WATER POWER AND IRRIGATION IN THE JEFFERSON RIVER 

BASIN, MONT. 

By JoHN F. DEEDs and WALTER N. WHITE 

PREFACE 

This report presents data compiled under instructions to make such 

field and office studies as might be necessary in order to prepare a 

discussion of pres~nt and potential power and irrigation development 

in the Jefferson River Basin, Mont. The report is the third of a 

series relating to the Missouri River Basin in Montana; the first one 

covered the Madison River Basin, 1 and the second the Missouri River 

bottom land from Fort Benton to the North Dakota line.2 The field 

work was done in,June and July, 1923, and the office studies at different times before and since. 

During the progress of the field work a map showing the location of 

most of the irrigated land in the basin was compiled from the records 

of the county tax assessors of Beaverhead and, Madison Counties. 

Similar data for Gallatin, Broadwater, Silver Bow, and Deerlodge 

Counties were compiled by other members of the Geological Survey. 

The irrigated land in Jefferson County was mapped approximately in 

the field by Ward L. Hopper, of the Survey.' These data were checked 

by reconnaissance investigations by the writers in all areas where 

water is or may be used extensively for irrigation. Special efforts 

were made to obtain information regarding present and potential 

development of power and irrigation by interviewing local farmers, 

engineers, and others interested in water utilization. Plane-table 

surveys were also made to obtain data for estimating the potential 

value of power sites and the storage capacity of reservoir sites. 

In the course of the field work cordial and helpful aid was obtained 

from many farmers, business men, water masters, and others-too 

many to mention individually. Considerable "nformation vras also 

obtained from officials of the Montana Power Co. at Butte, Mont., 

and from Messrs. George R. Metlin and G. V. Elder, civil engineers at 

1 Deeds, J. F., and White, W. N., Water power and Irrigation In the Madison River Basin, Mont.; 

U. s; Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 560, pp. 1-30, 1925. 

'Deeds, J. F., and Brooks, L. R., Land-classification report, Missouri River bottom land, from Fort 

Bm1ton to Montana-North Dakota State line (unpublished); copies available for P\\bllc Inspection at the 

ofl:ices of the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D. C., and Helena, Mont. 

41 

.. 
42 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Dillon, Mont. In addition to the data thus obtained, reports and 

other records of the Weather Bureau, Forest Service, Census Bureau, 

and Geological Survey have been used extensively. 

SUMMARY 

. Jefferson River is the largest of three large streams that meet at 

Three Forks, Mont., to form Missouri River. It is the outlet channel 

for a drainage area of about 10,000 square miles lying in the extreme 

southwest corner of Montana as shown on the· key map (pl. 3). 

Most of its drainage area is rough, nontillable mountainous la.nd 

dissected by deeply intrenched drainage channels ranging from narrow 

valleys to box canyons, but here and there are found broad open 

valleys and terraced benches that include large areas of smooth tillable lands. The altitude of the tillable lands ranges from 4,400 to 

nearly 7,000 feet above sea level. In general where the altitude is 

greater than 5,500 feet the growing season is too short for diversified 

farm crops. In favorable locations a considerable· variety of crops 

may be grown at as high an altitude as 6,000 feet, but in other places 

the season may be too short for the same crops at an altitude nearly 

as low as 5,000 feet. The rainfall on the tilla.ble lands is ordinarily 

not more than sufficient to mature· such drought-resistant crops as 

wheat and oats, and even these crops can be raised successfully only 

in a few favorably located places. These physiographic and meteorologic conditions limit the agricultural utility ofJands in the area 

to stock-raising, expept where the growing season is of sufficient 

length to mature general farm crops and where deficient soil moisture 

due to lack of rainfall is offset by natural flooding or subirrigation 

or can be offset by artificial irrigation at a reasonable cost. 

The wat,er supply of the Jefferson River basin has been measured 

at numerous gaging stations operated by the Geological Survey. 

One·of these stations is at Sappington, T. 1 N., R. 1. W, near the 

lower end of the basin, and its record practically represents the outflow from the basin after all diversions have been satisfied. The 

mean annual discharge for the period of record at this station is 

1,620,000 acre-feet, which indicates an immense volume of water in 

the Jefferson River Basin that is not required by existing projects 

diverting water in that area. 

In the Jefferson River Basin, as in most other sections of the semiarid West the run-off varies at different seasons of the year, attaining 

a maximum during short flood periods in the spring. Under these 

conditions projects for utilizing the water require regulation of the 

stream flow in reservoirs in order to use successfully more than part 

of the annual run-off. Storage reservoirs having an aggregate capacity of about 113,000 acre-feet are now operated in the basin, and 

undeveloped storage sites having a potential capacity of about 918,000 

acre-feet have been surveyed in connection with water utilization. 
.tEFFEBSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 43 

investigations. A list of these developed and undeveloped reservoir 

sites is given in Table 1. In the first column of the table will be 

found an index number by means of which the sites may be identified 

on Plate 3. 

TABLE I.-Reservoir sites in the Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

Developed 

Approxi· 

Name Seurce of water supply Location 

Approxi· 

mate 

height 

of dam 

(feet) 

mate Capacity area (acre-feet) 

(acres) 

-----l-----------l-----------1·----------·l---------------

<li.A.A-2 ••• !l.Ama. •• ____________ Red R-ock River .••• 

4AC-1! ___ Esler Lake .•....•.. Rattlesnake Creek .. oii.A.C-4... PhilUps ____________ ..... do .............. . 

1lAD-.•.. UJ:lkoown'(12reser- Wisconsin and Mill 

v<airs). Creeks. 11AE-L .. MIUSSi.~brod ________ Mussigbrod Creek .. 

<I!AF-L ••. Pamt:l.ar Lake .•.••.• Pintlar Creek .•..... MG-L .. Waae River. ________ West Fork of Wise 

River. 

T. 13 S., R. 6 W.; T. 14 S., Rs. 5 

and 6 W. 

50 

T. 5 S., R. 11 W... 30 

2,460 

T. 6 S., R. 11 W ... 25 ---------- No details avails- ---------- ---------- ble. 

T. 1 N., R. 16 W.. 14 ---------- T. 1 N., R. 15 W.. ••••••.... 165 

T.2S.,R.12W... 40 538 

iiAG-2 ... Divide. ____________ Big Hole River ...•.. T.1S.,R.10W... 67 140 M0-4 ... Chain Lake ________ Birch Creek _________ T. 5 S., R. 11 W __ ---------- ----------

:±8:t:: =G~tJ«;:=::::: =====~~=============== ~!: ~ ~:: ~: n ;:: :::::::::: :::::::::: 

MG-7. __ . May Lake.-------- ..... do ..••••.••••••.• 

1 

T. 5 S., R. 11 W __ ---------- ---------- <I!AG-8 .. .' Fair Lak!J __________ ..... do.______________ T. 5 S., R. 11 W __ ---------- ----------

:±:rt~::: ~:n~~':arir·_~::::: ·riiJ~s~oiiii-Cii:eei<~::: ~: ~ k~. J :~.:------·so· ------479· 

Undeveloped 

Approxi- Approxi- mate Index No. Name Source of water height mate supply Location of dam area 

(feet) (acres) 

--- 6AA-L .. Red Roek Lakes __ . Red Rock River. ___ Tps. 13 and 14 s., 6 22,000 

Rs.1,2,and3W. 

6AA-2 ••• Lima enlargement.. ----~do _______________ T. 14 S., Rs. 3, 4, { 60 5, 700 

5, aud6W. 78 19,00(} 

6AA-3 .•• Lower Red Rock __ .•. do .••••••.••••••• Tps. 13 and 14 S., 40 1,200 ' Valley. Rs. 7and 8 W. 6AC-2 ... Grasshopper. ______ Grasshopper Creek •. T. 8 S., R. 10 W ___ 105 554 6AC-8 .•. Blacktail Deer. ____ Blacktail Deer T. 9 S., Rs. 7 and 40 600 

Creek. 8W. 

6AD-1. •. Ruby-------------- Ruby River ..••••••• T.!7 S., Rs. 4 and 150 1,880 

5W. 

6AG-10 •. Big Hole .•.••••••.• Big Hole River .•••.• Tps.4and5S.,Rs. 160 7,500 

Sand 9 W. IIAH-3 ..• Whitetail Park •••.. Whitetail Creek •.•.. T..4 N., Rs. 5and 38 2,025 6W. 6All-L. Willow Creek ______ Willow Creek _______ Tps. 1 and2S., R. 122 1,320 

liW 

• Increase in developed reservoir capacity. 

57,000 

2,000 

1, 600 

11.000 

2,000 

7,100 

1.28(} •6() 

1SO 

500 

7() 

1, 60(). 

2,000 

12,()(}()> 

Capacity 

(acre-feet) 

---

00,000 

• 35,000 

•100,000 

16,000 

25,000 

8,000 

100,000 

530,000 

16,600 

32,800 

,_ With the exception of the Wise River (6 AG-1) and Divide 

(6 AG-2) reservoirs, all the constructed reservoirs listed in Table 1 

are used to regulate stream flow for irrigation. Furthermore, all the 

potential sites listed have been investigated in connection with their 

possible use in extending the irrigated acreage. In most sections of 

the basin where irrigation is practicable all the lo:w-water flow during 

• the irrigation season is diverted, and in some portions a large amount 

of land that is irrigated obtains only a flood-water supply. The total 
44 CONTRIBUTIONS ~0 THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

area ir:dgated is about 426,000 acres, distributed through the basin 

as follows: 

Main river stem: Acres 

6AA. Red Rock River (head of Missouri River)_____ 49, 000 

6AC. Beaverhead River (continuation of Red Rock 

River)---------------------------------- 30,000 

6AH. Jefferson River (continuation of Red Rock 

Tributaries: 

River and Beaverhead River) and minor 

tributaries below Big Hole River_--------- 28, 900 

6AB. Horse Prairie Creek________________________ 45, 900 

6AC. Grasshopper Creek_________________________ 10, 500 

6AC. Rattlesnake Creek__________________________ 4, 000 

6AC. Blacktail Deer Creek______________________ 5, 500 

6AD. Ruby River_______________________________ 34, 500 

6AE, 6AF, 6AG. Big Hole River _________________ 185,000 

6AH. Pipestone and Whitetail Creeks_------------ 8, 600 

6AJ. Boulder River_____________________________ 7, 300 

6AH. South Boulder Creek_______________________ 4, 000 

6AH. Willow Creek----------------------------- 12, 500 

-Plans have been proposed for irrigating additional areas aggregating nearly 185,000 acres in the Jefferson River Basin and also 

from 40,000 to 65,000 acres outside the basin but using water from 

Jefferson River. The surplus water supply as indicated by the 

record at the Sappington gaging station is more than adequate 

for irrigating all of this increased area, but the studies of the writers 

indicate that the undeveloped lands having climatic and soil conditions favorable for irrigation are so located that the cost of the 

required storage reservoirs and diversion canals would be high, and 

for a considerable part of the irrigable land it would be prohibitive 

under present economic conditions. It is believed, however, that 

eventually nearly all the potential irrigation resources will be developed. 

In the course of the field studies in connection with this report 

five water-power plants were visited, as follows: 

6AC--6, 6AC--7. Dillon municipal plants Nos. 1 and 2. 

6AH-l. Parrot plant. 

6AC--5. Rattlesnake Creek plant. 

6AG-2. Divide plant. 

Only one other power plant is known to exist in the basin (6AH-6), 

and it is operated to furnish electric current for municipal lighting in 

the town of Pony. The Divide plant is the only large one. Its 

capacity is 3,000 kilowatts, but at present it is being operated to only 

about one-fourth of this capacity. The Parrot plant had an installed 

capacity of about 1,000 kilowatts and probably at one time was a 

source of considerable power, but-it has been entirely abandoned and 

largely dismantled, and the supply canal is u·sed for irrigation. The 

Rattlesnake Creek plant also has been dismantled and abandoned, 

and only one of the two Dillon plants is operated, the other having 

been closed down after the construction of a transmission line from 

Dillon to Laurin, where a connection is made with a transmission 

line of the Montana Power Co. that extends into this area from 
... 

JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 45 

hydroeleetric plants in other parts of Montana. The Pony plant 

and one of the Dillon plants (6AC-7) are the only ones now operated 

to even approximately their full capacity, and both are small plants 

having a combined capacity of only about 130 kilowatts. Another 

small plant was formerly operated on South Boulder Creek to furnish 

power to a mining camp, but that also has been abandoned, and 

possibly similar power plants ha;ve been constructed at other points 

and likewise abandoned. The developed water .power in Jefferson 

River Basin is therefore of small economic importance, a situation 

in large part due to the fact that the general region contains other 

power sites which are more economical of development and are 

capable of supplying the available market. 

A summary of the undeveloped power resources is given in Table 2. 

None ofthese potential power sites are regarded as having commercial 

importance. The Beaverhead Canyon, Rattlesnake Creek (Argenta), 

Lower Big Hole Canyon, and Whitetail. Canyon sites would require an 

expenditure in excess of the return obtainable from the sale of power, 

and the Liberty Mines site is of small local importance and probably 

will be used only as long as the mining operations are continued. 

TABLE 2.-Summary of undeveloped power sites in the Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

[Estimates of power based on static head and over-oll plant efficiency of 70 per cent) 

With existing flow 

Flow Flow Horsepower 

for for 

Index Name Stream llO ro 

No. Static per per head cent cent (H) of the of the 

(feet) time time (0.08HQ90) (O.OSHQOO) (Q90) (Q50) 

(sec.-

ft.) (sec.-ft.) 

6AC-L Beaverhead Canyon ...... Beaverhead Creek ...... 200 240 380 3,840 6,080 

6AC-5. RattlP.snake Creek ..... __ • Rattlesnake Creek. _____ 200 10 30 160 480 

6AG-3. Lower Big Hole Canyon .. Big Hole River .......... 80 860 625 2,300 4,000 

6AH-4. Whitetail Canyon ........ Whitetail Creek _________ 2, 400 7 15 1,300 1, 700 

6AH-6. Liberty Mines .......... __ South Boulder Creek ... 231 11 206 205 474 

With regulated flow 

Flow Flow Horsepower 

for for 

Index Name Stream llO 50 

No • Static per per head cent cent 

I (H) of the of the (0.08HQ90) (0.08HQ50) 

(feet) time time 

(sec.- (sec.- ft.) ft.) 

-- -- 6AC-L Beaverhead Canyon ...... Beaverhead Cree~ .. ___ ------- ------ ------ ----------- ----------- 6AC-5. Rattlesnake Creek ........ Rattlesnake Cree • _____ ----------- ----------- 6AG-3. Lower Big Hole Canyon .. Big Hole River .......... 80 408 408 2,600 2,600 

6AH-4. Whitetail Canyon ......... Whitetail Creek ......... 2,400 15 ------ 2,300 ----------- 6AH-5. Liberty Mines ............ South Boulder Cr,ek ... ----------- -----------
46 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

INDUSTRIES AND TRANSPORTATION 

Jefferson River was discovered July 25, 1805, when the Federal 

Government expedition under the leadership of Lewis and Clark 

arrived at what is now known as Three Forks (pl. 3), at the mouth of 

the river. It was nearly 50 years later, however, before white settlers entered in large numbers, and they were largely miners attracted 

by the discovery of gold there in the early fifties. One of the chief 

gold discoveries was that of the auriferous gravel in Alder Gulch in 

T. 6 S., Rs. 3 and 4 W., and it is reported 3 that these placer deposits 

alone have yielded $40,000,000 in gold. To-day mining has ceased 

to be a material factor in the economic affairs of the region, and 

agriculture is .the principal industry. The production of farm crops, 

however, is restricted almost entirely to certain relatively small 

areas where the physiographic, meteorologic, and stream-flow con· 

ditions are favorable to irrigation; the remainder of the .area in 

general is used for grazing. 

So far as transportation is concerned the region is reasonably well 

situated for marketing i'ts products. The main lines of the Northern 

Pacific Railway and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway 

run in a general westward direction across the basin, and a spur line 

of the Northern Pacific runs from Sappington to Harrison with 

extensions to Pony and to Norris, and another runs from Whitehall 

to Alder. The Great Northern Railway also crosses the extreme 

north end of the basin, at the headwaters of Boulder River. The 

Oregon Short Line runs approximately through the center of the 

basin. The Gilmore & Pittsburgh Railroad, along Horse Prairie 

Creek, and the Montana Southern Railway, a private line along 

Big Hole and Wise Rivers, complete the list of constructed railroads. 

In addition to the railroads the area is traversed by an interconnecting highway system consisting of four well-marked "trails" and 

many other roads that are in good condition for travel during most of 

the year. The marked highways and their general routes are as 

follows: 

1. Yellowstone Trail (part of National Parks Highway), from Three Forks to 

Harrison and Whitehall, thence westward across the Continental Divide to 

Butte. 

2. Vigilante Trail (part of Banff-Grand Can,yon Road), from Helena to Boulder, thence to Butte, returning to the Jefferson River Valley by the same route 

as the Yellowstone Trail but turning south about 7 miles from Whitehall and 

proceeding south up Jefferson River to Twin Bridges, thence up Ruby River 

and Alder Gulch to Virginia City, thence across the divide into the Madison 

River Basin. 

3. Geysers to Glacier Trail, from Three Forks to Cold Spring, thence up 

Boulder River to Boulder, thence to Helena. 

4. Great White Way, from Norris to Harrison, thence to the mouth of Boulder 

River and up that river to Cold Spring, thence along Geysers to Glacier Trail. 

'Winchell, A. N., The mining districts of the Dillon quadrangle, Montana: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

574, p. 57, 1914. 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

114 

lm~rated lands 

~ Proposed tme-atton 

LEGEND 

6A 8 Dram age-area deste-natton 

e.- Constructed reservoir 

~ Reservoir site 

• Installed power plant 

= Possible canal route 

} 

Complete destgnation obtatned 

by suffixin~r number to dratna~rearea designation as 6AA-1. 6AA-2 

MAP OF ,JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MON~fANA 1 Scale soo ooo 

1926 

l J;.J " 

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 580 PLATE 3 

D I V I D C: 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 47 

GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY 

The Jefferson is one of three rivers that meet at Three Forks, 

Mont., to form Missouri River; the other two are Madison and 

Gallatin Rivers. Geographers refer to .Jefferson River as ths continuation of the main channel above Three Forks. It is approximately 60 miles long from its mouth to the junction of Beaverhead 

and Big Hole Rivers. Thence the main river stem is Beaverhead 

River, the head of which lies at a point 56 miles farther upstream, 

at the junction of Red Rock River and Horse Prairie Creek. Above 

this point Red Rock River is called the main stem and is the ultimate 

source of the Mississippi-Missouri River system, which is the longest 

river channel in the world, having a total length of 4,220 miles. The 

Jefferson River Basin lies in the extreme southwest corner of Montana and has a total length of about 140 miles in a north-south 

direction and 115 miles in an east-west direction. (See pl. 3.) The 

drainage area, which covers about 10,000 square miles, consists for the 

most part of rugged mountain ranges with a few open valley areas that 

have been filled to considerable depths by lacustrine and fluviatile 

deposits. These valleys contain most of the arable land, but the 

mountains are also important as catchment areas for the precipitation that yields the water necessary for the development of the 

valleys. 

For convenience the discussion of each subject in this paper is 

arranged in accordance with the standard practice in publishing 

stream-flow records in the Geological Survey, the main river stem 

being described first, and then the tributaries in order from the 

headwaters of the basin downstream 

MAIN RIVER STEM 

Red Rock River drains an area of 1,580 square miles, about half 

of which lies on the slopes of the Continental Divide, the river being 

parallel to this divide throughout its course. Its headwaters are 

tributary to a mountain park area in T. 14 S., R. 1 E., locally called 

Alaska Basin. This park is about 5 miles long and 1 mile in maximum 

width. It is surrounded by high mountains except at its west end, 

where:. short, narrow outlet. serves as a passage for Red Rock River 

into CJntennial Valley, an east-west valley that extends 36 miles 

through Tps. 13 and 14 S., Rs. 1 to 6 W., with ah average width of 

6 miles. The altitude of Centennial Valley is about 6,600 feet and 

it is nearly level along the central axis, the gradient being only about 

2 feet to the mile. The valley floor has an area of about 100,000 

acres. Three large bodies of water, upper and lower Red Rock and 

Swan Lakes, lie near its upper end. The surface area of these lakes 

is 3,130, 3,820, and 830 acres respectively, and their combined area, 

including adjacent and intervening swamp lands, is 22.5 square miles. 

94680°-27--4 
48 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES ' 

Lower Red Rock Lake is shallow, its maximum depth being only 5 

or 6 feet. Upper Red Rock Lake has a maximum depth of about 

20 feet. Below lower Red Rock Lake Red Rock River is a sluggish 

aggrading stream, following a winding course to the lower end of 

Centennial Valley. Thence through a narrow rock gorge less than 

1 mile in length it flows into lower Red Rock Valley, which extends 

42 miles westward and northwestward to Horse Prairie Creek, in 

T. 10 S., R. 10 W. This valley is bounded on the east by relatively 

low hills and mountains, but on the west a bold rocky range rises 

about 2,000 feet above it. Its broadest section lies near the upper 

end, where the flood plain and adjoining benches have a total width 

of about 4 miles. The lower half of the valley has an average width 

of 172 miles. The altitude of the valley floor averages about 6,000 

feet, ranging from about 6,400 feet near its upper end to 5,600 feet 

at the mouth of the river. The bottom lands and the arable portions 

of the adjoining benches have an estimated combined area of 50,000 

acres. 

The confluence of Red Rock River and Horse Prairie Creek forms 

Beaverhead River, which becomes the main stem of the MississippiMissouri River system. From this point a canyon section extends 

downstream 13.8 miles, to a point near the south line of sec. 17, T. 

8 S., R. 9 W. The average width of this canyon is nearly a quarter 

of a mile, and the gradient of the river through it is about 13 feet to 

the mile. At the end of the canyon Beaverhead River enters a broad 

open valley that extends downstream 25 miles to the Point of Rocks, 

in sec. 22, T. 5 S., R. 7 W. This area is locally called Dillon Valley. 

Its altitude ranges from nearly 4,900 feet above sea level at the lower 

end to about 6,000 feet on reentrants that extend up Rattlesnake 

and Blacktail Deer Creeks into the bordering hills and mountains 

near the head of the valley. On each side of Dillon Valley are large 

areas of terraced bench lands, and those on the right extend without 

interruption down past the Point of Rocks nearly to the mouth of 

Beaverhead River. At the Point of Rocks Beaverhead River 

passes through a narrow aperture between two rocky points that 

form a conspicuous landmark in that region; the one on the left is 

called Beaverhead Rock. The river continues thence a distance of 

18 miles through a large open, gently sloping plains area to its confluence with Big Hole River. The total area tributary to Beaverhead River is about 4,880 square miles. 

Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers unite to form Jefferson River. 

The plains area in which the junction lies will be called the Upper 

Jefferson Valley, as it is the upper one of two physically similar basins 

traversed by the main Jefferson River stem. Besides the lower 18 

miles of the Beaverhead River channel the valley contains 32 miles 

of Jefferson River, which follows a meandering course with a fall of 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 49 

only about 4 feet to the mile. The valley has an average width of 

about 6 miles, and the flood-plain area is about 2 miles wide. The 

surficial cover of the flood plain near the junction of Beaverhead and 

Big Hole Rivers is composed of material ranging from gravel to cobblestones with very little soil. Toward the lower end of the valley the 

flood plain is dissected in places by numerous sloughs and overflow 

channels that form islands which are subject to flooding during 

periods of high water. Adjoining the flood plain are extensive areas 

of bench lands that generally have a coarse gravel soil, the.principal 

exception being on the right or south side in T. 1 N., Rs. 3 and 4 W., 

where the soil is a fertile sandy loam. The altitude in the valley 

ranges from about 4,300 to 5,000 feet above sea level; the bordering 

mountains on each side rise abruptly to 10,000 feet. From this 

upper valwy Jefferson River flows into a narrow box canyon about 3 

miles long, thence through the lower Jefferson Valley for about 25 

miles to its mouth at Three Forks. The fall of the river through the 

lower valley is nearly three times as great as in the upper valley and 

the flood plain is narrower. The bench lands adjoining the flood 

plain, however, are more extensive. The altitude of the lower valley 

ranges from 4,000 to 4,600 feet. 

TRIBUTARIES 

The principal tributaries of Red Rock River are Elk, Odell, 

Long, and Clover Creeks in Centennial Valley and Junction, 

Sheep, and Sage Creeks in lower Red Rock Valley. With the exception of Sheep and Sage Creeks these tributaries are comparatively 

short and have steep gradients for the most part and relatively small 

drainage basins. Sheep Creek drains about 300 square miles comprising the extreme westerly portion of Red Rock Basin. That area 

is almost completely surrounded by mountains, high peaks of. the 

Continental Divide formi~g a semicircle on the south ~nd west, and 

lower but equally rugged mountains of the Sheep Creek Range nearly 

closing it in on the north and east. The upper part of the drainage area includes a mountain park called Sheep Creek Basin, 

which has an altitude of about 6,800 feet and covers 50 to 75 square 

miles of slightly rolling valley lands dissected by Sheep Creek and 

numerous tributaries. Within this basin are extensive areas of wet 

meadow lands. At its lower end Sheep Creek enters a canyon cut 

deeply into the Sheep Creek Mountains, in which it continues for 

12 to 14 miles to the lower Red Rock Valley. Sage Creek drains an 

area of about 225 square miles comprising the northerly portion of 

Red Rock Basin. The area consists of high hills and low mountains 

inclosing at the headwaters a basin which is similar in characteristics 

to Centennial Valley and Sheep Creek Basin but much smaller. 
50 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Horse Prairie Creek enters lower Red Rock Valley through a 

break in the hills on the west side and is the first large tributary to 

the Beaverhead River section of the main river stem. It drains an 

area of 712 square miles, including a section of the Continental Divide 

64 miles in length. Its basin includes one main valley area that contains most of the arable land, which begins less than a mile above the 

mouth of the creek and extends upstream about 22 miles. The 

maximum width of this valley is nearly 3 miles. A valley also occurs 

along M-edicine Lodge Creek, a tributary to Horse Prairie Creek, 

but it is a long, narrow trough that contains only a small area of cultivable land. The remainder of the basin is almost entirely mountainous with practically no cultivable land. All the cultivable land 

in this basin lies at an altitude higher than 6,000 feet. 

The chief tributaries of Beaverhead River below Horse Prairie 

Creek are Grasshopper, Rattlesnake, and Blacktail Deer Creeks 

and Ruby River. The drainage area of Grasshopper Creek covers 

about 335 square miles and is mostly mountainous. The lower 12 

miles of the stream lies in a narrow rock-walled canyon, above which 

an open valley extends nearly to the headwaters. The valley is 

narrow for the most part but attains a maximum width, including 

the adjoining benches, of about 4 miles in the vicinity of Polaris, in 

T. 6 S., Rs. 12 and 13 W. The cultivable lands are practically limited 

to this open valley section and have an average altitude of about 

6,000 feet. 

Rattlesnake Creek has a drainage basin covering about 150 square 

miles, the upper part of which is a mountainous area ranging in altitude from 7,000 to 10,000 feet or more above sea level. In the 

mountain section the creek channel lies in a deep, narrow V-shaped 

valley with a gradient of 100 to 200 feet to the mile, which terminates 

at a point in sec. 30, T. 6 S., R. 10 W., near an old, almost abandoned 

mining camp called Argenta. The river t.here enters the open plains 

area that is part of Dillon Valley. The only noteworthy areas of 

cultivable land are in the creek flood plain of this plains area. 

Blacktail Deer Creek drains an area of 427 square miles. The 

general topography of its basin is similar to that of the Rattlesnake 

Creek basin except that the mountainous area has a lower average 

altitude and is somewhat less rugged. The main channel of the creek 

now enters Beaverhead River from the right through the town of 

Dillon, but formerly the mouth of the stream was located at a point 

7 miles upstream from Dillon. This change in the course of the creek 

was made by local interests in connection with water utilization. 

The lowest tributary to Beaverhead River is Ruby River, which 

has a drainage area of 1,540 square miles. The lower 22 miles of its 

course lies in a broad, open valley which forms a salient to upper 

Jefferson Valley. The remainder of the area is grazing land and is 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 51 

mountainous for the most part, the principal exception being an area 

of about 7 square miles in Sweetwater Basin, which lies at an altitude 

of 6,400 to 7,000 feet and is valuable for grazing only. 

Big Hole River is the largest tributary to the main stem of the 

Missouri system in the area under discussion. It has a drainage 

area of about 2,960 square miles, including a rugged mountainous 

tract that forms part of the Continental Divide, which parallels the 

river on the left side of its basin in a nearly semicircular course for 

180 miles. On the right side of the basin is a similarly rugged mountainous area which forms the qivide separating the Big Hole and 

Beaverhead River basins. Most of the nonmountainous land of this 

drainage area lies in a section called Big Hole Basin, a gently sloping 

plain that extends nearly 40 miles from north to south, has a maximum width of 12 to 15 miles, and is .unbroken except by shallow 

drainage channels. The average altitude in this area is approximately 6,000 feet. 

Big Hole Basin ends in T. 1 N., R. 14 W., where the river flows 

into a valley averaging nearly 1 mile in width that extends down to 

a point just below the mouth of Wise River. At this point the river 

enters a narrow rock-walled box canyon, which continues for about 

8 miles. Thence the river flows through a narrow deep valley past 

Divide Creek and enters another canyon section somewhat less than 

5 miles in length. Below the second canyon section the river enters 

a valley that extends to a narrows in sec. 3, T. 5 S., R. 8 W., which 

affords an excellent cross section for a dam site. Below this dam 

site the river flows in a narrow valley for several miles and thence 

crosses upper Jefferson Valley to its confluence with the Beaverhead 

to form Jefferson River. Wise River is the principal tributary of 

• Big Hole River and has a drainage area of 266 square miles, composed 

almost entirely of rugged mountains. The Big Hole receives numerous other tributaries whose drainage areas are smaller than that 

of Wise River but have for the most part a similarly rugged topography. 

The principal tributaries to Jefferson River are Pipestone, Whitetail, and South Boulder Creeks and Boulder River, which enter the 

river in the upper valley, and Willow Creek, which enters it in the 

lower valley. 

Pipestone Creek has a drainage area of 169 square miles. Its 

headwaters lie in a rough mountainous country which forms part of 

the Continental Divide and reaches a maximum altitude of about 

8,000 feet; the lower part of its basin consists of terraces forming 

part of the west side of upper Jefferson Valley. 

