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At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources
USGS1919

A contribution to the geology of northeastern Texas and southern Oklahoma

The region in central and northeastern Texas and southern Oklahoma known as the Black and Grand prairies abounds in features of interest to physiographers, geologists, and paleontologists, and the pioneer investigators of this region must have experienced renewed satisfaction in each day's exploration. The reports of Joseph A. Taff, Robert T. Hill, and others, published chiefly under the auspices of State and Federal surveys, represent with approximate accuracy at most places the general distribution of the outcrops of the formations in this region, and contain detailed descriptions of many sections that constitute a mine of useful information. The reader of the present paper is urged, therefore, to hold as most important the general excellence of the earlier reports of these authors and to relegate the inaccuracies and mistakes to which his attention will be called to the relatively unimportant place in which they belong, remembering at the same time that a future generation of investigators may find our own shortcomings as great as those we now criticize.

Oklahoma;Texas↗
USGS1982

Digital classification of Landsat data for vegetation and land-cover mapping in the Blackfoot River watershed, southeastern Idaho

This paper documents the procedures, results, and final products of a digital analysis of Landsat data used to produce a vegetation and landcover map of the Blackfoot River watershed in southeastern Idaho. Resource classes were identified at two levels of detail: generalized Level I classes (for example, forest land and wetland) and detailed Levels II and III classes (for example, conifer forest, aspen, wet meadow, and riparian hardwoods). Training set statistics were derived using a modified clustering approach. Environmental stratification that separated uplands from lowlands improved discrimination between resource classes having similar spectral signatures. Digital classification was performed using a maximum likelihood algorithm. Classification accuracy was determined on a single-pixel basis from a random sample of 25-pixel blocks. These blocks were transferred to small-scale color-infrared aerial photographs, and the image area corresponding to each pixel was interpreted. Classification accuracy, expressed as percent agreement of digital classification and photo-interpretation results, was 83.0:t 2.1 percent (0.95 probability level) for generalized (Level I) classes and 52.2:t 2.8 percent (0.95 probability level) for detailed (Levels II and III) classes. After the classified images were geometrically corrected, two types of maps were produced of Level I and Levels II and III resource classes: color-coded maps at a 1:250,000 scale, and flatbed-plotter overlays at a 1:24,000 scale. The overlays are more useful because of their larger scale, familiar format to users, and compatibility with other types of topographic and thematic maps of the same scale.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1981

Petrogenetic modeling of a potential uranium source rock, Granite Mountains, Wyoming

Previous studies of the granite of Lankin Dome have led to the conclusion that this granite was a source for the sandstone-type uranium deposits in the basins that surround the Granite Mountains, Wyo. Q-mode factor analysis of 29 samples of this granite shows that five bulk compositions are required to explain the observed variances of 33 constituents in these samples. Models presented in this paper show that the origin of the granite can be accounted for by the mixing of a starting liquid with two ranges of solid compositions such that all five compositions are granitic. There are several features of the granite of Lankin Dome that suggest derivation by partial melting and, because the proposed source region was inhomogeneous, that more than one of the five end members may have been a liquid. Data for the granite are compatible with derivation from rocks similar to those of the metamorphic complex that the granite intrudes. Evidence for crustal derivation by partial melting includes a strongly peraluminous nature, extremely high differentiation indices, high contents of incompatible elements, generally large negative Eu anomalies, and high initial lead and strontium isotopic ratios. If the granite of Lankin Dome originated by partial melting of a heterogeneous metamorphic complex, the initial magma could reasonably have been composed of a range of granitic liquids. Five variables were not well accounted for by a five-end-member model. Water, CO 2 , and U0 2 contents and the oxidation state of iron are all subject to variations caused by near-surface processes. The Q-mode factor analysis suggests that these four variables have a distribution determined by postmagmatic processes. The reason for failure of Cs0 2 to vary systematically with the other 33 variables is not known. Other granites that have lost large amounts of uranium possibly can be identified by Q-mode factor analysis.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1922

Lithologic subsurface correlation in the "Bend series" of north-central Texas

This paper presents the results of an attempt to obtain, by a study of well drillings, criteria for correlation, by the character of the beds encountered, of horizons in the "Bend series" of north-central Texas. The result of the work most directly applicable to the needs of the oil-well operator is that of enabling him to know more exactly the position of the producing beds in his well- a result that is of particular value in north-central Texas because certain beds in that region which give no show of oil to the drill may on being "shot" yield considerable oil. To know the part of the stratigraphic section reached by the drill at any stage of the boring also enables the driller to be on the alert for indications of oil at horizons where productive sands are encountaered in other wells and to know when the drill has passed all horizons at which the beds are likely to yield oil.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1984

