Geology Reports⌕ Search

Geology topics

Joseph Spencer Gates

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Spencer Gates.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1988

Major ground-water flow systems in the Great Basin region of Nevada, Utah, and adjacent states

This atlas is one of several reports that are products of an analysis of regional aquifer systems in the Great Basin of Nevada, Utah, and adjacent States. The Geological Survey program of regional aquifer-system analyses is a nationwide study of ground-water systems on a regional scale. The program is intended to establish a framework of geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical information for each regional aquifer system studied. As of 1985, studies have been started or completed in 19 areas. The scope of the Great Basin Regional Aquifer-System Analysis is outlined by Harrill and others (1983). The purpose of this report is to bring the findings of several studies together into a map report that discusses regional aspects of ground-water flow in the Great Basin, delineates the major ground-water flow systems, and briefly describes some of their characteristics. This atlas is Chapter C of a three-part series. Chapter A delineates and describes hydrogeologic units in the Great Basin region, and Chapter B shows the generalized distribution of hydraulic potential.

Nevada, Utah↗
USGS1978

Availability of fresh and slightly saline ground water in the basins of westernmost Texas

Significant quantities of fresh ground water occur in the basin fill of the northern Hueco bolson and lower Mesilla Valley and in the Wildhorse Flat, Michigan Flat, Lobo Flat, and Ryan Flat areas of the Salt Basin; and may occur in Red Light Draw, Presidio bolson, and Green River valley. More than 20 million acre-feet of freshwater is estimated to be in storage in the basin fill of westernmost Texas. About 12 million acre-feet, or more than half, is in El Paso County in the Hueco bolson and Mesilla Valley. In addition, the basins contain about 7 million acre-feet of slightly saline water in basin fill, in Rio Grande alluvium in the Hueco bolson and lower Mesilla Valley, and in the Capitan Limestone in the northern Salt Basin. Ground-water pumping for municipal supply and industrial use in the El Paso area caused water-level declines of as much as 74 feet during 1903-73, and pumping for irrigation in the Salt Basin caused a maximum decline of 150 feet at Lobo Flat during 1949-73. Additional development of ground water in westernmost Texas will be accompanied by further declines in water levels, and will probably induce local migration of slightly saline or poorer quality water into freshwater areas. Land-surface subsidence could occur in local areas where water-level declines are large and the basin fill contains large amounts of compressible clay. (Kosco-USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Test drilling for ground water in Hudspeth, Culberson, and Presidio Counties in westernmost Texas

From November 1973 to October 1974, the U.S. Geological Survey drilled four deep test holes to supplement hydrologic and geophysical studies evaluating fresh ground water in the basins of westernmost Texas. For each test, samples of drill cuttings were collect·ed, borehole geophysical logs were run, and water samples were collected from specific zones. The Leopold Guerra No. 1 test hole penetrated sand and gravel :o 1,100 feet (335m), and logs and water samples indicated fresh ground water to that depth. Below 1,100 feet (335m), the material probably has low permeability. The Clay Evans No. 1 test penetrated sand, gravel, and clay to 555 feet (169m), sand and thin volcanic flows to about 1,250 feet (381 m), and volcanic flows and tuffs to 2,006 feet (611 m). Logs and water samples indicated fresh ground \vater to about 1, 250 feet (381 m); below that, permeability is probably low. The Culberson County Airport test was drilled through sand, gravel, and clay to 1,145 feet (349m), conglomerate to 1,205 feet (367m), and the Lower Cretaceous Cox Sandstone to 1,306 feet (398m). Logs and water s~mples indicated fresh water in the alluvial fill and in the Cox Sandstone to about 1,265 feet (386m); below that depth, permeability is probably low. The Davis test was drilled through clay with some thin beds of sand and gravel containing fresh water to a depth of 2,012 feet (613 m). Borehole temperature data indicated above-nonnal gradients in the Guerra and Culberson County Airport tests. Temperature gradients in the Evans and Davis tests were near normal.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Hydrologic interpretation of geophysical data from the southeastern Hueco Bolson, El Paso, and Hudspeth Counties, Texas

Airborne-electromagnetic and earth-resistivity surveys were used to explore for fresh ground water in the Hueco Bolson southeast of El Paso, Texas. Aerial surveys were made along about 500 miles (800 km) of flight line, and 67 resistivity soundings were made along 110 miles (180 km) of profile. The surveys did not indicate the presence of any large bodies of fresh ground water, but several areas may be underlain by small to moderate amounts of fresh to slightly saline water. The material underlying the flood plain of the Rio Grande is predominantly clay or sand of low resistivity. Along a band on the mesa next to and parallel to the flood plain, more resistive material composed partly of deposits of an ancient river channel extends to depths of about 400 to 1,700 feet (120 to 520 m). Locally, the lower part of this more resistive material is saturated with fresh to slightly saline water. The largest body of fresh to slightly saline ground water detected in this study is between Fabens and Tornillo, Texas, mostly in the sandhill area between the flood plain and the mesa. Under assumed conditions, the total amount of water in storage may be as much as 400,000 to 800,000 acre-feet (500 million to 1 billion m ). The resistivity data indicate that the deep artesian zone southwest of Fabens extends from a depth of about 1,200 feet (365 m) to about 2,800 feet (855 m).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1963

Hydrogeology of Middle Canyon, Oquirrh Mountains, Tooele County, Utah

Geology and climate are the principal influences affecting the hydrology of Middle Canyon, Tooele County, Utah. Reconnaissance in the canyon indicated that the geologic influences on the hydrology may be localized; water may be leaking through fault and fracture zones or joints in sandstone and through solution openings in limestone of the Oquirrh formation of Pennsylvanian and Permian age. Surficial deposits of Quaternary age serve as the main storage material for ground water in the canyon and transmit water from the upper canyon to springs and drains at the canyon mouth. The upper canyon is a more important storage area than the lower canyon because the surficial deposits are thicker, and any zones of leakage in the underlying bedrock of the upper canyon probably would result in greater leakage than would similar outlets in the lower canyon. The total annual discharge from Middle Canyon, per unit of precipitation, decreased between 1910 and 1939. Similar decreases occurred in Parleys Canyon in the nearby Wasatch Range and in other drainage basins in Utah, and it is likely that most of the decrease in discharge from Middle Canyon and other canyons in Utah is due to a change in climate. Chemical analyses of water showed that the high content of sulfate and other constituents in the water from the Utah Metals tunnel, which drains into Middle Canyon, does not have a significant effect on water quality at the canyon mouth. This suggests that much of the tunnel water is lost from the channel by leakage, probably in the upper canyon, during the dry part of the year. Comparison of the 150 acre-feet of water per square mile of drainage area discharged by Middle Canyon in 1947 with the 623 and 543 acre-feet per square mile discharged in 1948 by City Creek and Mill Creek Canyons, two comparable drainage basins in the nearby Wasatch Range, also suggests that there is leakage in Middle Canyon. A hydrologic budget of the drainage basin results in an estimate that about 3,000 acre-feet of water was unaccounted for in the 1947 water year. This may represent a reasonable estimate of annual leakage from Middle Canyon. The future development of Middle Canyon water can best be planned after additional information is obtained on movement of water through the channel fill. Much of this information could be supplied by test drilling in the channel fill.

Utah↗