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William Richard Keefer

Publications and source records attributed to William Richard Keefer.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1976

Land and natural resource information and some potential environmental effects of surface mining of coal in the Gillette area, Wyoming

Campbell County, along the east margin of the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming, contains more coal than any other county in the United States. The principal deposit is the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed. The bed is 50-100 feet (15-30 meters) thick over large areas, lies less than 200 feet (60 meters) deep in a north-south trending strip nearly 100 miles (161 kilometers) long and 2-3 miles (3-5 kilometers) wide, and contains an estimated 15 billion tons (13.6 billion metric tons) of sub-bituminous, low-sulfur coal that is presently considered to be accessible to surface mining. Extensive mining of this deposit has the potential for causing a variety of environmental impacts and has been a matter of much public concern and debate in recent years. An integrated program of geologic, hydrologic, geochemical, and related studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in central Campbell County provides basic information about the land and its resources, including (1) characteristics of the landscape, (2) properties of rocks and surface materials, (3) depth and thickness of coal, (4) streamflow, (5) depth to ground water, (6) quality of ground water, (7) sediment yield, (8) concentrations of trace elements in soils, rocks, coal, vegetation, and water, and (9) current land use. The data are used to analyze and predict some of the potential environmental effects of surface mining, such as the extent of land disturbance, nature and degree of landscape modification, and disruption of surface-water and ground-water systems. Advance knowledge and understanding of these and other problems are useful in the planning and regulation of future leasing, mining, reclamation, and related activities.

Circular↗
USGS1971

The geologic story of Yellowstone National Park

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States expanded the exploration of her western frontiers to gain a measure of the vast lands and natural resources in the region now occupied by our Rocky Mountain States. As part of this effort, the Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories was organized within the Department of the Interior, and staffed by a group of hardy, pioneering scientists under the leadership of geologist F. V. Hayden. During the summer of 1871, these men, accompanied by photographer William H. Jackson and artist Thomas Moran, made a reconnaissance geological study of the legendary and mysterious 'Yellowstone Wonderland' in remote northwestern Wyoming Territory. The scientific reports and illustrations prepared by Hayden and his colleagues, supplementing the startling accounts that had been published by members of the famous Washburn-Doane Expedition a year earlier, erased all doubts that this unique land was eminently worthy of being set aside 'for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.' By Act of Congress on March 1, 1872, our first National Park was established. During the past century, 50 million people have toured Yellowstone National Park, marveling at its never-ending display of natural wonders. No doubt many have paused to wonder about the origin of these unusual and complex geological features - a question, needless to say, that has intrigued and challenged scientists from the very first days of the Hayden Survey. During the past decade a group of U. S. Geological Survey scientists, in cooperation with the National Park Service and aided by the interest of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in remote sensing of the geologic phenomena, has been probing the depths and farthest corners of the Park seeking more of the answers. Some of the results of this work, and those of earlier studies, are described in this book to provide a better understanding and enjoyment of this great National Park.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
USGS1955

Geology of the Du Noir area, Fremont County, Wyoming

The Du Noir area includes about 250 square miles in the northwestern part of the Wind River Basin, Fremont County, Wyoming. It is bounded on the south by the Wind River and Warm Spring Creek, which flow along the northeast flank of the Wind River Mountains, and on the north by the steep scarps of the southern margin of the Absaroka Mountains. Rugged mountainous terrain dominates both the southwest and northern portions of the mapped area while badland topography and deeply dissected upland surfaces characterize the central part. One of the most significant physiographic and structural features of the region is a belt of folded and faulted Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks, referred to as the Washakie Range, which lies along the southern margin of the Absaroka Mountains. These highlands, attaining elevations of es much as 10,000 feet, were buried by Tertiary volcanic debris and subsequently partly exhumed as the Wind River Basin was reexcavated by Wind River and its tributaries. The sedimentary rocks exposed in the Du Noir area are more than 12,500 feet thick and range in age from Cambrian to Recent. All systems, with the exception of the Silurian, are represented. Precambrian granite and granite gneiss are present in both the Wind River and Washakie Ranges.

Wyoming↗