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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Meteorology of the storm of November 3-5, 1985, in West Virginia and Virginia: Chapter B in Geomorphic studies of the storm and flood of November 3-5, 1985, in the upper Potomac and Cheat River basins in West Virginia and Virginia

The storm of November 3-5, 1985, in the central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and Virginia resulted from a complex sequence of meteorological events. The stage was set by Hurricane Juan, which made landfall in the Gulf Coast on October 31. Juan brought moisture northward up the Mississippi Valley; latent heat released by condensation aloft probably helped to render stationary a high-pressure anticyclone over southeastern Canada. A second low-pressure cyclone, moving north through the Southeastern United States, was blocked by the stationary anticyclone, intensifying a surface-pressure gradient that forced moist air from the Atlantic westward up the slope of the Appalachian Mountains. In the Cheat and Potomac River basins the resulting rainfall was of moderate intensity but of long duration. In Pendleton County, W. Va., the 1985 storm was the largest on record for durations from 24 to 72 h; the highest rainfall recurrence intervals were registered at durations of 24 to 48 h. Estimates of rainfall recurrence intervals from highly skewed records yield values ranging from 80 to 300 yr.

Bulletin↗

Acute sedimentation response to rainfall following the explosive phase of the 2008-2009 eruption of Chaitén volcano, Chile

The 10-day explosive phase at the start of the 2008–2009 eruption of Chaitén volcano in southern Chile (42.83°S, 72.65°W) blanketed the steep, rain-forest-cloaked, 77-km 2 Chaitén River drainage basin with 3 to >100 cm of tephra; predominantly fine to extremely fine rhyolitic ash fell during the latter half of the explosive phase. Rain falling on this ash blanket within days of cessation of major explosive activity generated a hyperconcentrated-flow lahar, followed closely by a complex, multi-day, muddy flood (streamflow bordering on dilute hyperconcentrated flow). Sediment mobilized in this lahar-flood event filled the Chaitén River channel with up to 7 m of sediment, buried the town of Chaitén (10 km downstream of the volcano) in up to 3 m of sediment, and caused the lower 3 km of the channel to avulse through the town. Although neither the nature nor rate of the sedimentation response is unprecedented, they are unusual in several ways: (1) Nearly 70 percent of the aggradation (almost 5 m) in the 50–70-m-wide Chaitén River channel was caused by a lahar, triggered by an estimated 20 mm of rainfall over a span of about 24 h. An additional 2 m of aggradation occurred in the next 24–36 h. (2) Direct damage to the town was accomplished by the sediment-laden water-flood phase of the lahar-flood event, not the lahar phase. (3) The volume of sediment eroded from hillslopes and delivered to the Chaitén River channel was at least 3–8 × 10 6 m 3 —roughly 15–40 % of the minimum tephra volume that mantled the Chaitén River drainage basin. (4) The acute sedimentation response to rainfall appears to have been due to the thickness and fineness of the ash blanket (inhibiting infiltration of rain) and the steepness of the basin’s hillslopes. Other possible factors such as the prior formation of an ash crust, development of a hydrophobic surface layer, or large-scale destruction of rain-intercepting vegetation did not play a role.

Chait�n Caldera↗

Teleseismic P‐qave coda autocorrelation imaging of crustal and basin structure, Bighorn Mountains Region, Wyoming, U.S.A.

We demonstrate successful crustal imaging via teleseismic P ‐wave coda autocorrelation, using data recorded on a 261 station array of vertical‐component high‐frequency geophones in the area of the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming, U.S.A. We autocorrelate the P ‐wave coda of 30 teleseismic events and use phase‐weighted stacking to yield seismic profiles comparable to low‐passed versions of those produced via controlled‐source vertical seismic reflection. Our process recovers reflections from the bottoms of the Bighorn and Powder River basins that flank the Bighorn Mountains. We also identify a mid‐crustal reflector that aligns with a region of increased reflectivity, previously interpreted as a Precambrian province boundary. Our results demonstrate the utility of crustal imaging with teleseismic P ‐wave coda energy using modern large‐array seismic data, and they corroborate previous interpretations of crustal structures in the study area.

