Geology Reports⌕ Search

SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Resources”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,693 records · Page 94Linked to original sources
USGS1974

Gravel resources, urbanization, and future land use, Front Range Urban Corridor, Colorado

An assessment of gravel needs in Front Range Urban Corridor markets to 2000 A.D., based on forecast population increases and urbanization, indicates that adequate resources to meet anticipated needs are potentially available, if future land use does not preclude their extraction. Because of urban encroachment onto gravel-bearing lands, this basic construction material is in short supply nationally and in the Front Range Urban Corridor. Longer hauls, increased prices, and use of alternatives, especially crushed rock aggregate, have resulted. An analysis of possible sequential land uses following gravel mining indicates that a desirable use is for 'real estate' ponds and small lakes. A method for computing gravel reserves, based on planimeter measurement of area of resource-bearing lands and statistical analysis of reliability of thickness and size distribution data, was developed to compute reserves in individual markets. A discussion of the qualitative 'usability' of these reserves is then made for the individual markets.

Colorado↗
USGS1974

Stratigraphy and nahcolite resources of the saline facies of the Green River Formation, Rio Blanco County, Colorado

Based on a study of 10 drill cores, a sequence of oil shale and associated nahcolite, nearly 2,000 feet thick, in the lacustrine Green River Formation (Eocene) in the Piceance Creek basin, Rio Blanco County, Colo., was divided in ascending order into zones 1 to 13, B-groove, Mahogany zone (with lower, middle, and upper parts), and A-groove at the top. The odd-numbered zones and the Mahogany zone are mappable subsurface units of relatively thick oil shale and are distinguished from the even-numbered zones and A- and B-grooves which are thinner units of oil shale of lower grade. Large amounts of nahcolite found in zones 5 to 12 occur in (1) coarse-grained crystalline aggregates scattered through oil shale, (2) laterally continuous units of fine-grained crystals disseminated in oil shale, (3) brown microcrystalline beds, and (4) white coarse-grained beds that grade laterally into halitic rocks toward basin center. The original .upper limit of the nahcolite and halitic rocks is not yet completely known, but the present top is marked by a dissolution surface. Above this surface the rocks, extending from zones 11 or 12 upward into the Mahogany zone, form a water-saturated 'leached zone,' a geohydrologic unit in which large amounts of water-soluble minerals probably mostly nahcolite, and halite, were removed by ground-water dissolution. Rocks in the leached zone, mostly oil shale, are commonly broken and fractured and contain crystal cavities and solution breccias. Several solution breccias can be traced laterally into unleached beds of nahcolite and halite. Although evidence of salines is found in rocks above A-groove, the original saline facies that includes most of the bedded deposits extends from zone 5 upward into A-groove. Potentially ruinable beds of white nahcolite as much as 12 feet thick are found at depths of 1,560 or more feet below the surface. Some thicker beds of high-grade nahcolite are believed to be too close to the dissolution surface for safe room-and-pillar mining. Probably the most economical method of mining nahcolite would be as a coproduct of a shale-oil industry. Removal of nahcolite prior to retorting increases significantly the grade of oil shale by as much as 1.6 times, Several zones are more than 300 feet thick and average 30 or more weight percent nahcolite. Resources of nahcolite per square mile range as high as 489 million short tons. The total nahcolite resource in the basin is conservatively estimated at 32 billion short tons, which makes it the secondlargest deposit of sodium carbonate known .in the world.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1975

East Africa seminar and workshop of remote sensing of natural resources and environment

Report on total program covering East Africa Seminar and Workshop on remote sensing of natural resources and the environment held in Nairobi, Kenya, March 21 April 3, 1974, attended by participants from 10 English-speaking African nations. Appendices are included for Seminar proceedings, workshop lectures and outlines, field trip reports and critiques by participants, and reports on potential applications of an operational earth resources satellite for the participating countries.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1975

