Data-Collection Stations

Information for data-collection stations is obtained by (1) zooming in to locate a station of interest, (2) clicking on the GageInfo button in a state application, or on the StationInfo button on the national data-collection station application, and then (3) clicking on the triangular map symbol that indicates the station location. The output appears in a pop-up Web browser window. At the top is a banner identifying the output as a product of the USGS StreamStats program. The title, "Streamflow Statistics Report" is below the banner. Following the title, the official USGS station identification and station name, and hyperlink to the NWIS-Web site for the station are given. NWIS-Web is a USGS national database from which users can obtain period-of-record streamflow data series and real-time information, if available, for the stations. Below this, four tables are provided.

Descriptive Information Tables:

Information provided in this table may include:

Station type: Indicates the type of record collected at the station. Possible types are: gaging station, low-flow partial-record station, peak-flow partial-record station, peak- and low-flow partial-record station, or miscellaneous-measurement station

Regulated?: Indicates if streamflow at the station is affected by flow regulations or diversions. Possible values are yes, no, or undefined

Period of Record: Indicates the starting and ending years of data collection

Remarks: Provides description of any factors that affect the flow conditions at the station.

Latitude: Latitude of the station location, in decimal degrees

Longitude: Longitude of the station location, in decimal degrees

Hydrologic unit code: The 8-digit hydrologic cataloging-unit number assigned to the drainage basin in which the station is located. Additional information can be obtained at http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/wrr97/geograp/geograp.html

Local Basin: The local name given to the drainage basin

County: The name of the county in which the station is located

MCD: The name of the Minor Civil Division within which the station is located. The U.S. Census Bureau defines an MCD as "the primary governmental or administrative division of a county or statistically equivalent entity in many states and statistically equivalent entities. A minor civil division is created to govern or administer an area rather than a specific population.(ex. Town, Township, District)" The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes minor civil divisions in 28 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas.

Directions to station: Brief description of the station location

Physical Characteristics Tables:

These tables may contain any of more than 100 physical characteristics, including climatic characteristics, of the drainage basins that contribute streamflow to the data-collection stations. The table consists of four columns:

The Characteristic Name column gives the names of the characteristics
The Value column gives the quantity of the characteristic that was measured for the station
The Units column gives the English units of measure for the value.
The Citation Number column gives a number that corresponds with the Citation Number in the Citations table. Each physical characteristic and streamflow statistic that is provided by StreamStats has been published previously in a report that is cited in the Citations table and is referenced by the Citation Number in the other tables.

Streamflow Statistics Tables:

These tables may contain any of more than 500 streamflow statistics and their standard errors of estimates that can be computed for the stations. The table consists of three columns:

The Statistic Name column gives the names of the statistics. Within the table, the statistics are grouped by statistic type, such as peak-flow statistics, low-flow statistics, and flow-duration statistics.
The Discharge column gives the streamflow for the corresponding statistic, in cubic feet per second
The Citation Number column gives a number that corresponds with the Citation Number in the Citations table.

Unless otherwise noted, all streamflow statistics presented in the output tables, except low-flow frequency statistics, were computed on the basis of water years, which begin October 1 of the preceding year and end September 30 of the given year. Low-flow frequency statistics, such as the 7-day, 10-year low flow, were computed on the basis of climatic years, which begin on April 1 of the given year and end on March 31 of the following year. Statistics that were computed using nonstandard time periods will indicate the nonstandard time periods in their names and definitions.

Citations Tables:

These tables contain the citation numbers given in the previous tables and the corresponding citations. People who are interested in determining when, why, and how the statistics were calculated can refer to the given citations to learn that information.

Users should note that many of the statistics have an associated citation of “Imported from Basin Characteristics file.” The Basin Characteristics File (BCF) is a USGS database that has been obsolete since the late 1990’s. No time tags were associated with any of the data entered in the BCF. As a result, users should understand that information from the BCF is likely to be at least 10 years old, and could possibly be much older than that. In many cases, newer information is available in reports published by the various USGS Water Science Centers. Users should check the Web pages of the individual Centers to determine if reports containing newer statistics are available.