DISCUSSION : FORESTS, RESERVOIRS, AND STREAM FLOW 381 
TABLE 10. 
Merced River,| Kings River, Kern River, | Owens River, 
1904, 1090sq. miles.| 1 742 sq. miles.) 2845 sq. miles.| 450 sq. miles. 
Total discharge, in acre-feet 1177 412 1 880 846 492 892 208 461 
Maximum daily discharge, May 14 May 17 June 4 June 20 
in second-feet....... etciaped 8 780 15 167 8 167 635 
Minimum daily discharge, Sept. 16 Jan, 21 Jan, 21 Jan. 12 
in second-feet...... cieinatonis 80 130 156 152 
Ratio of minimum to maxi- 
mum daily discharge..... 1 to 110 1 to 121 1 to 20 lto4 
Month of maximum dis- 
May May May June 
os pean nui OO MM 34% 23% 15% 
Month of minimum dis- 
Jan. Jan. Jan. Jan. 
ae | Oe 0, 649 2.200% 4.62% 
Ratio of minimum to maxi- 
mum monthly discharge. . 1 to 31 1 to 57 1to 10 1to4 
Total depth of run-off, in 
MNICHES Fico, da crsia. cesrssat wistoiess 96's 20.25 20,26 3.93 8.78 
Depth of run-off during first} May 9-18 May 9-18 my 12-21 May 21-29 
ten days of warm weather, 2.46 2,96 36 0.32 
and percentage of total... 12.0% vi 6% a "206 3.7% 
Depth of run-off during 
month of minimum fail oe pee Bent ee 
cua | ee 1.18% 8.06% 6.42% 
From the foregoing it would appear that we should look to condi- 
tions other than the amount of snowfall or the size of the drainage 
basin for an explanation of the varying flood intensity. The climate 
on opposite sides of the range is practically the same at equal eleva- 
tions. Temperature changes occur on the same dates on all four 
drainage areas, but their effect on the stream flow is later on Kern 
and Owens Rivers than on Kings and Merced Rivers. 
In searching for a cause for the difference in the character of the 
flow from these streams, the question naturally arises as to the condi- 
tion of the forest cover. It is found that the drainage areas of Merced 
and Kings Rivers are covered with heavy timber below the 10 000-ft. 
contour; that the Kern River Basin, while it has considerable timber, 
has large areas which are bare or covered with a light growth of 
Messrs. 
Leffingwell 
and Strong. 
