Geology of the Mt. Aetna volcanic center, Chaffee and Gunnison Counties, Colorado
No abstract available.
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Geology topics
Research about Colorado
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Colorado.
Geologic studies in support of the U.S. Department of Energy Multiwell Experiment, Garfield County, Colorado
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting a field-oriented, enhanced-gas-recovery research experiment in the southern Piceance Creek basin. This project is called the Multiwell Experiment (MWX) and is being undertaken as a major part of DOE's Fossil Energy Western Gas Sands Subprogram. The main purpose of the research is to provide new and improved technology for the identification of natural gas in tight reservoirs and to develop economically viable and reliable methods to recover the gas (Northrop and others, 1984).
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Effects of irrigating with wastewater on ground-water quality at Fort Carson Military Reservation golf course near Colorado Springs, Colorado
Fort Carson Military Reservation has used treatment wastewater for irrigation of the Fort Carson golf course since 1971. The effect of applied wastewater on groundwater quality at Fort Carson golf course was evaluated using water levels and water-quality data from 20 observation wells. The water-quality constituents analyzed included dissolved solids, major ions, nutrients, detergents, dissolved organic carbon, chemical and biological oxygen demand, and trace elements. Effects of the applied wastewater on ground-water quality for most constituents were obscured by large areal variations and by high concentrations of the constituents upgradient from the golf course. The sources of nitrogen observed in the ground water beneath the golf course were applied wastewater, applied fertilizer, leachate from the organic-rich shale, and from unknown upgradient sources. Nitrogen loading at the golf course from wastewater and applied fertilizer was estimated to be 18 ,900 pounds per year. After 10 years, less than 1 percent of the nitrogen applied was actually present in the ground water. Loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere as nitrous oxides, absorption, and to fixation by grass resulted in the much smaller concentrations observed in the ground water. (USGS)
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Analysis of urban storm-runoff data and the effects on the South Platte River, Denver metropolitan area, Colorado
Denver was selected for inclusion in the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey. This report, prepared in cooperation with the Denver Regional council of governments, contains a synopsis of previous urban runoff studies in the Denver metropolitan area. The report includes a description of the monitored basins, a summary of storm runoff-to-rainfall ratios and estimates of impervious retention, and constituent loads and concentrations from seven small basins. The data from six small and five tributary basins to the South Platte River are analyzed using regression analysis, resulting in two sets of regression equations to predict storm runoff volume and selected constituent loads. The regression equations may be used to estimate storm-runoff volume and constituent loads from unmonitored basins from 15 to 16,000 acres with effective impervious areas of 15 to 90 percent. The effects of urban runoff on the South Platte River in the Denver area are described in three ways. The three methods indicated that storm runoff was a significant contributor of total suspended solids, total organic carbon, total lead, and total zinc to the South Platte River.
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Streamflow gain-and-loss and suspended-sediment characteristics of the South Platte River and three irrigation canals near Fort Morgan, Colorado
A 2-year study during 1982-83 was made to document the streamflow gain-and-loss and suspended sediment characteristics of the South Platte River, Fort Morgan Canal, Upper Platte and Beaver Canal, and the Lower Platte and Beaver Canal near Fort Morgan, Colorado, prior to possible construction of the proposed Narrows Reservoir. Six streamflow gain-and-loss investigations, conducted in 1982 along a 25.8 mi reach of the South Platte River, indicate an average downstream gain in discharge of 150 cu ft/sec during the irrigation season. The Fort Morgan Canal and the Lower Platte and Beaver Canal had decreasing discharges in the downstream direction. The Upper Platte and Beaver Canal had a slight increased in discharge at the second measurement site and decreases in the third and fourth measurement sites. Irrigation practices and some loss to the groundwater system account for the general decrease in discharge. Suspended sediment data were collected at the streamflow-gaging station 06758500 South Platte River near Weldona and on the three irrigation canals: Fort Morgan Canal, Upper Platte and Beaver Canal, and Lower Platte and Beaver Canal. The data indicate that relations exist between the suspended sediment concentrations at the South Platte River station and the suspended sediment concentrations at the most upstream measurement site on each canal. Relations between suspended sediment discharge and water discharge were developed at all canal measurement sites. For all the canals, suspended sediment discharge decreased in a downstream direction. Slight increases in suspended sediment occurred at the second measurement site on the Upper Platte and Beaver Canal and at the third measurement site on the Lower Platte and Beaver Canal. Laboratory analyses indicate that 75% of the suspended sediment is silt and clay size (particles finer than 0.062 mm).