Wilderness mineral potential: Assessment of mineral-resource potential in U.S. Forest Service lands studied in 1964-1984: Volume 1

Under the provisions of the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577, September 3, 1964) and subsequent related legislation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have been conducting mineral surveys of wilderness and primitive areas, and of other national forest lands being considered for wilderness designation. The Wilderness Act directs that the results of these surveys are to be made available to the public and are to be submitted to the President and the Congress. This professional paper is a synopsis of the mineral surveys made from 1965 to 1983. It summarizes our current knowledge of mineral and energy resources and of the potential for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral and energy resources in 45 million acres of Federal lands, chiefly in national forests. This book, in two volumes, consists of 332 summary articles, arranged alphabetically by State, in which the mineral-resource potential of about 800 individual areas is discussed. The summaries of the mineral surveys were written during 1982-83, generally by those who made the surveys. Index maps of each state show the location of the areas studied, numerically keyed to an alphabetic list. The national distribution of the wilderness lands studied is shown on the frontispiece. Where lands were in proximity or were added to expand previously designated areas, they often are described in a single article. Each article begins with a short summary of the results of the mineral survey followed by a discussion of the character and geologic setting of the area. Mineral resources (if any) are discussed, and the potential for undiscovered mineral resources is assessed; these are keyed to the generalized geographic and geologic map of each area Areas that have geologic characteristics indicative of different degrees of potential for the occurrence of mineral resources are shown in shades of red on each map. Some articles have a section on suggestions for further study to better define the mineral-resource potential of the area A list of pertinent references (including many of the maps and reports prepared during the mineral survey) is provided at the end of each article. This introduction contains some basic concepts about mineral resources and mineral-resource potential to try to make the book more useful to those who are not familiar with the fields of earth science and mineral-resource assessments. The legislation dealing with the wilderness program is reviewed briefly, because this evolving legislation has imparted a continuing and changing influence on the mineral-resource surveys. The introduction concludes with a description of the publications of the Geological Survey that report in greater detail the results of the joint wilderness studies by the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines.

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Co↗
USGS1925

Rock formations in the Colorado Plateau of Southeastern Utah and Northern Arizona

The field work of which this report is a record was done in the summer and fall of 1921 by members of the United States Geological Survey. A project to build a large storage dam at Lees Ferry, on Colorado River in northern Arizona, called for a detailed topographic survey of the area covered by the project, for the purpose of determining the capacity of the reservoir. This work was undertaken by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southern California Edison Co. Three surveying parties were sent to the field, each accompanied by a geologist, whose specific duty was to study and report on the rock formations within the area to be flooded. One topographic party, under A. T. Fowler, which started at Lees Ferry and worked up stream in Arizona, was accompanied by Kirk Bryan. Another party, under K. W. Trimble, which started near Bluff and worked down the San Juan and thence down the Colorado, was accompanied by H. D. Miser. The third party, under W. R. Chenoweth, worked from Fremont River to the Waterpocket Fold and then returned to Green River, Utah, and traversed Cataract Canyon during the period of low water. C. R. Longwell was with this party until September, when his place was taken by Sidney Paige. Mr. Paige, in company with the Kolb brothers, E. C. La Rue, and Henry Ranch, left the Chenoweth party after Cataract Canyon had been surveyed and rowed down the Colorado to the mouth of the San Juan, where they were joined by Mr. Miser. Then they took a hurried trip by boat down the Colorado to Lees Ferry, making a few short stops and visiting the famous Rainbow Bridge. Thus the geology of the canyons of Colorado and San Juan rivers and of the lower parts of tributary canyons was examined continuously, and reconnaissance work was done in the country back from the rivers. At the same time a fourth party, under R. C. Moore, was mapping parts of Kane, Garfield, and Wayne counties, Utah, to determine whether oil might be found there. The present paper includes brief descriptions of the rocks of the regions traversed, detailed geologic sections, and columnar sections measured not only by the geologists who accompanied these parties but by other geologists who have worked in the same regions or in adjoining regions. The positions of the columnar sections measured and many of the other sections are shown on Figure 1.

