The spatial and temporal variability of snowmelt runoff and soil moisture recharge within small watersheds must be quantified for use in distributed parameter snowmelt models. Snowmelt runoff, over-winter changes in soil moisture and soil temperatures were monitored over three annual snowmelt periods on two reclaimed watersheds in central Alberta, Canada. Slope aspect had a major influence on fall soil antecedent conditions and soil temperature. The south-facing slopes produced snowmelt the earliest, cleared of snow the soonest, yielded the least amount of runoff and had the greatest gain in over-winter soil moisture. Over-winter change in soil moisture was minimal when fall soil moisture levels were greater than 75% relative saturation. The power relationship between infiltration and snow-water equivalent of Granger et al. (1984) was not verified in this study, likely due to mid-winter melts that altered near-surface soil moisture and subsequently enhanced snowmelt runoff.

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Detailed studies of the surface hydrology of reclaimed surface‐mined watersheds for both rainfall and snowmelt events are non‐existent for central Alberta yet this information is crucial for design of runoff conveyance and storage structures. A study was initiated in 1992 with principal objectives of quantifying surface runoff for both summer rainfall and spring snowmelt events and identifying the dominant flow processes occurring in two reclaimed watersheds. Snowmelt accounted for 86 and 100% of annual watershed runoff in 1993 and 1994, respectively. The highest instantaneous peak flow was recorded during a summer rainfall event with a return period of greater than 50 years. Infiltration‐excess overland flow was identified as the dominant flow process occurring within the Sandy Subsoil Watershed, whereas saturation overland flow was the principal runoff process occurring within the West Watershed.

In_ltration excess overland~ow has been identi_ed as the dominant~ow pathway in recently reclaimed surface mined watersheds as a result of compaction and sorting during the reclamation procedure[ Therefore\ there could be a fairly direct relationship between runo} generated from the hillslopes to that measured at the watershed outlet[ A 2!year study was initiated in 0882 to determine how well surface runo} at a watershed scale could be predicted from 0!m 1 runo} frames placed on hillslopes in two reclaimed surface!mined watersheds in central Alberta[ Runo} from the hillslope frames suggests outlet discharge should be high from the 2=3!ha Sandy Subsoil Watershed and much less for the 8=7!ha West Watershed\ but the opposite occurred[ Most of the hillslope runo} from the Sandy Subsoil Watershed in_ltrated once it reached the channel and depression storage played an insigni_cant role in determining runo}[ In contrast\ most of the runo} from the West Watershed originated from rain falling directly on the saturated channel "depression storage# or near!channel saturated areas\ rather than the hillslopes[ Neither watershed runo} magnitude nor timing could be predicted from the same parameters for hillslope runo} frames for either reclaimed watershed[

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