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Groundwater contamination and aquifer reclamation at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado
No abstract available.
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Brief comparison of some technological and environmental aspects of large-scale surface and underground mining of oil shale, Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado
Comparison of several aspects of surface and underground methods of mining for large-scale oil shale extraction in the Piceance Creek Basin suggests that surface mining techniques may have several advantages over underground methods. For a production level of one million barrels of shale oil per day, potential advantages include those related to economics, environmental effects, and the overall national interest. One million barrels of shale oil per day could be produced from 2-3 large surface mines compared to perhaps 10-20 large underground mines. Fewer surface mines would result in: (1) fewer roads and utility corridors, (2) less acres disturbed per barrel of oil pro duced, (3) reduced detrimental effects on ground water and surface water, (4) less wildlife distur bance, (5) a safer overall operation, (6) a greater opportunity to achieve stable long-term land and water reclamation, (7) potential economic advantages related to scale and materials handling, and (8) a three- to five-fold increase in resource recovery. Advantages to underground (including modified in situ [MIS]) mines include: (1) more flexibility of mine siting, (2) mining and handling a minimum of waste rock, and (3) simplified ore grade control for processing.
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Distribution of corticolous noncrustose lichens on trunks of Rocky Mountain junipers in Boulder County, Colorado.
Nineteen species of noncrustose lichens were found on Juniperus scopulorum bark; 3 species had relatively high cover and frequency values and were characterized as typical lichens of Rocky Mountain junipers: Xanthoria fallax, Phaeophyscia hirsuta and Physcia caesia. Total cover per tree was low (4%) and most species preferred the N and E sides of trunk bases. These distributional trends may reflect gradients of exposure to wind, insolation, and rate of bark exfoliation. -Author Juniperus scopulorum Phaeophyscia hirsuta Physcia caesia Xanthoria fallax.
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Well yields and chemical quality of water from water-table aquifers in the greater Denver area, Front Range urban corridor, Colorado
Knowledge of the well yields and chemical quality of water from water-table aquifers is useful to State and local officials in making decisions on land use and in locating water supplies in the rapidly urbanizing greater Denver are. This report presents the results of a 2-year investigation to obtain this knowledge and to relate the results to urban planning in the greater Denver area. The report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey to demonstrate the usefulness of Earth-science information in urban planning.
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Depth to the water table (1976-1977) in the Greater Denver area, Front Range urban corridor, Colorado
Knowledge of the depth to the water table is useful to State and local officials in making decisions on land use in the rapidly urbanizing greater Denver are. This report presents the results of a 2-year investigation to determine the depth to the water table, water-table fluctuations and trends, and to relate the results of the investigation to urban planning in the greater Denver area. The report is one of a series of geologic and hydrologic reports prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey to demonstrate the usefulness of Earth-science information in urban planning.
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Aeromagnetic map of the Powderhorn wilderness study area and Cannibal Plateau Roadless Area, Gunnison and Hinsdale counties, Colorado
The Powderhorn Wilderness Study Area (51,000 acres or 20,640 hectares) and the contiguous Cannibal Plateau Roadless Area (29,500 acres or 11,959 hectares) are on the Gunnison County-Hinsdale County boundary, approximately 50mi (80 km) southwest of Gunnison and a few miles east of Lake City, Colo. Part of the area has been known as the Powderhorn Primitive Area. The mineral resource potential of the study area has been assessed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines; this assessment involved, besides the geologic study and economic appraisal (Sharp and others, 1983), a geophysical survey (this report) by the Geological Survey, and a geochemical survey (Sharp and Lane, 1983) by the Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines.
