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.
Clear Creek Reservoir Bathymetry
To better characterize the water supply capacity of Clear Creek Reservoir, Chaffee County, Colorado, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pueblo Board of Water Works and Colorado Mountain College, carried out a bathymetry survey of Clear Creek Reservoir. The equipment and methods used in this study allowed water-resource managers to maintain typical reservoir operations,...
Developing a mechanistic understanding between recent climate patterns and Aquatic Vital Signs in the Greater Yellowstone Network
The National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring program was established to provide park managers with a broad understanding of the status of park resources using the best available science. This program acknowledges that NPS managers are confronted with complex challenges associated with the management of dynamic landscapes responding to multiple, interacting drivers of change. To provide...
An investigation of aquatic invasive species in pristine sites in the Greater Yellowstone Area
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are aquatic organisms that move into ecosystems beyond their natural, historic range and cause severe and irreversible damage to the habitats they invade. Most AIS arrive as a direct result of human activity, such as boating and angling. The threat of AIS introduction is especially high in the Greater Yellowstone Area, as humans from all over the world come to...
RARMI: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Apex Sites
In contrast to RARMI study areas in Colorado that have 10 or more years of records of continuous population monitoring, there are fewer long-term datasets for amphibian populations in the northern Rocky Mountains. The exception is an ongoing study of Columbia spotted frogs at Lodge Creek, Yellowstone National Park. Three other long-term research and monitoring areas have been established in...
RARMI: Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) Apex Sites
FORT is monitoring populations of amphibians at three apex sites using capture-recapture methods. Our goal in monitoring populations is to detect fluctuations in population size, sex ratio, survival, and recruitment. Through long-term monitoring, we can also address breeding phenology in relation to elevation, weather, and climate. Other specific questions can be asked about issues such as...
COMPLETED: Using thermal imagery to assess wolf hairloss from sarcoptic mange
Researchers at NOROCK and their partners used thermal cameras at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in Montana to assess the amount of heat lost under a range of environmental conditions with and without hair. These methods help scientists better understand how mange operates in wild wolves throughout the Greater...
Impacts of climate change on habitat quality: plant phenology interactions with animal use and fitness
Weather and climate impact terrestrial wildlife habitat through their influences on plant productivity. Plant phenology – the timing of life-history events such as green-up, flowering and senescence – provides one indicator of the timing and magnitude of productivity. Changes and variability in plant phenology in space and time are indicators of habitat quality, which is a driver of fitness...
Identification of Fire Refugia in Rocky Mountain Ecosystems of the U.S. and Canada: Development and Application of the Refugium Concept for Biodiversity Conservation over Large Spatial and Temporal Scales
We described the climate space of fire regimes in northwestern North America (Whitman and others 2015), and we are refining an approach to identify fire refugia – areas that do not burn or burn with lower severity through multiple fire events. We continue our collaboration to test the function of refugia for biodiversity conservation under current and future climate and fire scenarios. We...
Geneva Chong's Past Projects
These are Geneva Chong's past projects.
Monitoring for Potential Effects of the Gold King Mine Release on Water Quality in the Animas and San Juan Rivers in New Mexico using Continuous Monitors and Automatic Samplers
On August 5, 2015, about three million gallons of water and sediment were released from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. The New Mexico Environment Department, among other State, Tribal, and local entities in CO, NM, and UT, is concerned that metals associated with the water and sediment released from the Gold King Mine could have...
Characterization of Water Quality and Biology in the Fountain Creek Watershed
Monument and Fountain Creeks and their respective watersheds, located in the Front Range of Colorado, serve as important drainages for surface runoff, waste-water treatment operations, and as a water supply for downstream agricultural needs. As population growth continues in these watersheds, more and more pressures are being applied to the receiving streams, especially Fountain Creek. ...
Lower Gunnison River Basin Groundwater Selenium
The east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin has been a known contributor of dissolved selenium to recipient streams. Discharge of groundwater containing dissolved selenium contributes to surface-water selenium concentrations and loads; however, the groundwater system on the east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin is not well characterized. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the...
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.
Oil Shale Data Downloads
This page accesses data for Oil Shale Assessments of PIceance, Uinta and Green River Basins. It also includes fischer assays and scans of well logs in the Colorado Piceance Basin.
Flood Database for Colorado
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, created a Web-based geodatabase for information on floods from 1867 through water year 2015. The flood database also contains information on paleofloods occurring in the past 5,000 to 10,000 years.
Oil and Gas Well locations, Upper Colorado River Basin, 2007
This dataset was used as the basis for estimating land disturbance from oil and gas activity in the UCRB. The dataset is a compilation of five state oil and gas datasets from June of 2007. The intended uses of this data set include, but are not limited to, natural resource modeling, mapping, and visualization applications.
1:1,000,000-scale Hydrographic Areas of the Great Basin
This data set consists of hydrographic area and major flow system boundaries and polygons delineated at 1:1,000,000-scale for the Great Basin.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison Decision Support System (BCG_DSS)
This is a macro-embedded EXCEL program designed to easily accept input from downloaded stream gage records or output from the RIVERWARE reservoir operations model being used for the upstream Aspinall Unit.
