WATER SUPPLY OF NOME REGION, SEWARD 
PENINSULA, 1906. 
By J. C. Hoyt and F. F. Henshaw. 
INTRODUCTION. 
The economic working of the richer placer deposits in all portions 
of Alaska depends largely on the amount of water available for hot 
washing and hydraulicking the gold-bearing gravels. The scarcity 
water has led to extensive ditch construction, which has often bee: 
undertaken with but little exact information in regard to the available i 
water supply. Many of these hydraulic works have been either 
financial or engineering failures, owing to insufficiency of water, anc 
some of these failures could have been averted had reliable hvdro- 
graphic data been at hand. 
For this reason the United States Geological Survey started syste 
matic measurements of the flow of Alaska streams during the summe 
of 1906. Owing to the smallness of the funds available the work 
was confined to Seward Peninsula, and especially to the streams from 
which water could be taken for working the rich placers near Nome, 
as shown on the Nome and Grand Central special topographic sheets. 
This area was chosen for investigation on account of its extensive 
operations. 
These investigations consisted in (a) determining both the tota 
flow and the distribution of the flow of various streams during the 
mining season; (b) collecting facts in regard to general conditions 
affecting water supply; and (c) gathering statistics in regard to the-, 
diversion and use of water. 
GAGING STATIONS. 
Measurements of discharge were made at the forty-five different 
gaging stations named in the subjoined list. Most of these stations 
are on streams so located as to be available for the placer gravel near 
Nome. 
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