Geophysical and video logs of eight wells in the Camas prairie, Idaho

In cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected groundwater levels, geophysical logs, and video logs at eight monitoring wells from the Camas prairie, Idaho, between November 5 and November 8, 2024. The Camas Prairie (study area) is an intermountain basin of southern Idaho, located 75 miles east-southeast from the state’s capital of Boise. The basin is bounded by mountains to the north, west, and south and the valley-fill alluvial deposits are eastward sloping. The hydrogeology of the Camas Prairie valley-fill aquifer system is complex and consists of a shallow, unconfined aquifer and confined alluvium and basalt aquifers (Young and others, 1978). Camas Prairie surface water and groundwater resources are utilized by a variety of domestic, municipal, agricultural, and industrial users. The collection of geophysical data for select wells will provide additional information for characterizing the basin’s hydrologic resources. Used in conjunction with existing hydrogeologic information, the collection and interpretation of geophysical data from these select wells will contribute to an improved hydrologic understanding of the Camas Prairie. Geophysical data were collected using Century™ multi-parameter logging probes. Select logs as well as the lithologic interpretation are displayed in well log figures. Select geophysical logs include natural gamma, neutron, neutron porosity, gamma-gamma short- and long-spaced density, specific conductance, and temperature. The USGS also collected video logs of the wells that confirmed the construction, integrity, and total depth of the well prior to geophysical logging. Geophysical data shown in well log figures were collected using the natural gamma, temperature, and specific conductance probe (9042A), neutron probe (9057A), and gamma-gamma density probe (0024C). All geophysical data were collected within cased well sections. Geophysical logs, available driller reports, and regional geology were examined synergistically to identify lithologic units and contacts.
Young, H.W., Backsen, R.L., and Kenyon, K.S., 1978, Water resources of Camas Prairie, south-central Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation Report 78-82, 36p., accessed July 28, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3133/wri7882.