AIR AND WATER TEMPERATURES AND STREAM FLOW 

 DATA FROM CONVICT CREEK, MONO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, 1950 TO 1962 



By 

 Harry D. Kennedy 

 Fishery Research Biologist 

 Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 

 Bishop, Calif. 



ABSTRACT 



A series of tables give daily records, with monthly and annual means, of water temperature, air 

 temperature, and stream flow for Convict Creek Experiment Station, Calif. , from 1950 to 1962. 

 The 13 -year means were water temperature 47.6'F. , air temperature 44. 6 'F., and stream flow 

 22.3 c.f.s. 



Since rehabilitation of Convict Creek Experi- 

 ment Station in 1950, continuous air and water 

 temperatures and water flow records have been 

 maintained. Records for the period 1950 through 

 1962 are presented and discussed here . We are 

 indebted to the Department of Water and Power 

 of the City of Los Angeles for the flow records . 



Convict Creek Experiment Station is located 

 at latitude 37 * 37' N. and Longitude 118' 50' W. 

 and lies within the Inyo National Forest on the 

 eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada , in 

 Long Valley, Mono County, Calif. The Station 

 is 35 miles northwest of Bishop, Inyo County, 

 Calif. , at an elevation of 7,200 feet above sea 

 level (fig. I). 



A general description of this immediate area , 

 as well as a brief summary of the geological 

 history and the physical, chemical, and biolog- 

 ical characteristics of the lakes in Convict Creek 

 Basin , has been given in several unit reports as well 

 as in a general report based on these separate 

 studies (Reimers, Maciolek, andPister, 1955). 

 The objectives, facilities, and operational pro- 

 cedures of Convict Creek Experiment Station 

 have been described by Nielson, Reimers, and 

 Kennedy (1957). 



The climate of the eastern slope of the 

 Sierra Nevada is extremely variable and is 

 similar to that of other western mountain areas 

 which lie leeward of high mountain ranges , with 

 respect to prevailing westerly winds 

 and Pacific storm systems . 



The summer season in this area 

 is short and extremely dry (humidity 

 averages about 15 percent) though 

 occasional thunderstorms occur dur- 

 ing the late afternoon and evening 

 hours of the hottest days . July and 

 August are usually the only frost- 

 free months , and July is normally 

 the warmest month of the year. 

 Figure 2 shows an early summer 

 scene and the type terrain surround- 

 ing the Station . 



Figure 1: --Vicinity map of Convict Creek and surrounding area. 

 (From Mount Morrison and Casa Diablo Quadrangles, 1953). 



