Publications

The Hagerman fauna area on the western slope of the Snake River canyon in south-central Idaho is one of the most important locations of upper Pliocene fossils in the world. The fossil beds are distributed vertically through a 500-foot stratigraphic section of the Glenns Ferry Formation. Accelerated soil movement caused by surface-water runoff from irrigated farmlands on the plateau above...

This chapter contains practices used by the U.S. Geological Survey to assure the quality of analytical data for water, fluvial sediment, and aquatic organisms. These practices are directed primarily toward personnel making water quality measurements. Some detail specific quality control techniques, others document quality assurance procedures being used by the Central Laboratories System...

Well-inventory and groundwater-quality data for 665 sites with a total of 1,318 chemical analyses were compiled from Elmore, Owyhee, Ada, and Canyon Counties. Data are sorted by water temperature (less than 20 degrees Celsius is considered nonthermal; 20 degrees Celcius or greater is considered thermal) to facilitate their use.

The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens deposited about 15 millimeters of volcanic ash on the Big Creek basin in northern Idaho. Much of the uncompacted ash remained on hillsides a year after the eruption. Physical and chemical analyses of water samples from Big Creek collected from December 1980 to December 1981 showed no anomalies attributable to ash. Qualitative collections...

The A.J. Wiley Hydroelectric Project is a proposal by the Idaho Power Company to develop hydroelectricity near Bliss, Idaho, by building a dam on the Snake River (fig. 1). The proposed dam would impound a narrow reservoir as deep as 85 feet in a free-flowing reach of the river that extends from the upper reach of water impounded by the Bliss Dam to the foot of the Lower Salmon Falls Dam...

Data on radionuclide concentrations in water and sediment material in the phosphate-mining area of the upper Blackfoot River basin were collected from May to October 1979. Maximum measured uranium and radium-226 concentrations dissolved in water were 3.7 micrograms per liter and 1.8 picocuries per liter , respectively. Maximum measured uranium and radium-226 concentrations in stream...

Surface-water data collection began in Idaho in 1889 with the establishment of three gaging stations: Snake River at Eagle Rock (now Idaho Falls), Big Wood River near Hailey, and Bear River at Preston. Following passage of the National Reclamation Act of 1902, a notable increase in investigations of water resources began throughout the Western United States. Although Idaho enacted laws...

On January 11 and 12, 1979, unseasonally warm temperatures and rain on several inches of snow lying on frozen ground caused widespread flooding in and around Boise, Idaho. Streams north of Boise crested on January 11, flooding neighborhoods in and adjacent to the mountain foothills. On January 12, streams south and west of the city reached their highest stages. Flooding was confined to...

During the period 1972-79, the bedload in the Clearwater River ranged from about 50,000 tons (45,000 metric tons) per year in 1972 and 1974 to about 1,000 tons (910 metric tons) per year in the drought years of 1973 and 1977. Suspended-sediment load at the same location ranged from about 1,000,000 tons (910,000 metric tons) per year to about 50,000 tons (45,000 metric tons) per year for...

Water samples were collected from 31 wells and springs in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming to help evaluate the potential geothermal resources in the Teton River area, Idaho. The water analyses included the common anions and cations, oxygen-18, deuterium, and several minor elements. Actual temperatures of the sampled thermal waters ranged from 23° to 49°C. Estimated aquifer temperatures...

Chapter Al of the manual contains methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey to collect, preserve, and analyze water samples for their content of dissolved minerals and gases. Among the topics discussed are selection of sampling sites, frequency of sampling, sampling equipment, sample preservation, laboratory equipment and instrumental techniques, accuracy and precision of analysis, and...

Ground-water pumpage in Camas Prairie, Idaho, for irrigation and municipal supplies totaled nearly 9,500 acre-feet in 1977. Declines of pressure head in the artesian aquifer have ranged from 3 to 12 feet since 1974 when increased ground-water pumping began. A comparison of water-level measurements made in September 1957 and September 1977 shows declines of more than 30 feet in places in...