The Beaver Creek Experimental Watershed (BCEW) is in the Colorado Plateau
physiographic province within the Mogollon Slope. The regional dip of
the Mogollon Slope is northeast; however, a major flexure north of the
watershed (the Mormon Mountain anticline) reverses the regional dip in
the Beaver Creek area. The drainage is situated across the Mogollon Rim,
which separates the Colorado Plateau and the Verde Valley.
Volcanic parent material covers the area at depths from zero at the lower
elevations to an estimated 305 m (1,000 ft) near some of the cinder cones
in the area. The average thickness is believed to be approximately 152
m (500 ft ), based on the projected position of the erosion surface of
the Kaibab Formation on which the volcanics were deposited.
The sedimentary rocks below the volcanic cover are porous and permeable
because of their origin and the abundant fracture systems developed in
them. Water that penetrates the volcanic mantle may be expected to continue
through the sedimentary beds to the regional water table, estimated to
be between 305 and 610 m (1,000 and 2,000 ft) below the surface.
Of the rock types exposed on Beaver Creek, the basaltic and andesitic
lavas are the least porous and permeable. When unfractured, they are essentially
impervious to water. The cinder deposits are highly porous even when cemented.
Water falling on the cinder cones percolates downward and produces very
little surface stormflow. However, because the cones are built upon a
lava base, the permeability of this base determines whether the water
continues downward to the regional water table or seeps out along the
base of the pyroclastic materials.
The general topography of the watershed area has developed as the result
of outpouring of successive lava sheets that are inclined towards the
Verde Valley. The slope-controlled distribution of streams has produced
a subparallel drainage system of numerous, closely spaced streams.
Benfer, J.A.; Beus, S.S. 1968. The relationship of cinders to runoff
in the Beaver Creek watersheds. Final Report Prepared by Northern Arizona
University, Flagstaff, Arizona, Submitted to the Rocky Mountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Beus, S.S. 1968. Gravity data from the Beaver Creek Watersheds, Coconino
County, Arizona. Final Report Prepared by Northern Arizona University,
Flagstaff, Arizona, Submitted to the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Beus, S.S.; Rush, R.W.; Smouse, D. 1966. Geologic investigation of
experimental drainage basins 7-14, Beaver Creek Watershed, Coconino
County, Arizona. Final Report Prepared by Northern Arizona University,
Flagstaff, Arizona, Submitted to the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Emmons, P.J. 1977. Relationship between seismic velocity, degree of
weathering, and seepage potential: Watershed 17, Beaver Creek watershed,
Coconino County, Arizona. MS Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
Arizona.
Ffolliott, P.F.; Fishers, D.L.; Thorud, D.B. 1972. A physiographic
survey of the ponderosa pine type on the Salt-Verde River Basin. Agricultural
Experiment Station, Technical Bulletin 200, University of Arizona, Tucson.
McCabe, K.W. 1971. A geo-botanical study of Stoneman Lake, Wet Beaver
Creek experimental drainage basin, Coconino County, Arizona. MS Thesis,
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
McCain, R.G. 1976. Relationship between water loss from stream channels
and gravity and seismic measurements: Beaver Creek watershed 7, Coconino
County, Arizona. MS Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
Arizona.
Rush, R.W. 1965. Report of geologic investigations of six experimental
drainage basins, Beaver Creek Watershed, Yavapai County, Arizona. Final
Report Prepared by Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona,
Submitted to the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station,
Flagstaff, Arizona.
Rush, R.W.; Smouse, D. 1968. Geologic investigation of experimental
drainage basins 15-18 and Bar M Canyon, Beaver Creek Watershed, Coconino
County, Arizona. Final Report Prepared by Northern Arizona University,
Flagstaff, Arizona, Submitted to the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range
Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Scholtz, J.F. 1968. Geology of the Woods Canyon drainage basin, Coconino
County, Arizona. MS Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
Arizona.
Scholtz, J.F. 1969a. The Beaver Creek volcanics: a new formation, Coconino-Yavapai
Counties, Arizona. Geological Society of America Bulletin 80:2637-2643.
Scholtz, J.F. 1969b. Evidence for revision of the name Hickey Formation
east of the Verde Valley, Coconino County, Arizona. Journal of Arizona
Academy of Science 5:182-183.
Scholtz, J.F. 1969c. Investigation of low-stage transmission losses
in stream channels on watersheds 7, 9, 11, and 12; Beaver Creek experimental
drainage basin, Coconino County, Arizona. Final Report Prepared by Northern
Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, Submitted to the Rocky Mountain
Forest and Range Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona.
Thompson, J.R., Jr. 1968. Geology of Wet Beaver Creek Canyon, Yavapai
County, Arizona. MS Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
Arizona.
Twenter, F.R.; Metzger, D.G. 1963. Geology and ground water in Verde
Valley--the Mogollon Rim Region Arizona. United States Geological Survey
Bulletin 1177.
Williams, J.A.; Anderson, T.C., Jr. 1967. Soil survey of Beaver Creek
area, Arizona. USDA Forest Service, Soil Conservation Service, and Arizona
Agriculture Experiment Station.