Unified Interior Regions
Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin
Map of Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin
Map Showing USGS/DOI Unified Region 7 and parts of adjoining Regions
Key USGS Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin Contacts
Regional Director (Acting)-Peter Griffiths
Associate Regional Director, Operations-Peter Griffiths
USGS Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin Offices and Science Centers
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
USGS Science Centers in Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin conduct a large number of cooperative and collaborative projects with other agencies and partners. A sampling of those projects are shown below on this web page.
Using Robots in the River: Biosurveillance at USGS streamgages
For more than a decade, researchers around the world have shown that sampling a water body and analyzing for DNA (a method known as eDNA) is an effective method to detect an organism in the water. The challenge is that finding organisms that are not very abundant requires a lot of samples to locate this needle in a haystack. Enter the "lab in a can", the water quality sampling and processing...
Digging Into the Past on the Teton Fault
- by Jaime Delano (on site) and Lisa Wald (back in the office)
This was originally posted as a blog on the USGS Natural Hazards Mission Area Facebook page during the paleoseismology fieldwork on the Teton Fault outside of Jackson, Wyoming from September 5-21, 2017.
Concealed Rare Earth Element (REE) Terranes in the Southern Basin and Range Geologic Province
We are working to develop an understanding of the types, sizes, and spatial distribution of rare-earth element (REE) related deposits in the Southern Basin and Range geologic province to help ensure the availability of REEs to industry in the United States. Geologic, geophysical, and geochemical data acquired will be used to develop permissive tracts for REE related deposits and to define...
Volcanic-related Beryllium Deposits of the US: Geologic Setting, Genesis, and the Potential for Post-Extraction Recovery of By-Product Critical Minerals
Project objectives are: 1) to fully establish a comprehensive and robust geologic and geochemical framework for the occurrence of volcanic-related beryllium (Be) deposits; 2) further our understanding of the fundamental ore processes that lead to formation of volcanogenic beryllium (Be)-boron (B)-lithium (Li)-phosphorus (P) group deposits, by investigating processes favorable for enhanced...
Seismic Seiches
Definition of seismic seiches and examples dating back to their first public mention in 1755.
Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Condition and Resilience
Ecosystem condition tends to be highly dynamic in response to natural variability in climate, extreme climate events, disturbance events, and human land use activities. Satellite imagery provides a powerful tool to enhance our understanding of ecosystem change at a landscape scale. This research integrates diverse sources of satellite imagery with ancillary datasets to explore how ecosystems...
Cheatgrass and Medusahead
Invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), are one of the most significant stressors to rangeland ecosystems in the western U.S. Their expansion and dominance across this area are the most damaging ecosystem agents on this iconic landscape.
Ecohydrologic and Water Quality Data Collection at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and the Albuquerque South Valley Community Commons
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) New Mexico Water Science Center (NM WSC), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA), and Bernalillo County (BERNCO), will measure and...
USGS Science Centers in Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin collect a wide variety of natural resource data types including spatial, geologic, hydrologic, and biologic data. Data included in USGS-series publications that are not publically available in USGS databases are published in Data Releases. Tools are USGS products that can be used to analyze those types of data.
Total ecosystem carbon storage in the Southeast United States
Carbon storage by ecosystem type and protection status was derived from total ecosystem carbon estimates provided by Sleeter et al. 2018 and used to estimate terrestrial carbon storage in developed, forested, shrub/scrub, grassland/herbaceous, and agricultural land in the Southeast United States. It does not include estimates for wetland carbon storage.
