U.S. Department of the Interior

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Alaska Open File Report 116

BLM/AK/ST-07/018+7200+020

 October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry 

of Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Jon Kostohrys

BLM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Alaska
Mission Statement

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sustains the health, diversity and productivity of the public 

lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Author

Jon Kostohrys, a former hydrologist with the BLM’s Fairbanks District Office, retired in December 

2005. During his career with the BLM, Jon researched and authored 10 other publications. He significantly contributed to the protection of BLM-managed National Wild and Scenic Rivers and other 

waters for fish, wildlife, and the enjoyment of future generations.

Cover

Autumn foliage and Birch Creek National Wild River. BLM photo by Holli McClain

Open File Reports

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This open file report and similar BLM-Alaska water resources reports can be downloaded online at 

www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/swa/pubs.html
Water Resources and Channel Geometry

of Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Jon Kostohrys

BLM-Alaska Open File Report 116

October 2007

U.S. Department of the Interior

Bureau of Land Management

Alaska State Office

222 W. 7th Ave., #13

Anchorage, AK 99513
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BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 i

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Abstract

Birch Creek is a clear-water tributary of the Yukon River in the interior of Alaska. Surrounded by 

rugged uplands with scenic rocky bluffs in the headwaters, the watershed has significant sports 

fisheries and a variety of recreational river opportunities. These attributes were recognized in a 

congressional designation of Birch Creek as a National Wild River on December 2, 1980. The 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began a water rights and instream flow study in 1989 to 

protect these free-flowing waters. An application for water rights, based on the hydrologic data 

collected from 1989 to 1994 (Kostohrys and Sterin 1996) and the resource values documented 

by Sterin et al., (1998), was accepted by the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources 

on January 11, 2001. There were five or more years of data included in the application, although 

one gaging site with less data was largely estimated from regression equations based on nearby 

gages. The BLM continued to collect water resources data from 1995 to 2000 to fill this void 

as well as to obtain 10 years of record. This report documents the data from the latter period as 

well as the statistical analysis on all data combined for the entire period of record. This analysis 

indicated that updating the instream flow application with the data in this report may not be necessary. Riparian surveys of channel geometry to determine bankfull stream characteristics were 

also conducted on Birch Creek and its tributaries. These surveys documented the peak floods and 

impacts of mining runoff, and were used to calculate regional equations for channel design in 

placer mining reclamation.

Acknowledgments

Many people have been involved with this project, which took over a decade to complete. Current BLM staff who participated in the field work, often dealing with adverse weather and terrain, include Bunny Sterin, Lon Kelly, Eric Yeager, Collin Cogley, Tim DuPont, Dick Bouts, 

Craig McCaa, Ingrid McSweeny, Shelly Jacobsen, Randy Tracy, Ed Lee, Randy Goodwin, Jim 

Herriges, and Mike Kunz. Former BLM staff include Nate Collin, Roger Evans, Rod Everett, 

Brian Lubinski, Lisa Ragland, Anna McGlinn, ECO seasonal Ethan Scott, and volunteers Tanja 

Runkel, Verena Grüner, and Eva Weithmann. Personnel from the Fairbanks Field Office of the 

Water Resource Division, USGS, assisted with data collection during 2001–2002.

Special thanks to contract pilot Sandy Hamilton, whose flying skills brought us back at times 

when things looked grim. Kristine Kosnik did the GIS analysis and Carol Belenski produced 

the maps. Ingrid McSweeny, Larry Standley, and Lee Koss secured the funding to complete this 

report. 
 ii BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

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BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 iii

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................... i

Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................... i

Introduction................................................................................................................................................... 1

Description of the Study Area....................................................................................................................... 3

Methods......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 7

Recommendations....................................................................................................................................... 13

References................................................................................................................................................... 14

Appendix A: Data Summaries for Birch Creek Gaging Sites, 1995 to 2000.............................................. 17

Appendix B: Discharge Summaries for Peak Flow and Miscellaneous Survey Sites................................ 33

Appendix C: Channel Geometry................................................................................................................. 37

Tables

Table 1. Location and Drainage Area of Long-Term Gage Sites on Birch Creek and 

Tributaries...................................................................................................................................... 5

Table 2. Monthly Mean and Average Annual Discharge for Birch Creek, 1989 to 1999 ........................... 8

Table 3. Monthly Mean and Average Annual Discharge Differences for Birch Creek Data, 

from 1989 to 1994 (Kostohrys and Sterin 1996), Compared to Data from 1989 to 1999............. 8

Table 4. Birch Creek Instantaneous Peak-Flow Frequency from a Log Pearson III 

Analysis......................................................................................................................................... 9

Table 5. Birch Creek Tributaries Instantaneous Peak-Flow Frequency from a Log Pearson III 

Analysis....................................................................................................................................... 10

Table 6. Surveyed Channel Geometry and Calculated Bankfull Discharge.............................................. 12

Table 7. Bankfull Discharge, Width, and Depth Regressions Based on Drainage Area ........................... 13

Table 8. Comparison of Bankfull Discharge Regressions Based on Drainage Area and the 1.5 

Year Recurrence-Interval Discharge........................................................................................... 13

Table A-1. Discharge Measurements for Birch Creek above Twelvemile Creek, 1995 to 1997 ................ 17

Table A-2. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above Twelvemile Creek, 1995 to 1997................ 17

Table A-3. Discharge Measurement Summary for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek, 

1995 to 1999 ................................................................................................................................ 18

Table A-4. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek, 1995 to 2000........ 18

Table A-5. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek. 

1995 to 1999 ................................................................................................................................ 19

Table A-6. Discharge Measurement Summary for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1995 to 2000 ........... 19

Table A-7. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1995 to 2000 .................. 19

Table A-8. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1998.................................... 20

Table A-9. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1999.................................... 21

Table A-10. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1995 to 1999........................ 22

Table A-11. Discharge Measurements Summary for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek, 1995 to 

1999 ............................................................................................................................................. 22

Table A-12. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek, 1995 to 2000........... 23

Table A-13. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek, 1995 to 1999 .................. 23

Table of Contents
 iv BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Table A-14. Discharge Measurement Summary for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995 to 1998 .......... 24

Table A-15. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995 to 1999 ................. 24

Table A-16. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995 .................................. 25

Table A-17. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1996 .................................. 26

Table A-18. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1997 .................................. 27

Table A-19. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1998 .................................. 28

Table A-20. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995 to 1999......................... 29

Table A-21. Discharge Measurements for Birch Creek at Steese Highway Bridge, 1995 to 1999 ............ 29

Table A-22. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek at Steese Highway Bridge, 1989 to 1999............ 30

Table B-1. Discharge Measurements for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth, 1995 to 2000....................... 31

Table B-2. Peak Discharge for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth, 1995 to 2002 ...................................... 31

Table B-3. Discharge Measurement Summary for Volcano Creek near the Mouth, 1997 to 2000............. 31

Table B-4. Peak Discharge for Volcano Creek near the Mouth, 1997 to 2002 ........................................... 32

Table B-5. Discharge Measurement Summary for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek, 

1996 to 2000 ................................................................................................................................ 32

Table B-6. Peak Discharge for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek, 1996 to 2000 ...................... 32

Table B-7. Discharge Measurements at Miscellaneous Sites, 1993 to 1999 .............................................. 33

Figures

Figure 1. Map of Birch Creek Area .............................................................................................................. 2

Figure 2. Annual Discharge Hydrograph for the Six Principle Gage Sites on Birch Creek ......................... 7

Figure C-1. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek .......................... 34

Figure C-2. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek above Clums Fork..................................... 34

Figure C-3. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth ................................. 35

Figure C-4. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Volcano Creek near the Mouth...................................... 35

Figure C-5. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek ................. 36

Figure C-6. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork above Volcano Creek................................... 3

Figure C-7. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork below Volcano Creek................................. 37

Photos

Photo 1. Birch Creek–high stream flow following Spring breakup............................................................. 4

Photo 2. The uniform stream reach at the Harrison Creek crest-stage site allowed for the accurate 

determination of peak stream flows .............................................................................................. 9

Photo 3. The crest-stage gage at Frying Pan Creek during high water with remnant aufeis still on 

the banks...................................................................................................................................... 11

Table of Contents (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 1

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

INTRODUCTION

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of December 2, 1980, (ANILCA, P.L. 96-

487) established the upper portion of Birch Creek as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Approximately 126 miles of the upper river were classified “wild” pursuant to 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. BLM-Alaska’s river management plan for Birch Creek National 

Wild River specifies that “a reservation of minimum water flows sufficient for public recreation 

use and to support the values for which the wild river was designated will be determined in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Land and Water Management” (BLM 1983). The watershed has significant sports fisheries, scenic bluffs and bedrock 

outcrops, and a variety of recreational river opportunities. The river management plan provided 

the impetus for a water rights assessment of the Birch Creek National Wild River.

BLM-Alaska initiated a water resources inventory for the purpose of preparing a water rights 

assessment document in 1989. The intent was to apply for a state water right for instream flow 

following the computation of the hydrologic data and evaluation of all the resource information. 

The BLM published a water resources inventory for Birch Creek (Kostohrys and Sterin, 1996). 

A more comprehensive instream flow analysis (Sterin et al., 1998) was conducted to address the 

resource values identified in the river management plan. An application for water rights was filed 

with the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in January 2001 and is currently pending.

