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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
USGS2021

Evaluation and application of the Purge Analyzer Tool (PAT) to determine in-well flow and purge criteria for sampling monitoring wells at the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley, California, in 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are developing analytical tools to assess the representativeness of groundwater samples from fractured-rock aquifers. As part of this effort, monitoring wells from the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley in Riverside County, California, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles, were field tested to collect information to assist in the evaluation and application of in-well flow as computed by the analytical model called the Purge Analyzer Tool, which computes in-well groundwater travel times for simple piston transport of inflowing groundwater from open intervals of a monitoring well to the pump intake and can provide insight into optimal purging parameters (duration, rate, and pump position) needed for the collection of representative groundwater samples. Field testing of wells included hydraulic, chemistry, and dye tracer analysis to investigate travel times in wells under pumping conditions. The Purge Analyzer Tool was able to replicate dye velocities (travel times) for one of three wells that had appreciable inflow from the aquifer but not the other two wells, which are screened in low-permeability sediments and rock, where flow was dominated by borehole storage. A set of criteria was established to help assess the ability to collect representative groundwater chemistry from monitoring wells; criteria included understanding the height of the static well water column and relative exchange rate between the aquifer and the well.

California↗
USGS2010

Using Landsat satellite data to support pesticide exposure assessment in California

Background The recent U.S. Geological Survey policy offering Landsat satellite data at no cost provides researchers new opportunities to explore relationships between environment and health. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential for using Landsat satellite data to support pesticide exposure assessment in California. Methods and Results We collected a dense time series of 24 Landsat 5 and 7 images spanning the year 2000 for an agricultural region in Fresno County. We intersected the Landsat time series with the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) land use map and selected field samples to define the phenological characteristics of 17 major crop types or crop groups. We found the frequent overpass of Landsat enabled detection of crop field conditions (e.g., bare soil, vegetated) over most of the year. However, images were limited during the winter months due to cloud cover. Many samples designated as single-cropped in the CDWR map had phenological patterns that represented multi-cropped or non-cropped fields, indicating they may have been misclassified. Conclusions We found the combination of Landsat 5 and 7 image data would clearly benefit pesticide exposure assessment in this region by 1) providing information on crop field conditions at or near the time when pesticides are applied, and 2) providing information for validating the CDWR map. The Landsat image time-series was useful for identifying idle, single-, and multi-cropped fields. Landsat data will be limited during the winter months due to cloud cover, and for years prior to the Landsat 7 launch (1999) when only one satellite was operational at any given time. We suggest additional research to determine the feasibility of integrating CDWR land use maps and Landsat data to derive crop maps in locations and time periods where maps are not available, which will allow for substantial improvements to chemical exposure estimation.

California↗
USGS2021

Black abalone surveys at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California—2020, annual report

The U.S. Geological Survey monitors a suite of intertidal black abalone sites at San Nicolas Island, California, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, which owns the island. The nine rocky intertidal sites were established in 1980 to study the potential impact of translocated sea otters on the intertidal black abalone population at the island. The sites were monitored from 1981 to 1997, usually annually or biennially. Monitoring resumed in 2001 and has been completed annually since then. At the time of this report, the work is conducted by the Western Ecological Research Center’s Santa Cruz Field Station, Santa Cruz, California. The study sites became particularly important, from a management perspective, after a virulent disease decimated black abalone populations throughout southern California beginning in the mid-1980s. The disease, withering syndrome, was first observed on San Nicolas Island in 1992 and during the next few years, it reduced the population there by more than 99 percent. The species was subsequently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2009. The subject of this report is the 2020 monitoring cycle of the sites and how the current status fits into the long-term data at San Nicolas Island. Since 2001, the monitored population has increased twelvefold to approximately 9.6 percent of the pre-disease level. This increase has resulted from generally higher levels of recruitment than seen in the first two decades of monitoring, punctuated by a few unexplained high recruitment events. Most of the population growth has been at two of the nine sites (sites 7 and 8). This pattern continued in 2020, but with increasing numbers at all sites and the highest number of abalone counted and measured island-wide since 1993. Recruitment rates have fallen since a peak in 2017, but 2020 continued to show moderate levels of additional recruitment. The distance between adjacent black abalone has decreased substantially since it was first consistently measured in 2005, potentially indicating that the abalone are close enough to one another to reproduce successfully. Sand burial can have devastating localized consequences to black abalone, but there is evidence suggesting that they may be able to escape periodic sand inundation if suitable refugia exist. These data suggest that monitoring can inform adaptive management of the resource by base resource managers.

