Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Gerald F. Lindholm.
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Prompted by the need for a current, accurate, and repeatable delineation of irrigated acreage on the Snake River Plain, the U.S. Geological Survey entered into a cooperative agreement with the Idaho Department of Water Resources Image Analysis Facility and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to delineate 1980 land use form Landsat data. Irrigated acreage data were needed as input to groundwater flow models developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in a study of the regional aquifer system underlying the Snake River Plain. Single-date digital multispectral scanner data analyzed to delineate land-use classes. Source of irrigation water (surface water, ground water, and combined) was determined from county maps of 1975 water-related land use, data from previous investigations, and field checking. Surface-water diversions for irrigation on the Snake River Plain began in the 1840's. With the stimulus of Federal aid authorized by the Desert Land Act, Carey Act, and Reclamation Act, irrigated area increased rapidly in the early 1900's. By 1929, 2.2 million acres were irrigated. Ground water became and important source of irrigation water after World War II. In 1980, about 3.1 million acres of the Snake River Plain were irrigate: 2.0 million acres with surface water, 1.0 million with ground water, and 0.1 million with combined surface and ground water. About 5.2 million acres (half of the plain) are undeveloped rangeland, 1.0 million acres (one-tenth) are classified as barren. The remaining land is a mixture of dryland agriculture, water bodies, wetland, forests, and urban areas.
No abstract available.
The St. Louis River is the largest tributary to Lake Superior in Minnesota. It drains a predominantly forested area of about 3,650 mi 2 (Minnesota Department of Conservation, 1959) and discharges into the lake at Duluth. The Mesabi Iron Range, noted for rich deposits of iron ore, parallels much of the northern watershed boundary. Large areas of land were altered by mining activities, as seen on the Landsat-1 MSS 7 images for September 26, 19744 (No. 1795-16203). The northeastward-trending string of water bodies along the northern boundary are flooded mine pits and tailings basins. The northeastern part of the watershed is largely State and National forest, whereas much of the southwestern and central parts are peat-covered wetlands. Generalized topographic features are shown on the map above. The topographic high along the northern boundary includes the Iron Range and is dissected by post-glacial drainage. The most notable drainage gap is that occupied by the Embarrass River. The series of southwestward-trending elongate hills in the eastern part of the watershed, visible on both the Landsat image and the topographic map, is the Toimi Drumlin Field (Wright, 1972). Topographically low, relatively flat land in the southwestern and central parts is a glacial lake plain. St. Louis River gradients are highly variable, being 9 ft/mi from its headwaters to the mouth of Partridge River, slightly more than 1 ft/mi from Partridge River to Cloquet, and 35 to 40 ft/mi in a 15-mi reach below Cloquest. The watershed is sparsely settled except for its northern and south-eastern parts. About 80 percent of the urban population lives on the Iron Range. Most of the suburban and rural residents alro live on or near the range or in the southeastern part of the watershed. Total population (1970), exclusive of those in the city of Duluth, which is included in the Lake Superior watershed (Olcott and others, 1976), was about 117,000.
The Little Fork River watershed is one of 39 watershed units designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for evaluation of the State 's water resources. Included is an appraisal of the occurrence, quantity, quality, and availability of ground and surface waters. Water resources are not intensively developed anywhere in the watershed. Essentially all water used is withdrawn from ground-water sources, mainly glacial drift, which ranges from 0 to over 200 feet (61 meters) in thickness. Buried sand and gravel in the drift is the most favorable source for development. Most ground water is of the calcium or calcium magnesium bicarbonate type. The degree of mineralization generally increases downgradient in the flow system. Ground water is commonly very hard and high in iron and manganese. Lakes and wetlands have a natural regulating effect on streamflow. Water in streams is of the calcium bicarbonate type. The amount of mineralization reflects surficial geology, being greatest in streams draining glacial-lake sediments and least in streams draining areas of sand lakes. Color and iron concentration in stream waters generally exceed recommended domestic consumption limits.
The watershed includes 1,481 lakes that are 10 acres (4 square hectometers) or larger (Minnesota Division of Waters, Soils, and Minerals, 1968). The area of these lakes total about 435,000 acres (176,000 hm 2 ) or 15 percent of the watershed. Most of the lakes are smaller than 250 acres (101 hm 2 ) (graph); data pertaining to selected large lakes are given in the table below. More than 60 percent of the lakes larger than 10 acres (4 hm 2 ) are in the BWCA. The primitive character of the BWCA is maintained in accordance with the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964. Most lakes not in the BWCA were assigned a Public Waters Classification by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, based upon the suitability of the lake for future shoreland development (unpublished data from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources). “Natural environment” is most restrictive and “general development” least restrictive with respect to development standards. About 80 percent of lakes classified in the watershed have been designated “natural environment.”
Remote-sensing data were evaluated as to their usefulness in Minnesota water-resource studies. Data are available from several private as well as governmental agencies, the chief supplier being the EROS Data Center. Landsat-1 multispectral imagery was selected as the standard against which other types of imagery were compared. Landsat-1 imagery is available from July 1972, and Landsat-2 from January 1975. The kinds of remote-sensing data available for Minnesota are tabulated and the coverage of each is mapped. Direct-visual analyses and image-enhancement techniques were used on Landsat-1, SKYLAB, and aerial photographic transparencies. Examples of remote-sensing applications in both surface and ground-water studies are presented. Applications in surface-water studies are largely direct and are documented by examples: surface-water extent (flooded versus nonflooded), autographic theme extraction of surface-water features, open-water areas in winter, and remote-sensing data as indicators of water quality. Applications in ground-water studies are thus far only. indirect. Remote-sensing data are helpful in defining the geology, which controls the occurrence of ground water. Most successful was the use of late spring Landsat-1 imagery to map surficial outwash, a readily available source of large quantities of ground water. A single color-composite scene was used to map nearly 3,900 Square kilometres (1,500 square miles) of surficial outwash in less than 1 hour with an accuracy close to that achieved by methods usually used in regional studies. It was concluded that remote sensing would be valuable in the planning phase of nearly every water-resource study, so that maximum benefits might be obtained from its use. Essential ground truth would have to be collected in support of the remotely sensed data.