This report summarizes the streamflow for the entire period of record, documenting the statistical 

analysis of all data from 1989 to 2000 on Birch Creek, and completes a 10-year period of data 

collection. Also included are a number of stream channel monitoring sites established during this 

period to determine flood discharges and bankfull channel characteristics. These sites were usually located in areas impacted by placer mining to assess impacts and provide data for channel 

reclamation. This data provides managers and resource specialists with the knowledge necessary 

for informed management, to assess impacts from mining runoff and evaluate channel design 

information for placer mining reclamation.

This report covers the 126 miles of Birch Creek (Figure 1) included in the National Wild and 

Scenic Rivers System, beginning approximately one mile upstream of the confluence with 

Twelvemile Creek, River Mile 0, and ending at the Steese Highway Bridge, River Mile 126. A 

number of the tributary streams in the Birch Creek basin are also included to document the flooding and channel geometry changes that occurred during the study period.
 2 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 3

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA

Physiography

The Birch Creek watershed is located in the eastern interior of Alaska. This basin is part of the 

Yukon-Tanana upland, an area characterized by rounded, even-topped ridges with moderate-togentle side slopes (Wahrhaftig 1965). The wide river valleys, often heavily forested, are separated by more sparsely vegetated and compact, rugged mountains 4,000 to 5,000 feet in elevation. 

Intervening valleys, narrow in the headwaters, widen down valley into extensive marshy wetlands, sloughs and black spruce muskeg. The floodplain, consisting largely of reworked outwash 

gravel, silt, and organic materials is poorly drained and often underlain by discontinuous permafrost. The region is ultimately drained by the Yukon River. 

A succinct summary of the basin is given by Ellsworth and Davenport in their original surveys of 

the watershed (USGS 1915):

“Birch Creek is formed by the junction of Eagle and Ptarmigan creeks and flows 

southwestward for about 7 miles to the mouth of Twelvemile Creek, where it turns 

abruptly to the south and follows that direction for about 8 miles. It then receives 

the waters of Harrington Fork and takes an easterly course for about 45 miles to 

its confluence with the South Fork. The river then makes a sharp turn north and 

about 12 miles farther on leaves the mountainous country and enters the lowlands 

of the Yukon, through which it meanders sluggishly for over 100 miles, roughly 

paralleling the Yukon. . . . Birch Creek flows into the Yukon River . . . about 25 

miles directly west of Fort Yukon.”

Much of the uplands and some valleys are under-lain by Precambrian to Tertiary metasedimentary rocks, while the higher mountains, consisting of younger intruded granitic rocks, show 

evidence of localized Pleistocene glaciation (Pewe et al., 1967). The dendritic drainage pattern 

of the area is controlled by the northeastward trend of the bedrock structures. The lowlands are 

underlain by unconsolidated floodplain deposits, river terraces, alluvial fans, dunes and lake 

deposits. Much of this material was deposited during the Pleistocene, when local alpine glaciers 

provided higher streamflow with greater erosional and depositional processes. This resulted in localized areas of placer mineral deposition, principally gold, throughout the basin (Mertie 1937). 

Localized areas of placer gold mining have been ongoing in the Birch Creek watershed from the 

gold rush of the early 1900s until the present. 
 4 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Photo 1. Birch Creek–high stream flow following 

Spring breakup

Climate

The Birch Creek basin lies in the subpolar continental climatic zone: long cold winters and short hot 

summers. Temperature extremes range from -70 degrees Fahrenheit in winter to +90 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. Precipitation averages 10 to 20 inches per year at nearby recording stations, although 

variations are great due to surrounding topography. Precipitation is generally greater at higher elevations in the headwater and decreases down valley into the Yukon flats (Jones and Fahl 1994). 

During the summer, storms can produce intense rainfall from late June to early September and cause 

localized flooding (Childers et al., 1972). Snowfall averages roughly 50 inches per year (NRCS 

2006), with about 20 inches remaining on the ground prior to Spring breakup, which usually begins 

in late April to mid-May. Freeze-up often begins at higher elevations in mid-September, although 

some streams lower in the basin remain open until November. Ice cover on the rivers is usually continuous during the winter except in the vicinity of springs, and freezing to the bottom may occur in 

places.

METHODS

Hydrology

The BLM continued the stream-gaging program as described in Kostohrys and Sterin (1996) until 

1995, when an additional gage was added above Clums Fork. These sites (Table 1) consisted of an 

automated water level recorder downstream of the South Fork, and crest-stage gages—non-automated gages that record water levels that exceed a minimum (base) elevation—at the other locations. A 

water level recorder was placed at the Clums Fork site in 1998 and 1999.

The Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water operated two stream gages on Birch Creek, one 

above Twelvemile Creek and one at the Steese Highway Bridge. The State discontinued operation at 

the end of 1995. After the State’s gages were discontinued, the BLM winter flow measurements at 

these sites were used to estimate the minimum winter discharge from 1996–1999, rather than to help 

compute the entire year, as was done in the 1989–1994 study.
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 5

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Table 1. Location and Drainage Area of Long-term Gage Sites on Birch Creek and Tributaries

Gaging Site Location

Birch Creek

Site at Wild 

River Mile

Length 

of Reach 

(mi)

Drainage 

Area 

(sq mi)

Latitude Longitude 

Birch Creek

above Twelvemile Creek* 1 1 85 65.3267 -147.7433

Birch Creek

below Twelvemile Creek 6 9 156 65.3267 -147.7433

Birch Creek above Clums Fork 34 24 436 65.2670 -147.2347

Birch Creek 

above Harrison Creek 54 34 763 65.3533 -147.7873

Birch Creek below South Fork 77 17 1350 65.3567 -147.2850

Birch Creek

at Steese Highway Bridge* 126 40 2150 65.3567 -147.2850

Tributaries

Frying Pan Creek near mouth NA 2 21 65.2808 -147.5608

Volcano Creek near mouth NA 1 6 65.1267 -147.4750

Harrison Creek 

above Bottom Dollar Creek NA 3 80 65.3800 -147.8333

*Stream gages operated by the Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water 

NA: Not Applicable

At each field site inspection, gages were surveyed to reference elevation benchmarks, significant 

high-water marks, and the current water level, as noted in Benson and Dalrymple (1967). Cross 

sectional discharge (metered streamflow) measurements were made using a Price AA current 

meter to directly measure water velocity and a top-setting wading rod and tag line were used 

for depth and width (Rantz et al., 1982). Winter measurements were made by drilling a series of 

holes in the ice to define the cross section and then measuring the depth and velocity in each hole 

using a vertical-axis, vane-type current meter mounted on a graduated rod (Rantz et al., 1982). 

At most gaging sites from 1989 to 1994, multiple cross sections were surveyed to determine peak 

discharge using the slope-area method (Dalrymple and Benson 1967). At other sites from 1995 

to 2000, the single cross section (slope-conveyance) method was used to calculate the flood peak 

discharge, as described in Parsons and Hudson (1985). 

Both direct (metered streamflow) and computer-generated (indirect) discharge measurements 

were used to develop discharge rating curves—log-log regression relationships of water level 

versus discharge (Rantz et al., 1982). These rating curves were then used to directly compute the 

daily discharge tables and peak and minimum values developed for each data logger site. 

Although the peak and minimum values were computed in the same manner at crest-stage gages, 

computation of average monthly discharge at these sites were determined by regression analysis 

of data logger records from the nearest reference gage with the most reliable record (Thomas 

1967). For 1995–1998, the gage below South Fork was used as the reference site. In 1999, the 

site above Clums Fork was used as the reference site. Periods of no data, generally during April 

and May when the water levels fluctuate rapidly due to the effects of ice, snow and spring run-
 6 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

off, are estimated from regression comparisons with the USGS gaging data on the Salcha River 

(USGS 1995–2000).

Streamflow for the winter period was estimated using recession curves derived from under-ice 

discharge measurements. One set of measurements was run in late fall/early winter and another 

in late winter/early spring to define the fall recession and winter low flow, respectively. Loglinear regressions of discharge on time (date) were collected for all sites to estimate the winter 

period, generally October through March. Since streamflow recession curves often take the form 

of exponential decay, discharge is then expressed as a constant times the initial discharge raised 

to a negative power of the time interval (Chow et al., 1988).

This methodology assumes that once ice and snow cover isolate the stream from precipitation 

and temperature changes, the flow to the stream recedes uniformly as the water table in the aquifer is lowered by reduction of water volume in the aquifer (Rogers and Armbruster 1990). Accuracy of winter determinations is low; as discharge approaches zero, flow measurements become 

unreliable because the water velocity diminishes below the measuring range (threshold velocity) 

of the instrumentation, while slush (frazzle) ice can pack beneath the ice surface and block velocity readings altogether for much of a stream reach. 

Channel Geometry

The channel geometry data collected very early in the study was originally intended to determine 

peak discharges at the instream flow gages on Birch Creek. These early cross sections were then 

compared to resurveys in 1994 at the same sites, and later riparian surveys at additional sites, 

conducted from 1995 to 2000. The intent of the resurveys was to determine the bankfull channel 

characteristics, magnitude of flooding, and whether significant erosion or deposition had occurred. Since some of the streams were impacted to some extent by placer mining, the alteration 

of riparian conditions or channel geometry changes that occurred during the study period might 

be used to assess or improve mining reclamation. The initial surveys were conducted using a total station theodolite, but later on, transit-stadia surveys were employed using a surveyor’s level, 

stadia rod, and measuring tape.