California↗
USGS2022

Characterization of subsurface conditions and recharge at the irrigated four-plex baseball field, Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, 2018–20

The U.S. Geological Survey performed subsurface and geophysical site characterization of the irrigated four-plex baseball field in the Langford Valley–Irwin Groundwater Subbasin, as part of a research study in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Agricultural Research Service, and the Fort Irwin National Training Center, California. To help meet future demands, the Fort Irwin National Training Center is evaluating the efficacy of gravity-fed drywells to enhance storm-water recharge into the Langford Valley–Irwin Groundwater Subbasin by bypassing fine-grained, less permeable deposits between land surface and the water table. The amount, rate, and location of recharge beneath an irrigated baseball field in the groundwater basin at the Fort Irwin National Training Center is not well understood, so data were collected using physical and geophysical techniques to characterize subsurface materials, geologic controls, and the vertical movement of water through the unsaturated zone to the water table near the drywell at the Fort Irwin National Training Center. Based on the data collected and interpreted from these techniques, several fine-grained deposits were identified. Although these deposits appear to impede the downward movement of water through the unsaturated zone locally, they are not laterally continuous, and water appears to continue to move downward when it reaches the edges of the deposits. These data will help managers evaluate recharge at the site and determine if the use of gravity-fed drywells enhances recharge from surface runoff.

California↗
USGS1982

A summary of geologic hazards for proposed OCS oil and gas lease sale 68, southern California

A geophysical survey, consisting of about 6,880 line-km of multisensor, high-resolution, seismic reflection data, was run in 161 of the 221 tracts tentatively selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior for inclusion in the southern California Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 68. Geologic hazards identified in the study area for which stipulations are recommended are active faults, mass transport, steep slopes (>10?), and steep-walled submarine canyons. Geologic hazards whose effects can be mitigated through existing technology and design and are not considered cause for stipulation are shallow faults, buried and filled channels, shallow gas, gas-charged sediments, hydrocarbon seeps, and unstable fan deposits. The Minerals Management Service has recommended that a stipulation be applied to 83 tracts where there is evidence of existing or potential sea-floor instability over a significant portion of the tract. Further data acquisition and analysis on a more detail-ed grid will be required of lessees or operators before drilling will be permitted on leases issued as a result of the sale.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2004

Geologic and bathymetric reconnaissance overview of the San Pedro shelf region, southern California

This report presents a series of maps that describe the bathymetry and late Quaternary geology of the San Pedro shelf area as interpreted from seismic-reflection profiles and 3.5-kHz and multibeam bathymetric data. Some of the seismic-reflection profiles were collected with Uniboom and 120-kJ sparker during surveys conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1973 (K-2-73-SC), 1978 (S-2-78-SC), and 1979 (S-2a-79-SC). The remaining seismic-reflection profiles were collected in 2000 using Geopulse boomer and minisparker during USGS cruise A-1-00-SC. The report consists of seven oversized sheets: 1. Map of 1978 and 1979 uniboom seismic-reflection and 3.5-kHz tracklines used to map faults and folds on San Pedro Shelf. 2. Maps of multibeam shaded bathymetric relief with faults and folds, and bathymetric contours. 3. Isopach map of unconsolidated sediment, seismic-reflection profile across the San Pedro shelf, seismic-reflection profile across San Gabriel paleo-valley. 4. Seismic-reflection profiles across the Palos Verdes Fault Zone. 5. Geologic map and samples of Uniboom and 120-kJ sparker seismic-reflection profiles used to make the map. 6. Map showing thickness of uppermost (Holocene?) sediment layer. 7. Map of San Gabriel Canyon paleo-valley and associated drainage basins.

