Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Don Price.
This is one of a series of map reports compiled by the USGS and UGS describing the geology and related natural resources and hazards of the densely populated Wasatch Front of Utah. This report defines in a non-technical format the occurrence, availability, and quality of ground water in the central Wasatch Front area and guides readers to sources of more detailed information about the resource.
This is one of a series of map reports compiled by the USGS and UGS describing the geology and related natural resources and hazards of the densely populated Wasatch Front of Utah. This report defines in a non-technical format the occurrence, availability, and quality of ground water in the southern Wasatch Front area and guides readers to sources of more detailed information about the resource.
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a coal-hydrology monitoring program in coal-field areas of central and southern Utah during August 1978-September 1984 to determine possible hydrologic impacts of future mining and to provide a better understanding of the hydrologic systems of the coal resource areas monitored. Data were collected at 19 gaging stations--18 stations in the Price, San Rafael, and Dirty Devil River basins, and 1 in the Kanab Creek Basin. Streamflow data were collected continuously at 11 stations and seasonally at 5 stations. At the other three stations streamflow data were collected continuously during the 1979 water year and then seasonally for the rest of their periods of record. Types of data collected at each station included quantity and quality of streamflow; suspended sediment concentrations; and descriptions of stream bottom sediments, benthic invertebrate, and phytoplankton samples. Also, base flow measurements were made annually upstream from 12 of the gaging stations. Stream bottom sediment sampled at nearly all the monitoring sites contained small to moderate quantities of coal, which may be attributed chiefly to pre-monitoring mining. Streamflow sampled at several sites contained large concentrations of sulfate and dissolved solids. Also, concentrations of various trace elements at 10 stations, and phenols at 18 stations, exceeded the criteria of the EPA for drinking water. This may be attributed to contemporary (water years 1979-84) mine drainage activities. The data collected during the complete water years (1979-84) of monitoring do provide a better understanding of the hydrologic systems of the coal field areas monitored. The data also provide a definite base by which to evaluate hydrologic impacts of continued or increased coal mining in those areas. (Author 's abstract)
The U.S. Geological Survey formally started a program for monitoring ground-water quality in Utah during 1957 in cooperation with the State of Utah. Most observation wells in the monitoring network are privately owned. Initially, the network consisted of fewer than 50 wells; by 1984, however, it had expanded to include more than 200 wells. Chemical analyses are available for water from some of the wells from as early as 1927, long before those wells were formally added to the network. The monitoring program was initiated to detect any changes in chemical quality that might be associated with the withdrawal of water from wells. Dissolved-solids concentrations in water samples collected from the observation wells through 1984 ranged from 92 to 19,000 milligrams per liter. An observation well in the Uinta Basin yielded the sample with the smallest dissolved-solids concentration, and another well in the Uinta Basin yielded the sample with the largest dissolved-solids concentration. There was a progressive increase in salinity of water produced by several of the observation wells in Pahvant Valley and in the Milford and Beryl-Enterprise areas. The increases in salinity occurred during 1950-84, coinciding with the decline of water levels due to pumping for irrigation. Water-quality changes related either to ground-water withdrawals or ground-water recharge also were detected in several other areas, including Curlew Valley, Cedar City Valley, Northern Utah Valley, the lower Bear River valley, and the Sevier Desert. Water produced from wells in Goshen Valley and the upper Fremont River valley had short term increases in chloride, sulfate, and dissolved-solids concentrations, indicating possible local contamination of the ground water. Also, since the late 1950's, dissolved-solids concentrations have increased in water produced by a well completed in the principal aquifer in Salt Lake Valley downgradient from areas where extensive use has been made of road salt.
