Table 1 ^-Partial chemical composition in ppm. of water from Firehole River 



at Old Faithful and one -half mile above mouth of Nez Perce Creek on July 29, 1958. 

 Analyses by U. S. Geological Survey. 



Constituents 



Old Faithful, 1958 



Nez Perce, 1958 



Silica (Si02) 

 Iron (Fe) 

 Calcium (Ca) 

 Magnesium (Mg) 

 Sodium (Na) 

 Potassium (K) 

 Bicarbonate (HCO3) 

 Sulfate (SO4) 

 Chloride (CI) 

 Fluoride (F) 

 Nitrate (NO3) 

 Boron (B) 

 Dissolved solids 

 Alkalinity as CaCOa 

 Specific conductance 

 (micromhos at 25° C.) 

 PH 



46.0 

 .04 

 3,5 

 0.3 



13.0 

 3.4 



25.0 

 5.3 



11.0 



2.0 



0.1 



0.14 



100.0 



21.0 



99.1 



6.7 



101.0 



.03 



4.6 



0.6 



86.0 



7.3 



130.0 



17.0 



71.0 



6.6 



0.3 



0.81 



387.0 



115.0 



519.0 



7.8 



Water temperatures were recorded dur- 

 ing the summer of 1950 and May, 1951, by 

 Armitage (1954) at five points from Lone Star 

 Geyser to the junction of Nez Perce Creek . The 

 maximum temperatures recorded were as fol- 

 lows: May, Lone Star - 50° F., Nez Perce - 

 68° F.; June, Lone Star - 54° F., Nez Perce - 

 69° F.; July, Lone Star - 57° F., Nez Perce - 

 70° F.; August, Lone Star - 57° F., Nez Perce - 

 73° F.; and September, Lone Star - 54° F., 

 Nez Perce - 66° F. 



The standing crop of riffle bottom fauna 

 increased downstream with increasing total 

 solids and alkalinity. Armitage found the fol- 

 lowing total weights of organisms per square 

 foot in milligrams: Riverside Geyser (Upper 

 Geyser Basin), 4,303.48; above Biscuit Basin 

 (lower part of Upper Geyser Basin), 10,613 .86; 

 Midway Geyser Basin, 13,026.25; and below the 

 junction of Nez Perce Creek, 9,608. 15. The 

 most abundant organisms collected were Hydro - 

 psyche , which was in the faster currents, and 

 Brachycentrus, which was found in the slower 

 sections. 



mottled sculpins (Cottus b. bairdi ) and longnose 

 dace (Rhinichthys c_. cataractae )are abundant 

 below Firehole Falls. Whitefish are present in 

 the lowest one mile of stream . 



Madison River 



The Madison River flows 25 miles within 

 Yellowstone National Park with an average grad- 

 ient of about eight feet per mile . It meanders 

 through meadow areas . Some sections consist 

 of wide, shallow riffles, while other parts of the 

 stream contain deep holes. Large aquatic plant 

 beds are present and the bottom fauna produc- 

 tion is high . The monthly mean water flow from 

 October, 1952, to September, 1956, varied from 

 340 to 1,212 cfs. y The water flow was fairly 

 constant from November through March (340- 

 452 cfs.), began to rise in April (396-539 cfs), 

 reached its maximum in May and June (719-1,212 

 cfs.), and declined to the lowest flows during 

 September and October (298-449 cfs.). The mean 

 annual water volume for 39 years (periods from 

 1913 to 1955) was 341,700 acre feet. 



Only brook, brown and rainbow trouts 

 exist above Firehole Falls, while northern 



1/ Data on water flows taken from U. S. 

 Geological Survey Water Supply Papers . 