For this study, the main consideration was to locate a straight reach of channel where flows are 

uniform. This often occurs in the cross-over area, a relatively straight section mid-way between 

meander bends. The reference elevation used to define the bankfull characteristics was chosen 

mainly to reflect a discharge sufficient to fill the main channel, regardless of irregular bank height 

or channel confinement. This is often defined by a break in the slope of the bank that coincides 

with the lower limit of permanent (non-aquatic) vegetation. This level has also been referred to 

as the main-channel (or whole-channel) section by Riggs (1978).
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 7

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Hydrology

Table 1 lists the location of the Birch Creek gaging sites along with selected characteristics of 

each reach. The annual streamflow data for these stations are summarized in Appendix A. At 

two sites, the summer data was collected by the Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water, so 

only the BLM winter discharge measurements are listed. Hydrologically, the Birch Creek basin 

is characterized by little winter flow, large increases during spring breakup, occasional summer 

peaks in response to rainfall, and a gradual decline during autumn.

Although the summer flows show a well-defined relationship between sites, the winter streamflow in the lower, unconfined alluvial channels is greater and generally shows more uniformity 

than in the upper portions of a basin where bedrock often confines the aquifer. The capacity of 

various types of bedrock to store and transmit water can vary significantly over comparatively 

short distances, as bedrock aquifers in the Yukon-Tanana uplands primarily conduct ground 

water within fracture zones (Nelson 1978). A winter flow measurement at one site may have little 

relationship to other sites in the basin where geological conditions differ. Variability in the basin 

occurs as flows diminish downstream from the headwaters due to storage as ice. Streamflow may 

cease altogether if additional groundwater sources (springs) are not available. As flows diminish 

during the winter, the stream velocity often falls below the threshold values for measuring with 

mechanical flow meters. Because of these factors, discharge measurements less than about 10 

Figure 2. Annual Discharge Hydrograph for the Six Principle Gage sites on Birch Creek.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Discharge (cfs)

AboveTwelvemile Ck

Below Twelvemile Ck

Above Clums Fk

Above Harrison Ck

 Below South Fk

Steese Hwy Bridge

Above Twelvemile Creek

Below Twelvemile Creek

Above Clumbs Fork

Above Harrison Creek

Below South Fork

Steese Highway Bridge
 8 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Table 2. Monthly Mean and Average Annual Discharge for Birch Creek, 1989 to 1999

Month

*Above 

Twelvemile 

Creek

Below 

Twelvemile 

Creek

 **Above 

Clums 

Fork

 Above 

Harrison 

Creek 

Below 

South Fork

Steese 

Highway 

Bridge

Jan 2.4e 7.2e 4.9e 13e 24e 54e

Feb 1.7e 5.6e 2.5e 7.1e 13e 32e

Mar 1.2e 5.2e 1.5e 4.7e 7.5e 22e

Apr 19e 39e 65e 119e 211e 322e

May 189e 301e 745e 1,158e 1,929 3,861

Jun 167 235 538 878 1,509 2,603

Jul 70 160 394 576 1,039 1,332

Aug 85 183 510 672 1,172 1,569

Sep 78 171 520 621 1,068 1,799

Oct 31e 68e 161e 274e 401e 688e

Nov 12e 28e 51e 91e 144e 230e

Dec 4.3e 12e 15e 29e 59e 95e

Annual 

Average 55 101 251 370 631 1,051

Italicized numbers represent discharge data from the Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water

e

 represents estimated values from discharge measurements at site, other sites on Birch Creek, and USGS Salcha River data).

* 1989–1997

** 1990, 1995–99

Table 3. Monthly Mean and Average Annual Discharge Differences for Birch Creek Data from 

1989 to 1994 (Kostohrys and Sterin, 1996), Compared to Data from 

1989 to 1999

Month

 Above 

Twelvemile 

Creek

Below 

Twelvemile 

Creek

 Above 

Clums 

Fork

 Above 

Harrison 

Creek

Below 

South Fork

Steese 

Highway 

Bridge

Jan -0.1% 16.1% 35.2% 16.2% 14.6% 10.2%

Feb -0.8% 20.4% 38.2% 17.0% 20.4% 20.6%

Mar 0.4% 2.9% 37.5% 19.0% 22.4% 25.1%

Apr -2.3% 18.2% 12.2% 21.5% 18.3% 6.9%

May 2.3% 21.8% 0.0% 21.8% 20.6% -1.9%

Jun 5% 8% -14% 7% 3% -3%

Jul -19% -17% -65% -19% -29% -7%

Aug -44% -15% -83% -19% -25% -14%

Sep -29% -3% -78% -5% -9% -26%

Oct -1% -4% -37% 9% 1% 7%

Nov 5% 5% -12% 17% 11% 14%

Dec 19% 21% 16% 30% 10% 13%

Average -6% 5% -26% 6% 1% -5%
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 9

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

cubic feet per second should be considered estimates. Using this criteria, late winter flows at all the 

sites except for Birch Creek at the Steese Highway Bridge are considered estimates.

The monthly mean discharge values were updated to include the entire period of record, from 1989 

to 2000, at the six sites (Table 2). These values are compared to the earlier flow averages, from 1989 

to 1994, with the differences listed in Table 3. The discharges were reasonably close except for August at the uppermost site on Birch Creek, which might be due to the extreme flooding that occurred 

in the upper Birch Creek basin during late summer of 1995, and the flows above Clums Fork, which 

were originally estimated from limited data collected in 1990. The later record, from 1995 to 1999, 

more nearly reflects the true average at this site. Except in these two instances, the values presented 

in the original report (Kostohrys and Sterin, 1996) provide reasonable estimates of the streamflow in 

Birch Creek, given annual and seasonal variability. 

The current application for water rights, filed in 2001, was determined for each site on Birch Creek 

by examination of the cross-sectional properties, such as width, depth, and velocity in each stream 

reach, not a percentage of the average monthly flows. A change in the average monthly flow on Birch 

Creek would not necessarily change the requested flow. This differs significantly from the Beaver 

Creek (Kostohrys 2003) application, where the water requested was a fixed percentage of the estimated average monthly flows (Van Haveran et al., 1987). Any change in the average flows on Beaver 

Creek would be significant to the request. 

Table 4. Birch Creek Instantaneous Peak-Flow Frequency from a Log Pearson III Analysis 

(discharge in cfs)

Recurrence 

Interval 

(yrs)

 *Above 

Twelvemile 

Creek

Below 

Twelvemile 

Creek

Above 

Clums 

Fork

 Above 

Harrison 

Creek

Below 

South 

Fork

*Steese 

Highway 

Bridge

2 885 1,750 3,750 5,650 9,000 11,800

5 1,500 2,450 5,300 8,650 14,500 23,600

10 1,820 3,000 6,050 11,000 19,500 37,100

25 2,110 3,700 6,650 14,300 28,500 56,400

50 2,270 4,250 6,970 17,100 37,000 94,000

100 2,390 4,850 7,200 20,200 48,000 138,000

 *Discharge data from the Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water

The peak discharge values, determined from 1) peak water-level elevations at the data logger and 

crest-stage gages using computer-generated discharges, and 2) minimum discharge values computed 

from late winter discharge measurements, are listed for each site in Appendix A. The flood peak 

discharges are then analyzed in a Log Pearson Type III frequency distribution, and are summarized 

in Tables 5 and 6. Although gages were able to record peak flows most summers, the presence of 

ice in the stream during May and September can confound the computation of these flood flows. The 

formation of overflow icing during the winter as ice freezes to the bottom of the river can fill a channel with thick ice that persists into early June. The process of melting and disintegration of winter ice 

cover during Spring breakup often results in backwater from ice jamming. Early freeze-up at small 

streams can also cause backwater during autumn rainstorms. Because of these factors, the peak flows 

reported in this report should be considered minimum values, since it is likely that higher flows may 

have occurred during ice-affected periods when no data was recorded. 
 10 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Photo 2. The uniform stream reach at the Harrison Creek crest-stage site 

allowed for the accurate determination of peak stream flows.

Table 5. Birch Creek Tributaries Instantaneous Peak-Flow Frequency from a Log 

Pearson III Analysis (cfs)

Recurrence 

Interval (yrs) Harrison Creek Frying Pan Creek Volcano Creek

2 820 410 54

5 950 680 77

10 990 820 98

25 1,020 970 135

50 1,040 1,060 167

100 1,050 1,130 210

Appendix B contains miscellaneous discharge measurements collected intermittently at various 

sites during the period 1993 to 2001, but not previously reported.

Channel Geometry

Appendix C contains channel geometry plots of selected surveys on Birch Creek and the tributary streams. The sites shown here are the ones where resurveys were conducted in the same 

stream reach, at or as near as possible to the original surveys. Although most cross sections had 

only minor changes, the Birch Creek site below Twelvemile Creek and Clums Fork above Volcano Creek showed the most noticeable changes.

Emmett (1972) defines bankfull as the stage at which the channel just begins to overflow onto 

the flood plain. He notes that to accurately determine the bankfull stage, the stream banks on one 
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 11

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

or both sides of the river must be low enough to be overflowed and not be confined by terraces, 

ridges or bedrock bluffs, conditions seldom met in the rugged upland basins of Birch Creek. As 

noted earlier, the channel geometry data collected in this study was initially intended to determine peak discharges from flood events, so confinement of the flood flows to a single channel 

was a priority. The later riparian channel surveys, conducted from 1995 to 2000, were often located more for their proximity to mining or other resources than as sites selected to represent the 

bankfull channel. Methodologies can be ambiguous—Williams (1979) noted at least 16 ways of 

determining the bankfull discharge. As for the bankfull discharge representing the 1.5- to 2-year 

flood, an examination of data on 40 rivers showed that the bankfull discharge had no common recurrence frequency and the 1.5-year flood in most cases did not represent the bankfull discharge 

(Williams 1979). 

Photo 3. The crest-stage gage at Frying Pan Creek during high water 

with remnant aufeis still on the banks.