Niobium (columbium) and tantalum resources of Brazil

Most of the niobium resources of Brazil occur as pyrochlore in carbonatites within syenitic intrusives of Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary age in western Minas Gerais and southeastern Goils. Minor amounts of it are produced together with tantalum from columbite-tantalite concentrates from pegmatites and placers adjacent to them, in the Sao Joao del Rei district in south-central Minas Gerais. All the niobium and tantalum produced in Brazil is exported. The only pyrochlore mined is from the Barreiro carbonatite deposit near Araxa in Minas Gerais where concentrates and ferroniobium are produced. Exploration work for pyrochlore and other mineral resources are being undertaken on other carbonatites, particularly at Catalao I in southeast Goias and at Tapira and Serra Negra in western Minas Gerais. Annual production and export from the Barreiro deposit are about 8,000 metric tons of pyrochlore concentrate containing about 60 percent Nb205 and about 2,700 metric tons of ferroniobium with 63 percent Nb2O5. The annual production capacity of the Barreiro plant is 18,000 tons of concentrate and 4,000 tons of ferroniobium. Ore reserves of the Barreiro deposit in all categories are 380 million tons with percent Nb2O5. Annual production of tantalite-columbite from the Sao Joao del Rei district, most of which is exported to the United States, is about 290 tons, of which about 79 percent is tantalite and about percent is columbite. Reserves of tantalite-columbite in the Sao Joao del Rei district are about 43,000 tons of proved and 73,000 tons of probable ore.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1975

Aluminum resources of Brazil

Large deposits of bauxite, the principal ore of aluminum, occur at several places in Brazil. The largest deposits now undergoing extensive exploration and development are in the eastern Amazon Basin. Most of these deposits are in the State of Para, but some are in Amazonas and Maranhao. Discovery of large-scale resources of bauxite in the Amazon Region is so recent that mining has not begun, but government geologists estimate the total resources in aluminum deposits in the lower Amazon to be in the multibillion ton range. The annual production rate of bauxite ore in Brazil, much of it from Pops de Caldas in Minas Gerais, is about 760,000 metric tons of ore from which about 100,000 tons of aluminum metal is produced, most of which is consumed by Brazilian industry. The Amazon bauxite deposits are on terraces formed on sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age; in Minas Gerais the deposits are formed on Precambrian metasedimentary rock, and at Poos de Caldas on a circular alkalic pluton of Cretaceous age.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Remote sensing as an aid in water-resource studies in Minnesota

Remote-sensing data were evaluated as to their usefulness in Minnesota water-resource studies. Data are available from several private as well as governmental agencies, the chief supplier being the EROS Data Center. Landsat-1 multispectral imagery was selected as the standard against which other types of imagery were compared. Landsat-1 imagery is available from July 1972, and Landsat-2 from January 1975. The kinds of remote-sensing data available for Minnesota are tabulated and the coverage of each is mapped. Direct-visual analyses and image-enhancement techniques were used on Landsat-1, SKYLAB, and aerial photographic transparencies. Examples of remote-sensing applications in both surface and ground-water studies are presented. Applications in surface-water studies are largely direct and are documented by examples: surface-water extent (flooded versus nonflooded), autographic theme extraction of surface-water features, open-water areas in winter, and remote-sensing data as indicators of water quality. Applications in ground-water studies are thus far only. indirect. Remote-sensing data are helpful in defining the geology, which controls the occurrence of ground water. Most successful was the use of late spring Landsat-1 imagery to map surficial outwash, a readily available source of large quantities of ground water. A single color-composite scene was used to map nearly 3,900 Square kilometres (1,500 square miles) of surficial outwash in less than 1 hour with an accuracy close to that achieved by methods usually used in regional studies. It was concluded that remote sensing would be valuable in the planning phase of nearly every water-resource study, so that maximum benefits might be obtained from its use. Essential ground truth would have to be collected in support of the remotely sensed data.