Data release for Geologic Map of the Homestake Reservoir 7.5' quadrangle, Lake, Pitkin, and Eagle Counties, Colorado
The Homestake Reservoir 7.5' quadrangle lies at the northwestern end of the Upper Arkansas Valley, and headwaters of the Arkansas River, and the Roaring Fork, Fryingpan, and Eagle Rivers of the Colorado River system. The quadrangle lies within tectonic provinces of the 1.4 Ga Picuris Orogeny, the late Paleozoic Ancestral Rockies, Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Laramide orogeny, Oligo
Uranium-, thorium-, strontium-, carbon- and oxygen-isotope data used to evaluate a 300,000-year history of water-table fluctuations at Wind Cave, South Dakota, USA — scale, timing, and groundwater mixing in the Madison Aquifer
Tables of U- and Th-isotopic data used to calculate uranium-series age estimates and initial 234U/238U activity ratios as well as 87Sr/86Sr, δ13C, and δ18O for samples of phreatic speleothems from Wind Cave National Park and U- and Sr-isotopic compositions of waters from the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, USA
Data Release for Geologic Map of Petroglyph National Monument and Vicinity, Bernalillo County, New Mexico
This geologic map depicts and briefly describes geologic units underlying Petroglyph National Monument and immediately adjacent areas in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The Monument is underlain dominantly by Quaternary basalts of the Albuquerque Volcanoes volcanic field, a series of basin-filling volcanic flows and associated vents from a monogenetic volcanic highland along the eastern margin...
Pre-fire biomass, burn severity, biomass consumption, and fire perimeter data for the 1987 Black Dragon Fire in China
Geospatial data were developed to characterize pre-fire biomass, burn severity, and biomass consumed for the Black Dragon Fire that burned in northern China in 1987. Pre-fire aboveground tree biomass (Mh/ha) raster data were derived by relating plot-level forest inventory data with pre-fire Landsat imagery from 1986 and 1987. Biomass data were generated for individual species: Dahuri
A national dataset of rasterized building footprints for the U.S.
The Bing Maps team at Microsoft released a U.S.-wide vector building dataset in 2018, which includes over 125 million building footprints for all 50 states in GeoJSON format. This dataset is extracted from aerial images using deep learning object classification methods. Large-extent modelling (e.g., urban morphological analysis or ecosystem assessment models) or accuracy assessment with v
Data for Dust deposited on snow cover in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, 2011-2016: Compositional variability bearing on snow-melt effects
Light-absorbing particles in atmospheric dust deposited on snow cover (dust-on-snow, DOS) diminish albedo and accelerate the timing and rate of snow melt. Identification of these particles and their effects are relevant to snow-radiation modeling and water-resource management. Laboratory-measured reflectance of DOS samples from the San Juan Mountains (USA) were compared with DOS mass lo
A national dataset of rasterized building footprints for the U.S.
The Bing Maps team at Microsoft released a U.S.-wide vector building dataset in 2018, which includes over 125 million building footprints for all 50 states in GeoJSON format. This dataset is extracted from aerial images using deep learning object classification methods. Large-extent modelling (e.g., urban morphological analysis or ecosystem assessment models) or accuracy assessment with v
Thermochronologic data from the southern Stillwater Range, Nevada
This dataset contains apatite and zircon U-Th(He)data, 4He/3He thermochronologic data, and apatite fission-track data from the southern Stillwater Range, Nevada
Digital data for three-dimensional geologic framework model of the Rio San Jose groundwater basin, New Mexico
This data release contains a geospatial database related to a digital 3D geologic framework of the Rio San Jose watershed, New Mexico. The geospatial database contains two main data elements: (1) input data to the 3D framework model; (2) interpolated elevations and thicknesses of stratigraphic units as a cellular array. Input surface and subsurface data for 18 stratigraphic units ha
Post-wildfire debris flow and rainfall data, Whitewater-Baldy complex fire, southwestern New Mexico
During the spring and early summer of 2012, approximately 1,200 square kilometers of Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico, including the upper portions of the Whitewater Creek watershed, were burned by the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire. The following September 12-17, 2013, a near-record, one-week long storm event produced widespread, historic rainfall amounts throughout
Geochemistry and Environmental Tracer Data for Groundwater, Stream Water, and Ferricrete Samples from Handcart Gulch, Colorado
This data release is part of a study examining the use of near-stream groundwater discharge as a tool for Geochemical Exploration. Handcart Gulch is an unmined alpine watershed in Montezuma Mining District in the Colorado Front Range. The streambed is cemented by deep ferricrete deposits. Stream water, groundwater, and ferricrete samples were collected and analyzed to constrain the location o...
