The stream channel is straight for about 300 ft. Straight reach above the gage site on the Snake River at Moose Junction, WY . The total flow is confined to one channel at all stages, and no flow bypasses the site as surface or subsurface flow. Flow at this site is divided between several channels. This is a poor site for a gaging station, but the station had to be located here to study sediment transport.
Banks are permanent, high enough to contain floods, and are free of brush.
Flow is running over the banks here during high stage. This overbank flow will cause a dramatic change in the stage-discharge relation. Unchanging natural features are present in a channel that control the relation between stage and discharge in the gage pool or channel. A satisfactory reach for measuring discharge at all stages is available within reasonable proximity of the gage site. The streambed is not subject to scour and fill and is free of aquatic growth.