Riggs (1978) used the bankfull or main channel section to define a relationship to the 10-year 

flood for rivers in western North America and Alaska. Wahl’s (1984) summary stated that the 

main-channel section and bankfull level are largely the same for perennial streams. Wahl also 

notes that experience is critical regardless of what methodology is used. Even among trained observers, variations in the field-determined width estimates propagated large errors in the computed bankfull discharges (Wahl 1984). Be that as it may, the bankfull or main-channel characteristics surveyed for the Birch Creek study were not chosen for a rigorous geomorphologic approach 

or to reflect a given flood interval. Rather, they were chosen to determine the main-channel 

characteristics that could be used either to assess the impacts of mining runoff or to design channels for placer mining reclamation where no on-site data is available. 
 12 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Table 6 contains bankfull channel geometry and discharge data at the surveyed sites. Table 7

lists the regression relationships for bankfull discharge, width, and depth as a function of drainage area, as well as a calculation example. Although the bankfull discharge and width relationships appear to be reasonably accurate, the bankfull depth relationship to drainage area do not. 

The variation in the respective bankfull discharges might at first seem large, but the diverse nature of some of the watersheds would imply somewhat disparate runoff characteristics. Although 

Emmett (1972) was able to determine bankfull channel relationships in Interior Alaska, Childers, 

et al., (1979), noted large differences in bankfull discharge and peak runoff rates in Northwest 

Alaska, to the extent that they were unable to determine any clear relationships to drainage basin 

physiography or climate parameters. More recent work in the National Petroleum ReserveAlaska has correlated some basin characteristics to bankfull discharge (Kostohrys et al., 2003). A 

comparison of these bankfull values is listed in Table 8. The regression calculated from the data 

in this report appears most accurate between drainage basin areas from about 50 to a little over 

500 square miles.

Table 6. Surveyed Channel Geometry and Calculated Bankfull Discharge

Site Locality

Bankfull 

Discharge 

(cfs) 

Area 

(sq ft)

Top 

Width 

(ft)

Average 

Depth 

(ft)

Birch Creek:

Above Twelvemile Creek 860 177 46 3.8

Below Twelvemile Creek 1,700 350 107 3.3

Above Clums Fork 2,710 646 192 3.4

Above Harrison Creek 4,300 910 236 3.9

Below South Fork 6,800 1,790 252 7.1

At Steese Bridge 8,800 1,830 315 5.8

Tributaries

Twelvemile Creek below North Fork* 700 162 104 1.6

Harrington Fork at mouth* 1,180 258 146 1.8

Clums Fork at mouth* 1,800 436 117 3.7

Harrison Creek at mouth* 1,240 230 124 1.9

South Fork near mouth* 1,950 611 173 3.5

Crooked Creek near Central* 4,300 604 124 4.9

Ketchem Creek above Holdem Creek 250 34 17 2.0

Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek 900 150 69 2.2

Frying Pan Creek near mouth 350 64 28 2.3

Volcano Creek near mouth 100 27 17 1.6

Clums Fork above Volcano Creek 755 120 49 2.4

Clums Fork below Volcano Creek 1,100 154 71 2.2

North Fork Preacher Creek 1,350 370 120 3.1

Preacher Creek below Loper Creek 2,510 704 234 3.0

 * Data from Sterin and others, 1998.
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 13

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Table 7. Bankfull Discharge, Width, and Depth Regressions Based on Drainage Area

Bankfull Discharge (cfs) = 58.56 * DA^ 0.647 (R2 = 0.902)

Bankfull Width (ft.) = 8.216 * DA^ 0.508 (R2 = 0.906)

Bankfull Depth (ft.) = 1.075 * DA^ 0.205 (R2 = 0.591)

DA: Drainage Area in square miles

Example for a stream with a drainage area of: 50 mi2

Bankfull Discharge = 58.56 * 50 ^ 0.647 = 736 cfs

Bankfull Width = 8.216 * 50 ^ 0.508 = 60 feet

Table 8. Comparison of Bankfull Discharge Regressions Based on Drainage Area and the 1.5-Year 

Recurrence-interval Discharge (cfs)

Survey Site Drainage 

Area (mi2

)

Field 

Determined

Birch Creek 

Regression

Emmett 

Regression

1.5-Year 

Recurrence

Birch Creek below 

Twelvemile Creek

 156 1,700 1,536 1,464 1,450

Birch Creek above 

Clums Fork

 436 2,710 2,987 3,297 2,950

Birch Creek above 

Harrison Creek

 763 4,300 4,290 5,131 4,650

Birch Creek below 

South Fork

2,150 6,800 8,386 11,630 7,450

Harrison Creek above 

Bottom Dollar Creek

 80 900 997 864 740

Frying Pan Creek near 

mouth

 21 350 420 300 300

Volcano Creek near 

mouth

 6 100 187 112 48

RECOMMENDATIONS

This report includes statistical analysis of streamflow data collected on Birch Creek from 1989 

to 2000. The analysis of the data indicates that updating the average monthly discharges on the 

instream flow reservation filed with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 2001 

may not be warranted. The application for water rights, filed in 2001, was determined for each 

site on Birch Creek by examination of the cross-sectional properties such as width, depth, and 

velocity in each stream reach, not as a fixed percentage of the average monthly flows, so any 

change in the average flow would not necessarily change the requested flow. Since the BLM’s 

water rights application is already accepted by the DNR and a priority date for the proposed 

instream flow reservation established, no further action is recommended at this time. The DNR 

may require additional information or modification of the application during the adjudication 

process.
 14 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

Channel-geometry data collected at sites on Birch Creek and several tributaries indicate that 

significant channel changes have occurred at only a few of the surveyed sites. The cross sections 

at Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek and Clums Fork above Volcano Creek showed the most 

noticeable changes during the study period. Long-term monitoring may be warranted for these 

reaches, especially those within the wild river corridor, where the changes may impact the resource values for which the wild river was designated. Additional monitoring should continue on 

those streams with active placer mining to assess channel reclamation. A method of estimating 

bankfull discharge and channel width is proposed for use in channel reclamation design where 

no on-site data is available. More data from smaller drainage basins (less than 50 square miles) 

would improve the accuracy of the regression for smaller stream basins where most placer mining occurs.

REFERENCES

Benson, M.A. and Tate Dalrymple. 1967. General Office and Field Procedures for Indirect Discharge 

Measurements. Survey. In: Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, Book 3, Chapter A-1. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 12 pages.

Childers, J.M., J.P. Meckel, and G.S. Anderson. 1972. Floods of August 1967 in East-Central Alaska. 

USGS Water Supply Paper 1880-A. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 77 pages.

Childers, J.M., D. Kernodle, and R. Loeffler. 1979. Water Resources Reconnaissance in Western Arctic 

Alaska. Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, 

Alaska District. Open File Report 79. 60 pages.

Chow, V.T., D.R. Maidment, and L.W. Mays. 1988. Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York. 

572 pages.

Dalrymple, Tate and M.A. Benson. 1967. Measurement of Peak Discharge by the Slope-Area Method. 

Survey. In: Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, Book 3, Chapter A2. U.S. Department 

of the Interior, Geological Survey. 12 pages.

Emmett, W.W. 1972. Bankfull Channel Characteristics on Streams South of the Yukon River, Alaska. 

Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. Open File Report. 44 pages.

Jones, S.H. and C.B. Fahl. 1994. Magnitude and Frequency of Floods in Alaska and Conterminous Basins 

of Canada. Water-Resources Investigations Report 93-4179. Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Anchorage, AK. Plate 2.

Kostohrys, J. 2005. Water Resources of Beaver Creek National Wild River, Alaska. Stream Gaging Data 

for 1993 to 2000. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Alaska State Office. Anchorage, Alaska. BLM/AK/ST-05/024+7200+020. Open File Report 102. 40 pages. 

Kostohrys, J., and B.G. Sterin. 1994. Water Resources of Beaver Creek National Wild River, Alaska. 

Stream Gaging Data for 1988 to 1992. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, Alaska. Unindexed Report. 18 pages.
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 15

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

Kostohrys, J., and B.G Sterin. 1996. Water Resources of Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska. Stream 

Gaging Data for 1989 to 1994. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 

Anchorage, Alaska. Unindexed Report. 30 pages.

Kostohrys, J., K. Kosnik, and E. Scott. 2003. Water Resources of the Colville River Special Area, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 

Alaska State Office. Anchorage, Alaska. BLM/AK/ST-009/7200+930. Open File Report 96. 43 

pages.

Mertie, 1937. The Yukon-Tanana Region, Alaska. USGS Bulletin 872. U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Geological Survey. 276 pages.

Nelson, G.L. 1978. Hydrologic Information for Land Use Planning, Fairbanks Vicinity, Alaska. USGS 

Open File Report 78-959. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 47 pages.

Parsons, S. and S. Hudson. 1985. Stream Channel Cross Section Surveys and Data Analysis. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. BLM TR 4341-1, Denver, Colorado. 48 pages.

Pewe, T.L., L. Burbank, and L.R. Mayo. 1967. Multiple Glaciation in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska. 

USGS Misc. Geological Investigations Map I-507. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological 

Survey. 1 sheet.

Rantz, S.E. et al., 1982. Measurement and Computation of Streamflow: Volumes 1 and 2. USGS WaterSupply Paper 2175. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 631 pages.

Riggs, H.C. 1978. Streamflow Characteristics from Channel Size. Proceedings of the American Society of 

Civil Engineers. 104:HY1, pp. 87-96.

Rogers, J. D. and J.T. Armbruster. 1990. Low Flows and Hydrologic Droughts. In: Wolman, M. G. and 

H.C. Riggs, ed., Surface Water Hydrology. The Geology of North America Volume O-1. The Geological Society of America. 374 pages.

