Hydrology of Crater, East and Davis Lakes, Oregon by Kenneth N. Phillips

 INTRODUCTION

 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The purpose of this report is to bring together available hydrologic and chemical data on certain topographically enclosed lakes, to describe the variations within historic time of their water levels, volumes, and chemical character, and, insofar as practicable, to correlate such variations with climatic or other causal factors.

The approximate magnitudes of precipitation and runoff as sources of supply, and evaporation and leakage as means of disposition were the water-budget elements determined for each lake. Some of the quantities have been measured, some have been ascertained by correlation with published records of precipitation or runoff, some have been computed as residuals, and the others have been estimated. A large mass of water-level data was assembled, and data collection was intensified during the study.

Chemical aspects of the study included determination of the chemical character of the lakes and evaluation of the possible sources and disposition of dissolved solids.

Such basic data as precipitation and inflow can only be estimated for some of the lakes. Chemical data are scanty. This report must be viewed as an effort to ascertain preliminary hydrologic and chemical budgets for the lakes and to present what is known of their chemical quality. The conclusions reached are subject to review as more data become available.

The hydrologic aspects of the study were made by Kenneth N. Phillips, assisted by Roy B. Sanderson, district engineer, and members of his staff. Fieldwork was completed in July 1963, and the cutoff date for most hydrologic data was September 30, 1962.

The chemical phases of the study were performed by A. S. Van Denburgh.

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