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Research about Colorado

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Colorado.

At least 1,441 records · Page 80Linked to original sources
USGS1985

Quantification of transit losses, and its effects on surface-water resources, Arkansas River basin, Colorado

Colorado Water Law enables downstream water users to use natural river channels to convey water from upstream storage reservoirs to downstream canals, provided an equitable charge is made for transit loss. Charging a variable transit-loss rate for delivery of winter water stored in Pueblo Reservoir has resulted in better management of the basin's surface-water resources. Not only are more accurate volumes of stored water delivered to each irrigator, but use of the natural channel for conveyance of these waters now has minimal effect on users of direct-flow water rights. A better understanding of specific sources of transit loss also has allowed water users to manage the timing and rate of their reservoir releases to optimize beneficial use of their stored water.

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USGS1985

Fluorine in Colorado oil shale

Oil shale from the lower part of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado, averages 0.13 weight percent fluorine, which is about twice that found in common shales, but is the same as the average amount found in some oil shales from other parts of the world. Some fluorine may reside in fluorapatite; however, limited data suggest that cryolite may be quantitatively more important. Analysis of 913 samples from two core holes that penetrate the lower 375 m of the oil-shale deposits found fluorine to range from 0.001 to 2.2 weight percent; about 90 percent of the samples con tain between 0.001 and 0.20 weight percent fluorine. The analyzed sequence consists of mostly nahcolitebearing dolomitic oil shale, except for the lower 55-75 m, which consists of illitic oil shale. The fluorine content of much of the nahcolitic oil shale is somewhat lower, and much more variable from sample to sample, than that of the underlying illitic oil shale. Vertical profiles of the fluo rine content for the two core holes through the same stratigraphic interval are essentially dissimilar. The abundance of fluorine seems unrelated to shaleoil content, except in the R-5 zone and near the base of nahcolite-bearing oil shale where there is a moderate positive association. Fluorine and phos phorus abundances show mostly little or no assoc iation, and only moderate positive association in some scattered samples.

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USGS1984

The ecological effect of acid conditions and precipitation of hydrous metal oxides in a Rocky Mountain stream

Periphyton and benthic invertebrates assemblages were studied at the confluence of two Rocky Mountain streams, Deer Creek and the Snake River near Montezuma, Colorado. Upstream from the confluence the Snake River is acidic and enriched in dissolved trace metals, while Deer Creek is a typical Rocky Mountain stream. In the Snake River, downstream from the confluence, the pH increases and hydrous metal oxides precipitate and cover the streambed. The algal and benthic invertebrate communities in the upstream reaches of the Snake River and in Deer Creek were very different. A liverwort, Scapania undulata var. undulata, was abundant in the Snake River, and although periphyton were very sparse, there were as many benthic invertebrates as in Deer Creek. Downstream from the confleunce, the precipitation of hydrous metal oxides greatly decreased the abundance of periphyton and benthic invertebrates. This study shows that in streams metal precipitates covering the streambed may have a more deleterious effect on stream communities than high metal-ion activities.

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USGS1984

Extinction of montane populations of the northern leopard frog (Rana pippins) in Colorado

Between 1973 and 1982 nine populations of the northern leopard frog in the Red Feather Lakes region of Larimer County, Colorado, failed in reproduce. These failures all resulted in extinction of the populations. One area formerly supporting a population was recolonized in 1980, but no frogs were observed at any of the nine sites in 1981 or 1982. Six of the populations went extinct because the breeding ponds dried up. The remaining populations were small enough to be susceptible to random events, but the nature of these events is unknown.

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USGS1984

Summary of water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado: fiscal year 1984

Water-resources investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado consist of collecting water-resources data and conducting interpretive hydrologic investigations. The water-resources data and the results of the investigations are published or released by either the U.S. Geological Survey or by cooperating agencies. This report describes the water- resources investigations in Colorado for the 1984 fiscal year (October 1, 1983, to September 30, 1984).

