Basin characteristics are physical and climatic features used as independent variables for estimating streamflow. Basin characteristics for an ungaged site that are substituted in the estimating equations should be determined by the same methods as those used to develop the equations.

Selected basin characteristics for stations used in USGS Alaska streamflow analyses are published in the reports available from links on the home page. Other basin characteristics used in the regression analysis but not in the final equations, and basin characteristics for USGS data-collection stations not included in the reports, can be obtained by contacting Janet Curran, jcurran@usgs.gov, 907-786-7128.

For determining mean minimum January temperature, use Plate 1 (PDF, 5.75 MB) from "Magnitude and frequency of floods in Alaska and conterminous basins of Canada" by S.H. Jones and C.B. Fahl (1994).

For determining mean annual precipitation, use Plate 2 (PDF, 6.48 MB) from "Magnitude and frequency of floods in Alaska and conterminous basins of Canada" by S.H. Jones and C.B. Fahl (1994). This plate is also available in GIS form.