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
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.
Changes in Groundwater Levels in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) has been investigating the effects of groundwater withdrawal on groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque metropolitan area in the Middle Rio Grande Valley of central New Mexico (fig. 1). Historically, the water supply requirements of the Albuquerque metropolitan area were met...
Aquifer Compaction, Recovery, and Land-surface Elevation Change in the Albuquerque Basin
In many groundwater basins in the arid to semiarid western United States, permanent regional-scale land-surface elevation change has resulted from substantial drawdown of groundwater levels. By the end of 2008, groundwater drawdown from municipal pumping in the Albuquerque area had reached as much as 120 feet below predevelopment (~1950s) water levels. In 2014 the USGS, in cooperation with the...
DEFEnS DEbris and Flood Early warNing System
The Waldo Canyon wildfire burned more than 18,000 acres within a perimeter of more than 19,000 acres. In response to the July and August 2013 floods in the Waldo Canyon watershed and in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the U.S. Geological Survey developed a warning system for Waldo Canyon associated with a wildfire burn scar, which are at risk to debris...
South Platte Groundwater Analysis
The South Platte River and underlying alluvial aquifer form an important hydrologic resource in northeastern Colorado that provides water to population centers along the Front Range and to agricultural communities across the rural plains. Water is regulated based on seniority of water rights and delivered using a network of administration structures that includes ditches, reservoirs, wells,...
SWOT - Surface Water and Ocean Topography
Satellite altimetry associated with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission offers a solution for measuring (1) river stage and slope, (2) water surface area including mean channel width and (3) derivatives such as river discharge. The measurements can be used to track changes in these variables and provide an accounting of the Earth's fresh-water bodies from space at the reach...
Lower Yampa Streamflow and Sediment Modeling
Water from the Yampa River basin continues to be sought for a number of municipal, industrial, and energy uses. Water development in the Yampa River basin will alter the streamflow regime and, consequently, will lead to changes in the transport and storage of suspended and bedload sediment. Changes in the Yampa River sediment budget could lead to changes in channel geometry, riparian...
Numerical simulation of groundwater flow in the Lost Creek Designated Groundwater Basin, Weld and Adams Counties, Colorado
The Lost Creek Designated Ground Water Basin (LCDGWB) is an important alluvial aquifer for water supply in northeastern Colorado. Increased demand for withdrawals from the LCDGWB has led to a concern about the long-term sustainability of the basin’s ground-water resources.
A numerical ground-water flow model developed using an early version of MODFLOW exists for the LCDGWB. A review and...
Water budget and potential for underground storage in the Buena Vista-Salida Basin in Chaffee and parts of Fremont, Lake, and Saguache Counties, Colorado, 2009-2012
Population increases in the Upper Arkansas Headwaters Region, which includes Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, and Lake Counties, Colorado, are forecast to increase about 75 percent by 2030. An annual deficit gap between supply and demand of about 5,950 acre-feet is anticipated. Groundwater in the area is tributary to the Arkansas River but the effects of additional groundwater use are poorly...
Use of multivariate associations among species for detecting changes in native plains fish community structure in Colorado
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is responsible for monitoring the status of fishes in Colorado and currently seeks to establish a rigorous, efficient monitoring program for fishes that occur in stream habitats from the mountain-plains interface east to the Colorado state line. The primary goals of this program are to:
- monitor the status of species of concern designated ...
Bandelier National Monument Postwildfire Flood Support
In the summer of 2011, the Las Conchas Fire burned 156,593 acres in the Jemez Mountains in northern NM including the upper watersheds of Frijoles and Capulin Canyons in Bandelier National Monument. The drastic removal of vegetation in the upper watersheds of these popular tourist destinations left them susceptible to dangerous and record breaking floods. As long as the threat of large post-...
South Platte Alluvial Aquifer Water-Level Monitoring
Reports indicate that groundwater levels are rising in parts of the South Platte alluvial aquifer. The Colorado Division of Water Resources and the Colorado Water Conservation Board are establishing a groundwater-level monitoring network in the South Platte basin. The USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) monitoring wells are uniquely located so as to be included in the...
