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At least 1,099 records · Page 61Linked to original sources
USGS1963

Ground-water geology of Edwards County, Texas

Edwards County occupies 2,075 square miles of the southern part of the Edwards Plateau in southwest Texas. In 1950 it had a population of 2,908. Its thin limestone soil supports the characteristic flora of a semiarid region. The county is underlain by nearly flat-lying beds of limestone and a few beds of shale and marl. The Glen Rose limestone of Cretaceous age, the oldest formation tapped by water wells in the county, yields small quantities of rather highly mineralized water. Springs in the Glen Rose discharge water that is generally less mineralized than that from wells. Nearly all the wells and springs tapping the Glen Rose are in the southeastern part of the county, where the Edwards and associated limestones have been removed by erosion or are very thin. The Comanche Peak, Edwards, and Georgetown limestones, collectively called the Edwards and associated limestones, underlie most of the county and form the principal aquifer. Generally, the water in the Edwards is under water-table conditions, but locally it may be artesian. The Edwards and associated limestones yield small to moderate quantities of water that is hard but otherwise of good chemical quality. The alluvium in the major stream valleys yields small to moderate quantities of hard water similar in quality to that of the Edwards and associated limestones. The main ground-water divides in the Edwards and associated limestones follow the topographic divides. Most of the ground water flows southward and either appears as springflow in the Nueces River drainage or flows underground into Kinney or Val Verde County. The remainder flows northward and ultimately appears as springflow in the South Llano River drainage. About 150,000 acre-feet of water is recharged annually to and discharged from the Edwards and associated limestones in Edwards County. Most of this water is available for additional development inasmuch as only about 900 acre-feet per year is currently being used; however, additional development of ground water will result in a reduction in streamflow.

Texas↗
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↗
USGS1963

Geology and occurrence of ground water in Lyon County, Minnesota

Lyon County is in southwestern Minnesota, mostly within the drainage basin of the Minnesota River. The basement rocks in the area consist largely of Precambrian granite and quartzite. These are overlain locally by flat-lying Upper Cretaceous strata composed of thick sections of soft dark-bluish-gray shale and some thin beds of loosely consolidated sandstone. The Cretaceous strata are more than 500 feet thick near the center of the county but gradually pinch out toward the northeast and southwest against the highs of the Precambrian bedrock surface. Glacial drift overlies the Precambrian and Cretaceous rocks and forms the surface of the area. The drift consists largely of till and ranges in thickness from about 10 feet in the north and northeast to approximately 550 feet in the southwest. The most prominent surflcial glacial deposits are five southeast-trending end moraines, two of which are associated with, and parallel to, relatively extensive belts of outwash. Recent deposits averaging less than 20 feet in thickness overlie the glacial drift in stream valleys. The principal aquifers in Lyon County are glacial-melt-water deposits of sand and gravel, and sandstone of Cretaceous age. The underlying Precambrian rocks and the Recent alluvium are of only local importance as water sources. Melt-water deposits composed of stratified clay and silt as well as sand and gravel occur in channels having surficial expression, in buried channels having no direct surface expression, and as small isolated bodies within the till. Well logs of test holes show that the buried melt-water channels are generally parallel to the surflcial channels. However, melt-water deposits are not necessarily confined to the area beneath the surflcial channel but may extend laterally 1 mile or more beyond its limits. Sand and gravel are commonly interbedded with other melt-water materials. They range in thickness from 10 to 75 feet, are usually less than 1 mile in width, and may be as much as 8 miles in length. Although these aquifers are extensive, they underlie less than 10 percent of the county area. In most places, water from the drift is obtained from small isolated bodies of sand and gravel within the till. Water in the glacial drift is usually very hard (more than 500 parts per million) and low in chlorides (less than 50 parts per million). Drift wells generally yield from 2 to 30 gallons per minute; however, in areas where wells tap melt-water-channel deposits, sustained yields of as much as 500 gallons per minute are obtained. The sandstone beds of Cretaceous age occur between the Precambrian bedrock surface and an altitude of 825 feet as a basal sandstone, between altitudes of 890 and 1.020 feet, and between altitudes of 1,050 and 1,160 feet. Water-well data, supplemented by test drilling, show that each of these stratigraphic intervals is developed only in the county. The sandstone beds are of low permeability and are usually less than 2 feet thick, but they may be more than 20 feet thick in places. Water from these aquifers range in quality from soft (less than 60 parts per million) to very hard (more than 500 parts per million) and may contain excessive amounts of chloride (500 to 2,000 parts per million). Wells tapping rocks of Cretaceous age usually yield 2 to 7 gallons per minute, but in areas where the sandstone beds are thicker or hydrologically interrelated with aquifers of other geologic units, yields of as much as 75 gallons per minute have been obtained. Large quantities of ground water are available from melt-water channels in the county. Moderate quantities, adequate for domestic and small industrial needs, are available from many of the small isolated deposits of sand and gravel in the till. Small quantities of ground water, adequate only for domestic supply, generally can be obtained from Cretaceous sandstone.

