Summary

Description

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA), an investigation of the Missouri River Basin is being conducted to document trends in surface-water quality, specifically for trends in nutrients and suspended sediment. Surface-water samples were collected from streams at specific sampling stations. Water-quality characteristics at each station are influenced by the natural and cultural characteristics of the drainage area upstream from the sampling station. Efficient quantification of the drainage area characteristics requires a digital map of the drainage area boundary that may be processed, together with other digital thematic maps (such as geology or land use), in a geographic information system (GIS). Digital drainage-area boundary data for one stream-sampling station in the Missouri River Basin (MRB4) study area is included in this data release. The drainage divides were identified chiefly using 1:24,000-scale hypsography.