USGS Post-Wildfire Hydrologic Monitoring in New Mexico
USGS Gages in New Mexico Wildfire Areas
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.
Three-dimensional shape and structure of the Susitna basin, south-central Alaska, from geophysical data
We use gravity, magnetic, seismic reflection, well, and outcrop data to determine the three-dimensional shape and structural features of south-central Alaska’s Susitna basin. This basin is located within the Aleutian-Alaskan convergent margin region and is expected to show effects of regional subduction zone processes. Aeromagnetic data, when...
Shah, Anjana K.; Phillips, Jeffrey; Lewis, Kristen A.; Stanley, Richard G.; Haeussler, Peter; Potter, Christopher J.
Incipient bed-movement and flood-frequency analysis using hydrophones to estimate flushing flows on the upper Colorado River, Colorado, 2019
In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholder Group, studied the magnitude and recurrence interval of streamflow (discharge) needed to initiate bed movement of gravel-sized and finer sediment in a segment of the Colorado River in Colorado to better understand sediment movement and its...
Kohn, Michael S.; Marineau, Mathieu D.; Hempel, Laura A.; McDonald, Richard R.
Calibration of the U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model
The U.S. Geological Survey National Crustal Model (NCM) is being developed to include spatially varying estimates of site response in seismic hazard assessments. Primary outputs of the NCM are continuous velocity and density profiles from the Earth’s surface to the mantle transition zone at 410-kilometer (km) depth for each location on a 1-km grid...
Boyd, Oliver S. Progress toward the establishment of an extended-duration gas hydrate reservoir response test on the Alaska North Slope
No abstract available.
Okinaka, Norihiro; Boswell, Ray; Collett, Timothy; Yamamoto, Koji; Anderson, Brian Pulsed Mesozoic deformation in the Cordilleran hinterland and evolution of the Nevadaplano: Insights from the Pequop Mountains, NE Nevada
Mesozoic crustal shortening in the North American Cordillera’s hinterland was related to the construction of the Nevadaplano orogenic plateau. Petrologic and geochemical proxies in Cordilleran core complexes suggest substantial Late Cretaceous crustal thickening during plateau construction. In eastern Nevada, geobarometry from the Snake Range and...
Zuza, Andrew V; Thorman, Charles H.; Henry, Christopher D.; Levy, Drew A.; Dee, Seth; Long, Sean P.; Sandberg, Charles; Soignard, Emmanuel Recording the aurora borealis (northern lights) at seismometers across Alaska
We examine three continuously recording data sets related to the aurora: all‐sky camera images, three‐component magnetometer data, and vertical‐component, broadband seismic data as part of the EarthScope project (2014 to present). Across Alaska there are six all‐sky cameras, 13 magnetometers, and >200">>200>200 ...
Tape, C.; Ringler, Adam T.; Hampton, D.L.
Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas, 2019
Building on a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources in the Eagle Ford Group in south Texas, the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the required water and proppant demands and formation water production volumes associated with possible future development of these petroleum resources. The results of...
Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian A.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Burke, Lauri A.; Drake, Ronald M.; Finn, Thomas M.; French, Katherine L.; Jenni, Karen E.; Kinney, Scott A.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Paxton, Stanley T.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Shaffer, Brian N.; Shorten, Chilisa M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A. Geological and thermal control of the hydrothermal system in northern Yellowstone Lake: Inferences from high resolution magnetic surveys
A multiscale magnetic survey of the northern basin of Yellowstone Lake was undertaken in 2016 as part of the Hydrothermal Dynamics of Yellowstone Lake Project (HD‐YLAKE)—a broad research effort to characterize the cause‐and‐effect relationships between geologic and environmental processes and hydrothermal activity on the lake floor. The magnetic...
Bouligand, Claire; Tivey, Maurice A.; Finn, Carol A.; Morgan, Lisa A; Shanks, W. C. Pat; Sohn, Robert A.