Sterin, B.G., D. Whittaker, and J. Kostohrys. 1998. Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska: Resource 

Values and Instream Flow Recommendations. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 

Management, Anchorage, Alaska. Unindexed Report. 61 pages.

Thomas, D.M. 1967. Extending Streamflow Records in Time. In: Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, Book 4, Section B. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 21 pages.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). 2006. Alaska Annual 

Snow Survey Data Summary. http/www.ambcs.org.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Alaska Planning Group. 1974. Final Environmental Impact Statement: 

Proposed Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska. 400 pages. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Fairbanks District, Alaska. 1983. River 

Management Plan for the Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska. 58 pages. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey (USGS), 1915. Surface Water Supply of the YukonTanana Region, Alaska. Water Supply Paper 342. 343 pages.
 16 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey (USGS), 1994 to 2001. Water Resources Data–

Alaska. Water Years 1995 to 2000. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ak/nwis/sw.

Van Haveren, Bruce P., William L. Jackson, Tony Martinez, Bo Shelby, and Lou Carufel. 1987. Water 

Rights Assessment for Beaver Creek National Wild River, Alaska. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 113 pages. 

Vohden, J. 1995. Unpublished data for Birch Creek. On file. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 

Division of Mining, Land, and Water. Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wahl, K. 1984. Evolution of the Use of Channel Cross Section Properties for Estimating Streamflow 

Characteristics, In: Selected Papers in the Hydrologic Sciences. USGS Water-Supply Paper 2262. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. pp.53-66.

Wahrhaftig, Clyde. 1965. Physiographic Divisions of Alaska. Geological Survey Professional Paper 482. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey. 52 pages.

Williams, G.P. 1979. Bankfull Discharge of Rivers. Water Resources Research 14:1141-1154.
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 17

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Appendix A

Data Summaries from 1995 to 2000 

for Birch Creek Gaging Sites

Birch Creek above Twelvemile Creek

(Gage was operated during the summer months 

by Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water)

Table A-1. Discharge Measurements for Birch Creek above Twelvemile Creek, 1995 to 1997

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Average Velocity Average Depth

03/07/95 4.0 ND 11 3.8 1.05 0.3

09/15/95 187 4.58 59 67 2.79 1.1

11/21/95 16 ND 21 10 1.60 0.5

03/19/96 0 (river frozen solid to bottom)

11/27/96 0.5 ND 6.0 2.4 0.21 0.4

03/13/97 0 (river frozen solid to bottom)

ND: Not Determined

Table A-2. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above 

Twelvemile Creek, 1995 to 1997

Month 1995 1996 1997

Jan 7.0 0.1 0.1

Feb 5.0 0.0 0.0

Mar 3.6 0.0 0.0

Apr 21 ND ND

May 167 ND ND

Jun 110 ND ND

Jul 137 ND ND

Aug 240 ND ND

Sep 183 ND ND

Oct 61 4.3 ND

Nov 20 0.9 ND

Dec 2.2 0.3 ND

Mean 80

Italicized numbers represent discharge data from Vohden (1995) 

Alaska Division of Mining, Lands and Water gage discontinued 10/01/95

ND: Not Determined
 18 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Birch Creek Below Twelvemile Creek

Table A-3. Discharge measurement summary for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek, 

1995 to 1999

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Average 

Velocity

Average 

Depth

03/07/95 12 ND 32 21 0.57 0.7

05/30/95 195 3.48 82 98 1.99 1.2

06/06/95 118 3.34 65 56 2.11 0.9

07/27/95 125 3.47 74 56 2.23 0.8

08/29/95 195 3.76 80 73 2.67 0.9

09/28/95 202 3.71 90 97 2.08 1.1

11/21/95 29 ND 35 33 0.88 0.9

03/19/96 0 (frozen to bottom)

05/30/96 365 4.33 93 120 3.04 1.3

08/01/96 42 3.06 57 31 1.35 0.5

09/27/96 24 2.96 62 37 0.65 0.6

11/27/96 5.6 ND 20 6.6 0.85 0.3

01/29/97 4.5 ND 38 9.3 0.48 0.2

03/13/97 0.1 ND 7.5 1.5 0.07 0.2

05/20/97 296 ND 72 95 3.12 1.3

08/15/97 85 3.03 69 54 1.57 0.8

09/25/97 163 3.59 79 71 2.30 0.9

11/25/97 28 ND 27 35 0.80 1.3

01/28/98 3.0 ND 19 5.2 0.58 0.3

03/26/98 20 ND 121 32 0.63 0.3

06/01/98 244 3.88 94 92 2.65 1.0

07/30/98 258 4.13 93 112 2.30 1.2

09/30/98 157 3.72 81 74 2.12 0.9

12/03/98 11 ND 16 11 1.00 0.7

03/02/99 0.1 ND 12 1.6 0.06 0.1

07/30/99 134 3.35 81 81 1.65 1.0

ND: Not Determined

Table A-4. Peak and minimum discharge for Birch Creek below Twelvemile 

Creek Peak, 1995 to 2000

Year Peak 

Discharge (cfs)

Peak Recurrence 

Interval (yrs)

Minimum 

Discharge (cfs)

1995 2,460 5.0 12.0

1996 1,380 1.4 0

1997 950 1.1 0.1

1998 2,390 4.6 3.0

1999 1,080 1.1 0

2000 1,380 1.4 ND

ND: Not Determined

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 19

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-5. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek, 

1995 to 1999

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Jan 18 0.4 4.7 4.6 1.1

Feb 14 0.1 1.1 5.3 0.2

Mar 11 0.0 0.1 14 0.0

Apr 52 6.6 60 26 7.3

May 402 124 173 126 260

Jun 289 189 137 254 206

Jul 159 140 146 303 167

Aug 281 129 141 259 229

Sep 349 89 145 132 163

Oct 108 15 90 82 57

Nov 35 7.4 37 23 26

Dec 5.6 3.6 14 6.5 12

Birch Creek Above Clums Fork

Table A-6. Discharge Measurement Summary for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 

1995 to 2000

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Average 

Velocity

Average 

Depth

06/07/95 332 1.80 118 172 1.93 1.5

08/01/96 135 1.26 104 127 1.04 1.3

09/25/97 286 1.72 114 127 1.04 1.3

06/01/98 735 2.27 123 237 3.10 1.9

07/30/98 815 2.45 114 278 2.93 2.4

09/30/98 297 1.67 123 156 1.90 1.3

05/24/99 482 2.23 115 221 2.18 1.9

07/30/99 375 1.88 122 172 2.18 1.4

09/09/99 327 1.82 95 203 1.61 2.1

12/02/99 27 ND 95 68 0.40 0.7

03/21/00 0.1 ND 9.0 2.0 0.05 0.2

ND: Not Determined

Table A-7. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1995 to 2000

Year

Peak 

Discharge (cfs)

Peak and Minimum 

Discharge Interval (yrs)

Minimum 

Discharge (cfs)

1995 6,400 16 8.6

1996 3,770 2 0.1

1997 1,200 1.1 0

1998 4,120 2.4 0.4

1999 3,850 2.1 0

2000 2,930 1.5 0

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 20 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Table A-8. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1998

June July August

Date Discharge Date Discharge Date Discharge

 1-Jun 683 1-Jul 716 1-Aug 429

 2-Jun 519 2-Jul 1,211 2-Aug 305

 3-Jun 332 3-Jul 589 3-Aug 245

 4-Jun 235 4-Jul 268 4-Aug 237

 5-Jun 252 5-Jul 196 5-Aug 227

 6-Jun 269 6-Jul 145 6-Aug 239

 7-Jun 215 7-Jul 1,083 7-Aug 312

 8-Jun 179 8-Jul 2,201 8-Aug 545

 9-Jun 157 9-Jul 1,064 9-Aug 880

10-Jun 140 10-Jul 775 10-Aug 983

11-Jun 135 11-Jul 931 11-Aug 852

12-Jun 124 12-Jul 1,554 12-Aug 742

13-Jun 110 13-Jul 1,367 13-Aug 714

14-Jun 257 14-Jul 1,053 14-Aug 611

15-Jun 1,392 15-Jul 702 15-Aug 544

16-Jun 3,088 16-Jul 458 16-Aug 947

17-Jun 2,173 17-Jul 367 17-Aug 1,905

18-Jun 1,576 18-Jul 351 18-Aug 1,549

19-Jun 833 19-Jul 284 19-Aug 1,194

20-Jun 604 20-Jul 266 20-Aug 932

21-Jun 416 21-Jul 335 21-Aug 788

22-Jun 381 22-Jul 329 22-Aug 905

23-Jun 301 23-Jul 1,077 23-Aug 991

24-Jun 224 24-Jul 860 24-Aug 832

25-Jun 183 25-Jul 543 25-Aug 714

26-Jun 200 26-Jul 337 26-Aug 670

27-Jun 212 27-Jul 268 27-Aug -

28-Jun 154 28-Jul 248 28-Aug -

29-Jun 116 29-Jul 494 29-Aug -

30-Jun 190 30-Jul 811 30-Aug -

31-Jul 661 31-Aug -

Mean 522 Mean 695 Mean 742

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 21

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-9. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 1999

