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WRIR 01-4195:
Ground-Water Discharge Determined from Estimates of Evapotranspiration, Death Valley Regional Flow System, Nevada and California

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Table 1. Evapotranspiration (ET) units identified and classified in major discharge areas of Death Valley regional flow system, Nevada and California

[Sources for depth to water information given in description: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (accessed June 1999) and Laczniak and others (1999)]

ET-unit number1

ET-unit description2
ET unit identification number zero

Area of no significant ET from ground-water source (unclassified); water table typically greater than 50 feet below land surface
ET unit identification number one

Area of open water, primarily reservoir or large spring pool
ET unit identification number two

Area of submerged aquatic vegetation; includes sparse emergent vegetation and shallow part of open water areas; perennially flooded; water at surface
ET unit identification number three

Area dominated by dense wetland vegetation, primarily tall reedy and rushy marsh plants, typically tule, cattail, or giant reed; perennially flooded; water at surface
ET unit identification number four

Area dominated by dense meadow and forested vegetation, primarily trees, meadow grasses, or mixed trees, shrubs, and grasses; trees include saltcedar, mesquite, or desert willow; water table typically ranges from a few feet to about 20 feet below land surface; soil moist to dry
ET unit identification number five

Area dominated by dense to moderately dense grassland vegetation, primarily saltgrass, and/or short rushes with an occasional tree or shrub; intermittently flooded; water table typically less than 5 feet below land surface; soil wet to moist
ET unit identification number six

Area dominated by sparse grassland vegetation, primarily salt and bunch grasses but also includes areas of very low density shrubs (mesquite); water table typically ranges from a few feet to about 12 feet below land surface; soil dry
ET unit identification number seven

Area dominated by moist bare soil; vegetation very sparse, primarily grasses; intermittently flooded, water table typically near land surface throughout most of the year but in some areas declines to a maximum depth of about 5 feet below land surface during late summer and early fall; soil typically moist
ET unit identification number eight

Area dominated by sparse to moderately dense shrubland vegetation, primarily greasewood, rabbitbrush, wolfberry, and seepweed; water table typically ranges from about 5 feet to about 20 feet below land surface; soil dry
ET unit identification number nine

Area dominated by sparse woodland vegetation, primarily mesquite; water table typically ranges from about 10 to 40 feet below land surface; soil dry
ET unit identification number ten

Area dominated by open playa, primarily bare soil, often encrusted with salts; water table ranges from about 5 to 40 feet below land surface; soil typically dry but can be moist for short periods after intermittent flooding

1 Integer value assigned to each grid cell to identify ET unit. Numbers are color coded to match ET unit as mapped in figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.
2 Vegetation cover descriptors: very sparse, less than 5 percent; sparse, 5 to 20 percent; moderate, 20 to 75 percent; and dense, greater than 75 percent.