, parafluvial surfaces Historic Mid-channel Islands, gravel bars Gravel and sand bars Some islands, sand bars Some islands, sand bars, split channel at the mouth
Recent Run, riffle, pool Run, stabilized. Run, exposed islands. Deep run, few islands, no sand bars, single channel at the mouth
Sloughs Historic Few sloughs Some development of sloughs Abundant Abundant
Recent None Sloughs filled or converted to irrigation or drain ditches Sloughs filled or converted to irrigation or drain ditches Few natural sloughs, sloughs converted to irrigation or drain ditches
Vegetation Historic Willow and wildrose scattering of cottonwood Willows and cottonwood Cottonwood, some willow Cottonwood, some willow
Recent Some stands of native cottonwood. Alien species dominate
Mean temperature Historic
Recent1 16ºC 19ºC 21ºC
Recent2 17ºC 19ºC 21ºC

1Mean temperature for July and August 1996 at U.S. Geological Survey water-quality sites at Glenwood, Middleton, and Parma (MacCoy, 2004).

2Mean daily average temperature for July and August 2004 at U.S. Geological Survey water-quality sites at Glenwood, Middleton, and Parma (City of Boise written commun., June 2005).

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