Teakettle Experimental Forest

Location

37° 0' 20.988" N, 119° 0' 21.672" W
Brief Site Description: 
Teakettle Experimental Forest
Detailed Site Description: 

USFS

In the 1930s, California state and federal agencies began exploring how the Central Valley of California's water supply might be increased through management of Sierra Nevada watersheds. In 1938, a 1,300-ha area surrounding Teakettle Creek was designated the Teakettle Experimental Area and five drainages were chosen for study. Stream-gauging stations and sediment basins were built in the 1940s. The area is old-growth forest at 2,000 to 2,800 m elevation and consists primarily of mixed-conifer and red fir forest common on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.


NEON

The Lower Teakettle (TEAK) site encompasses 5,138 hectares (12,696 acres) of mixed conifer and red fir forest, ranging in elevation from 1,990 to 2,807 m (6,529 – 9,209ft). The varied terrain is typical of the Sierra Nevada, with rugged mountains, meadows and prominent granite outcrops. TEAK has been designated as one of two relocatable terrestrial sites for the Pacific Southwest domain. The core aquatic site, Teakettle Creek, is just south of the terrestrial site.

NEON data (relocatable terrestrial) from this site. 

 

Field Site Type: 
US affiliate
Registration: 
Unregistered
Network(s): 
NEON
USFS
Study Start Date: 
1938
Mean Annual Precipitation: 
1 250 millimeters / year
Average Annual Temperature: 
8°C
Average Summer Temperature: 
20°C
Average Winter Temperature: 
5°C
Land Cover: 
Evergreen Forest
Shrubland
Geology: 
igneous-felsic intrusive
Soil Order: 
Entisol
Inceptisol
Hydrology: Name: 
Teakettle Creek
Hydrology: Surface water stream order: 
Second Order
Hydrology: Surface water - Stream Flow Performance: 
Perennial
Hydrology: Groundwater: 
Arrangment of Aquifer Components - Three unit system of an unconfined aquifer, confined aquifer and a confining bed
Climate: 
Mediterranean
Sub-Climate: 
Dry
Group visibility: 
Public - accessible to all site users