May June July August September

 Date Discharge Date DischargeDate Discharge Date Discharge Date Discharge

 1-May 1-Jun 443 1-Jul 421 1-Aug 339 1-Sep 376

 2-May 2-Jun 416 2-Jul 386 2-Aug 338 2-Sep 380

 3-May 3-Jun 425 3-Jul 385 3-Aug 344 3-Sep 382

 4-May 4-Jun 420 4-Jul 373 4-Aug 347 4-Sep 381

 5-May 5-Jun 411 5-Jul 358 5-Aug 336 5-Sep 398

 6-May 6-Jun 409 6-Jul 352 6-Aug 333 6-Sep 373

 7-May 7-Jun 419 7-Jul 329 7-Aug 368 7-Sep 379

 8-May 8-Jun 424 8-Jul 358 8-Aug 2,795 8-Sep 387

 9-May 9-Jun 421 9-Jul 355 9-Aug 1,457 9-Sep 398

10-May 10-Jun 424 10-Jul 361 10-Aug 2,082 10-Sep

11-May 11-Jun 407 11-Jul 359 11-Aug 824 11-Sep

12-May 12-Jun 410 12-Jul 358 12-Aug 500 12-Sep

13-May 13-Jun 407 13-Jul 359 13-Aug 577 13-Sep

14-May 14-Jun 399 14-Jul 347 14-Aug 653 14-Sep

15-May 15-Jun 384 15-Jul 358 15-Aug 470 15-Sep

16-May 16-Jun 385 16-Jul 398 16-Aug 434 16-Sep

17-May 17-Jun 385 17-Jul 792 17-Aug 378 17-Sep

18-May 18-Jun 678 18-Jul 605 18-Aug 356 18-Sep

19-May 19-Jun 642 19-Jul 393 19-Aug 368 19-Sep

20-May 20-Jun 466 20-Jul 344 20-Aug 357 20-Sep

21-May 21-Jun 408 21-Jul 341 21-Aug 373 21-Sep

22-May 22-Jun 389 22-Jul 333 22-Aug 371 22-Sep

23-May 23-Jun 381 23-Jul 344 23-Aug 372 23-Sep

24-May 508 24-Jun 383 24-Jul 344 24-Aug 361 24-Sep

25-May 580 25-Jun 392 25-Jul 355 25-Aug 357 25-Sep

26-May 756 26-Jun 386 26-Jul 368 26-Aug 362 26-Sep

27-May 665 27-Jun 393 27-Jul 571 27-Aug 365 27-Sep

28-May 756 28-Jun 1,979 28-Jul 454 28-Aug 371 28-Sep

29-May 886 29-Jun 1,105 29-Jul 386 29-Aug 366 29-Sep

30-May 649 30-Jun 580 30-Jul 366 30-Aug 371 30-Sep

31-May 499 31-Jul 349 31-Aug 370

Mean 662 Mean 506 Mean 394 Mean 571 Mean 384

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 22 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Table A-10. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above Clums Fork, 

1995 to 1999

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Jan 21 1.8 0.2 2.1 0.9

Feb 13 0.5 0.0 0.6 0.1

Mar 8.6 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.0

Apr 86 8.5 90 31.8 10.1

May 1,145 256 431 266 662

Jun 753 431 308 522 506

Jul 353 298 337 695 394

Aug 726 270 321 742 571

Sep 958 171 333 286 384

Oct 199 37 134 161 112

Nov 36 4.4 51 46 45

Dec 7.0 0.5 8.1 8.8 18

Mean 359 123 168 230 225

Birch Creek Above Harrison Creek

Table A-11. Discharge Measurements summary for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek,

1995 to 1999

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Aveerage

Velocity

Average

Depth

03/08/95 19 ND 73 41 0.46 0.6

06/08/95 695 3.92 208 271 2.56 1.3

08/29/95 1,160 4.66 212 382 3.04 1.8

11/30/95 27 ND 75 85 0.32 1.1

03/06/96 0.40 ND 25 13 0.03 0.5

08/01/96 261 3.34 119 192 1.36 1.6

09/27/96 257 3.40 125 196 1.31 1.6

11/25/96 4.40 ND 66 91 0.05 1.4

08/15/97 401 3.67 118 235 1.71 2.0

09/25/97 481 3.83 173 229 2.10 1.3

11/28/97 66 ND 67 110 0.60 1.6

02/10/98 1.0 ND 15 5.7 0.18 0.4

04/06/98 0.6 ND 7.0 1.3 0.46 0.2

09/30/98 541 3.90 135 262 2.06 1.9

12/01/98 46 ND 54 49 0.94 0.9

09/09/99 646 4.09 143 291 2.22 2.0

12/02/99 53 ND 92 58 0.91 0.6

ND: Not Determined

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 23

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-12. Peak and Minimum Discharge for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek, 

1995 to 2000

Date Discharge 

(cfs)

Peak Recurrence 

Interval (yrs)

Minimum 

Discharge (cfs)

1995 7,700 3.7 19

1996 5,090 1.7 0.4

1997 2,370 1.0 0

1998 4,700 1.5 0.6

1999 5,580 1.9 0

2000 4,300 1.4 ND

Table A-13. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek above Harrison Creek, 1995 to 1999

Month 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Jan 41 3.6 0.3 4.2 1.9

Feb 26 1.0 0.1 0.8 0.2

Mar 17 0.3 0.0 0.6 0.0

Apr 175 17 160 61 20

May 1,677 441 560 395 1,085

Jun 1,163 707 428 900 839

Jul 600 506 460 1,111 660

Aug 1,127 462 443 922 941

Sep 1,435 307 456 418 644

Oct 361 72 255 292 218

Nov 63 9 99 87 88

Dec 14 1.1 16 17 20

Mean 558 211 240 351 376

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 24 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Birch Creek Below South Fork

Table A-14. Discharge Measurement Summary for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995 to 1998

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Average 

Velocity

Average

Depth

03/08/95 21 ND 30 42 0.50 1.4

06/08/95 1,080 1.90 300 382 2.83 1.3

07/27/95 1,280 2.08 300 434 2.95 1.4

09/28/95 1,430 2.18 315 475 3.01 1.5

11/30/95 60 ND 60 97 0.62 1.6

03/06/96 0.80 ND 29 25 0.03 0.9

08/01/96 381 1.16 94 156 2.44 1.7

09/27/96 496 1.32 99 177 2.80 1.8

11/25/96 40 ND 42 71 0.56 1.7

03/25/97 0.80 ND 16 15 0.05 0.9

05/20/97 1,760 2.34 205 818 2.15 4.0

08/15/97 777 1.56 107 215 3.61 2.0

11/28/97 125 ND 73 103 1.21 1.4

02/10/98 9.7 ND 38 49 0.20 1.3

04/06/98 5.0 ND 18 10 0.50 0.6

07/30/98 2,906 2.76 235 979 2.97 4.2

9/30/98 774 1.55 105 208 3.72 2.0

12/01/98 13 ND 20 18 0.72 0.9

ND: Not Determined

Table A-15. Birch Creek below South Fork Peak and Minimum

Discharge, 1995 to 1999

Year Peak Discharge 

(cfs) 

Peak Recurrence 

Interval (yrs)

Minimum 

Discharge (cfs)

1995 13,700 4.5 21

1996 6,610 1.3 0.8

1997 5,570 1.1 0.8

1998 8,800 1.9 5.0

1999 9,620 2.2 0

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 25

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-16. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1995

May June July August September

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

1-May 1-Jun 1,650 1-Jul 1,441 1-Aug 835 1-Sep 4,960

2-May 2-Jun 1,468 2-Jul 1,295 2-Aug 753 2-Sep 4,679

3-May 3-Jun 2,039 3-Jul 1,097 3-Aug 748 3-Sep 4,398

4-May 4-Jun 1,728 4-Jul 910 4-Aug 747 4-Sep 4,117

5-May 5-Jun 1,336 5-Jul 762 5-Aug 811 5-Sep 3,427

6-May 6-Jun 1,102 6-Jul 669 6-Aug 962 6-Sep 3,068

7-May 7-Jun 1,320 7-Jul 609 7-Aug 1,073 7-Sep 2,842

8-May 8-Jun 1,119 8-Jul 556 8-Aug 983 8-Sep 2,631

9-May 9-Jun 868 9-Jul 508 9-Aug 898 9-Sep 2,456

10-May 10-Jun 720 10-Jul 489 10-Aug 891 10-Sep 2,346

11-May 11-Jun 672 11-Jul 478 11-Aug 1,221 11-Sep 2,387

12-May 12-Jun 1,204 12-Jul 967 12-Aug 1,372 12-Sep 2,736

13-May 13-Jun 777 13-Jul 945 13-Aug 1,282 13-Sep 2,486

14-May 14-Jun 559 14-Jul 1,076 14-Aug 1,721 14-Sep 2,251

15-May 15-Jun 458 15-Jul 1,713 15-Aug 2,414 15-Sep 2,075

16-May 16-Jun 513 16-Jul 2,489 16-Aug 2,006 16-Sep 1,924

17-May 17-Jun 1,514 17-Jul 1,789 17-Aug 1,798 17-Sep 1,790

18-May 18-Jun 1,471 18-Jul 1,346 18-Aug 1,735 18-Sep 1,683

19-May 19-Jun 1,073 19-Jul 1,057 19-Aug 1,609 19-Sep 1,588

20-May 20-Jun 714 20-Jul 876 20-Aug 1,592 20-Sep 1,514

21-May 21-Jun 768 21-Jul 765 21-Aug 2,301 21-Sep 1,453

22-May 22-Jun 1,505 22-Jul 686 22-Aug 2,523 22-Sep 1,492

23-May 23-Jun 1,688 23-Jul 748 23-Aug 2,104 23-Sep 1,329

24-May 24-Jun 6,715 24-Jul 766 24-Aug 1,828 24-Sep 1,296

25-May 25-Jun 4,683 25-Jul 842 25-Aug 1,921 25-Sep 1,275

26-May 26-Jun 6,081 26-Jul 1,461 26-Aug 2,156 26-Sep 1,266

27-May 27-Jun 6,911 27-Jul 1,297 27-Aug 1,971 27-Sep 1,357

28-May 28-Jun 3,224 28-Jul 1,051 28-Aug 1,901 28-Sep 1,411

29-May 29-Jun 2,186 29-Jul 890 29-Aug 1,816 29-Sep

30-May 2,741 30-Jun 1,648 30-Jul 779 30-Aug 6,576 30-Sep

31-May 1,927 31-Jul 736 31-Aug 7,244

Mean Mean 1,924 Mean 1,003 Mean 1,864 Mean 2,366

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 26 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Table A-17. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1996