Arizona;Utah↗
USGS1925

A new fauna from the Colorado group of southern Montana

This paper describes a small but interesting fauna collected in 1921 by W. T. Thorn, Jr., Gail F. Moulton, T. W. Stanton, and K. C. Heald in the Crow Indian Reservation in southern Montana. The locality is in sec. 36, T. 6 S., R. 32 E., Big Horn County, and is 2 miles east of the Soap Creek oil field.

Montana↗
USGS1988

Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, contains 11 chapters designated by the letters A through K. Chapter A provides a comprehensive, yet concise, review of the "State of the Earth's Cryosphere at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Glaciers, Global Snow Cover, Floating Ice, and Permafrost and Periglacial Environments," and a "Map/Poster of the Earth's Dynamic Cryosphere," and a set of eight "Supplemental Cryosphere Notes" about the Earth's Dynamic Cryosphere and the Earth System. The next 10 chapters, B through K, are arranged geographically and present glaciological information from Landsat and other sources of historic and modern data on each of the geographic areas. Chapter B covers Antarctica; Chapter C, Greenland; Chapter D, Iceland; Chapter E, Continental Europe (except for the European part of the former Soviet Union), including the Alps, the Pyrenees, Norway, Sweden, Svalbard (Norway), and Jan Mayen (Norway); Chapter F, Asia, including the European part of the former Soviet Union, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan; Chapter G, Turkey, Iran, and Africa; Chapter H, Irian Jaya (Indonesia) and New Zealand; Chapter I, South America; Chapter J, North America (excluding Alaska); and Chapter K, Alaska. Chapters A–D each include map plates.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2012

State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century: Glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments

This chapter is the tenth in a series of 11 book-length chapters, collectively referred to as “this volume,” in the series U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. In the other 10 chapters, each of which concerns a specific glacierized region of Earth, the authors used remotely sensed images, primarily from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 series of spacecraft, in order to analyze that glacierized region and to monitor changes in its glaciers. Landsat images, acquired primarily during the period 1972 through 1981, were used by an international team of glaciologists and other scientists to study the various glacierized regions and (or) to discuss related glaciological topics. In each glacierized region, the present distribution of glaciers within its geographic area is compared, wherever possible, with historical information about their past areal extent. The atlas provides an accurate regional inventory of the areal extent of glacier ice on our planet during the 1970s as part of an expanding international scientific effort to measure global environmental change on the Earth’s surface. However, this chapter differs from the other 10 in its discussion of observed changes in all four elements of the Earth’s cryosphere (glaciers, snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost) in the context of documented changes in all components of the Earth System. Human impact on the planet at the beginning of the 21st century is pervasive. The focus of Chapter A is on changes in the cryosphere and the importance of long-term monitoring by a variety of sensors carried on Earth-orbiting satellites or by a ground-based network of observatories in the case of permafrost. The chapter consists of five parts. The first part provides an introduction to the Earth System, including the interrelationships of the geosphere (cryosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere), the biosphere, climate processes, biogeochemical cycles, and the critically important hydrologic cycle, in which glacier ice is the second largest reservoir of water after the oceans. The second part assesses the state of glaciers in all of the glacierized regions of the planet, primarily as drawn in the other 10 chapters. It includes sections on ice cores and the climate record they contain, volumetric changes in glaciers, harnessing spaceborne sensors to measure changes in glaciers, and related topics. The third part summarizes trends in global snow cover. The fourth part summarizes long-term changes in area and thickness of floating ice, including polar sea ice and freshwater (lake and river) ice. The fifth part assesses the loss of permafrost and changes in periglacial environments at high latitudes and high altitudes.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1993

Glaciers of Europe

This chapter, consisting of six independently authored subchapters, including one subchapter, Glaciers of the Alps, that has four independently authored sections, is the fourth to be released in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, a series of 11 chapters. In each chapter, remotely sensed images, primarily from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 series of spacecraft, are used to study the glacierized regions of our planet and monitor glacier changes. Landsat images, acquired primarily during the middle to late 1970’s, were used by an international team of glaciologists and other scientists to study various geographic areas or discuss glaciological topics. In each geographic area the present areal distribution of glaciers was compared, where possible, with historical information about their past extent. The atlas provides an accurate regional inventory of the areal extent of glacier ice on our planet during the 1970’s as part of a growing international scientific effort to measure global environmental change on the Earth’s surface.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2010

