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Diamond Peak Wilderness Area |
Site Name
IMPROVE:
CRLA1 (Crater Lake National Park)
Region
Cascade Range
Terrain
Terrain is shown in the
2 km terrain map and the
20 km terrain map.
The 52,337 acre Diamond Peak Wilderness Area straddles the Cascade Range 50
km (30 mi) north of Crater Lake National
Park. The highest crest elevation in the Wilderness is 2,666 m (8,744
ft) at Diamond Peak, which is also the highest summit in this region of the
Cascade Range. Lowest elevations are near 1,450 m (5,000 ft) where streams
exit the Wilderness on the west side. On the east side the Wilderness is
bordered by mountain lakes with elevations from 1,459 m to 1,693 m (4,786 to
5,553 ft). The area includes headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Willamette
River that flows to the Willamette Valley near Eugene, elevation 100 m (300
ft) and 90 km (60 mi) distant. Wilderness elevations are thus some 1,400 m
(4,600 ft) above the Willamette Valley floor. East of the Cascade crest
streams flow to the Deschutes River in eastern Oregon.
The IMPROVE site representing Diamond Peak Wilderness Area is CRLA1, located
in Crater Lake National Park.
It is 50 km to the south along the Cascade Range crest. CRLA1 is described
in the Meteorological Description Page for Crater Lake National Park.
Representativeness
The Diamond Peak Wilderness Area may be impacted by Willamette Valley
emissions that are not seen in CRLA1 data. Small local sources affecting
Diamond Peak Wilderness will also probably not be evident in CLRA1 data.
Otherwise, the CRLA1 IMPROVE site should be representative of aerosol
characteristics in the Diamond Peak Wilderness Area during periods of
uniform regional haze resulting from regional forest fire events or
transport from distant source regions.
Nearby Population/Industrial Centers and Local Sources
Diamond Peak Wilderness Area is 90 to 100 km east of the southern Willamette
Valley near Eugene, a source region for agricultural and urban emissions.
Also, see the Crater Lake National Park Meteorological Description Page.
Nearby Meteorological Data Stations
See the Crater Lake National Park Meteorological Description Page for
discussion of nearby meteorological data sites most representative of
meteorological conditions concurrent with data from CRLA1.
Wind and Transport Patterns
See the Meteorological Description Page for Crater Lake National Park for
discussion of wind and transport patterns relevant to the CRLA1 monitoring
site. Diamond Peak Wilderness Area may also see transport from the
Willamette Valley via upward mixing and prevailing westerly winds. There may
also be some upvalley flow via the Middle Fork of the Willamette River,
although Wilderness elevations are significantly higher than Valley
elevations.
Inversions/Trapping
See Meteorological Description Page for Crater Lake National Park.
Climatological Statistics
Crater Lake
Climate data from Crater Lake National Park Headquarters gives long term
climate statistics for Crater Lake, excluding wind statistics.
Eugene Oregon
Normals Means and Extremes are representative of the climate of the
Willamette Valley.
Medford Oregon
Normals Means and Extremes are representative of lower elevations in the
Rogue River valley. Other
Oregon Climate
Summaries and
Northern California Climate Summaries are available from the
Western Regional Climate Center.
Keywords
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Last updated 9 December 2004
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