Since its 1974 origins in a tiny warehouse, this USGS research center has grown to include 80,000 square feet in the current warehouse in the Denver Federal Center. Over the last 50 years, it’s been the center where the USGS safeguards an invaluable repository of rock cores -- cylindrical sections extracted from the Earth’s subsurface -- and cuttings, the sand-like particles produced by a rotary bit and collected at intervals as a hole is drilled below the Earth’s surface. 

Today, it hosts a physical repository of samples from 63,000 boreholes, representing approximately 400 miles of core and 46,000 miles of cuttings amassed from 36 states primarily in and near the Rocky Mountain region. 

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The Core Research Center’s mission is to preserve and share these materials, which scientists use to study the composition of the underlying geological formations. 

Originally utilized primarily for oil and gas exploration, most of the cores and cuttings in the collection were first obtained by private industry during exploration for oil, gas, or mineral deposits. They were later donated to the USGS, where the Core Research Center ensures they are preserved and makes them available to be examined by any interested parties.

These materials from beneath the Earth’s surface continue to enable innovative science, and the collection has proven its versatility as the world’s scientific and economic needs evolve.

For example, in response to the growing demand for critical minerals, alternative energy resources, and innovative approaches to greenhouse gas sequestration and storage, the center’s archives have taken on a new importance. Understanding subsurface geology is vital for advancing research in mineral and helium exploration, geothermal technology, and carbon storage solutions.

The collection has been utilized by over 25,000 geoscientists over the years, for an average of about 500 visitors per year.

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These visitors are not just private industry geologists that use the collection to seek valuable deposits of oil, natural gas, helium, and minerals -- though economic geologists do frequently use this collection. These materials are also used by USGS scientists completing congressionally mandated energy and minerals assessments. They’ve provided valuable materials for paleoclimatologists from USGS, as well as other federal and state agencies studying the effects of changes in past climates. Hydrologists use the collection to study aquifer recharge and water quality, researchers use it to seek geothermal and carbon storage opportunities, and geophysicists at USGS and from other institutions use it to study natural hazards.

The estimated cost to redrill the current collection would top 84 billion dollars. The USGS stores these legacy materials for a fraction of the cost of the planning, permitting, and drilling required for a new well. Some of the materials originate from areas that once allowed drilling but may no longer be accessible, making the cores irreplaceable. By providing access to researchers from industry, academia, and government, the USGS eliminates the need for redundant drilling and analysis. The USGS can store the cores, which are used for educational and research purposes, for at least 200 years before reaching the original cost of drilling.

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Sampling and data return have produced over 18,000 data files and 30,000 thin sections which are made available free to users. There are 4 USGS employees who help manage both collections in addition to a public Well Catalog database. They provide customer service, cutting an average of 3,000 samples per year for customers for further testing. 

Online users can search the Well Catalog for materials in their study area and can download user-supplied analytical data, core photo and thin section image files.