West St. Louis Creek NEON - United States of America

Basic Information
Site Name
West St. Louis Creek NEON
Short name
WLOU
Country
United States of America
Web Address
https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/wlou
Site Manager
Amy Jacobs
Site Description
West St. Louis Creek (WLOU) is an aquatic site within the 93 km2 (23,000 acre) Fraser Experimental Forest near Winter Park, Colorado. It is a high elevation mountain stream at around 2902 m (9521 ft.) just west of the Continental Divide. The streams drains a 4.9 km2 (1210 acre) watershed and the forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. A water diversion feature is present just downstream of WLOU, and aids in bring water from Saint Louis and Vasquez Creeks to the City of Denver. WLOU is part of NEON's Southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau Domain (D13). D13 has one other aquatic site and two terrestrial sites. WLOU is not colocated with a terrestrial site.
Last modified
2025-09-18 14:09:37

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2017
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (WLOU)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 39.89137 Longitude: -105.9154

Size
ca. 490.00ha
Elevation (average)
2908.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
GEO-BON Biome
Fresh water rivers
Biome
Fresh Water Rivers
Ecosystem Type
Rivers
Fresh Water Rivers
Air Temperature: Average Annual
1.50°C
Precipitation Annual
655.00mm
Geology
The geology at this site is characterized by schist, migmatite, and biotitic gneiss.
Vegetation
Vegetation communities in the Fraser Experimental Forest separate out according to elevation. Upper elevations are characterized by alpine tundra. Below the timberline, subapline fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) dominate, while lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) is commonly seen at lower elevations. Understory herbaceous vegetation is sparse but contains various forb, sedge, and grass species. There are two endemic alpine species: purple-leaf groundsel (Ligularia soldanella) and Rocky Mountain nailwort (Paronchyia pulvinata), plus one lower elevation endemic, wood-rush (Luzula subcapitata).
Soils
Gravel and stone soils are typical of Fraser Experimental Forest owing to the rocky parent material.
Hydrology
WLOU is a high elevation, wadeable stream with pools and some channelization. Stream substrate consists of boulders, cobbles, pebbles, and woody debris. Where the NEON sensors are located, bank width varies from 2.3 m to 2.8 m, and bank height varies from 1.2 m to 1.8 m. The hydrology of the site is dominated by snowmelt.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category V – Protected Landscape/Seascape/Area
Site Type
Non-stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
entire catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
No