Whitetail Creek has a drainage area of 162 square miles, which 

adjoins that of Pipestone Creek on the north, both streams discharg-

."1 ing into Jefferson River at points less than 1 mile apart. The physi-
52 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

ography of the two basins is similar. A mouiltain meadow-land 

area called Upper Whitetail Park lies at the headwaters of Whitetail 

Creek, and 12 miles above its mouth the creek flows through a second park called Lower Whitetail Park. A third open parklike area 

known as Whitetail Basin lies at the headwaters of- its principal 

tributary, Little Whitetail Creek. Between Upper and Lower Whitetail Parks the creek flows in a deep, narrow canyon 8 miles long with 

a fall of about 300 feet to the mile. 

Boulder River has a drainage area of about 760 square miles, including a long narrow valley that begins near its mouth and extends upstream about 30 miles, to a point near the town of Boulder, 

also a mountainous section of the Continental Divide 47 miles in 

length. South Boulder Creek has a drainage area of 86 square 

miles that is almost entirely mountainous, the only notable exception 

being a rather small area of alluvial· bottom land near its mouth. 

The mountainous section of this basin extends to altitudes greater 

than 10,000 feet. 

Willow Creek drains an area of 188 square miles, which is unlike 

the basins of the other tributaries of Jefferson River in that only a 

small section of it is mountainous. Most of this area is composed of 

bench lands on the south side of lower Jefferson Valley, which have 

a good soil and lie at an altitude ranging from 4,400 to 5,400 feet. 

METEOROLOGY 

Meteorologic records have been obtained by the United States 

Weather Bureau at 14 stations in or near the Jefferson River Basin. 

These records indicate that the rainfall on the arable lands in general 

is inadequate to provide the moisture required for producing diversified farm crops; that the length of the growing season varies widely 

and is adequate for producing even a small variety of crops only at 

certain favorably located places; and that the winters are long and 

severely cold, necessitating protection from ice interference in the 

operation of hydroelectric power plants. For the purpose of the 

present report the records of rainfall and length of growing season 

are the most important meteorologic data, and the available figures 

are given at the end of the report, but for convenient reference a 

summary of them is given in Table 3. Temperature records are not 

inclt~ded in the meteorologic data given on pages 87-93, but examination of them in Weather Bureau publications shows that during 

the winter there are long periods when the temperature is below the 

freezing point, a condition which may affect the operation of power 

plants. However, ice cover on the forebay storage reservoir forms 

an effective blanket below which is water free from ice that can be 

drawn for operating waterpower plants, and under such conditions 

there is little ice difficulty except during t4e spring break-up, when t. 

the ice is leaving the reservoir. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 53 

TABLE 3.-Summary of meteorologic data for Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

Station Location Period of Altitude 

record (feet) 

Mem 

annual 

rainfall 

(Inches) 

Average 

length of 

growing 

season 

(days) 

----------.------l----------------l------1---------------

Boulder.------------·-·------·· T. 6 N., R. 4 W •••.••••••••• 1891-1919 

Bowen .•••.•••••••••••••••••••. T.1 S., R.15 W •••••••••••• 1906--1921 

Brenner-----------------··----- T.10 S., R. 13 W ••••••••••• 1914-1925 

DelL·------------------------- T. 13 S., R. 9 W ••••••••••••• mit}~ } Dillon __________________________ T. 7 S., R. 8 W ___ ---------- 1898--1925 

Homepark ______________________ T. 8 S., R. 4 W ------------- 190&--1910 

Lima .••• ----------------------- T. 14 S., R. 8 W -----·-·---- 1914-1916 

Norris .•••••••• ~---------------- T. 3 8., R. 1 W ------------- 1908--1925 Pipestone Dam _________________ T. 3 N., R. 6 W _____________ 1923--1925 

Pipestone Pass _________________ T. 2 N., R. 7 W _____________ 1909--1913 

Renova _________________________ T. 1 N., R. 4 W ------------- 1898--1925 

Three Forks (near) _____________ T. 2 N., R. 1 E------------- 1914-1922 

Twin Bridf!llS-----------·------ T. 3 S., R. 6 W ------------- 1902--1907 

Virginia CitY---·-····--------·· T. 6 S., R. 3 W _____________ 1871-1925 

• Frost every month. • Approximate. 

• No record. 

4,920 

6,060 

5,900 

6, 014 

5,147 

• 5, 800 

6,256 

4, 845 

5,800 

5,800 

4,383 

4,400 

• 4, 580 

5,880 

12.29 72 

12.31 (•) 

1131 67 

8.14 63 

16.95 98 

15.60 (•) 

11.29 70 

17.27 136 

12.39 84 

18.84 44 

12.00 108 

12.19 117 

8. 50 (•) 

14.19 104. 

The Lima and Dell stations are located in the trough of lower Red 

Rock Valley, and these stations are the highest along the main stem 

of the Mississippi-Missouri River system. These two stations are 

less than 8 miles apart, and the meteorologic conditions are nearly 

identical at both. The records show a mean annual rainfall in lower 

Red Rock Valley ranging from 8.14 to 11.29 inches and a growing 

season ranging from 63 to 70 days. In Centennial Valley the higher 

altitude is conducive to a shorter growing sea'Son and higher rainfall, 

but data obtained in the field by the writers indicate that the difference 

is probably small. 

The next station of the Weather Bureau downstream along the 

main river stem is at Dillon, in the trough of Dillon Valley, where 

the conditions for crop production are probably the most unfavorable 

in that area with respect to rainfall and length of growing season. 

The Renova and Three Forks records show a progressively longer 

growing season downstream from Dillon Valley to the mouth of 

Jefferson River. 

The record at Norris indicates a more favorable climate for crop 

production than at any other of the 14 stations listed in Table 3, in 

that it shows the highest rainfall and longest growing season. The 

station lies outside the Jefferson River Basin, but its record shows 

meteorologic conditions similar to those prevailing on the south-side 

bench lands of lower Jefferson Valley. It is interesting to compare 

this record with that at Three Forks, where, althoug:q the altitude 

is several hundred feet lower, yet the season is nearly three weeks 

shorter, owing to the fact that Three Forks lies in the trough of the 

valley. where air drainage is less efficient and the liability to frost 

much greater. 
54 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

The Bowen station is near the north end of Big Hole Basin, and 

its altitude is about the same as that of the greater part of that basin. 

The records of this station should therefore indicate nearly average 

climatic conditions throughout the basin. At points down Big Hole 

River from Bowen the growing season increases in length, reaching 

a maximum at the mouth of the stream, at the head of upper Jefferson 

Valley, where its length is probably a median between that of 97 

days at Dillon and that of 108 days at Renova. 

WATER SUPPLY 

A list of gaging stations that have been maintained in the Jefferson 

River Basin by the United States Geological Survey and cooperating 

organizations or persons is given below. The relation of the tributaries to the main stream is shown by indention. A dash after the 

last date in a line indicates that the station is still being maintained. 

Detailed descriptions of the stations, with tables showing the monthly 

maximum, minimum, and mean discharge in second-feet and the 

run-off in acre-feet, are given on pages 93-113. 

Red Rock River (head of Missouri River) above Red Rock Reservoir, near 

Monida, Mont., 1911; 1914-15 . 

.Red Rock River below Red Rock Reservoir, near Monida, Mont., 1911~1918. 

Red Rock River at Lima, Mont., 1907-1911. 

Red Rock River at Red Rock, Mont., 1890. 

Beaverhead River (continuation of Red Rock River) at Barratts, Mont., 1907-

Jefferson River (continuation of Red Rock and Beaverhead Rivers) near Silver 

Star, Mont., 1910-1916, 1920-

.Tefferson River (continuation of Red Rock and Beaverhead Rivers) near Sappington, Mont., 1894-1905. 

Tributaries: 

Grasshopper Creek near Dillon, Mont., 1921-

Ruby River near Alder, Mont., 1911-1914. 

Big Hole River near Dewey, Mont., 1910-1913. 

Big Hole River near Melrose, Mont., 1924-

Pipestone Creek nearWhitehall, Mont., 1910-11. 

Whitetail Creek near Whitehall, Mont., 1911. 

Little Whitetail Creek near Whitehall, Mont., 1911. 

Boulder River near Basin, Mont., 1919-20. 

Boulder Rivel' at Basin, Mont., 1921-

Muskrat Creek near Boulder, Mont., 1912-1914. 

Willow Creek near Willow Creek, Mont., 1919-

Table 4 shows the mean monthly flow computed from the records 

for all the above-listed stations for which continuous records for a 

period of 12 months are available. The table also shows the mean 

~onthly flow of Jefferson River as measured at the Silver Star gaging 

station with estimates for January and February on the assumption 

that the flow in those months bears approximately the same relation 

to the total annual run-off as it does at the other stations for which 

records are available. Another assumption that has been made in 

preparing the table is that the records of Red Rock River at Lima 
, 

JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 55 

and near Monida were obtained at the same point, whereas the 

Lima record shows the run-off from a drainage area nearly 10 per 

cent larger than that tributary to the Monida station. This additional drainage area, however, does not materially increase the runoff, and the error that may be due to the assumption is largely offset 

by irrigation diversions between the two stations. The advantage in 

the combination of these records lies in the fact that they afford a 

continuous record showing the flow of Red Rock River at a point near 

the Lima Reservoir (6AA-2) during the years 1908 to 1918. The 

records subsequent to May 1, 1911, were obtained at a weir installed 

150 yards below the Lima Dam (6AA-2). At high-water stages the 

stilling pool above this weir is filled with rocks and pebbles, and then 

a strong velocity of approach occurs and introduces errors in the 

computations of discharge. 

TABLE 4.-Summary of stream-flow data for Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

I Drain· Mean run-off (acre-feet) 

Gaging station Period of age area record (square 

miles) Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. ·Apr. 

---·-------------

Red Rock River near Monida and at Lima ... 1908-1918 560 14,000 10,300 Beaverhead River at Bar· 

3, 530 2, 210 2,120 2,360 21,400 

ratts ______ --------- ___ .• 1907-1923 2,800 29,100 29,700 23,200 20,000 16,500 25,100 41, 001) 

Jefferson River at Silver {191()-1916, } 7, 940 83,200 87,100 77,200 •64,700 •57,400 71,300 152,000 Star_------·---------·-· 192()-1923 

Jefferson River at Sap· 

pington .••. ·-·-·--·---- _ 1896-1905 9, 500 68,700 96,500 97,400 96,100 11)8, 000 92,700 148,1)01) Grasshopper Creek near Dillon. 1, 980 ___ •• __ • __ •• ____ • 1921-1923 360 2,250 1,650 2,121) 1,390 2,100 5,150 

Big Hole River near Dewey_.-·-·-·--···-··- 1911-1913 1, 990 31,800 25,800 18,800 18,400 13,900 17,700 67,800 

p~l~~~~~-~~-e-~~-~-~~~- 191()-1911 115 '114 493 769 615 666 873 I, 290 Muskrat Creek near Boulder __ -----·-------' 1912-1914 7 218 169 62 84 57 56 163 Willow Creek near Wil· 

low Creek.·------"·---- 1919-1923 167 2,340 2,580 2, 760 1,230 1,560 2, 310 3,040 

Mean 

Mean run-off (acre-feet) annual 

Drain· run-off 

Gaging station Period of age area per record (square square miles) mile 

(acreMay June July Aug. Sept. Total feet) 

--------------- Red Rock River near Monida and at Lima. 1908-1918 560 36,700 Beaverhead River at 26,300 10,600 7,140 9, 710 146,000 279 

Barratts .• __ • ____ ••••• 1907-1923 2,800 61,800 63,900 25,100 21,500 20,100 377,000 135 Jefferson River at Silver {191()-1916, } 7, 940 300,000 409,000 141,999 60,700 65,400 1, 573,000 198 Star_-·-·------------- 192()-1923 

Jefferson River at Sap· pington ............... 1896-1905 9,500 333,000 326,000 149,000 52,000 49,400 1, 620,000 171 

Grasshopper Creek near Dillon. ____ • __ • ____ • __ 1921-1923 360 9, 790 14,400 3,170 2,230 1,680 47,900 . 133 B4t; Hole River near Dewey_·---·--·--·--- 1911-1913 1, 990 211,000 391,000 123,000 45,500 28,600 993; 000 500 Pipestone Creek near WhitehalL-----·--·-- 1910-1911 115 2,430 3, 200 383 138 83 11,000 96 Muskrat Creek near Boulder __ ----·----·-- 1912-1914 7 589 885 324 149 119 2,880 410 Willow Creek near Wil· 

low Creek ............ 19HH923 167 3, 940 8,090 5, 560 2, 200 1,860 37,500 226 I 

--- • Estimated. • 19 days only, 
56 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

The station on Beaverhead River at Barratts is one of the most 

important in connection with the present discussion. It shows the 

flow of the main stem of the Mississippi-Missouri River system at 

the head of Dillon Valley, which is the first area from the headwaters 

downstream in which meteorologic conditions permit general farm 

development. During portions of the irrigation season the entire 

flow of the river is diverted for irrigation in Dillon Valley, and the 

record at the gaging station is especially useful in studies of water 

utilization for that area. 

The Silver Star and Sappington stations are the only others on 

the main river stem. The drainage area tributa.ry to the river above 

Sappington is nearly 20 per cent greater than that above Silver 

Star, yet the run-off is only 3 per cent greater. This apparent 

anomaly is probably due in part to the fact that the period of record 

at the lower station was one of low run-off, so that the records are 

not strictly comparable, but irrigation diversions between the two 

stations further tend to offset the natural increase in flow due to 

the increase in drainage area. Furthermore, most of the high mountain area, in which the precipitation is greatest and which yields the 

highest rate of run-off, lies above the Silver Star station. The record 

at the lower station is an approximate indication of the surplus flow 

in Jefferson River after practically all diversions in the basin have 

been satisfied. 

The Grasshopper Creek record shows the flow through the Grasshopper Reservoir site (6A0-2). The winter record at this station 

is complete for the year ending September 30, 1923, only. This 

creek is tributary to Beaverhead River above Barratts, and the 

record for 1923 at the Barratts station was nearly 11 per cent ,below 

normal for the period of record at that station. Hence estimates of 

water supply available for storage in the Grasshopper Creek Reservoir 

based on the data in Table 4 should be reasonably safe. 

Rattlesnake Creek is one of the streams discussed in this report 

for which no records have been obtained by the Geological Survey. 

The only available information relative to its flow was obtained from 

a water master appointed to enforce the distribution of the water 

of the creek in accordance with a decree adjudicating the rights to it. 

This information consists in part of discharge measurements made in 

the course of the regular duties of the water master during the irrigation season, supplemented by general observations during the 

noni.rrigation season. It appears that 140 s~cond-feet is required 

to satisfy the decree rights and that the flow of the creek is usually 

sufficient to meet the demand under these rights during May and 

June, but that during July and August the flow decreases to about 

50 second-feet, part of which is believed to be obtained from storage 

at the headwaters of the creek. On June 15, 1923, the flow was only 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 57 

about 75 second-feet, and the discharge during the winter is said 

to average about 10 second-feet. These data are reasonably trustworthy in so far as they relate to the low-water flow during the irrigation season, because for that period actual measurements are necessary. The drainage area tributary to the creek above Argenta, in 

sec. 30, T. 6 S., R. 10 W., near the point of observation by the water 

master, is about 50 square miles, and its unit run-off may be approximately comparable to that of Grasshopper Creek. The record from 

October, 1922, to March, 1923, on Grasshopper Creek shows a mean 

discharge of less than 0.1 second-foot per square mile. If the rate of 

discharge from the Rattlesnake Creek Basin was the same the flow 

at Argenta during the same period was less than 5-second-feet. It 

is believed that the mean winter discharge of Rattlesnake Creek 

at Argenta is probably not less than 5 or more than 10 second-feet. 

No records of the flow of Blacktail Deer Creek are available, and 

the only point for which such records would be useful in the present 

report is in sec. 24, T. 9 S., R. 8 W., at the Blacktail Deer Reservoir 

site (6AC-8). The drainage area tributary to the creek at this point 

is 300 square miles, and the unit run-off per square mile from that 

area may be approximntely comparable to that tributary to Beaverhead River at Barratts, or 135 acre-feet per square mile. With 

such a unit run-off more than 40,000 acre-feet a year would be derived 

from a drainage area of 300 squdJie miles. 

The available records for Ruby River cover portions of the period 

from May, 1911, to June, 1914, and were obtained at a point near 

the Ruby Reservoir dam site (6AD-1). These records show a 

mean run-off of 135,000 acre-feet during the period April to December, inclusive. No data are available for the months of January, 

February, and March. It is estimated on the basis of the record of 

Beaverhead River at Barratts and general information relativP to 

the two drainage areas that the flow during these months probably 

does not exceed 16 per cent of that for the remainder of the year; 

hence the total.annual flow may be approximately 161,000 acre-feet. 

The record for Big Hole River at Dewey is complete for 1910-11 

only, but during that year the rainfall at Brenner was only 2 per cent 

above normal, and it is likely that the total annual run-off as measured 

at Divide is an approximate indication of the normal stream flow. 

A new station was established in March, 1924, near Melrose, in sec. 

27, T. 3 S., R. 9 W., to determine the water supply available for 

storage at the Big Hole Reservoir site (6AG-10). The record for 

this station now available, however, covers only a part of one year. 

In addition to these data the Montana Power Co. has obtained stream 

flow records at the Divide power plant (6AG-2). The records show 

the flow through the turbine water wheels of the plant and the discharge over the spillway. They do not include losses by leakage 
58 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

through the dam, which have been estimated at 100 second-feet 

during low-water periods and probably more at flood stages. These 

power plant records have therefore been used only in estimating 

the flow at the power house during 90 per cent and 50 per cent of 

the time, the assumption being made that the leakage of 100 secondfeet is constant. The fact that the flood-season leakage is larger 

would have no effect on the estimates of flow for 90 per cent and 50 

per cent of the time. 

The available record for Pipestone Creek is nearly complete for 

the year ending September 30, 1911. The rainfall records for this 

year at Renova and Pipestone Pass show a precipitation somewhat 

below normal, and run-off records for that year should furnish a. 

conservative indication of normal water-supply conditions. 

Records of the flow· of Willow Creek are being obtained for the 

purpose of determining the water supply available for storage at 

the Willow Creek Reservoir site (6AH-7). The available data. 

indicate that the total run-off from October 1 to June 1 amounted 

to 19,000 acre-feet in one year and 26,800 acre-feet in the other. 

With the possible exception of part of the May run-off it is believed 

that all of the flow during the months October to May, inclusive, 

can be stored in the proposed reservoir, and probably any of the 

May flow released to satisfy irrigation demands in that month could 

be offset by surplus flood water in• June. The Norris precipitation 

record is fairly indicative of rainfall in the drainage area tributary 

to Willow Creek, and from that record it appears that during the 

winter periods covered by available run-off records the rainfall was 

below normal, and therefore the run-off also may have been less than 

normaL 

STORAGE 

Owing to the wide seasonal fluctuation in the rate of run-off, development involving the diversion and use of water in the Jefferson River 

Basin is in a large measure dependent upon the storage available for 

regulating the stream flow. The census report for 1920, shows that 

59 reservoirs had been buiit in this drainage area, 34 of which are in 

the Beaverhead River Basin. Data available to the writers obtained 

independently as well as in the course of the field examination on 

which this paper is based cover the larger developed and undeveloped 

reservoir sites. Reservoir sites having a capacity of less than 500 

acre-feet in general have been ignored except in so far as data relative 

to them were obtained together with data relative to larger developments. The present discussion therefo·re does not embrace all the 

59 reservoirs listed by the Census Bureau. The principal developed 

storage sites for which no detailed data are available are reservoirs on 

two tributaries of Ruby River (Wisconsin and Mill Creeks) and 
. 

-

JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 59 

two reservoirs at the headwaters of Big Hole River (Mussigbrod 

and Pintlar Lake). General information available to the writers 

indicates that on Wisconsin and Mill Creeks 12 reservoirs with an 

aggregate capacity of about 11,000 acre-feet have been built. The 

Mussigbrod Reservoir (6AE-1) has a capacity of about 2,000 acre-feet; 

the capacity of the Pintlar Lake Reservoir (6AF-1) is not known. 

RESERVOIRS 

Lima Reservoir (6AA-2).-At the lower end of Centennial Valley 

in lot 2, sec. 32, T. 13 S., R. 6 W., an earth-fill dam 50 feet high has 

been constructed in the narrows leading to lower Red Rock Valley, 

creating a reservoir which has a surface area of about 2,460 acres. 

Its capacity, according to the construction engineer, is 86,600 acrefeet when storing water to a depth of 45 feet, which requires 5 feet 

of flashboards in the spillway. This capacity is said to have been 

determined by emptying the reservoir when full and measuring ,both 

the inflow and the outflow. The .effective capacity, according to 

records filed in the General Land Office by the present owners of the 

reservoir, is 57,000 acre-feet. A study of available stream-flow 

records shows that the spring and summer of 1919 was one of the 

driest periods in the history of Montana. The reservoir caretaker 

informed the writers that filling of the reservoir was completed and 

storage discontinued on April25 in that year and reservoir water was 

first released on May 27. During the succeeding three months the 

reservoir was emptied, the 'measured outflow being 25,100 acre-feet, 

while the inflow was practically nothing. The effective capacity of 

the reservoir in 1919, therefore, apparently did not exceed about 

25,000 acre-feet. Critical study of available records for other years 

tends to confirm the conclusion based on the record for 1919 or at 

least to show that the effective capacity of the reservoir is materially 

less than is generally estimated by its owners. The winter flow of 

Red Rock River is more than adequate to fill a reservoir of a larger 

capacity than the present Lima Reservoir. On page 65 will be 

found a reference to the potential storage capacity of this site. 

The development of the Lima site was first undertaken in 1889, 

but the dam constructed at that time was washed out in 1890 or 1891. 

The history of this first undertaking is obscure, and it has not been 

determined whether the destruction of the dam was due to faulty 

construction or to action by persons who regarded the structure as 

unsafe. Surv:eys for the present structure were commenced December 10, 1901, and construction was completed July 30, 1909. The 

reservoir was designed to supply an area of raw lands at the upper end 

of lower Red Rock Valley, but the canal to serve these lands has not 

been completed. It is reported that a considerable amount of the 

water stored in 1909 was released in the dry summer of 1910, and that. 
60 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

on several other occasions between 1909 and 1919 reservoir water was 

sold to settlers whose normal supply from stream flow was short. 

After a dry season that caused an acute water shortage throughout 

the region, an association composed of water users in lower Red 

Rock and Beaverhead Valleys purchased the reservoir, and since 

the summer of 1919 it has been operated to store water for the irrigators of this association. 

A question regarding the efficiency of storage on Red Rock River 

for use in Dillon Valley is understood to have been rai~d in the minds 

of some residents of that valley by their observation of the heavy loss 

in the flow of the river that occurs in lower Red Rock Valley. This 

loss can be readily detected in a section which begins about 6 miles 

below Dell, but a measurement made by the writers on July 13, 1923, 

at Kidd, in sec. 7, T. 12 S., R. 9 W., when compared with the flow 

measured on the same date at the gaging station of the Geological 

Survey on Beaverhead River at Barratts showed an increase in flow 

between the two points amounting to 320 second-feet. Part of this 

increase comes from Horse Prairie and Grasshopper Creeks, which 

had a combined flow of 172 second-feet on that date. Some other 

inflow, which was not measured, was received from the drainage area. 

tributary to Red Rock and Beaverhead Rivers between Kidd and 

Barratts, but it is believed that the total amount of such inflow 

did not exceed 20 second-feet, a large part of which was derived from 

Warm Springs Creek. Of the total increase at Barratts, then, it 

appears that 128 second-feet was ground-water inflow, which is 

believed to be derived largely from underflow in lower Red Rock 

Valley that is returned to the river in Beaverhead Canyon. These 

data may be summarized as follows: 

Second-feet 

Red Rock River at Kidd, July 13, 1923-------------------- 112 

Beaverhead River at Barratts, July 13, 1923 _______________ 432 

Increase from Kidd to Barratts ______________________ , _____ 320 

Surface inflow Kidd to Barratts: 

Horse Prairie Creek _____________________________ 102 

(}rasshopper Creek______________________________ 70 

Unmeasured (estimated)_------ _____________ ----- 20 

--192 

(}round-waterinfl.ow ____________________________________ 128 

The opinion that the ground-water inflow is return water from seepage into lower Red Rock Valley is supported by the fact that Beaverhead Canyon is a rock-walled gorge whos~ sides are largely impervious 

to water. Furthermore, the canyon is narrow, and although it may 

have been considerably deeper at one time than now, yet the rate of 

movement of water through the detrital material underlying the present stream bed would be slow and almost negligible. Therefore, most 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 61 

of the underflow in lower Red Rock Valley necessarily would be forced 

to the surface in the canyon above Barratts. 

Phillips and Esler Lake Reservoirs (6AC-4, 6AC-3).-Storage is 

provided at two points in the mountains at the headwaters of Rattlesnake Creek, in Phill!ps Reservoir, in T. 6 S., R. 11 W., and Esler 

Lake Reservoir, in T. 5 S., R. 11 W. The records on file in the Washington office of the Geological Survey indicate that the builders 

originally planned to construct the Phillips Reservoir to store 1,750 

acre-feet and the Esler Lake Reservoir to store 2,700 acre-feet, but 

these quantities apparently are greater than the existing capacity 

as constructed. According to information obtained in the field the 

Phillips Reservoir Dam is 25 feet high and the capacity of the reservoir is 1,600 acre-feet, and the Esler Lake Dam is 30 .feet high and 

the capacity of the reservoir 2,000 acre-feet. The stored water is 

used for irrigation along the lower portion of Grasshopper Creek, 

beginning at Argenta, in sec. 30, T. 6 S., R. 10 W., and continuing 

thence downstream. · 

Mussigbrod Reservoir (6AE-1).-A reservoir having a capacity of 

about 2,000 acre-feet has been constructed on Mussigbrod Creek in 

T. 1 N., R. 16 W., by building a dam 14 feet high at the outlet of 

Mussigbrod Lake. The water stored in this reservoir is used for 

irrigating land in Big Hole Basin. 

Pintlar Lake Reservoir (6AF-1).-A reservoir in T. 1 N., R. 15 W., 

at Pintlar Lake, is also used to store water for irrigating land in Big 

Hole Basin, but no information relative to its capacity is available. 

Wise River Reservoir (6AG-1).-A reservoir has been constructed on 

the West Fork of Wise River in T. 2 S., R. 12 W., to provide storage 

regulation for generating power at the Divide power plant, on Big 

Hole River in T. 1 S., R. 10 W. (6AG-2). , Construction of the reser-· 

voir was completed about 1901 by building a dam of earth, rocks, and 

gravel to a height of 40 feet with a crest length of 410 feet. The 

estimated surface within the flow line of the reservoir is 538 acres, 

and its total capacity is 7,100 acre-feet. The abutments of the dam 

reston slide-rock material, through which water percolates rapidly until 

the surface of the reservoir has been lowered to a point 15 feet above the 

bottom. The outlet is 9 feet above the bottom; hence the effective 

holding capacity lies between 9 and 15 feet above the bottom of the 

reservoir. The storage capacity between these levels is estimated 

at 296 acre-feet. 

Practically all of the drainage area of the West Fork of Wise River 

lies above the reservoir, and provision has also been made to divert 

water from the main Wise River into the reservoir through a conduit 

6,850 feet in length. The conduit is part in open ditch and part in 

flume. The ditch was constructed with a bottom width of 7 feet, a 

top width of 13 feet, a depth of 3 feet, and a fall of 13.2 feet to the 
62 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

mile. The flume is 4 feet wide and 271;1 feet deep. From these data 

it is estimated that where maintained in good condition, the conduit 

will have a capacity of about 50 second-feet. 

Under existing conditions the reservoir is of small value for regulating the stream flow. It is possible that th~e conditions can be 

. remedied by extending a cut-off wall through the talus slope or 

otherwise preventing leakage and thus providing an effective storage 

capacity of 7,000 acre-feet. The drainage area of Wise River above 

the conduit is 136 square miles, and the West Fork has a drainage 

area of 72 square miles tributary to the reservoir, making a total of 

208 square miles. The mean annual run-off at Dewey is 500 acrefeet per square mile (Table 4). The run-off from the drainage area 

trlbutary to this reservoir site would not be less and might be even 

higher. It is manifest, therefore, that the water supply is fully 

adequate to fill the reservoir to a capacity of 7,000 acre-feet. 

Divide Reservoir (6AG-2).-At a point in Big Hole Canyon in sec. 

11, T. 1 S., R. 10 W., a rock-filled crib dam 67 feet in effective height 

was erected in1899, primarily to creat.e a head for generating power. 

The dam is 81 feet high above its foundation, has a crest length of 512 

feet, and contains 39,100 cubic yards of material. The dam is an overflow structure at the left abutment, where a spillway weir has been 

constructed in the dam with its crest 10 feet below the top of the dam. 

The area within the flow line at the crest of the spillway is 130 acres, 

and the storage capacity 400 acre-feet. Provision has been made for. 

placing flashboards in the spillway by means of which the area within 

the flow line can be increased to 140 acres and the storage capacity 

to 1,280 acre-feet. The lowest point in the outlet through the dam 

is 44 feet below the crest of the dam. 

Construction of this dam was begun September 1; 1897/ and 

nearly completed in April, 1898, when a flood on Big Hole River 

caused a partial failure of the structure. Reconstruction of the dam 

was begun October 26, 1898, and completed April 16, 1899.5 However, in common with many rock-filled crib dams the structure is not 

water-tight, and leakage estimated to amount to a minimum of 100 

second-feet occurs constantly. 

The foundations for the present structure extend to a dept:Q. of 14 

feet below the original channel surface and rest on a clay material 

which apparently furnishes a satisfactory foundation for the type of. 

dam now installed. No borings have been made at the dam site, 

and the depth to bedrock is not known. Such information is an 

essential prerequisite to the design of an impervious dam to replace 

the present structure and a determination of the cost of such a dam. 

Its main economic value would be for generating power. 

4 Parker, M. 8., Partial failure of timber crib dam of the Montana Power Co.: Assoc. Eng. Soc. Jour., 

'Vol. 22, p. 176 .• 1899. 