California↗
USGS2006

Environmental Setting of the Lower Merced River Basin, California

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey began to study the effects of natural and anthropogenic influences on the quality of ground water, surface water, biology, and ecology as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. As part of this program, the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins study unit is assessing parts of the lower Merced River Basin, California. This report provides descriptions of natural and anthropogenic features of this basin as background information to assess the influence of these and other factors on water quality. The lower Merced River Basin, which encompasses the Mustang Creek Subbasin, gently slopes from the northeast to the southwest toward the San Joaquin River. The arid to semiarid climate is characterized by hot summers (highs of mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and mild winters (lows of mid 30 degrees Fahrenheit). Annual precipitation is highly variable, with long periods of drought and above normal precipitation. Population is estimated at about 39,230 for 2000. The watershed is predominately agricultural on the valley floor. Approximately 2.2 million pounds active ingredient of pesticides and an estimated 17.6 million pounds active ingredient of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer is applied annually to the agricultural land.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2014

California's restless giant: The Long Valley Caldera

Scientists have monitored geologic unrest in the Long Valley, California, area since 1980. In that year, following a swarm of strong earthquakes, they discovered that the central part of the Long Valley Caldera had begun actively rising. Unrest in the area persists today. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) continues to provide the public and civil authorities with current information on the volcanic hazard at Long Valley and is prepared to give timely warnings of any impending eruption.

California↗
USGS1963

Crustal structure in the western United States; study of seismic propagation paths and regional traveltimes in the California-Nevada region

The U.S. Geological Survey, with the assistance of United ElectroDynamics, Inc., completed ten weeks of seismic-refraction field work during the summer of 1962 in the southwestern part of the United States. This work was a continuation of a program initiated in 1961 to study traveltimes and seismic propagation paths in the earth?s crust and upper mantle in the western United States. A total of 761 seismograms were recorded along 10 profiles from 86 explosions at 18 shotpoints. Analysis of the data is continuing, but a few conclusions can be made from a preliminary study: (1) Variations in traveltimes in the Basin and Range province are large but measurable, and perhaps predictable. (2) Traveltimes of seismic waves in adjacent geologic provinces are usually significantly different. (3) The velocity of P g along all of the profiles recorded in 1962 ranges from 5.0 to 6.5 km/sec, and averages 6.0 km/sec. (4) The average velocity of P g in extreme northern Nevada and southern Idaho is 5.6 km/sec, and it is 6.1 km/sec in most of Nevada and California. (5) The average velocity of P n is 7–9 km/ sec and ranges from 7.85 to 7.95 km/sec on reversed profiles where the true P n velocity could be computed. (6) A shallow "intermediate" layer with a velocity of approximately 6.8 km/sec was found in the Snake River Plain. (7) Refraction arrivals from the mantle (P n ) were recorded in the Sierra Nevada. They indicate that the thickness of the crust in the Sierra Nevada is much greater than that in the Basin and Range province. (8) Many refinements in field techniques were made during the 1962 field season.

