Water quality of two streams near Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, following the1988 Clover-Mist wildfire

In 1988, wildfire burned over 50% of the Jones Creek watershed near Yellows tone Park, Wyoming. Crow Creek, an adjacent watershed, was unburned. Water quality data collected from 1989-1993 may show the fire's effect on weather ing and nutrient transport. Jones Creek had 25-75% larger concentration of dissolved solids than Crow Creek during the sampling period. Both streams r evealed molar ratios consistent with the stoichiometry and andesine and pyr oxene hydrolysis in the trachyandesites that underlie the basins. During 19 89, nitrate transported form the unburned Crow Creek basin peaked at 2 mmol ha(-1) s(-1). This was twice as much as Jones Creek, possibly indicating a source from ash fallout. By 1992 these rates diminished to 0.1 mmol ha(-1) s(-1) in Crow Creek and increased to 1.8 mmol ha(-1) s(-1) in Jones Creek, suggesting later nitrate mobilization in the burned watershed. Phosphorus transported from Jones Creek basin averaged 0.004 mmol ha(-1) s(-1) during summer 1989, but fell to 0.004 mg ha(-1) s(-1) in subsequent years.