Publications

The Lake of the Woods watershed is an area of about 2,900 square miles (7,500 km), the northern limit of which is part of the boundary between the United States and Canada. Drainage is to Lake of the Woods, either directly or by the Rainy River. The watershed includes about 470 square miles (1,220 km2) of Lake of the Woods, one-third of the lake’s total area. The watershed, a part of the...

The Cedar River Watershed Unit (as established by the states of Minnesota) consists of 1,204 square miles (3,118 square kilometres) of flat or gently undulating plain. The watershed is drained by the Cedar River and several smaller streams that flow south into Iowa and eventually into the Mississippi River. Its easternmost neck is part of a broad, flat, well-drained plain, covered by a...

The Zumbro River drains 1,428 square miles and falls from about 1,300 feet altitude in its headwaters to 665 feet at its mouth. The remaining 248 square miles included in the watershed is drained by small creeks flowing directly into the Mississippi River. Distribution of water use is about as follows: domestic, 50 percent; farm (for irrigation and livestock), 18 percent; and industrial...

The configuration of the water table as plotted at a contour interval of 20 feet (6 metres) on quadrangle maps (scale 1:2,500) of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. Control points used for mapping were water levels in wells, lakes and sloughs, and places where topographic contours cross perennial streams. A computer program, using a variation of Darcy's law, was developed to...

On April 18 between 5 p.m. and 12 p.m. an intense rainstorm fell in the Lansing area resulting in extensive flooding. The Federal Disaster Assistance Administration estimated that 175 homes were damaged to at least half their value, 4,500 received some damage, with additional losses to schools, utilities, hospitals, and transportation systems. Early estimates indicated that damages may...

One of the major new efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey is the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN). This circular is intended to answer some of the frequently asked questions concerning concepts used in establishing NASQAN, its purposes, design, value, and future plans.

This Hydrologic Atlas is one of a series describing the 39 watersheds in Minnesota. The Root River watershed includes Houston, Winona, and parts of the surrounding counties. The 2 ,570 square miles in the watershed varies from gently rolling prairie in the west to an area of plateaus separated by valleys deeply incised into bedrock in the north and east. The average annual water budget...

This hydrologic atlas represents a part of a comprehensive study of the water resources of southeastern Michigan. Its purpose is to provide information on (1) physical features of the Huron River and its tributaries, (2) characteristics of streamflow, (3) quality of ground and surface water, and (4) availability of ground water. This atlas is one in a series of atlases on several river...

The extensive use of ground water for water supply within Dane County has resulted in the need for an appraisal of the area's ground-water resources. Water-resources planners and other water-oriented groups have expressed concern over ground-water level declines and reductions in streamflow that are occurring as a result of heavy pumping. Digital-computer modeling techniques were used to...

Surface-water records for the 1974 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within the State of Michigan are given in this report. For convenience there are also included records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, under the...

Isle Royale is an outstanding example of relatively undisturbed northwoods lake wilderness. But more than simple preservation of such an environment is involved in its inclusion in our National Park System. Its isolation from the mainland provides an almost untouched laboratory for research in the natural sciences, especially those studies whose very nature depends upon such isolation...

The Viking Basin consists of six glacial outwash areas in Douglas, Ottertail, and Todd Counties, west-central Minnesota. Total area is 340 square miles (880 square kilometres). Soils are sandy and excessively well-drained. Crops grown on the outwash would benefit from supplemental irrigation. Irrigation supplies can be obtained from wells in the surface outwash aquifer in significant...