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At least 739 records · Page 41Linked to original sources
USGS2011

Hydrogeologic framework, groundwater movement, and water budget in the Chimacum Creek basin and vicinity, Jefferson County, Washington

This report presents information used to characterize the groundwater flow system in the Chimacum Creek basin. It includes descriptions of the geology and hydrogeologic framework; groundwater recharge and discharge; groundwater levels and flow directions; seasonal fluctuations in groundwater level; interactions between aquifers and the surface-water system; and a groundwater budget. The study area covers 124 square miles in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, and includes the Chimacum Creek basin, which drains an area of about 37 square miles. The area is underlain by a north-thickening sequence of unconsolidated glacial and interglacial deposits that overlie sedimentary and igneous bedrock units that crop out along the margins and western interior of the study area. Six hydrogeologic units consisting of unconsolidated aquifers and confining units, along with an underlying bedrock unit, were identified. A surficial hydrogeologic map was developed and used with well information from 187 drillers' logs to construct 4 hydrogeologic sections, and maps showing the extent and thickness of the units. Natural recharge was estimated using precipitation-recharge relation regression equations developed for western Washington, and estimates were calculated for return flow from data on domestic indoor and outdoor use and irrigated agriculture. Results from synoptic streamflow measurements and water table elevations determined from monthly measurements at monitoring wells are presented and compared with those from a study conducted during 2002-03. A water budget was calculated comprising long-term average recharge, domestic public-supply withdrawals and return flow, self-supplied domestic withdrawals and return flow, and irrigated agricultural withdrawals and return flow.

Washington↗
USGS1976

Ground-water resources of the Barre-Montpelier area, Vermont

A study of the ground-water resources of the Barre - Montpelier area (fig. 1), Washington County, was begun in 1968 as part of a cooperative program between the Vermont Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey. The purpose of the study is to provide technical appraisal of potential sources of water to meet the expanded needs of most towns in Washington County, as pointed out by the Rural Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan (Vermont Department Water Resources, 1969). Funding was made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, for water-resources exploration, including the testing of the quantity and quality of the water in sand and gravel aquifers. The geology of the area was mapped, and private and municipal water supplies were inventoried in 1968.

Vermont↗
USGS2017

Tracking riverborne sediment and contaminants in Commencement Bay, Washington, using geochemical signatures

Large rivers carry terrestrial sediment, contaminants, and other materials to the coastal zone where they can affect marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems. This U.S. Geological Survey study combined river and marine sediment geochemistry and organic contaminant analyses to identify riverborne sediment and associated contaminants at shoreline sites in Commencement Bay, Puget Sound, Washington, that could be used by adult forage fish and other marine organisms. Geochemical signatures distinguished the fine fraction (<0.063 millimeter, mm) of Puyallup River sediment—which originates from Mount Rainier, a Cascade volcano—from glacial fine sediment in lowland bluffs that supply sediment to beaches. In combination with activities of beryllium-7 ( 7 Be), a short-lived radionuclide, geochemical signatures showed that winter 2013–14 sediment runoff from the Puyallup River was transported to and deposited along the north shore of Commencement Bay, then mixed downward into the sediment column. The three Commencement Bay sites at which organic contaminants were measured in surface sediment did not have measurable 7 Be activities in that layer, so their contaminant assemblages were attributed to sources from previous years. Concentrations of organic contaminants (the most common of which were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and fecal sterols) were higher in the <0.063-mm fraction compared to the <2-mm fraction, in winter compared to summer, in river suspended sediment compared to river bar and bank sediment, and in marine sediment compared to river sediment. The geochemical property barium/aluminum (Ba/Al) showed that the median percentage of Puyallup River derived fine surface sediment along the shoreline of Commencement Bay was 77 percent. This finding, in combination with higher concentrations of organic contaminants in marine rather than river sediment, indicates that riverborne sediment-bound contaminants are retained in shallow marine habitats of Commencement Bay. The retention of earlier inputs complicates efforts to identify recent inputs and sources. Understanding modern sources and fates of riverborne sediment and contaminants and their potential ecological impacts will therefore require a suite of targeted geochemical studies in such marine depositional environments.

