Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

Research about North Dakota

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including North Dakota.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

Inventory and analyses of information for flood plain management in North Dakota

Governmental units that have been identified as having flood hazard areas but do not have detailed base flood information are required to use the "best available data" to regulate new development or expansion of existing development in flood prone areas. Information for flood plain management has been identified for 95 governmental units in North Dakota and includes the determination of what data are available regarding flood hazards, hydraulics, and hydrology, and a review of these data to determine their adequacy for use in flood plain management.

North Dakota↗

Evaluation of the effects of Lake Audubon on ground- and surface-water levels in the Lake Nettie area, eastern McLean County, North Dakota

Water logging and flooding of some roads and agricultural lands have become a problem in the Lake Nettie area of eastern McLean County. Part of the flooding is caused by the raising of Lake Audubon about 13 feet from an elevation of about 1,835 feet to 1,848 feet and its effect on ground-water levels in the upper unit of the Lake Nettie aquifer by way of leakage from the lower unit. The major part of the flooding is caused by the greater than normal precipitation and the resulting runoff. Recharge to the aquifer is from the direct infiltration of precipitation and snowmelt, the lateral percolation of water from the adjacent Fort Union Formation and glacial-drift aquifers, and from Lake Audubon. Discharge is by evapotranspiration and by ground-water movement into undrained surface-water basins in the Lake Holmes-Lake Williams area and southward through Lake Ordway or westward to Lake Audubon. Trends shown on hydrographs indicate that near equilibrium between recharge and discharge has been reestablished in the lower unit of the Lake Nettie aquifer in the area between Lake Audubon and Lake Nettie, but east of Lake Nettie water levels are still rising. As of 1982, water-level rises caused by the raising of Lake Audubon are as much as 4 feet in the lower unit of the Lake Nettie aquifer and are between 1 and 2 feet in the upper unit of the Lake Nettie aquifer, which is hydraulically connected to Lake Nettie, Crooked Lake, and Slough No. 1. There is a rise in Slough No. 1, about 2 miles east of Lake Audubon, that can be attributed to the higher levels of Lake Audubon. Apparently rises also have occurred in many other sloughs. Water levels have risen in the Turtle Lake aquifer both as a result of raising the water level in Lake Audubon to an elevation of about 1,848 feet and the McClusky Canal to an elevation of about 1,844 feet. Water levels have risen as much as 6 feet near the canal, but generally less than 1 foot at distances of about 0.5 mile.

North Dakota↗

Nocturnal activity and foraging of prairie raccoons (Procyon lotor) in North Dakota

Nocturnal activity and foraging of 39 radio-equipped raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) in eastern North Dakota were studied from April-July in 1974-1976. Sixteen of the raccoons were collected after foraging bouts for stomach content analysis. Raccoon activity consisted of running (13%), walking (49%) and local movement in confined areas (38%). Local movement was foraging on large or locally abundant food items. Adult males traveled farther in a night, ran twice as often, and moved locally only half as often as adult females and yearlings. Differences in activity patterns between adult females and yearlings were not detected. There was no difference among age-sex groups in use of foraging habitats. All raccoons foraged extensively in farmyards and wetlands. Stomach content analysis substantiated foraging determinations obtained by radiotelemetry. Principal foods were grain, aquatic animals, rodents, birds and bird eggs.

North Dakota↗

Behavioral interactions of penned red and arctic foxes

Expansion of the geographical distribution of red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ) into the far north tundra region may lead to competition between arctic ( Alopex lagopus ) and red foxes for space and resources. Behavioral interactions between red and arctic foxes were evaluated during 9 trials conducted in a 4.05-ha enclosure near Woodworth, North Dakota. Each trial consisted of introducing a male-female pair of arctic foxes into the enclosure and allowing them to acclimate for approximately a week before releasing a female red fox into the enclosure, followed by her mate a few days later. In 8 of 9 trials, red foxes were dominant over arctic foxes during encounters. Activity of the arctic foxes decreased upon addition of red foxes. Arctic foxes tried unsuccessfully to defend preferred den, resting, and feeding areas. Even though the outcome of competition between red and arctic foxes in the Arctic is uncertain, the more aggressive red fox can dominate arctic foxes in direct competition for den sites and other limited resources.