'Harper, J. H., The reconetructlon of the Big Hole Dam: Idem, vol. 24, p. 239, 1900. 
r 

' ~··· 

JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN; :MONTANA 63 

Birck Oreek (6AG),:..:_In connection with an irrigation system for 

an area of 5,000 acres on the Beaverhead ranch, which lies for the 

most part on the bench between Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers, 

six reservoirs have been constructed on Birch Creek, Tps. 4 and 5 S., 

R. 11 W., a tributary of Big Hole River near the lower end of its 

course. The following is a list of the reservoirs and their capacity as 

learned from local sources: 

Acre-feet 

Chain Lake (6AG-4)__________ 60 

Tubb Lake (6AG-5)__________ 180 

Anchor Lake (6AG-6)________ 500 

Acre-feet 

May Lake (6AG-7)----------- 70 

Fair Lake (tiAG-8) ___________ 1, 600 

Boot Lake (6AG-9) ___________ 2, 000 

Delmoe Park Reservoir (6AH-2).-The construction of a reservoir 

near the headwaters of Pipestone Creek, in unsurveyed T. 3 N.,, 

R. 6 W., was started in 1913. Data available in the Geological 

Survey indicate that a dani 80 feet high will create a reservoir with 

a capacity of 18,400 acre-feet. It further appears that the drainage 

area naturally tributary to the reservoir has been increased by build-

. ing diversion canals from two creeks. With these canals in operation 

the run-off from a total· drainage area ·of 36 square miles can be 

stored in the reservoir. 

The stream-flow recorp for Pipestone Creek near Whitehall is 

nearly complete for the year ending September 30, 1911, and shows 

a run-off of 11,000 acre-fe~t from a drainage area of 115 square miles. 

· The portion of this areaj tributary to the Delmoe Park Reservoir 

site, though only 36 square miles, probably yields at least half of the . 

measured run-off from the area tributary to the river above the 

gaging station. It further appears that the measured flow may be 

less than the actual run-off, owing to the irrigation diversions above 

the station. These factors indicate that during a year such as 1911 

probably 6,000 acre-feet could have been stored in this reservoir. 

Available rainfall data for the general region indicate that the precipitation in 1~11 was somewhat below normal; hence any error in 

estimates based on the run-off record for that year probably occurs 

on the side of safety. 

UNDEVELOPED STORAGE SITES 

Red Rock Lakes (6AA-1).-At Metzel's Ford, in the SW. U 

sec. 26, T. 13 S., R. 3 W., about 3 miles below the outlet of lower 

Red Rock Lake, an embankment about 6 feet high and 300 feet long 

would create a reservoir having an area of 22,000 acres and an estimated capacity of 90,000 acre-feet. Of this area about 7,800 acres 

is now occupied by upper and lower Red Rock Lakes and Swan 

Lake, and about 6,600 acres by swamp. Under present conditions 

there is a heavy loss by evaporation and transpiration from the 

water surface and swamp within the flow line of such a reservoirprobably heavier than would occur from the surface of the reservoir 

94680°-27--5 
64 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

flooding the entire area. This dam site is located on a lava flow that 

apparently extends completely across Centennial Valley and forms 

an obstruction that is believed to have produced the Red Rock Lakes. 

It is estimated from the records at Lima and Monida (Table 4) and 

simultaneous records above and below the Red Rock Reservoir 

given on pages 94-95 that about 80,000 acre-feet~may be. available 

for storage in the Red Rock Lakes during a norm year. 

The 22.5 square miles of lake surface and ma h lands included 

in the Red Rock and Swan Lakes area presents a !Somewhat unusual 

problem in the conservation of water, which is distinct from storage 

development but may be so solved as to produce similar benefits 

to the water user. Records of evaporation and transpiration losses, 

obtained by the Geological Survey in the Mud Lake Basin, Idaho, 

show an annual loss from ztn open body of water of 37.8 inches, and 

from tule beds of 51 to 63 inches. The evaporation from open 

water surface at Red Rock Lakes may be comparable to that at Mud 

Lake, but the transpiration loss will occur for tl;te most part from 

sedges and marsh grasses with only small areas 6£ tule and will be. 

less than at Mud Lake. It is estimated that th~combined evaporation and transpiration loss over the entire 22.5 s uare miles within 

the Red Rock Lakes and marsh area is about 0 inches in depth 

annually, or approximately 48,000 acre-feet. In 1 the flood plain of 

Red Rock :River between the lakes and the lowel· end of Centennial 

Valley there is an additional area of marsh Ian s · from which the 

transpiration may increase this loss to 50,000 a e-feet. 

By building a dike at the outlet of Upper Red Ro k Lake that would 

raise the water surface a few feet to provide storage regulation of the 

outflow and also an outlet canal down the valley sctl constructed as to 

eliminate the lower lake and the sinuosities of Red Rock River, the 

area exposed to transpiration and evaporationfould be reduced 

nearly half, and about 25,000 acre-feet could proba ly be added to the 

outflow from the valley at the Lima Dam. A can constructed along 

the trough of the valley to the upper end of the Li a Reservoir would 

be about 23 miles long. The maximum flow of the river in this section, according to records at the Lyons Bridge station, is 1,030 secondfeet, and the ultimate maximum may be materially greater. With 

storage in the upper lake, however, the flow could probably be so 

regulated as not to require a canal capacity in excess of 1,000 secondfeet. In the material through which the canal would be excavated 

the safe velocity would be about 2.5 feet a second and the required 

cross-sectional area about 400 square feet. A trapezoidal channel 

with a bottom width of 50 feet, a top width of 75.6 feet, a depth of 6.4 

feet, and a slope of about 1.06 feet to the mile would give a canal of 

'adequate velocity and capacity. The fall of the canal would be 

nearly the same as the natural gradient along the valley trough, and 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 65 

digging with a drag-line excavator:at a cost of 15 cents a cubic yard 

would amount to about $11,200 a mile. The total cost for a 23-mile 

canal would thus be $258,000. On the basis of the estimate that 

25,000 acre-feet of water can be added to the outflow of Centenniali 

Valley by this means, the cost per acre-foot would be 810.30. It is: 

not believed that the construction of a dike at the outlet of upper Red 

Rock Lake would increase this cost, because, even if it were extended 

only to a height sufficient to add 6 feet in depth to the storage capacity of the upper lake, it would provide regulation amounting to nearly 

40,000 acre-feet, and the value of such storage would probably offset 

the cost of the dike. The investigations made in connection with the 

present report were not sufficiently detailed to show the feasibility of 

the plan above outlined. One of the principal sources of uncertainty 

is the effectiveness of the dike, and determination of this question 

would require . borings along the axis of the dike to ascertain th~ 

type of material available for. foundations. 

Lima Reservoir enlargement (6AA-2).-By raising the Lima Dam lOt 

feet the surface area of the reservoir would be increased to 5, 700 acres,.. 

and 35,000 acre-feet would be added to the storage capacity; by rais--

ing it 28 feet an area of 19,000 acres would be flooded, and the additional storage would be 100,000 acre-feet. 

The flow of Red Rock River at the Lima Dam during the period[ 

October 1 to June 1 in a normal year, as indicated by the Lima and 

Monida records (Table 4), is 92,600 acre-feet: It can be assumed 

that a flow equivalent to this amount· can be stored in the Lima 

Reservoir, even though part of the May flow is required to satisfy,· 

established rights to divert water for irrigation below that pointt 

These diversions in May will usually be offset by a surplus flood1 

supply in June. There is no apparent' prospect of increasing thecapacity of this reservoir at present. However, it is a potential sit&-

for developing additional storage facilities on Red Rock River which' 

will ultimately be utilized unless storage is developed at some other· 

point in this basin. Most of the lands that would be flooded have no· 

value for any other purpose except summer grazing. 

Lower Red Rock Valley (6AA-3).~0n August 18, 1894, a reservoir· 

site on Red Rock River in Tps. 13 and 14 S., Rs. 7 and 8 W., was. 

located by the Geological Survey in pursuance of the act of Congress. 

approved October 2, 1888 (25 Stat. 505, 506). A 40-foot dam at a. 

narrows in the NW. 7<( SE. 7<( sec. 36, T. 13 S., R. 8 W., will create· 

a storage reservoir having a surface area of 1,200 acres and a capacityof 16,000 acre-feet. A large part of the area within this reservoir site• 

is irrigated hay land, which would have to be purchased, and as the· 

capacity of the site is small there is no present prospect of the sit8' 

being utilized for storage. The constructed Lima Reservoir (6AA-2)• 
• 66 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

above it provides storage regulation for practically the same water 

supply and is a more economical storage site. 

Grasshopper Creek Reservoir (6AC-2).-A dam 105 feet high in the 

Grasshopper Creek Canyon in sec. 27, T. 8 S., R. 10 W., will create 

a reservoir having a surface area of 554 acres and a capacity of 25,000 

acre-feet. The run-off through this reservoir site from October, 1922, 

to May, 1923, was 22,500 acre-feet. Direct-flow irrigation rights in 

Dillon Valley may require part of the May flow but not all of the June 

flow; hence it is estimated that the supply available for storage would 

have been at least 22,500 acre-feet during 1922-23. A record for 

a single year, however, is inadequate as a basis for definite conclusions 

relative to water supply. 

Blacktau Deer Greek site (6AC-8).-In theSE. X sec. 24, T. 9 S., 

Rs. 7 and 8 W., Blacktail Deer Creek has cut a channel through a 

rock outcrop which apparently affords a good location for a dam. 

Rock is exposed on both sides of the river channel, and a dam at 

this point 40 feet high with a crest length of 750 feet would create a 

reservoir having a surface area of 600 acres 8 and a capacity of about 

8,000 acre-feet. The land in this reservoir site was withdrawn in 

the interest of its development for irrigation, but the withdrawal 

was canceled September 22, 1894, and no consideration of its possible 

utilization since that date is on record in the Geological Survey. 

The estimated run-qff of Blacktail Deer Creek indicates an ample 

water supply to fill a reservoir of 8,000 acre-feet. Most ofthe land 

within the flow line of the ·site is native hay meadow, which would 

have to be purchased in connection with any development that might 

be undertaken. 

During the irrigation season all the low-water flow of Blacktail 

Deer Creek is diverted and used for irrigation under water rights 

adjudicated by court decree for a total of 247.8 second-feet of water. 

The flow of the creek after the flood season is inadequate to satisfy 

these water rights, but practically all of the better type of irrigated 

land covered by these rights lies in Dillon Valley, and any shortage of water from the creek is offset in a large measure by diversions 

from Beaverhead River for the same lands. Storage development 

at this site would therefore probably be undertaken only in connection with extensions of irrigated lands in Dillon Valley, and there is 

no present prospect of its use in that connection. 

Ruby Reservoir site (6AD-1).-A suitable site for a storage reservoir exists on Ruby River in T. 7 S., R. 4 W. This site was located 

by the Geological Survey in the early nineties under the act of Congress approved October 2, 1888 (25 Stat. 526). A dam 150 feet 

high at this site would flood an area of 1,880 acres, and the storage 

capacity would be about 100,000 acre-feet. The dam site is in a 

'U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 147, 1891. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 67 

narrow canyon like section of the river about 1 ~ miles long. It is 

et~timated that the dam would have a crest length of about 900 feet 

and a width of about 200 feet at the water surface. 

It is estimated that if the depth to bedrock is not excessive, a rockfill dam for this reservoir could be constructed at a cost of about 

$400,000. This estimate is based on a comparison of the cost of the 

Big Hole Dam (6AG-10), which although higher will have a shorter 

crest and better foundations, especially at the abutments. Most of 

the land within the flow line of the reservoir is grazing land, worth 

probably not more than $10 an acre. About 400 acres is irrigated 

hay meadow having an estimated value of $50 an acre. There are 

also improvements consisting of farm houses, outbuildings, fences, 

etc., having an assessed value of $8,000 according to records of the 

county assessor. From these figures it is estimated that the cost 

of a right of way for the reservoir may be approximately $50,000. 

Apparently, therefore, the cost of developing the Ruby site will be 

about $450,000. 

The estimated total mean annual flow of Ruby River through the 

reservoir site during the period 1911 to 1914 was 161,000 acre-feet, 

most of which occurred during May and June. Practically all the 

June flow is required to satisfy diversion requirements for existing 

irrigation canals below the reservoir site, and during July, August, 

and September probably all the regular flow will be needed for these 

canals. It is estimated, therefore, that during the period covered by 

the available records not more than 90,000 acre-feet a year would 

have been available for storage. Comparison with other available 

data indicates that this period was one of high run-off, and therefore during an average year the amount may be less than 60,000 

acre-feet. I£ the reservoir were constructed for storing only the 

normal flow, the cost would be enough less than $450,000 to be reasonable, provided a point of use were so situated as to prevent a high 

cost of distribution. This site is one of the principal undeveloped 

storage reservoir sites in the Jefferson River basin and probably will 

be constructed before utilization of water in that area has reached 

its maximum development. 

Big Hole Reservoir (6AG-10).-A large reservoir site exists along 

Big Hole River in Tps. 4 and 5 S., Rs. 8 and 9 W. The first reference 

to this reservoir sit.e in the records of the Geological Survey is contained in the annual report of the director for 1890-91,7 In that 

report it is stated that a dam 100 feet high in the NE. 'U SE. U 

sec. 3, T. 5 S., R. 8 W., will create a reservoir having a surface area 

of 11,800 acres. Development of this site forms part of the irrigation 

scheme of the Crow Creek irrigation district, and that organization 

' U. S. Geol. Survey Twelfth 4nn. Rept., pt. 2, p. 142, 1921. 
'f>8 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

ihas been granted an easement for the site under the acts of Congress 

:approved March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1095), and May 11, 1898 (30 

Stat. 404). 

According to a survey executed by engineers of the Crow Creek 

irrigation district, as shown on maps submitted with its application 

for the reservoir easement, a dam 160 feet high will be built in the 

W. ~sec. 2, T. 4 S., R. 8 W., which will create a reservoir having an 

area of 6,550 acres. At the left abutment of the dam solid rock is 

exposed nearly to the water surface, but at the right abutment the 

rock in place is covered by a talus slope, the depth of which is not 

known. The depth to bedrock in the river also is undetermined but 

probably is not excessive. 

A reconnaissance plane-table survey of the reservoir site by the 

writers checked against a map filed in connection with an application 

for easement for the reservoir site indicates approximate area and 

:capacity at different altitudes as follows: 

Altitude Area Capacity (feet) (acres) (acre-feet) 

4,840 70 700 4,860 550 6,900 

4,880 1,460 27,000 

4,900 2,470 66,000 

4,920 3,300 124,000 

4,940 4,100 198,000 

4,960 4,970 290,000 

4,980 6,000 400,000 

6,000 7,500 530,000 

Of the 7,500 acres within the flow line at the 5,000-foot contour, 

approximately 1,820 acres is public land; the remaining 5,680 acres 

is in private ownership. The privately owned land includes 1,350 

acres irrigated and 4,330 acres grazing land, according to classification records prepared by county authorities for purposes of taxation. 

The assessed valuation of irrigated lands ranges from $25 to $50 an 

acre, and the grazing land of the poorer type is assessed at $3 an acre. 

It is deemed safe to assume that a valuation of $50 an acre for all 

irrigated land and $10 an acre for grazing land in private ownership 

will cover all right of way costs except that of moving a section of the 

Oregon Short Line Railroad and purchasing the improvements at the 

Glenn station, comprising a store and small hotel. To cover all these 

right of way costs an allowance of $171,000 will be made, which may 

be somewhat high but at least furnishes a substantial basis for showing 

the cost of storage as compared with the possible benefits from it. 

Two estimates of the cost of a dam made for the Crow Creek irrigation district are on record in the Geological Survey. One estimate 

is $337,000 and the other $405,000, the figure depending on the type 

:of dam used, which is in turn dependent upon the depth to bedrock 

:at the dam site. For the purpose of the present discussion a cost of 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASlN,, ¥:oNTANA 69 

$400,000 for the dam will. be assumed, ma~ing the total cost of the 

storage development $571,000. This·estimfl,te may prove to be somewhat high after more detailed investigatipns have been made, ineluding borings to determine foundation conditions at the dam site 

and a more careful cruise of the land in th~ flow line of the reservoir. 

The reservoir might be used to provide regulation for water power at 

existing hydroelectric plants on Missouri River, but there is no 

present demand for such storage. 

Wise River (6AG).-The location of a rE1servoir site on Wise River 

at some point near the present storage development of the Montana 

Power Co. (6AG-1) would materially increase the potential power 

resources of the canyon section above Di-ride. A profile of the Montana Southern Railway on file in the Geological Survey indicates 

only one possible site where the gradient i of the river is sufficiently 

low to permit reservoir development at a, point in T. 3 S., R. 12 W.-

A letter dated March 16, 1925, from the district forester of the 

Forest Service confirms this conclusion but adds that no suitable dam 

site is available for creating a storage reservoir in that section of the 

river. The letter states that extensive investigations by the Montana 

Power Co. disclosed a volume of slide rock of such magnitude as to 

render the construction of a dam impracticable. 

Whitetail Parle Reservoir site (6AH-3).:--A reservoir site in Whitetail Park, at the headwaters of Whitetail Creek,. in T .. 4 N ., Rs. 5 

and 6 W., is part of an irrigation scheme, proposed by the Whitetail 

irrigation district. It will require a dam 38 feet high and will have 

a surface area of. 2,025 acres and a capacity of 16,600 acre-feet. The 

drainage ar'ea tributary to the reservoir site is about 20 square miles, 

but no accurate data are available showing the ru.n-off from that area 

available for storage. The drainage basin of Pipestone Creek, which 

adjoins that of Whitetail Creek, had a, run-off of 11,000 acre-feet 

for the year ending September 30, 1911, from a total area of 115 

•3quare miles. The unit run-off from that area, therefore, was about 

~.,.. 95 acre-feet per square mile, and assumjng a similar run-off above 

this reservoir site gives a total annual flow at the reservoir of less 

than 2,000 acre-,eet. The average altitude of the drainage area 

tributary to the Whitetail Park Reservoir site is 7,500 feet, whereas 

that of the Pipestone Creek area is only 6,500 feet; hence the unit 

run-off of the Whitetail area is probably the higher, but in the writers' 

opinion there is little prospect of a sufficient supply to warrant 

building a reservoir as large as the one contemplated. In any event 

stream-flow measurements should be made prior to development. 

Willow Creek Reservoir (6AH-7).-It is proposed to build a d~tm 

122 feet high below the confluence of W;Ilow and Norwegian Creeks, 

in T. 1 S., R. 1 W., to create a reservoir having a surface arett of 1,320 
70 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

ames and a storage capacity of 32,800 · acre-feet. This reservoir 

will be used to store the nonirrigation season and surplus flood flow 

:rom a drainage area of 160 square miles for use by the South Bench 

irrigation district. The stream-flow records of Willow Creek on 

pages 112-113 show the run-off from approximately the same drainage 

area as that tributary to the reservoir, the inflow between the dam 

and the gaging station being negligible. The stream-flow record 

now available is complete for two years only and indicates a run-off 

during the storage period October to May, inclusive, amounting to 

19,000 and 26,800 acre-feet. 

UTILIZATION OF WATER 

The principal industry of the settlers in the Jefferson River Basin 

is agriculture, the rough noncultivable lands being used for grazing 

·during the summer and most of the cultivable lands being used to 

produce forage crops for winter feeding. Owing to the light rainfall 

on the cultivable land irrigation is in general necessary to provide 

the soil moisture required for producing crops, the only notable 

exceptions to this rule being bench lands on the south side of lower 

Jefferson Valley and at places in the Dillon Valley and subirrigated 

and· flooded bottom lands along the larger stream channels. On 

the bench-land areas mentioned such drought-resistant crops as 

small grains-can be raised during most years by dry-farrj:J.ing methods, 

but on the river-bottom lands the ground-water plane often lies 

at so shallow a depth that native hay is the only crop which can be 

raised. During years of more than normal precipitatjo~ crops of 

small grain can also be raised without irrigation on most of the dry 

bench lands in the basin, but farming under such conditions is un-. 

profitable. The success of agriculture in this area therefore rests 

largely on irrigation, and water is used for that purpose more extensively than for any other. Some water power is being developed, 

and there are undeveloped power sites in the basin, but the power 

resources under present-day conditions are of minor importance in 

the economic affairs of the basin. As a natural consequence of settle-

• ment in the area communities have been established which require 

water for municipal use, but the needs for this purpose are nominal. 

On the map (pl. 3) the present and potential irrigation and waterpower projects are indicated. · 

DUTY 011' WATER 

The irrigation statistics for Montana compiled by the United 

States Census Bureau show that the average quantity of water per 

acre delivered to farms in Montana in 1919 was 2.3 acre-feet. This 

figure represents water delivered that was measured and includes 

only about half the irrigated area in the State. Engineers for the 
JEFFERSC!,N RIVER BASIN1 MONTANA 71 

Montana Public Service Commission who are familiar wi~h local 

irrigation conditions have estimated that in the Jefferson River 

Basin, where diversified farming is practiced, not more than 1.5 

acre-feet per acre at the farm is required to produce crops. In 

actual practice, as observed by the writers, an excessive amount 

of water is used on native-hay bottom lands, but in the intensively 

developed areas, such as the irrigated bench lands in Dillon Valley, 

where a properly designed irrigation system is installed, water is 

used with greater economy. The writers believe that estimates of 

water requirement for most of the potentially irrigable areas in the . 

Jefferson River Basin should be based on a diversion of about 3 acrefeet per acre and that approximately 50 per cent of this diverted 

water will be returned to the river by seepage from the canals and 

irrigated lands. 

The best available data regarding the distribution of demand for 

water during the irrigation season consist of records of irrigation 

practice obtained by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. 

These records indicate that the water must be delivered during the 

irrigation season approximately as follows: May 5.4 per cent, June 

18.5 per cent, July 36.7 per cent, August 32.5 per cent, September 

6.9 per cent. 

BUTTE WATER SUPPLY 

The largest municipal water-supply system in the Jefferson River 

Basin is used to provide water for use in Butte and vicinity. The 

principal features of the system in this river basin consist of a pumping 

plant on Big Role River in the SE. 7i sec. 12, T. 1 S., R. 10 W., 

where water is pumped against a head of 840 feet, and a pipe line 

10 miles in length which carries the pumped water to a reservoir on 

the south fork of Divide Creek in the NW. 7i sec. 8, T. 1 N., R. 9 W., 

whence it is delivered to the city as needed. This reservoir has a 

capacity of 41.4 acre-feet and can furnish 8,000,000 gallons of water 

a day to the city water-supply system. 

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT 

Red Rock River (6AA).-A total area of about 49,000 acres is 

irrigated in the Red Rock River Basin, of which 17,000 acres is in 

Centennial Valley, 23,500 acres in lower Red Rock Valley, 7,000 

acres in the Big Sheep Creek Basin, and 1,500 acres in the Sage 

Cr9ek Basin. The irrigated areas in Centennial Valley and the 

Sheep and Sage Creek Basins are almost entirely native-hay meadows, 

· which yield annually about 1 ton to the acre. These meadows are 

also used to graze stock in the spring until about the middle of May, 

when the stock can be turned into the hills to forage, and in the fall 

after August 15, when the hay has been harvested. The meadows 
72 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY. OF UNITED STATES 

can often be grazed in the fall until Christmas and sometimes during 

an entire winter, but ordinarily feeding is necessary for about six 

months each winter. In lower Red Rock Valley crops of oats, 

alfalfa, timothy, and potatoes are reported to have been produced 

successfully, but the normal growing season of the entire area is 

too short for diversified farming, and agricultural activity will 

probably always be centered on livestock, including possibly some 

dairying. 

Beaverhead River (6AC).-Water from Beaverhead River is used to 

irrigate about 24,600 acres in Dillon Valley and 5,400 acres in the 

section of upper Jefferson Valley traversed by the river, a total of 

about 30,000 acres. Irrigation began in Dillon Valley in 1865, as 

disclosed by court decrees specifying the date on which water was 

first applied to beneficial use on land in the area. Since that time 

the courts have declared that water rights for a total of 1,440 secondfeet have been established in the area. During the spring flood 

season the water supply is adequate to satisfy the water requirement 

for all existing canals. Subsequent to that season the normal 

flow is ordinarily insufficient to satisfy any rights established later 

than 1890, and during years of low run-off rights established as 

early as 1884 have been curtailed. Below the Point of Rocks the 

flow of the river during the irrigation season consists almost entirely 

of return seepage from irrigation in Dillon Valley, and it is reported 

by one resident that a shortage of water for irrigation has occurred 

there only five times since 1884, although the river is often dry at 

many places in Dillon Valley. It is said that the benefit from return 

seepage becomes apparent about July 25 and that in some years the 

supply may be short from about June 20, when the spring flood 

season ends, until that date. 

Most of the land of the better type irrigated from Beaverhead 

River consists of low-lying bench lands adjoining the flood plain. 

The river bottom land, although most readily susceptible of irrigation 

and probably at one time irrigated extensively, is now for the most 

part valuable only for grazing, a condition induced, at least in part, 

by excessive use of water and lack of drainage when irrigation was 

first practiced. The earlier settlers, especially in Dillon Valley, 

were chiefly stockmen, who raised native hay by flooding the bottom 

land in a manner similar to the present-day practice in Big Hole 

Basin described on page 75. The natural result has been a concentration of alkali at the surface, which is deleterious to the growth of 

cultivated farm crops. At some points the native-hay meadows 

still exist. One such area lies at the lower end of the valley, and it 

was learned by the writers that this meadow was formerly one of the 

best hay ranches in that section of Montana, but now, because of an 

increase in the alkali content of the soil, its value is !probably below r 

the average for lands of similar type in the region. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 73 

The principal crops produced by irrigation on the lands of the better 

type are alfalfa, grain, potatoes, jield peas, and garden truck. An 

illustration of the yields obtained is given by the record for a tract of 

irrigated land just below the Point of Rocks, near the head of upper 

Jefferson Valley. This tract contains 125 acres of meadow in 

Beaverhead River bottom that is believed to be one of the best 

areas of its type in the entire Jefferson River Basin. It is planted to 

timothy and redtop, and the reported yield is in places 2 tons of hay 

to the acre, and averages from 1 to 1U tons. A 40-acre field of alfalfa 

is reported to yield 4 tons to the acre. A wheat field of 12 acres 

has yielded 60 bushels to the acre, and a similar yield was obtained 

from 20 acres of oats. A yield of 40 bushels to the acre was obtained 

from a 10-acre field of barley. In addition to these crops 35,acres are 

planted to peas under contract with a large seed concern which has 

· selected tracts of the better farm lands at several points in southwestern Montana and made contracts with the farmers for growing 

seed peas. 

Jefferson River (6AH-6AJ).-A total area of about 61,300 acres 

is irrigated from Jefferson River and its tributaries entering below 

the junction of Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers. Of this area 

28,900 acres are irrigated direct from Jefferson River and minor tributaries in the upper and lower valley sections. One of the largest· 

single irrigation developments is the Parrott ditch, which was constructed for developing power but later converted to use for irrigation. 

This canal is 25 miles long, has a diversion capacity of 150 second-feet, 

and is used to irrigate 6,000 acres on the east side of Jefferson River 

in the upper valley section. A portion of this ditch is constructed 

along a talus slope in Tps. 1 N. and 1 S., R. 4 W., and in this portion 

flumes are required, the upkeep of which is a considerable problem 

in the operation and maintenance of the ditch. Much of the remaining 22,900 acres irrigated from Jefferson River and minor tributaries 

is hay land in the river flood plain, but the crop produced is in general 

of inferior quality because of alkali soils. 

The crops raised on lands under the Parrott ditch as reported 

by one local resident are as follows: 

Alfalfa, 3Y2 tons to the acre. 

Oats, 60 to 65 bushels to the acre. 

Wheat, 30 to 40 bushels to the acre. 

Potai;pes, 5 tons to the acre. 

Vegetables, corn (White Flint), and apples (Wealthy, Duchess, and Yellow 

Transparent) in small quantities. 

The lower Jefferson Valley is reported to have a growing season 

two to three weeks longer than that at Bozeman, in the Gallatin 

River Valley, in Tps. 1 and 2 8., Rs. 5 and 6 E., where good crops of 

grain, potatoes, alfalfa, turnips, and sugar beets are raised. Small 

fruits, suc.h as raspberries, gooseberries, and ·strawberries, and 
7 4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

early-bearing tree fruits are also grown successfully there, as well as 

practically all vegetables. With. irrigation, therefore, the good 

aglicultural land of the lower Jefferson Valley should prove to be 

highly productive. Much of the better type land in this lower valley 

lies within three proposed irrigation projects-the Meadow Valley 

Farms, Valley View, and South Bench irrigation districts, which are 

described on pages 80-82. 

Horse .Prairie Creek (6AB).-An area of 45,900 acres is irrigated 

from Horse Prairie Creek and its tributaries. Most of this area 

lies in the main valley of the creek. The growing season in this 

valley is short, being comparable to that in Big Hole Basin, where 

frost often occurs every month in the year. In consequence the most 

practicable crop is hay, and a mixture of red clover and native grass is 

produced. The average yield obtained from these hay meadows each 

year is 1 ton to the acre, and it is utilized as winter feed for stock. 

At the time the area was visited (July, 1923), most of the 1922 crop 

was still stacked in the fields. The failure to utilize the crop was 

explained locally as due to the fact that very little snow fell during 

the preceding winter and stock were able to obtain ample feed by 

grazing the meadow lands. 

Grasshopper Creek (6AC).-An area of 10,500 acres is irrigated from 

Grasshopper Creek and its tributaries. Most of this area lies at an 

altitude ranging from about 6,000 to 6,500 feet above sea level, where 

the growing conditions are similar to those in the Horse Prairie Creek 

Basin. Timothy, red top, and native hay are practically the only 

field crops raised. 

Rattlesnake Creek (6AC).-Diversified farming is practicable in the 

Rattlesnake Creek Basin only in the alluvial bottoms along the creek 

below Argenta, where about 4,000 acres is irrigated. There is a large 

plains area adjoining the creek bottoms which is part of Dillon Valley, 

but it has a coarse gravelly soil practically all of which has no agricultural value except for grazing; furthermore, no water supply is 

available for its irrigation at a reasonable cost. The irrigated land 

along the creek produces two crops of alfalfa in an average season, 

yielding about 2 72 tons to the acre. Oats are also raised with yields 

reported as high as 80 to 100 bushels to the acre, but the average is 

probably materially less than this amount. The low-water flow is 

inadequate to satisfy existing rights, and two reservoirs have been 

built at the headwaters of the creek to meet the shortage in part. 

