Geology topics

Research about North Dakota, South Dakota

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including North Dakota, South Dakota.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

USGS1986

Precambrian basement geology of North and South Dakota

Combined analysis of drill-hole, gravity, and magnetic data indicates that the buried Precambrian basement rocks of the Dakotas can be divided into several lithotectonic terranes. Eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota are underlain by Archean gneiss. Except for the Black Hills region of South Dakota, where Archean rocks are also exposed, the western third of both Dakotas is underlain mainly by Early Proterozoic gneiss and metasedimentary rocks. Part of this region is underlain by Archean crust with an Early Proterozoic tectonic overprint. A broad transition zone of strongly overprinted Archean crust occurs between the Proterozoic rocks to the west and the Archean rocks to the east. South central South Dakota is underlain by an Early Proterozoic batholith. Early Proterozoic felsic volcanic rocks occur in southeast South Dakota. The bootheel portion of South Dakota contains a diverse assemblage of basement rocks that are partly Archean in age.Churchill Province rocks of the Trans-Hudson foldbelt project into the western Dakotas. The Thompson nickel belt and the Pickwitonei gneiss belt correlate with the western and eastern halves, respectively, of the transition between Archean and Proterozoic crust, and the Archean Glennie – Hanson Lake microcontinent of the Churchill Province likely extends into western North Dakota. Archean rocks of Minnesota extend into the eastern Dakotas, and the Wyoming craton extends to the Black Hills region. The Cheyenne foldbelt projects into southwest South Dakota. The Penokean foldbelt of Michigan and Wisconsin does not extend into the Dakotas, but it most likely extends into northwest Iowa.Tectonic evolution of the Early Proterozoic terrane in the Dakotas was most likely similar to plate tectonic models for the evolution of the Trans-Hudson foldbelt in the Churchill Province. As in the Churchill Province, the western Dakotas are underlain by Early Proterozoic rocks, but it is not known whether these rocks formed as a result of rifting and subsequent closure of a once extensive Archean crust or as a result of collision of once widely separated blocks of Archean crust.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1968

New theory of recharge to the artesian basin of the Dakotas

The artesian basin of the Dakotas has been studied for many years. The widely held concept has been that recharge enters the equivalents of the Dakota Sandstone, where they are exposed on the flanks of the Black Hills, and moves through this formation to the area of maximum development of the aquifer in eastern North Dakota and South Dakota . Some anomalies, difficult to explain by this concept, have remained unresolved. According to the theory here proposed, recharge enters the Lower Mississippian Pahasapa Limestone and the underlying Englewood Formation where they are exposed on the flanks of the Black Hills. The Pahasapa is in part the equivalent of the Lower and Upper Mississippian Madison Group. The limestones are very cavernous where exposed on the flanks of the Black Hills, and seemingly in the subsurface as well. Streams flowing east from the Precambrian core of the Hills lose virtually all their flow in crossing the cavernous limestones. Widespread karst topography was developed on the Madison during the erosion period which preceded deposition of the Pennsylvanian and Permian Minnelusa Formation. Water moves freely through the cavernous limestone with little head loss for more than 100 miles east of the Black Hills. Pre- Dakota erosion beveled all older rock units and removed many of the intervening beds younger than the Madison. Oil tests indicate that less than 200 feet of strata separate the Madison and Dakota in northern South Dakota east of the Missouri River; this is in marked contrast to the 1800 feet of intervening beds near Rapid City. It is believed that in a zone east of the Missouri River in northern South Dakota and adjacent North Dakota , water which has moved through the limestone more than 150 miles from the Black Hills moves upward into the basal part of the Dakota Sandstone. Much of the water developed in the area of major water use from the Dakota Sandstone has moved a relatively short distance through this formation. The chemical character and artesian pressure of water in the Dakota are influenced significantly by recharge from the Madison Group. West of the zone of recharge the water is highly mineralized and largely of a sodium chloride type. Along the zone of recharge and toward the southeast corner of South Dakota , an area of natural discharge, the water generally is of the calcium sulfate type. North of the Precambrian Sioux Quartzite and east of the calcium sulfate water is an area which has sodium sulfate water. It is inferred that this change results from natural base-exchange softening of the calcium sulfate water as it moves eastward through the Dakota Sandstone.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1966

Copper artifacts from prehistoric archeological sites in the Dakotas

Thirteen archeological specimens were analyzed spectrographically, and within defined limits they were determined to be native copper. Twelve of the specimens show close elemental homogeneity and are believed to be of Lake Superior ore; the origin of the other specimen is devious.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1964

Chemical quality of surface waters, and sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin, North and South Dakota