North Dakota↗

Lithology, reservoir properties, and burial history of portion of Gammon Shale (Cretaceous), southwestern North Dakota

In the northern Great Plains, large quantities of biogenic methane are contained at shallow depths in Cretaceous marine mudstones. The Gammon Shale and equivalents of the Milk River Formation in Canada, which comprise most sediments deposited offshore during the Eagle-Telegraph Creek regression, are typical of such gas-bearing rocks. At Little Missouri field, southwestern North Dakota, Gammon reservoirs consist of discontinuous lenses and laminae of siltstone, less than 10 mm thick, enclosed by silty clay shale. Large amounts of allogenic clay, including highly expansible mixed-layer illite-smectite cause great water sensitivity and high measured and calculated water-saturation values. Reconstructed burial depths, clay mineralogy, and organic matter maturation studies show that the Gammon has not undergone thermal conditions sufficient for oil or thermal gas generation. Scarce authigenic minerals such as pyrite, siderite, and calcite probably formed as a result of bacterial metabolism early in the burial history. The scarcity of authigenic silicates suggests that diagenesis has been inhibited during much of the burial history by the presence of free methane. Shale layers are practically impermeable whereas siltstone microlenses are porous (30 to 40%) and have permeabilities on the order of 3 to 30 md. Reservoir continuity between siltstone layers is poor and, overall, reservoir permeability is probably less than 0.4 md. Connecting passageways between siltstone lenses are 0.1 µm or less in diameter. Organic matter in the low-permeability reservoirs served as the source of biogenic methane, and capillary forces acted as the trapping mechanism for gas accumulation. At Little Missouri field, reservoirs and non-reservoirs cannot be distinguished on the basis of lithology, and much of the Gammon interval is potentially economic. Future research should be directed toward determining the physical basis of log response in the low-permeability reservoirs and toward the development or application of water-free recovery technology.

North Dakota↗

Seismicity map of the state of North Dakota

The earthquake data shown on this map and listed in table 1 are a list of earthquakes that were originally used in preparing the Seismic Risk Studies in the United States in the United States (Algermissen, 1969) which have been recompiled and updated through 1977. These data have been reexamined which resulted in some revisions of epicenters and intensities as well as assignment of intensities to earthquakes that previously had none assigned. Intensity values were updated from new and additional data sources that were not available at the time of original compilation. Some epicenters were relocated on the basis of new information. The data shown in table 1 are estimates of the most accurate epicenter, magnitude, and intensity of each earthquake, on the basis of historical and current information. Some of the aftershocks from large earthquakes are listed but are incomplete in many instances, especially for ones that occurred before seismic instruments were in univeral usage.

North Dakota↗

Current water-resources investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey in North Dakota; fiscal year 1981

The U.S. Geological Survey, through its Water Resources Division, investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality, distribution, and movement of the surface and underground water that composes the Nation's water resources. This publication contains a brief description of the ongoing investigations of the North Dakota District. Much of the Geological Survey program is conducted in cooperation with several state agencies and other Federal agencies. The publications resulting from the program are listed periodically in a miscellaneous release titled, "Water Resources Investigations in North Dakota, 19xx." The last such release was issued in 1976. They are also listed in a monthly nationwide release titled, "New Publications of the Geological Survey, List xxx--Publications issued in month 19xx."

North Dakota↗

Water resources data for North Dakota, water year 1980

Water resources data for the 1980 water year for North Dakota consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality of ground water. This report contains discharge records for 144 gaging stations; stage only records for 22 gaging stations; stage and contents for 13 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 87 gaging stations, 33 partial-record stations, 39 lakes, 80 wells, and water levels for 32 observation wells. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in North Dakota.

North Dakota↗