California;Nevada;Idaho↗
USGS2021

Precipitation-runoff processes in the Merced River Basin, Central California, with prospects for streamflow predictability, water years 1952–2013

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), has constructed a new spatially detailed Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model for the Merced River Basin, California, which is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in California. Operated through an Object User Interface (OUI) with Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) and daily climate distribution preprocessing functionality, the model is calibrated primarily to simulate (and eventually, forecast) year-to-year variations of inflows to Lake McClure during the critical April–July snowmelt season. The model is intended to become part of a suite of methods used by DWR for estimating daily streamflow from the Merced River Basin, especially during the snowmelt season. This study describes the results of the application of an analysis tool that simulates responses to climate and land-use variations at a higher spatial resolution than previously available to DWR. A geographic information system was used to delineate the model domain, that is, areas draining to a single outlet at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station 11270900, Merced River below Merced Falls Dam, near Snell, CA (also known as California Data Exchange Center station MRC), and subdrainage areas, including four draining to internal gages used as calibration targets. Using this delineation, three contiguous subbasins were recognized and, along with the model domain and nested calibration targets, are the simulation units evaluated in this report. An auto-calibration tool, LUCA (Let Us CAlibrate), was used for each calibration node, from headwaters to basin outlet, and then parameters were manually adjusted to complete the calibration. The main objective was to match April–July snowmelt seasonal discharge values of simulated streamflow to observed (measured or reconstructed) discharge values. Calibration or validation periods used site-specific streamflows—mostly from October 1, 1988, through September 30, 2013—but differed according to the period-of-record available for the measurements collected at internal gages or reconstructed flows for the single outlet. The accuracy of the Merced PRMS streamflow simulations varied seasonally, as compared to observed values. Based on statistical results, the Merced PRMS model satisfactorily simulated snowmelt seasonal streamflows. April–July calibrations for all areas had small negative bias (not greater than 7 percent) and low relative error (less than 8 percent). Less satisfactory performance for other seasons was attributed to several factors: (1) high uncertainty in low or zero flows in summer and fall, (2) lack of accounting for basin withdrawals and anthropogenic water use, (3) unavailability and (or) inaccuracy of observed (measured) meteorological input data, and (4) uncertainty in reconstructed streamflow data. With some additional refinement, the Merced PRMS model may be used for forecasting seasonal and longer-term streamflow variations; evaluating forecasted and past climate and land cover changes; providing water-resource managers with a consistent and documented method for estimating streamflow at ungaged sites within the basin; and aiding environmental studies, hydraulic design, water management, and water-quality projects in the Merced River Basin.

California↗
USGS2007

Geologic Map of the Goleta Quadrangle, Santa Barbara County, California

This map depicts the distribution of bedrock units and surficial deposits and associated deformation underlying those parts of the Santa Barbara coastal plain and adjacent southern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains within the Goleta 7 ?? quadrangle at a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map = 2,000 feet on the ground) and with a horizontal positional accuracy of at least 20 m. The Goleta map overlaps an earlier preliminary geologic map of the central part of the coastal plain (Minor and others, 2002) that provided coverage within the coastal, central parts of the Goleta and contiguous Santa Barbara quadrangles. In addition to new mapping in the northern part of the Goleta quadrangle, geologic mapping in other parts of the map area has been revised from the preliminary map compilation based on new structural interpretations supplemented by new biostratigraphic data. All surficial and bedrock map units are described in detail in the accompanying map pamphlet. Abundant biostratigraphic and biochronologic data based on microfossil identifications are presented in expanded unit descriptions of the marine Neogene Monterey and Sisquoc Formations. Site-specific fault-kinematic observations (including slip-sense determinations) are embedded in the digital map database. The Goleta quadrangle is located in the western Transverse Ranges physiographic province along an east-west-trending segment of the southern California coastline about 100 km (62 mi) northwest of Los Angeles. The Santa Barbara coastal plain surface, which spans the central part of the quadrangle, includes several mesas and hills that are geomorphic expressions of underlying, potentially active folds and partly buried oblique and reverse faults of the Santa Barbara fold and fault belt (SBFFB). Strong earthquakes have occurred offshore within 10 km of the Santa Barbara coastal plain in 1925 (6.3 magnitude), 1941 (5.5 magnitude) and 1978 (5.1 magnitude). These and numerous smaller seismic events located beneath and offshore of the coastal plain, likely occurred on reverse-oblique-slip faults that are similar to, or continuous with, Quaternary reverse faults crossing the coastal plain. Thus, faults of the SBFFB pose a significant earthquake hazard to the approximately 200,000 people living within the major coastal population centers of Santa Barbara and Goleta. In addition, numerous Quaternary landslide deposits along the steep southern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains indicate the potential for continued slope failures and mass movements in developed areas. Folded, faulted, and fractured sedimentary rocks in the subsurface of the coastal plain and adjacent Santa Barbara Channel are sources and form reservoirs for economic deposits of oil and gas, some of which are currently being extracted offshore. Shallow, localized sedimentary aquifers underlying the coastal plain provide limited amounts of water for the urban areas, but the quality of some of this groundwater is compromised by coastal salt-water contamination. The present map compilation provides a set of uniform geologic digital coverages that can be used for analysis and interpretation of these and other geologic hazards and resources in the Goleta region.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2012