Wyoming↗

Geology and ground water resources of Eddy and Foster Counties, North Dakota

Eddy and Foster Counties are in east-central North Dakota, high on the eastern flank of the Williston Basin. They are underlain by 3200 to 4300 feet of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks that dip gently to the west. The uppermost formation, the Cretaceous Pierre Shale, lies directly beneath the glacial drift and crops out in the valleys of the James and Sheyenne Rivers. Glacial drift that covers the entire are a averages about 150 feet thick but in certain buried valleys it is as much as 400 feet thick.

North Dakota↗

Potential effects of development on flow characteristics of two streams in the Raritan River Basin, New Jersey

Parts of the Raritan River basin in central New Jersey have undergone increasing development over the last several decades. The increasing population relies on the region's ground water and surface water sources for its residential, commercial, and industrial water supply. Urbanization, regionalized wastewater‐treatment facilities, stream channel alterations, and interbasin transfers of water can all affect water availability. This pilot study was conducted to determine whether significant trends exist in the base‐flow and overland‐runoff characteristics of streams in two subbasins with different percentages of urban/built‐up land (Anderson et at ., 1976). Changes in flow characteristics that could indicate future reductions in safe water yield of the Raritan River basin were examined. Flow and flow variability of the steams draining these two subbasins have increased over time. Many of the flow measures studied experienced pronounced trend shifts about 1960. The cause of these changes cannot be readily determined from the data, nor is it clear whether the increased flow variability lies outside the natural range of flow variability of the streams draining the subbasins.

New Jersey↗

Eroding Cascadia— Sediment and solute transport and landscape denudation in western Oregon and northwestern California

Riverine measurements of sediment and solute transport give empirical basin-scale estimates of bed-load, suspended-sediment, and silicate-solute fluxes for 100,000 km 2 of northwestern California and western Oregon. This spatially explicit sediment budget shows the multifaceted control of geology and physiography on the rates and processes of fluvial denudation. Bed-load transport is greatest for steep basins, particularly in areas underlain by the accreted Klamath terrane. Bed-load flux commonly decreases downstream as clasts convert to suspended load by breakage and attrition, particularly for softer rock types. Suspended load correlates strongly with lithology, basin slope, precipitation, and wildfire disturbance. It is highest in steep regions of soft rocks, and our estimates suggest that much of the suspended load is derived from bed-load comminution. Dissolution, measured by basin-scale silicate-solute yield, constitutes a third of regional landscape denudation. Solute yield correlates with precipitation and is proportionally greatest in low-gradient and wet basins and for high parts of the Cascade Range, where undissected Quaternary volcanic rocks soak in 2−3 m of annual precipitation. Combined, these estimates provide basin-scale erosion rates ranging from ∼50 t ∙ km −2 ∙ yr −1 (approximately equivalent to 0.02 mm ∙ yr −1 ) for low-gradient basins such as the Willamette River to ∼500 t ∙ km −2 ∙ yr −1 (∼0.2 mm ∙ yr −1 ) for steep coastal drainages. The denudation rates determined here from modern measurements are less than those estimated by longer-term geologic assessments, suggesting episodic disturbances such as fire, flood, seismic shaking, and climate change significantly add to long-term landscape denudation.

California, Oregon, Washington↗

A far-traveled basalt lava flow in north-central Oregon, USA

Widely separated basalt lava-flow outcrops in north-central Oregon, USA, expose products of a single eruptive episode. A Pliocene lava flow, here informally termed the Tetherow basalt, issued from vents near Redmond, in the Deschutes basin of Oregon, as a plains-forming basalt now exposed in continuous outcrops northward for 60 km. A similar basalt crops out 47 km farther north, near Maupin, within what was then a slightly incised ancestral Deschutes River canyon. The northernmost outcrops of this lava flow lie on Fulton Ridge, in the Dalles basin, near the confluence of the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers. Complementary lines of evidence confirm these rocks are all from the same volcanic eruption. Outcrops in the Deschutes and Dalles basins are chemically similar high-titanium basalts, petrographically similar to each other and distinct from other lava flows in the area. Paleomagnetic directions from 11 scattered sites are similar and indistinguishable by various tests for a common mean. Three new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages indicate the Tetherow basalt eruption occurred between 5.5 Ma and 5.0 Ma, likely at ca. 5.2 Ma. The widely separated outcrops of this lava flow span 160–180 km along the ancestral Deschutes River and downstream Columbia River. The lava flow’s length and erupted volume of 15–20 km 3 are extraordinarily large in a non-flood-basalt setting. This lava flow provides a datum with which to describe regional physiographic history, assess incision rates, and infer tectonic history. Spanning different depositional basins, the Tetherow basalt is a useful chronologic and stratigraphic marker bed.

