USGS Water-Year Summary 2024
08290000 RIO CHAMA NEAR CHAMITA, NM
LOCATION - Lat 36°04'24.8", long 106°06'42.1" referenced to North American Datum of 1983, Rio Arriba County, NM, Hydrologic Unit 13020102, in San Juan Pueblo Grant, near left downstream corner of bridge on U.S. Highway 285, 0.5 mi west of Chamita, 2.5 mi northwest of San Juan Pueblo, and at mile 2.8.
DRAINAGE AREA - 3,144 mi² of which 100 mi² probably is noncontributing.
REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1512: 1913-15, 1934, 1936. WSP 1632: 1929(M). WSP 1732: 1931(M). WSP 1923: drainage area.
SURFACE-WATER RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - October 1912 to current year. Monthly discharge only for some periods, published in WSP 1312. Published as "Chama River near Chamita" prior to 1928, and "Chama River at Chamita" 1929-30.
GAGE - Water-stage recorder with satellite telemetry and crest-stage gage. Concrete control since Jan. 1, 1964. Datum of gage is 5,653.61 ft above NGVD of 1929. Prior to Oct. 4, 1933, at railroad bridge 2.3 mi downstream at different datums. Oct. 4, 1933, to Mar. 1, 1942, at site 50 ft downstream at datum 0.22 ft higher. Mar. 2, 1942, to Dec. 31, 1963, at site 200 ft downstream, present datum.
EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - The floods of Sept. 29, 1904, and Oct. 4 or 5, 1911, probably exceeded 15,000 ft³/s. Another major flood occurred in 1884, from newspaper accounts.
WATER-QUALITY RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - Water years 1948 to 2011.
PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD -
SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: October 1963 to December 1974, December 2004 to April 2008.
WATER TEMPERATURE: January 1950 to December 1974, December 2004 to April 2008.
SUSPENDED-SEDIMENT DISCHARGE: October 1955 to December 1974.