Glaciers of Asia

This chapter is the ninth to be released in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, a series of 11 chapters. In each of the geographic area chapters, remotely sensed images, primarily from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3 series of spacecraft, are used to analyze the specific glacierized region of our planet under consideration and to monitor glacier changes. Landsat images, acquired primarily during the middle to late 1970s and early 1980s, were used by an international team of glaciologists and other scientists to study various geographic regions and (or) to discuss related glaciological topics. In each glacierized geographic region, the present areal distribution of glaciers is compared, wherever possible, with historical information about their past extent. The atlas provides an accurate regional inventory of the areal extent of glacier ice on our planet during the 1970s as part of a growing international scientific effort to measure global environmental change on the Earth’s surface. The chapter is divided into seven geographic parts and one topical part: Glaciers of the Former Soviet Union (F–1), Glaciers of China (F–2), Glaciers of Afghanistan (F–3), Glaciers of Pakistan (F–4), Glaciers of India (F–5), Glaciers of Nepal (F–6), Glaciers of Bhutan (F–7), and the Paleoenvironmental Record Preserved in Middle-Latitude, High-Mountain Glaciers (F–8). Each geographic section describes the glacier extent during the 1970s and 1980s, the benchmark time period (1972–1981) of this volume, but has been updated to include more recent information. Glaciers of the Former Soviet Union are located in the Russian Arctic and various mountain ranges of Russia and the Republics of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakstun. The Glacier Inventory of the USSR and the World Atlas of Ice and Snow Resources recorded a total of 28,881 glaciers covering an area of 78,938 square kilometers (km 2 ). China includes many of the mountain-glacier systems of the world including the Himalaya, Karakorum, Tien Shan and Altay mountain ranges. The glaciers are widely scattered and cover an area of about 59,425 km 2 . The mountain glaciers may be classified as maritime, subcontinental or extreme continental. In Afghanistan, more than 3,000 small glaciers occur in the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains. Most glaciers occur on north-facing slopes shaded by mountain peaks and on east and southeast slopes that are shaded by monsoon clouds. The glaciers provide vital water resources to the region and cover an area of about 2,700 km 2 . Glaciers of northern Pakistan are some of the largest and longest mid-latitude glaciers on Earth. They are located in the Hindu Kush, Himalaya, and Karakoram mountains and cover an area of about 15,000 km 2 . Glaciers here are important for their role in providing water resources and their hazard potential. The glaciers in India are located in the Himalaya and cover about 8,500 km 2 . The Himalaya contains one of the largest reservoirs of snow and ice outside the polar regions. The glaciers are a major source of fresh water and supply meltwater to all the rivers in northern India, thereby affecting the quality of life of millions of people. In Nepal, the glaciers are located in the Himalaya as individual glaciers; the glacierized area covers about 5,324 km 2 . The region is the highest mountainous region on Earth and includes the Mt. Everest region. Glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya have a total area of about 1,317 km 2 . Many recent glacier studies are focused on glacier lakes that have the potential of generating dangerous glacier lake outburst floods. Research on the glaciers of the middle-latitude, high-mountain glaciers of Asia has also focused on the information contained in the ice cores from the glaciers. This information helps in the reconstruction of paleoclimatic records, and the computer modeling of global climate change.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1926

Fossil proboscidea and edentata of the San Pedro Valley, Arizona

A preliminary report on the fossil vertebrates of the San Pedro Valley, Ariz., collected by Kirk Bryan and me in the winter of 1920 and 1921 was published in 1922. This report includes a brief statement regarding the geology of the locality and a preliminary list of fossil vertebrates obtained by the expedition of 1921, with descriptions of the rodents and rabbits. Two additional papers on this interesting fauna have also appeared, one on the turtles by C.W. Gilmore and one on the birds by Alexander Wetmore. The present contribution deals with the proboscideans and edentates and gives a somewhat fuller discussion of the geology of the fossil-bearing beds.

Arizona↗
USGS1925

Correlation of the Eocene formations in Mississippi and Alabama

During Eocene time the site of the boundary between the States of Mississippi and Alabama fell within the transition zone between the Mississippi embayment and the open Gulf of Mexico. That different types of deposition proceeded simultaneously within these two regions may be inferred from the different facies which deposits of the same age exhibit on opposite sides of the State line. In general, much clay and carbonaceous material were laid down in Mississippi, while shell marl, laminated sand, and limestone were being formed in Alabama. The purpose of this paper is to point out the equivalences of formations of different facies in the two States. The formations of different facies in the two States. The correlation adopted in shown in the following table, all the formation names in which have been previously used, except Kosciusko sandstone, a new name proposed for a member of the Lisbon formation.