Comparison of storm runoff models for a small watershed in an urban metropolitan area, Albuquerque, New Mexico
In order to comply with a current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the City of Albuquerque required a better understanding of the rainfall-runoff processes in its small urban watersheds. That requirement prompted the initiation of the assessment of three existing watershed...
Shephard, Zachary M.; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle R. Global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures
Human activity causes vibrations that propagate into the ground as high-frequency seismic waves. Measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread changes in human activity, leading to a months-long reduction in seismic noise of up to 50%. The 2020 seismic noise quiet period is the longest and most prominent global anthropogenic seismic...
Lecocq, Thomas; Hicks, Stephen; Van Noten, Koen; van Wijk, Kasper; Koelemeijer, Paula; De Plaen, Raphael S.M.; Massin, Frederick; Hillers, Gregor; Anthony, Robert E.; Apoloner, Maria-Theresia; Arroyo-Solorzano, Mario; Assink, Jelle D.; Buyukakpinar, Pinar; Cannata, Andrea; Cannavo, Flavio; Carrasco, Sebastian; Caudron, Corentin; Chaves, Esteban J.; Cornwell, David G.; Craig, David; den Ouden, Oliver F.C.; Diaz, Jordi; Donner, Stefanie; Evangelidis, Christos P.; Evers, Laslo; Fauville, Benoit; Fernandez, Gonzalo A.; Giannopoulos, Dimitrios; Gibbons, Steven J.; Girona, Tarsilo; Grecu, Bogdan; Grunberg, Marc; Hetenyi, Gyorgy; Horleston, Anna; Inza, Adolfo; Irving, Jessica C.E.; Jamalreyhani, Mohammadreza; Kafka, Alan; Koymans, Mathijs R.; Labedz, Celeste; Larose, Eric; Lindsey, Nathaniel J.; McKinnon, Mika; Megies, Tobias; Miller, Meghan S.; Minarik, William G.; Moresi, Louis; Marquez-Ramirez, Victor H.; Mollhoff, Martin; Nesbitt, Ian; Niyogi, Shankho; Ojeda, Javier; Oth, Adrien; Proud, Simon; Pulli, Jay; Retailleau, Lise; Rintamaki, Annukka E.; Satriano, Claudio; Savage, Martha K.; Shani-Kamiel, Shanhar; Sleeman, Reinoud; Sokos, Efthimios; Stammler, Klaus; Stott, Alexander E.; Subedi, Shiba; Sorensen, Mathilde B.; Taira, Taka'aki; Tapia, Mar; Turhan, Faith; van der Pluijm, Ben; Vanstone, Mark; Vernge, Jerome; Vuorinen, Tommi A.T.; Warren, Tristram; Wassermann, Joachim; Xiao, Han Linking land and sea through an ecological-economic model of coral reef recreation
Coastal zones are popular recreational areas that substantially contribute to social welfare. Managers can use information about specific environmental features that people value, and how these might change under different management scenarios, to spatially target actions to areas of high current or potential value. We explored how snorkelers’...
Oleson, Kirsten L. L.; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Fezzi, Carlo; Barnes, Megan; Donovan, Mary; Falinski, Kim A.; Gorospe, Kelvin; Htun, Hla; Lecky, Joey; Villa, Ferdinando; Wong, Tamara Reconstructing the velocity and deformation of a rapid landslide using multiview video
Noncontact measurements of spatially varied ground surface deformation during landslide motion can provide important constraints on landslide mechanics. Here, we present and test a new method for extracting measurements of rapid landslide surface displacement and velocity (accelerations of approximately 1 m/s2) using sequences of stereo...
Rapstine, Thomas D; Rengers, Francis K.; Allstadt, Kate; Iverson, Richard M.; Smith, Joel B.; Obryk, Maciej; Logan, M.; Olsen, M. J.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.
First Pond below Gold King Mine
First of four settling ponds located downstream from North Fork Cement Creek to facilitate settling of solids material after addition of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to the North Fork Cement Creek. Latitude 37.89451, Longitude -107.64763.