Geospatial database of ground-water altitude and depth-to-ground-water data for Utah, 1971-2000
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality has developed a geographic database of selected ground-water-level altitude contours and surfaces for Utah. The contour data are derived from studies published by the USGS and the State of Utah.
Hydrographic Areas Within the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah
This data set consists of sub delineations of the hydrographic area (HA) boundaries and polygons drawn at 1:1,000,000 scale for the Great Basin supplemented by information from HA drawn at 1:750,000 scale where necessary. See the process steps for more information.
Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB): Loch Vale Data
The chemistry of streams and lakes have been monitored in Loch Vale since 1983. Changes in stream and lake chemistry have been traced to variations in climate and atmospheric deposition of pollutants. Samples are collected throughout the year in Loch Vale. This provides information on seasonal variations in stream and lake chemistry.
Identifying Changes in Background Water-Quality Conditions, Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, near Pueblo, Colorado
Web based application to compare, on a real-time basis, estimated dissolved-solids concentration and load as a as a surrogate for water-quality condition in the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek near Pueblo, CO and determine whether future water-quality conditions are significantly different from background conditions.
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.
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...
Thompson, Ren A.; Chan, Christine F.; Gilmer, Amy K.; Shroba, Ralph R.
Geochemical and mineralogical study of the Red Mountain porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit and vicinity, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
The Red Mountain porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit (Cu-Mo deposit or PCD) is located in the northern part of the Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Extensive core drilling has delineated a large, deep-seated, structurally intact mineral system that extends from the present surface to depths of more than 1,765 meters. This system is...
Chaffee, Maurice
Earthquakes, ShakeCast
ShakeCast® – short for ShakeMap Broadcast – is a fully automated software system for delivering specific ShakeMap products to critical users and for triggering established post-earthquake response protocols. ShakeCast is a freely available, postearthquake situational awareness software application that automatically retrieves earthquake shaking...
Lin, Kuo-wan; Wald, David J.; Slosky, Daniel
Map depicting susceptibility to landslides triggered by intense rainfall, Puerto Rico
Landslides in Puerto Rico range from nuisances to deadly events. Centuries of agricultural and urban modification of the landscape have perturbed many already unstable hillsides on the tropical island. One of the main triggers of mass wasting on the island is the high-intensity rainfall that is associated with tropical atmospheric systems. Puerto...
Hughes, K. Stephen; Schulz, William Probabilistic categorical groundwater salinity mapping from airborne electromagnetic data adjacent to California’s Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields
Growing water stress has led to emerging interest in protecting fresh and brackish groundwater as a potential supplement to water supplies and raised questions about factors that could affect the future quality of fresh and brackish aquifers. Limited well infrastructure, particularly in regions where elevated salinity has led to limited historical...
Ball, Lyndsay B.; Davis, Tracy; Minsley, Burke J.; Gillespie, Janice M.; Landon, Matthew K. 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 thus water-resource management. Laboratory-measured reflectance of DOS samples from the San Juan...
Reynolds, Richard L.; Goldstein, Harland L.; Moskowitz, Bruce M.; Kokaly, Raymond; Munson, Seth M.; Solheid, Peat; Breit, George N.; Lawrence, Corey R.; Derry, Jeff Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of...
Katzner, Todd E.; Braham, Melissa A.; Conkling, Tara; Diffendorfer, James E.; Duerr, Adam E.; Loss, Scott R.; Nelson, David M.; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Yee, Julie L. Evidence for late Quaternary deformation along Crowley's Ridge, New Madrid seismic zone
The New Madrid seismic zone has been the source of multiple major (M ~7.0–7.5) earthquakes in the past 2 ka, yet the surface expression of recent deformation remains ambiguous. Crowleys Ridge, a linear ridge trending north‐south for 300+ km through the Mississippi Embayment, has been interpreted as either a fault‐bounded uplift or a nontectonic...
Thompson Jobe, Jessica; Gold, Ryan D.; Briggs, Richard W.; Williams, Robert; Stephenson, William J.; Delano, Jaime E.; Shah, Anjana K.; Minsley, Burke J. Operational earthquake forecasting during the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence with the UCERF3-ETAS model
The first Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, Version 3–epidemic‐type aftershock sequence (UCERF3‐ETAS) aftershock simulations were running on a high‐performance computing cluster within 33 min of the 4 July 2019 M 6.4 Searles Valley earthquake. UCERF3‐ETAS, an extension of the third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (...
Milner, Kevin R.; Field, Edward H.; Savran, William H; Page, Morgan T.; Jordan, Thomas H Testing glacial isostatic adjustment models of last-interglacial sea level history in the Bahamas and Bermuda
Part of the spatial variation in the apparent sea-level record of the last interglacial (LIG) period is due to the diverse response of coastlines to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) processes, particularly where coastlines were close to the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the past two glacial periods. We tested modeled LIG paleo-sea levels on New...
