By S. Jerrod Smith and Kenneth L. Wahl
Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4086
Prepared in cooperation with the
Bureau of Reclamation
The report is available in PDF format.
Upstream from Lake Altus, the North Fork Red River drains an area of 2,515 square miles. The quantity and quality of surface water are major concerns at Lake Altus, and water-resource managers and consumers need historical information to make informed decisions about future development. The Lugert-Altus Irrigation District relies on withdrawals from the lake to sustain nearly 46,000 acres of agricultural land.
Kendall's tau tests of precipitation data indicated no statistically significant trend over the entire 100 years of available record. However, a significant increase in precipitation occurred in the last 51 years. Four streamflow-gaging stations with more than 10 years of record were maintained in the basin. These stations recorded no significant trends in annual streamflow volume. Two stations, however, had significant increasing trends in the base-flow index, and three had significant decreasing trends in annual peak flows.
Major-ion chemistry in the North Fork Red River is closely related to the chemical composition of the underlying bedrock. Two main lithologies are represented in the basin upstream from Lake Altus. In the upper reaches, young and poorly consolidated sediments include a range of sizes from coarse gravel to silt and clay. Nearsurface horizons commonly are cemented as calcium carbonate caliche. Finer-grained gypsiferous sandstones and shales dominate the lower reaches of the basin. A distinct increase in dissolved solids, specifically sodium, chloride, calcium, and sulfate, occurs as the river flows over rocks that contain substantial quantities of gypsum, anhydrite, and dolomite. These natural salts are the major dissolved constituents in the North Fork Red River.
Abstract
Introduction
Purpose and Scope
Description of the study area
Climate
Geologic setting
Background and previous studies
Data analyzed
Climatic data
Hydrologic data
Major-ion and load data
Methods of analysis
Kendall's tau and Kendall slope estimator
Base-flow determination
Stiff and Piper diagrams
Constituent load and yield computation
Precipitation trends
Streamflow trends
McClellan Creek near McLean, Texas (station 07301200)
Sweetwater Creek near Kelton, Texas (station 07301410) and near Sweetwater, Oklahoma (station 07301420)
North Fork Red River near Carter, Oklahoma (station 07301500)
Comparison of Streamflow Trends between the North Fork Red River and Beaver-North Canadian River study areas
Major-ion chemistry
Stiff diagrams
Piper diagrams
Constituent load and yield estimates
Summary
Selected references
For additional information write to:
District Chief
U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Division
202 NW 66 St., Bldg. 7
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Copies of this report can be purchased from:
U.S. Geological Survey
Information Services
Box 25286
Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225
Download the PDF version of the report for high-resolution, printable pages (4.3MB).
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