Minnesota↗
USGS1962

Methods of measuring soil moisture in the field

For centuries, the amount of moisture in the soil has been of interest in agriculture. The subject of soil moisture is also of great importance to the hydrologist, forester, and soils engineer. Much equipment and many methods have been developed to measure soil moisture under field conditions. This report discusses and evaluates the various methods for measurement of soil moisture and describes the equipment needed for each method. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed and an extensive list of references is provided for those desiring to study the subject in more detail. The gravimetric method is concluded to be the most satisfactory method for most problems requiring onetime moisture-content data. The radioactive method is normally best for obtaining repeated measurements of soil moisture in place. It is concluded that all methods have some limitations and that the ideal method for measurement of soil moisture under field conditions has yet to be perfected.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1963

Chemical quality of surface waters in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has an abundant supply of surface water of good quality. The average rainfall over the 45,300 square miles in the State is about 42 inches per year. Of this amount, about 50 percent appears in the streams as runoff. The combined mean annual runoff of the Delaware, Ohio, and Susquehanna Rivers, at their farthest downstream measuring points in the State, is in excess of 81,000 cubic feet per second. Variations in the chemical quality of the surface waters in Pennsylvania are caused by areal differences in geology, urban and industrial development, mining, quarrying, land use, and runoff. Waters having the least dissolved solids are found in the glaciated northeastern and northwestern parts of the State; waters having higher values of hardness are found in the limestone terranes in the southeastern and south-central parts. In the anthracite coal fields in the northeast and in the bituminous coal fields in the southwest, many streams receive acid mine drainage, which lowers the alkalinity and increases the sulfate content of the waters. The chemical quality of surface waters in Pennsylvania is discussed in general terms. Introductory sections of the report cover the main causative factors which influence chemical quality.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1964

Geology and ground-water resources of Rock County, Wisconsin

Rock County is in south-central Wisconsin adjacent to the Illinois State line. The county has an area of about 723 square miles and had a population of about 113,000 in 1957 ; it is one of the leading agricultural and industrial counties in the State. The total annual precipitation averages about 32 inches, and the mean annual temperature is about 48 ? F. Land-surface altitudes are generally between 800 and 00 feet, but range from 731 feet, where the Rock River flows into Illinois, to above 1,080 feet, at several places in the northwestern part of the county. The northern part of Rock County consists of the hills and kettles of a terminal moraine which slopes southward to a flat, undissected outwash plain. The southeastern part of the county is an area of gentle slopes, whereas the southwestern part consists of steep-sided valleys and ridges. Rock County is within the drainage basin of the Rock River, which flows southward through the center of the county. The western and southwestern parts of ,the county are drained by the Sugar River und Coon Creek, both of which flow into the Pecatonica River in Illinois and thence into the Rock River. The southeastern part of the county is drained by Turtle Creek, which also flows into Illinois before joining the Rock River. Nearly all the lakes and ponds are in the northern one-third of the county, the area of most recent glaciation. The aquifers in Rock County are of sedimentary origin and include deeply buried sandstones, shales, and dolomites of the Upper Cambrian series. This series overlies crystalline rocks of Precambrian age and supplies water to all the cities and villages in the county. The St. Peter sandstone of Ordovician age underlies all Rock County except where the formation has been removed by erosion in the Rock and Sugar River valleys, and perhaps in Coon Creek valley. The St. Peter sandstone is the principal source of water for domestic, stock, and small industrial wells in the western half of the county. This sandstone also yields some water to uncased wells that tap the deeper rocks of the Upper Cambrian series. East of the Rock River the Platteville, Decorah, and Galena formations undifferentiated, or Platteville-Galena unit, is the principal source of water for domestic and stock wells. Unconsolidated deposits of glacial origin cover most of Rock County and supply water to many small wells. In the outwash deposits along the Rock River, wells of extremely high capacity have been developed for industrial and municipal use. The most significant feature of the bedrock surface in Rock County is the ancestral Rock River valley, which has been filled with glacial outwash to a depth of at least 396 feet below the present land surface. East of the buried valley the bedrock has a fiat, relatively undissected surface. West of the valley the bedrock surface is rugged and greatly dissected. Ground water in Rock County occurs under both water-table and artesian conditions; however, because of the interconnection and close relation of all ground water in the county, the entire system is considered to be a single groundwater body whose surface may be represented by one piezometric map. Recharge occurs locally, throughout the county. Nearly all recharge is derived directly from precipitation that percolates downward to become a part of the groundwater body. Natural movement of water in the consolidated water-bearing units is generally toward the buried Rock and Sugar River valleys. Movement of water in the sandstones of Cambrian age was calculated to be about 44 million gallons a day toward the Rock River. Discharge from wells in Rock County in 1957 was about 23 million gallons a day. Nearly 90 percent of this water was drawn from the area along the Rock River. Drilled wells, most of which were drilled by the cable-tool method, range in diameter from 3 to 26 inches, and in depth from 46 to 1,225 feet. Driven wells in alluvium and glacial drift are usually 1? to 2? in

Wisconsin↗