Blacktail Deer Creek (6AC).-An area of about 5,500 acres is irrigated from Blacktail Deer Creek, most of it in the creek bottoms at 

the lower end of the stream, where the valley forms a reentrant from 

Dillon Valley. In addition to this area certain of the irrigated lands 

in Dillon Valley receive water from the creek. The irrigated land at 

the lower end of the basin produces crops comparable to those ob-
JEFFERSON RIVER "BASIN, :MONTANA 4'5 

tained in Dillon Valley, but in the remainder of the basin the irrigated 

land is used to produce hay. · 

. Ruby River (6AD).-A total area of about 34,500 acres is irrigated 

from Ruby River and its tributaries, chiefly in the valley between 

Alder Gulch and the mouth of the stream. Irrigation development 

in this area has been concurrent with that in Dillon Valley, the first 

diversions having been made about 1865, according to a list of water 

rights compiled from a court decree for guidance of a water master in 

regulating diversions above a point near Laurin. It was learned 

locally that 1919 and 1921 were the only two years in the 15-year 

period prior to 1923 in which a water master was needed, and that in 

1921, the youngest decreed right, having a priority date of April 12, 

1908, was not shut off until July 25. It was also learned that when 

the river is dry at Alder it has a flow of 25 to 35 second-feet at Laurin~ 

due to return seepage. The normal flow of the creek is therefore 

adequate for present irrigation development in most years. Any 

considerable extension to the present irrigated area, however, will be 

largely dependent upon storage. In the valley section extending 

from the mouth of the river to a point near the south line ofT. 6 S.,. 

R. 4 W., the growing conditions are similar to those in Dillon Valley. 

Big Hole River (6AE, 6AF, 6AG).-A total area of about 185,000 

acres is now irrigated from Big Hole River or its tributaries,116,000 

acres of which consists of native-hay meadows in or near Big Hole 

Basin. The present practice of irrigators in that area is exceedingly 

wasteful in the use of water, very little effort being made to regulate 

the supply used and almost no preparation of the land being attempted 

to promote the economical use of water, the land simply being flooded 

continuously until early July. These conditions have arisen from 

several causes. In the first place, the abundance of the availablewater supply has not rendered rigid economy in its use necessary. 

Then the irrigation system consists largely of a ne-work of smallt 

canals constructed by individuals or small associations to serve relatively small tracts. Although the irrigated area is fairly well graded 

naturally, it is not entirely smooth and excessive irrigation is required 

to water the entire area. Plowing and grading and a properly designed system ·of canals and iaterals for the entire valley area would 

result in a more economic use of water. Plowing, however, would 

destroy the native growth, and several years. would be required toreestablish the existing meadows; moreover, in many places the top-· 

soil cover is too thin to permit grading without uncovering a subsoil 

composed of coarse gravel. It is believed, therefore, that the most 

favorable opportunity of improving irrigation practice in the area is. 

by installing a more efficient canal system for the entire valley, but 

the average value of the irrigated land is only about $25 an acre, and 

very little expenditure in developing such land is warranted. 
76 CONTRIBUTIONS TO . THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

The low value of this land is due principally to the climatic conditions, which limit crop production to hay. The most valuable 

species of native hay is a sedge (Oarex illota), which produces a grain 

that is excellent for fattening beef for market. In the wetter parts 

of the area, where drainage is poor or the land is overirrigated, a 

sedge of different type (Oarex substricta) is dominant. This type 

lacks the nutritive value of the Oarex illota but is reported to be fair 

l'oughage for stock. The yield of native hay ranges from 1,000 to 

1,500 pounds to the acre, but 3,000 pounds to the acre could be 

,obtained by planting tame hay such as timothy. The value of the 

increased yield, however, would be offset by the necessity of providing other feed such as cottonseed cake in order to obtain beef of the 

type now produced. 

The hay crop in the basin is harvested from July 15 to September 

1 and fed on the land, the general practice being to bring in cattle 

during the fall, let them feed during the winter, and take them to 

market the following spring. From 10,000 to 15,000 head of cattle 

or "feeders" can be prepared for market during a winter, and the 

average net increase in weight is 180 pounds a head delivered at the 

nearest railroad shipping point after a five-day drive. This practice 

in general has proved more profitable than retaining the cows and 

raising a calf crop. The postwar drop in beef prices so reduced the 

margin between the price of "feeders" and that of stock ready for 

market that. an adequate profit to sustain the industry in the basin 

was not being obtained at the time of the writers' field investigations. 

Dairying was then receiving more or less attention as a means of 

d1versifying the industrial development, and one resident of the valley 

estimated that during 1923 500 dairy cows were being maintained 

and 3,000 pounds of butter was produced each week. At that time 

about 30 farmers were said to be engaged in dairying. Irrigation 

development f,rom Big Hole River and its tributaries outside Big 

Hole Basin is of slight extent, being limited for the most part to scattered tracts along the stream channels devoted largely to the prochlction of winter feed for stock that graze on the interstream and mountain areas during the summer. 

Pipestone and Whitetail Greeks (6AH).-N early 8,600 acres is 

irrigated from Pipestone and Whitetail Creeks, consistin;; of bench 

lands on the west side of upper Jefferson Valley and bottom lands 

along Little Whitetail Creek and Whitetail Creek below ihe mouth 

of the Little Whitetail. Hay is the principal crop, although grains, 

potatoes, peas, and dairy produce are also obtained. 

Boulder River (6AJ).-The area mapped on Plate 3 as irrigated 

along Boulder River is considerably in excess of ~he land actually 

irrigated1 but it is impracticable to show the irrigated larid more 

accurately with the data at hand. Most of such land consists of 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 

small hay ranches in the river flood plain. The United States Census· 

report for 1920.shows a total area of about 7,300 acres in this basin 

under irrigation in 1919 and indicates that this area is a reduction of 

22 per cent over the area irrigated in 1902. · 

South Boulder Creek (6AH).~About 4,000 acres are irrigated from 

South Boulder Creek, for the most part contiguous to the channelin 

the 10-mile section above its mouth. Canals have also been constructed that divert water from the creek to Lower Jefferson Yalley 

bench lands in T. 1 S., Rs. 2 and 3 W. The growing conditions on 

the irrigated lands are favorable to diversified farm products wh~re 

the water supply is adequate for thorough irrigation. 

Willow Creek (6AH).-Abou:t 12,500 acres are irrigated from Willow 

Creek and its tributaries in the bench-land area on the south side of 

lower Jefferson Valley. The normal flow of the creek is not sufficient 

to satisfy the water requirement for all the irrigated land, and some 

small storage reservoirs have been constructed. Hay and grains 

are the principal crops, but most vegetables can be raised. 

UNDEVELOPED IRRIGATION POSSIBILITIES 

Beaverhead River flood plains (6AC).-It is believed that there is 

sufficient fall along Beaverhead River to permit the construction of 

effective drainag·e ditches for reclaiming a large part of the moist 

bottom lands in Dillon Valley, and the subsoil is believed to be sufficiently coarse grained to permit rapid lowering of the ground-water 

table by means of drainage canals. These facts are demonstrated 

by one drainage ditch which has been placed in successful operation 

near Dillon. The feasibility of drainage is therefore an economic 

question, the answer to which depends on whether the value of the 

crops that can be produced on the reclaimed land will be adequate 

to repay the cost of drainage. It will also be important to obtain a 

more economical use of water on the higher land, to reduce return 

seepage. 

East Bench irrigation district (6AC).-Probably the most actively 

indorsed project for further irrigation development in Dillon Valley 

is the scheme for diverting water from Grasshopper Creek in sec. 26, 

T. 8 S., R. 10 W., and from Beaverhead River in sec. 15, T. 9 S., R. 

10 W., whence it will be carried down the right side of Beaverhead 

.·Canyon to its lower end and across the head of Dillon Valley to the 

land to be irrigated, on the east-side bench, as indicated on Plate 3. 

The irrigators under this scheme have organized the East Bench 

irrigation district, and the organization was approved by court 

decree May 8, 1922. According to information obtained from the 

. project engineer the gross area in the district is 23,500 acres, and .the 

net irrigable area 16,000 acres, but these areas can be extended if 

'"' the water supply obtainable warrants extension. Under the plans 
78 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

originally proposed most of the water supply after the spring flood 

period would be derived from storage in the Grasshopper Creek 

Reservoir (6AC-2). At the time of the writers' investigations studies 

of storage facilities available on Red Rock River were being made for 

the district. The results of these studies are not known, but the 

available stream-flow data indicate that an adequate water supply 

can be conserved from the flow of Red Rock River during the nonirrigation season to satisfy the requirements of the East Bench district 

land and that undeveloped reservoir facilities are available for regulating the stream flow in Red Rock Lakes (6AA-1) or the Lima Reservoir enlargement (6AA-2). 

Bench lands on west side of Dillon Valley (6AC).-The irrigable 

bench lands on the west side of Dillon Valley comprise a gross area of 

nearly 90,000 acres, part of which is now irrigated from Birch Creek, a 

tributary of Big Hole River. No active steps are being taken toward 

development of an irrigation project for that area, and the water 

supply available is probably not sufficient for irrigating both sides of 

Dillon Valley. 

Grow Greek irrigation district (6AH).-The largest irrigation scheme 

affecting the area under discussion contemplates diversion of water 

from Jefferson River primarily to irrigate an area .in the vicinity of 

Radersburg, in Tps. 3 to 6 N., Rs. 1 W. and 1 and 2 E. The point of 

diversion will be in sec. 4, T. 3 S., R. 6 W., a few miles below the 

junction of Beaverhead and Big Hole Rivers. Storage regulation 

for this scheme will be obtained at the Big Hole Reservoir site, in 

Tps. 4 and 5 S., Rs. 8 and 9 W. (6AG-10). The surveyed location 

for the canal line is shown on Plate 3 and extends down the right side 

of upper Jefferson Valley, across South Boulder Creek, through a 

tunnel into the Jefferson River Canyon down the canyon 17{miles, 

acros~ the canyon in an inverted siphon, eastward and northward 

20 miles to a tunnel through the Jefferson and Missouri River divide, 

and thence northward to the district lands. The total length of this 

canal will be about 74 miles, and part of it will be located on a talus 

slope at the base of the Tobacco Root Mountains, where flumes will 

be required. The cost of construction has been estimated by engineers 

for the irrigation district at nearly $5,600,000, but the writers of this 

report are of the opinion that the cost to the water users may be 

materially higher if a proper allowance is made for interest charges 

during construction, cost of financing, and other contingencies that 

are incidental to such an undertaking. 

According to a copy of a sworn statement by the secretary of the 

Crow Creek irrigation district dated August 4, 1922, in the files of 

the Geological Survey, an area of 41,592 acres has been included in 

the district as provided by the laws of Montana. It further appears 

from the survey records that the boundaries of the district can be 
JEFFERSON RIVEB BASIN, MONTANA 79 

extended to include a net total area of 65,000 acres. The engineers 

for the district have prepared a map showing that an additional area 

of 6,000 acres in upper Jefferson Valley and 44,000 acres of bench 

land on the left or north side of Jefferson River in lower Jefferson 

Valley can be irrigated by laterals from the main canal. The same 

map indicates that by extending a canal down the right side of 

Jefferson River below the proposed inverted siphon to an area between Madison and Jefferson Rivers about 24,000 acres more can be 

irrigated. Two other ~anals have been suggested by these engineers 

starting from the Big Hole Reservoir and extending into upper 

Jefferson Valley to irrigate all arable bench land of that area. One 

of these canals would extend down the right side of Big Hole River and 

following a proper grade would cross Beaverhead River at Point of 

Rocks and extend thence down the right side of upper Jefferson Valley, 

irrigating a total area of nearly 29,000 acres. The other canal would 

extend down the left side of Big Hole and Jefferson Rivers to and 

across Pipestone and Whitetail Creeks and thence down upper 

Jefferson Valley to and up the Boulder River Valley, which would be 

completely encircled by .the canal crossing Boulder River at a point 

about 6 miles below the town of Boulder. Estimated areas of 

42,000 acres in upper Jefferson Valley and 26,000 acres in the Boulder 

River Valley could be irrigated from this canal. The total area 

irrigable from Jefferson River under these schemes would be 236,000 

acres. The approximate location of the several canal lines is shown 

on Plate 3. 

Under a duty of 3 acre-feet per acre at the point of diversion an 

area of 236,000 acres will utilize 708,000 acre-feet of water annually. 

The distribution of the demand for this water supply should be 

approximately as follows: 

Acre-feet 

June ~aY----------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ 131,000 38,200 

July ____ . ___________________________________________ 260, 000 

August _____________________________________________ 230, 000 

September__________________________________________ 48, 800 

The record of the discharge of Jefferson River at Silver Star 

indicates the water supply available at the head gates of the main 

canal of the Crow Creek district. This record shows a normal 

summer flow 288,000 acre-feet short of satisfying the water requirement for 212,000 acres, and the shortage must be made up from 

storage. On the basis of the Sappington record the shortage would 

be 289,000 acre-feet. This shortage would occur in July and August. 

Making an allowance of about 65,000 acre-feet for the needs of an 

area of 21,300 acres which is now irrigated from Jefferson River 

would increase the storage requirement indicated by the Sappington 

record to about 310,000 acre-feet. Some further allowance may be 

94680°-27--6 
80 CON1'RIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

necessary for rights on Missouri River below Three Forks, but data 

now available are inadequate to serve as a basis for considering 

these rights, and probably they would be largely satisfied by return 

seepage. The available reservoir facilities are adequate to meet a 

storage demand of 310,000 acre-feet. 

The foregoing outline of potential irrigation development under 

the Crow Creek scheme considers the water supply· principally and 

takes little cognizance of the economic features of such an undertaking. The expenditure involved would be large, and a determination of economic feasibility would require extensive studies of soil 

and climatic conditions to ascertain the agricultural possibilities of 

the area. The field studies in connection with the present report 

indicated that most of the good land that can be irrigated lies under 

the line of the proposed main canal beginning in T. 3 S., R. 6 W., 

and extending to the Crow Creek district. Large tracts of the land 

lying under the other suggested canal locations are covered by 

coarse gravel with very little soil, and it is believed that detailed 

studies would indicate that the irrigable area is smaller than estimated and that development as proposed would be impracticable 

for the gravelly tracts. Possibly, however, the canal to the land of 

the irrigation district may be constructed eventually, and then the 

major part of the 74,000 acres irrigable from it in upper and lower 

Jefferson Valley may be irrigated. 

Meadow Farm irrigation district (6AH).-An area of 1,040 acres 

in sec. 3, T. 1 N., R. 1 E., and sec. 35, T. 2 N., R. 1 E., is proposed 

for irrigation by means of a gravity canal 3% miles long diverting 

from Jefferson River in sec. 18, T. 1 N., R. 1 E. No active steps 

appear to ha.ve been taken toward development of this scheme. 

The land is all in private ownership, title being held by a company 

that contemplated undertaking the development. The water supply 

available in Jefferson River is adequate for this area. · 

Valley View irrigation district (6AH).-Another proposed scheme 

for irrigating part of lower Jefferson Valley contemplates the installation of a pumping plant on Jefferson River in sec. 33, T. 2 N., R. 

1 E., to irrigate land in the Valley View irrigation district. The 

report of the Montana Irrigation Commission for 1922 indicates 

that two pumping lifts are contemplated, -one of 137 feet for an area 

of 1,300 acres and the other of 186 feet net for 'an area of 1,395 acres. 

The operation of the pumps will require 962 horsepower of electric 

energy, which could be furnished by the Montana Power Co. The 

annual maintenance cost for the project will be more than $6.58 

an acre, and the first cost $37.40 an acre. The irrigation district 

::>rganization has been approved since 1920, but development has 

not betn undertaken. This scheme embraces lands that could 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 81 

probably be irrigated from the main canal of the Crow Creek scheme. 

The water supply available in Jefferson River is adequate for the 

project. 

Ruby River project (6AD).-Plans at one time were under consideration which contemplated the irrigation of 41,000 acres of bench 

land between Ruby and Beaverhead Rivers. This scheme would 

require a canal extending down the left side of Ruby River from the 

Ruby River Reservoir site (6AD-1), following the location shown 

on Plate 3. The State of Montana filed an application for the 

segregation of the land to be irrigated under the Carey Act, but the 

application was p.ot approved, and no active steps looking toward 

development of the project are known to have been taken since 

some time prior to 1915. 

The writers' studies indicate that abandonment of the Ruby 

project probably has been due to a combination of unfavorable 

circumstances. The available stream-flow data, although inconclusive, indicate an almost certain deficiency in the water supply 

for a 40,000-acre project. To determine the amount actually 

available, however, would require further records. The canal 

construction presents another problem. Below its head gates considerable rock excavation would be required, and then hillside 

construction would be encountered for several miles until the bench 

lands were reached. These construction difficulties would make 

the project costly, and the bench lands that could be irrigated have, 

at least in part, a gravelly soil that would not produce crops of 

sufficient value to repay a high irrigation charge. 

Big Hole Basin (6AE).-An additional area estimated as between 

30,000 and 50,000 acres in Big Hole Basin, for the most part on 

benches along the west side of the basin, is physically irrigable. 

Efforts heretofore made to irrigate these bench lands have not been 

successful, in part because the water supply is now largely utilized 

except during the peak of the flood-water period. One proposed 

scheme of irrigation involves the building of a canal, from Big Hole 

River at a point in T. 4 S., R. 15 W., to land along the west side of 

the valley which is now irrigated from streams tributary to the river 

on that side. The appropriated water supply from the tributary 

streams thus released would be used on the higher bench land. It 

'is believed that this scheme presents a logical method of procedure 

and that eventually so~e part of the bench land will be irrigated. 

The soil mantle of the benches, however, is thin in places, and ditch 

excavations encounter coarse gravel and boulders in which a high 

rate of seepage loss occurs. The duty of water on such land would 

therefore be low. 
82 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Whitetail irrigation district (6AH).-A district has been organized 

to irrigate an area. of 5,076 acres from Little Whitetail Creek. The 

location of the canal is shown on Plate 3. It is also proposed to build 

a reservoir (6AH-3) having a capacity of 16,600 acre-feet. According 

to the report of the Montana Irrigation Commission for 1922 the 

estimated cost of the project will be $197,000 and the cost per acre 

$38.82. The principal crops will be hay, grain, potatoes, peas, and 

dairy products . 

. South Bench irrigation district (6AH).-A scheme has been proposed 

involving a net area of 14,800 acres included in the South Bench 

irrigation district in lower Jefferson Valley, to be irrigated from Willow 

Creek and its tributary Norwegian Gulch. The lands are located in 

Tps. 1 and 2 N. and 1 S., Rs. 1 and 2 E. The flow during the irriga--

tion season is practically all appropriated and used, and the plan of 

development for this project contemplates the building of a dam 122 

feet high at the confluence of Willow and Norwegian Creeks to create· 

a reservoir (6AH-7) of sufficient capacity to satisfy the greater part 

of the irrigation demand. This scheme has been investigated by the· 

Montana Public Service Commission and the following data relative· 

to it are published in the report on Montana utilities for 1922: 

Length of irrigation season, 125 days. 

Duty of water delivered to farm, 1.25 acre-feet per acre. 

Duty of water in reservoir, 2.14 acre-feet per acre. 

Reservoir caphcity, 32,800 acre-feet. 

Crops, grain, hay, peas, potatoes, and dairy produce. 

Records of the flow of Willow Creek indicate that the unappro--

priated supply available may not be equivalent to 2.14 acre-feet per· 

acre for an area of 14,800 acres but probably is adequate to warrant 

construction of the proposed scheme. 

INSTALLED WATER POWER PLANTS 

Dillon municipal plants (6AC-6, 6AC-7).-Two hydroelectric· 

power plants have been constructed in Beaverhead Valley to generate 

current for municipal lighting at Dillon. One of these plants (6AC-6} 

is near the center of sec. 25, T. 7 S., R. 9 W., and was constructed to· 

use a flow of 80 second-feet from Beaverhead River. and Blacktail 

Deer Creek. The plant is equipped with a 300-horsepower turbine 

water wheel operating under a 22-foot head. The generator has a. 

capacity of 150 kilowatts. This power plant was closed November· 

21, 1923, after the completion of a transmission line connecting Dillon 

with the Montana Power Co.'s line at Laurin, Mont., and is now 

held for emergency use. The other plant (6AC-7) is in sec. 28, T. 

8 S., R. 9 W., and is operated under a head of 205 feet with a water· 

supply of 8 second-feet from Sturges or Lovell Warm Springs. The 

equipment consists of two units, each containing a water wheel andi 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, M.OINTANA 83 

generator. At an over-all efficiency of 70 per cent this plant has a 

eapacity of 104 kilowatts. Formerly 472 second-feet from springs 

in Beaverhead Canyon was utilized in the plant, but the high cost 

()f maintaining the flumes required in the canyon caused abandonment of that part of the development. · This plant was being used 

together with the transmission system of the Montana Power Co. to 

supply the power market in Dillon. · 

Parrot plant (6AH-1).-In 1894 a filing for 500 second-feet of water 

from Jefferson River was made for a hydroelectric power development 

in sec. 28, T. 1 N., R. 4 W. The development included ·an 18-mile 

.diversion canal having a capacity of 250 second-feet and extending 

:from a point on Jefferson River in sec. 24, T. 2 S., R. 6 W., to the 

power plant. The plant equipment included three horizontal turbines operated under a head of 87 feet with a rated capacity of 500 

horsepower each, which were belt connected to three generators. 

The plant was owned by the Madison Power Co. and connected 

with transmission lines extending from other plants of that company. 

It has not been operated for several years, and most of the machinery 

has been moved away. The canal is now used by the Parrott Ditch 

Association for irrigation. 

Rattlesnake Greek (6AC-5).-An old flume and power plant that 

formerly utilized water from Rattlesnake Creek stand on the north 

-side of the stream in T. 6 S., Rs. 10 and 11 W., near the town of 

Argenta. The flume was between 3 and 4 miles in length and 

developed a static head of about 120 feet at the power plant. This 

installation was made during the days of mining activity in the 

region, apparently to operate a stamp mill. The power plant has 

been abandoned for a great many years and is practically demolished. 

With a water supply of 10 second-feet, which is the estimated winter 

flow, and an over-all plant efficiency of 70 per cent, the power capacity 

()f this plant for 90 per cent of the time was less than 100 horsepower. 

Divide plant (6AG-2).-In sec. 11, T. 1 S., R. 10 W., a power plant 

has been installed which is now part of the Montana Power Co.'s 

system. The equipment consists of four inward-flow Leffel turbine 

water wheels with a rated capacity of 1,200 horsepower each, direct 

eonnected to four generators with a rated capacity of 750 kilowatts 

-each, also two water wheels with a rated capacity of 150 horsepower 

-each connected to exciter units. The main generators produce 

3-phase 60-cycle current at 800 volts and are designed to operate 

.at a speed of 180 revolutions a minute. This current is stepped up 

to 15,000 volts for transmission by means of 12 transformers. The 

two exciter units have a rated capacity of 100 kilowatts each with a 

potential of 125 volts and are designed to operate at a speed of 600 

revolutions a minute. 
84 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

This plant was installed in 1899 and was the first to deliver hydroelectric power to the Butte district. Details concerning the. dam 

will be found in the discussion -of the reservoir (6AG-2) on page 62. 

During recent years until about 1918 the plant was particularly 

valuable for supplying peak-load power required by the lighting 

system in Butte and furnished about 1,600 horsepower for operating 

the pumping plant of the Butte water-supply system, 1 mile below 

the plant. Since 1918, however, operation of the plant has been 

almost wholly discontinued, and it is now used principally as a 

stand-by for the pumping plant. The average annual output during 

1919 to 1923 was 2,640,000 kilowatt-hours, which is only about 10 

per cent of the installed capacity of the plant. The maximum daily 

output during this period was 17,000 kilowatt-hours, an amount 

less than the rated output of ·one generator running continuously. 

The available stream-flow records in the files of the Geological 

Survey are insufficient to serve as a basis for determining the flow 

of the river for 90 and 50 per cent of the time for use in estimating 

the power capacity of this site. Records of the Montana Power Co. 

show a 90 per cent flow of 360 second-feet and 50 per cent flow of 

625 second-feet when corrected for an assumed constant error of 

100 second-feet due to unmeasured leakage through the dam. These 

estimates are believed to be more accurate than any estimate that 

can otherwise be obtained. The error due to flood-period flow has 

no effect on the computation. 

The lowest point in the outlet from the dam is 44 feet below the 

crest of the spillway. This head can be readily increased to 65 feet 

by means of penstocks and draft tubes. With the estimated 90 per 

cent flow the site has a power capacity of 1,870 horsepower; with the 

50 per cent flow, 3,250 horsepower. The present storage facilities, 

comprising a capacity of 7,100 acre-feet in the Wise River Reservoir 

and 1,280 acre-feet obtainable by use of flashboards in the spillway 

of the dam, will furnish an aggregate storage of 8,380 acre-feet. 

With effective storage regulation of this quantity a continuous flow 

of approximately 400 second-feet can be maintained. At an over-all 

plant efficiency of 70 per cent the continuous power output with this 

stream flow and an average static head of 65 feet•would be approximately 2,100 horsepower. In order to obtain this output, however, it 

will be necessary to make extensive repairs to the two existing dams 

to eliminate leakage. 

Pony plant (6AH-6).-A small plant has been installed on North 

Willow Creek in T. 2 S., R. 3 W., to furnish power for lighting the 

town of Pony. The installation consists of a 30-kilowatt generator 

operated under a head of 58 feet by a water wheel having a rated 

capacity of 40 horsepower. The plant is owned by the Pony Electric 

Light Co. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 85 

UNDEVELOPED WATER POWER 

Beaverhead River (6AC-1).-The potential power resources of 

Beaverhead River are limited to the canyon sec1

tion, which terminates 

at the head of Dillon Valley. If the meanders of the river are disregarded, this canyon is about 12 miles long and has a total fall of about 

200 feet as determined from a profile of the railroad paralleling the 

river. The discharge recorded at Barratts is nearly 260 second-feet 

for 90 per cent of the time and 425 second-feet for 50 per cent of the 

time. These records include the flow of Grasshopper Creek, which 

enters the canyon about 2 miles above its lower end; the flow for 90 

per cent of the time through the whole canyon available for power is 

only about 240 second-feet, and that for 50 per cent of the time about 

380 second-feet. The potential power that could be developed in 

the canyon at an over-all plant efficiency of 70 per cent is 320 horsepower per mile with the 90 per cent flow and 500 horsepower per mile 

with the 50 per cent flow. Topographic conditions are favorable to 

the development of practically all these power resources in one or 

two units by means of high dams, but the Oregon Short Line Railroad, 

which parallels the river through the canyon, would have to be relocated. Low diversion dams and conduits present a possible alternative method of development, but the railroad grade in places is only 

a few feet above normal high water, and raising the roadbed would be 

necessary, especially if the diversion dam were high enough to provide 

sufficient forebay pondage for protection from ice in winter. The 

cost of development under either scheme would render utilization of 

the potential power impracticable, and it is believed that Beaverhead 

Canyon can be regarded as devoid of potential power having any 

commercial value. 

Argenta site (6AC-5).-In the NE. 74 sec. 30, T. 6 S., R. 10 W., 

there is a favorable site for the construction of a dam on Rattlesnake 

Creek. A dam 100 feet above the water surface at this point would 

be about 500 feet wide and would back water upstream about 1 

mile. By building a conduit' 3 or 4 miles long down the left bank of 

the stream a head oJ 200 feet could be obtained for generating 

power. With a flow for 90 per cent of the time amounting to 10 

second-feet, the power obtainable would be 160 horsepower. The 

flow for 50 per cent of the time is probably not less than 30 secondfeet and would yield 480 horsepower. The cost of the structures 

involved in the development of this potential power is far in excess 

of the value of the power that could be produced. Furthermore, 

irrigation diversions for land in the vicinity of Argenta occur immediately below the dam site, and either the owners of these water 

rights must be furnished with water or the water-rights must be pur-
86 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

chased in the interest of any prospective power development. It is 

not believed that the potential power on Rattlesnake Creek in the 

section under consideration has any commercial value. 

Big Hole Oanyon. (6AG-2, 6AG-3).-The installed Divide power 

plant (6AG-2) is the most practicable commercial development along 

Big Hole River. The canyon section above the backwater from 

this plant contains no practicable high-head dam sites, the fall of 

the river through that section is only about 20 feet to the mile, which 

renders low diversion dams and conduits expensive, a~d no adequate storage regulation is available. 

In the 5-mile canyon section (6AG-3) that lies about halfway 

between Divide and Melrose stations on the Oregon Short Line 

Railroad the fall of Big Hole River is about 20 feet to the mile. If 

80 feet of the total fall can be utilized for power the potential output 

with the regulated stream flow of 400 second-feet obtainable as 

described for the Divide plant (p. 83) would be about 2,600 horsepower. With the present flow of 360 second-feet for 90 per cent of 

the time estimated for the Divide plant, the output would be 2,300 

horsepower, and with the flow of 625 second-feet for 50 per cent of 

the time it would be about 4,000 horsepower. This canyon is traversed by a constructed railroad, and power development here is 

believed to be impracticable, owing to the cost of building the 

necessary structures, relocating the railroad, and purchasing bottom 

lands that would be flooded. 

Whitetail Oanyon (6AH-4).-From the outlet of the Whitetail 

Park Reservoir site (6AH-3) Whitetail Creek flows in a deep rugged 

canyon 8 miles long with a fall of 300 feet to the mile. No streamflow records are at hand for determining the flow for developing power, 

but it is estimated that a flow of 7 second-feet is available 90 per cent 

of the time. With storage regulation in Whitetail Park Reservoir 

this flow could probably be increased to about 12 second-feet. The 

power value of the stream at an over-all plant efficiency of 70 per 

cent is therefore 168 horsepower per mile with the 90 per cent time 

flow and 288 horsepower per mile with storage regulation. 

The most feasible method of development 8 would be by means of 

. low diversion dams and conduits along the canyon walls, delivering 

the water through high-head penstocks. Considerable difficult · 

hard-rock excavation would be required in building such a project, 

and its costwould be prohibitive under present economic conditions. 

South Boulder Greek (6AH-5).-The Liberty Mines Co. has filed 

an application with the Federal Power Commission for Jkermission 

. to build a power project on South Boulder Creek in sec. 18, T·: 2 S., 

R. 3 W. The plan of development includes an earth d~version dam 

• J .. amb, W. A. (district engineer), unpubllsbed report on file In tbe Geological Survey. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 87 

and a 20-iuch wood-stave pipe line 4,400 feet long, which will create 

a static head of about 231 feet for developing power. The power 

will be converted to usable energy by means of two 4-foot Pelton 

water wheels, one belt connected to a 150-kilowatt generator and 

the other to a two-stage air compressor. 

No stream-flow records for South Boulder Creek are available, 

hence the power capacity of this site can only be estimated. A 

report based on field and office studies by engineers of the Forest 

Service indicates that the power capacity with the estimated flow 

available 90 per cent of the time is about 205 horsepower. No 

storage sites exist on the stream, according to that report, which 

further shows that the channel of South Boulder Creek has a steep 

gradient and that developments similar to that contemplated by 

the Liberty Mines Co. might be installed at many points. In fact, 

another such installation is said to have been operated by a mining 

company several years ago at a point 3 miles upstream from the site 

here discussed, but it was abandoned when the mining operations 

were discontinued and has been dismantled. Commercial utilization of these potent~al power resources is apparently impracticable. 