Surficial geologic map of the Ivanpah 30' x 60' quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California, and Clark County, Nevada

This map was prepared as part of a suite of surficial geologic maps covering the northern Mojave Desert to investigate neotectonic features and map soils of relevance for ecological properties. The map covers an area of the eastern Mojave Desert that includes the Cinder Cones, Cima Dome, Ivanpah Valley, and Lanfair Valley and includes major mountain chains of the Providence, New York, and Ivanpah Mountains, all within the Mojave National Preserve. Surficial geology includes expansive pediments, broad valley-bottom sediment tracts, and dune fields of the Devils Playground. Two Quaternary fault zones are identified, as well as several others that probably are Quaternary.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2003

Geology of the continental margin beneath Santa Monica Bay, Southern California, from seismic-reflection data

We interpret seismic-reflection data, which were collected in Santa Monica Bay using a 70-in3 generator-injector air gun, to show the geologic structure of the continental shelf and slope and of the deep-water, Santa Monica and San Pedro Basins. The goal of this research is to investigate the earthquake hazard posed to urban areas by offshore faults. These data reveal that northwest of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Palos Verdes Fault neither offsets the seafloor nor cuts through an undeformed sediment apron that postdates the last sea level rise. Other evidence indicates that this fault extends northwest beneath the shelf in the deep subsurface. However, other major faults in the study area, such as the Dume and San Pedro Basin Faults, were active recently, as indicated by an arched seafloor and offset shallow sediment. Rocks under the lower continental slope are deformed to differing degrees on opposite sides of Santa Monica Canyon. Northwest of this canyon, the continental slope is underlain by a little-deformed sediment apron; the main structures that deform this apron are two lower-slope anticlines that extend toward Point Dume and are cored by faults showing reverse or thrust separation. Southeast of Santa Monica Canyon, lower-slope rocks are deformed by a complex arrangement of strike-slip, normal, and reverse faults. The San Pedro Escarpment rises abruptly along the southeast side of Santa Monica Canyon. Reverse faults and folds underpinning this escarpment steepen progressively southeastward. Locally they form flower structures and cut downward into basement rocks. These faults merge downward with the San Pedro Basin fault zone, which is nearly vertical and strike slip. The escarpment and its attendant structures diverge from this strike-slip fault zone and extend for 60 km along the margin, separating the continental shelf from the deep-water basins. The deep-water Santa Monica Basin has large extent but is filled with only a thin (less than 1.5-km) section of what are probably post-Miocene rocks and sediment. Extrapolating ages obtained from Ocean Drilling Program site 1015 indicates that this sedimentary cover is Quaternary, possibly no older than 600 ka. Folds and faults along the base of the San Pedro Escarpment began to form during 8-13 ka ago. Refraction-velocity data show that high-velocity rocks, probably the Catalina Schist or Miocene volcanic rocks, underlie the sedimentary section. The San Pedro Basin developed along a strike-slip fault, widens to the southeast, and is deformed by faults having apparent reverse separation and by folds near Redondo Canyon and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

