DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA 



Beaver 

 a northeast 

 North Dakota 

 in northern 

 North Dakota 

 to its confl 

 (Fiqure 1). 

 Valley's ear 

 of its rich 

 later, becau 

 livestock. 

 Beaver Creek 



Creek is a meanderinq prairie stream whicfi primarily flows in 

 direction through the Fort Union Coal Fields of Montana and 



The stream rises in the table land of the Beaver Creek divide 

 Fallon County, and flows diagonally across Wibaux County into 



emptying into the Little flissouri River. From its headwaters 

 uence, it flows about 220 km, of which, 131 km are in Montana 



It drains an area of over 2050 km2. Most of the Beaver Creek 

 ly industrial history was dependent on the creek; first because 

 hunting and trapping resources and as an easy travel route; and 

 se of the grazing and abundant water it supplied for range 

 Agricultural activities now rank high in importance in the 



basin. 



Topography of the basin varies from rolling hills to the flat lands 

 along the stream bottom, ranging in elevation from nearly 975 to about 

 671 m at the creeks mouth. Climatic conditions are influenced by topography, 

 with the higher sections along the Dakota border being wetter. Annual 

 average precipitation runs around .36 m. The climate is characterized by 

 warm and humid summers with cold winters. 



Soil materials of the Beaver Creek basin consist of weathered sandstones 

 and shales of Cretaceous Age, a few terrace remnants of old alluvial deposits 

 and recent alluvium in the stream bottoms. Soils are mostly within the 

 loam to clay loam texture range, but there are significant areas of sandy 

 loam and loamy sand soils and local areas of dense clay soils. These soil 

 conditions are evident in the silty nature of the stream substrate. Relief 

 is deeply rolling to broken intersected by several sub-drainages. The major 

 Beaver Creek tributaries; Little Beaver Creek, Hay Creek, and Lame Steer 

 Creek, flow through similar terrain (Fiqure 2). 



North-flowing tributaries of the lower Yellowstone, while not contributing 

 much to the Yellowstone River in terns of flow, are still important to the 

 Yellowstone Basin. Smith Creek, Box Elder Creek, Cotton Creek, Gl endive 

 Creek and its tributaries; Griffith Creek, Krug Creek and Hodges Creek rise 

 in the rollinq uplands on the Yellowstone-Beaver Divide (Figure 3). These 

 stream flow through soils derived from glacial till and alluvial deposits 

 much of which lies over economically strippable coal. Box Elder Creek is 

 beinq considered by Intake Water Company as the site for an off -channel 

 reservoir site. Diversion facilities will be constructed on the Yellowstone 

 River, and the water pumped to a proposed reservoir on Box Elder Creek. 



Habitat conditions of Beaver Creek are similar to other prairie stream 

 environments. The headwater reaches of the sprinq-fed stream consists of 

 small pools, with thick mats of aquatic vegetation. Velocities are generally 

 slow with few defined riffles. Vegetative qrowth alonq the stream banks 

 consists mainly of grasses. The long meandering middle stretch is 

 characterized by higher, brush-covered banks. Deep pools and channels are 

 common with a firm, rocky substrate. In the lower reaches, the creek widens 