METEOROLOGIC RECORDS 

Length of growing season at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

Boulder 

Last kill- First kill· Last kill- First killYear ing frost ing frost Days in spring in fall 

Year ing frost ing frost Days in spring in fall 

---------r--------11·--------1-------- 1 1901-1008 ____________________ , ____ ---------- 1009 ____________________ Juno 12 Aug. 27 

11110 .........•......•••. June 24 Aug. 24 1911.. __________________ May 30 July 18 

1912·------------------- June 18 Aug. 17 1913·------------------- Julyi 14 Aug. 15 1915·------------------- June 16 Sept. 13 

1009.-------------------

1010. ------------·-· ---- 1911.-------------------

1913 .. ------------------ 1914.--•• --------------- 1916.-----------------·· 1917--------------------

1914.--------·----------- 1915 _____ --------------- 1916 ________________ ----

1917--·----------------- 1918. ------------------- 1919.------------------- 1920 _________________ ---

• Average for 8 years. • At Boulder Nursery. ~. • Frost every month. 

Jun<j 26 Julyi 13 Julyi 11 (•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

June 22 July 19 

(•) 

(•) 

June 1 June 8 

June 24 

July 12 July 24 

July 28 (•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

Sept. 9 Sept. 13 

~:l Sept. 25 

Sept. 22 

Aug. 29 

1916·------------------- June 12 Sept. 14 94 

1918·------------------- ---------- Sept. 4 -·---- 1919 ____________________ ---------- Sept 22 ------ 1920 ____________________ May 31 ---------- ------ 1921.. __________________ May 12 ---------- ----·· 

Average __________ ---------------····· 72.3 

Bowen 

16 1918 ___________________ _ 11 19!9 ___________________ _ 17 1920 ___________________ _ 

1921.-------------------

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

(•) 

Mean .•••••.••••• -------- ------------

Brenner 

79 1921... _________________ May 12 Sept. 4' 

66 1922·------------------- June 1 Sept 8 1923·------------------- June H Sept. 17 1924____________________ (•) (•) 

116 

106 Mean •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 66 

115 

99 

96 

67 
88 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Len1th of growing season at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont.-Continued 

Dell 

Last kill- First kill- Last kill- First kill- Year ing frost ing frost Days in spring in fall Year ing frost ing frost Days in spring in fall 

---11----------------

1917 ..••••••••••...•••.. June 11 Aug. 7 1918 ...••••••••.....•.•. June 29 Aug. 12 1919 ...••..•.•.•........ June 7 Sept. 13 

1900-1908.-------------- ----------I---------- 1909 .....•.•........•... May 14 Sept. 17 1910 ____________________ May 26 Aug. 18 

1911. ..••....•.......... May 27 Aug. 24 1912 ...••.•............. May 4 Sept. 16 1913 ....•...•..•........ July 13 Sept. 9 1914 ....•....•••..••.... May 6 Sept. 3 1915 ....••.............. Apr. 23 Sept. 10 1916 ...•.•.............. June 12 Sept. !4 1917 ••.•.••••........... May 31 Sept. 21 

1914 ...•.•.....•........ 1 June 221 Sept. 91 1915 .....•••....••.•.... June 27 Sept. 10 

1909 ... ----------------- 1910 .. ------------------ 1911..------------------

1912.-------------------

1913.-------------------

1914 ... ----------------- 19!5 ___________________ _ 

1916.-------------------

1917--------------------

June 11 Sept. 231 

May 2 Aug. 24 

May 11 Sept. 17 I 

May 7 Sept. 21 May !9

1 

Sept. 24 May 12 Oct. 5 

Apr. 9 Oct. 6 1\!ay 11 Sept. 28 

May 31 I Oct. 17 

56 1920 .............•.•.••. June ~4 Aug. 18 44 

98 Average .......•.•.•••••••••••..•••••. 

Dillon 

•84 

126 

84 

87 

135 

I 

1 mt:::::::::::::::::: 

ll~~~:::::::::::::::::::: 1923 .... ··-------------- !924. -------------------

May 27 June 10 July 6 May 12 June I 

May 16 June 5 

Sept. 3 Sept. 22 Aug. 30 Sept. 10 Sept. 28 Sept. 18 Sept. 27 58 

120 

140 

94 

113 

Average .......... --·······- ----------

Lima 

~~ 111916 .....•.••..•.•...... 1 June 231 Aug. 191 

Average ....••.••. --------------------

Norris 

104 ~~~ !918 .....•••....•••.••.. J May 29 I Sept. 27 114 j 1919 •••••••••••••••••••• 1 

May 6 Oct. 8 129 , 1920 ....•.....•..•. ·..... June 1 Oct. 21 137 'I 1921.. ..•.....•••.•..... 1 May 14 Sept. 10 !28 1 1922 .....•••......•..•.• 1 

May 12 Oct. 14 !46 111923 .....••...•...•.•.•. May 15 Oct. 12 180 !

1

192{. ___________________ 

1 

June 7 Sept. 27 

lig i Average ..•.••••.. 1 ................... . 

Pipestone Dam 

1923 ••••••••••. ---------1 June 251 Sept. 181 1924 ..•••.•.•••......... June 9 Sept. 1 ~~ II Average... .••••. +--------+·········1 

Pipestone Pass 

!909 ..•••••••.•.•••••••• 1 July 14 Aug. 1 !910 ...••••.••.•....••.. June 8 Aug. 2 1911. •.••••••..•••.•.... May 28 Aug. 8 !912 ••••••••••..••...••• July 12 Aug. 12 I 

1899-1908 _______________ ---------- ---------- 1909 __ , _________________ May 19 Sept. 23 

1910 .....••....•..•.•... June 4 Aug. 25 !911. •••••••••.••..••... May 30 Aug. 28 1912 •••••••••••••..••... June 4 Aug. 30 

1913 ..••••• ··----------- July 14 Sept. 10 1914 ..••••••..•..•••••.. May 1 Sept. 2 1915.................... May 6 Sept. 20 1916 ...•••.••••.•••••••• June 12 Sept. 14 

1917 ----······-···-·--·- June 3 Sept. 29 

• Average for 9 years. • Average for 10 years. 

I 18 1 1913.................... (•) (•) 

i~ I Average .••.•••••.•.•••••••••.•••••••• 

Rei\ OVa 

• llO 

127 

82 

90 

87 

58 

124 

137 

94 

118 

1918 .•.•..••.•...•••••.. May 22 Sept. 4 1919 ...•.•••••..•.••••.. June 8 S~pt. 22 1920 ...••.•.•••..•....•. June 1 Aug. 31 1921. .•.•••.•••..••••..• May 3 Sept. 17 1922 ..•.••...••..•.•...• May 15 Sept. 29 1923 ...•••••••.•••••.•.• June 15 Sept. 18 1924.................... June 7 Sept. 27 

Average ..•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 

M 

63 

99 

104 

55 

121 

119 

125 

114 

98 

57 

70 

121 

155 

142 

119 

155 

150 

112 

136 

84 

44.2 

105 

106 

91 

137 

137 

95 

112 

108 
JEFFERSON R:;:VER BASIN, MONTANA 89 

Length of growing season at stations in Jefferson River Basin, M ont.-Continued 

Three Forks 

Last kill· First kill- Last kill· First kill· 

Year ing frost ing frost Days in spring in fall 

Year ing frost ing frost Days In spring in fall 

--·------1--------1---111--------1--------

1910.................... June 3 Aug. 25 1911.................... May 31 Sep•. 19 

11113..... •••.•••••••• •• • May 17 Sept. 20 1918............ ••• ••••• May 29 Sept. 4 

83 1923.. •••••••••••••••• •• J nne 1 Sept. 18 109 111 

126 Average.......... •••••••••• •••••••••• 106 98 

Near Three Forks 

1914-------------------- May 5 Oct. 7 1915 ..••• --------------- May 6 Sept. 20 11l16 •• __________________ June 7 Sept. 14 

1917 --------------·----- June 5 Oct. 17 1918 ..••• --------------- May 22 Sept. 16 Ul19____________________ June 2 Sept. 22 

1903-1908 _______________ ---------- ---------- 1909 ____________________ May 19 Sept. 12 

1910-------------------- June 3 Aug. 25 1911 ••••• --------------- June 5 ·Sept. 17 1912·------------------- May 31 Aug. 30 1916·------------------- May 1J Sept. 13 

1917 ------·------------- June 3 Oct. 17 1918-------------------- May 29 Oct. 8 

t Average for 6 years. 

155 1920 •••••••••••••••••••• July 8 Aug. 19 42 137 1921..------------------ May 14 Oct. 7 146 89 1922 •..• ---------------- May 31 Sept. 29 121 134 

117 Average __________ -----·-·---··------- 117 112 

Virginia City 

I /93 I ]I 

91 I 125 

13.6 132 

1919·---------------~--- June 1 Sept. 22 1920____________________ June 2 Oct. 8 

1921.------------------- May 12 Sept. 4 1922.------------------- , May 30 Sept. 8 1923·------------------- June 30 Sept. 18 1924·------------------- June 9 Sept. 10 

Average .••••••••• --------------------

113 

128 

115 

101 

80 

93 

104 

Precipitation, in inches, at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont. 

Boulder 

[Records for 1909--1913 at Boulder Nursery) 

1891...~~: _______ -~~~~- -~~~·- ::~ -~=J:~~- -~::_ -~:~- -~=~ :~:· :: :::· :::· ~:~= ~~g~====::::::::::: ~J: j~ :~ U~ ~J~ t~ :~ :~~ "i:7ii- ··:sf :~ :l~ ---~9:67 1894. __ ------------ . 77 . 14 • 71 • 74 L 06 2. 59 • 90 . 70 1. 99 . 50 . 14 • 19 10.43 

1895.-------------- . 49 . 17 • 03 . 38 . 73 2. 90 . 74 . 06 . 81 . 46 ------ ------ -------- 1896 .•..•.••••.•••. ------------ •••••• ----·- -···-- ------ •••••• 2. 50 .30 •••••. Tr .•••••••• 1897..~------------ ------------------------ 1.12 2.38 1.31 ------------------ .... ____ ·----- --------

t~::===::::::::::: ·i:iis· ··:so· ··:7oTi:5ii" t~g t: :~ 1:~ ··:o2· ··:ii<r :~ 1:~ --·iaio 

1900 _______________ .53 .75 .58 1.59 1.88 .19 .97• .54 1.17 1.57 .10 .37 10.24 1901. ______________ .58 .70 .21 1.95 2.14 1.81 .38 .35. 1.36 ;14 .18 1.17 10.97 

1902 .•.••••••••••.•. 05 .51 .39 .61 2.38 .70 1.99 .60 .41 .40 1.25 1.05 10.34 1903 ....•.•••••••.•. 45 .37 .98 .83 1.70 .85 1.91 .30 .91 .39 .45 .34 9.48 

1904 _______________ .46 1.09 .61 .13 1.11 .89 .77 .70 .00 .09 .17 .21 6.23 

1905 .....••••••••••. 31 .16 .77 .77 1.11 3.84 2.04 .88 Tr. Tr. .20 Tr. 10.08 

1906............... .25 .40 .83 .08 2.90 1.96 --~~:. -~:~~-~--~~- • .:~:. --~:~. --~:~. ---~~:~~ tSt::::::::::::: =~=~= =;=~~=1:::::: :::~~= =~~i;= -~:~- k ~ :: :: ~ ··:20· ··:s2· ··:95· :::::::: 

1910 ..•••••••.••••.••..••. 70 Tr. 1.24 2.49 1.98 .58 1.19 4.27 1.18 -----------·-------- 1911. ..••••••.•.••. ------------------------ 2.47 3.62 .38 1.09 L 15 2.32 ------ .64 -------- 1912 ..•..•••••••••.. 49 .12 1.01 2.34 2.68 1.48 L70 1.76 2.87 2.92 --.29 .72 18.38 

m~= ===::::::::::: -~:~~- -~:~~- -~~~~- : ll u~ t ~l i~ t :l ug -'fr:- ··:21· ··:21··:::::::: 

1916. _. --------···- • 50 • 79 . 45 . 96 2. 44 3. 27 L 37. . 92 1. 18 . 67 . 29 ---·-· •••••••• 

1918--------------------------- 1.41 . 76 ------------ 2.95 1.88 1.96 ------------ .05 

Mean ••••••••. 66 .48 .58 .97 2.01 2.32 L32 .97 1.48 .67 .39 .415 12.29 
90 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Precipitation, in inches, at stations in Jefferson River BaBin, Mont-Continued 

Bowen 

, 19()7 .. _--

_______________ ~·=------- _':t·_ 2.42 2.18 -~: 1.25 ~=_!_:_ 0.61 0.57 ': 3.08 __ ':_ 1.77 -·=~ 1.81 _: 1.20 _:·~- 0.44 :: .58 ~ 2.56 ~::: 18.56 

1908.-------------- . 47 1. 02 1. 77 . 57 2. 07 3. 29 1. 03 1. 25 . 74 1. 25 . 16 . 40 14. 02 19()9 _______________ 1.51 .47 .66 .47 1.68 .77 2.31 .63 2.71 .13 2.14 .44 13.92 

1910.-------------- . 69 1. 06 . 81 . 25 1. 51 . 48 . 67 . 03 1. 08 • 73 2. 25 . 54 10. 10 1911. ______________ 1.00 .29 .08 .82 1.34 3.60 .53 .98 1.35 2. 77 1.14 . 78 14.68 1912 _______________ .68 .43 .55 .36 2.41 .83 1.64 1.16 1.18 .77 .39 .81 11.21 

~g~L::::::::::::: -·:so· : ~ : ~~ 1: ~~ UA }lg 1

: ~ : ~ t:rg d~ ~ ~ : r~ ---io:73 1915 _______________ .38 .33 .38 .55 2.82 3.25 1.97 .59 1.16 .12 1.07 1.24 13.86 

1916 _______________ .82 1.21 .89 .58 .76 1.44 1.25 .96 .61 .26 1.12 .43 10.33 1917 _______________ 1.39 .89 1.17 .84 1.57 .93 .35 .05 1.70 .65 .64 1.95 11.63 

1918.-------------- 1. 13 . 71 . 90 . 23 . 12 • 45 . 84 2. 20 . 79 . 94 . 25 Tr. 8. 56 1919.-------------- . 21 1. 06 . 48 . 75 . 65 . 02 . 03 . 25 . 19 1. 02 . 43 1. 41 6. 50 1920 _______________ .46 .41 1.23 1.54 .49 2.13 .76 .74 .83 .94 .44 .63 10.60 

1921.-------------- . 52 . 56 1. 09 1. 64 1. 91 2. 00 • 48 ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ --------

Mean________ • 90 • 77 • 78 • 73 1. 41 1. 93 1. 04 • 78 L 10 • 86 • 88 . 95 12.13 

Brenner 

1914.-- ------------ 0.60 0.22 ·o:B4- 1. 14 2.12 2. 95 1.60 0.12 2.16 1.00 0.14 0. 38 1.133 1915.-------------- .28 .43 . 97 . 75 2.99 1.94 .. 91 LlO .46 1. 02 . 97 12.66 

1916.-- ------------ . 75 1. 17 .58 1. 17 1. 66 1. 82 1. 66 . 75 1.12 1.85 . 31 ------ 13.64 

1917--------------- 0 .40 1.03 1.11 1. 61 .37 · Tr. . 19 .85 .47 . 52 1.34 7.89 

1918.-------------- ------ .37 .36 . 77 . 75 .71 1. 00 2.44 2. 70 .87 . 63 .49 12.28 

1919.-------------- .16 .65 . 20 1. 84 .13 .06 .11 .07 .18 1.65 .88 . 86 6. 79 

1920.-- ------------ 1. 13 .50 1. 03 1.04 1. 80 .96 1. 89 .29 .68 1.17 . 55 . 79 li.83 

1921.-------------- ------ . 43 .82 1.90 2. 55 1. 33 . 18 .94 1. 38 .07 1. 48 .54 12.78 1922.-------------- . 46 .88 . 91 2.24 1. 43 1.19 . 75 1. 77 .10 Tr. .68 .81 11.22 1923.-------------- .37 .34 .96 1.17 2.26 2.89 1. 46 1.07 . 51 1. 22 .44 .64 13.33 1924.-------------- .46 .15 1.01 .30 .11 . 21 . 41 .06 .82 . 91 .42 .66 5.52 1925.-------------- . 72 .35 1.14 1. 29 1.54 4. 47 1. 61 .63 ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- Mean ________ .49 .49 .81 1.25 1.39 1. 75 1.10 • 77 1. 06 .88 .64 .68 11.81 

Dell 

1898 ___________________________________________________ I ______________________________ o. zo 1899 _______________ 0.20 0.47 0.47 0.20 0.89 1.63 0.03 0.04 0.10 1.23 0.26 .01 5.53 

i:l::::::::::::::: :~ J8 :~ :~ 1:g~ jg T~~ ug tJg 1:gg :~ ·l~ ~:: 

m~::::::::::::::: ::::::.:::::::::::: -=~~~- 2:~~ 1:~8 :~ --:29- -i:o2" -·:os· ··:u· --:iii"-------- 1918 _______________ .22 .32 .09 .44 .69 3.64 2.51 1.10 1.29 .38 .39 .13 ---ii:so 1919 _______________ .11 .06 .27 1.02 .21 .04 .33 .14 .91 1.21 .06 .42 4.78 1920 _______ : _______ .08 .33 .68 .80 .97 1.48 1.24 1.09 1.26 1.10 .22 .18 9.43 

1921.______________ . 08 ------ ------ ------ ------ 1. 90 . 26 1. 77 . 65 .12 ------ ------ -------- 1922______________ .24 .10 ------ .62 • 98 ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -------------- 1923 _______________ ------ ------------ ------ ------ 3.15 ------ ------------------ ------ ------ --------

Mean _______ .15 .33 .41 1.04 .86 1.41 .55 .91 .87 .69 .28 .64 8.14 

DOion 

1898.-- ------------ 0.94 0. 61 1.58 1.22 4. 54 1. 37 0.83 0.68 1. 38. 1.13 1.06 0.94 16.28 1899.-------------- 1.08 .47 1. 51 .65 2.00 2.12 .24 1.24 1.19 1. 31 1.03 1. 38 14.22 

1900.-- ------------ .01 . 31 1.23 2. 27 1. 56 .73 • 61 1.32 1. 34 2.84 1.15 .17 13.54 1901.-------------- .12 .73 .96 3.26 2.48 2. 85 .24 1.00 4. 77 .43 .46 2.49 19.79 1902.-------------- .99 .45 . 96 4.95 2.47 1. 74 1. 18 1.26 . 24 .16 1. 21 .05 16.17 

1903.-- ------------ .82 .07 1.23 5. 36 2.12 1.64 2. 49 1.16 1.45 .23 1. 52 1. 01 19.10 

1904.-- ------------ .64 2.14 1. 38 .98 2.54 1. 91 .05 1.18 .07 . 31 .02 .29 11.51 1905.-------------- .60 .14 2. 23 3.00 3. 17 3.96 1. 36 2. 77 . 26 . 39 .69 .09 18.66 

1906.-- ------------ 1. 01 .25 1. 38 . 77 4. ll 2. 62 .42 3.17 .88 • 21 1.16 1. 27 17.25 1907--------------- 1. 65 1.43 1.64 I. 39 3.03 5.67 2.85 2.00 1. 01 .71 .29 .31 21.98 1908.-------------- .92 .43 1. 59 .34 9.16 3. 54 .47 .68 1.00 2.00 .14 . 34 20.61 1909.-------------- 1. 74 .29 3.38 1.20 3.56 1.36 3. 78 .81 4.14 .57 .92 .93 22.68 1910.-------------- 1.19 1.69 • 31 .48 2. 77 1.17 .35 .11 3.21 1.09 1. 59 .27 14.23 1911.-------------- 1.29 1. 23 .07 1.33 3.26 2.30 .56 1.44 1.03 1.65 1. 76 .80 16.72 1912.-------------- .68 .07 2.29 2.42 3.83 2.00 1. 83 3.90 .86 1. 41 1.02 .87 21.18 1913.-------------- .61 .80 2.39 1.43 2. 78 6.02 1.61 1. 79 1. 77 1. 77 .68 .27 21.92 

1914 •• -----------·- .22 .92 .40 3.02 3.98 3.99 1. 76 .20 2.24 1.48 .11 .53 18.85 

1915.---·------·--- 1.03 • 70 1.68 1.60 6.18 4.60 4.65 .30 2.51 .44 1.02 1.12 34.88 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONT AN A 91 

Precipitation, in inches, at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont.-Continued 

DIUon-Contlnued 

Year Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Annual 

-------------------------

1916.-- ------------ 3.42 .84 • 92 1. 84 3.34 3. 63 3.96 .96 1.38 1. 90 1. 01 .49 23.69 

1917--------------- 1. 05 .54 1.53 2.03 2. 68 1. 45 .01 .26 1. 33 .46 .20 .92 12.16 

1918.-- ------------ 1. 36 1. 69 1.04 2. 21 2.35 2.43 2. 61 • 96 1. 61 .60 1.93 .80 19.59 

1919--- ------------ . 85 1. 05 .90 1. 65 .49 .18 .14 .40 1.14 2.50 1.22 2.37 12.89 

1920.-------------- .35 1.40 1. 71 1. 95 3.41 2.44 2. 70 . 91 1. 26 .88 • 51 .40 17.92 192L __ ---. __ ---- __ . 32 . 77 .90 2.43 4. 61 3. 71 .82 1.17 1. 72 .10 . 81 1.12 18.48 

1922.-------------- . 93 1.83 . 95 3. 74 2.54 1.90 1. 82 2.87 . 14 .07 1. 47 .90 19. 16 

1923.-------------- . 56 . 80 1. 31 1. 82 4.64 5.01 1. 69 .98 .52 1. 39 .30 .50 19.52 

1924.- ------------- . 62 . 48 3.40 .62 .53 1.28 1. 98 . 51 1.85 .59 .29 1. 36 13.51 

1925.-------------- 1. 08 . 06 1. 83 1 52 2.47 5.38 1. 49 2, 53 

Mean _______ . 93 . 79 1. 45 1. 98 3.20 2. 75 1.52 .14 1. 50 --~~~t-~~;- .83 16.95 

Homepark 

1905.- ------------- ------ ------'------ 1. 09 2. 2511. 14 0. 70 1. 36 0.98 0. 80 0.98 0.80 -------- 1906.-------------- 1.00 1.2011.70 2. 72 3. 14 3. 14 . 68 2.00 1. 35 . 75 .40 1.40 19.48 

1907--------------- . 95 .1012.44 1.00 2. 12 4. 58 2. 09 1. 42 .40 .85 . 70 3.00 19.65 

1908.-------------- . 60 1. 02 . 85 • 73 5. 06 4. 33 . 70 .49 . 75 1. 91 .09 .22 16.75 

1909 .. ------------- . 87 . 67 1. 01 . 63 1. 88 .46 2. 38 .53 2. 52 .41 .73 .36 12.45 

1910 .. ------------- . 58 .59 .42 1. 48 2. 70 . 78 . 55 .35 1. 89 1. 22 .84 ------ -------- Mean ....... .80 .71 1.28 1.27 2.86 2.40 1.18 1. 02 1. 31 .99 .62 1.16 15.60 

Lima 

1914.-------------- 0.11 0.17 0. 05 2.10 1. 78 3.34 1. 42 0. 05 1. 29 0. 57 0. 22 11.10 

1915.-------------- . 38 .04 .16 2. 60 2. 48 2. 56 . 35 1. 75 . 60 0.29 . 12 

1916 .. ------------- . 78 .17 .13 . 51 2.29 1. 27 1.01 .41 .84 1. 47 ------ ------ -------- Mean __________ . __ . .42 .12 .11 1. 74 2.18 2. 30 1.66 .27 1.29 .88 .15 .17 11.29 

Norris 

1908 .. --------- --~- 0.22 1. 05 1. 76 0.55 10.37 4.~7 0. 65 0. 78 1.37 1. 05 0.04 0.60 22.81 

1909 .. ------------- . 05 .02 2. 09 1. 00 6.04 1. 02 2. 34 2.83 4.54 . 70 1.57 1.85 24.05 

1910-- ------------- 2. 53 . 51 .35 1. 50 2.~ 1.19 . 88 1. 96 2. 06 1. 80 1. 98 • 3.1 17.75 

1912 .... ----------- .10 .12 1. 35 1.71 2. 91 1. 73 . 60 1. 50 1. 96 2. 41 .20 . 22 14.81 

1913.-------------- .19 .45 . 91 . 75 1.94 5. 72 2.17 . 27 2.M 3. 60 . 34 .19 19.07 

1914 .. ------------- .29 .32 .18 1. 29 2.15 3. 77 1.18 .06 2. 74 1. 04 .09 .05 13. 16 

1915 .. ------------- .46 .04 .60 1. 59 4.03 3. 97 2. 92 2. 07 2. 58 .71 1.25 . 56 20.78 

1916 .. ------------- • 73 . 57 .87 1. 76 3.10 3.40 2.16 .72 1.10 2. 52 .29 .34 17.56 

1917--------------- . 55 . 81 . 61 2.45 3.20 2.09 . 73 .13 3.08 1. 34 • 2.1 .23 16.47 

1918 .. ------------- . 92 . 74 .49 2.24 2.30 1.45 1. 33 1. 25 1.29 1.23 1.06 . 36 14.66 1919 _____________ .. . 21 1.11 .48 1. 47 1. 98 .12 .09 .64 .71 3.18 .79 .89 11.67 1920 .. __________ :-- . 37 1. 06 1. 70 2. 29 3. 74 2.58 .67 1. 10 1.08 . 16 .54 . 37 15.66 

1021.-- -----------· . 42 . 36 1. 31 1. 78 4. 65 2.11 .93 . 58 2. 09 .34 1. 52 1.84 17. 9.3 

1922.-------------- .fA . 51 . 66 3.19 3. 45 2.02 1. 96 2. 51 . 59 .39 1. 64 .80 18.36 

1923 .... ----------- ::I .38 1. 15 1.48 2.60 2. 85 1.45 1.-21 1.44 1. 80 .45 .65 15.77 

1924 .... ----------- . 9i 1. 97 1. 47 1. 72 1. 07 1. 85 . 21 3. 36 1. 69 • 96 .32 16.05 

1925 .. ---- .. ------- . 51 . 07 1. 38 2. 34 2. 64 3.01 1.06 2. 05 ------ ------ ------ ------ --------

Mean .............. .53 . 53 1. 05 1. 70 3. 50 2.50 1. 35 1.17 2. 03 1.50 .81 .. 60 17.27 

Pipestone Dam 

1923 .. ------------·I----.- 0. 56 0. 51 0.82 2.33 2. 47 1. 32 1. 70 0.13 0. 72 0.24 0.44 1924 _______________ 0.48 ----7:82 . 51 1.30 . 38 .36 . 35 1.50 . 35 . 60 .80 . 76 . 37 1925_______________ . 75 .23 1. 41 2. 58 2. 20 3. 64 ------ 1. 02 2. 64 ------ ------ ------ --------

Mean ...... --1 • 61 . 43 1.07 1.26 1.63 2.15 1.44 1.02 1.12 • 76 .50 .40 12.39 
92 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Precipitation, in inches, at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont-Continued. 