Oregon↗

Geology and ground-water resources of the Walla Walla River basin Washington-Oregon

The Walla Walla River, whose drainage basin of about 1,330 square miles lies astride the Washington-Oregon boundary, drains westward to empty into the Columbia River. The basin slopes from the 5,000-foot crest of the Blue Mountains through a structural and topographic basin to the terraced lands adjoining the Columbia River at an altitude of about 340 feet. The main unit of the topographic basin is the valley plain, commonly called the Walla Walla Valley, which descends from about 1,500 feet at the foot of the mountain slopes to about 500 feet in altitude where the river cuts through the bedrock ridge near Divide. In the Blue Mountains the streams flow in rockbound canyons. Beyond the canyons, near Milton-Freewater and Walla Walla, they pass onto the broad alluvial fans and the terrace lands of the valley.

Washington, Oregon↗

Hydrogeologic data for the lower Housatonic River basin, Connecticut

This report contains hydrologic and geologic data collected for an investigation of the lower Housatonic River basin by the U.S. Geological Survey in financial cooperation with the Connecticut Water Resources Commission. The report also summarizes data that are available in other publications. The towns within the 557 square mile area of the basin in western Connecticut include all of Beacon Falls, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, and Woodbury; and parts of Ansonia, Bethany, Bethlehem, Bristol, Burlington, Cheshire, Derby, Easton, Goshen, Narwinton, Litchfield, Milford, Monroe, Morris, New Hartford, Newtown, Norfolk, Orange, Plymouth, Prospect, Roxbury, Shelton, Southbury, Stratford, Torrington, Trumbull, Washington, Winchester, Wolcott, and Woodbridge. The factual information on the following pages was the basis for a companion interpretive report, Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 19 (Wilson, W. E., and others, in preparation, 1970). The basic-data report can be used alone for detailed information needed in planning water resources development at specific sites or it can be used to supplement the interpretive report. Data were collected for this investigation from 1965 to 1967. Water levels measured in wells as part of this investigation were published in Connecticut Water Resources Bulletin No. 7 (Meikle and Baker, 1965) and No. 13 (Meikle, 1967) with water-level data from other wells throughout the State. Publications containing relevant ground-water information are listed on page those concerned with streamflow are on page 5 and those on quality of water, are on page 6. The locations of sites at which data were collected are shown on plate A in the back pocket of this report. Data presented here were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey unless otherwise noted.

Connecticut↗

Quaternary extensional growth folding beneath Reno, Nevada, imaged by urban seismic profiling

We characterize shallow subsurface faulting and basin structure along a transect through heavily urbanized Reno, Nevada, with high‐resolution seismic reflection imaging. The 6.8 km of P‐wave data image the subsurface to approximately 800 m depth and delineate two subbasins and basin uplift that are consistent with structure previously inferred from gravity modeling in this region of the northern Walker Lane. We interpret two primary faults that bound the uplift and deform Quaternary deposits. The dip of Quaternary and Tertiary strata in the western subbasin increases with greater depth to the east, suggesting recurrent fault motion across the westernmost of these faults. Deformation in the Quaternary section of the western subbasin is likely evidence of extensional growth folding at the edge of the Truckee River through Reno. This deformation is north of, and on trend with, previously mapped Quaternary fault strands of the Mt. Rose fault zone. In addition to corroborating the existence of previously inferred intrabasin structure, these data provide evidence for an active extensional Quaternary fault at a previously unknown location within the Truckee Meadows basin that furthers our understanding of both the seismotectonic framework and earthquake hazards in this urbanized region.