USGS Science Centers in Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin produce hundreds of USGS-series publications, journal papers, and books each year that are subject to rigorous review by USGS specialists. The publications shown below on this page are related to study areas and staff members of USGS Science Centers in Region 7 compiled from the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Mowry Shale, Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming, 2020
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 288 million barrels of oil and 2.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Mowry Shale in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming.
Finn, Thomas M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Ellis, Geoffrey S.
Temporal seismic velocity variations: Recovery following from the 2019 Mw 7.1 Ridgecrest, California earthquake
We investigated seismic velocity changes (dv/v) associated with the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence with high‐frequency autocorrelations of ambient seismic noise data. Daily autocorrelation functions were computed for the entirety of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 for broadband stations within the region, including the temporary broadband...
Boschelli, Joshua Dakota; Moschetti, Morgan P.; Sens-Schonfelder, C Numerical analysis of the effect of subgrid variability in a physically based hydrological model on runoff, soil moisture, and slope stability
In coarse resolution hydrological modeling we face the problem of subgrid variability, the effects of which are difficult to express and are often hidden in the parameterization and calibration. We present a numerical experiment with the physically based hydrological model ParFlow‐CLM with which we quantify the effect of subgrid heterogeneities in...
Leonarduzzi, E.; Maxwell, R. M.; Mirus, Benjamin B.; Molnar, P. Incorporating the effects of complex soil layering and thickness local variability into distributed landslide susceptibility assessments
Incorporating the influence of soil layering and local variability into the parameterizations of physics-based numerical models for distributed landslide susceptibility assessments remains a challenge. Typical applications employ substantial simplifications including homogeneous soil units and soil-hydraulic properties assigned based only on...
Fusco, F.; Mirus, Benjamin B.; Baum, Rex L.; Calcaterra, D.; De Vita, P. Continental-scale analysis of shallow and deep groundwater contributions to streams
Groundwater discharge generates streamflow and influences stream thermal regimes. However, the water quality and thermal buffering capacity of groundwater depends on the aquifer source-depth. Here, we pair multi-year air and stream temperature signals to categorize 1729 sites across the continental United States as having major dam influence,...
Hare, D.; Helton, A. M.; Johnson, Zachary C.; Lane, Jr., John W.; Briggs, Martin A.
Groundwater management process simulations using an updated version of the three-dimensional numerical model of groundwater flow in northern Utah Valley, Utah County, Utah
Groundwater is a primary source of drinking water in northern Utah County. The groundwater system is recharged mainly from precipitation in the adjacent Wasatch Mountains and infiltration of streamflow. In 2004, groundwater withdrawals were estimated to be roughly 44,500 acre-feet per year. In 2016, groundwater withdrawals were estimated to be...
Stolp, Bernard J.; Brooks, Lynette E.
Geomagnetic monitoring in the mid-Atlantic United States
Near historic battlegrounds of the American Civil War, southeast of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on a secluded grassy glade surrounded by forest, a specially designed observatory records the Earth’s changing magnetic field. This facility, the Fredericksburg Magnetic Observatory, is 1 of 14 observatories the U.S. Geological Survey Geomagnetism Program...
Love, Jeffrey J.; Lewis, Kristen A. Paragenesis of an orogenic gold deposit: New insights on mineralizing processes at the Grass Valley District, California
The Grass Valley orogenic gold district in the Sierra Nevada foothills province, central California, is the largest historical gold producer of the North American Cordillera. Gold mineralization is associated with shallowly dipping north-south veins hosted by the 160 Ma Grass Valley granodiorite to the southwest of the Grass Valley fault and...
Taylor, Ryan; Monecke, Thomas; Reynolds, T. James; Monecke, Jochen Comparing tree-ring based reconstructions of snowpack variability at different scales for the Navajo Nation
Snowpack in the western U.S. is on the decline, largely attributed to increasing temperatures in the region. This is a critical issue for many Native American communities who disproportionately rely on local snow-fed water supplies. In light of a combined ongoing drought and limited climate information for the Navajo Nation, Navajo water...
