RIO GRANDE BASIN

CLOSED BASIN IN SAN LUIS VALLEY

08231000 LA GARITA CREEK NEAR LA GARITA, CO

LOCATION.--Lat 37°48'48", long 106°19'05", in NW14SE14 sec.9, T.41 N., R.6 E., Saguache County, Hydrologic Unit 13010004, on right bank 4.5 mi downstream from Little La Garita Creek and 4.5 mi southwest of La Garita.

DRAINAGE AREA.--61 mi2, approximately.

PERIOD OF RECORD.--April 1919 to September 1981. October 1998 to current year. No winter records prior to water year 1948 except water years 1926, 1941, and 1945-46. Monthly discharge only for some periods, published in WSP 1312. October 1981 to September 1998, in reports of State Engineer. For a complete listing of historical data available for this site, see http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/inventory/?site_no=08231000

REVISED RECORDS.--WSP 1312: 1946(M).

GAGE.--Water-stage recorder with satellite telemetry and concrete weir. Elevation of gage is 8,030 ft above NGVD of 1929, from topographic map. Apr. 1, 1919 to June 23, 1927, nonrecording gages, and June 24, 1927 to Nov. 13, 1935, water-stage recorder, at sites within 0.2 mi downstream at different datums. Nov. 14, 1935 to Nov. 16, 1966, at datum 1.00 ft higher.

REMARKS.--Records good except for estimated daily discharges, which are poor. Natural flow of stream affected by diversions for irrigation and return flows from irrigated areas.

COOPERATION.--Records collected and computed by Colorado Division of Water Resources and reviewed by Geological Survey.

