Geology topics

Research about Griggs County, Steele County, North Dakota

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Griggs County, Steele County, North Dakota.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1977

Ground-water resources of Griggs and Steele Counties, North Dakota

Griggs and Steele Counties, in east-central North Dakota, are underlain by bedrock of Ordovician, Jurassic, and Cretaceous ages. The Fall River and Lakota Formations of Cretaceous age form the Dakota aquifer. The fractured upper part of the Pierre Formation (shale), also of Cretaceous age, forms another bedrock aquifer. The Dakota aquifer, which consists mainly of interbedded shale and sandstone units, may yield as much as 500 gallons per minute (32 liters per second) of sodium sulfate water to wells at selected locations. The Pierre aquifer yields from 1 to 10 gallons per minute (0.06 to 0.63 liters per second) of sodium bicarbonate or sodium sulfate water to wells. Four major glacial-drift aquifers are present in the study area. The Spiritwood aquifer system may supply as much as 1,500 gallons per minute (95 liters per second) of water to wells. Water samples contained dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from 244 to 9,800 milligrams per liter. The Galesburg aquifer will yield as much as 1,000 gallons per minute (63 liters per second) of water to wells. Water samples contained dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from 317 to 2,170 milligrams per liter. The McVille aquifer will yield as much as 500 gallons per minute (32 liters per second) to wells. Water samples contained dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from 449 to 2,200 milligrams per liter. The Elk Valley aquifer could yield 30 gallons per minute (2 liters per second) to wells. Water samples contained dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from 397 to 2,890 milligrams per liter. Six communities in the project area use ground-water supplies. Rural water districts are being developed in the two-county area that will provide dependable ground-water supplies for many farms and small municipalities. The Spiritwood aquifer system and the McVille and Galesburg aquifers are capable of supplying the water needs of these districts and could also provide water for irrigation.

North Dakota↗

USGS1975

Geology of Griggs and Steele Counties

Griggs and Steele Counties, located at the eastern edge of the Williston basin, are underlain by 400 to 2,600 feet of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks that dip gently to the west. The Cretaceous Greenhorn, Carlile, Niobrara, and Pierre Formations lie directly beneath the glacial drift, and shale of the Pierre Formation is exposed in several places along the Sheyenne River. The Pleistocene Coleharbor Formation, which covers most of the area, consists mainly of glacial, fluvial, and lake sediment. The Coleharbor Formation averages 200 to 300 feet thick, but it is as much as 550 feet thick in some of the buried valleys. The Holocene Walsh Formation occurs in parts of the area, chiefly sloughs and river bottomland. It consists mainly of alluvial and eolian sediment. Griggs County and the western two-thirds of Steele County are part of the Drift Prairie, which is characterized by flat to gently rolling topography that is rugged in areas of end moraines and intense ice thrusting, subdued on the ground moraine and outwash plains. Associated with these major landforms are numerous washboard moraines, drumlins, eskers, kames, meltwater trenches, and water-washed areas. The eastern third of Steele County is a nearly flat area covered by lake deposits of the glacial Lake Agassiz. As the Late Wisconsinan glacier in eastern North Dakota thinned and receded eastward, it was increasingly affected by the topography over which it was flowing. This resulted in lobation of the glacier. Locally intense areas of thrusting developed within the lobate glacier, and large blocks of subglacial material were moved short distances. Large areas of Griggs County were washed by water flowing from the glacier, and in some areas gravel and sand were deposited. Continued withdrawal of the glacier resulted in ponding of melt water in parts of the two counties. These and other ponds tended to coalesce at lower and lower elevations, eventually forming Lake Agassiz, which flooded part of eastern Steele County.

North Dakota↗

USGS1973

Ground-water basic data for Griggs and Steele Counties, North Dakota

The objectives of the hydrologic investigation in Griggs and Steele Counties, N. Dak. (fig. 1) were to: (1) determine the location, extent, and nature of the major aquifers; (2) evaluate the occurrence and movement of ground water, including recharge and discharge; (3) estimate the quantities of water stored in the aquifers; (4) estimate the potential yields of wells tapping the major aquifers; and (5) determine the chemical quality of the ground water.

North Dakota↗