Brice, Rebecca Lynn; Guiterman, Christopher H.; Woodhouse, Connie A.; McClellan, Carlee; Sheppard, Paul Preface to the Focus Section on the 2020 Intermountain West earthquakes
The Intermountain West region of the United States extends from the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains in the west to the Rocky Mountains in the east. The region is characterized by dextral shear along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada and nearly east-west extension in the Basin and Range. This region experienced four...
Gold, Ryan D.; Bormann, Jayne; Koper, Keith D. Book review: "Replacing GDP by 2030: Towards a common language for the well-being and sustainability community" by Rutger Hoekstra
No abstract available.
Fox, Mairi-Jane; Bagstad, Kenneth J.
Improved Automated Identification and Mapping of Iron Sulfate Minerals, Other Mineral Groups, and Vegetation using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager Data, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, and Four Corners Region
Multispectral remote sensing data acquired by the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor were analyzed using a new, automated technique to generate a map of exposed mineral and vegetation groups in the western San Juan Mountains, Colo., and the Four Corners Region of the United States. Band ratio results were combined into displayed...
Rockwell, Barnaby W.; Gnesda, William R.; Hofstra, Albert H.Photos and videos described and linked on this webpage come from a wide variety of USGS science activities and presentations performed by USGS Science Center staff members in the Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin.
boulder dropped by retreating glacier in Yellowstone National Park
This huge boulder was dropped by a retreating glacier on the north rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park, and it is a testament to Yellowstone's icy past.
Image of the Week - A New Yellowstone Hot Spot
Scientists with the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory use satellite and aerial imagery to map hot springs, geothermal vents, and geysers at Yellowstone National Park. They recently found an entirely new thermal area miles from the nearest trailhead. Landsat 8's thermal infrared sensors captured the change in a nighttime image from April of 2017. Aerial images reveal a
Water quality sampling in the western Plains of San Agustin
USGS scientist Mike Carlson works to collect a water quality sample from a windmill in the western Plains of San Agustin. Photo taken by Jeff Pepin on April 10th, 2019.
Stock tank in the western Plains of San Agustin
USGS scientist Hal Nelson wades in a stock tank to install a fitting on the discharge pipe of a groundwater well to facilitate water quality sampling in the western Plains of San Agustin. Photo taken by Jeff Pepin on April 4th, 2019.
Stormwater runoff in the Albuquerque urban area, NMWSC
Stormwater runoff in the Albuquerque urban area, NMWSC
Gallinas Creek discharge measurement, USGS
Hydrologic Technician Chris Peskuski making a discharge measurement above Gallinas Creek near Montezuma, NM (site data available at: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/uv?site_no=08380500)
A USGS scientist prepares a sample to test the effect of antibiotics
A USGS scientist prepares a sample to test the effect of antibiotics on denitrifying bacteria within a glove box. A glove box allows scientists to work with samples in an anaerobic (no oxygen) atmosphere, the conditions under which denitrification occurs.
Leidy Creek near Moran (13012465) streamgage
Leidy Creek near Moran (13012465) streamgage
South Fork Spread Creek near Moran (13012475) streamgage
South Fork Spread Creek near Moran (13012475) streamgage
Drainage area contributing to Big Creek below Lookout Creek, nr Apgar
Drainage area contributing to Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar
News items shown on this page are highlights of selected studies conducted and publications produced by USGS Science Center staff members in Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin.
The U.S. Geological Survey released a new report on geoelectric hazards for two-thirds of the contiguous U.S., spanning from the northeast to the west coast of the Nation.
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
Editor: In the public interest and in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project. Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.
Editor’s Note: This story was revised Sept. 10, 2019 to include the later phases of USGS’ response to Hurricane Dorian.
To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.
A new assessment of groundwater resources in the Spanish Valley watershed in southern Utah shows an amount that is about 30–40% lower than previously reported, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.
Groundwater levels in the Albuquerque area are on the rise according to newly published research from the U.S. Geological Survey.
A new study shows that mysterious cycles in salinity in the lower Colorado River are a result of precipitation patterns in the headwaters of the upper basin more than a thousand river miles away. The salinity levels generally repeat about every 10 years.
