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Research about South Dakota

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including South Dakota.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
USGS1973

Water resources and geology of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota

Ground water suitable for public supply can be obtained from fractured metamorphic and igneous rooks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, S. Dak. The memorial comprises three main drainage basins: Starling basin, Lafferty Gulch basin, and East Boundary basin. Ground water is most prevalent in Lafferty Gulch basin but Starling basin contributes the most surface water. The total water supply was obtained from springs until 1967 when increasing numbers of visitors required development of additional sources. As a result of this investigation, wells 3 and 4 were drilled in Lafferty Gulch basin and East Boundary basin. Well 3 is 200 feet deep in mica schist and granite. It produced 7.3 million gallons of water in 1968 and 7.7 million gallons of water in 1969, the total supply for the memorial. Well 4 is 500 feet deep, also in mica schist and granite. It is not used at the present time (1970) but will be used in the future when more water is needed. Water from both wells is potable, but the quality of water from well 3 is superior to that from well 4. Mica schist is the most abundant rock in the memorial. The more prominent hills and mountains, however, are in large, northerly striking granite sills, some of which are several hundred feet thick. Pegmatite sills and dikes are also numerous. The western boundary of the memorial is at the east edge of the Harney Peak Granite batholith. The dip of schistosity and bedding in schist adjacent to the batholith is about 30 ? E. but increases across the memorial to about 65 ? E. in the northeast corner. At some locations in the memorial, granite or pegmatite sills act as ground-water dams preventing the movement of ground water down gradient. A pegmatite or granite sill is probably the cause of the accumulation of water in the vicinity of well 3. The well flows when it is not being pumped. The occurrence of ground water is dependent upon the presence of joints and fractures in the schist and granite bedrock. The rocks themselves are relatively impermeable and would yield little or no water in their unaltered state. Mica schist that has been intruded by granite and (or) pegmatite is more fractured and yields more ground water in the memorial than mica schist alone. This condition may be due to jointing and to the greater fracturability of the intruded rocks in the vicinity of granitic intrusions. Ground water is also available from alluvium in major valleys such as Starling basin and the valleys of Grizzly Bear Creek and Battle Creek. Evapotranspiration is the greatest use-item in the water budget. An approximation of evapotranspiration based upon an average annual precipitation of 19 inches is 1,600 acre-feet, or 80 percent of the annual precipitation. Several locations in the memorial have potential as future, sources of ground-water supplies. The most promising areas are near spring 6 in the southeast corner and alluvium in the valleys of Battle and Grizzly Bear Creeks. Developed and potential water resources in the memorial probably are sufficient to meet demands beyond the year 2000.

South Dakota↗
USGS1973

Water resources of the Big Sioux River Valley near Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The major sources of water in the Big Sioux River valley between Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids, S.Dak., are the Big Sioux River and the glacial outwash aquifer beneath the flood plain. The river and the aquifer are hydraulically connected. The Big Sioux River has an average annual discharge of 246 cubic feet per second, on the average exceeds bankfull stage every 2.3 years, and has moderate basin storage.. Periods of low flow are common in the late summer, fall, and winter. A low flow of 0.1 cubic foot per second has been recorded. The outwash aquifer is composed of permeable sand, sand and gravel, and some boulders. The aquifer underlies an area of 33 square miles and commonly has a saturated thickness of less than 30 feet. Aquifer tests and measurements of streamflow indicate a rate of streambed infiltration of about 6 gallons per day per square foot. Analyses of streambed samples and interpretations of lithology from an electric log indicate that the streambed sediments in the diversion channel of the Big Sioux River consist largely of relatively impermeable silts and clays. Under normal climatic conditions, most of the water pumped by the city of Sioux Falls is water that entered the aquifer by streambed infiltration. To evaluate the importance of the aquifer in the hydrologic system, both an electrical analog model and a digital model were programmed for storage depletion alone. These models were used to determine the water-level declines in the aquifer that would result from 1 year of withdrawal at a rate of 9-10 million gallons per day. Both models indicated that the existing well field can yield water at that rate for more than 1 year. The analog model was also used to determine the maximum average daily yield of the aquifer-river system for a 2-year period modeled for the minimum recorded stream discharge and for streambed infiltration as the only recharge. The maximum average yield under these conditions would be less than 24 million gallons per day. Most of the water pumped during this period would be from aquifer storage. Water from the river is generally less mineralized, softer, and easier to treat than ground water. Water pumped from wells near the river is similar in quality to the river water, but does not have the objectionable odors or tastes often present in water from the river.

South Dakota↗
USGS1972

The EROS Data Center

The EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is operated for the Earth Resources Observation Systems Program of the Department of the Interior by the Topographic Division of the Geological Survey to provide access to Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) imagery, USGS aerial photography, and NASA aircraft data for the general public, domestic government agencies at all levels, and foreign government agencies at all levels, and foreign governments. Facilities are available for data storage, retrieval, reproduction, and dissemination, and for user assistance and training.

