Navajo River Catchment: Snow Survey (2022)

The Navajo River, located in the southern San Juan Mountains, is a tributary of the San Juan Chama River. The Navajo River catchment is one of three catchments included in the San Juan Chama Project (SJCP, Bureau of Reclamation), which diverts a firm yield (annual allotment) of 96,200 acre-feet water users in New Mexico. To meet the snow monitoring and water supply forecast needs of the SJCP project, a snow survey research area has been established in the catchment. This research area currently includes four snow survey sites, which contain a total of two snow pits and five snow depth transects. Two survey sites include snowtography poles with game cameras monitoring snow depth and temperature buttons collecting snowpack temperature data. During the 2021-2022 winter season, data from three snow depth transects and two snow pits were collected monthly between January and April.