Minnesota↗
USGS1976

Mineral resources of Elko County, Nevada

Of the 66 named mining districts in Elko County, 56 have been productive of one or more of 19 different commodities: 11 metals--copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, mercury, tungsten, manganese, iron, uranium, and antimony; 8 nonmetals--sand and gravel, stone, barite, diatomite, gems, oil shale, volcanic ash, and clay. In addition to the commodities produced, at least 5 others--beryllium, molybdenum, tin, phosphorite, and petroleum, occur in amounts sufficient to warrant exploration. The other districts have been explored, but no production has been recorded. Total value-when-sold of production recorded through 1969 was nearly $91 million; actual production was considerably greater, especially if sand and gravel, barite, and other nonmetallic products before 1953 are included. In value of metals produced, the five highest districts are Mountain City ($26 million), Tuscarora ($11 million), Jarbidge ($10 million), Aura ($6 million), and Railroad (nearly $5 million). The Rio Tinto copper mine in the Mountain City district yielded $21 million. Of the 17 districts that produced nonmetallic minerals, Bootstrap .is the largest producer, containing the Rossi mine, one of the two largest barite mines in the United States. Most of /he metals produced name from veins and replacement deposits in limestone or dolomite near granitic stocks; exceptions are manganese and mercury, which are not associated with known or inferred stocks; mercury is further excepted because it occurs in volcanic rocks, as do a few deposits of the major metals. The largest deposit--the Rio Tinto lode--was a combination of fissure filling and replacement along a bedding plane shear zone 150 ft wide and 1,200 ft long in carbonaceous shale of the Valmy Formation; this deposit is apparently older than the Mountain City stock and its mineralization may be related to Paleozoic mafic volcanism later than a major thrust fault, inferred to underlie the area at a depth of about 5,000 ft. Most of the nonmetallic minerals mined were sedimentary bedded deposits, but mica was mined from pegmatite deposits, and turquoise from both placer and hydrothermal deposits. The largest known reserves of metals (1973) are of porphyry copper in the Dolly Varden district and gold in the Bootstrap district. Reserves of barite also are presumed to be large. The greatest potential for future production of metals, notably copper and gold, appears to be in the known districts or extensions of them and peripheral to deposits that are related to known or concealed plutons and thrust faults. Potential resources in deposits too low in grade to be worked profitably at the present time include all commodities that have been produced and, in addition, known, deposits of beryllium, molybdenum, tin, and phosphorite. Speculative resources in undiscovered deposits may reasonably be predicted to include all known commodities as well as others that are unsuspected. Petroleum may yet be produced from the Elko Formation and geothermal energy from the Ruby Valley and Elko areas.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1977

Geology and coal resources of the Foidel Creek EMRIA site and surrounding area, Routt County, Colorado

Terrigenous clastic sediments of the Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group (Campanian) in the southeastern part of the Yampa coal field in Routt County, northwestern Colorado, contain many beds of bituminous coal. Lower, middle, and upper coal groups are recognized. The middle coal group, in the lower coal-bearing member of the Williams Fork Formation, contains two thick, persistent coal beds in the Foidel Creek area. The Wadge coal bed, stratigraphically the higher of the two, reaches thicknesses of 3.7 meters, and is strippable beneath large areas on the south slope of Eckman Park. Coal resources of the Wadge bed in the Foidel Creek area--an area of 134 square kilometers, as defined in this study--are estimated to be 317 million metric tons. The Foidel Creek EMRIA reclamation study site--an area of 10.9 square kilometers--contains about 36.1 million metric tons of Wadge coal, as much as 28.1 million metric tons of which occur beneath overburden 61 meters or less in thickness. About 52 meters lower in the section, the Wolf Creek coal bed locally exceeds 6.1 meters in thickness. Coal resources of the Wolf Creek bed in the Foidel Creek area are estimated to be 434 million metric tons. The Foidel Creek EMRIA reclamation study site contains an estimated 49.7 million metric tons of Wolf Creek coal.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1977

Annual water-resources review, White Sands Missile Range, 1976: a basic-data report