South Dakota↗
USGS1972

Geochemistry of selected areas in the southern Black Hills, Fall River County, South Dakota

Geologic and radiometric studies and chemical analyses of soils, rocks, and water were made north of an area between Edgemont and Hot Springs, South Dakota. The soil is shallow, poorly developed, and not present in some areas. The median pH of the soil from three areas ranges from 6.7 to 7.0. Rocks are more alkaline and have a median pH from several areas of 7.3 to 8.9 and some mineralized rocks have a pH of 9.4. The pH of shallow perched high-radon bearing waters varies from 3.5 to 6.8 as contrasted to deeply originating low-radon bearing thermal waters with very small ranges of from 6.9 to 7.0. Sediments are oxidized down to the perched water table, a depth of more than 50 feet below the surface of the ground. The uranium deposits are mostly in this zone of oxidation and are characterized by the minerals carnotite and tyuyamunite. In the oxidized zone sandstones are most commonly colored a very pale orange in contrast to the underlying yellowish gray colored sandstones. Mudstones, in the oxidized zone, are most commonly colored a grayish orange in contrast to the underlying olive gray colored mudstones. The characteristic mineral in the oxidized zone is hematite, and below, pyrite. Sediments in the oxidized zone contain not only less iron and uranium than do the underlying sediments but also the joints and contacts between strata in this oxidized zone contain relative large amounts of arsenic, barium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, vanadium, and zinc. No pattern was apparent in the size and position of mineralized zones with respect to ground water levels: Highly uraniferous beds occurred above, at, and below the uppermost perched water levels. Gamma ray logs were made of 43 drill holes that totalled about 4,300 feet. The number and intensity of radioactivity peaks was a function of increasing grain size in the sediments. About 60 percent of the gamma ray radioactivity peaks occurred within beds rather than at their contacts. Contacts between coarser-grained beds contained a higher incidence of radioactivity peaks than contacts between finer-grained beds. Between beds of dissimilar lithology such as between mudstones and sandstones or very fine-grained sandstones and medium-grained sandstones, the coarser the bed at the contact in relation to the other bed at the contact the greater the chance for a radioactivity peak. An apparently impermeable bed above or below a contact seemed to have little influence on the number and magnitude of radioactivity peaks. Over 70 percent of the radioactivity peaks occurred, not as isolated peaks, but in groups containing from two to ten peaks. Most of these groups were in sandstones rather than in mudstones. The average vertical range of each group of radioactivity peaks is 15 feet, and for isolated peaks, one foot. Radiometric anomalies apparently are not detected by hand-carried scintillometers unless there is a subsurface anomaly greater than about 1,000 counts per second within a few feet of the surface of the ground. Larger radioactivity anomalies occurred in the higher sloping areas. The chances for uranium anomalies in soil were best where the soil was underlain by an uraniferous coarse non-calcareous sandstone which was intersected by joint or faults.

South Dakota↗
USGS1971

Hydrology of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota

An investigation of the geology and ground-water resources of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, was made at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the U.S. Department of Interior's program for the development of the Missouri River basin. Originally, the Reservation included all of Mellette, Todd, and Tripp Counties; most of Gregory County, and a small part of Lyman County. (See index map.) However, of the 1,500 square miles of land now owned by individual Indians or by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, nearly 95 percent is located in Mellette and Todd Counties. Accordingly, the area of this investigation (about 2,700 square miles) was restricted to these two counties.

South Dakota↗
USGS1971

Hydrogeology of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

An investigation of the geology and ground-water resources of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, was made at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's program for the development of the Missouri River basin. The area of investigation (about 3,930 square miles) includes all the land within the original boundaries of the Reservation, except for that part of Bennett County south of the U.S. Highway 18, where there are only small tracts of Indian land. Emphasis in the study was placed on mapping major rock units and on determining their potential as sources of water for domestic and stock use. The geologic map on sheet 1 shows the areal extent of the major rock units, and a summary of the stratigraphy and physical characteristics of the exposed geologic formations is given in the table on this sheet. The writers appreciate the cooperation of the personnel of the South Dakota State Geological Survey, who provided most of the well data for Bennett County, information about the stratigraphy and geology of selected areas, and copies of published and unpublished geologic maps. (See map showing areas mapped prior to this investigation.) Also, they appreciate the cooperation of ranch owners and tenants, who permitted access to their lands, and the personnel of the Bureau of Indian affairs, who supplied soils mps and other data. Data on which this report is based, including logs of wells and test holes, chemical analyses of water and records of wells and springs, have been summarized by the authors in a basic-data report published jointly by the South Dakota Geological Survey and South Dakota Water Resources Commission (Water Resources Report 4, Basic hydrogeologic data - Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota). A selected bibliography of reports pertaining to the geology of the area has been included in the basic-data report. This atlas will be more useful if studied in conjunction with a copy of the basic-data report.

South Dakota↗
USGS1969

A comparison of methods used to obtain age ratios of snow and Canada geese

The validity of group counts, cannon-net catches, and hunter-bag checks for estimating productivity of lesser snow geese ( Anser caerulescens caerulescens ) and small Canada geese ( Branta canadensis hutchinsii-parvipes complex) was studied at Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge during the falls of 1965 and 1966. Age ratios of snow geese obtained from net-trapped samples were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than from group counts at the same site. Immature snow geese were shot in a significantly greater (P < 0.01) proportion than they existed in the population as determined by group counts. Cannon-net catches and hunter-bag checks of snow and Canada geese yielded age ratios which were biased because of behavioral characteristics of the geese. Immatures of both species were less wary of trap equipment and immature snow geese were more vulnerable to the gun than adults. It was believed that age ratios from group counts of snow geese were more representative of the population than those from net catches and hunter-bag checks. Sex ratios of net-trapped geese showed a preponderance of males for adult Canada and adult and immature snow geese, whereas females were predominant in the immature segment of Canada geese. Hunter selectivity of blue- or white-phase snow geese was not observed at Sand Lake Refuge. Differential vulnerability to hunting between snow and Canada geese resulted from differences m feeding-flight behavior.

South Dakota↗