Surface Water
Rattlesnake Creek subbasin has several tributaries. The West Fork, South Fork and East Fork combine to establish the main channel in northern Kiowa County. From there the stream flows northeast. An unnamed ephemeral tributary joins Rattlesnake Creek in southwest Stafford County. Another tributary, Spring Creek, enters the main streambed south of St. John. The other tributary in the subbasin is Wildhorse Creek and it joins Rattlesnake Creek north of St. John. Rattlesnake Creek is a perennial stream from just north of St. John to its northerly bend near Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Otherwise, the stream is classified as intermittent. Rattlesnake Creek has two United States Geological Survey streamflow gages, located at Macksville and Zenith. The Macksville gage is the upstream gage and Zenith is used to measure inflow to Quivira.
The Macksville gage has been measured since 1960 and the Zenith streamflow gage began measurements in 1974. The average streamflow at Zenith was 41.95 cfs and 22.96 cfs at Macksville.
In 1984, the Kansas Legislature enacted the Minimal Desirable Streamflow Act for specific United States Geological Survey streamflow gages including Macksville and Zenith.
Gages | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Macksville | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
Zenith | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
The Zenith streamflow gage meets Minimum Desirable Streamflow criteria more often than Macksville does. In 2007, both streamflow gages met the Minimum Desirable Streamflow criteria over 70% of the year.