California↗
USGS1990

The San Andreas Fault System, California

Maps of northern and southern California printed on flyleaf inside front cover and on adjacent pages show faults that have had displacement within the past 2 million years. Those that have had displacement within historical time are shown in red. Bands of red tint emphasize zones of historical displacement; bands of orange tint emphasize major faults that have had Quaternary displacement before historical time. Faults are dashed where uncertain, dotted where covered by sedimentary deposits, and queried when doubtful. Arrows indicate direction of relative movement; sawteeth on upper plate of thrust fault. These maps are reproductions, in major part, of selected plates from the "Fault Map of California," published in 1975 by the California Division of Mines and Geology at a scale of 1:750,000; the State map was compiled and data interpreted by Charles W. Jennings. New data about faults, not shown on the 1975 edition, required modest revisions, primarily additions however, most of the map was left unchanged because the California Division of Mines and Geology is currently engaged in a major revision and update of the 1975 edition. Because of the reduced scale here, names of faults and places were redrafted or omitted. Faults added to the reduced map are not as precise as on the original State map, and the editor of this volume selected certain faults and omitted others. Principal regions for which new information was added are the region north of the San Francisco Bay area and the offshore regions. Many people have contributed to the present map, but the editor is solely responsible for any errors and omissions. Among those contributing informally, but extensively, and the regions to which each contributed were G.A. Carver, onland region north of lat 40°N.; S.H. Clarke, offshore region north of Cape Mendocino; R.J. McLaughlin, onland region between lat 40°00' and 40°30' N. and long 123°30' and 124°30' W.; D.S. McCulloch offshore region between lat 35° and 40° N.; J.G. Vedder, offshore reglor south of lat 35° N.; and D.G. Herd, southern San Francisco Bay region. The Fault Evaluation Program of the California Division of Mines and Geology under the direction of E.W. Hart, provided much data about many faults. Unpublished material about the Bartlett Springs fault zone that was gathered by Geomatrix Consultants for the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was very useful. In addition, selected publications that provided invaluable data include Bortugno (1982), Herd (1977), Herd and Helley (1977), Pampeyan and others (1981), and Yerkes and others (1980).

California↗
USGS2016

Eruptive history of Mammoth Mountain and its mafic periphery, California

This report and accompanying geologic map portray the eruptive history of Mammoth Mountain and a surrounding array of contemporaneous volcanic units that erupted in its near periphery. The moderately alkaline Mammoth eruptive suite, basaltic to rhyodacitic, represents a discrete new magmatic system, less than 250,000 years old, that followed decline of the subalkaline rhyolitic system active beneath adjacent Long Valley Caldera since 2.2 Ma (Hildreth, 2004). The scattered vent array of the Mammoth system, 10 by 20 km wide, is unrelated to the rangefront fault zone, and its broad nonlinear footprint ignores both Long Valley Caldera and the younger Mono-Inyo rangefront vent alignment. The Mammoth Lakes area of Mono County, owing to its spectacular alpine landscape, has become one of California’s busiest recreational playgrounds and a regional center of real estate development. The name applies to the town of Mammoth Lakes as well as to the cluster of lakes in a large cirque southwest of town that is now locally called the Lakes Basin. The town has spread around the eastern base of Mammoth Mountain, a late Pleistocene pile of silicic lava domes, and has locally expanded onto lower slopes of the mountain itself (fig. 1). Looming nearly 1,000 m above the downtown area, much of the 5-km-wide volcanic edifice has been laced with chair lifts, gondolas, ski runs, and bike paths by the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, a corporate entity under permit from Inyo National Forest. In addition to skiing, longestablished, snowboarding and summertime mountain biking have recently become major activities. Tourism to Mammoth Lakes is estimated to be 1,300,000 visitors per winter and 1,500,000 per summer. Some of America’s top long-distance runners also live and train in Mammoth Lakes, attracted by its elevation and its variety of challenging trails. At the western base of Mammoth Mountain, along the canyon of the Middle Fork San Joaquin River, lies the Devils Postpile National Monument, a National Park Service enclave surrounded by extensive wilderness areas administered by the U.S. Forest Service. As many as 2,000 visitors per day enter the monument during the summer season. The area also contains several of the busiest trailheads in the Sierra Nevada, providing wilderness access for hikers, pack animals, mountaineers, and fishermen. Many geographic names that appear in this report are informal despite having been in local use for decades. Most appear on maps distributed by the Town of Mammoth Lakes or the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and can be found here on map figures 2–5, on several photo figures, and on the geologic map.

