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East Turkey Creek : An Overview Essay

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East Turkey Creek is located in southeast Arizona in the Chiricahua Mountains along the New Mexico border. The Chiricahua Mountain Range is one of the largest Sky Islands in the Sky Island region of the United States with a total area greater than 140,000 ha and elevations ranging from approximately 1,100 to 2975 m. East Turkey Creek is located on the eastern side of the Chiricahua Mountain Range and flows northeast from its spring source in Rustler Park towards the town of Paradise, AZ before fully infiltrating. Stream flow near the source is perennial, whereas most of the stream is characterized by intermittency, usually drying up to remnant pools in late May or June. The flow itself is driven in part by spring source and in part by early spring snowmelt, with peak flows occurring in July and August during the monsoon season. The nearest climate station is in Paradise, AZ. The average minimum temperature is -4.2°C and occurs in January. The average maximum temperature is 31.2°C, occurring in June. Mean annual precipitation is 486 mm (Western Regional Climate Center, Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary, www.wrcc.dri-edu). II. The Historic Fire Regime and the Changes of the 20th Century The historic fire regime between 1700 and 1900 of the Chiricahua Mountain Range was characterized by an average recurrence interval of three years, with occasional recurrence intervals of only one year (Seklecki, Grissino-Mayer, & Swetnam, 1996). Most of these fires would have

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