Ground water is one of Utah’s most extensive and valuable natural resources. Because of its widespread occurrence in both wet and dry areas, ground water has been, and is a major factor affecting economic growth and development of the State. In some areas, ground water is used to supplement streamflow for irrigation, public supply, and other uses. In other areas, it is the only water available for use. Many communities obtain their entire water supply from ground-water sources (wells and springs) as do numerous rural and suburban households throughout the State. The ground-water reservoirs of Utah contain tremendous quantities of water – many times more than the quantity stored in all the lakes (including Great Salt Lake) and the surface-water reservoirs of the State combined. Water that discharges from those underground reservoirs in seeps and springs is vital in sustaining the flow of streams during dry summer months and in providing the water needed to maintain important wetland habitats. Those same underground reservoirs also provide large quantities of water in carryover storage for use during prolonged droughts. The U.S. Geological survey, under cooperative programs with the Utah department of Natural resources and other Federal, State, and local agencies has been studying Utah’s ground-water resources since 1897. Much information has been gained during those studies about the occurrence, availability, and quality of ground water; the withdrawal and use of the water; and the effects of withdrawal. This report summarizes that information in nontechnical language, which is designed for all readers. Readers interested in more detailed information about ground water in specific areas of Utah are referred to the reports listed by LaPray and Hamblin (1980).
This is one of a series of maps that describe the geology and related natural resources of the Nephi 30 x 60 minute quadrangle, Utah. Streamflow records used to compile this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, and the Utah Department of Transportation. The principal runoff-producing areas shown on the map were delineated from a work map (scale 1:250,000) compiled to estimate water yields in Utah (Bagley and others, 1964). Sources of information about recorded floods resulting from cloudbursts included Woolley (1946) and Butler and Marsell (1972); sources of information about the chemical quality of streamflow included Hahl and Cabell (1965) Mundorff (1972 and 1974), and Waddell and others (1982).
This is one of a series of maps that describes the geology and related natural resources of the Alton-Kolob coal-fields area, Utah. Shown on this map is the general availability of ground water as indicated by potential yields of individual wells and expected depth to water in wells. Most data used to compile this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Water Rights. Other sources of data included the U.S. Geological Survey 7½- and 15-minute topographic quadrangle maps, unpublished reports of field evaluations of potential shock-watering sites by U.S. Geological Survey personnel, and the geologic map of Utah (Stokes, 1964). This map is very generalized and is intended chiefly for planning purposes. It should be used with discretion. For more detailed information about the availability of ground water in various parts of the map area the reader is referred to the following reports: Thomas and Taylor (1946); Marine (1963); Sandberg (1963, 1966); Carpenter, Robinson, and Bjorklund (1964, 1967); Feltis (1966); Goode (1964, 1966); Cordova, Sandberg, and McConkie (1972); Cordova (1978, 1981); and Bjorklund, Sumison, and Sandberg (1977, 1978). For a general description of the chemical quality of ground water in the Alton-Kolob coal-fields area the reader is referred to Price (1981).
This is one of a series of maps that describe the geology and related natural resources of the Alton-Kolob coal-fields area, Utah. Streamflow records used to compile the map and the following table were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, and the Utah Department of Transportation. The principal runoff-producing areas were delineated form a work map (scale 1:250,000) compiled to estimate water yields in Utah (Bagley and others, 1964).
This is one of a series of maps that describes the geology and related natural resources of the Alton-Kolob coal-fields area, Utah. The purpose of this map is to show regional variations in ground-water quality as depicted by its dissolved-solids concentration. The map is based on chemical analyses of water samples from springs, streams during base flow, and wells less than 1.000 feet deep. There are significant areal and vertical variations in the ground-water quality – especially in those areas where the dissolved-solids concentrations range from 100 to 1,000 and from 500 to 3,000 mg/L (milligrams per liter). Consequently, determination of the actual chemical quality of the ground-water, including concentrations of specific ions in any given locality, can be made only by special investigation.
This is one of a series of maps that describe the geology and related natural resources of the Tooele 2° quadrangle. The purpose of this map is to describe on a regional scale the availability and chemical quality of surface water and to guide readers to more detailed site-specific information about the resource in this generally semiarid region. Most of the data used to compile this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey under cooperative programs with the Utah Departments of Natural Resources and Transportation. Those data are available in the files of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Salt Lake City, Utah.