May June July August September

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

Date

Discharge

1-May 1-Jun 1,593 1-Jul 3,770 1-Aug 364 1-Sep 786

2-May 2-Jun 1,716 2-Jul 3,015 2-Aug 373 2-Sep 717

3-May 3-Jun 1,308 3-Jul 1,857 3-Aug 504 3-Sep 652

4-May 4-Jun 923 4-Jul 1,316 4-Aug 723 4-Sep 622

5-May 5-Jun 689 5-Jul 1,385 5-Aug 699 5-Sep 584

6-May 6-Jun 564 6-Jul 1,275 6-Aug 546 6-Sep 551

7-May 7-Jun 671 7-Jul 994 7-Aug 455 7-Sep 525

8-May 8-Jun 738 8-Jul 731 8-Aug 404 8-Sep 499

9-May 9-Jun 642 9-Jul 608 9-Aug 402 9-Sep 480

10-May 10-Jun 1,145 10-Jul 888 10-Aug 1,523 10-Sep 465

11-May 11-Jun 3,842 11-Jul 1,275 11-Aug 1,891 11-Sep 480

12-May 12-Jun 2,499 12-Jul 980 12-Aug 1,337 12-Sep 504

13-May 13-Jun 1,776 13-Jul 731 13-Aug 1,133 13-Sep 504

14-May 14-Jun 1,283 14-Jul 613 14-Aug 932 14-Sep 494

15-May 15-Jun 1,465 15-Jul 580 15-Aug 797 15-Sep 489

16-May 16-Jun 1,334 16-Jul 1,138 16-Aug 716 16-Sep 480

17-May 17-Jun 1,060 17-Jul 789 17-Aug 797 17-Sep 480

18-May 18-Jun 1,016 18-Jul 619 18-Aug 1,790 18-Sep 455

19-May 19-Jun 808 19-Jul 512 19-Aug 1,381 19-Sep 514

20-May 20-Jun 725 20-Jul 447 20-Aug 1,071 20-Sep 711

21-May 21-Jun 630 21-Jul 397 21-Aug 912 21-Sep 668

22-May 22-Jun 725 22-Jul 370 22-Aug 792 22-Sep 629

23-May 23-Jun 707 23-Jul 340 23-Aug 711 23-Sep 578

24-May 24-Jun 575 24-Jul 316 24-Aug 640 24-Sep 535

25-May 25-Jun 466 25-Jul 336 25-Aug 594 25-Sep 525

26-May 26-Jun 401 26-Jul 419 26-Aug 611 26-Sep 520

27-May 27-Jun 366 27-Jul 433 27-Aug 668 27-Sep 514

28-May 28-Jun 366 28-Jul 366 28-Aug 663 28-Sep

29-May 29-Jun 1,069 29-Jul 329 29-Aug 617 29-Sep

30-May 1,907 30-Jun 5,434 30-Jul 329 30-Aug 600 30-Sep

31-May 1,917 31-Jul 383 31-Aug 657

Mean Mean 1,218 Mean 888 Mean 816 Mean 554

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 27

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-18. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1997

May June July August September

DateDischargeDateDischargeDateDischargeDateDischargeDateDischarge

1-May 1-Jun 1,115 1-Jul 276 1-Aug 731 1-Sep 786

2-May 2-Jun 843 2-Jul 258 2-Aug 652 2-Sep 766

3-May 3-Jun 776 3-Jul 240 3-Aug 652 3-Sep 720

4-May 4-Jun 1,220 4-Jul 243 4-Aug 572 4-Sep 689

5-May 5-Jun 1,472 5-Jul 254 5-Aug 518 5-Sep 669

6-May 6-Jun 1,253 6-Jul 251 6-Aug 694 6-Sep 656

7-May 7-Jun 970 7-Jul 352 7-Aug 1,045 7-Sep 649

8-May 8-Jun 713 8-Jul 529 8-Aug 1,179 8-Sep 624

9-May 9-Jun 1,547 9-Jul 588 9-Aug 1,194 9-Sep 600

10-May 10-Jun 1,879 10-Jul 467 10-Aug 1,006 10-Sep 594

11-May 11-Jun 1,356 11-Jul 392 11-Aug 905 11-Sep 800

12-May 12-Jun 977 12-Jul 1,813 12-Aug 829 12-Sep 1,717

13-May 13-Jun 1,220 13-Jul 2,007 13-Aug 782 13-Sep 1,931

14-May 14-Jun 1,060 14-Jul 2,991 14-Aug 756 14-Sep 1,887

15-May 15-Jun 1,130 15-Jul 1,854 15-Aug 769 15-Sep 1,556

16-May 16-Jun 802 16-Jul 1,154 16-Aug 1,112 16-Sep 1,328

17-May 17-Jun 870 17-Jul 843 17-Aug 1,317 17-Sep 1,167

18-May 18-Jun 652 18-Jul 719 18-Aug 1,589 18-Sep 1,056

19-May 19-Jun 518 19-Jul 1,763 19-Aug 1,375 19-Sep 1,001

20-May 1,793 20-Jun 518 20-Jul 1,356 20-Aug 1,162 20-Sep 1,044

21-May 1,848 21-Jun 1,029 21-Jul 1,529 21-Aug 1,020 21-Sep 983

22-May 1,702 22-Jun 970 22-Jul 1,634 22-Aug 909 22-Sep 916

23-May 1,212 23-Jun 992 23-Jul 1,732 23-Aug 838 23-Sep 703

24-May 905 24-Jun 863 24-Jul 1,782 24-Aug 831 24-Sep 797

25-May 985 25-Jun 694 25-Jul 1,261 25-Aug 857 25-Sep 803

26-May 870 26-Jun 539 26-Jul 956 26-Aug 940 26-Sep

27-May 802 27-Jun 442 27-Jul 802 27-Aug 1,327 27-Sep

28-May 856 28-Jun 378 28-Jul 713 28-Aug 1,118 28-Sep

29-May 956 29-Jun 340 29-Jul 640 29-Aug 972 29-Sep

30-May 1,270 30-Jun 303 30-Jul 577 30-Aug 891 30-Sep

31-May 1,427 31-Jul 634 31-Aug 828

Mean 1,219 Mean 915 Mean 987 Mean 947 Mean 978

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 28 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Table A-19. Mean Daily Discharge (cfs) for Birch Creek below South Fork, 1998

June July August September

Date Discharge Date Discharge Date Discharge Date Discharge

1-Jun 1,598 1-Jul 2,973 1-Aug 1,669 1-Sep 1,286

2-Jun 1,161 2-Jul 4,054 2-Aug 1,383 2-Sep 1,215

3-Jun 873 3-Jul 2,709 3-Aug 1,215 3-Sep 1,174

4-Jun 712 4-Jul 1,614 4-Aug 1,117 4-Sep 1,105

5-Jun 706 5-Jul 1,579 5-Aug 1,072 5-Sep 1,016

6-Jun 829 6-Jul 1,257 6-Aug 1,206 6-Sep 953

7-Jun 767 7-Jul 3,855 7-Aug 1,845 7-Sep 957

8-Jun 717 8-Jul 5,656 8-Aug 2,700 8-Sep 941

9-Jun 682 9-Jul 3,335 9-Aug 3,258 9-Sep 904

10-Jun 664 10-Jul 2,830 10-Aug 3,358 10-Sep 847

11-Jun 673 11-Jul 3,649 11-Aug 2,952 11-Sep 797

12-Jun 700 12-Jul 4,437 12-Aug 2,404 12-Sep 739

13-Jun 703 13-Jul 4,930 13-Aug 1,856 13-Sep 728

14-Jun 785 14-Jul 3,588 14-Aug 1,642 14-Sep 740

15-Jun 2,068 15-Jul 2,395 15-Aug 1,479 15-Sep 711

16-Jun 6,243 16-Jul 1,535 16-Aug 1,727 16-Sep 717

17-Jun 6,006 17-Jul 1,265 17-Aug 3,407 17-Sep 775

18-Jun 4,838 18-Jul 1,227 18-Aug 3,361 18-Sep 787

19-Jun 3,278 19-Jul 1,123 19-Aug 2,767 19-Sep 747

20-Jun 2,718 20-Jul 1,123 20-Aug 2,099 20-Sep 774

21-Jun 1,941 21-Jul 1,162 21-Aug 1,659 21-Sep 774

22-Jun 3,319 22-Jul 1,249 22-Aug 1,675 22-Sep 770

23-Jun 3,045 23-Jul 2,405 23-Aug 1,999 23-Sep 770

24-Jun 2,217 24-Jul 2,529 24-Aug 1,734 24-Sep 770

25-Jun 1,563 25-Jul 1,967 25-Aug 1,566 25-Sep 774

26-Jun 3,013 26-Jul 1,509 26-Aug 1,606 26-Sep 790

27-Jun 2,416 27-Jul 1,240 27-Aug 2,378 27-Sep 811

28-Jun 1,518 28-Jul 1,188 28-Aug 2,113 28-Sep 793

29-Jun 1,348 29-Jul 1,788 29-Aug 1,724 29-Sep 783

30-Jun 1,215 30-Jul 2,873 30-Aug 1,534 30-Sep 774

31-Jul 2,486 31-Aug 1,369

Mean 1,944 Mean 2,436 Mean 1,996 Mean 857

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 29

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX A

Table A-20. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek below South Fork, 

