Beaver Creek Watershed Tour

Side Trip E

Drive 0.4 miles on Road 230C, to Stop 9 at the gaging station for Watershed 12. You can see most of the types of instruments used on the experimental watersheds. A weather station is enclosed in the log fence near the small buildings. These instruments measure and record precipitation, temperature, and humidity.

The smaller house by the flume contains equipment that automatically records changes in stream flow The larger building houses a new sediment and water quality sampler that is activated automatically by changes in water levels. The sediment sampler, the stream flow recorder and the weather station are in operation at all times, all year.

The v-notch flume above the sediment basin is constructed to measure the volume of water flowing down the channel. The box suspended over the notch is a heater that prevents icing in winter.

At the downstream end, you will find a "splitter" attached to the basin outlet, an older instrument designed to collect samples of water for measuring the suspended sediment content. In the sediment basin above the splitter, coarser materials such as sand, gravel, and rocks settle out of high stream flows. They are scooped out and measured when the stream dries up.

To rejoin the main tour route, return to Road 230 and turn left.

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