Nevada↗

Tufts submarine fan: turbidity-current gateway to Escanaba Trough

Turbidity-current overflow from Cascadia Channel near its western exit from the Blanco Fracture Zone has formed the Tufts submarine fan, which extends more than 350 km south on the Pacific Plate to the Mendocino Fracture Zone. For this study, available 3.5-kHz high-resolution and airgun seismic-reflection data, long-range side-scan sonar images, and sediment core data are used to define the growth pattern of the fan. Tufts fan deposits have smoothed and filled in the linear ridge-and-valley relief over an area exceeding 23,000 km2 on the west flank of the Gorda Ridge. The southernmost part of the fan is represented by a thick (as much as 500 m) sequence of turbidite deposits ponded along more than 100 km of the northern flank of the Mendocino Fracture Zone. Growth of the Tufts fan now permits turbidity-current overflow from Cascadia Channel to reach the Escanaba Trough, a deep rift valley along the southern axis of the Gorda Ridge. Scientific drilling during both the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) provided evidence that the 500-m-thick sediment fill of Escanaba Trough is dominantly sandy turbidites. Radiocarbon dating of the sediment at ODP Site 1037 showed that deposition of most of the upper 120 m of fill was coincident with Lake Missoula floods and that the provenance of the fill is from the eastern Columbia River drainage basin. The Lake Missoula flood discharge with its entrained sediment continued flowing downslope upon reaching the ocean as hyperpycnally generated turbidity currents. These huge turbidity currents followed the Cascadia Channel to reach the Pacific Plate, where overbank flow provided a significant volume of sediment on Tufts fan and in Escanaba Trough. Tufts fan and Tufts Abyssal Plain to the west probably received turbidite sediment from the Cascadia margin during much of the Pleistocene.

Escanaba Trough↗

The Kantishna region, Alaska

The Kantishna, region as here defined is bordered on the south by the crest of the Alaska Range, on the north by Tanana River, on the east by Nenana River, and on the west by lower Kantishna River and one of its main headward tributaries, McKinley Fork. (See fig. 1.) In a broader sense, the Kantishna region should include the entire Kantishna basin and part of the Nenana basin, but the present paper does not describe the part of the Nenana, basin that lies east of the main river between Broad Pass and the Tanana, the part of the Alaska Range that lies south of a line drawn from the mouth of Hines Creek to the terminus of Muldrow Glacier, and the part of the Kantishna basin that lies west of McKinley Fork and west of the main river below the mouth of McKinley Fork. Furthermore, the lowland of Tanana River north of the outermost range of foothills was visited only along the courses of Kantishna and Nenana, rivers. The area here considered lies between parallels 63° 25' and 65° north latitude and meridians 149° and 151° 10' west longitude. It includes about' 4,500 square miles and comprises a part of the Alaska Range and its foothills and a part of the Tanana lowland.

Alaska↗

History of natural flows--Kansas River

Through its Water Resources Division, the United States Geological Survey has become the major water-resources historian for the nation. The Geological Survey's collection of streamflow records in Kansas began on a very small scale in 1895 in response to some early irrigation interest, Since that time the program has grown, and we now have about 21 350 station-years of record accumulated. A station-year of record is defined as a continuous record of flow collected at a fixed point for a period of one year. Volume of data at hand, however, is not in itself an, adequate measure of its usefullness. An important element in historical streamflow data which enhances its value as a tool for the prediction of the future is the length of continuous records available in the area being studied. The records should be of sufficient length that they may be regarded as a reasonable sample of what has gone before and may be expected in the future. Table 1 gives a graphical inventory of the available streamflow records in Kansas. It shows that, in general, there is a fair coverage of stations with records of about thirty-seven years in length, This is not a long period as history goes but it does include considerable experience with floods and droughts. Although a large quantity of data on Kansas streamflow has been accumulated, hydrologists and planning engineers find that stream flow information for many areas of the State is considerably less than adequate. The problem of obtaining adequate coverage has been given careful study by the Kansas Water Resources Board in cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey and a report entitled "Development of A Balanced Stream-Gaging Program For Kansas", has been published by the Board as Bulletin No. 4, That report presents an analysis of the existing stream-gaging program and recommendations for a program to meet the rapidly expanding needs for more comprehensive basic data. The Kansas River is formed near Junction City, Kansas, by the confluence of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers, From that point the river flows eastward about 175 miles to Kansas City where it empties into the Missouri River. The basic history of its natural flow can be depicted in general by the records from three gaging stations. The one at Bonner Springs, about 21 miles upstream from the mouth, may be considered as representing the total outflow from the basin; the one at Ogden, about 8 miles downstream from the confluence of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers, may be considered as representing the combined contribution of those streams to the Kansas River flow; and the one at Topeka, being only about 16 river miles nearer to Ogden than to Bonner Springs, may be considered as representing flows at the mid-point along the river.