Muhs, Daniel R.; Simmons, Kathleen R.; Schumann, R. Randall; Schweig, Eugene S.; Rowe, Mark P. Evaluation of soil zone processes and a novel radiocarbon correction approach for groundwater with mixed sources
Estimates of groundwater age based on 14C is often limited by the uncertainty in geochemical processes that alter the 14C concentration measured in water and the composition (δ13C and 14C) of carbon sources needed to appropriately parametrize 14C adjustment models. Estimated ages for samples that contain a mixture of young and old groundwater will...
Solder, John E.; Jurgens, Bryant Runoff sensitivity to snow depletion curve representation within a continental scale hydrologic model
The spatial variability of snow water equivalent (SWE) can exert a strong influence on the timing and magnitude of snowmelt delivery to a watershed. Therefore, the representation of subgrid or subwatershed snow variability in hydrologic models is important for accurately simulating snowmelt dynamics and runoff response. The U.S. Geological Survey...
Sexstone, Graham A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.; Hay, Lauren; Hammond, John; Barnhart, Theodore B.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.
Great Salt Lake
Looking down and across the Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake Receding
Receding Great Salt Lake as seen from causeway
Kane Springs, San Juan County, Utah Fall 2015
Collecting sample in tall grass at Kane Springs, San Juan County, Utah, Fall 2015.
South Salt Wash, Emery County, Utah, Fall 2015
South Salt Wash, Emery County, Utah.
Lake Powell, Kane County, Utah, Fall 2015
Collecting sediment traps on Lake Powell.
Using a portable flume to measure streamflow on a small stream
Using a portable flume to measure streamflow on a small stream
Preparing to measure water level at Groundwater Streamgage
Preparing to measure water level at Groundwater Streamgage
2015 Great Salt Lake Breach at Lakeside, Utah
For the first time since it was opened in 1984, water has stopped flowing through the Great Salt Lake causeway breach, an area that allows water to travel between the southern and northern parts of the lake.
Great Salt Lake Breach at Lakeside, Utah
A gage to measure lake water levels stands dry in the lake bed of the Great Salt Lake. For the first time since it was opened in 1984, water has stopped flowing through the Great Salt Lake causeway breach, an area that allows water to travel between the southern and northern parts of the lake.
Measuring streamflow of the Green River near LaBarge
Measuring streamflow of the Green River near LaBarge
Sampling on Muddy Creek
Collecting a QW sample on Muddy Creek near Tomsich Butte, eastern Utah.
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.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Michelle Walvoord will be honored as the 2005 Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science at the annual Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 15. Walvoord, who resides in Golden, is a Research Hydrologist at the USGS National Research Program in Lakewood.
The USGS announced today the start of the public-private competition that will determine current and future functions; and the number of personnel required by the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) at the Denver Federal Center, an all government campus, located in Lakewood, Colo.
The USGS announced today (Sept. 15, 2005) that the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) will be located in the city of Denver. The NGTOC will consolidate the functions and operations currently performed in four USGS mapping centers (Menlo Park, Calif.; Rolla, Mo.; Denver, Colo.; and Reston, Va.) and other distributed sites to one location.
The USGS announced today (Sept. 15, 2005) that the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) will be located in the city of Denver. The NGTOC will consolidate the functions and operations currently performed in four USGS mapping centers (Menlo Park, Calif.; Rolla, Mo.; Denver, Colo.; and Reston, Va.) and other distributed sites to one location.
In its latest report on water use in the United States, the USGS looked at the nation's dependence on ground water. The report entitled Estimated Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers in the United States, 2000, provides details of ground-water withdrawals and use from principal aquifers in each state.
The USGS’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), under the auspices of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, will conduct scientific overflights in Grand Canyon National Park over Memorial Day weekend.
Reston, VA – The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) today released the first ever comprehensive and systematic review of the 169 U.S. volcanoes and established a framework for a National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS) which calls for a 24-hour seven-day-a-week Volcano Watch Office and enhanced instrumentation and monitoring at targeted volcanoes.
Another Great Earthquake in the Indian Ocean, but What About the Tsunami?
Steam Explosions, Earthquakes, and Volcanic Eruptions--What’s in Yellowstone’s Future?
Radio-Monitored Salmon Shed Light on Snake River for Water Managers
Itching to Know More About America’s Modern Gold Rush?
Hazards and Cooperation Spawn New Uses for Geospatial Information
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are presenting science about our changing world at the 2005 Association of American Geographers conference, April 5-9, in Denver, Colo. Changes to the landscape of the Front Range of Colorado, changes to the way American cities look, and changes to the water, land use, and land cover of our Nation are topics USGS scientists will discuss.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are presenting science about our changing world at the 2005 Association of American Geographers conference, April 5-9, in Denver, Colo.
The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with partner agencies to conduct scientific experiments designed to evaluate the effect of a high-flow release from Glen Canyon Dam on the natural resources of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior has proposed conducting a scientific study on the use of high flows from Glen Canyon Dam to improve Colorado River natural and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park.
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.