1995 to 1999

Month 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Jan 55 7.6 7.5 23 8.1

Feb 31 2.0 2.8 9.2 1.5

Mar 18 0.5 1.1 6.5 0.3

Apr 299 36 319 110 54

May 2,757 781 1,219 806 1,570

Jun 1,924 1,218 915 1,944 1,264

Jul 1,003 888 987 2,436 1,033

Aug 1,864 816 947 1,996 1,393

Sep 2,366 554 978 857 1,012

Oct 593 225 437 341 377

Nov 128 61 182 68 180

Dec 30 21 68 49 87

Mean 922 384 505 721 581

Birch Creek at Steese Highway Bridge

(Gage was operated during the summer months

by Alaska Division of Mining, Lands, and Water)

Table A-21. Discharge Measurements for Birch Creek at Steese Highway Bridge, 

1995 to 1999

Date Discharge Stage Width Area Average 

Velocity

Average 

Depth

11/30/95 117 ND 180 458 0.26 2.5

3/19/96 11 ND 32 14 0.79 0.4

11/25/96 78 ND 168 145 0.54 0.9

3/25/97 10 ND 24 14 0.71 0.6

2/10/98 24 ND 125 115 0.21 0.9

1/15/99 33 ND 65 34 0.97 0.5

3/4/99 0.3 ND 7.0 4.0 0.08 0.6

ND: Not Determined

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
 30 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX A

Table A-22. Mean Monthly Discharge for Birch Creek at Steese Highway 

Bridge, from 1989 to 1999

Month 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Jan 82 43 32 50 32

Feb 54 23 19 21 1.7

Mar 36 12 12 12 0.3

Apr 467 57 ND ND ND

May 4,192 ND ND ND ND

Jun 3,090 ND ND ND ND

Jul 1,860 ND ND ND ND

Aug 2,680 ND ND ND ND

Sep 3,990 ND ND ND ND

Oct 1,177 376 ND ND ND

Nov 250 115 ND ND ND

Dec 84 55 ND ND ND

Mean 1,497

Italicized numbers represent discharge data from Vohden (1995), Alaska DMLW.

Gage discontinued 10/01/95

ND: Not Determined

Birch Creek Gaging Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 31

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX B

Appendix B

Discharge Summaries for Peak Flow and

Miscellaneous Survey Sites

Table B-1. Discharge Measurements for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth, 1995 to 2000

Date Stage (ft) Discharge 

(cfs)

Width 

(ft)

Area 

(ft)

Average 

Velocity (fps)

Average 

Depth (ft)

08/29/95 1.20 33 22 18 1.83 0.8

09/28/95 1.05 21 31 20 1.05 0.7

05/30/96 1.09 19 20 18 1.06 0.9

08/01/96 0.50 3.7 17 7.1 0.52 0.4

09/27/96 0.45 4.0 16 5.9 0.68 0.4

08/15/97 0.80 21 14 9.3 2.26 0.7

09/25/97 0.95 32 21 14 2.29 0.7

07/30/99 0.88 12 24 13 0.92 0.6

06/01/00 1.57 74 33 33 2.24 1.0

09/04/00 1.00 20 31 19 1.05 0.6

Table B-2. Peak Discharge for Frying Pan Creek near 

the Mouth, 1995 to 2002

Date Discharge (cfs) Recurrence (yrs)

1995 800 9.0

1996 407 2.0

1997 82 1.0

1998 650 4.5

1999 670 4.9

2000 276 1.4

2001 217 1.3

2002 383 1.9

Table B-3. Discharge Measurement Summary for Volcano Creek near the Mouth, 

1997 to 2000

Date Stage 

(ft)

Discharge 

(cfs)

Width 

(ft)

Area 

(ft)

Average

Velocity (fps)

Average

Depth (ft)

6/1/97* 1.84 40 23 14 2.86 0.6

6/12/97 0.79 6.3 10 5.7 1.11 0.6

8/24/98 1.17 10.0 10 3.5 2.86 0.4

7/7/99 0.66 1.8 9.5 3.1 0.57 0.3

7/18/00 ND 8.2 6.0 3.7 2.22 0.6

9/4/00 0.96 7.8 9.5 4.9 1.59 0.5

*Slope-Area Indirect discharge computation

ND: Not Determined
 32 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX B

Table B-4. Peak Discharge for Volcano Creek near the Mouth, 

1997 to 2002

Date Discharge (cfs) Recurrence Interval (yrs)

1997 40 1.1

1998 120 18

1999 60 2.6

2000 50 1.6

2001 52 1.8

2002 60 2.6

Table B-5. Discharge Measurement Summary for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek, 

1996 to 2000

Date Stage (ft) Discharge 

(cfs) Width (ft) Area (ft) Average Velocity (fps)

Average 

Depth (ft)

09/05/96 1.48 40 36 33 1.21 0.9

09/09/97 1.42 43 38 30 1.44 0.8

 08/07/98* 3.58 974 69 156 6.24 2.3

08/12/98 2.01 91 43 51 1.79 1.2

09/09/99 1.75 67 42 51 1.32 1.2

09/04/00 1.94 104 46 57 1.80 1.2

* Slope-Area Indirect discharge computation

Table B-6. Peak Discharge for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek, 

1996 to 2000

Date Discharge (cfs) Recurrence Interval (yrs)

1996 778 1.7

1997 511 1.1

1998 974 7.1

1999 887 2.9

2000 806 1.9

Peak Flow and Miscellaneous Survey Sites (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 33

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX B

Table B-7. Discharge Measurements at Miscellaneous Sites, 1993 to 1999

Site Date Stage 

(ft)

Discharge 

(cfs)

Width 

(ft)

Area 

(ft2

 )

Average 

Velocity 

(fps)

Average 

Depth 

(ft)

Ketchem Creek above 

Holdem Creek

 06/11/96* 3.30 250 17 34 7.29 2.0

Ketchem Creek above 

Holdem Creek

09/04/96 0.90 1.6 5.2 1.6 1.00 0.3

Clums Fork above 

Volcano Creek

08/26/98 3.05 95 37 38 2.50 1.0

Clums Fork above 

Volcano Creek

07/08/99 1.90 11 29 15 0.71 0.5

Clums Fork below 

Volcano Creek

08/26/98 3.34 93 48 33 2.84 0.7

Clums Fork below 

Volcano Creek

07/08/99 2.83 11 31 14 0.79 0.5

North Fork Preacher 

Creek

06/20/95 2.30 127 48 63 2.02 1.3

Preacher Creek below 

Loper Creek

08/16/93 2.00 156 114 119 1.31 1.0

Preacher Creek below 

Loper Creek

11/29/94 ND 

(Ice)

 32 76 112 0.29 1.5

Preacher Creek below 

Loper Creek

06/20/95 2.64 438 142 241 1.82 1.7

Twelvemile Creek 

below North Fork

08/10/95 1.24 27 48 30 0.90 0.6

* Slope-area indirect discharge computation

ND: Not Determined

This page intentionally left blank.

Peak Flow and Miscellaneous Survey Sites (continued)
 34 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX C

 Figure C-1. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek 

 Figure C-2. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek above Clums Fork 

0

2

4

6

8

10

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Distance (ft)

 Elevation (ft)

1994 Channel cross section

1989 Channel cross section

Bankfull water level

 Surveyed water level

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275

1999 Channel cross section

1995 Channel cross section

Bankfull water level

Surveyed water level

Distance (ft)

Elevation (ft)

Figure C-1. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek below Twelvemile Creek

Figure C-2. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Birch Creek above Clums Fork

Appendix C: Channel Geometry

Resurveys of Cross Sections at Sites on

Birch Creek and Tributaries
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 35

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX C

39

Figure C-3. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth 

Figure C-4. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Volcano Creek near the Mouth 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0 15 30 45 60 75 90

2000 cross section

1997 cross section

Bankfull water level

Water level July 15

Distance (ft)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

2000 cross section

1995 cross section

Bankfull water level

Surveyed water level

Distance (ft)

Elevation (ft) 

Elevation (ft)

Figure C-3. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Frying Pan Creek near the Mouth

Figure C-4. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Volcano Creek near the Mouth

Resurveys on Birch Creek and Tributaries (continued)
 36 BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007

Water Resources and Channel Geometry

APPENDIX C

40

 Figure C-5. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Harrison Creek above

 Bottom Dollar Creek 

Figure C-6. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork above Volcano Creek 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Distance (ft)

1999 Cross Section

1998 Cross Section

Bankfull water level

Surveyed water level

Elevation (ft)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 15 30 45 60 75 90

Distance (ft)

Elevation (ft)

2000 Cross Section

1996 Cross Section

Bankfull Water Level

Surveyed Water Level

Figure C-5. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Harrison Creek above Bottom Dollar Creek

Figure C-6. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork above Volcano Creek

Resurveys on Birch Creek and Tributaries (continued)
BLM Open File Report 116 • October 2007 37

Birch Creek National Wild River, Alaska

APPENDIX C

41

 Figure C-7. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork below Volcano Creek 

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Distance (ft)

1999 Cross Section

1998 Cross Section

Bankfull water level

Surveyed water level

Elevation (ft)

Figure C-7. Bankfull Channel Cross Section for Clums Fork below Volcano Creek

Resurveys on Birch Creek and Tributaries (continued)