Publications

The Cretaceous aquifer in southwest Minnesota consists of discontinuous, basal sandstone beds in the Dakota Formation and the overlying Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale of the Colorado Group. These sandstone beds are not laterally or vertically persistent throughout the area and generally are separated shale beds in the Dakota Formation and in the overlying Colorado Group of...

The surface-water resources of the United States, the focal point for this National Water Summary, are extensively developed and managed to provide water supplies, hydroelectric power, navigation, recreational opportunities, and sufficient instream flows to maintain fish and wildlife habitats and adequate water quality. Surface water represents 77 percent of the Nation's total freshwater

Sand-plain aquifers in parts of Carlton, Kanabec, and Pine Counties in east-central Minnesota constitute a major aquifer system. They consist predominantly of fine to medium outwash sand with a combined areal extent of nearly 500 square miles. Saturated thickness in localized areas is as much as 90 feet. Depth to water generally is less than 20 feet. Transmissivities range from about 100...

Annual streamflows from the 21 water-resource regions in the United States and Puerto Rico were calculated for the period 1951-83. The total streamflow discharging to the oceans from the conterminous United States during this period averaged 1,270 billion gallons per day. The outflow from the Lower Mississippi Water-Resource Region (08), which drains 41 percent of the land area of the...

Suspended-sediment samplers must sample isokinetically (at stream velocity) in order to collect representative water samples of rivers. Each sampler solo by the Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project or by the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility has been adjusted to sample isokinetically and tested in a flume to verify the calibration. The test program for a...

Research on the hydrology of Williams Lake, north-central Minnesota includes study of evaporation. Presented here are those climatic data needed for energy-budget and mass-transfer studies, including: water-surface temperature, dry-bulb and wet-bulb air temperatures, wind speed, precipitation, and solar and atmospheric radiation. Data are collected at raft and land stations.

Suspended-sediment samples have been collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 115 sites on Minnesota streams since October 1960. Data from 42 sites were sufficient for characterizing sediment concentrations and yields. Average concentrations ranged from 4.4 milligrams per liter on the Baptism River in northeastern Minnesota to 190 milligrams per liter on the Root River in the...

River-bed scour is a major source of damage to bridge piers and bridge abutments. When scour depth exceeds design limits, the supporting material around the footings is washed away and the structure becomes unstable. Equations for predicting scour-depth show a significant lack of agreement so portable equipment for measuring scour is needed. This report discusses the design of an...

Five aquifers in crystalline rocks of Archean and Proterozoic age in Minnesota include in descending order the North Shore Volcanic, Sioux Quartzite, Proterozoic metasedimentary, Biwabik Iron formation and undifferentiated Precambrian aquifers. The North Shore Volcanic aquifer generally yields 15 gal/min to wells from interflow sediments and fractures in the basaltic lava flows along the...

Four small tributaries of the Galena River Madden Branch tributary, Pats Creek, Apple River, and Madden Branch that drain nonpoint agricultural sources and that receive no significant point-source discharges were monitored from October 1980 through September 1982 to determine water quality. Streamflow in the tributaries during the 1981 water year was about 25 percent below normal and...

Quaternary glacial deposits and Pennsylvanian and Mississippian sandstones, -the Saginaw Formation and Marshall Sandstone- are the major aquifers in the Michigan basin. These aquifers supply approximately 188 million gal/day to municipalities in the 29 ,000 sq mi study area. The most significant problems related to groundwater supplies are the identification of potable sources of...

Water-resources activities in the Minnesota District included 26 projects in 1985. The report describes the projects which were funded by 9 local and 6 State agencies, by the U.S. Geological Survey, and by 10 other Federal agencies.