Geology topics
Research about Connecticut
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Connecticut.
Pegmatites of the Middletown area, Connecticut
The pegmatites of the Middletown area in Connecticut have been mined almost continuously for feldspar and muscovite mica since about 1865, Pegmatites in this and other areas have recently become the subject of renewed interest because pegmatites are the potential source of beryl, the ore mineral of beryllium. During 1948 to 1950, the Geological Survey studied and mapped the pegmatites in an area of about 58 square miles near Middletown. The primary objectives of the mapping were to determine beryllium resources of the Middletown area, and to ascertain relationships of beryl-bearing pegmatites to non-beryl-bearing pegmatites and to type of wall rock.
Statement on ground water in Connecticut
Connecticut has a supply of ground water, most of it of good quality, which is largely undeveloped, and much of which would lend itself to industrial and other uses. Ground water is available in small quantities in nearly all parts of the State, and in moderate to large quantities in many areas, chiefly along the major stream. However, specific and detailed information on the ground water is available in report form for relatively few specific localities and areas. Definitive investigations of the occurrence, general availability, quality, and quality of ground water in Connecticut are being made under cooperative agreements between the State Water Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey; and some progress has been made. Generalized information of a reconnaissance nature is shown on plate 1, which gives areas of estimated moderate to large yields, delineated on the basis of currently available data, and shows the locations of wells for which records are given in tables 1 and 2. Some specific information on particular areas is available in the open files of the agencies cooperating in the investigations.
Progress report of cooperative ground-water investigations for Connecticut for the year ended June 30, 1954
Ground-water investigations were continued under the Water Commission- U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Program at four project area in Connecticut during the year ended June 30, 1954. Substantial progress was made in the collection of basic water information in the lower Farmington River basin. Both surface and subsurface geological area were assembled for use by prospective well owners. The preparation of a report on the geology and ground-water resources of the agricultural area of north-central Connecticut was continued during the year. As a continuation of investigations on the ground-water resources of the industrial areas of New Haven and Waterbury, observations of water level and samples of water were taken bi-monthly from 5 well at 5 industrial plants in Waterbury and anaysed for sulfate concentration in order to measure the degree of infiltration of acid-contaminated water to the water-bearing formations.
Bibliography of publications relating to ground water in Connecticut
The United States Geological Survey is currently investigating the ground-water resources of Connecticut in cooperation with the State Water Commission. As part of this cooperative project, in order to summarize the knowledge already gained about ground water in the State, a bibliography of reports dealing with ground water in Connecticut has been prepared. A compilation entitled "Bibliography and index of publications relating to ground water prepared by the Geological Survey and cooperating agencies", by G. A. Waring and O. E. Neinzer, was issued as U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 992 in 1947. The following compilation lists all the papers in Water-Supply Paper 992 that refer to Connecticut plus other short reports not included in the letter. The first studies of ground water in Connecticut were begun in 1903 by Professor H. E. Gregory of Yale University under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey. The early studies were of the reconnaissance type, covering large sections of the State, and were concerned mainly with the relation of the bedrock geology to the water supply. The results were published in several Water-Supply Papers of the Geological Survey. In 1911 a cooperative agreement for the study of the ground-water resources of Connecticut in which each party shared equally in the expenses was made between the Federal Survey and the Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey. As a result more detailed studies in smaller areas were undertaken. Active field work covering more than half the State was continued through 1923 under this arrangement and the results published in eight U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers. After an eleven year period of inactivity and with the inauguration of the Federal Emergency Relief Commission, detailed studies of ground water in Connecticut were begun again in October 1934 as a project of the Emergency Relief Commission (later the Works Progress Administration). The project was sponsored by the Connecticut State Water Commission, the State Planning Board, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The technical direction of the work was undertaken by the Geological Survey. The project consisted of an inventory and mapping of wells and springs in the State by towns and the recording of weekly observations of water levels in selected wells. The data collected through October 1939 were published in six mimeographed bulletins and one typewritten bulletin by the Works Program Administration. In 1939, when it became necessary to curtail the work being carried on by the Works Progress Administration, cooperation was arranged between the Federal Ecological Survey and the State Water Commission to continue investigations relative to the over-development of ground-water supplies in the New Haven area. From time to time additional funds have been made available to meet growing demands by the State for data on its ground-water supplied and the present cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey and the State Water Commission is a continuation of the original arrangement. It is estimated that about 14 per cont of the State has been covered by recent ground-water surveys and in addition some data are available for another 20 per cent of he State.
Geologic map of parts of Glastonbury and Middle Haddam quadrangles, Connecticut
No abstract available.
The beryl resources of Connecticut
In 1942-44, about 120 Connecticut pegmatites were examined for beryl and other minerals during investigations by the Federal Geological Survey. Most of the pegmatites lie in the Middletown district, occurring principally in the Bolton schist and Monson gneiss. The pegmatites range from distinctly zoned bodies to those that are essentially uniform mixtures of the component minerals. Beryl in the zoned pegmatites commonly is present in greater concentration in one or more zones than in others. It occurs in the majority of pegmatites examined, but on the basis of crystal counts only 10 pegmatites, either in whole or in sizable part, average 0.2% or more beryl. Six structural types of beryl deposits are described and illustrated: border-zone, wall-zone, intermediate-zone, pod, fracture-controlled, and disseminated. Some pegmatites contain two or more types.Grades and tonnages of 14 beryl-bearing pegmatites are tabulated. Total indicated and inferred beryl-bearing pegmatite is 207,885 tons containing 859 + tons of beryl. Most of the beryl is in crystals too small to be economically separable by hand sorting, and barring a marked increase in the price of beryl, milling operations would have to be supported primarily by the yield of salable feldspar, scrap mica, and possibly quartz.
A study of ground water in the Pomperaug Basin, Connecticut, with special reference to intake and discharge
No abstract available.