WRIR 00-4001
Surface- and Ground Water Characteristics in the Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek Watersheds


CONTENTS AND CONVERSION FACTORS

Abstract
Introduction 

Background
Purpose and Scope 
Previous Studies
Acknowledgments 

Description of Study Area 

Geology
Vegetation
Climate
History 
Upper Truckee River Watershed 
Trout Creek Watershed 

Inventory and Measurement Methods

Streamflow and Seepage
Wells and Ground-Water Levels

Water Quality

Surface- and Ground-Water Conditions

Streamflow and Seepage Estimates
Ground-Water Levels and Direction of Flow
Water Quality

Summary and Conclusions
References Cited 

PLATE

1. Map showing ground-water level contours and stream sections of gaining and losing flow in Upper Truckee River
and Trout Creek watersheds, California and Nevada, August-November 1996

FIGURES

 1-4. Maps of the Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek watersheds showing:
1. Lake Tahoe Basin, California and Nevada
2. Locations of roads, streams, and general surficial geology
3. Streamflow measurement sites, September 1996
4. Location of well sites and general surficial geology, September 1996
5-6. Boxplots showing summary statistics for surface- and ground-water sites, July-December 1996, for:
5. Water-quality field measurements
6. Nutrient concentrations 
 7. Hydrograph showing streamflow for the Upper Truckee River at South Lake Tahoe, California, and for
Trout Creek near Tahoe Valley, California, and daily precipitation below Fallen Leaf Lake, California,
1996 water year
8. Graph showing cumulative streamflow gains and losses for Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek, California,
September 1996
9. Hydrographs showing water-level changes in wells 73 and 131 in Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek
watersheds, California
10-11. Graphs showing for sites on Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek, California:
10. Relation between distance from Lake Tahoe and specific conductance for surface-water-quality
monitoring sites, September 1996
11. Field ground-water-quality measurements, July-December 1996

TABLES

1-7. Tables for Upper Truckee River and Trout Creek watersheds, California, listing:
1. Periods of record for daily streamflow, water-quality, and suspended sediment data at current and
historical U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations and sampling sites
2. Streamflow measurement sites used for seepage estimates, September 1996
3. Streamflow and water-quality data for streamflow sites, September 1996
4. Streamflow measurement data and seepage estimates for designated main-stem reaches, September 1996
5. Selected characteristics of ground-water monitoring sites, July-November 1996
6. Water-quality data for selected streamflow sites, July-December 1996
7. Water-quality data for ground-water monitoring sites, July-December 1996

CONVERSION FACTORS, VERTICAL DATUM, AND ABBREVIATED WATER-QUALITY UNITS

Multiply  By  To obtain
 cubic foot per second (ft3/s)  0.02832 cubic meter per second
 cubic foot per second per mile (ft3/s/mi) 0.01760 cubic meter per second per kilometer
 foot (ft) 0.3048 meter
 inch (in.)  25.4 millimeter 
 mile (mi)  1.609  kilometer
square mile  (mi2)  2.590  square kilometer

 Temperature: Degrees Celsius ( oC) can be converted to degrees Fahrenheit ( oF) by using the formula oF = [1.8( oC)]+32. Degrees Fahrenheit can be converted to degrees Celsius by using the formula oC = 0.556( oF-32).

Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929, formerly called "Sea-Level Datum of 1929"), which is derived from a general adjustment of the first-order leveling networks of the United States and Canada.

Abbreviated Water-Quality Units Used in this Report

µg/L (microgram per liter)
mg/L (milligram per liter)
mL (milliliter)


Next Section: Text 
USGS Water home page || USGS home page 

The pathname for this page is <contents.htm> 
These pages are maintained by S.C. DeMeo <email: scdemeo@usgs.gov> 
Last modified:  Wednesday, April 12, 2000