REPORT OP THE FISPI AND GAME COMMISSION. 75 



for domestic purposes. In October, 1915, Comnn'ssioner M. J. Connell 

 notified the Department of Hatcheries that he had found an ideal 

 stream of water on which to locate a hatchery such as the board had 

 been looking for. He called onr attention to Oak Creek. Inyo County, 

 and ordered the Superintendent of Hatcheries to make a report on the 

 stream. 



Oak Creek was found to be the largest and mo.st important stream 

 that enters the Owens River Valley in the region of Independence. 

 The reason for selecting the region near Independence was to enable 

 the commission to secure an ample supply of eggs near the hatchery. 

 ]\Ir. Connell had found that a series of lakes, situated in the high Sierra 

 region west of Independence, were teeming with rainbow trout of an 

 excellent quality and from which millions of eggs could be procured. 

 These lakes are in a glacial basin and are known as the Rae Lakes. 



Oak Creek enters the valley about five miles north of the town of 

 Independence. It has an almndance of pure, cold water. The maxi- 

 minn How (which is in -Tune) varies from 20 second-feet to 200 second- 

 feet, depending on the depth of the snow that falls on the upper reaches 

 of the stream, and the rapidity with which it melts during the first 

 warm spell in the early summer. The average minimum flow for the 

 last six years was 8 second-feet, and this late in the fall. This stream 

 M'ill supply a hatchery station with a capacity of from 10,000,000 to 

 12.000.000 fry. As the largest number of fish are handled during the 

 maximum flow, this creek supplies almost an unlimited flow of water 

 for hatchery purposes. The source of Oak Creek is in the precipitous 

 range of mountains on the west side of the valley at an altitude of about 

 10.000 feet. Its descent is very rapid until it reaches the floor of the 

 valley. From its source on Diamond Peak and Black Mountain, the 

 main stream, or the North Fork, is 8 miles long to its junction with the 

 South Fork, which rises on the southeastern slope of Black Mountain 

 and is also about 8 miles in length. The South Fork falls from its 

 highest source to its junction with the North Fork 7100 feet in a 

 distance of 8 miles. The North Fork falls 8700 feet in its course from 

 the source to its junction. The confluence of the two forks of Oak 

 Creek is about 1| miles from the base of the range in the Owens River 

 Valley. The land slopes gently toward the plain on a gradient of about 

 4 per cent. 



About one-quarter of a mile below the junction of the two forks of 

 the stream, the commission secured forty acres of land on which to 

 establish a hatchery. On this site a large hatchery is now being erected. 

 The building now under construction is 192^ by 4:5 feet, constructed of 

 natural stone, gabro and granite, found on the floor of the valley (see 