Alabama;Mississippi↗
USGS1998

Ground-water flow analysis of the Mississippi Embayment aquifer system, South-Central United States

The Mississippi Embayment aquifer system is composed of six regional aquifers covering about 160,000 square miles in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The flow analysis presented in this report as part of the Gulf Coast Regional Aquifer-System Analysis study pertains to five aquifers in sediments of the Wilcox and Claiborne groups of Tertiary age. In descending order, the aquifers are (1) the upper Claiborne, (2) the middle Claiborne, (3) the lower Claiborne-upper Wilcox, (4) the middle Wilcox, and (5) the lower Wilcox. The flow analysis of the sixth aquifer in the aquifer system, the Mississippi River valley alluvial aquifer in sediments of Holocene and Pleistocene age, is presented in chapter D of this Professional Paper.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1986

Geologic implications of Paleozoic and Mesozoic paleontology and biostratigraphy, Blue Mountains province, Oregon and Idaho

This volume contains, besides the present review, seven papers on the biostratigraphy of pre-Tertiary rocks in the Blue Mountains province. Geologic implications of the faunal data are discussed in the context of terrane analyses. Most of the authors agree that the pre-Tertiary rocks of this province were formed in a complex island arc within a low-latitude faunal realm and subsequently moved northward and accreted to the North American continent. The use of different terrane names for parts of the Blue Mountains province by different authors may lead to some confusion. We suggest that future authors use the term "Blue Mountains island arc" for the pre-Tertiary province and, if there is a need for subdivision, that they use the terrane names proposed by Silberling and others (1984).

Idaho;Oregon;Washington↗
USGS1995

Geology of the Blue Mountains region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington: Petrology and tectonic evolution of pre-Tertiary rocks of the Blue Mountains region

This Professional Paper contains 14 chapters on the Blue Mountains region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. The authors discuss petrology and tectonic evolution of an island arc that formed in the ancestral Pacific Ocean during the Permian to Cretaceous interval. The island arc was accreted to cratonal North America in the Early Cretaceous and thereby became one of the several exotic terranes in western North America.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1990

Earthquake-induced liquefaction features in the coastal setting of South Carolina and in the fluvial setting of the New Madrid seismic zone

Many types of liquefaction-related features (sand blows, fissures, lateral spreads, dikes, and sills) have been induced by earthquakes in coastal South Carolina and in the New Madrid seismic zone in the Central United States. In addition, abundant features of unknown and nonseismic origin are present. Geologic criteria for interpreting an earthquake origin in these areas are illustrated in practical applications; these criteria can be used to determine the origin of liquefaction features in many other geographic and geologic settings. In both coastal South Carolina and the New Madrid seismic zone, the earthquake-induced liquefaction features generally originated in clean sand deposits that contain no or few intercalated silt or clay-rich strata. The local geologic setting is a major influence on both development and surface expression of sand blows. Major factors controlling sand-blow formation include the thickness and physical properties of the deposits above the source sands, and these relationships are illustrated by comparing sand blows found in coastal South Carolina (in marine deposits) with sand blows found in the New Madrid seismic zone (in fluvial deposits). In coastal South Carolina, the surface stratum is typically a thin (about 1 m) soil that is weakly cemented with humate, and the sand blows are expressed as craters surrounded by a thin sheet of sand; in the New Madrid seismic zone the surface stratum generally is a clay-rich deposit ranging in thickness from 2 to 10 m, in which case sand blows characteristically are expressed as sand mounded above the original ground surface. Recognition of the various features described in this paper, and identification of the most probable origin for each, provides a set of important tools for understanding paleoseismicity in areas such as the Central and Eastern United States where faults are not exposed for study and strong seismic activity is infrequent.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1998

The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989: Forecasts

The magnitude (Mw) 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay region of central California at 5:04 p.m. P.d.t. on October 17, 1989, killing 62 people and generating billions of dollars in property damage. Scientists were not surprised by the occurrence of a destructive earthquake in this region and had, in fact, been attempting to forecast the location of the next large earthquake in the San Francisco Bay region for decades. This paper summarizes more than 20 scientifically based forecasts made before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake for a large earthquake that might occur in the Loma Prieta area. The forecasts geographically closest to the actual earthquake primarily consisted of right-lateral strike-slip motion on the San Andreas Fault northwest of San Juan Bautista. Several of the forecasts did encompass the magnitude of the actual earthquake, and at least one approximately encompassed the along-strike rupture length. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake differed from most of the forecasted events in two ways: (1) it occurred with considerable dip-slip in addition to strike-slip motion, and (2) it was much deeper than expected.

California↗