Reports

The Old Yuma Mine is an abandoned copper, lead, zinc, silver, and gold mine located within the boundaries of Saguaro National Park, Tucson Mountain District, Arizona. This study analyzed the geochemistry of sediments associated with the Old Yuma Mine and assessed hydrologic and geochemical conditions of groundwater to evaluate the area surrounding the Old Yuma Mine. The purpose of the...

Stream geomorphic characteristics were monitored along a 0.8-mile reach of the Fever River in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin from 2004 to 2011 where cattle grazed in paddocks along the riverbank at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm. The study reach encompassed seven paddocks that covered a total of 30 acres on both sides of the river. Monitoring data...

Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island in Chatham County, Georgia, within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province. The island lies near the mouth of the Savannah River, and consists of small mounds (hummocks), salt marshes, and sediment dredged from the river. A 1,017-foot (ft) (310-meter [m])-deep core drilled at Cockspur Island in 2010 by the U.S. Geological Survey...

Excessive rainfall resulted in flooding on numerous rivers throughout the southern Midwestern United States (southern Midwest) in late April and early May of 2017. The heaviest rainfall, between April 28 and 30, resulted in extensive flooding from eastern Oklahoma to southern Indiana including parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois. Peak-of-record streamflows were set at 21 U.S...

Rainfall from a storm on October 24–27, 2017, and Tropical Storm Philippe on October 29–30, created conditions that led to flooding across portions of New Hampshire and western Maine. On the basis of streamflow data collected at 30 selected U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in the Androscoggin River, Connecticut River, Merrimack River, and Saco River Basins, the storms caused...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water quality and suspended-sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay (bay) as part of a multi-agency effort to address management, water supply, and ecological concerns. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people, and the bay teems both with resident and with migratory wildlife, plants, and fish. Freshwater mixes with salt water...

Many coastlines around the world have stair-step landforms, known as marine terraces. Marine terraces make up a large part of coastal California’s landscape—from San Diego to Crescent City. Find out how these landscapes form, why marine terraces are of interest to scientists, and where you can explore these landscapes.

Surface motion is an important component of lava lake behavior, but previous studies of lake motion have been focused on short time intervals. In this study, we implement the first continuous, real-time operational routine for tracking lava lake surface motion, applying the technique to the persistent lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i. We measure...

The water quality of the Chesapeake Bay may be adversely affected by dissolved nitrate carried in groundwater discharge to streams. To estimate the concentrations, loads, and yields of nitrate from groundwater to streams for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a regression model was developed based on measured nitrate concentrations from 156 small streams with watersheds less than 500 square...

This report is a user guide for the low-flow analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) computer program. The software combines functionality from two software programs—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SWSTAT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DFLOW. Both of these programs have been used primarily for computation of critical low-flow...

Wisconsin and natural resources go hand-in-hand. Tourism, which generates $19 billion annually and sustains about 200,000 jobs, depends on an abundance of lakes, rivers, shorelines, and woodlands for fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor recreation. Rivers and floodplains in the Upper Mississippi Basin, including the Mississippi River, are part of a five-State corridor that...

Accurate measurements of suspended sediment, a leading water-quality impairment in many Minnesota rivers, are important for managing and protecting water resources; however, water-quality standards for suspended sediment in Minnesota are based on grab field sampling and total suspended solids (TSS) laboratory analysis methods that have underrepresented concentrations of suspended...