An investigation of the chemical quality of surface waters and of the sedimentation in the Grand River drainage basin by the U.S. Geological Survey began in 1946. The chemical quality of the water was studied to obtain information on the nature and amounts of dissolved solids in the streams and on the suitability of the water for domestic, industrial, and irrigation uses. Sedimentation was studied to determine the quantity of sediment that is transported by the streams, the particle sizes of the sediment, and the probable specific weight of the sediment when deposited in a reservoir. The basin is underlain by consolidated sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous and Tertiary age; along the Grand River and its tributaries thefe rocks are mantled by alluvium of Quaternary age. The Hell Creek and Fort Union Formations underlie about 4,700 of the 5,680 square miles of drainage area. The climate of the basin is semiarid and is characterized by tot summers and cold winters. Mean annual runoff is about 53 acre-feet per square mile of drainage area and is equal to about 7 percent of the mean annual precipitation. The highest streamflows on the Grand River and major- tributaries are caused by melting of snow in March and April. Streamflow is extremely variable from year to year. Most of the surface waters in the basin are of the sodium sulfate or sodium bicarbonate type. High percent sodium is typical of almost all the surface water's. The streamflow-quality patterns of the Grand River and its two forks are very similar; dissolved-solids concentration, which usually c'oes not exceed 3,000 ppm, is maximum during low-flow periods. The water in Shadehill Reservoir became stratified during the flood inflow of 1952; about 75 percent of the flood water, which was of good qutlity, passed through the reservoir. The quality of the water became almost uniform throughout the reservoir the latter part of July 1952. After the specific conductance became relatively stable in 1956, it fluctuated from abrut 1,300 to 1,600 micromhos per centimeter and was between 1,400 and 1,500 rnicromhos per centimeter most of the time. During the representative period July 1937 to June 1950 the quantity of dissolved solids passing the station near Wakpala was estimated to have been about 140,000 tons per year. Yields computed for different parts of the basin ranged from about 22 to 32 tons per square mile. Except for sulfate, concentrations of chemical constituents usually do not exceed the maximum concentrations recommended for domestic supplies. The rather high dissolved solids and hardness of most of the surface waters prevent the use of these waters for most industrial purposes unless the quality is improved by treatment. Classified for irrigation use according to its specific conductance and sodiumadsorption-ratio, the water stored in Shadehill Reservoir has a high salinity hazard and a medium sodium hazard. The water can be used safely forsustained irrigation on soils of the proposed irrigation unit if adequate teaching is practiced and if gypsum or some other calcium compound is added to the water or land during the high sodium cycle.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1959

Floods in North and South Dakota: Frequency and magnitude

The magnitude of a flood of a selected frequency for any point in the two states may be determined by methods outlined in this report, with two limitations. These methods are not applicable for regulated streams or for small-drainage areas (in general, less than 100 square miles). The determination of the magnitude of a flood of a selected frequency in the two-state area is accomplished by the use of composite frequency curves for 2 flood regions and curves showing variation of mean annual flood with drainage area for 9 hydrologic areas and 10 main-stem streams. These curves are based on all flood data collected in North and South Dakota with some use made of records from adjoining states. These data are tabulated in the report. Also included in the report is a tabulation of maximum flood experiences at gaging stations and outstanding floods at many miscellaneous sites.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1951

Missouri River basin floods of April-May 1950 in North and South Dakota

In area coverage and magnitude of peak discharge the floods of April-May 1950 in the Missouri River Basin in North and South Dakota were unprecedented in the area. These floods were characterized by an extremely late spring breakup of ice, by great flood peaks resulting from snow melt, and by two separate floods in the James River Valley in less than a month. The primary cause of the floods was the rapid melting of the season's great accumulation of snow, one of the deepest on record. In the period between the normal spring breakup time and the actual breakup of river ice, considerably more snow accumulated. Some of this was melted by a few warm days and the melt was stored as water behind snow barriers in upland watercourses. A sudden increase in temperature beginning April 13 and lasting until most of the snow had been converted into runoff resulted in rapid rise of flood waters. Tributary flood waters made the Missouri River from Mobridge to Yankton, S. Dak., rise to near the maximum recorded discharge. At Sioux City, Iowa, the 1950 flood peak-discharge exceeded any previously recorded by the Geological Survey. The center of the flooded area west of the Missouri River lay in the Cannonball River Basin which had the greatest water content of snow on the ground just before the ice broke up Floods north and south of this area were relatively less intense. Scattered records of the Cannonball River and a study of newspaper accounts and other information show that the flood of 1950 was greatest since the area was settled. Flooding of the James River at Jamestown was the greatest since 1897, and the floods of April and May 1950 were of nearly the same stage. Itemized flood damages were made by Federal and State agencies, and relief was sent to the area by the Department of the Army and the American National Red Cross. Data include records of stage and discharge at 54 gaging stations for the period of flood, a summary of peak discharges and comparative data for past and present maxima, a table of crest stages, and weather associated with the 1950 flood.

North Dakota, South Dakota↗

USGS1950