Pipestone Pass 

Year Ian. Feb. Mar. Apr. May 1une 1uly Aug. Sept. :oct. Nov. Dec. Annual 

-----1-----------------------

I909_-- ------------ ------ ~- .. --- 0.94 

~~~L::~========== 1. 05 0.96 .43 1.11 .63 .24 

1912---- ----------- • 31 .39 1. 31 

11113_-------------- • fl3 • 58 .83 

Mean ________ • 78 .64 • 75 

I898_ -------------- 1.00 0.04 0. 73 

I899_-------------- I. 20 .20 • 63 

1900_-- ------------ Tr. .20 .57 

I90L- ------------- • 31 .10 .28 

1902--------------- .04 .39 .09 

1903_-- ------------- • 37 .10 .62 

1904--- ------------ I. 50 1. 88 1. 06 

1005_-------------- .04 .11 .23 

1906 .. -------------- .40 . 51 .40 

1007--- -· ---------- . 50 .54 I. 25 

1008.-- ------------ . 15 .25 .53 

1909_-- ------------ I. 21 . 12 .82 

1910_- ------------- • 59 . 40 .16 191L ________ -----. • P5 .33 0 

1912_-------------- .14 Tr. 1. 03 

1913_-- ------------ .20 .06 .63 

1914_-------------- . 25 . 28 .33 

1915_-- ---------- -- . 52 .• 08 . 75 

1916--- --------- --- . 13 • 31 • 64 

1917- .. ------------- .30 .32' . 41 

1918 .. -------------- • 3R . 50 . 47 1919 ________________ Tr. .39 .19 

1920_-- ---------- ·- .O:l . R4 . 59 

1921_-- ------------ .16 .10 .14 

1 922_ -------------- . 21 .44 1. 57 

192.1_-- ------------ Tr. .24 • 21 

1924 .. -- -------"---- .22 .44 .46 

1925_-- ------------ .27 .10 .98 

Mean .......... .40 .33 .56 

1910--- -----------.. 

:=====' 0.45 0.34 

191L ------------'-- .23 .02 1 iH3 ___ ------------ 0. 21 .48 .50 

1914_-- ------- ----- .25 . 31 .17 

1915_- .. --- .. -------.. .2~ .02 . 97 

1916.- .. ------------ • 41 .51 .38 

1917 .... ------------- . 65 • 42 • 31 

1918_-- ------------ • 43 .10 . 61 

1919-- .. ----------.... • 11 . 65 .16 

1920--------------- ------ ------ .36 

192L __ ------------ • 14 --.-85- • 13 

1922_-- ------------ • 60 .48 

1923--- ------------ .42 .40 Tr. 

1924..-- ------------ ------ .62 .so 1925 .. -------------· • 41 ------ .so 

Mean _______ • 36 .42 .40 

1902 ________________ 0. 35 0. 80 0. 22 

1903________________ ______ Tr. 1904 ________________ ------ 1.10 

1905________________ . 01 • 10 . 20 1906________________ . 20 ------ . 20 1007 ________________ ------ ------ • 80 

2.10 2. 73 I. 47 3. 39 1.06 3. 62 1.06 1.07 0.83 . 95 3.36 I. 70 1.14 • 91 3. 52 '2. 09 I. 53 .50 18.14 I.liO 2.80 4.34 .28 1. 3.5 I. 94 1. 67 .87 .88 17.61 2. 22 3. 68 1.00 2.39 2. 01 1.83 2. 44 .26 .89 19.66 I. 27 2.24 3.92 2.11 1.17 ------ ------ ------ ------ -------- I. 61 2. 96 2. 67 I. 86 I.30 2. 73 I.82 .94 • 78 IS. 84 

Renova 

0.25 4.19 4. 2.1 0. 73 0.42 1. 61) 0.62 0.80 0.08 I4. 76 

I. 93 2.12 I. 38 .33 1.32 .28• 2. 24 • 29 . 36 12.28 2. 68 . 74 .05 .39 .26 .80 I. 7.1 .16 . 35 7. 95 1.47 2. 49 • 97 .37 .60 1. 84 . 23 . 13 • 79 9.60 I. 41 2.69 1.09 1. 01 .90 .45 .35 .60 .so 9.82 3. 91 • 90 2. 21 1. 34 .08 . 84 .06 I. 15 .45 12.03 • 27 .88 1.40 2.10 . 43 0 .22 Tr. .18 13. 79 . 86 2. 18 2. 74 1.11 • 67 • 76 ------ ------ ------ ---iii:57 .80 2. 45 l. 69 . 58 1.88 . 60 .50 . 31 .45 .40 1. 85 3. 91 3. 38 1. 27 I. 52 .89 .12 . 05 15.68 1.12 6.29 4. 23 . 44 . 52 1. 08 2.0~ .11 .03 16.83 • 96 2.38 .94 3.16 . 93 3. 3.5 . 45 1. 72 • 36 16.40 • 92 1.83 • 94 I • 51 .04 3.03 1.02 1. 18 .09 10.71 • 76 1. 74 3.40 .04 • 50 1. 75 .84 • 27 .11 10.69 1. 11 .95 2. 64 1. 24 2.17 1.43 2.25 Tr. .08 13.04 

1. 00 2.14 3.43 2. 52 .54 . 48 .69 .84 Tr. 12.53 

1. 31 1.99 3. 41 1.17 Tr. 2.28 I. 52 Tr. . 20 12.74 

1.36 3. 28 4.12 2.09 2.33 1. 51 . 16 . 75 . 59 17.54 

1. 52 2. flO 2. 60 1.12 1. 50 1. 79 1. 54 • 20 . 09 14.04 2. fi3 3. 39 l.R2 .22 .48 1. 70 .23 .22 .45 12.07 .45 .98 I. 15 2. 15 I. 03 1. 77 1. 14 .08 Tr. 10.10 • 79 .48 .12 . 30 .45 • 52 I. 73 . 59 . 41 6. 48 

2. 06 2. 59 3. 37 1.17 I. 16 . 90 1. 08 .26 . 03 13. ii8 

. 70 1. 48 2. 13 .82 1.19 2.03 . 13 .48 1. 26 10.62 

4.07 2.19 I. ~7 2.13 2.08 .32 0 . 59 . 32 15.29 • 76 2.10 2. 32 .95 I. 51 . 45 • 74 .12 • 26 9. 66 .88 .54 .61 . 87 .28 1.28 .99 • 53 .30 7.38 1.64 1. 85 3. 35 .98 l. 87 ---- ~- ------ ------ ------ -------- 1. 35 2.11 2.20 1.19 .94 1. 27 .90 .44 • 31 12.00 

Three Forks 

1. 36 1. 67 1.24 0.68 0.53 -i:os- -ii~iiii- ------ -------- .48 1. 89 2. 68 . 27 ------ 1. 34 ------ -------- 1. 35 1. 93 3. 37 2. 42 .37 .42 1.98 1. 26 0.08 14.37 1. 97 I. 97 3. 34 I. 49 0 2. 21 2.24 .02 .12 14.09 • 57 1. 81 4. 43 2. 53 1.00 2. 66 .12 .63 . 70 15.72 

• 89 . 79 2.91 1. 02 .so . 94 I. 21 Tr. . 59 10.44 • 97 2.18 1. 33 .11 .46 1. 90 .17 .19 .45 9.14 . 37 1.13 I. 39 1.22 .85 1.99 .85 .89 .04 9.8 7 .20 .44 . 34 0 ------ . 44 I. 35 .58 1.13 -------- ------ 2. 70 2. 27 1. 41 I. 00 . 63 ------- ------ .06 - ----·--- . 57 1. 61 2. 76 1. 48 . 93 1.81 .07 .81 1. 30 -------- 2.62 1. 62 2. 06 2.00 1. 79 • 81 . 31 _ii ____ .48 -----·-- .54 2. 23 3. 85 2.27 I. 20 .47 .14 --~49- -------- I. 65 • 70 1.24 1.19 .08 1.96 .89 ------ -------- ------ 1. 20 3. 33 . 59 . 78 ------ ------ ------ ------ --------

I. 81 1. 59 2. 44 1.25 • 75 1. 35 • 87 . 46 .49 12.19 

Twin Bridges 

1.~ am QW Q~ QM Q10 QW Qro Qffl mu 2. 30 • 40 ------ ------ ------ ------ 0 • w . 30 .10 . 30 ------ I. 10 .10- .10 Tr. 0 -----· -------- 1. 10 2. 50 2. 50 1. 10 ------ . 20 ------ ------ ------ --------. 1.00 2. 40 ------ . 60 -----· 1.10 ------ ------ . 70 --------

Mean________ .19 • 50 • 36 1. 20 1. 86 1. 60 • 90 • 38[ • 38 .10 • 53 • 50 8. 50• 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 93 

Prec1pitation, in inches, at stations in Jefferson River Basin, Mont.-Continued 

VIrginia City 

Year Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr., May June July Aug. Sept. I Oct. Nov. Dec.[ Annual 

1872________________ 187L.------------------ 1. 45 0.48 • 79 1.97 . 20 ~====-=-=- • 46 1. 78 o. 74 2. 73 o. 60 o. 28 o. 12 0.30 • 52 ~~== .16 I 9. 83 

1873________________ .13 .19 ------ ------ ·----- . 71 2. 02 2. 40 .13 • 09 • 06 -------- I874............................... • 11 • 06 • 14 . 10 4. 18 3. 58 1. 10 3. 11 I. 46 1. 12 1. 04 • 16 I6. I6 I875.. ............................ 1. 29 1. 37 1. 50 • 30 4. 61 1. 54 • 73 2. 94 1. 25 • 81 • 91 . 22 17.47 1876________________ . 59 • 49 1. 06 • 84 5. 58 2. 65 1. 96 1. 56 . 88 . 91 . 20 . 91 17.63 1877 ________________ .56 .73 1.35 1.38 3.93 2.08 1.79 .23 2.70 1.39 1.19 .14 17.47 

1878________________ . 45 . 62 . 91 1. 83 5. 13 3. 78 • 88 2. 16 1. 36 • 98 • 31 . 65 19. 06 

1879.............................. . 96 1. 06 1. 51 1. 45 2.16 3. 71 . 28 • 23 .Iii 1. 23 • 91 3. 83 17.84 1880 ________________ 1.1511.13 1.94 3.87 4.01 2.69 2.06 .82 .14 2.46 1.29 ------~--------

1888.......................... . 03 ------ ------ ------ 1. 53 3. 30 • 55 • 88 • 57 • 23 1. 28 • 03 -------- 1889________________ • 06 • 11 . 92 • 63 1. 98 . 23 • 06 1. 23 • 29 . 48 • 40 • 691 7. OS 1890________________ . 87 • 91 • 51 . 26 . 89 2. 35 . 24 1. 22 • 70 1. 06 • 06 • 70 9. 77 

1891........................ . 34 . 78 . 63 I. 00 1. 37 5. 04 3.15 . 39 1. 37 • 29 .12 . 65 15.13 

1892---------------- . 27 . 04 . 31 1. 40 . 54 I 2. 83 1.I6 . 61 . 82 1. 00 2. 09 1. 95113.02 

f~~L::::::::::::: : ~~ : ~~ d~ d~ Ui I a:~~ 2: ~i d~ g~ 1

: ~~ ~ : ~~ U: ~ 1895________________ . 99 • 06 1. 03 I . 94 I 1. 42 2. 12 1. 00 • 83 2. 04 .19 . 76 1. 28 12.66 1896 .............................. ' • 67 . 65 . 98 2.15 4. 28 1. 25 1.19 • 86 1. 73 . 72 1. 84 . 25 16.57 

l~gL::::::::::::: : ?! 1: ~ I i ~~ 1: ~~ ! .. :· .. :~- -~~:: .. -~~=~- --~~: .. , .. ~~~=- -~~:~- -~· .. :: .. -~~~~-~---~~~=: 1905________________ . 20 . 151 . 69 . 78 2. 12 1. 52 1. 55 1. 10 . 85 1. 31 • 53 • 281 11.08 1906 ________________ 1. 20 . 64 . 65 1. 81 5. 31 3. 40 • 68 2.19 ------ ------ ------ ------ --------

l~n:::::::::::::::: --:18- --:io- 3: ~~ I t ~ n~ : ~r u~ : ~g Ul 1: ~ u~ Jb ~---13:52 1911________________ . 07 • 50 .15 . 27 2.17 3. 46 . 83 1. 21 1. 63 1. 05 1. 33 1. 00 14. 57 

1912.--------------- .14 . 44 . 84 1. 56 3. 84 1. 06 2.12 2. 15 1. 57 . 83 • 52 • 50 I5. 57 1916 ________________ ------ .. 10 1. 03 . 76 1. 31 ------ ------ 1. 09 . 85 1.10 . 55 

1917............................. . 47 . 56 Tr. I. 05 ------ ·2. 06 • 50 .I6 1. 93 . 09 • 57 . 93 1918 ________________ 1. 58 . 52 . 65 1.10 1. 25 ------ ------ . 65 • 92 1. 31 • 35 . 51 

1919............................. • 21 1.12 . 53 • 88 2. 05 . 07 0 0 . 82 1. 77 I92Q ________________ ------ ------ 1. 35 1. 45 2. 66 2. 51 • 60 . 62 1. 39 1. 43 . 46 1. 00 

1921............................ • 77 . 30 • 83 2. 71 . 93 . 98 . 82 2. 14 • 20 1. 09 • 54 1922............................ . 50 . 45 . 52 1. 57 2. 30 1. 62 1. 36 3. 10 . 71 • 65 • 35 • 35 I3. 48 1923________________ • 26 • 31 .18 1. 73 2. 02 2. 24 1. 53 1. 82 . 57 • 74 • 38 • 60 12.38 

!924________________ . 50 . 41 1.1911 • 90 . 63 . 72 1. 56 . 45 2.13 1. 44 . 21 .20 10.34 t .... :;;;;;,: ::::: : : = · = · = :: · : ~: -;;;- --:~- -:~r:;;- -- ;~;; 

GAGING-STATION RECORDS 

RED ROCK RIVER ABOVE RED ROCK RESERVOIR, NEAR MONIDA, MONT. 

LocATION.-In NE. ~ sec. 8, T. 14 S., R. 4 W., at county road bridge at Lyon's 

ranch, about 12 miles above the dam of the Red Rock Reservoir & Irrigation Co., and about 11 miles northeast of Monida. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-Not measured. 

REcoRDS AVAILABLE.-May to October, 1911; April15, 1914, to September 30, 

1915. 

GAGE.-Vertical staff on downstream side of pier, about 10 feet from left shore. 

Records for 1911 were obtained from staff gage at about the same site, 

but the gage was on a bridge that has been replaced by the one now in use. 

The bench mark has been destroyed, so no determined relation exists between 

the datum of the former gage and that of the present gage. 

DisCHARGE MEASUREMENTs.-Made from downstream side of bridge at gage 

section. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-The stream is extremely sluggish, sediment is apt to 

accumulate, and aquatic growth on the bed causes backwater. Water 

begins to overflow the righ~ bank 200 above the gage at a gage height of 

about 5.5 feet, and the overflow passes under several sll).all bridges along 

the road. 

WINTER FLow.-Discharge relation affected by ice. 

DIVERStoNs.-None from the river itself above the station, but numerous small 

tributaries are used for irrigating meadows and hayfields. 
94 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Monthly discharge of Red Rock River above Red Rock Reservoir, near Monida, 

Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

1911 

May------------------ ______ ------------------ __ --------- 650 320 465 

June_----------------------------- ___ --------- ____ ------- 470 185 360 

Jnly----------------------------------------------------- 295 85 124 

August_ ___________ ----- _____________________ ------------ 110 65 82.6 

September __ --------------------- _______ ---------------- 110 October ____ ---- ___________________________ ----- __ -------- 155 70 96.6 

125 139 

1914 

April15-30 ____ -------- _______ ---------- _____ -------- __ --- 1, 030 May_------ ______________________________________ --"----- ll05 471 • 848 

427 576 

June_-- ______ ------ ________ ------- _______________ -------- 566 275 433 July ____ ---- ______________________ ------_________________ 328 130 204 August __ -_______________________________________________ 130 100 114 

September _____ ------ ____ -___________ ------------------__ 186 122 142 

1914-15 October __________________________ -----___________________ 218 178 194 ApriL _______ -----_______________________________________ 805 

May_----------------- ________________________ --------___ 566 

310 578 

292 430 

June_--------------------- ___ -- __ --- ______________ -----__ 427 146 297 

Jn!y----------------------------------------------------- 210 70 126 

August_ _______ -------------- ____ --------________________ 100 70 75.6 

September _____ ----- ___ ------ __________________ -------___ 122 85 107 

• Part! y estimated. 

RED ROCK RIVER BELOW RED ROCK RESERVOIR, NE.4<R 1\IONIDA, MONT. 

Rnn-ofi 

(acre-feet) 

28,600 

21,400 

7,620 

5,080 

5, 750 

8,550 

26,900 

35,400 

25,800 

12,500 

7,010 

8,450 

11,900 

34,400 

26,400 

17,700 

7, 750 

4,650 

6,370 

LocATION.-In sec. 32, T_ 13 S., R 6 W., at weir 150 yards below reservoir of 

Red Rock Reservoir & Irrigation Co., 8 miles northeast of Monida and 

15 miles east of Lima, in Beaverhead County. •.· .•. ·'.:·1 .. ·

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 560 square miles. 

RECORDs AVAILABLE.-July 22, 1911, to September 30, 1918; also miscellaneous 

measurements made in summer of 1910_ 

GAGE.-Stage determined by measuring with graduated rod, the depth on a peg 

in concrete well set with its top at elevation of crest of weir. Float gage 

in concrete well used in 1912 and 1913. During 1911 a temporary vertical 

staff on the left bank about 300 yards below the dam was read. Gage 

heights, beginning with those for 1912, indicate head on crest of 40-foot 

weir about 150 yards below dam. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from footbridge 40 feet above the weir or by 

wading. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Bed composed of coarse gravel, pebbles, and boulders. 

Banks high; right bank is subject to overflow only during extremely high 

water. Current so swift at high stages that channel above weir, if cleaned 

out, soon becomes partly filled with rocks and pebbles, which cause considerable velocity of approach. Stage-discharge relation seldom changes after 

natural deposit has been allowed to rest undisturbed. 

[cE.-Stage-discharge relation not affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONS.-None. 

REGULATION.-Dam is used to store flood waters to be released as required during 

irrigating season. ' 

C60PERATION.-Record of daily gage heights furnished by Red Rock Reservoir 

& Irrigation Co. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 95 

Monthly discharge of Red Rock River below Red Rock Reservoir, near Monida, 

Mont. 

Month 

1911 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

Run-off 

(acre-feet) 

July 23-31________________________________________________ 95 88 90.8 1,620 

AugusL ... ------------------·--------------------------- 105 63 78.4 4, 820 

September·---------------------------------------------·l===1=05=l====6=9=l==9=5=.8=l===5='=700= 

1911-12 

October----------------------- __ ------------------------- 450 100 

November .• --------------------------------------------- 280 123 December (estimated) __________________ ------------------ ----------- _ ------------

January ..•. ------- ____ ----------------------------------- 21 21 February. ___ ------------ ___ ------ _______________ -------- 21 19 

March·-------------------------------------------------- 21 20 

~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~ : June.------------------------.--------------------------- 715 186 

July------------------------------------------------------ 200 98 

Aucust--------------------. ---------------------------- .. 112 113 

September------------- ___ ------------------------------- 183 109 

The year .•.•... ------------------------------------------------------··-·--

1912-13 October. ______________ • _______________ ------ ____________ _ 

November_.---------------------------------------------

December ......•.••..•.•.•••.•.••..•....•.••••.••••..•.•• January ______ ........ ---... --.• ---•..... ---.•. ---.---... . February ... __ .•. __ . __ ... __ . _ .•. _. ___ , __________________ _ 

March ....•.... ------------------------------------------

t/'i#::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

June. -·-----..• -----.-.--....... _ .•... ---... __ ..... ____ .. July _____________________________________________________ _ 

August .•....•.•• _, ___ .• _________________________________ _ 

390 

382 

145 

5 

5 

5 

1,120 

1,040 

640 

360 

320 

280 

120 

278 6 

5 

5 

5 

5 

360 

262 

162 

228 

245 

207 

179 

22.5 

21 

19.2 

20.4 

57.6 

651 

545 

160 

130 

117 

316 

353 

76.7 

5 

5 

5 

571 

658 

491 

237 

254 

265 September ... _. __ .•. ___ .• ___________ ---.-- _______________ _ 

1-------1------1-----

12,700 

10,700 

1,380 

1, 290 

1,100 

1,250 

3,430 

40,000 

32,400 

9,840 

7,990 

6,960 

129,000 

19,400 

21,000 

4,720 

307 

278 

307 

84,000 

40,500 

29,200 

14,600 

15,600 

15,800 

The year ..•...•.........•.. ----...•.•.•. ___ . ________________ ••• ----------- _ =· ·=·=-·==·=· ·=·=-l==1=96='=000= 

1913-14 

October .. ------------------------------------------------ 340 252 282 

November •.... --------------·--------------------------- 280 146 189 

December ........ ---------------------------------------- 149 29 41.0 JanuarY-------------------------------------------------- 30 15 18.8 

FebruarY-------------------------------·----------------- 17 15 15.2 

March--------------------------------------------------- 18 15 16.7 

April ..... --------------------·--------------------------- 1,220 15 502 MaY-------------·--------------------------------------- 1,100 540 718 June ..•.. ------------------------------------------------ 590 468 560 

JulY---------------------------------K------------------- 360 141 228 August___________________________________________________ 133 77 96.3 

September.---------------------------------------------- 119 104 109 

The year _______________________________ ------------ ------------~------------ ----------

1914--15 

17,300 

11,200 

2, 520 

1,160 

844 

1,030 

29,900 

«, 100 

33,800 

14,000 

5,920 

6, 490 

168,000 

October-----------------... ------------- ________ --------- 565 165 329 20,200 

November.---------------------------------------------- 590 16,100 "29 270 

December ...... ------------------- ___ -------------------- 32 1, 960 January _______________________________ ------------------- 32 1, 960 

February------------------------------------------------ 33 1, 780 

March.-------------------------------------------------- 33 2, 000 

30 31.8 

30 31.8 

32 32.1 

32 32.6 

tr:#.-.~~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1,~ ~:W: June.---------------------------------------------------- 515 24,200 

33 487 

340 506 

160 407 

July ____________________ ---------------------------------- 154 8, 860 

August--------------------------------------------------- 320 8, 980 

September-----------------------------------------------, ____ 34_o_1 _____ ~----l---19_,_3oo_ 

60 136 

96 146 

280 324 

The year •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••• I==,;1,=04=0=I===:=:::=I====i-==1=65=,=000"' 29 228 
96 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

Monthly discharge of Red Rock River below Red Rock Reservoir, near Monida, 

M ont.-Continued 

Month 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum 

' Mean 

Run·otl' 

(acre-feet) 

------------------ll--------1-------l-------------

1915-16 

October----- ___ ----------- _____ -------------------------- 280 68 77.7 4, 780 

November_---------------------------------------------- 70 December _____ --------------_--------------------------__ 25 

25 48.2 2,870 25 25 I, 540 January _____________ ----------- __________ ----------______ 25 

February_------------- _____ ---------------______________ 25 23 24.8 1,520 

25 25 1,440 

March_----------------------- __ ---------________________ 26 25 25 1,540 

ApriL ______________ -------------------------------------_ 1,170 

May---------------------------------------------------__ I, 170 June.---_________________________________________________ 576 

25 406 24,200 495 733 45,100 422 460 27,400 

July------------------------------------------------------ 445 155 270 16,600 August___________________________________________________ 155 

September-------_________________________________________ 506 123 137 8,420 128 241 14,300 

1-------1-------1----- The year___________________________________________ 1,170 

19HH7 l===l,===i 

25 206 IIIO,QOO 

October ____________________________ ----------------______ 659 

November 1-10------------------------------------------ 207 

Aprlll&-30 .. --------------------------------------------- 775 

234 430 28,400 141 185 3,6'10 106 340 10,800 May------- ___ --- __ ------ ________ -----___________________ I, 050 775 948 58,300 

June.----_------_________________________________________ 955 

July------------------------------------------------------ 234 

422 754 44,900 ll5 155 9,530 August ______ ------ __ --- ______________________ -·- __ ----___ Ill 

September·----------------------------------------------l====82=l=====: 

1917-18 

75 85.6 3,260 75 77.5 4,610 

October__________________________________________________ 1.24 

November __ --------------------------------------------- 124 December________________________________________________ 124 

78 96.9 3,1100 124 124 7,380 51 67.7 4,160 January__________________________________________________ 51 February_________________________________________________ 51 51 51 3,'140 51 51 2,830 

March·-------------------------------------------------- 48 48 48 2,950 

tf:::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: g~ June.-------------- ____________ -------------------------- - 266 

48 ·176 . 10,500 272 349 21,600 222 241 14,300 

July------------------------------------------------------ 450 45 202 12,400 August ____________ ---____________________________________ 138 24 110 6, 760 September _____ _. _______ ---------------------------------- 167 129 140 8,330 

1--------1------1 The year·------------------------------------------ 450 24 138 100,000 

RED ROCK RIVER AT LIMA, MONT. 

LocATION.-Near the Gleed ranch, 1 mile east of Lima, Mont. Principal tributaries below the station, Sheep and Sage Creeks. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 615 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-August 14, 1907, to September 30, 1911. 

GAGE.-Chain; installed October 27, 1908, at a point just above the cable and 300 

feet farther downstream than the old staff gage which it replaced; datum of 

chain gage not the same as that of the staff gage. 

DisCHARGE MEASUREMENTs.-At ordinary and high-water stages made from a 

cable below the gage; at extremely low stages measurements made by wading just below the cable sectioa. 

CHANNEL.-Probably permanent. 

WINTER FLow.-River generally remains open the entire year, as a large spring 

discharges into the stream just above the gage. 

DIVERSIONs.-Three ditches, each carrying approximately 900 miner's inches, 

take water from Red Rock above the station. The flow of water ·above 

the station is all appropriated, but the rights are unadjudicated. 

STORAGE.-The dam of the reservoir storing the water of the Red Rock has been 

completed, but no canals have been built. The dam is of earth with concrete 

core, is 50 feet high, and will impound 90,000 acre-feet; its top elevation is6,700 feet; the dam is 16 miles above Lima, Mont., and 27 miles below 

lower Red Rock Lake. 
JEFfERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 

Monthly drscharge of Red Rock River at Lima, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Mont~ Maximum Minimum Mean 

t~tt~~~!;~_ := == =::: :::::: ~~~ j: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: 216 81 169 167 122 157 

1908-9 

97 

Run-off 

(acre-feet) 

6,030 

9,340 

October ______ •• ____________________ ._____________________ 12, 400 229 167 202 

November .. ____ --------------~--_----------- ______ ------ 246 107 168 10,000 Deceml>er ____________________ ----. ____ • _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ___ _ _ 6, 210 122 80 101 January__________________________________________________ 90 40 60.3 3, 710 February _____________________ ,._________________________ 2, 870 March ________________________ ;__________________________ 4, 650 62 44 51.6 107 58 75.7 

June 

u;~_-_ .. ~~ ------ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: __________________ L __ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ 10, 400 ~ 583 107 261 775 190 471 406 28 174 July_ --.---- __ • __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ 7, 560 200 79 123 August___________________________________________________ 93 56 73.8 4, 540 

September·-------------------i--------------------------l-----l-----l----l---'7'c..260..:..., 

The year. _______________________________ ----------- __ ---------- ------------ -=-=·=--=·=--=·=-I '==1=14~·~000= 

160 79 122 

1909-10 October _______________________ ;__________________________ 180 141 161 9, 900 

November_______________________________________________ 170 79 128 7, 620 

December·----------------------------------------------- 108 66 93.2 5, 730 January _______________________ ,__________________________ 105 91 94.2 5, 790 

FebruarY------------------------------------------------ 91 79 86.3 4, 790 

March·-------------------------------------------------- 190 91 106 6,520 ApriL___________________________________________________ 936 190 736 43,800 May_. ___________________ ._______________________________ 765 200 502 ao, 900 

June .. ___________________________________________________ 748 38 393 23, 400 

July_____________________________________________________ 146 38 59.9 3, 680 August .. ______ . ______________ ~ ________ ••• _______________ 129 59 99. 9 6, 140 

September.-----------·---------------------------------- 590 29 __ 23_4_ 1 __ ,1.,:3,_900= 

The year----------·------------------------------- __________ .. _ ------------'=--=·=--=-=--=·=·r-==1=6::;2:=000:: 

191(}-U 

October__________________________________________________ 765 48 183 11, 800 

November_______________________________________________ 121 71 105 6,250 December--. _______ .. ________ .. c _________________ • _ _ ___ ___ 71 48 57. 6 3, 540 January ______ .... _______________ • ___________ ._____________ 18 14 16 984 

February ___________________________ • ______________ ------ 21 16 18. 2 1, 010 

March .•. ______________ • ______ , ________________ ------_____ 18 14 16. 6 1, 020 

ApriL___________________________________________________ 191 16 40.6 2,420 May _______________________________________________ ---- _ _ 525 250 432 26, 600 June. __ . ____________________________________ . ___ _ __ _ __ _ _ 510 213 397 23, 600 

·JulY----------------------------------------------------- 237 54 149 9,160 

August. ___ ---------------------------------------------- 92 54 66 4, 060 September.---··------------------------------------------ 160 78 __ 1_1_0_1 __ ~6,~5-'-'-50 The year _____________________ ..• ______ .. ______ ------ _______ . ___ -I- ____________________ . 96, 500 

lED ROCK RIVER AT RED ROCK, MONT. 

LocATION.-Sec. 33, T. 10 S., R. 10 W., a short distance above mouth of Horse 

Prairie Creek. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-1, 330 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-Apt}l 9 to October 31, 1890. 

Monthly discharge of Red Rock River at Red Rock, Mont. 

I Discharge (seeond-feet) 

-----.-----.----I Run~ff (acre-feet) I Maximum Minimum 

1890 January--- ____________________ ··---- _______ • _______ ----- __ . _________ . _ .. -------- __ February------ ____ ----- ______________ ------ __________________________ . -------- __ _ 

March_ --- _______ -----.--.. _ ----------------------------- ------------ ------------ April 9-30 .•.• ___ _ _ __ _ _ ____ __ __ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ __ __ ____ _ _ _ 605 40 

May ______ ------ ________________________________ ------- __ 675 46.5 June. _____________ ..... ____________________________ ------_ 500 250 

July------------------------------------------------------ 220 50 August___________________________________________________ 50 40 September_ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 60 40 

October ______________ ------------------------··-------- __ . 220 60 

• Estimate. 

Mean 

• 40 

• 40 

• 40 

184 

577 

384 

93 

48 

47 

150 

2, 460 

2,220 

2, 460 

10,948 

35,485 

22,848 

5, 720 

2, 952 2,800 

9,230 
98 CON'fRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

BEAVERHEAD lUVBR AT BARRATTS, XOifT. 

LocATION.-ln SW. !4 SW. !4 sec. 20, T. 8 S., R. 9 W., on highway bridge at point 

where highway crosses railroad and where both highway and railroad bridges 

cross river, 1 mile above Barratts, in Beaverhead County, 2 miles below mouth 

of Grasshopper Creek, and 10 miles southwest of Dillon. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 2,800 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-August 12, 1907, to September 30, 1923. 

GAGE.-Chain gage on downstream side of bridge. Before June 22, 1908, a 

staff gage was used. Datum of chain gage same as that of staff gage. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from downstream side of bridge. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Banks high, covered with brush, and not subject to 

overflow. Stream bed clean and rocky. Two channels at low and medium 

stages, caused by an old pier; sudden changes unlikely. 

DrVERSIONs.-Numerous diversions are made above the station. Water rights 

aggregating 85,866 inches of water are decreed from Lima on Red Rock Creek 

to a point 10 miles above tl'win Bridges. The three largest canals diverting 

below the station are Can~on Creek Canal, appropriating 6,000 inches; Union 

Canal, appropriating4,000 inches; and Beaverhead Canal, diverting just north 

of Dillon, appropriating 5,poo inches. The Union Electric Co. of Dillon has 

a canal with a carrying capacity of 6,000 inches. 

REGULATION.-Operation of t~e dam used to store flood waters of Red Rock 

Creek near Monida has some effect on the flow at this station. 

Monthly discharge 'of Beaverhead River at Barratts, Mont. 

I I 

Month 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

Run-ot! 

(acre-feet} 

1001 . 1 

August 12-3L-------------------------------------------- 640 389 468 18,600 

September _____________________________ t··--------------1===43=0=1===322=1 350 20,800 I=~= 1907--8 October _________________________________ ,________________ 444 342 393 24,200 

i;=~--~=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::::::::::::: :~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

&~!~~~~~===========================E============== ~ ~ m ~:5 tr£t::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::::::::::::: d~ 1.m ,m / 1~:a 

tl~~~==============================~:::::::::::::::: 1

The year __________________________ J_ _______________ ------------ • i~· ---------------------- h1 ---·1---- m 487,000 

~~ ===:=:=== 

October __________________ ~~~---------L-------------- 809 568 714 43,900 

November -----------------'---------------------------- 765 468 629 37,400 

Pa.":t~:~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::t::::::::::::::: r~ :~ ~~ ~:~~ FebruarY------------------------------------------------ 418 335 383 21,300 

~a:t::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::t::::::::::::::: ~ro ~~ ng ~~ MaY----------------------------------------------------- 1, 480 595 906 55,700 