California↗
USGS2017

Geologic setting of the proposed West Flank Forge Site, California: Suitability for EGS research and development

The proposed West Flank FORGE site is within the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS), China Lake, CA. The West Flank is west of the Coso geothermal field, an area of China Lake NAWS dominated by the Quaternary Coso volcanic field largely comprised of rhyolite domes and their volcaniclastic and epiclastic horizons. The largest dome flow complex, Sugarloaf Mountain, marks the northwestern margin of the geothermal field. The West Flank is situated due west of Sugarloaf. The geologic setting of the West Flank was determined from one deep well (83-11) drilled as a potential production hole in 2009. The bottom-hole temperature (BHT) of well 83-11 approaches 600 oF (315˚C), but flow tests demonstrate very low, non-commercial permeabilities. With the exception of the upper 600 feet of volcaniclastic alluvium, well 83-11 is completed in granitic basement. The West Flank possesses the primary attributes of a FORGE site: non-commercial permeability ( <10 -16 m 2 ), a 175˚ to 225˚C temperature range in crystalline rocks, and a location outside an existing geothermal field The Coso Mountains host the Coso volcanic field and are within a right-releasing stepover between the dextral Airport Lake (ALF) and Little Lake fault zones (LLFZ) and the Wild Horse Mesa and Owens Valley faults. Two distinct fault populations have been identified at Coso: WNW-trending and antithetical, NE-trending strike-slip faults and N- to NNE-trending normal faults. These faults are both high permeability drilling targets at depth within the main (productive) geothermal field and they locally segment the field into distinct hydrothermal regimes. The West Flank may be segmented from the rest of the field by one such northerly trending fault. The overall minimum principal stress orientation in the main geothermal field varies from 103˚ to 108˚; however, the minimum horizontal principal stress in 83-11 is rotated to 081˚.

California↗
USGS1985

A seismic-refraction profile across the San Andreas, Sargent, and Calaveras faults, west-central California

In 1981, the United States Geological Survey recorded a seismic-refraction profile across the southern Santa Cruz Mountains in west-central California to examine the shallow velocity structure of this seismogenic region. This 40-km-long profile, which consisted of three shotpoints, extended northeastward from near Watsonville, California, to Coyote Lake, crossing the San Andreas, Sargent, and Calaveras faults. This entire region is characterized by a highly heterogeneous upper crust. West of Watsonville, 1 km of alluvium with a velocity of 2.12 km/sec overlies a basement with a velocity 5.45 km/sec. The abrupt deepening of basement by 1.5 km just east of Watsonville at a subsurface fault suggests that the Zayante fault to the north and the Vergeles fault to the south are connected. The Tertiary sediment at the San Andreas fault is 2.5 km thick and has a velocity of 3.34 km/sec. The San Andreas fault is not marked by any distinctive seismic velocity features, whereas a 1-km-wide low velocity zone is found at both the Sargent and Calaveras faults. East of the Sargent fault, the basement surface forms a broad anticlinal structure, with velocities ranging from 5.4 to 6.0 km/sec. From the anticlinal crest, basement dips to the east beneath the Santa Clara Valley and reaches a maximum depth of 1 km on the east side; the overlying alluvium has a velocity of 2.7 km/sec. At the crest of the basement anticlinal structure, a vertical low-velocity zone coincident with exposed serpentine provides strong evidence of faulting.

California↗