Abstract: | ABSTRACT. Stream channel characteristics were found to be useful indices to the hydrology of 27 small forested basins in the Northeast United States. Channel width alone explained 37 percent of the variation in mean annual runoff, whereas channel width combined with basin area explained 78 percent of the variation in mean annual runoff. This approached the percentage of variation in mean annual runoff explained by mean annual precipitation (83 percent). A simulated 15% increase in precipitation, such as might occur in a weather modification project, produced increases in channel width, depth, and channel area of 3, 4, and 8 percent, respectively. |