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Reconnaissance geologic map of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Huerfano and Las Animas Counties, Colorado
No abstract available.
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Mineral resource potential map of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Huerfano and Las Animas counties, Colorado
A geologic and geochemical investigation and a survey of mines and prospects have been conducted to evaluate the mineral resource potential of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Huerfano and Las Animas Counties, in south-central Colorado. The·study area is underlain by sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic to Tertiary age (Johnson, 1969). Stocks and dikes were emplaced between 20 and 25 m.y. ago (Smith, 1979) forming East and West Spanish Peaks and the White Peaks. Most of the study area lacks significant geochemical anomalies and has a low mineral potential. Anomalous concentrations of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the rocks and drainage basins in the vicinity of the old mines and prospects on West Spanish Peak indicate a moderate potential for small mineralized veins in this area. Ore-bearing veinlets have been worked in the past, primarily for silver and lead; however, the sparsity, small size, and low grade of the veins diminish their significance. The depth of several thousand feet at which coal may underlie the surface rocks of the study area makes it a resource with little likelihood of development. The potential for oil and gas appears low because of the apparent lack of structural traps and the intense igneous activity in the area.
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Preliminary thermal-maturity map of the Cameo and Fairfield or equivalent coal zone in the Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado
This map was prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's Western Gas Sands Project and was constructed to show the thermal maturity of the Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation (or Group) in the Piceance Creek Basin. The ability of a source rock to generate oil and gas is directly related to its kerogen content and thermal maturity; hence, thermal maturity is commonly used as an exploration tool. This publication consists of two parts: a coal rank map for the basinwide Cameo and Fairfield or equivalent coal zone and three cross sections showing the variation in a coal rank for the entire Mesaverde. Structure contours on the map show the top of the Rollins Sandstone Member of the Mesaverde Formation and its equivalent the Trout Creek Sandstone Member of the Iles Formation of the Mesaverde Group, which immediately underlie the Cameo and Fairfield zone. The structure contours show the fairly strong correlation between structure and coal rank in the basin, suggesting that maximum overburden was the key factor in determining the coal ranks. Even in the southern part of the basin where extensive plutonism occurred during the Oligocene, coal ranks still generally follow structure; indicating that the plutons had little affect on the coals. On the cross sections both the top of the Rollins and Trout Creek, and the top of the Mesaverde Formation/Group are shown. A complete analysis of the entire Mesaverde in the basin would require more information than is presently available.
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Mineral resource potential of the Piedra Wilderness Study Area, Archuleta and Hinsdale counties, Colorado
The mineral resource potential of the Piedra Wilderness Study Area is low. No occurrences of metallic minerals, of valuable industrial rocks and minerals, or of useful concentrations of organic fuels are known in the study area. However, a noneconomic occurrence of gypsum in the Jurassic Wanakah Formation lies a few hundred feet west of the WSA boundary, is believed to extend into the WSA, and has a low resource potential. Particular attention was paid to the possible occurrence of organic fuels in the Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation, of uranium and vanadium in the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone and Morrison Formation, and of coal in the Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone. Thin coaly beds in the Dakota have a low resource potential. Extensive sampling of stream sediments, limited sampling of rock outcrops and springs, and a number of scintillometer traverses failed to pinpoint significant anomalies that might be clues to mineral deposits.
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Hydrogeologic data from parts of the Denver basin, Colorado
This report presents hydrogeologic data collected and compiled during 1956-81 as part of a comprehensive hydrogeologic data collected and compiled during 1956-81 as part of a comprehensive hdryogeologic investigation of the Denver basin, Colorado, by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources, Office of the State Engineer. The data, in tabular and graphic form, consist of records for 870 wells which include water-level data for 158 wells and water-quality analyses for 561 wells; geophysical logs from three wells which include resistivity, self potential, and natural gamma logs; and gain-and-loss data of streamflow measured at 54 sites.
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