A Reservoir Morphology Database for the Conterminous United States

Publication Date

2017-05-15

Start Date

2010-05-01

End Date

2016-07-05

Rodgers, K.D., 2017, A Reservoir Morphology Database for the Conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7GF0RQZ

Type: Related Primary Publication

Understanding conditions and trends in the Nation’s lakes and reservoirs requires information on reservoir morphology and water chemistry. Data pertaining to different aspects of reservoir morphology and water chemistry are contained in databases developed by multiple agencies for different purposes. In particular, the National Inventory of Dams (NID) (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1998), the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) (Simley and Carswell, 2009), the Enhanced River Reach File (ERF1_2) (Nolan and others, 2002), the SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed (SPARROW) model (Schwarz and others, 2006) collectively comprise datasets, which combined would support national and broad regional analysis of reservoirs in the United States. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began an effort to compile a national database containing physical, modeled chemical, and morphological metrics for reservoirs with surface areas of at least 250 acres. The resulting database, hereafter known as the Reservoir Morphology Database (RMD), can be used by natural resource managers in assessing reservoir characteristics throughout the conterminous United States.

• National Fish Habitat Partnership
• USGS Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Data source

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