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USGS1984

Geology, altitude, and depth of the bedrock surface; altitude of the water table in 1980; and saturated thickness of the Ogallala aquifer in 1980 in the southern High Plains of Colorado

The southern High Plains of Colorado, an area of about 2,800 square miles in the southeastern part of the state, is underlain by the Ogallala Formation of late Tertiary age, The southern High Plains of Colorado extend from the Colorado State line on the east and the ans south to the edge of the Ogallala Formation on the north and west. The Ogallala Formation is an unconsolidated or partly consolidated seposit of sand, gravel, clay silt, and caliche.

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USGS1984

Measured sections and discussion of the main turbidite member, Middle Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation, northern Sangre de Cristo Range, Custer and Saguache counties, Colorado

Turbidites are sediments deposited by turbid density currents. The turbidites described here are interpreted as prodelta deposits that formed in front of fan deltas and alluvial fans during the uplift of the ancestral Rocky Mountains in Pennsylvanian time. Laterally extensive, lenticular sand bodies deposited by turbidity flows crop out in the Middle Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation in the northern Sangre de Crísto Range, Custer and Saguache Counties, Colo. (figs. 1, 2). One of the turbidite-bearing intervals, informally designated the "main turbidite member," lies 90.6 m above the base of the Minturn; it reaches 150 m in thickness and extends more than 13 km along strike. The internal stratigraphy and sedimentary structures of the main turbidite member are described from the measured sections presented here. The Middle Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation of the Spread Eagle Peak thrust plate (Lindsey, Johnson, and Andriessen, 1983) consists of about 2,000 m of interbedded conglomeratic sandstone, sandstone, siltstone, and lesser amounts of conglomerate, shale, and limestone. The lower 1,500 m of the Minturn is composed mainly of prograding deltaic-alluvial cycles that contain interva1s of prodelta turbidites. The upper 500 m of the Minturn consists of deposits of small deltas and bralded streams interbedded with shallow marine limestones Interpreted as a san-delta deposit (Clark, 1982). Above the Minturn Formation, the Pennsylvanian and Permian Sangre de Cristo Formation consists of more than 1,700 m of coarse conglomerate and sandstone interpreted as an a 11uvialfan deposit (Lindsey and Schaefer, 1984). The main turbidite member is the thickest and most extensive of the intervals of prodelta turbidites in the Minturn Formation. Each turbidite interval is part of a coarsening upward sequence interpreted as a prograding fan delta. A typical prograding cycle consists of prodelta marine shale and siltstone, prodelta turbidite sandstones, delta-front sandstone and conglomerate, and deltaic and alluvial-plain sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Fossils of 1and plants (mostly Calamites, including some in growth position) are locally abundant in deltaic and alluvial sediments of the prograding cycles. The turbidites are regarded as having been deposited offshore from alluvial systems.

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USGS1984

Seismicity map of the state of Colorado

The data shown on this map and listed in table 1 are for earthquakes that were originally included in a study of seismic risk in the United States (Algermissen, 1969). This data file has been recompiled and updated through 1981. Some revisions of epicenters and intensities in the original file have been made, and intensities have been assigned to earthquakes that previously had none assigned. Only earthquakes that had epicenters within the boundary of the state are listed in table 1, even though earthquakes that had epicenters in bordering states or countries may have been felt or may have caused damage in the state. Intensity values were updated from data sources that were not available at the time or original compilation. Some epicenters were relocated on the basis of new information. The data shown in table 1 represent best estimates of the epicenter, magnitude, and intensity of each earthquake on the basis of historical and current information. Some of the aftershocks from large earthquakes are listed, but not all, especially for the earthquakes that occurred before seismic instruments were universally used.

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USGS1984

Bedrock aquifers in the Denver basin, Colorado; a quantitative water-resources appraisal