View from Gold King Mine
View from the Gold King Mine showing water flowing toward viewer in culvert that collects water from the draining Gold King mine tunnel and diverts water around the waste pile on which it flows and which falls off to the left of the photo. Latitude 37.894631, Longitude -107.638288.
Minisipper
Photo of submersible Minisipper sampling device used to collect multiple water-quality samples during multiple-day deployment. At several locations downstream from the Gold King Mine following the Gold King Mine release on August 5, 2015.
Island Streambed Sampling
Island upstream from City of Durango, Colorado's water intake structure where streambed sediments were sampled. Latitude 37.26428, Longitude -107.8812.
Minisipper at Durango
Minisipper location at City of Durango water intake structure. Minisipper installed by USGS to collect multiple water-quality samples. Latitude 37.26428, Longitude -107.8812.
Stagecoach Lake, Steamboat, Colorado
Sunset at Stagecoach Lake, Steamboat, Colorado
Collecting glacial moraine boulder samples
This is an example of a boulder that is part of a glacial deposit in the southern Sawatch Mountains of Colorado. The moraine slopes down to the left side of the frame; this slope is modified from teh original depositional shape of the moraine deposit. A NAGT student intern is using a Brunton compass clinometer to measure the inclination of hte horizon above horizontal.
...
Pitchfork Ranch, Wyoming
Over 30 organizations and agencies are testing a USGS-developed oral sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) at sites such as the Pitchfork Ranch in Wyoming, pictured here. If successful, the SPV could help protect endangered black-footed ferret populations in the western U.S. because the
...
Using a bridge crane to measure streamflow, Powder River at Arvada
Using a bridge crane to measure streamflow, Powder River at Arvada
Fumaroles in Norris Geyser Basin
Fumaroles (venting gas and steam) at the base of Porcelain Terrace in the Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone.
Water-quality sampling for pesticides, Shoshone River near Lovell
Water-quality sampling for pesticides, Shoshone River near Lovell
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.
Streamflows in Utah are the lowest recorded in nearly 100 years, confirming what most Utahans have known for the past 4 years: the state is in a drought. According to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) fact sheet on present and historical droughts in the state, however, the unusual aspect of this drought is not its length but its severity.
Streamflows in Utah are the lowest recorded in nearly 100 years, confirming what most Utahans have known for the past 4 years: the state is in a drought. According to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) fact sheet on present and historical droughts in the state, however, the unusual aspect of this drought is not its length but its severity.
Not long ago, conventional wisdom was that you couldn’t predict the climate for more than a few days in advance. Then came the awareness of El Niño and La Niña and the forecast window increased to as much as 6 to 9 months, depending on the region and season.
The USGS has just completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in five geologic basins in the Rocky Mountain region. The assessed basins are: Uinta-Piceance of Colorado and Utah, Southwestern Wyoming (Greater Green River Basin), San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado, Montana Thrust Belt, and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.
The USGS has just completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in five geologic basins in the Rocky Mountain region.
Two reports published in a leading science journal cast doubt on the importance of ultraviolet-b radiation (UV-B) as a factor driving amphibian population declines. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the University of Washington, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just released their research findings in the journal Ecology.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will present new research on a variety of topics at the annual GSA meeting at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, October 27-30. A few highlights include:
Unexploded shells. Contaminated soils. Polluted groundwater. Military bases across the country are working to restore and protect the environment.
University of Utah seismologists will be on duty around-the-clock during the Olympics, armed with a new $1.2 million system so they can quickly supply public safety information if any disruptive earthquakes shake the 2002 Winter Games.
University of Utah seismologists will be on duty around-the-clock during the Olympics, armed with a new $1.2 million system so they can quickly supply public safety information if any disruptive earthquakes shake the 2002 Winter Games.
New GPS users, or people considering buying a GPS receiver, as well as, hikers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts will benefit from the free workshops offered by the USGS on map reading, compass reading, and using GPS.
New GPS users, or people considering buying a GPS receiver, as well as, hikers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts will benefit from the free workshops offered by the USGS on map reading, compass reading, and using GPS.
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.