This map was compiled in conjunction with an energy-related geologic-mapping project on the Redmond Quadrangle (Witkind, 1980) in order to show the general availability and chemical quality of water in the area. The map is based chiefly on data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey under a continuing cooperative program with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights, and on cursory field observations by the writer. Most of the existing fata are in reports of Carpenter and Young (1963), Hahl and Cabell (1965), Young and Carpenter (1965) and Hahl and Mundorff (1968). Additional information about water and related land resources in the map area may be found in a report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1969). The map is intended for general planning purposes only and needs to be used with discretion. Detailed site-specific information about the availability and quality of water or about water-related problems can be gained only by special on-site investigations.
This is one of a series of maps that describe the geology and related natural resources of the Richfield 2° Quadrangle, Utah. The purpose of this map is to show the general chemical quality of ground water by ranges of dissolved-solids concentrations. The water quality varies considerably with depth in some areas; thus, the actual concentrations of dissolved solids of water in some aquifers locally may be somewhat larger or smaller than shown depending on the depth of those aquifers. This map is intended only for general planning purposes. Detailed site-specific information about general chemical quality of ground water in most parts of the map area can be gained only by special on-site investigation.
North Horn Mountain is part of a deeply dissected plateau in central Utah which is characterized by deep, narrow, steep-walled canyons with local relief of more than 1,000 feet. Geologic units exposed in the North Horn Mountain area range in age from Late Cretaceous to Holocene and contain two mineable seams of Cretaceous coal. The area is in the drainage basin of the San Rafael River, in the Colorado River Basin. Runoff from the mountain is ephemeral. This runoff to the San Rafael River is by way of Cottonwood and Perron Creeks and represents less than 10 percent of their average annual runoff. Probable peak discharges (100-year flood) for the ephemeral streams draining North Horn Mountain are estimated to range from 200 to 380 cubic feet per second. The chemical quality of surface water in the area is good. The water is generally of a calcium magnesium bicarbonate type with average dissolved solids less than 500 milligrams per liter. Annual sediment yield in most of the area ranges from 0.1 to 0.2 acre-foot per square mile but locally is as high as 1.0 acre-foot per square mile. Most of the sediment is eroded during cloudbursts. Most of the ground water above the coal on North Horn Mountain probably is in perched aquifers. These aquifers support the flow of small seeps and springs. In some areas, the regional water table appears to extend upward into the coal. The principal source of recharge is precipitation that probably moves to aquifers along faults, joints, or fractures. This movement is apparently quite rapid. The dissolved-solids concentrations of ground water in the North Horn Mountain area range from less than 500 to about 1,000 milligrams per liter. Coal mining on North Horn Mountain should have minor "effects on the quantity and quality of surface water. The maximum predicted decrease in the annual flow of Ferron and Cottonwood Creeks is less than U percent. The sediment loads of affected streams could be significantly increased if construction were to take place during the summer cloudburst season. Subsidence, which usually follows underground coal mining, could create rock fractures through which a perched aquifer might be drained, thus depleting the flow of seeps or springs fed by that aquifer. It is considered unlikely that the mining will adversely affect the chemical quality of the ground water.
This is one of a series of maps that describe the geology and related natural resources of the Richfield 2° quadrangle, Utah. The purpose of this map is to show the general chemical quality of surface water in the area by ranges of dissolved-solids concentrations. Data used to compile this map were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights. In those areas where little or no surface-water-quality data are available, ranges of dissolved-solids concentrations of the water are inferred on the basis of such factors as geology (Stokes, 1964), precipitation, topography, known ground-water quality, and water uses – all of which affect the chemical quality of surface water. Additional information about the chemical quality of surface water in various parts of the Richfield 2° quadrangle may be found in the following reports: Hahl and Cabell (1965), Hahl and Mundorff (1968), Stephens (1974, 1976), Cruff and Mower (1976), and Cruff(1977)
This is one of a series of maps that describes the geology and related natural resources of the Alton-Kolob coal-fields area, Utah. The purpose of this map is to show the general chemical quality of surface water in the area by ranges of dissolved-solids concentrations (salinity) known or assumed to occur in the water.