Information is presented on the water resources of the White Sands Missile Range, N. Mex., that was collected during the period December 1975 to December 1976 by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. Data on ground-water pumpage and resulting water-level fluctuation, chemical quality and precipitation, and miscellaneous items of interest are summarized. Water-level observations were made in 63 borehole, supply, test, and observation wells on the Range. Water samples were collected and analyzed for chemical quality from 8 test wells. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1977

Preliminary report on the coal resources of the Dickinson area, Billings, Dunn, and Stark Counties, North Dakota

The Dickinson area is underlain by the coal-bearing Fort Union Formation (Paleocene). The Fort Union in this area contains nine potentially economic coal beds. Five of these beds are, either all or in part, shallow enough to be economically extracted by conventional strip-mining methods, while the remaining four deeper beds represent future possible strip-mining, in situ, or shaft-mining coal resources. The Fort Union coal beds in the Dickinson area are relatively flat lying (dips are less than 1½°) and only slightly influenced by faulting and both depositional and post-depositional channeling. Topography, coal thickness, and minimum overburden all combine to give the Dickinson area an excellent future coal resource development potential.

North Dakota↗
USGS1977

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Souris-Red-Rainy region

A broad-perspective analysis of the ground-water resources and present and possible future water development and management in the Souris-Red-Rainy Region is presented. The region includes the basins of the Souris River within Montana and North Dakota; the Red River of the North in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota; and the Rainy River within Minnesota. The region includes 59,645 square miles, mostly in North Dakota and Minnesota. The terrain is relatively flat, but ranges in altitude from 2,541 to 750 feet. Annual average precipitation ranges from 14 inches in the west to 28 inches in the east and about 75 percent of it is rain. The mean annual snow fall ranges from 32 inches in the west to 64 inches in the east. Temperatures range from -55° to 118°F (-48.3° to 47.8°C). Irrigation is needed at least part of the time to assure crop production, particularly in the western part of the region. Sand and gravel deposits in the drift form the most important fresh-water aquifers. Other aquifers are found in at least parts of the region in the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary rocks. The potentiometric surface in the bedrock generally decreases in altitude toward the Red River of the North, indicating that the general direction of ground-water movement is toward the river. Ground-water with less than 3,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids is available throughout the region. Ground water with less than 1,000 milligrams per liter occurs in most of the region east of the Red River of the North and in most of the shallow aquifers west of the river. The total volume of water available from storage having less than 3,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids is estimated to be 5 x 10 8 acre-feet. In addition to the fresh and slightly saline water, the region has abundant highly mineralized water that can be considered as a resource. Yields of wells in individual bedrock aquifers are generally less than 100 gallons per minute but locally yields may be as much as 500 gallons per minute and more. Yields in drift aquifers are frequently less than 100 gallons per minute but range from 5 to 1,000 gallons per minute. In a few places outwash yields more than 1,000 gallons per minute. Ground water is the sole or a primary source of water supply in much of the region, including supplies for irrigation, domestic and livestock, municipal, and industrial needs. Reportedly, the potential irrigation development is 1,550,000 acres, as compared with 50,200 acres in 1975. Both ground- and surface-water supplies would be required to meet these demands. Rural domestic and livestock water supplies are derived almost entirely from ground-water sources. Smaller communities and towns generally rely on ground water, and the cities and industries use ground water, surface water, or both. The municipalities using surface water generally depend upon reservoir storage. Water quality rather than quantity is the greater water-supply problem for many communities in the region. Increased demands on both ground-water and surface-water supplies likely will be made in the future. Storage of surface water in the ground-water reservoirs during times of surplus for withdrawal during times of scarcity would aid in meeting these demands. The surplus (flood) water is of better chemical quality than underlying ground water in parts of the western half of the region. Fresh water could be stored in saline- or fresh-water aquifers, and pumped out later, as needed. Thus, the ground-water reservoirs have a definite present and potential role in water management. To understand the hydrologic system for management purposes there is a need to determine more adequately the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of existing aquifers and the location of new aquifers. Also, as pumping and other stresses on any part of the hydrologic system affect other parts of the system, monitoring programs ideally should be started and maintained to detect changes and determine effects of the stresses. Many alternatives are available for managing water in the region. Some of these are operational and others are undergoing research. Adequate hydrologic information is needed to aid in solving problems of water supply, use and pollution.

Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota↗
USGS1978

Summary of the estimated iron resources of the Marquette and Gogebic Iron Ranges of Michigan

The U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Geological Survey Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has recently completed detailed studies of iron-bearing rocks in the Marquette and Gogebic iron ranges in the northern peninsula of Michigan. The study included mapping the surface distribution of the iron-bearing rocks over a period of nearly 20 years. During that time, much information in the form of more than 4,000 drilling records and maps of mine workings detailing the subsurface distribution of the rocks was obtained from mining companies. We have used this information to better our understanding of the long- and short-term iron resource base of the region.

Michigan↗
USGS1978

Water-resources investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey in Wyoming, fiscal year 1978

This report contains lists of streamflow and reservoir stations, peak-flow partial-record stations, chemical-quality stations, sediment stations, and observation wells where water levels are measured in Wyoming. The locations of the basic-data sites are shown on maps. Thirty-two water-resources appraisal projects in Wyoming are also described, including many that are related to the development of energy resources. The general locations of the projects are shown on maps. The report serves as an annual progress report to cooperators and the public.

Wyoming↗
USGS1978

U.S. Geological Survey offshore program of resource and geo-environmental studies and topical investigations, Pacific-Arctic region

The Geological Survey's marine geology investigations in the Pacific-Arctic area are presented in this report in the context of the underlying socio-economic problem of expanding the domestic production of oil and gas and other mineral and hard- and soft-rock resources while maintaining acceptable standards in the marine environment. The primary mission of the Survey 's Pacific-Arctic Branch of Marine Geology is to provide scientifically interpreted information about the (1) resource potential, (2) geo-environmental setting, and (3) overall geologic characteristics of the continental margins (that is, the continental shelf, slope and rise) and adjacent deeper water and shallower coastal areas off California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii and also, where it is of interest to the U.S. Government, more remote deep-sea areas of the Pacific-Arctic realm.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1978

Geology and coal resources of the Hanging Woman Creek Study Area, Big Horn and Powder River Counties, Montana

In an area of 7,200 acres (29 sq km) In the Hanging Woman Creek study area, the Anderson coal bed contains potentially surface minable resources of 378 million short tons (343 million metric tons) of subbituminous C coal that ranges in thickness from 26 to 33 feet (7.9-10.1 m) at depths of less than 200 feet (60 m). Additional potentially surface minable resources of 55 million short tons (50 million metric tons) are contained in the 9-12 foot (2.7-3.7 m) thick Dietz coal bed which lies 50-100 feet (15-30 m) below the Anderson. Analyses of coal from 5 core holes indicates that the Anderson bed contains 0.4 percent sulfur, 5 percent ash, and has a heating value of 8,540 Btu/lb (4,750 Kcal/kg). The trace element content of the coal is generally similar to other coals in the Powder River Basin. The two coal beds are in the Fort Union Formation of Paleocene age which consists of sandstone, siltstone, shale, coal beds, and locally impure limestone. A northeast-trending normal fault through the middle of the area, downthrown on the southeast side, has displaced the generally flat lying strata as much as 300 feet (91 m). Most of the minable coal lies northwest of this fault.

Montana↗
USGS1978

Mineral resources of the Rock River Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Alger County, Michigan

A mineral resource evaluation of the Rock River Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Alger County, Mich., was completed in 1975 by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The area consists of approximately 22 km 2 in the Hiawatha National Forest. Rocks exposed in the area include sandstone, shaly sandstone, dolomitic sandstone, sandy dolomite, and a minor amount of conglomerate; these rocks range in age from possibly Precambrian to early Middle Ordovician. A minor amount of unconsolidated glacier-transported debris was deposited during Pleistocene time. No deposits of either metallic or nonmetallic minerals were found. Although resources of stone, sand, and gravel exist in the study area, they are considered to have small economic potential; similar materials are readily available and easily accessible in the surrounding region.

