Unified Interior Regions
Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin
Map of Region 7 Upper Colorado River 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 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.
Connections between Eocene Lakes Uinta and Gosiute with emphasis on the infilling stage of Lake Uinta in Piceance Basin
Late in its history, Eocene saline Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming and Colorado was progressively filled from north to south with coarse volcaniclastic sediments. During the infilling, Lake Gosiute began to drain southward across the Axial arch into saline Lake Uinta in the Piceance and Uinta Basins, Colorado and Utah (about...
Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hansley, Paula L.Distribution of mineral phases in the Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado – Implications for the evolution of Lake Uinta
The mineralogy of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, has been the subject of numerous studies since the 1920s. Most previous work has focused on the resource potential of these lacustrine mudrocks, which in addition to substantial oil shale potential (in-place resources of 353 billion barrels of synthetic crude oil...
Birdwell, Justin E.; Johnson, Ronald C.; Brownfield, Michael E.Rapid station and network quality analysis for temporary deployments
Seismic station data quality is commonly defined by metrics such as data completeness or background seismic noise levels in specific frequency bands. However, for temporary networks such as aftershock deployments or induced seismicity monitoring, the most critical metric is often how well the station performs when recording events of interest. A...
Wilson, David C.; Ringler, Adam T.; Storm, Tyler; Anthony, Robert E.Remote sensing of river flow in Alaska—New technology to improve safety and expand coverage of USGS streamgaging
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors water level (water surface elevation relative to an arbitrary datum) and measures streamflow in Alaska rivers to compute and compile river flow records for use by water resource planners, engineers, and land managers to design infrastructure, manage floodplains, and protect life, property, and aquatic resources...
Conaway, Jeff; Eggleston, John R.; Legleiter, Carl J.; Jones, John W.; Kinzel, Paul J.; Fulton, John W.Spatially-structured statistical network models for landscape genetics
A basic understanding of how the landscape impedes, or creates resistance to, the dispersal of organisms and hence gene flow is paramount for successful conservation science and management. Spatially structured ecological networks are often used to represent spatial landscape‐genetic relationships, where nodes represent individuals or populations...
Hooten, MevinThe USGS National crustal model for seismic hazard studies: 2019 update
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Crustal Model (NCM) is being developed to assist in the modeling of seismic hazards across the conterminous United States, specifically by improving estimates of site response. The NCM is composed of geophysical profiles, extending from the Earth’s surface into the upper mantle, constructed from...
Boyd, Oliver S.New geochemical evidence for the origin of North America's largest dune field, the Nebraska Sand Hills, central Great Plains, USA
The Nebraska Sand Hills region is the largest dune field in North America and has diverse aeolian landforms. It has been active during both the late Pleistocene and late Holocene. Despite decades of study, the source of sediment for this large sand sea is still controversial. Here we...
Muhs, Daniel R.; Budahn, James R.Revisiting Herto: New evidence of Homo sapiens from Ethiopia
Localities in the radiometrically dated Upper Herto Member of Ethiopia’s Bouri Formation continue to produce new data that complement and extend initial reports of fossils and artifacts published in 2003. Results of these revisits are reported here and include the in situ recovery of artifacts from the same sediments containing hominid fossils. We...
Sahle, Yonatan; Beyene, Yonas; Defleur, Alban; Asfaw, Berhane; WoldeGabriel, Giday; Hart, William K; Morgan, Leah E.; Renne, Paul R.; Carlson, Joshua; White, Tim DEvaluation of ground motion models for USGS seismic hazard forecasts: Induced and tectonic earthquakes in the Central and Eastern U.S.
Ground motion model (GMM) selection and weighting introduces a significant source of uncertainty in United States Geological Survey (USGS) seismic hazard models. The increase in moderate moment magnitude induced earthquakes (Mw 4 to 5.8) in Oklahoma and Kansas since 2009, due to increased wastewater injection related to oil and gas production (...
McNamara, Daniel E.; Petersen, Mark D.; Thompson, Eric M.; Powers, Peter M.; Shumway, Allison; Hoover, Susan M.; Moschetti, Morgan P.; Wolin, EmilyDistributed fault slip in the eastern California shear zone: Adding pieces to the puzzle near Barstow, California
We investigate the dextral Lockhart and Mt. General faults, which are among four active structures in the northwestern portion of the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ). Early mapping depicts the Lockhart and Mt. General faults as discontinuous fault traces that continue northwest of the Lenwood Fault. Recent work indicates that the Lenwood...
Haddon, Elizabeth K.; Miller, David M.; Langenheim, Victoria; Mahan, Shannon A.Estimated 2016 groundwater level and drawdown from predevelopment to 2016 in the Santa Fe Group Aquifer System in the Albuquerque Area, Central New Mexico
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), has developed a series of maps and associated reports to document changes in the groundwater level in the production zone of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. The current map and associated...
Galanter, Amy E.; Curry, Lucas T.S.Gas hydrate production testing – Knowledge gained
Since their initial discovery in the 1960’s, gas hydrates have been considered to be an important potential source of unconventional natural gas. Significant progress has been made relative to our understanding of the geologic and engineering controls on the ultimate energy potential of gas hydrate; however, more work is required to realize the...
Collett, Timothy S.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.
A single species stand of nonnative tamarisk
Single species stand of nonnative tamarisk on the Lower Colorado River at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, California
Fire lookout adjacent to snowpack-sampling site near Deadman Pass, Col
Fire lookout adjacent to snowpack-sampling site near Deadman Pass, Colorado
Describing work that USGS does at the Women In Science Conference
Describing work that USGS does to students at the Women In Science Conference
Brown's Gulch Below Brooklyn Mine near Silverton, Colorado
USGS scientist measuring pH, Specific Conductance and dissolved oxygen in a remediation ditch constructed with local volcanic rock possessing some acid neutralizing capacity.
Brown's Gulch is below the Brooklyn Mine, a few miles north of Siverton, Colorado, in the Mineral Creek basin.
Eastern Utah
Scenic view of Eastern Utah.
Eastern Utah
Picture of a large rock formation with a highway next to it in eastern Utah.
Eastern Utah
Scenic view of eastern Utah.
Eastern Utah
Scenic view of eastern Utah.
Eastern Utah Ranch
Scenic view of an eastern Utah ranch with cattle and horses.
Eastern Utah Ranch
Scenic view of an eastern Utah ranch with cattle and horses.
Eastern Utah Ranch
Scenic view of an eastern Utah ranch with cattle and horses.
Eastern Utah Ranch
Scenic view of an eastern Utah ranch with cattle and horses.
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.