The alpine zone is defined as any area that is above 7,000 ft in elevation. The only input of water into the alpine zone is precipitation (link to precip page). Outputs of water from the alpine zone include evapotranspiration (link to ET page), runoff/streamflow, and groundwater (link to groundwater page). In turn, streamflow and groundwater that originates in the alpine zone become sources of water for the valley. The figure below shows a simple box model of water inputs and outputs for the alpine zone.
The Albion basin is just one of a number of basins within the Wasatch Mountains that lies within the high alpine zone. Data from the basin can be used to represent the relative partitioning of water between the different output components within the alpine zone.