Michigan↗
USGS1978

Mineral resources of the Rincon wilderness study area, Pima County, Arizona

The Rincon wilderness study area comprises about 254 km 2 (98 mi 2 ) of the Rincon Mountains 15-30 km (10-20 mi) east of Tucson, Arizona. The area lies within the Coronado National Forest and forms a belt around the north, east, and south sides of the Saguaro National Monument (fig. 1). A mineral resource survey was made of the area in 1977 by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. This study indicates that the potential for finding metallic or nonmetallic mineral deposits, petroleum or coal or geothermal energy in the study area is low. This appraisal is based on geologic and geochemical investigations and on examination of all mineralized prospects. A geologic map was made of the area and its immediate surrounding. Chemical and spectrographic analyses were made of 1.30 stream-sediment samples and of 143 rock samples. The locations of mining claims were compiled and samples from most of the claims were assayed. There has been no recorded mineral production from within the study area. The geology of the Rincon Mountains is structurally complex. The core of the Rincon Mountains, lying mainly within the Saguaro National Monument, is underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks chiefly of Precambrian and Tertiary ages. The study area lies on the flanks of the mountains in a terrain of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks mainly of Precambrian through mid-Tertiary age. The rocks of this area are cut by many faults, with low-angle or bedding-parallel faults abundant. the distribution of these faulted rocks around the flanks of the Rincon Mountains is the result of a doming in the core area, the sliding of rock masses from the high part of the dome down its flanks, and to the effects of erosion. The potential for economic metallic mineral deposits is considered low because the known areas of anomalous concentrations of metals are small and the concentration of metals weak and erratic. The surface signs of mineralization are largely restricted to 4 locales in which some prospects exist (fig. 1): (1) east of Colossal Cave, southwest or the Rincon Mountains, (2) north of Happy Valley, east of the mountains, (3) between Roble and Youtcy Canyons, northeast of the mountains, and (4) near Italian Trap north of the mountains. Very little primary sulfide mineralization is present and signs of alteration are restricted to narrow zones along faults and fractures. The geochemical anomalies are weak. The sites at which anomalous values of copper, molybdenum, or silver were obtained are mainly controlled by faults. Nonmetallic mineral resources occur in deposits that are too small and too remote to be economically attractive. Sand and gravel deposits in the main drainages are similar to larger deposits that occur closer to nearby highways and cities. Limestone and marble present in some of the metamorphic rocks are too impure and too broken for use as dimension stone. Use of this marble as decorative rock is limited by remote markets. Limestone suitable for making cement is not likely to be found in large quantities within the Rincon wilderness study area. Closely spaced fractures in the granitic rocks makes them of little value for building stone.

Arizona↗
USGS1978

Manganese nodule resources in the northeastern equatorial Pacific

Recent publication of maps at a scale of 1:1,000,000 of the northeastern equatorial Pacific region showing publicly available information on the nickel-plus-copper content of manganese nodules has made it possible to delineate the limits of the prime area between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones which has been the focus of several recent scientific and commercial studies. The area, defined as that in which the nodules contain more than 1.8 percent nickel plus copper, is about 2.5 million square kilometers in size, and about half of it is assumed to contain nodules in concentrations greater than 5 kg/m 2 and averaging 11.9 kg/m 2 . Assuming that 20 percent of the nodules in this area of 1.25 million square kilometers would be recoverable, its potentially recoverable resources are about 2.1 billion dry metric tons of nodules averaging about 25 percent Mn, 1.3 percent Ni, 1 percent Cu, 0.22 percent Co, and 0.05 percent Mo--enough to support about 27 mining operations each producing an average of 75 million metric tons of nodules over their lifetimes. Estimates based on other plausible assumptions would be higher or lower, but of the same order of magnitude. Thus it seems probable that the magnitude of the potentially recoverable nodule resources of the Clarion-Clipperton prime area--the most promising now known--is at most in the range of several tens of the average-size operations postulated.

Open-File Report↗