~~~-~=::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::1:::::::::::::::: I, ~~g ~ ~ ~:m 

~~~~:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ________ :~~- ________ :_ ----------~-----·1:---.-:-:-

! 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 99 

Monthly discharge of Beave-rhead River at Barratts, Mont.-Continued 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

1909-10 October _______ ----- _____________________________________ _ November __________________________________________ ----- December _______________________________________________ _ 

January-- __ --- ___ ----- ______________________________ ----- February _______________________________________________ _ March_------- __________________________________________ _ 

June.- ~:~1::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: __ ------ __________________________________________ _ 

July------------------------------------------------------ August __________________________________________________ _ September ____________________________________ : ________ _ 

Maximum Minimum 

618 

685 

685 

580 

435 

2, 010 1, 360 

1, 500 

550 

235 

267 

505 

470 

510 

418 

351 

360 

U5 

683 

580 

114 

155 

160 

145 

Mean 

549 

581 

477 

442 

393 

934 

1,150 

1,070 

304 

202 

220 

268 i------+-------1------ The year .• __ ---- _________________________ --------- _______ ----- _ ------------ ------ ___ _ 

1910-11 October_----- ___ -·---____________________________________ 530 338 

November __ -----·--------------------------------------- 555 405 December __ ----- _____ -----_______________________________ 455 311 

January _____ ---- _____ ----- __________________________________ --------- -······----- February_ •• ------_------ _________________________________ --·----- ___ ------------ March._----------_______________________________________ 512 200 

~.::~:~:::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~~8 ~~ 

f~;_::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1' ~}g ~~8 August ____ ------------_-------- __ ---_____________________ 340 171 September-------_-- ___ -----_____________________________ 255 174 

378 

452 

361 

• 250 

• 200 

300 

373 

440 

799 

304 

224 

223 

The year ______________________ ------------------ _______________ ---------- ___ ---------

1911-12 

October_-- ___ -----------_-------------------------------- 770 234 November----------------_--- _______________ --------____ 650 350 December ____ ------ __________________________________________________ --·-·------- March 15-:n _ -- ____________________________ ------- _ ------ 440 255 

ApriL _______ ------------------ __ -- ______ -- __ --- ____ ------ 900 390 

~~~=::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: i ~ ~~ te~:iier ·: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1' ~~ ~ 

1912-13 October _________________________________________________ _ 

~~~~~~at~~-_-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

tfa~:~=== ::::::: =:: === = = = = = = == = =::: = ::=:::::::::::::::::: June.---------- ___ ----------------- _____________ --------- JulY-----------------------------------------------------· 

August--------------------------------------------------- September ___________ ---- __________________ ----------···· 

1913-14 

900 

900 

1, 510 

1, 860 

2, 070 

2,280 

1,000 

880 

575 

390 

835 

225 

880 

1,000 

880 

350 

350 

350 

664 

870 

399 1,350 

1,450 

1, 540 

560 

546 

442 

Run-of! 

(acre- feet) 

83,800 

34,600 

29,300 

27,200 

21,800 

57,400 

68,400 

65,800 

18, 100 12,400 

13,500 

15,900 

398,000 

23,200 

26,900 

2?.200 

15,400 

11,100 

18,400 

2?.200 

27,100 

47,500 

18,700 

13,800 

13,300 

260,000 

27,500 

30,300 

21,500 

9,540 

32,700 

71,900 

97,600 

20,200 

37,100 

26,100 

40,800 

19,00() 

13,500 

80,300 

89,200 

91,600 

34, 4(jQ 

33,600 

26,300 

October.------------------------------------------------- 700 600 660 40, 6()() November-_-.•. :------_------ ______________ ------------- 700 500 638 38, 000 December________________________________________________ 500 265 324 19,900 

March 22-3L ____ ---------------------------------------- 318 280 288 5, 710 

~:~:=============::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: u~ ~ 1, r~g ~:: June.---------------------------------------------------- 1, 410 494 874 52,000 July______________________________________________________ 447 318 392 24,100 

August-----------------··---------·---------····-········ 299 151 205 12,600 

September __ ---··········································~===380='===166=',==28=3 :==1="6,'=~1=' 

• Estimated. 
I 100 CONTRIBUTIONS TO 1

THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

I Monthly discharge of Beayerhead River at Barratts, Mont.-Continued 

------------r-----;----------------------

Month 

1914-15 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

Run-oil 

(acre-feet) 

October __________________________ -------------___________ 756 402 606 37,300 November __ ----- ______________________________________ .__ 898 338 648 38,600 

December _______________________ ----------- ______________ ------------ 228 286 17,600 

JanuarY--------------------------------------------------· 280 181 229 14,100 February _______________________ -------------------______ 262 212 230 12,800 

March 1-13---------------------------------------------- . 299 245 266 6,860 

tfa~~-~=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: g~ 1, ~~g 1, ~~ ~~: ~ June_-----------------------_____________________________ 1, 660 447 839 49,900 July______________________________________________________ 986 338 476 29,300 

August___________________________________________________ 543 402 417 25,600 

'3eptember _ ------------------------------ _ __ ______ _______ 674 402 591 35, 200 ----1----

The year _____ ------ __________________________ -----_, ___________ _f ____________ =--=--=·=--=·=--,:'= ==3=43='=000= 

1915-16 October ___ ----___________________________________________ 567 398 

November __ -------------________________________________ 467 332 December ______________________ -------------------------- 398 312 January (estimated) ____________________________________ ~- ___ ------ ___ ------------

February ___ -------------------------- ____ -----------____ 354 256 March.__________________________________________________ 900 256 

June.____________________________________________________ tr:~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::: l: 2, 010 

~ 840 ~ 

July---------------------------------------.. ------------- 1, 340 332 

t:St!iiei::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~~ ~ 

447 

414 

343 

310 

296 

510 

686 1,160 

1, 160 

623 

311 

330 

27,500 

24,600 

21,100 

19,200 

17,000 

31,400 

40,800 

71,300 

69,000 

38,300 

19, 100 19,600 

399,000 

25,600 

37,500 

30,100 

26,400 

20,400 

26,600 

30,300 

38,000 

23,000 

24,100 

18,900 

17,300 

318,000 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 101 

Monthly discharge of Beaverhead River at Barratts, Mont.-Continued 

Month 

-----~----~-----------~------

1919-20 1 

~~~~~1;.;.:_-::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::I December _______________________________________________ _[ 

January _________________________________________________ _[ 

II!~(: : ::::~~ : The year_ _______________________ . _________________ _i 

1920--21 1 October ... _______ . _____ . __ . _____________ .. _____ .. _._._. ___ ., November .. __ . _____________________________ . ___ . ________ I 

Eii\ ): :: ! il 

The year_ ____ .. ___ ._-----... -.. --.-----.------.----i 

1g21-22 I October .•.. ___ .. _______ . ________________ . ________________ ; 

f[t~~;~~:~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::l ~~~~:-~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::1 ~pril .••... _. __________ . _. __________ . _____________ . ______ -~ 

~~,:~:~:~-~~:~~~~~\ ~ ~ ~ : ~ ::::: : : :I 1922-23 I 

~~~~1;.;.::~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::1 December .. ____ ._ .. _ .•.. ____ ~_. __ ._. __ .. __ . ______________ · January ____ ----- __ ..... ____ .'-_._ ... _._. _____ ..... _ .. __ .• February _____ ... _. __ ... _______________ . ________________ _ March .. ____ .. __ ... _____ ._. __ ... _. _____ ... ________ .. ____ _ 

June U':~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ••.. __________ .... _. ________________________________ _ 

A:ugust_ July-----------------.-------------------------------.--- _________________________________________________ _ 

September .. __ .... _______ . __ ..........•... ----- ___ •...... 

The year--------- ___ ---.----..•.. ---------------... 

JEFFERSON RIVER NEAR SILVER STAR, MONT. 

LocATION.-In sec. 23, T. 2 S., R. 6 W., at highway bridge at Cornforth's ranc~, 

on road from Silver Star, Madison County, to Iron Rod, a station on Ru)?y 

Valley branch of Northern Pacific Railway, 5 miles below junction of Beaverhead and Bighole Rivers. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-7,940 square miles, 
102 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-August 11, 1910, to Septembj.lr 30, 1916; July 22, 1920, 

to September 30, 1924. _ · 

GAGE.-1910-1916 staff gage nailed to downstream side of bridge; 1920 on 

chain on downstream side of bridge. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from bridge. 

CHANNEL AND coNTROL.-Bed composed of gravel; practically permanent. Left 

bank high and clean. Right bank covered with brush and subject to overflow during extreme floods. No well-defined control. 

lcE.-Stage-discharge relation seriously affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONs.-Numerous irrigating ditches divert water above and below station. 

Monthly discharge of Jefferson River near Silver Star, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-o11 

(acre-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

----- 1910 \ugust ll-3L _____ ----- ________________________________ _ 

weptember-----· -----------------------------------------

385 320 359 15,000 925 368 572 34,000 

1910-ll October _________________________________________________ _ ~ovember ______________________________________________ _ December ________________________________________ . _______ _ May _______ ------ _______________________________________ _ June ______ -------- __ ------ ______________________________ _ 

July Augu.•t _____ ------------------------------------------------- _____ --------- ____________________________________ _ September------ ________________________________________ _ 

I, 140 805 974 59,900 

I, 910 I, 210 I, 440 85,700 

I, 720 I. 210 1, 370 84,200 

3,300 2, 240 2, 700 166,000 

9,280 2,790 6,850 408,000 

3,400 620 1, 510 92,800 

800 440 639 39,300 

I, 120 710 846 50,300 

19ll-12 

~~'j::;:~~~:~~;;;;;~;l :~~~;;; ~;;~;~:I:I:: 1,580 900 1,270 78,100 

I, 180 900 1,070 14,900 

3,090 1,180 2,010 120,000 

9,820 2,500 5,990 368,000 

i3, 100 5,600 9,600 571,000 

5,350 1,660 2,640 162,000 

2,890 1,510 2,030 125,000 

1,900 1,510 1, 740 104,000 

1912-13 

~\_\~~= --:~~~m~ ~ ~ ~~==~ ~ ~~- ~ = ~ ~ l~ ~ l: ~-::: -~- ~- _ September_----- ________________________________________ _ 

2,240 1,820 1,970 121,000 

6,730 1,920 3,730 222,000 

14,700 2,870 7,060 434,00C 

16,500 4,940 10,500 lJ25, 000 7,800 950 2, 910 179,000 

2,270 630 1,390 85,500 

1,680 1,000 1,240 73,800 

1913-14 

~~~~~:ra::_:~ = ~~=~ ~ ~::: ~::: ~:::::::::::::::: :::::::::::: 

ti~~~~~~~m~~mm~mm~~~mm~~~~~~mm~~m~~ September _____ ---- ________________________________ -----_ 

1, 920 1,240 1,590 97,800 

2,000 1, 310 1,640 97,600 

1,380 1,060 I, 210 38,400 

3,530 1,060 2,520 150,000 

7,530 2,870 5,030 309,000 

8,610 4,220 5,420 323,000 

3,990 715 2,030 125,000 670 460 554 34,100 

1,450 620 9615 57,400 

2,000 1,350 1,850 114,000 

2,000 1,500 1,890 112,000 

1,660 1,080 1,330 29,000 

4,090 1,830 2,990 178,000 

4, 780 2,370 3,550 218,000 

7,260 1, 660 4,210 251,000 

5, 720 1,500 2,780 171,000 

2,780 966 1,410 86,700 

2,000 1,080 1,630 97,000 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA. 103 

Monthly discharge of Jefferson River near Silver Star,. Mont.-Continued 

Month 

1915-16 October ________ .••••••.. __ ... _. _________________ • _______ _ November 1-10 ____ --------- ____________________________ _ 

March 19-31. ______ ---------------- _____________________ _ 

June.------- tf:~~~~~============ ____________________________________________ =: = = === = == ==: = =::::::: ::::::::::::::: _ 

July----------------------------------------------------- August ....... _ ........ __________________________________ _ 

September .....•..•.. _______ ••..... _. ____ ...•. _ .... __ •... 

1920 

July 22-31..------------------- --------------------------- August---------------------------------------------------

September __ ----------- _____ -----------------------------

1920-21 October ... _ ... __ .. ____ .. ________________________________ _ 

December November __ -------------------------- _______ ------------ __ •. _. _________________________________________ _ 

March 5-31. _____ --------------------------- ____________ _ ApriL ..• ___ ••.. ______ . _______ . __________________________ _ 

May __ --------. ____ ._. ___ ... _. ___ ._ .. _____________ . _____ _ June. __ •.• ___ ._ .. _ .... _ .. _ .... _ •. _ .. ____________________ _ July _____ .•..... ________________________________________ • August. ....... __________________________________________ _ 

September ______________________________________________ _ 

1921-22 October _______ .•... _. _________ . ___ . _____________________ _ November. ________ • ____________________________________ _ 

December March 1-20 _____ -------------------------------------- 23-31. ___ • _______________________________________ _ 

tf:~~~:::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: June.--------- __________________________________________ _ 

July----------------------------------------------------- August. ____________________ . ____________________________ _ September ___ • __________________________________________ _ 

1922-23 October ________ •• _______________________________________ _ November ____________________________ • _________________ _ 

December 1-6 ______________ ------------------------------ January 28-31. __ --------------- _________________________ _ February 1-17 ___________________________________________ _ Maroh 13-31. ___________________________________________ _ 

u:~~~=:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: June .. ---------- _____________ . ______________ . ___________ _ 

July-----------------------------------------------------

~~tt':r!tier::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

1923-24 October------- __________________________________________ _ November ______________________________________________ _ December _______________________________________________ _ February 13-29 ... _______________________________________ _ March.------- ________ • ____ ••. __________________________ _ 

tf:i~~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~::::::::::::::::::::: June._-------- _______ ~-- _______ •. ______ ••. ______________ _ 

JulY------------------------------------------------------ August. _________________________________________________ _ 

September __ --------------------------·--•• _________ -----

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum 

2,180 

1,660 

2, 780 5,480 

6,990 

13,500 

10,600 

1,660 

2,180 

1, 500 

1,000 

928 

1,340 

1, 370 

1, 230 

1,420 

3,420 

8, 750 13,400 

2,990 

881 

1,320 

1,080 

1,560 

1, 600 

1,660 

3, 310 11,400 

13,200 

2,410 

1, 470 

1,390 

970 

1,470 

1,300 

1, 230 

1,280 

1, 360 

3, 530 7,260 

7,260 

4,660 

1,280 

1,020 

1, 230 1,470 

1, 390 1,390 

1,200 

2, 700 5,240 

2,830 

970 

329 

670 

1,660 

1,350 

2,000 

2,180 

4,090 

4,090 

1,080 

465 

1, 500 

642 

433 

486 

928 

1, 230 1,100 

1,120 

1,340 

2,180 

3,200 599 

571 

748 

881 

1,080 

1,440 

1,290 

1, 240 

2,990 

2,500 

1,130 

992 

948 

780 

970 

1,200 

1,200 

1,100 

1,080 

1,420 

2,160 

3, 530 

1,040 

926 

800 

860 

1, 230 1,100 

1,150 

1,130 

1,180 

2, 320 

598 

305 

129 

137 

Mean 

1,900 

1,470 

2,420 

3,180 

5,040 

8,340 

5,130 

1,070 

1,890 

960 

618 

725 

1,120 

1,310 

1,160 

1,240 

2,490 

5,000 

8,580 

1;480 

696 

1,120 

964 

1,310 

1,510 

1,400 

1,930 

6, 750 8,540 

1,680 

1,220 

1,170 

827 

1,290 

1,260 

1,210 

1,180 

1,200 

2, OliO 

3,970 

5,080 

2,160 

1,040 

859 

1,070 

1,370 

), 240 1,230 

1,160 

2, OliO 

3,810 

1,520 

660 

193 

443 

JEFFERSON RIVER AT SAPPINGTON, MONT. 

Run-otl' 

(acre-feet) 

117,000 

29,200 

62,400 

189,000 

310,000 

496,000 

315,000 

65,800 

112,000 

19,000 

38,000 

43,100 

68,900 

78,000 

71,.300 

66,400 

148,000 

307,000 

511,000 

91,000 

42,800 

66,600 

59, 300• 78,000: 

59, 900' 

25,000 

115,000' 

415,000 

508,000 

103,000 

~:~: 

liO, 800: 76,800 

15,000 

9,600 

39,800, 

45,2001 

123,000 

244, ()()() 

~~:~ 64,000 

51, 100 

65,800 

81,500 

76,200 

41,500 

71,300 

123,000 

234,~ 90, 

40,600 

11,900 

26,400 

LocATION.-In T. 1 N., R. 1 W., 1 mile north of railroad station at Sappington, 

Mont., and 7 miles above Willow Creek. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 9,500 square miles. 

REcoRDs AVAILABLE.-November 13, 1894, to December 31, 1905. Prior to 

September 1, 1896, miscellaneous measurements only. 
104 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

GAGE.-Original gage vertical staff fastened to metal pier of Northern Pat!ifie 

Railway bridge. Later chain gage. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from cable except from June 15 to November 

1, 1904, when measurements were made from old Northern Pacific Railway 

bridge. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Channel straight 500 feet above and below station. 

Both banks composed of clay and covered with willows and underbrush. 

The right bank may be overflowed at extremely high water. The bed is 

smooth and regular and is covered with gravel. Current swift and free from 

eddies. 

Monthly discharge of Jefferson River at Sappington, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

1896 

September ...................... --------------------.... . 1,480 1,nt 

181l6-97 

-~;:;r~E::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------~:~~~- ______ !:_~_ January ___________ ....................................... ------------ ------------ February-----------.......................... --------.... ------------ ------------ March.-----------................... ---------. _____ ..... ------------ ------------

~lli~~:j -~~~ ~ ~ ~~~- ~ ~ ~ ~l- ~ -l_-l-~~~= --l-_ll~=- ~ =~~~ ~ -----l m- --- --fi 

1897 

~~.:e~!lei~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------~:~~- --------~~- December ____________ •.•................••• -------------- -------·---- ------------

1899 

tf::·:::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: June--------------. -------------------------------------- July------------------------------------------------------ August ........... _ •• _ •.•• _ ...• _ ........ _ ..... _ ••.• _ ••.••. 

September.------------..................... -------------

1891HOOO 

2,645 

7,645 

15,470 

11,165 

2,485 

1, 32li 

1,870 

2,020 

7, 445 2, 485 

1,455 

1,090 

~=~i~ii:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------~~~~- ------~:~. March 1IHIL ___________ -------------------------------- 2, 485. 1, 725 

~i~~~~~~m~~~~~~~m~~~m~m~~~~~~~~mm~mm~ ~ m ~ m 

September----------------------------------------------- 980 515 

1900-1901 

October.................................................. 1, 590 1, 090 

November---------------------------'------------------- 1, 590 1, 455 

~::~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------~:~. ------~:~~-

ti:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~ ~ k ~eg 

t~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~ m 2

• ru 

September---------·------------------------------------- 820 430 

• Appr<Wmate. 

-~ 

1,342 

1,327 

1,499 

1,650 

•I, 500 •1, 500 •1, 500 •3,300 

8, 587 4, 274 2,356 

794 

758 

1,013 

•1, 300 •1, 400 

1,992 

4,915 

10,933 

6,159 

2,003 

1,297 

1,814 

1,938 . 1,925 

2,098 

8,067 

8,511 

4,070 

1,024 

519 

743 

1,363 

1,486 

1,541 

1,443 

2, 281 8,949 

3,754 

1,187 

535 

665 

Run-off 

(acre-feet) 

79,900 

81,600 

89,200 

101,000 

92,200 

83,300 

92,200 

196,000 

528,000 

254,000 

145,000 

48,800 

45,100 

62,300 

77,400 

92,200 

119,000 

302,000 

651,000 

379,000 

123,000 

77,200 

99,200 

115,000 

53,500 

129,000 

182,000 

400,000 

242,000 

83,000 

31,.900 

44,200 

83,800 

88,400 

94,800 

69,500 

138,000 

427,000 

223,000 

73,000 

32,900 

39,600 
JEFFERSON RIVlm BASIN, MONTANA 105 

Monthly discharge of J e:fferson River at Sappington, M ont.-Continued 

----------------------------------.---------------------.------ Dl8charge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum 

1~01-2 

October. __ .... ____ .. _____ ._ ..... ____ .------------····---- 935 820 

~~;:~:--.====================================:::::::::= ------~~~~- --------~~~-

September 

i~~~~-~H~JH~-~-~-~-~JJJJ.~\~JJJJJ.~JJJ.\~JJJJJJJJJ~~J~Jtt ____________________ ----------·---------------- ~ § 

875 

I ~ 645 ~~ 1902-3 

Mean 

847 

1,057 

1,164 

1,875 1 

5,028 

5, 081 

2,502 

801 

739 

Run-oft 

(acre-feet) 

62,100 

62,900 

43,900 

112,000 

809,000 

302,000 

154,000 

49,000 

~.ooo 

October. _____________________ ---------------------------- 1, 210 875 1, 069 65, 100 

November.-----------------------------------------·---- 1, 755 1, 210 1, 460 86,900 

December .... -------------------------------------------· 1, 755 1, 470 1, 630 100,000 

January.-----------------------------------------·------- 2, 470 1, 330 1, 797 11{), 000 

February_.----------..... ------------------------------- 4, 020 1, 890 2, 848 158.000 

March................................................... 2,320 1, 750 1,974 121,000 

tf:~----=========:::::=:::::::::::::===================:::: ~ ~ ~: ~8 ~ ~~! ~: ggg June .. ·········-·-----------------------------·········__ 9, 770 4, 020 7,117 423,000 July _______ ---------··---------················........... 4, 020 1, 470 2, 412 148,000 August................................................... 1, 470 570 859 52,800 

September ............................................... i===1,=06=0=i====5=70=1===8=28=i===49=,=30=0 ' 

1903-4 

October................ ....... .. ......•.................. 1, 330 940 

November............................................... 6, 435 1,190 

December................................................ 5, 515 1, 260 

January _________ ......................................................•••..••.... February. _____ .......................................................•••••...... March •.................................................. 1, 860 1, 210 

ApriL.................................................... 7,150 1, 450 

May..................................................... 9, 240 5, 060 

June..................................................... 7, 720 2, 780 

July ................... ~----·······....................... 3, 445 1, 045 

August................................................... 1, 045 465 

September............................................... 630 545 

1,202 

3,204 

2, 712 •1, 400 •1, 400 

1,433 

3, 218 

6, 516 

5,440 

2, 055 

606 

566 

73,900 

1111,000 ' 167,000 ' 86,100 

81,000 

88, 100 

1111,000 

401,000 

324,000 

126,000 

37,300 

33,700 ' 1-------1------r----+------ The year................................................................... .......... 1, 7911, 100 

1904-5 

October ...................... _ .................•......... November ............................................•.. 

December •-------------------------------·············-· March 7-31. ....•.....•..•..............•.•...•.......•.• 

tf:~:=:= ::: =:::::: = = =:::::::: =: = =: ==: =:: = =::: =:: = =::::: =: 

June .....•............................................... July ............. --...... -... ··-·· ........... -... ··-······ August .......•.................................•..•...... 

September .. ···-················-········-·············"· .October ...............................•.•................ November ....•........•..............••............•.... 

• Estimated by C. C. Babb. 

1,155 

1,680 

1, 720 

1, 700 

2,005 

1,555 

5,485 

3,606 

978 

600 

1,180 

1,625 

• Mar. 1o-31..._ inclusive. Mean for 22 days taken as mean for month 4 Discharge uec. 27-31, estimated 1,720 second-feet. 

545 

9110 

1,100 

1,180 

1,125 

1178 

1,180 

798 

498 

465 

600 

978 

GB.A.SSllOPPER CREEK NEAR DILLON, MONT. 

824 

1,308 

1,353 

1,413 

1,578 

1, 214 3,206 

1,665 

658 

536 

814 

1,346 

50,700 

77,800 

83,200 

70,100 

93,900' 

74, 600 ' 191,000: 

102,000 

40,500 

31,900 

50,000 

80,100 

LocATION.-ln NW. ~ sec. 26, T. 8 S., R. 10 W., 5 miles above Barratts and 

14 miles above Dillon, Beaverhead County. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-360 square miles (measured on Forest Service map of Beaver-' 

head National Forest). 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-March 10, 1921, to September 80, 1928. 

GAGE.-Vertical staff. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made by wading at gage or from bridge oneeighth mile above. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Banks high and covered with brush .. Stream· bed 

composed of boulders and coarse gravelj subie'ct to shift. 
106 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

I6E.-8tage-discharge relation seriously affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONs.-Considerable water diverted for irrigation above gage. 

R.EGULATION.-None. 

Monthly discharge of GTasahopper Creek near Dillon, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum 

1921 March 1Q-3L____________________________________________ 131 21 

June ~:#~~========= .. ---------===== __ . __ .. 

=== _______ ===== ===========::::::======== ------------ __ ------________ :::: :: 480 1~ 81 

July------------ ________ • ______________ • ___ ------_________ ll9 16 

August ... ------------------------------------------------ 311 10 I' 

September. -------------·;;; ~~~------------------------- 46 10 

October ___ .... ------------------------------------------- 47 23 November 1-16___________________________________________ 47 40 

March.-------------------------------------------------- April__ 70 15 ________ . _____ . ________ . _____ • __ . __ ._______________ 292 17 

May----------------------------------------------------- 543 115 June.----------- ________ .________________________________ 620 63 

July______________________________________________________ 104 2

206 I August ______ .. ________ .__________________________________ 73 

Mean 

61 

65.6 

136 

277 

38.7 

21.6 

32.1 

33.2 

44.1 

31.5 

114 

243 

289 

47.4 

40.9 

21.7 

1922--23 

September·---------------------------------------------- 36 13 1 !===!====:=== 

October-------------------------- _____ --------- ___ .______ 39 19 

November_.--------------------------------------------" 46 32 December--------- ________ ------------___________________ 38 20 

January--------------------- ____ ------ ______ ------------- 36 30 February __ ----------------. ________ • ___ ----------------_ ------------ ------------ March.-------------------------------------------------- 118 25 ApriL ____________ --------- _____ .------ __ ------- __ .----___ 114 68 

May-------------- __ ------------------ ____ ------_________ 175 65 

June.-------------- ____ . ___ -------. _________ -----________ 277 107 

~~t~========================================= September_---------------------------------------------- ========= 1~~ 44 28 ~~ 

31.4 

37.8 

26.9 

34.4 

25.0 

36.6 

80.1 

119.4 

161 

68.8 

46.4 

31.1 

Run-oft 

(acre-feet) 

2,230 

3,900 

8,360 

16,600 

2,380 

1,330 

1,910 

2,040 

1,400 

1,1140 

6,780 

14,900 

17,200 

2,910 

2,510 

1, 200 

1, 930 

2,250 

1,650 

2,120 

1, 300 

2,250 

4, 770 6,110 

9,680 

4,230 

2,850 

1,850 ----1---- The year.------------------------------------------ ------------ ------------ ---------- 41,000 

RUBY lliV1m NEAR ALDER, MONT. 

LocATION.-At private bridge on Lauterbach's ranch, about 8 miles south of 

Alder. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About,540 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE:-April 27, 1911, to June 30, 1914, when station was discontinued. 

GAGE.-Vertical staff spiked to bridge pile 4 feet from right bank. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTs.-At low and ordinary stages made by wading on 

rifHe at control 200 feet below gage; high-stage measurements made from 

downstream side of bridge. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Slightly shifting. Bed of stream below the gage 

composed of gravel and pebbles. At the gage the water is deeper and the 

material of the bed is finer than below. 

WINTER FLow.-Discharge relation affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONs.-A number of small diVersions are made for irrigation. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 107 

Monthly disclw.rge of Ruby River near Alder, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-off 

(acre-feet) Maximum Minimum Mean · 

1911 

May---------- __ -------------------------- __ .:.---------- June .. ________ . ___ ----------------- ______ .--------------- July August. ........ --... --..... ---------.-.-.-.-.. --------------- __ . ____ ._ .. _ .... ______ .. _._ .. _ .. __ . __ .. __________ _ 

September .. ____ •. _______ ------_ .. ___ .... ---------------. 

1911-12 

652 

920 

340 

219 

141 

141 

340 

141 

95 

76 

October---····································----------- 166 117 November._.------- __ . ___________ ------------------- ___ . 141 117 

December __________ ----- __ .--------------- ________ ------- _ -------- ____ -----------

August 

&i:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ____ ------------------------------- ______ ----------~: § 

372 

~ 165 

September.-------- ____ .-------- _______ ------ ___ --------- 204 115 

1912-13 

October ___ ------- __ ------ _____ . _________ -----------------

December November ___ --------------- __ .--------- ____ ------------- .. _____ . ___________ ..•. _. ___ .. _ •. _. __ . _____ . ___ _ 

June 22-30 _______ ------------ ______ ------.... _________ -----

July August ....... ----.. --.-.---.-.-.. -...• -----.-.. ----.-------- __ . _________ . __________ . ____ • _______ . __ .. __ . __ . ___ • 

September.-------------- __ ------ ___ .--------------------

1913-14 

204 

165 

140 

570 

490 

230 

127 

152 

115 

128 

317 

180 

65 

85 

October .... ------------------- ___ ------------------------ ------------ -----------. November._--------------------------------------------- 219 166 

December 1-fl. ------------------------------------------ 166 141 

tf:~~-~~~~~:=~~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~~; ~ June.---------------------------------------------------- 935 ------------

• Estimated. 

BIG HOLE RIVER NEA.B DEWEY, MONT. 

373 22,900 

630 37,500 

189 11,600 

147 9,040 114 6,780 

189 8, 550 

134 7,970 

•100 6,150 

145 8,630 422 25, 900 

748 44,500 

287 17,600 

243 14,900 

153 9,100 

174 10,700 

140 8,330 

130 1,860 

447 7,980 285 17,500 

160 9,840 

97.1 5, 780 

179 11,000 

186 11,100 

159 1,890 

289 6,300 

630 38,700 

661 39,300 

LocATION.-In sec. 36, T. 1 N., R. 11 W., at Young's bridge, 4 miles above Dewey 

and 11 miles above Divide, Mont.; a few miles below the mouth of Wise 

River. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 1,990 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-September 15, 1911, to July 31, 1913, when station was 

discontinued. 

GAaE.-Staff fastened to southeast piling of bridge on downstream side. This 

gage was washed out on April 16, 1913, and on May 2, 1913, a temporary 

staff gage was installed on the left abutment of the old bridge. The 

temporary gage was read May 2, 1913, to July 31, 1913. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from bridge. 

CoNTROL.-Rocky and clean; nonshifting. 

WINTER FLow.-Stage-discharge relation affected by· ice. 

