1 . STREAM 

 California Creek 



2. DESCRIPTION 



California Creek originates on the eastern slope of the Anaconda- 

 Pintlar Range at the Continental Divide. It flows in a southerly direction 

 for approximately 7.7 miles to its junction with French Creek. California 

 Creek meanders through a narrow floodplain characterized by a relatively 

 narrow riparian zone. For most of its length, the stream is bordered by 

 grass and sedge meadows containing scattered clumps of willow and alder. 

 The 28.4 square mile drainage area is characterized by high south facing 

 slopes bearing little coniferous growth in the headwater region and timbered 

 foothills and grass-sedge meadows downstream. Major tributaries of California 

 Creek include Crooked John, Little California, Oregon, Sixmile and American 

 Creeks. The average gradient of the 22 foot wide channel is 29.5 feet per 

 1,000 ft. The majority of the California Creek drainage is owned by the 

 MDFWP while a very small portion lies on USES land. 



Lands within the California Creek drainage are used for recreational 

 hunting, fishing and snowmobil ing. The lower portions of the drainage are used 

 for trapping. Past commercial uses of the drainage include placer mining 

 (Lyden 1948), timber harvest and livestock grazing (Newell 1980), and diversion 

 of water for irrigation and timber transport. Intensive grazing and timber 

 harvest continue in the drainage at present. Fishing pressure on California 

 Creek in 1975-76 was estimated at 357 fisherman-days per year (MDFWP, 1976). 

 This translates to 45 fisherman days per stream mile/year. 



Chemical analyses were performed on water samples collected during the 

 summer of 1980. The data revealed that California Creek is a calcium-magnesium- 

 bicarbonate water of slightly basic pH. The stream has a higher specific 

 conductance, alkalinity and hardness than most waters in the upper Big Hole 

 River drainage. Relatively high arsenic, total recoverable iron and suspended 

 sediment levels were measured in California Creek. The source of the arsenic 

 is probably precipitates from the Anaconda Smelter. High levels of suspended 

 sediment (235.8 mg/1) and total recoverable iron (6.5 mg/1) were measured 

 following a brief summer rain. The source of the sediment and iron is believed 

 to be erodable soils in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Mountain. This area was 

 clear-cut in the late 1800' s and has revegetated very slowly due to 

 precipitates from the Anaconda Smelter, sheep grazing and fires. The 

 California Creek stream banks and riparian areas exhibit evidence of erosion 

 and trampling from concentrations of cattle. Other environmental concerns 

 include sediment loading and elevated concentrations of arsenic and total 

 recoverable iron. 



3. FISH POPULATIONS 



A 1,000 foot section of California Creek was electrofished on August 4 

 and August 18, 1980. Game fish present in descending order of abundance were 

 brook trout, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish and burbot. Nongame species 

 captured were mottled sculpin, longnose sucker and longnose dace. Electro- 

 fishing survey data are presented in Table 12. 



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