Washington↗
USGS2006

Water resources data Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.,water year 2005, Volume 1. Surface-water data

Water resources data for the 2005 water year for Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs. This volume (Volume 1. Surface-Water Data) contains records for water discharge at 145 gaging stations; stage and contents of 1 reservoir; stage only for 2 tidal gaging station; and water quality at 19 gaging stations. Also included are stage only for 11 tidal crest-stage partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, local, and Federal agencies in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

Water Data Report↗
USGS1915

Analyses of rocks and minerals from the laboratory of the United States Geological Survey, 1880 to 1914

The present Geological Survey of the United States was organized in 1879. In 1880, in connection with the Colorado work, a chemical laboratory was established at Denver in charge of W. F. Hillebrand, with whom were associated Antony Guyard and, later, L. G. Eakins. In 1882 W. H. Melville was placed in charge of a second laboratory at San Francisco, and in the autumn of 1883 the central laboratory was started in Washington, with myself as chief chemist. In November, 1885, Dr. Hillebrand was transferred to Washington; early in 1888 he was followed by Mr. Eakins, and the Denver laboratory was discontinued. In the spring of 1890 Dr. Melville also was transferred to Washington, and since then the geochemical work of the Survey has been concentrated at headquarters. The special laboratories of the water-resources and technologic branches of the Survey are not included in this statement and their work is not represented in this bulletin. Up to January 1, 1914, nearly 8,000 analyses have been made in the laboratory at Washington of rocks, minerals, ores, waters, sediments, coals, metals, and other substances with which geology has to do. Some-hundreds of analyses were also made in the laboratories at Denver and San Francisco. A fair amount of research work upon mineralogical and analytical problems has also been done. In *all of this work the following chemists have been employed: E. T. Allen, R. K. Bailey, Charles Catlett, T. M. Chatard, F. W. Clarke, L. G. Eakins, J. G. Fairchild, F. A. Gooch, Antony Guyard, W. B. Hicks, W. F. Hillebrand, W. F. Hunt, W. H. Melville, H. C. McNeil, Chase Palmer, R. B. Riggs, W. T. Schaller, E. A. Schneider, George Steiger, H. N. Stokes, E. C. Sullivan, William Valentine, R. C. Wells, W. C. Wheeler, and J. E. Whitfield. At present, January 1, 1914, eight of these chemists are employed in the Survey. Other officers of the Survey have been occupied more or less with chemical questions, but the men named in this list were connected directly with the laboratory. Some work for the chemical division has also been done by chemists not regularly on the rolls of the Survey, but their analyses, with the exception of a single group to be noted later, do not fall within the scope of this paper.

Bulletin↗
USGS2003

Water resources data for Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C, water year 2003, volume 1. surface-water data

Water resources data for the 2003 water year for Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs. This volume (Volume 1. Surface-Water Data) contains records for water discharge at 140 gaging stations; stage and contents of 1 reservoir; and water quality at 17 gaging stations. Also included are stage and discharge for 3 crest-stage partial-record stations and stage only for 10 tidal crest-stage partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, local, and Federal agencies in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

Water Data Report↗
USGS2004

Interpretation of the Seattle Uplift, Washington, as a passive-roof duplex

We interpret seismic lines and a wide variety of other geological and geophysical data to suggest that the Seattle uplift is a passive-roof duplex. A passive-roof duplex is bounded top and bottom by thrust faults with opposite senses of vergence that form a triangle zone at the leading edge of the advancing thrust sheet. In passive-roof duplexes the roof thrust slips only when the floor thrust ruptures. The Seattle fault is a south-dipping reverse fault forming the leading edge of the Seattle uplift, a 40-km-wide fold-and-thrust belt. The recently discovered, north-dipping Tacoma reverse fault is interpreted as a back thrust on the trailing edge of the belt, making the belt doubly vergent. Floor thrusts in the Seattle and Tacoma fault zones, imaged as discontinuous reflections, are interpreted as blind faults that flatten updip into bedding plane thrusts. Shallow monoclines in both the Seattle and Tacoma basins are interpreted to overlie the leading edges of thrust-bounded wedge tips advancing into the basins. Across the Seattle uplift, seismic lines image several shallow, short-wavelength folds exhibiting Quaternary or late Quaternary growth. From reflector truncation, several north-dipping thrust faults (splay thrusts) are inferred to core these shallow folds and to splay upward from a shallow roof thrust. Some of these shallow splay thrusts ruptured to the surface in the late Holocene. Ages from offset soils in trenches across the fault scarps and from abruptly raised shorelines indicate that the splay, roof, and floor thrusts of the Seattle and Tacoma faults ruptured about 1100 years ago.

