USGS Science⌕ Search

Geology topics

Research about Carbon County, Wyoming

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Carbon County, Wyoming.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1953

Preliminary report on uranium deposits in the Miller Hill area, Carbon County, Wyoming

A sequence of radioactive rocks of Miocene (?) age, the Browns Park formation, in the Miller Hill area of southern Wyoming is more than 1,000 feet thick. The formation crops out in an area of approximately 600 square miles, and consists of a basal conglomerate, tuffs, tuffaceous limy sandstones, and thin persistent radioactive algal limestones. Uranium is concentrated in both algal limestones and in tuffaceous limy sandstones. The uranium is believed to have been deposited. at least in part with the sediments, rather than to have come in at a later date. The highest uranium values were found in a widespread algal limestone bed, which contains as much as 0. 15 percent uranium. Values of 0.01 percent uranium or more were obtained from 8 samples taken from approximately 220 feet of stratigraphic section in the Browns Park formation. This is the first reported occurrence of limestone source rock from Wyoming that has been found to contain a commercial grade of uranium. The economic possibilities of the area have not been determined adequately and no estimates of tonnage are warranted at the present time. An airborne radiometric survey was made by the Geophysics Branch of the Geological Survey, of the west half of the area, recommended by the writer for investigation. Ground check of all anomalies reported at that time showed that they were in localities where the background radiation was much higher than average. Additional localities with high background radiation were found on the ground in the area east of that which was flown.

Wyoming↗
USGS1953

Uranium in the Poison Basin area, Carbon County, Wyoming - a preliminary report

Uranium minerals were found on October 15, 1953, about seven miles west of Baggs in the Browns Park formation of the Poison Basin area, Carbon County, Wyo. The occurrences extend over an area of at least several square miles in secs. 4 and 5, T. 12 N., R. 92 W., and secs. 32 and 33, T. 13 N., R. 92 W. Uranophane-bearing sandstones contain as much as 3.21 percent uranium in select samples. The occurrences cannot be evaluated because their dimensions and average grade have not been determined. The presence of uranium, however, is significant because it indicates that uranium deposits may be present in the Browns Park formation and also in the underlying formations unconformably overlapped by the Browns Park.

Wyoming↗
USGS1953

Airborne radioactivity survey of the Miller Hill area, Carbon county, Wyoming

The accompanying map shows the results of an airborne radioactivity survey covering 65 square miles northwest of Miller Hill, Carbon county, Wyoming. The survey was made by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of a cooperative program with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. At 500 feet above the ground, the width of the zone from which anomalous radioactivity is measured varies with the intensity of radiation of the source and, for strong sources, the width would be as much as 1,400 feet. Quarter-mile spacing of the flight paths of the aircraft should be adequate to detect anomalies from strong sources of radioactivity. However, small areas of considerable radioactivity midway between flight paths may not be noted. The approximate location of each radioactivity anomaly is shown on the accompanying map. The plotted position of an anomaly may be in error by as much as a quarter of a mile owing to errors in the available base maps up to several square miles in which it is impossible to find and plot recognizable landmarks. The radioactivity anomalies shown on the accompanying map cannot be interpreted in terms of either the radioactive content or the extent of the source materials. The present technique of airborne radioactivity measurement does not permit distinguishing between activity due to thorium and that due to uranium. An anomaly, therefore, may represent radioactivity due entirely to uranium, or to thorium, or to a combination of uranium and thorium. The radioactivity that is recorded by airborne measurements at 500 feet above the ground can be caused by: 1. A moderately large area in which the rocks and soils are slightly more radioactive than the rocks and soils of the surrounding area. 2. A smaller area in which the rocks and soils are considerably more radioactive than rocks and soils in the surrounding area. 3. A very small area in which to rocks and soils are much more radioactive than the rocks and soils of the surrounding area. Any particular anomaly, therefore, may represent either slightly greater-than-average radioactivity over an area of a few thousand square feet, or high radioactivity over an area of a few hundred square feet. The radioactivity anomalies shown on the accompanying map indicate localities of more-than-average radioactivity, and therefore, suggest areas in which uranium or thorium deposits are more likely to occur.

Wyoming↗
USGS1918

Stratigraphy of the Hanna Basin, Wyoming

Carbon County, Wyo., has attracted the attention of geologists since the days of the territorial surveys under King, Hayden, and Powell. During this earlier work all the rocks (except the North Park formation) over-lying the uppermost beds of marine origin were grouped in a single formation, for which the name Laramie was proposed.

Wyoming↗