The Denver metropolitan area is experiencing a rapid population growth that is requiring increasing supplies of potable water to be pumped from bedrock aquifers in order to meet demand. In an effort to determine the ability of the aquifers to continue to meet this demand, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the Denver Board of Water Commissioners, and Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and El Paso Counties joined with the U.S. Geological Survey in undertaking a hydrologic evaluation of the ground-water resources of the basin. This involved mapping of aquifer extent, thickness, structure, hydraulic characteristics, and water-level and water-quality conditions. This enabled ground-water modeling techniques to be used to simulate aquifer response to various pumpage estimates and ground-water development plans. The Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer (the deepest aquifer) underlies the 6,700-square-mile study area and is overlain by the more permeable Arapahoe aquifer, the Denver aquifer, and the Dawson aquifer, which crops out in the southern part of the study area. It is estimated that 260x10 6 acre-feet of recoverable ground water are in storage in these four bedrock aquifers. However, less than 0.1 percent of this volume of water is stored under confined conditions. The larger volume of water stored under unconfined conditions will be available for use only when the water levels in the confined aquifers decline below the top of the individual aquifer, allowing water-table conditions to develop. Annual precipitation on the Denver basin supplies an average of 6,900 cubic feet per second of water to the area; about 55 cubic feet per second of this recharges the bedrock aquifers, principally through the Dawson Arkose. The direction of ground-water movement is generally from ground-water divides in the southern part of the area northward toward the margins of the aquifers. Pumpage has ranged from about 5 cubic feet per second in 1884 to about 41 cubic feet per second in 1978. Pumpage exceeds recharge in the metropolitan area and has caused water-level declines (1958-78) to exceed 200 feet in a 135-square-mile area of the Arapahoe aquifer southeast of Denver. A quasi-three-dimensional finite-difference model of the aquifer system was constructed and calibrated under steady-state and transient-state conditions. Steady-state calibration indicated that lateral hydraulic conductivity within the aquifers is about 100,000 times larger than the vertical hydraulic conductivity between the aquifers. Transient-state calibration indicated that between 1958 and 1978, 374,000 acre-feet of water was pumped from the aquifers, producing a 90,000-acre-foot net decrease in the volume of water in storage in the aquifers. During this time, pumpage also changed the rates of interaquifer flow, induced additional recharge, and caused capture of natural discharge. Three 1979-2050 pumpage estimates were made for use in simulating the effects of various ground-water development plans. Simulations using each of these pumpage estimates indicate that by the year 2050 large water-level declines could occur, particularly in the deeper aquifers. Maximum water-level declines of 410, 1,700, and 1,830 feet were produced using the small, medium, and large pumping rates. Four plans for supplementing the Denver water supply include pumping a satellite well field, pumping a municipal well field, pumping to irrigate parks, and injecting water during periods of low demand for later use during periods of peak demand. Model simulation of these plans indicates that the satellite well field will yield twice as much water as the municipal well field, but will produce larger and more widespread water-level declines in the four aquifers. The municipal well field would not significantly affect water levels in the Dawson aquifer. Pumping the Arapahoe aquifer to supply irrigation water to selected parks was shown to produce only small water-level declines in the aquifer. Results of simulating injection-pumpage well fields at two locations indicate that simulated injection rates could range from 1.7 to 10 cubic feet per second, depending on the choice of site. The volume of water that could be stored in the bedrock aquifer is, thus, sensitive to the hydrologic characteristics of the chosen site. More study is needed to evaluate water-chemistry compatibility of native and injected water.

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USGS1984

Hydrology, geomorphology, and dam-break modeling of the July 15, 1982, Lawn Lake Dam and Cascade Lake Dam failures, Larimer County, Colorado

On July 15, 1982, Lawn Lake Dam, a 26-foot-high earthfill irrigation dam built in 1903 in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, failed, due to piping, releasing 674 acre-feet of water with a peak discharge of 18,000 cubic feet per second down the Roaring River. Three people were killed, and damages were estimated at $31 million. Cascade Lake Dam, downstream from Lawn Lake Dam, subsequently failed as a result of the flood, increasing the peak flow at this point from 7,210 cubic feet per second to 16,000 cubic feet per second. The flood wave took 3.28 hours to travel 12.5 miles to Lake Estes, where all the floodwater was stored. The channel of the Roaring River was scoured as much as 50 feet and widened 300 feet. An alluvial fan of 42.3 acres, containing 10 million cubic feet of material, was deposited at the mouth of the Roaring River, damming the Fall River and forming a 17-acre lake. Various methods were used to indirectly compute peak discharge, attenuation of flow, and flood traveltime. A version of the National Weather Service dam-break flood model was used to evaluate its performance on high-gradient streams, to provide supplemental hydrologic information, and to evaluate various scenarios of dam-break development. (USGS)

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