Washington↗
USGS2002

Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2002: Quality-assurance data and comparison to water-quality standards

Significant Findings The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collected total-dissolved-gas and water-temperature data at eight sites near dams on the lower Columbia River in 2002. When water is released through the spillways of dams, air is entrained in the water, increasing the concentration of total dissolved gas to levels that can have adverse effects on freshwater aquatic life. Significant findings include: For the eight monitoring sites in water year 2002, an average of 99.6% of the total-dissolved gas data were received in real time by the USGS satellite downlink and were within 1% saturation of the expected value, based on calibration data and ambient river conditions at adjacent sites. Most field checks of total-dissolved-gas sensors with a secondary standard were within 1% saturation. Field checks of barometric pressure and water temperature were usually within 1 millimeter of mercury and 0.05 degrees Celsius, respectively. In June and July 2002, spills exceeded 140,000 cubic feet per second at the John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville Dams. These spills resulted in levels of total dissolved gas that exceeded 120% saturation downstream of the dams. The variance to the State of Oregon water-quality standard for total dissolved gas of 110% saturation was exceeded at seven of the eight monitoring sites. The sites at Camas and Bonneville are considered forebay sites and had the most days exceeding the variance of 115% saturation. The forebay exceedances may have been the result of the cumulative effects of significant spill throughout the lower Columbia River. Apparently, the levels of total dissolved gas did not dissipate rapidly enough downstream of the dams before reaching the next site. From mid-July to mid-September, water temperatures were usually above 20 degrees Celsius at each of the seven lower Columbia River sites in operation. According to the Oregon water-quality standard, when the temperature of the lower Columbia River exceeds 20 degrees Celsius, no measurable temperature increase resulting from anthropogenic activities is allowed.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2014

Wind River subbasin restoration: U.S. Geological Survey annual report November 2012 through December 2013

Executive Summary The Wind River subbasin in southwest Washington State provides habitat for a population of wild Lower Columbia River steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss . There have been no hatchery steelhead planted in the Wind River subbasin since 1994, and hatchery adults are estimated to be less than one percent of adults in any year (pers comm. Thomas Buehrens, Washington Department of Fish and Wilflife). We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTIS) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for these steelhead. Data from our study, and companion work by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will contribute to Bonneville Power Administration&rsquo;s (BPA) Research Monitoring and Evaluation (RM&E) Program Strategy of Fish Population Status Monitoring ( www.cbfish.org/ProgramStrategy.mvc/ViewProgramStrategySummary/1 ), specifically the sub-strategies of: 1) Assessing the Status and Trends of Diversity of Natural Origin Fish Populations and to uncertainties research regarding differing life histories of a wild steelhead population, 2) Assessing the Status and Trend of Adult Natural Origin Fish Populations, and 3) Monitoring and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tributary Habitat Actions Relative to Environmental, Physical, or Biological Performance Objectives. During summer 2013, we PIT-tagged parr steelhead in headwater areas of the Wind River subbasin to investigate variable life-histories, specifically to compare fate of those juvenile steelhead that move downstream prior to smolting with those that remain in their natal areas until smolting. A series of instream PTISs monitored movement of these fish. Detections at the instream PTISs showed trends of parr emigration during summer and fall, in addition to the expected movement of parr and smolts in spring. Long-term monitoring of PIT-tagged fish over multiple years will provide information on contribution of various life-history strategies to smolt production and adult returns, as well as helping to identify factors influencing parr movement. Movements of PIT-tagged adult steelhead were tracked with our instream PTISs. These data have provided information on timing of adult movements to various parts of the watershed, which is allowing us to assess adult returns to tributary watersheds within the Wind River subbasin. Determination of adult use of tributary watersheds has provided data that will contribute to evaluating the efficacy of the removal of Hemlock Dam from Trout Creek. Hemlock Dam, located at rkm 2.0 of Trout Creek was removed in summer 2009 and had contributed to hydrologic impairment of Trout Creek. Evaluating restoration efforts is of interest to many managers and agencies so that funding and time are allocated for best results. The evaluation of various life-histories of Lower Columbia River steelhead within the Wind River subbasin will provide information to better track populations, and to direct habitat restoration and water allocation planning. Increasingly detailed Viable Salmonid Population information, such as that provided by PIT-tagging and instream PTISs networks like those we are building and operating in the Wind River subbasin, will provide data to inform policy and management, as life-history strategies and production bottlenecks are identified and understood.

