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<br />Creek and Muddy Creek (Figure 1). Elevations in the watershed range from 1,676 <br />m at the confluence with the Yampa River to above 3050 m in Sierra Madre <br />mountains along the Continental Divide. The Little Snake water allocations and <br />distribution between the states falls under the provisions of the Upper Colorado <br />River Basin Compact (October 11, 1948). <br /> <br />Although the Yampa River and Little Snake River basins are approximately <br />equal in size, the Little Snake River contributes only 27% of the average annual <br />water yield to the Yampa River in Deerlodge Park. The average annual water yield <br />from the Little Snake River is 428,000 af whereas the Yampa River flows average <br />1,120,000 af (O'Brien 1987). The Little Snake is a very seasonal river, high flows <br />related to snowpack melt occur in the spring months from mid-April through early <br />June and low base flows extend from August through February. On an average <br />year, the peak discharge in the Little Snake River will approach 3,000 cubic feet <br />per second (cfs; 85 m3/s) whereas the Yampa River average peak discharge <br />exceeds 8,000 cfs (227 m3/s) at Maybell. The historical mean base flow from <br />September 1 to February 28 is 98 cfs (2.7 m3/s). For long periods during the low <br />flow months, particularly in dry years, the Little Snake River flow at Lily Gage will <br />approach zero cfs. On average, annual peak flows in the Little Snake River <br />precede the peak flows in the Yampa River by approximately six days, therefore <br />Little Snake River discharge can contribute to earlier opening of backwater and <br />side channel habitat in the Yampa and Green rivers. <br /> <br />Comparing the average annual sediment load on the basis of suspended load <br />data, the Little Snake transports an average of 2,020,000 tons per year at Lily <br />while the Yampa averages only 389,000 tons per year. This disparity in runoff <br />and sediment load for relatively equal drainage areas that are contiguous illustrates <br />the combined effects of elevation, geology and precipitation on sediment yield. <br />Depletions from the Little Snake River have a greater impact on sediment load and <br /> <br />13 <br />