Canadian Forest Hydrology Carnation Creek

Carnation Creek , BC
Research Site Metadata

Carnation Creek, BC

Location
West Coast Vancouver Island, BC
 Coastal Forest Region
 48°54′N 124°59′W

Watershed Area(s): 10 km²
Total Relief: 914 m
Mean Annual Runoff: 2485 mm
Mean Annual Precipitation: 2866 mm
Mean Temperature: Jan 4.4°C; July 15.1°C

Landscape

Carnation Creek is a steep, rugged coastal watershed that drains into the Pacific Ocean. Annual precipitation falls primarily as rain between October and March. Soils are highly permeable, well drained and coarse in texture consisting of coarse colluvial material, gravelly loams and loamy sands. Soils are underlain by impermeable bedrock of volcanic origin. The dominant tree species include mature Western hemlock, Western red cedar and Amabilis fir, with some Douglas-fir and Sitka spruce.

 Experimental Design

Study type single-watershed, intensive case study incorporating pre-harvest, during-harvest, and post-harvest observations
Treatments three riparian treatments applied within the lowermost 3.1 km - 41% of the watershed (including almost all of the valley bottom) was harvested (’76-’81) and another 21% of headwaters harvested (’87–’93)
Controls Internal spatial controls are available for a variety of study components in Tributary C, a sub-basin mainly unharvested for the duration of the investigation
Study Duration 1970-present
Pre-Harvest 1970-1976
Harvest 1976-1981 (main phase) 1987–1993
Post-Harvest 1982-present

Parameters

Discharge, air and stream temperatures, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, solar radiation, stream chemistry, suspended sediments, stream channel morphology, aquatic ecology and salmon populations

Contact

Peter Tschaplinski, Manager
Research Branch, B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range

Ph: (250) 387-3025