Washington↗
USGS2007

Geologic Map of the Frederick 30' x 60' Quadrangle, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia

The Frederick 30? ? 60? quadrangle lies within the Potomac River watershed of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin. The map area covers parts of Montgomery, Howard, Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties in Maryland; Loudoun, Clarke, and Fairfax Counties in Virginia; and Jefferson and Berkeley Counties in West Virginia. Many geologic features (such as faults and folds) are named for geographic features that may or may not be shown on the 1:100,000-scale base map. The geology of the Frederick 30? ? 60? quadrangle, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, was first mapped on the 32 1:24,000-scale 7.5-minute quadrangle base maps between 1989 and 1994. The geologic data were compiled manually at 1:100,000 scale in 1997 and were digitized between 1998 and 1999. The geologic map and database may be used to support activities such as land-use planning, soil mapping, groundwater availability and quality studies, identifying aggregate resources, and conducting engineering and environmental studies. The map area covers distinct geologic provinces and sections of the central Appalachian region that are defined by unique bedrock and resulting landforms. From west to east, the provinces include the Great Valley section of the Valley and Ridge province, the Blue Ridge province, and the Piedmont province; in the extreme southeastern corner, a small part of the Coastal Plain province is present. The Piedmont province is divided into several sections; from west to east, hey are the Frederick Valley synclinorium, the Culpeper and Gettysburg basins, the Sugarloaf Mountain anticlinorium, the Westminster terrane, and the Potomac terrane. The geology of the Frederick quadrangle is discussed by geologic province and sections; the geologic units within each province are discussed from oldest to youngest. Where applicable, the discussion includes information on tectonic origins. For more information concerning the report, please contact the author.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS1995

Diatom evidence for earthquake-induced subsidence and tsunami 300 yr ago in southern coastal Washington

Fossil diatoms from four stratigraphic sections along the tidal Niawiakum River, southwestern Washington, provide an independent paleoecological test of a relative sea-level rise that has been attributed to subsidence during an inferred earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone about 300 yr ago. Diatom assemblages in a buried soil and overlying mud indicate a sudden and lasting shift from marshes and forests near or above highest tides to mud flats and incipient tidal marshes, with a progressive return to high-level tidal marshes by sediment aggradation and, perhaps, gradual tectonic uplift. The amount of coseismic submergence required to generate the paleoecological changes observed at these sites could have ranged from a minimum of 0.8–1.0 m to a maximum of ∼3.0 m. Fossil diatoms also provide an independent test of previous inferences that the subsidence was shortly followed by a tsunami. The inferred tsunami deposit is a distinct sandy interval that widely overlies the buried marsh and forest soil. Diatoms from this interval consist of species observed on modern sand flats of the open bay, identifying a bayward source for the sand. Occurrences of the same sand-flat species above the buried soil in the farthest up-valley outcrop where a sandy interval is not recognizable suggest that the tsunami extended farther landward than was previously inferred from the stratigraphy. These data rule out proposed alternatives to the coseismic subsidence model—that is, climatically induced sea-level rise, temporary submergence caused by storms—and support the hypothesis that a great earthquake struck southwestern Washington 300 yr ago.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS1919

Some American Jurassic ammonites of the genera Quenstedticeras, Cardioceras, and Amoeboceras, family Cardioceratida

The species cordiforme Meek and Hayden, distans Whitfield, canadense Whiteaves, and dubium Hyatt (probably including whitneyi J. P. Smith), variously assigned to the genera Amaltheus, Quenstediceras, Amoeboceras, and Cardioceras, and subtumidum Whitfield and Hovey, assigned to Aegoceras, include all the previously described species of Jurassic ammonites that are considered in this paper. Material accumulated in the National Museum at Washington, mainly through the efforts of field parties of the United States Geological Survey, has shown, however, the presence of a number of undescribed forms of considerable scientific interest. These new species were obtained mainly from the Sundance formation of Wyoming. One comes from the Ellis formation of Montana, one from Jurassic beds near Lillooet, British Columbia, and three from the Cardioceras-bearing beds near the base of the Naknek formation of Alaska.

Wyoming↗
USGS1985

An approach for appraising the accuracy of suspended-sediment data

Procedures are presented for appraising the accuracy of suspended-sediment data. Types of errors involved are sampling error, spatial error, temporal error, and sediment-discharge error. The standard error of estimate is used to represent errors. Suspended-sediment data for 17 U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations in Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington are used in applications of the procedures. For the study sites, the magnitudes of the different types of error apparently vary directly with percentage of sediment-water mixture that is sand; when the percentage sand is relatively high, magnitudes of the different types of error have a relatively wide range. For seven sites of the Sacramento River , Calif., and its tributaries, the standard sampling error apparently can range from 2.5 percent when percentage sand is relatively low to 20 percent when percentage sand is relatively high. For 16 sites in Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania, the coefficient of variation for concentrations of suspended sediment across streams apparently can range from 2.5 percent (low percentage sand) to 70 percent (high percentage sand). (USGS)

Professional Paper↗