DIVERSIONS.-Water is diverted from this stream for irrigation. 
108 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROI.-OGY OF UNITED STATES 

Monthly discharge of Big Hole River near Dewey, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-oft 

Maximum (aere-reet) [ Minimum Mean 

------------------------------------1------- ------1--------

September 15-31 ..•.••. ---~~~~---··········-·-··-·······-'-==~38~7~~====18~7 ===2:7,:1, l===9~, 1~40 

..... , -- - - --- ,_ .. _o_:··- - ----- -- -- ------·- ... I .. . m ii 

llliiiiiii•••••••~••:::~•:~::•••~:•;••:;•;::~;~;l·····:~i·~~~::~~~~: September. ______________________________________________ , 350 250 ~ m 

276 

~~ 16,400 

The year •.•• ___________________________ • __ . __ . ___ . .I. __ ····-··-- ·-·-···---·-r-=-·=·=-·=·-=-=··:r=~s~5~7,~3oo~ 

1911-12 October ___ .--.•.• _______ .......... _ ....... --.••.••.•• -•• - November._------- ___ --------- ____________ -------------- December. ______________________________________________ _ March __________________________________________________ _ ApriL. _________________________________________________ _ 

MaY-----------·----------------------------------------- June __________________________ : _________________________ _ July _____________________________________________________ _ 

August. .. ___ •.•••.. ____ . ____________ . _______ . __ . __ •••••. _ September_.-----·. _______________ . _____ . __________ •.•. _. 

1912-13 

605 

430 

315 

265 2,100 

6, 930 9,270 

4,590 

1,810 

1,130 

280 

280 

·······-ioo- 250 

1,530 

4,950 935 

4,70 

560 

488 

365 

245 

233 

1,120 

4,280 

6,680 

1, 910 

928 

685 

October _______ --------·------··--------- _____ -------·-··- 755 515 672 

~!I~;~~=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~: m J~ 4. m 

30,000 

21,700 

15,100 

14,300 

66,600 

263,000 

397,000 

117,000 

57,100 

40,800 

41,300 

9,600 

9,930 

22,400 

255,000 

383,000 

~:!f;.-.~==~======~=====================::::::::::::::::::::1 1~: ~~ ~: ~ t~ 150,000 

------------~------~----~-----~~------

• Estimated. BIG HOLE RIVER NEAR MELROSE, MONT. 

LocATION.--In SE. 7,4 sec. 27, T. 3 S., R. 9 W., at highway bridge at Browns 

siding on Oregon Short Line Railroad, 8 miles south of Melrose. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE_.--March 16 to September 27, 1924. 

GAGE.--Stevens continuous recorder in wooden shelter on left bank on downstream side of bridge. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.--Made from the highway bridge. Downstream 

handrail graduated with white paint at 10-foot intervals. Wading section 

for extreme low water located at rifHe about 400 feet below. 

CnANNEL.--Composed of heavy boulders and sand. Probably shifts with the 

movement of gravel and sand. Two channels at high stage. Channel is 

straight for 200 feet above and about 500 feet below gage. Current swift 

at high stage, with some eddies on left bank. Right banks high, wooded, 

and not subject to overflow. Left bank low, wooded, and subject to overflow 

above gage. 

REGULATION.--Power-plant operations above station cause some fluctuation. 

Monthly discharge of Big Hole River near Melrose, Mont. 

Month 

Discharge (second-feet) Run-oft 

Mulmum Minimum Mean (Inches) 

1924 356 338 347 11,000 

2,400 346 1,150 68,400 

4,520 1,640 3,210 197,000 

2, 530 685 1,480 88,100 

746 374 563 34,600 

360 231 294, 18, 100 

271 231 249 13,300 

March 16-31 ••. --------------·-·-·-·---·-·-···--······--· 

u.;~ -~~ ::: =::::::::::: =:: = :::::: =:: :::::::::: = ::::::::::: 

June. __ -·--- ___ •. __________ ------•.• ·-·-···-_---·-·-·--··_ July-···-••• ---.. _.--.··---.•• ·--···-······-····-··---···· 

~=iier-i~ii =~:::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA ,109 

PIPBS~ro:NE CREEK NEAR WmTEHALL, MONT. 

LocATION.-6 miles west of Whitehall, Mont., at Peyton Allred's ranch, a short 

distance above junction of Pipestone and Little Pipestone Creeks. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 115 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-0ctober 13, 1910, to September 30, 1911. 

GAGE.-Staff fastened securely to a large post o~ the left bank of the stream 

directly north of the observer's house. 

CHANNEL.-Sandy and shifting. 

CooPERATION.-Gage heights and discharge measurements supplied by G. E. 

Baker. 

Monthly discharge of Pipestone Creek near Whitehall, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-off 1----..,.-----.,..----1 {acre-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

191Q-ll 

October J3-3L........................................... 3. 5 2. 5 

November .• ---------------------··----------------------- 15 2. 5 December ............... _________ .. _______________________ 16 10 

January ........ --.................. ----..... -------..........•.. ------ • -·-·-------

February ... -------------------··"··--------------------- ------------ ------------ March •.. ------------------------.. ··--------------------- 23 10 

tfa~l~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::. :~ ~ June.------.•..•.. __ ............................ ___ ..•.... 87 27 Jnly ______________________________ .. _______________________ 33 1. 5 

August.................................................................. 8 . 5 September............................................................. 1. 5 . 5 

3.03 

8.28 

12.5 

• 10 

•12 

14.2 

2L6 

39.5 

53.8 

6.23 

2.24 

1.40 

114 

493 

769 

615 

666 

873 

1,290 

2,430 

3.,200 383 

138 

83 ----1----

The year .. ------------------................................ ............... ..... •.••. ..... ...... ... .... 11, 000 

• Estimated. 

WHIT'ETAIL CREEK AT WHITEHALL, MONT. 

LocATION.-At highway bridge in northeastern part of town. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-Not measured. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-March 19 to June 30, 1911. 

GAGE.-Staff gage nailed to pile on upstream side of bridge. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMEN'rS.-Made by wading at ordinary st~gee. 

CHANNEL.-Sandy; liable to shift. 

WINTER FLOW.-Stage-discharge relation affected by ice. 

ARTIFICIAL coNTROL.-Water is diverted above the station for irrigation. 

CooPERATION.-Gage heights and discharge measurements supplied by G. E. 

Baker. 

Monthly discharge of Whitetail Creek at Whitehall, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

1911 March 1~31. ............................................................ . 

t!if::================================================== 

20 

124 

72 

96 

14 

16 

14 

10 

LITTLE WHITETAIL CREEK NEAR WHITEHALL, MONT. 

LorATION.-At Collin's ranch, 7 miles above Whitehall. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-March 17 .to September 22, 1911. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-Not measured. 

GAGE.-Stafl' gage on right bank just above ford near the stables. 

17.1 

41.6 

34.6 

32.2 

Run-off 

(acre-feet) 

440 

2,480 

2,130 

1,920 
110 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES 

CHANNEL.-Sandy and shifting. 

DIBCI!!ARGE MEABUREMENTS.-Made by wading at different sections. 

WINTER FLow.-Stage-discharge relation affected by ice. 

ARTIFICIAL CONTROL.-Water is diverted for irrigating. 

AccuRACY.-Fair. The shifting affects the results to some extent. 

CooPERATION.-Gage heights and discharge measurements supplied by G. E. 

Baker. 

Monthly discharge of Little Whitetail Creek near Whitehall, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-off 

I (acre-feet) 

March 1911 _____________________________ -_____________________ _ April ______ --------- _____________________________________ _ May------------ ________________________________________ _ June-____ ------ __________________________________________ _ 

July------------------------------------------------------ August _____ ---_----- __ ------ ____________________________ _ September ______________________________________________ _ 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

9. 7 12 

6.8 

12 

1.5 

4. 7 2. 9 

3.3 

4. 7 

.6 

.6 

.6 

1.5 

.6 

1----1-----1 

5.54 

6.65 

3.15 

4.96 

1.24 

2.67 

1. 89 

341 

396 

194 

295 

76.2 

1M 

112 

The period_----------______________________________ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ ___ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ 1, 580 

MUSKRAT CREEK NEAR BOULDER, MONT. 

LocATION.-ln sec. 6, T. 6 N., R. 3 W., 1,000 feet above Boulder Nursery, near 

Boulder. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-About 7 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-April 27, 1912, to September 30, 1914. 

GAGE.-Staff gage fastened to a flume 2.5 feet upstream from crest of weir. 

Gage heights give the head on the weir. 

DisCHARGE MEASUREMENTs.-Flow measured by a sharp-crested weir 4.85 feet 

long with end contractions. Discharge computed by Francis formula, correcting for end contractions and velocity of approach. 

CHANNEL AND coNTROL.-Flume; principal control-is sharp-crested weir. 

WATER FLow.-Stage-discharge relation affected by ice. 

REGULATION.-No regulation or diversion above the station. 

Monthly discharge of Muskrat Creek near Boulder, Mont. 

Month 

1912 May ____ ----- ______ -- ___________________________________ _ 

June---_------------------ ___ - _____ -____________ ---------

July----------------------------------------------------- August __ , ---- __ ----------- ______________________________ _ 

September_----------------- ____________________ ---------

1912-13 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

13.5 

25.5 

9.4 

4. 6 5. 3 

1.7 

7.1 

8.2 

2.0 

2.1 [===[,===[ 

6.53 

13.5 

5. 34 

2. 86 

2.95 

October __________ --- ___ -_________________________________ 4. 9 2. 6 3. 54 November_ ________ --____________________________________ 3. 6 2. 4 2. 84 

December _______ ----- __ ---- _________ :____________________ 2. 4 2. 2 2. 24 

JBDuary _________ ----- _ -------- _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ 1. 6 1. 2 1. 36 

FebruarY------------------------------------------------ 1. 2 1.0 1.03 

March_-------------------------------------------------- 1. 0 • 8 • 91 April-----------------_---_--_____________________________ 4- 8 . 8 2. 74 

May_----------_------------_____________________________ 27. 4 2. 6 8. 83 June_------------------------- ___________________ -------- 29. 2 8. 2 14.4 

August-------------------,------------------------------- 3. 5 1. 6 2. 55 July_ ----------------------------------------------------b¥0. 0 3. 8 5. 66 

Septe:: ~=~~~::~::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: --------~-~- --------~~~- -----~~:-

Run-off 

(acre-feet) 

402 

803 

328 

176 

176 

218 

169 

62 

83.6 

57.2 

66.0 

163 

543 

857 

348 

157 

91 

2,800 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 111 

Monthlv discharge of Muskrat Creek near Boulder, Mont.-Continued 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month Run-ofi 

(acre-feet) 

Maximum I Minimum Mean 

---·1----

1913-14 October 1-14 ....... ___________________ --------------- ____ _ 

April1Q-30 ... _. ____ --------------- _______ ----------------

May_. _____ ---------------------------------------------- J nne ___ . _____ .•. ___ • __ ---. ______ • ___ • _. __ .•. _____ • ______ _ 

July----------------------------------------------------- August.. _____ ._. ________________ • __________________ --- __ _ 

September 1-24 _ -------------------- __ -------------------

4.1 

3. 2 

Zl 

~-61 2.4 

3.2 

BOULDER RIVER AT BASIN, MONT. 

1.4 

.8 

2.6 

8.6 

2.5 

1.4 

1.4 

2.71 

1.85 

13.2 

16.7 

4.80 

1.86 

1. 88 

75.2 

77.1 

812 

994 

295 

114 

89.5 

LocATION.-ln NE. 7i see. 18, T. 6 N., R. 5 W., half a mile above mouth of' 

Basin Creek and 171; miles above mouth of Cataract Creek, at Basin, Jefferson County. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-226 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-February 26, 1921, to September 30, 1923; June 6, 1919, 

to July 22, 1920, at station 171; miles downstream; discharge not comparable. 

GAGE.-An overhanging cable and weight. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made by wading at gage or from railway bridge 

600 feet below. 

CHANNEL AND coNTROL.-One channel at all stages; bed composed of gravel and 

large boulders. . Banks high and clean. 

IcE.-Stage-discharge relation affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONs.-None. 

REGULATION.-None. 

Monthly discharge of Boulder River at Basin, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

1921 

Run-ofi 

(acre-feet) 

February 26-28------------------------------------------ 122 69 96.7 575 March.-------------------------------------------------- 164 35 61.6 3, 790 April_____________________________________________________ 253 41 142 8, 450 

May _____ ----------------------------------------------__ 931 114 591 36, 300 June. __ ------ _________ -------------------------------____ 613 91 323 19, 200 

July ____ ------------------------------------------------- 155 28 63 3, 870 August .. ------------------------------------------------- 30 12 21.6 I, 330 September_ ----------------------------------------------, ___ .:..37_ 1 ____ 9_. 2_1 __ .:..26"-. -'-1·1---:=1:!-'7.550::0 

The period·-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75, 100 

1921-22 October _________ ---------- _____ --------------------------

November 1-15. _ --------------------------------------- _ March 13-31. ___ -------------- ___ ------------------------ April. ____ ------------------------------------------ ___ ._ 

June May_------------------- ____________________________________________________ ______ ---------------------------_ 

July August.----- ____ ------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________ _ 

September_------------- _________ ------------------------

1922-23 

October ____ .------------- _____ --------------------------- November December ____ 1-13 ------------

__________________________________________ ___ ----------------------------_ March .18-31 _____________________________________________ _ 

May April_. ___ ----------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________ _ 

June .. ____ -------------------- __ ------------------------- July-----------------------------------------------------

August._. ___ ---------------- _______ --------------------- September ___ ---------------------------------------- ___ _ 

30 

30 

24 

·174 

1,390 

I, 130 

179 

84 

54 

34 

37 

27 

62 

284 

540 

481 

197 

60 

26 

21 

21 

13 

19 

148 

162 

50 

29 

23 

24 

17 

20 

17 

44 

118 

133 

38 

23 

13 

24.4 

26.1 

18.5 

60.4 

683 

610 

94.7 

51.1 

30.8 

28.1 

Zl.8 

21.6 

29 

115 

297 

252 

94.6 

34.7 

17.5 

1, 500 

777 

697 3,590 

42,000 

36,300 

5,990 

3,140 

1, 830 

1, 730 

1,~ 

6,840 

18,300 

15,000 

5,820 

2, 130 1,040 
112 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STAT1!8 

BOULDBR RIVBR NBAR BASil\T, XONT. 

LocATION.-Near center of east line of sec. 17, T. 6 N., R. 5 W., just below mouth 

of Cataract Creek and 1~ miles below railway station at Basin, Jefferson 

County. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-Not measured. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-June 6, 1919, to September 30, 1920; fragmentary. 

GAGE.-Vertica.l staff. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made by wading at gage Or from cable bridge 

half a mile upstream and above mouth of Cataract Creek. 

CHANNEL AND CONTROL.-Control affected by beaver dams, 

lcE.-Records discontinued during winter. 

DIVERSIONS.-None. 

REGULATioN.-None. 

Monthly discharge of Boulder River near Basin, Mont. 

Month 

1919 June 6-30 .••••••••••••••••.••.••••.••••••••••••••••• -.---- July------------------------------------------------------ August ...••••••••••••••••.•••.••..••..••.••..•.•.•••••..• 

September ...••.••••••••••• ------------------------------

Discharge (second-feet) 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

130 

44 

44 

34 

6.4 

.6 

2.7 

1.6 

1----1----1 

66.6 

8.10 

20.3 

11.0 

Run-oft 

(acre-feet) 

2, 810 

498 1,250 

654 

The period ••••••••.•••..•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.• -------~----.......... 5, 210 

1919--20 October_ •.•••••••••••.•••..•.•.•..••.•••••••••.•••••••••• 

November .. ------------------.......................... . December 1-6 •..•••••••.•.•.•...•.•.•.•.•.•••••••..••.••• April 4--29. _ ••.••••••••••••••• __ • _____ ••• _ •••••••••••••• _. June 19--30 .••••••••••••• __ •• _. _. _. ___ • _. _. ___ •.••••••• __ • _ 

July 1-22 .• -----------------------------------------------

28 

62 

44 

184 

668 

317 

6.4 

17 

36 

67 

317 

66 

WILLOW CREEK NEAR WILLOW CREEK, XONT. 

14.2 

44.6 

40.3 

136 

431 

160 

873 

2, 650 

480 7,010 

10,300 

6,980 

LocATION.-In sec. 18, T. 1 S., R. 1 E., at highway bridge at Harwood's ranch, 

7 miles south of Willow Creek, Gallatin County. 

DRAINAGE AREA.-167 square miles. 

RECORDS AVAILABLE.-September 5, 1919, to September 30, 1923. 

GAGE.-Chain gage on upper handrail of bridge; September 5, 1919, to March 

31, 1920, gage at different datum, located at Capps' ranch, half a mile 

downstream. 

DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS.-Made from bridge or by wading on rifHe below 

gage. 

CHAN:NEL AND CONTROL.--8tream b!ld composed of sand and gravel. Banka 

low and covered with brush. 

lcE.-Stage-discharge relation seriously affected by ice. 

DIVERSIONs.-Numerous diversions for irrigation both above and below gage. 

REGULATION.-None. 

Co)PERATION.-The South Bench irrigation district pays the observer. 
JEFFERSON RIVER BASIN, MONTANA 

Monthly discharge of Willow Creek near Willow Creek, Mont. 

Discharge (second-feet) 

Month 

Maximum Minimum Mean 

1919 

September 5-30 .•• ___ ·--______________ ------·--------·•·-- 8.9 6.5 7.01 

191!} ' ' 

October 1-23--------------------------------------------- 15 7. 5 10.7 

November. •• -------------------------------------------· 67 12 43.2 February ___ --------------------------------------------- 60 20 March 11-31----------------·---------------------------- 119 27 39.8 

60.6 June 14-30--------------------------------------·--------- 286 197 228 July------------------------------------------------------ 253 65 140 

August ______ -··----- ___ -____ .----_----•• __ -----------____ 91 15 42.9 

113 

Run-oft 

(acre-feet) 

362 

488 

2,570 

2,290 

2,520 

7,690 

8, 610 

2.640 

September----·---·--------------------------------------1===48=•1===23==1====1•===== 29.5 1, 760 

1920-21 

Octo her_---------------- ____ -------·--------------------- 57 25 

November __ -------------------------·---------··---·---- 77 20 

38.0 2,340 

43.4 2,580 

December---------------------------·--- ___ ----·--------· 70 •••• ---•• __ • 44.9 ,2,760 January----··---------------------------·-------------·-- _ -··---_ ---. ---·· ------- •20 1,230, 

February ___ ---·----------·---··-·---------------------- ·-··-------- ·----------- •15 833 March._---·-··-----·----•------------__ --------------·-- 64 20 37.5 2,310 

ApriL •• _-·-·------.-------.·----.------ __ -------------·· 59 34 May_------------------------------------------------··-- 104 33 June._------- __ --------________ ---_______ ----_----------- 280 65 July------------------------------------------------------ 98 22 

51.1 3,040 

64.1 3 940 

136 S:ooo 

40.8 2,510 August ______________________ ·-----_ ••• ___ ••• _____ -----·-- 59 19 

September_-----·-·----------···------------------------- 49 17 

28.8 1,770 

32.7 1,950· 

The year·-···-··----------······-·--···-----·-·----1==280==1=·=--=--=·=--=--=·=·1, ===4===== 46.1 33,400 

1921-22 

October_-----------·--- ___ --- ___ ------·-----------·-----_ 40 31 

November 1-19----------------------------··------··--·· 42 26 March 22-3L-----------------------------------------·-· 59 42 

tf:~::============================::::::::::::::::::::::: ~~ ~f June._----------.. --------------···----·· ___ ·-···------·· 399 146 July----------------------------------~------------------- 133 44 

August .•• ---------·------·-·--·-----·--------·---··--··-· 45 24 

September ---··---·-···------·-·-···--······--·-·--------1===4=6=.J===2S=I 

1922-23 

October_-------·-····------·-------------·----•• ----..... 47 26 

November------------------···-····--------------------- M 34 

December •••• ----------------------------··-·-·-·-·---·-----··--·---- 34 January-----·--·---·-··----:.---------------------------· ------· ---__ ---· -·-·---- February .. -------·-_---------·--·-------__ -------------- -----·· -·-·· ---··-··-·-· March--------------------.-------·---------·------------ 142 

tfa~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ~ June._··-··-------------·----------··--·---··-----------· 817 

i~i::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1t 

September------------····-·----------------------------- 42 

_______ 69 __ _ 

64 

74 

25 

18 

23 

36 

39.3 

46.7 

58.3 

146 

241 

71.6 

32.2 

33.7 

34.9 

M 

50.9 

•40 

25 

39 •. 2 

74 

125 

145 

73.2 

26.1 

26.2 

~------f-------~------ The year ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 817 69.6 

2, 210 

1,480' 

926 

3,470 

8,980' 

1~3001 

4,400 

1,980 

2, ooo: 

2,150 

3,21~ 

3,130 

2,460 

1,390 

2,410 

4,400 

'1,690 

8,630 

~500 

1,540 

1,560 

43,100 

INDEX 

Page 

Alder, Mont., discharge of Ruby River 

near_---- __ -------------------- 10&-107 

Argenta power site, description of. __________ 85-86 

Avalon Reservoir, N. Mex.,leakage from____ 28 

rebuilding of dam of_____________________ 3-4 

Barratts, Mont., discharge of Beaverhead River at_ _______________________ 98-101 

Basin, Mont., discharge of Boulder River at and near _______________________ 111-112 

Beaverhead River, Mont., description of. ___ 48,56 

discharge at Barratts, Mont •• ---------- 98-101 irrigation in valley of. ___________________ 72-73 

possibilities for---------------------- 77-78 

power from______________________________ 82 

possibilities for______________________ 85 

Big Hole River, Mont, description of 51,57-58 

discharge near Dewey, Mont __________ 107-108 

discharge near Melrose, Mont___________ 108 

irrigation from_ __________________________ 75-76 

possibilities for---------------------- 81 

power from __ ---------------------------- 83-84 possibilities for______________________ 86 

reservoir on·----------------------------- 62 storage site on ___________________________ 67-69 

Birch Creek, Mont., reservoirs on___________ 63 

Blacktail Deer Creek, Mont., description of. 50, 57 

irrigation from ___ ---------------------- __ 74-75 

storage site on--------------------------- 66 

power from •• ---------------------------- 82 

Boulder, Mont., cl!matic records at __________ 87,89 

Boulder River, Mont., description of._______ 52 

discharge at and near Basin, Mont ____ 111-112 

irrigation in basin of _____________________ 7&-77 

Bowen, Mont., climatic records at ___________ 87,90 

Brenner, Mont., cl!matic records at •••••• , •.• 87,90 

Butte, Mont., wateuupply of.._____________ 71 

Carlsbad, N. Mex., reservoir site No. 3, allu- vium in ______ : __________________ 6, 7-8 

area and capacity of--------------------- 2 

Carlsbad limestone member in ______ &-7,12-)3 

Castile formation in ___ ---------------- 7,11-12 

conclusions and reco=endstions_______ 1-2 

Chupadera formation in _____________ &-7, 12-15 

fl.eld work, record of.._------------------ 4-5 

geologic map and sections of the area ~ncluding________________________ 4 

history of the proJect •. __ ---------------- 3-4 leakege in, l!ablllty of ____________________ 18-28 

limestone conglomerate in _______________ 7, 8-9 

location of.______________________________ 2 

previous investigations of................ 4 

quartzose conglomerate ln •• -----·--·--- 7, ~10 Beven Rivers area of, leakage in _________ 1~21 

Beven Rivers gypsiferous member ln .• 6,13-16 

spring area of, recovery of water in._--·- 23-24 

Pap 

Carlsbad, N.Mex., reservoir site No.3, struc- ture of the rocks in ______________ 15-16 

topography oL-------------------------- 5-6 

alongl!ne of proposed dam"--------- 28 

wells and test holes in, information 

from_ ________________ 24-25, 2&-27, ~9 

Centennial Valley, Mont., features oL •• ____ 47 

Crow Creek irrigat,lon district, Mont., proJected storage in.!·------"·------- 67-69 

supply of water for.-------·--·····-··--- 78-80 

Darton, N.H., cite ---------------·-······- 4 Dell, Mont., cllma crecords at. ____________ 88,90 

Delmoe Park Rese oir, Mont., features of.. 63 

Dewey, Mont., dis barge of Big Hole River 

near •.• ----------------------- 107-108 

Dillon, Mont., eli tic records at-------- 88,9D-91 

discharge of Gr shopper Creek near._ 105-106 

hydroelectric p wer plants for ___________ 82-83 

Dillon Valley, Mo t., features oL----------- 48 

Divide hydroelect ·c plant, description of. ___ 83-84 

Divide Reservoir, ont., description of.____ 62 

Duty of water in ontBDB----·------------- 7o-71 

East Bench irrigati n district, Mont., supply 

• ofwate for--------·------------- 77-78 

61 

Foster, L. E., Jette to, concerning test holes •• •ao 

Grasshopper Cree , Mont., description oL •• 50, 56 

discharge near lllon, Mont ___________ 105-106 

irrigation in v y oL------------~------ 74 

storage site on -----------------··----··- 66 

Hay, nature and 

Homepark, Mont. 

Horse Prairie Cr 

irrigation in v 

of, in Montana ••••••••• precipitation at _________ _ 

, Mont., description of ••• 

ey of.-------------------

76 

91' 

50 

74 

Jefferson River, ont., description of _____ 48-49, 56 

discharge at S ppington, Mont ________ 103-105 

discharge near Silver Star, Mont__ _____ 101-103 

irrigation in v ley of..------------------ 73-74 

Jefferson River B in, Mont., acreage of land 

irriga din---··-·-----------·-·- 43 

flow of strea in---·----------·--····--- 54-58 

gaging statio in.-------------·-·"···--- 54-55 

records m de at ____ ------------·-·-- 93-113 

geography of. --------------------------- 47-52 

gold mining in--------------------------- 46 

industries of the region___________________ 46 

map of __ -----------------·--·-·--------- 46 meteorology of _____________________ 52-54,87-93 

power plants In-------------------------- 44-45 

power sites in,' undeveloped............. 46 

rainfall in·---------------------·-···----- 52-54 

reservoir sites in.---~------------·------- '43-44 

reservoirs in------············--·------ __ 59-63 

115 
116 INDEX 

Pap 

1e1ferson River Basin, Mont., sources of Information on ••••.•.•.•....•••••• ~1-42 

storage of water in reservoirs buUt ••••••• 58-63 

undeveloped sites------------------·- 63-70 

summary of the report on •••••••••••••••• ~2-4/i 

transportation ln .• ---------------------- 46 

Leakage in reservoirs, causes of. _____________ 16-18 

Lee, W. T., conclusions by, on Carlsbad 

reservoirsiteNo.3,N.Mex______ 4 

Lima, Mont., climatic records at .•• ---------- 88,91 

discharge of Red Rock River at. _________ 96-97 

Lima Reservoir, Mont., description of. •••••• 59-61 

practicable enlargement of.______________ 65 

Little Whitetail Creek, Mont., discharge near Whlteball, Mont_ _____________ 109-110 

McMillan Reservoir, N.Mex., features oL.. 2 

Improvements oL----------------------- 4 

leakage from ... -------------------------- 21-22 

Meadow Farm irrigation district, Mont., 

supply of water for--------------- 80 

Melrose, Mont., discharge of Big Hole River 

near_---------------------------- 108 Mill Creek, Mont., reservoirs on _____________ 58-59 

Monlda, Mont., discharge of Red Rock 

River near _______________________ 93-96 

Muskrat Creek, Mont., discharge near Boulder, Mont.-------------------- 11o-111 

Mussigbrod Reservoir, Mont., features of.... 61 

Norris, Mont., climatic records at. •••••••••• 88,91 

Parrot hydroelectric plant., Mont., description of.__________________________ 83 

Pecos River, N. Mex., loss and recovery of water in ______________________ 23-U,28 

Phillips Reservoir, Mont., features of._______ 61 

Pintlar Lake Reservoir, Mont., location oL. 61 

Pipestone Creek, Mont., description of. ••••• 51,58 

discharge near Whitehall, Mont......... 109 

irrigation from·-------------------------- 76 

reservoir on·----------------------------- 63 

Pipestone Dam, Mont., climatic records at.. 88,91 

Pipestone Pass, Mont., climatic records at •. 88, 92 

Pony, Mont., hydroelectric plant of.________ 84 

Rattlesnake Creek, Mont., description of. 50, S6-57 

Irrigation in valley of--------··---~------- 74 

old power plant on______________________ 83 

power from, possibilities of ______________ 86-86 

reservoirs on____________________________ 61 

Red Rock, Mont., discharge of Red Rock 

Riverat_________________________ 97 

:a.d Bock Lakes, Mont., reservoir site at .. 63-G6 

Pap 

Red Rock River, Mont., description of _____ 47-48, 

M-55 

discharge at Lima, Mont.~-----·····---- !HHJ7 

discharge at Red Rock, Morlt........... 97 

discharge near Monlda, Mont_ __________ 93-96 

irrigation in basin oL---·--------------- 71-72 

reservoir on ••.. ---------·--------··---·-- 59-61 

site for reservoir on.-------------··-·-·-- 65 

Renova, Mont., climatic records at. ••••••••. 88,92 

Richardson, G. B., cited_____________________ 4 

Ruby River, Mont., description of. •••••• 5Q-51,57 

discharge near Alder, Mont ----------- 106-107 

Irrigation in valley of.___________________ 75 

project for irrigation on__________________ 81 

storage site on.·---------------····------ 66-67 

Sage Creek, Mont., description of..__________ 49 

Sappington, Mont., discharge of Jefferson 

Riverat. _____ ----------------- 103-106 

Sheep Creek, Mont., description of..________ 49 

Silver Star, Mont., discharge of Jefferson 

River near·-------------------- 101-103 

South Bench irrigation district, Mont., 

project for---------------------·- 82 

South Bonlder Creek, Mont., irrigation from. 77 

power from, possibilities of. _____________ 86-8t 

Three Forks, Mont., climatic records at and 

near------------------···-······· 89,92 

Twin Bridges, Mont., precipitation at....... 92 

Valley View irrigation district, Mont., sup- ply of water for __________________ so-81 

Virginia City, Mont., climatic records at. .•• 89,93 

Whitehall, Mont., discharge of Little Whitetail Creek near .••.••••••••••••• 109-110 

discharge of Pipestone Creek near •• _.___ 109 

discharge of Whitetail Creek at.......... 109 

Whitetail Creek, Mont., description of •••••• 51-52 

discharge at Whitehall, Mont............ 109 

irrigation from........................... 76 

power from, poss!b!l!tles of.............. 86 

storage site on........................... 69 

Whitetail irrigation district, l'o;lont., project 

for------------------------------- 82 

Willow Creek, Mont., description oL ••••••• 52,58 

discharge near W!llow Creek, Mont. •• 112-113 

irrigation in basin of..................... 77 

projected............................ 82 

storage site on ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 6Q-70 

Wisconsin Creek, Mont., reservoirs on •••••• 58-59 

Wise River, Mont., description of........... 61 

storage site on.----------------··--····-· 69 

West Fork of, reservoir on ••••••••••••••• 61-62 

Yates, 1. R., zecoids of test holes ••••••••••• 8€HI9 

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