Upper Feather River Watershed

 Flood Plain Maps and Alluvial Soils: https://plumascounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/11641/Upper-Feather-River-Watershed-Map?bidId=#:~:text=Watershed%20Area:%202%2C290%2C376%20ac.%20or,two%2Dthirds%20of%20Californias%20population. The Upper Feather Watershed floods along the riverbanks. These areas flood mainly during the spring when the Sierra Nevada Mountains snow melts causing high water flow in the rivers. The affected areas are the towns of Quincy and Greenville due to the towns being by the wetlands main channels and tributaries. To help mitigate the floods, California's department of water resources use reservoir management and levee maintenance.  Geology of Upper Feather Watershed Soil texture of Upper Feather Watershed On the Eastern portion of the watershed, the stream flows though the valleys, which is wide and flat. Over time, the river brings down sediment deposits creating fertile land. These are known as alluvial soils. These soils are used for agriculture, bu...

 Invasive Plants and Animals  Upper Feather Watershed Description: The Upper Feather Watershed is a biodiversity hotspot. It has rare and endangered frogs, has thousands of native plants, and has the largest bird population in the Sierra. It also has a triple-junction allowing for species to mingle.  Native Species: Mountain Sucker Feather River Stonecrop Gray Wolves Foothill yellow-legged frog Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog California red-legged frogs Western Bumble Bees Invasive Animals in Upper Feather River Watershed: Nutria (Myocastor coypus): Nutria resemble beavers but with a round hairy tail and arched back.  Nutria Impacts: Nutria cause extensive damage to native plants, soil structure and agriculture crops nearby due to their eating habits. About 10% of the plants material they eat is destroyed. Due to the loss, it causes severe soil erosion, which can make the marsh land into open water. Nutria also burrow 6 meters deep and 50 meters into the bank which ...

 W atershed Snowpack monitoring equipment: Snow Surveys:  California is a state that relies on its snowpacks. During the winter time, the snowpacks are generated and stored on top of mountains. During the summer, they melt and go into  streams. These snowpacks are used to water agriculture plants, and to supply fresh water to the people of the state.  Due to the type of climate that California has, there is a need for measuring the snowpacks. The measurements help farmers determine the types of crops they can grow, and helps the state determine if they have to put any regulations in place like in 2015.  There are two different ways for measuring. Technological advancements have been created to measure snowpacks remotely, but manual snow surveys are still fundamental. Manual snow surveys involve collection of snow samples at 260 locations.  SWE: Snow water equivalent Determines the annual peak of surface water resource forecasts stream and river flow In one ...

 Watershed Special Threats or Challenges: Snowpacks Snowpacks: The snowpacks on top of mountains is important for California. It provides a third of California's water supply. The snow helps with the ground water and fills the reservoirs. The warmer the weather is though, the faster and earlier the snow will melt which can make things difficult during the dry season. It is predicted that the snowpack will decrease by a third in 2050 and by a half in 2100.   There are things that can cause the snowpacks to start disappearing such as fire, tall mountains, and climate change (rising temperatures).  The amount of fires have increased over the years, the heat intensity has also increased. This could further cause a crisis during drought seasons. In 2020, there was a recorded amount of 10,000 fires which resulted in four million acres being burnt. The fires also seem to be concentrated in upper watersheds.  Mountains can be bad and good for snowfall. They are colder, ...

 Flood And Drought Data: Looking at the data points, Middle Fork Feather River (one of Upper Feather Watersheds main rivers) has a low CFS (cubic feet per second (volume and speed of water flow) in June-January. The CFS starts to fluctuate and become high around March time frame.   Looking at the map above, one can see that the Middle Fork Feather river does not tend to flood. It stays right around 4,845.56 ft, while a flood would be anything above 4852.5.  Growing issues in the Upper Feather Watershed that could impact California: Warming Temperatures: 15% of California rely on hydroelectricity. The other portion is different forms of electricity such as gas that requires water to cool it down. The rising temperatures can lead to water stress and lower water supply. The elevation of the watershed is lower meaning that it gets warmer faster.  Snow Melt: California relies on the winter snowfall. It accounts for "60% of the state’s consumptive water and up to one-third...

 Watershed Special Characteristics Municipal Water Supply: Lake Oroville, behind Oroville Dam (built 1962-1967) is where Upper Feather watershed water drains into. It can hold 3.5 million-acre-feet of water, making it the largest water storage. It provides water to 27 million people that live in California. It is also an irrigation source for 750,000 acres of farmland (supplies the country with over a third of its vegetables and about 2/3s of the nuts and fruits).  Watershed Physical structure and scale: The watershed captures rain and snowmelt which goes into creeks, rivers, etc. and flow into a large body of water. Lake Oroville has the West Branch, North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork Rivers converging together into this lake.  Middle Fork River is a state designated wild and scenic river while the North Fork is mainly for hydropower generation.  3,200 sq mile watershed.  Over 100 lakes Hundreds of miles of trails Beautiful public lands such as Lassen Volc...