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Results and interpretation of exploratory drilling near the Picacho Fault, south-central Arizona

Modern surface faulting along the Picacho fault, east of Picacho, Arizona, has been attributed to ground-water withdrawal. In September 1977, three exploratory test holes were drilled 5 km east of Picacho and across the Picacho fault to investigate subsurface conditions and the mechanism of the faulting. The holes were logged by conventional geophysical and geologic methods. Piezometers were set in each hole and have been monitored since September 1977. The drilling indicates that the unconsolidated alluvium beneath the surface fault is approximately 310 m thick. Drilling and piezometer data and an associated seismic refraction survey indicate that the modern faulting is coincident with a preexisting, high-angle, normal fault that offsets units within the alluvium as well as the underlying bedrock. Piezometer and neutron log data indicate that the preexisting fault behaves as a partial ground-water barrier. Monitoring of the piezometers indicates that the magnitude of the man-induced difference in water level across the preexisting fault is seasonal in nature, essentially disappearing during periods of water-level recovery. The magnitude of the seasonal difference in water level, however, appears to be sufficient to account for the modern fault offset by localized differential compaction caused by a difference in water level across the preexisting fault. In addition, repeated level surveys since September 1977 of bench marks across the surface fault and near the piezometers have indicated fault movement that corresponds to fluctuations of water level.

Open-File Report

Sediment sources and Holocene sedimentation history in Tillamook Bay, Oregon; data and preliminary interpretations

Surface and core sediments from Tillamook Bay, Oregon, have been analyzed to determine modern and Holocene sediment sources and sedimentation history. Heavy mineral analyses established three sediment sources: (1) the five major rivers draining the volcanic and associated sedimentary rocks of the Coast Range, (2) small streams draining the sedimentary uplands that form the shoreline adjacent to Tillamook Bay and erosion of the shoreline by waves and currents, and (3) marine sediments carried to Tillamook Bay by longshore drift from drainage basins north or south of the bay. Stratigraphic and radiocarbon analyses show that the Holocene fill in Tillamook Bay began to accumulate sometime before about 9,000 years ago in deep parts of prefill river valleys. The rate of accumulation generally coincided with the rate of world-wide sea-level rise--faster (greater than about 3 meters per 1,000 years) up to about 7,000 years ago and slower (less than about 2 meters per 1,000 years) since that time. The vertical rate of accumulation at one core site seems to have been about the same from 3,300 years B.P. (before present) to the present, as it was from about 5,200 years B.P. to 3,300.

Oregon