In the public interest, and in accordance with FAA regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project. Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.
Mercury concentrations within Lake Powell are highest in side canyons within the lower portion of the reservoir, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. This finding is part of a study to better understand why mercury concentrations in striped bass are higher in the lower part of the reservoir.
Recovery of vegetation on plugged and abandoned oil and gas well sites on the Colorado Plateau is influenced by time, moisture, nonnative plants and the type of plant community that was originally in place before well sites were constructed, according to a recently published study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Estimates Include 46.3 Billion Barrels of Oil, 281 Trillion Cubic feet of Natural Gas, and 20 Billion Barrels of Natural Gas Liquids in Texas and New Mexico’s Wolfcamp Shale and Bone Spring Formation.
Reporters: RSVP to Visit Coring Site on Lake Powell
This page includes links to Social Media accounts (top of page), Science Centers (middle of page), and Regional Office staff members (bottom of page) of the USGS Region 7--Upper Colorado Basin.
Contacts
Locations
Region 7 - Upper Colorado Basin
rgonzales-schreiner@usgs.gov
Phone: 703-648-7200
NSF Ice Core Facility
Phone: 303-202-4830
New Mexico Water Science Center
Phone: (505) 830-7900
Fax: (505) 830-7998
Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Phone: 303-236-5345
Utah Water Science Center
angeroth@usgs.gov
Phone: (801) 908-5000
Fax: (801) 908-5001
Colorado Water Science Center - Main Office
gs-w-codist_webmaster@usgs.gov
Phone: 303-236-6900
Fax: 303-236-4912
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Cheyenne Office
Phone: (307) 778-2931
Fax: (307) 778-2764
National Geospatial Technical Operations Center - Denver, CO
Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Phone: 303-236-1800
Fax: 303-236-3200
Geologic Hazards Science Center
Phone: 303-273-8500
North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center
Fort Collins Science Center
Phone: 970-226-9100
Fax: 970-226-9230
Colorado Water Science Center - Southeast Colorado Office: Pueblo, CO
gs-w-codist_webmaster@usgs.gov
Phone: 719-562-2840
Fax: 719-544-2463
Colorado Water Science Center - Western Colorado Office: Grand Junction
gs-w-codist_webmaster@usgs.gov
Phone: 970-628-7150
Fax: 970-245-1026
National Earthquake Information Center
Phone: 303-273-8500
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
Spectroscopy Lab
Molecular Ecology Lab (MEL)
Phone: 970-226-9100
Fax: 970-226-9230
Denver Microbeam Laboratory
Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory
Moab Field Office
wilkowsk@usgs.gov
Phone: 435-259-4430
Fax: 435-259-5420
Salt Lake Field Office
sjgerner@usgs.gov
Phone: 801-908-5000
Fax: 801-908-5001
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Casper Office
Phone: 307-261-5485
Fax: 307-261-5487
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Riverton Office
Phone: 307-856-3771
Fax: 307-857-3165
Roswell Field Office
Phone: 575-627-0324
Fax: 575-646-7949
Southwest Biological Science Center - Moab, UT, Research Station
Phone: 435-259-3121
USGS Everglades Research Offices
Phone: 305-242-7834
Colorado Water Science Center - Durango Field Office
gs-w-codist_webmaster@usgs.gov
Phone: 970-247-4222
Fax: 970-247-4296
Jackson, Wyoming Field Research Station
Phone: 307-733-2314
Las Cruces Field Office
Phone: (575) 646-8129
Fax: (575) 646-7949
Cedar City Field Office
baslaugh@usgs.gov
Phone: 435-586-4543
Fax: 435-586-4557
USGS Denver Library
den_lib@usgs.gov
Phone: 303-236-1000
Fax: 303-236-1013
The Core Research Center
CRC@USGS.GOV
Phone: 303-202-4851
Fax: 303-202-4856
Social Media
USGS Science Centers in Region 7-Upper Colorado Basin conduct a large number of cooperative, co-funded science and monitoring projects with many other Federal, Tribal, State, and local agencies. Please scroll below to see the agencies with which those Science Centers currently have cooperative agreements.