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,~ 5 <br />SECTION II <br />MINNESOTA CREEK HYDROLOGY <br />1 GENEkAL <br />The Minnesota Creek drainage basin, from its confluence with North Fork <br />Gunnison River to its headwaters, encompasses an area of approximately 54 <br />square miles with a generally westerly aspect. The basin elevation varies <br />from 5640 feet at the confluence with the North Fork Gunnison River to over <br />] 12,000 feet. The mean annual precipitation varies from about 14 inches at <br />the mouth of Minnesota Creek near Paonia to over 40 inches near the top of <br />1 Mt. Gunnison. About 60 to 70 percent of the annual precipitation occurs <br />from October through April. <br />Two U.S.Geological Survey gages have been used to measure flow in Minnesota <br />+~ Creek. The Minnesota Creek gage at Paonia was operated from 1976 to 1979 <br />J and had a drainage area of 53.5 square miles. <br />] A seconD Minnesota Creek gage, located approximately 6 miles upstream from <br />the mouth, was operated from 1936 to 1941. Tnis gage has a 41.3 square <br />mile Drainage area, and because of its location just downstream from Dry <br />Fork and Lick Creek and upstream from the major ditches is in an ideal <br />i Location to determine the effects, if any, of mining activities on Minnesota <br />J Creek streamflow. A summary of the gage records is presented in Appendix B. <br />All future references to the Minnesota Creek gage in this text will be to <br />this latter gage. <br />1 The run-off from the Minnesota Creek drainage above the Minnesota Creek gage <br />averages approximately 17,900 AF per year with about 80 percent occurring <br />1 from April through July and 40 percent in May. The average annual unit <br />run-off is 433 AF/square mile. The lowest annual flow of record occurred in <br />1946 and was 12,004 AF. The dry year of 1977 is believed to have been even <br />l~ a dryer year. Unfortunately the gage was not in operation that year. <br />J <br />