Kansas↗

New maps of Federal coal

Compilation and analysis of publicly available data on Federal coal are resulting in voluminous map sets showing coal isopachs, structure contours, and overburden isopachs on each known minable coal bed. As of the spring of 1981, there are available from the U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Services Section in Denver map sets at 1:24,000 scale or microfiche sets covering approximately 470 of the ultimately 1,400 quadrangles in the program. Because Congress in 1976 mandated the prompt “inventorying” of all unleased Federal coal for Government land-use planning, and because dollars but not employee positions were provided for the work, the U.S. Geological Survey was obliged to contract for the compilations. A typical map set has a short text and about 20 plates, including a data sheet; a Federal mineral ownership map; and correlation charts. For each coal bed, there are isopachs, structure contours, stripping limits, and mining ratios extending as far as the data will permit, regardless of coal ownership. Reserve base tonnages and relative development potentials are calculated, but only for unleased Federal coal areas. Termed “minable” are coal beds at least 1.524 m (5 ft) thick and less than 914.4 m (3,000 ft) deep. For conventional underground mining methods, beds dipping more than 15° are excluded; also excluded are all but 3.66 m (12 ft) of thick beds. For in situ conversion methods, the minimum dip is 15° except for the deep thick beds in the Powder River Basin. Arbitrary parameters classify the development potential of each unleased 16.19-hectare (40-acre) tract as high, moderate, low, unknown, or negative. The former Secretary of the Interior announced his intention to restrict leasing in general to tracts classified as having high to moderate potential for development. Many geologists will find these systematic map compilations to be useful bases for adding new data points and making their own interpretations, correlations, extrapolations, and reserve estimates.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

Regional-scale assessment of a sequence-bounding paleosol on fluvial fans using ground-penetrating radar, eastern San Joaquin Valley, California

Recently developed sequence stratigraphic models for fluvial fans suggest that sequence boundaries in these deposits are marked by laterally extensive paleosols; however, these models were based on paleosol correlations inferred between wells. To test this, we collected ???190 km of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles on three fluvial fans from the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, to determine the lateral extent and character of a buried near-surface sequence-bounding-paleosol. This paleosol, recognized on GPR by rapid shallow signal attenuation, extends across large areas on all three fluvial fans. Limited areas of significantly increased signal penetration were also identified, and these zones are interpreted to indicate the absence of the paleosol. The zones where the paleosol is missing likely correspond to paleooutwash channel activity on the fan surfaces that, when active, was able to partially or fully scour through the paleosol and deposit coarse-grained channel sediments in place of the sequence boundary. Erosional breaks are most common on the Kings River fan, while few breaks on the Tuolumne and Merced River fans may indicate less paleochannel activity on these fan surfaces during the last outwash event. Differences in channel activity between fans indicate that the Kings River migrated across its fan during the last outwash event, as evidenced by the large number of areas with increased GPR signal penetration and the presence of numerous channel deposits recorded on the soil surveys, while the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers only deposited floodplain fines, with the channels remaining inside a shallow incised valley, as evidenced by the relatively low number of areas with increased GPR signal penetration and the presence of primarily fine-grained material recorded on the soil surveys. Factors controlling these differences may include variable valley subsidence rates and differences in the San Joaquin Basin overall width at each fan location. ?? 2006 Geological Society of America.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

Coevolution with host fishes shapes parasitic life histories in a group of freshwater mussels (Unionidae: Quadrulini)

Ecological interactions among species often lead to parasitic lineages coevolving with host resources, which is often suggested as the primary driver of parasite diversification. Freshwater mussels are bivalves that possess a parasitic life cycle requiring larval encystment on freshwater vertebrates to complete metamorphosis. The North American freshwater mussel tribe Quadrulini has a suite of life history adaptations including highly specialized patterns of host use, infection strategies, and variable larval morphologies. However, the evolution of life histories has yet to be explored using phylogenetic comparative methods. In this study, we use a holistic approach incorporating biogeographical, ecological, molecular, and morphological datasets to reconstruct the evolution of Quadrulini. Comparative phylogenetic analyses suggested the diversification of Quadrulini has been driven, at least in part, by codiversification with their primary host fishes in Ictaluridae. Major diversification events in both ictalurids and quadrulines were estimated to have occurred in the Mississippi River basin throughout the Miocene. Life history characteristics associated with parasitism were supported to have coevolved with host repertories, supporting the hypothesis that ecological interactions with host fishes have shaped the evolution of highly specialized traits in this group. Our findings demonstrate the importance of ecological interactions with host resources in shaping the evolutionary history of freshwater mussels.

Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists↗

Pleistocene lakes and paleohydrologic environments of the Tecopa basin, California: Constraints on the drainage integration of the Amargosa River

The Tecopa basin in eastern California was a terminal basin that episodically held lakes during most of the Quaternary until the basin and its modern stream, the Amargosa River, became tributary to Death Valley. Although long studied for its sedimentology, diagenesis, and paleomagnetism, the basin’s lacustrine and paleoclimate history has not been well understood, and conflicting interpretations exist concerning the relations of Tecopa basin to the Amargosa River and to pluvial Lake Manly in Death Valley. Previous studies also did not recognize basinwide tectonic effects on lake-level history. In this study, we focused on: (1) establishing a chronology of shoreline deposits, as the primary indicator of lake-level history, utilizing well-known ash beds and new uranium-series and luminescence dating; (2) using ostracodes as indicators of water chemistry and water source(s); and (3) correlating lake transgressions to well-preserved fluvial-deltaic sequences. During the early Pleistocene, the Tecopa basin hosted small shallow lakes primarily fed by low-alkalinity water sourced mainly from runoff and (or) a groundwater source chemically unlike the modern springs. The first lake that filled the basin occurred just prior and up to the eruption of the 765 ka Bishop ash during marine isotope stage (MIS) 19; this lake heralded the arrival of the Amargosa River, delivering high-alkalinity water. Two subsequent lake cycles, coeval with MIS 16 (leading up to eruption of 631 ka Lava Creek B ash) and MIS 14 and (or) MIS 12, are marked by prominent accumulations of nearshore and beach deposits. The timing of the youngest of these three lakes, the High lake, is constrained by a uranium-series age of ca. 580 ± 120 ka on tufa-cemented beach gravel and by estimates from sedimentation rates. Highstand deposits of the Lava Creek and High lakes at the north end of the basin are stratigraphically tied to distinct sequences of fluvial-deltaic deposits fed by alkaline waters of the Amargosa River. The High lake reached the highest level achieved in the Tecopa basin, and it may have briefly discharged southward but did not significantly erode its threshold. The High lake was followed by a long hiatus of as much as 300 k.y., during which there is evidence for alluvial, eolian, and groundwater-discharge deposition, but no lakes. We attribute this hiatus, as have others, to blockage of the Amargosa River by an alluvial fan upstream near Eagle Mountain. A final lake, the Terminal lake, formed when the river once again flowed south into Tecopa basin, but it was likely short-lived due to rapid incision of the former threshold south of Tecopa. Deposits of the Terminal lake are inset below, and are locally unconformable on, deposits of the High lake and the nonlacustrine deposits of the hiatus. The Terminal lake reached its highstand at ca. 185 ± 21 ka, as dated by infrared-stimulated luminescence on feldspar in beach sand, a time coincident with perennial lake mud and alkaline-tolerant ostracodes in the Badwater core of Lake Manly during MIS 6. A period of stillstand occurred as the Terminal lake drained when the incising river encountered resistant Stirling Quartzite near the head of present-day Amargosa Canyon. Our studies significantly revise the lacustrine and drainage history of the Tecopa basin, show that the MIS 6 highstand was not the largest lake in the basin as previously published (with implications for potential nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain, Nevada), and provide evidence from shoreline elevations for ∼20 m of tectonic uplift in the northern part of the basin across an ENE-trending monoclinal flexure.

California↗

Geology and ground water resources of Wells County, North Dakota

Wells County is in east-central North Dakota on the eastern flank of the Williston Basin. It is underlain by 4000 to 6000 feet of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks that dip gently to the west. The uppermost Cretaceous rocks, the Hell Creek, Fox Hills and Pierre Formations, lie directly beneath the glacial drift; isolated exposures of the Fox Hills and Pierre rocks occur in the Sheyenne River valley. Glacial drift covers the entire area averaging about 100 feet thick. In certain buried valleys it is more than 400 feet thick.

North Dakota↗