Discharge, cubic feet per second 

WATER YEAR OCTOBER 2002 TO SEPTEMBER 2003

DAILY MEAN VALUES

DAY	OCT	NOV	DEC	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP
1	2.8	3.5	e2.8	e1.5	e1.9	e1.9	6.0	8.5	9.2	2.9	2.7	3.5
2	3.1	3.5	e2.9	e1.3	e2.0	e1.8	7.7	6.9	9.5	2.8	2.4	2.6
3	4.4	3.2	e2.9	e1.4	e1.6	e1.9	6.6	6.9	7.7	2.6	2.3	2.6
4	3.8	2.6	e2.4	e1.4	e1.4	e2.2	5.4	7.6	7.2	2.4	2.1	3.6
5	3.8	e2.7	e2.2	e1.4	e1.3	e2.5	5.0	6.9	7.1	2.2	2.0	3.8
6	3.5	e2.5	e1.9	e1.4	e1.2	e3.0	4.5	6.1	7.1	2.1	1.7	3.8
7	3.2	e2.7	e1.8	e1.2	e0.98	e2.8	4.4	5.9	6.8	2.2	1.7	3.6
8	3.0	3.3	e1.7	e1.2	e1.1	e3.0	e3.6	6.0	6.5	2.2	1.8	3.2
9	2.8	4.0	e1.8	e1.2	e1.3	e3.3	4.8	5.6	6.1	1.9	2.5	3.5
10	2.7	3.3	e1.6	e1.4	e1.3	e3.6	7.9	5.4	6.2	1.5	2.0	10
11	2.6	e2.6	e1.7	e1.4	e1.6	e4.0	8.0	5.1	6.2	1.4	2.1	7.8
12	2.6	e3.0	e1.8	e1.4	e1.6	e4.6	6.7	5.9	5.3	1.5	2.6	5.1
13	2.6	e3.3	e1.9	e1.2	e1.9	e4.4	7.7	7.6	5.3	1.5	2.1	4.1
14	2.6	e3.5	e1.8	e1.3	e1.8	e4.4	16	7.7	5.4	1.5	1.8	3.5
15	2.7	e3.3	e1.7	e1.3	e1.7	e4.7	23	10	4.7	1.5	1.4	3.2
16	2.6	e3.0	e1.6	e1.4	e1.6	e5.4	8.6	11	4.6	1.7	1.6	2.9
17	2.6	e3.0	e1.7	e1.5	e1.7	e5.2	15	11	5.0	1.7	3.0	2.8
18	2.6	e3.1	e1.4	e1.3	e1.9	e5.2	12	13	5.3	1.5	3.9	2.7
19	2.7	e3.0	e1.4	e1.5	e1.7	e5.4	7.9	13	7.5	1.3	2.9	2.8
20	2.7	e3.1	e1.1	e1.5	e1.5	e5.0	5.3	11	7.3	1.9	2.1	2.8
21	2.7	e3.2	e1.2	e1.5	e1.7	e5.4	6.8	12	5.1	2.4	1.7	2.8
22	2.7	e3.0	e1.1	e1.5	e1.9	e5.0	7.3	11	4.0	2.3	1.8	2.8
23	2.8	e2.9	e1.3	e1.7	e1.7	e5.4	7.4	12	3.5	1.9	2.3	2.6
24	3.5	e2.9	e1.2	e1.8	e1.6	5.9	4.8	11	3.2	2.4	2.9	2.6
25	3.1	e3.0	e1.0	e2.2	e1.8	5.8	12	10	3.0	1.7	3.6	2.6
26	3.1	e2.7	e1.1	e2.1	e1.8	5.4	18	9.6	3.1	2.3	4.0	2.5
27	3.1	e2.4	e1.2	e1.9	e1.8	4.9	18	9.1	3.0	2.7	4.1	2.4
28	3.3	e2.6	e1.2	e1.9	e2.0	4.1	16	8.9	2.9	3.2	5.0	2.3
29	3.1	e2.8	e1.3	e1.9	---	e3.4	15	8.8	2.8	2.9	7.3	2.5
30	2.5	e2.6	e1.4	e1.9	---	e3.6	13	8.5	2.9	3.1	4.7	2.4
31	2.9	---	e1.3	e2.1	---	4.3	---	8.5	---	2.4	4.4	---
TOTAL	92.2	90.3	51.4	47.7	45.38	127.5	284.4	270.5	163.5	65.6	86.5	103.4
MEAN	2.97	3.01	1.66	1.54	1.62	4.11	9.48	8.73	5.45	2.12	2.79	3.45
MAX	4.4	4.0	2.9	2.2	2.0	5.9	23	13	9.5	3.2	7.3	10
MIN	2.5	2.4	1.0	1.2	0.98	1.8	3.6	5.1	2.8	1.3	1.4	2.3
AC-FT	183	179	102	95	90	253	564	537	324	130	172	205
STATISTICS OF MONTHLY MEAN DATA FOR WATER YEARS 1919 - 2003, BY WATER YEAR (WY)
MEAN	6.93	5.19	3.88	3.32	4.00	5.75	16.9	46.0	30.4	14.5	15.3	8.60
MAX	42.6	18.5	8.72	6.60	8.00	9.94	126	211	126	65.3	70.2	52.4
(WY)	(1924)	(1970)	(1970)	(1966)	(1962)	(1972)	(1924)	(1924)	(1921)	(1921)	(1929)	(1923)
MIN	1.46	1.80	0.70	0.50	0.50	1.50	6.08	4.26	2.17	1.81	1.65	0.85
(WY)	(1957)	(1941)	(1964)	(1964)	(1964)	(1964)	(1978)	(2002)	(2002)	(2002)	(2002)	(1956)

SUMMARY STATISTICS	FOR 2002 CALENDAR YEAR	FOR 2003 WATER YEAR	(a) WATER YEARS 1919 - 2003
ANNUAL TOTAL	1,168.81	1,428.38
ANNUAL MEAN	3.20	3.91	12.3
HIGHEST ANNUAL MEAN			30.8 1941
LOWEST ANNUAL MEAN			3.73 2002
HIGHEST DAILY MEAN	17 Apr 2	23 Apr 15	398 May 16, 1941
LOWEST DAILY MEAN	0.63 Aug 16	e0.98 Feb 7	b0.20 Sep 28, 1956
ANNUAL SEVEN-DAY MINIMUM	0.77 Aug 13	e1.1 Dec 20	0.43 Sep 27, 1956
MAXIMUM PEAK FLOW		36 Apr 15	c530 Jul 9, 1957
MAXIMUM PEAK STAGE		2.54 Apr 15	d4.00 Jul 9, 1957
ANNUAL RUNOFF (AC-FT)	2,320	2,830	8,930
10 PERCENT EXCEEDS	5.0	7.7	26
50 PERCENT EXCEEDS	2.9	2.8	5.5
90 PERCENT EXCEEDS	1.4	1.4	2.5

e Estimated. a Water years 1919-1981 and 1999 to current year. b Also occurred Sep 29, 1956. c From rating curve extended above 140 ft3/s. d Present datum; maximum gage height, 5.11 ft, May 16, 1941, datum then in use.