USGS Water-Year Summary 2023
11189500 South Fork Kern River near Onyx, CA
LOCATION - Lat 35°44'15", long 118°10'22" referenced to North American Datum of 1927, Kern County, CA, Hydrologic Unit 18030002, unsurveyed, on left bank, 0.7 mi upstream from Bartolas Creek, 0.8 mi north of State Highway 178, 1.6 mi upstream from Canebrake Creek, 5 mi northeast of Onyx, and 18.5 mi northeast of Isabella Dam.
DRAINAGE AREA - 530 mi².
REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1151: 1948 (instantaneous maximum discharge). WSP 1445: Drainage area.
SURFACE-WATER RECORDS
PERIOD OF RECORD - September 1911 to August 1914, January 1919 to September 1942, October 1947 to June 1994, July 1995 to current year. Yearly estimate for water year 1927 (incomplete) and monthly discharges for incomplete water years 1914, 1919, 1926, 1928, 1929, published in WSP 1315-A.
GAGE - Water-stage recorder. Elevation of gage is 2,900 ft above NGVD of 1929, from topographic map. Sept. 12, 1911, to Aug. 31, 1914, nonrecording gage, and Jan. 23, 1919, to Apr. 17, 1936, water-stage recorder, 140 ft upstream at datum 2.88 ft lower. Apr. 18, 1936, to September 1942, and October 1947 to Feb. 8, 1967, at datum 6.88 ft higher. Feb. 9, 1967, to May 31, 1972, at datum 2.00 ft higher.
EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharge, 28,700 ft³/s, Dec. 6, 1966, gage height, 18.9 ft, from floodmarks, present datum, from rating curve extended above 3,000 ft³/s, on basis of slope-area measurement of peak flow; no flow for several days in 1929, 1934, 1960-61.