The purpose of this document is to provide a dichotomous key to meadow hydrogeomorphic types for the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascades of California. This classification and field key uses both hydrology and geomorphology to identify fourteen meadow types. Strengths of the classification include its ability to clarify the relationship between hydrology and geomorphology and meadow function.

Meadows are extremely valuable to society and to the natural systems that support society. Meadows reduce peak water flow after storms and during runoff, recharge groundwater supplies as they release water into the ground, protect streambanks and shorelines, filter sediments, provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, and serve important recreational and cultural functions. Because of these multiple purposes, land managers face a special challenge to maintain, restore, and manage meadows. To aid in management, a classification of meadows is needed that uses both hydrology and geomorphology in identifying types and functioning of meadows. Potential uses for this classification include stratifying meadows for condition assessment and as an aid in mapping or delineating meadow features on the landscape.