A variety of glacial landforms (moraines, till plains, drumlin fields and outwash plains) characterized the 3,890-square mile Mississippi and Sauk Rivers watershed. Underlying the glacial drift are Cambrian and Precambrian sedimentary rocks in the southeastern part of the watershed and Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks elsewhere. Surface drainage is entirely to the Mississippi River, the largest tributary being the Sauk River, which drains an area of about 970 square miles. The Mississippi follows a regional topographic low and transects the watershed from north to south. Greatest relief is in the morainal area in the west-central part of the watershed. The outwash plain in the southeastern part of the watershed and associated terrace deposits along the Mississippi River form a large area of relatively low relief. Details of topography are shown on 7 ½ and 15’ U.S. Geological Survey quadrangle maps, as indexed. Agriculture is the major economic activity. Small communities are scattered throughout the watershed; most larger municipalities and related development are concentrated along the Mississippi River. Lakes and streams offer good recreational opportunities.
The Lake of the Woods watershed is an area of about 2,900 square miles (7,500 km), the northern limit of which is part of the boundary between the United States and Canada. Drainage is to Lake of the Woods, either directly or by the Rainy River. The watershed includes about 470 square miles (1,220 km2) of Lake of the Woods, one-third of the lake’s total area. The watershed, a part of the plain of glacial Lake Agassiz, is an area of low relief and slopes generally northward. Details of topography may be obtained from U.S. Geological Survey 7 1/2-minute quadrangle maps, as indexed. Surficial materials consist mainly of peat, lake-washed till, and beach deposits. Extensive wetlands typify much of the watershed. Bedrock is exposed in places near Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River. Except where cleared for cultivation, most of the watershed is covered by coniferous forests. Harvest of forest products, agriculture, and fishing are major economic activities. The 1970 population of the watershed was bout 6,600, concentrated chiefly along the Rainy River and the south shore of Lake of the Woods.
Glacial drift overlies sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks in the Snake River watershed. The Snake River, which drains an area of about 1,030 square miles, originates in an extensive area of peat bogs in the northern part of the watershed. It flows southward across gently rolling glacial terrain in which the major relief is near the river. Near the southern boundary of the watershed, the Snake River turns eastward to its confluence with the St. Croix River. The northwest half of the watershed is heavily forested, whereas much of the southeast half has been cleared. The largest communities in the watershed, Mora and Pine City, had 1970 populations of 2,582 and 2,143, respectively.
The lower St. Croix River watershed is an elongate area of about 930 square miles bounded on the east by the St. Croix River. The St. Croix River forms the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary along the eastern side of the watershed. Additional drainage to the St. Croix River includes areas of about 2,500 square miles upstream in Minnesota and about 4,340 square miles in Wisconsin. At the southern tip of the watershed, the St. Croix joins the Mississippi River. Because part of the St. Croix River is deeply entrenched, topography in the watershed ranges from relatively rugged in highly dissected areas near the river to nearly flat in the west-central area. In the southern third of the watershed and along the St. Croix River, many outcrops of Ordovician, Cambrian, and Precambrian bedrock occur. The remainder of the watershed is covered by glacial deposits whose maximum thickness is about 400 feet. Much of the original forest cover, primarily hardwoods, has been removed; the largest concentrations remaining are long the St. Croix River and in the west-central area. The proximity of the watershed to the expanding Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area emphasizes the importance of defining water resources essential for future growth.
The Rum River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, drains an elongate area of about 1,550 square miles. The source of the Rum River is Mille Lacs Lake. Much of the northern half of the watershed is forested, and there are large areas of swampland. Population is most concentrated in the southern half, where agriculture is the dominant economic activity. Except for scattered Precambrian igneous rock outcrops in the central third of the watershed, bedrock is covered by glacial drift. In the southern third, the drift includes considerable amounts of outwash and is directly underlain by Cambrian and Precambrian sedimentary rocks. Greatest topographic relief is in morainal areas around Mille Lacs Lake. The central third of the watershed slopes gradually southward, grading into the relatively flat area of surficial outwash.
The Crow River watershed, an area of about 2,760 square miles, is covered entirely by glacial deposits. A topographically high, east-west-trending end moraine divides most of the watershed into two drainage areas of approximately equal size. The North Fork Crow River drains a mixture of glacial outwash and till deposits, whereas the South Fork Crow River drains chiefly till deposits. Local relief is greatest in morainal areas and least in surficial outwash areas. Cambrian and Precambrian sedimentary rocks underlie the glacial drift in the eastern part of the watershed. Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, though discontinuous, are present in part of the western two-thirds of the watershed. Where sedimentary bedrock is absent, the glacial drift is directly underlain by Precambrian igneous or metamorphic rocks. Forested areas are sparse and occur mainly in steeply sloping morainal areas. Most land is used for agriculture, and slightly more than half the total population is rural.
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The Crow Wing River, a tributary of the Mississippi River, drains an area of about 3,760 square miles, essentially all of which is covered by glacial deposits. Topography of most of the watershed is slightly- to moderately-undulating and has local relief of up to about 50 feet. The margin of the watershed, particularly the southwestern and northwestern parts, is higher and has local relief often exceeding 150 feet. The higher areas contain numerous lakes and, in the extreme north and east parts of the watershed, are heavily forested.
No abstract available.