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.
How physics‐based earthquake simulators might help improve earthquake forecasts
Questions have persisted on the usefulness of physics‐based earthquake simulators with respect to forecasting earthquakes, due mostly to the inevitable assumptions, approximations, and uncertainties. Whether any model is reliable or trustworthy depends entirely on what questions we are asking of it, so the point of this article is to outline a...
Field, Edward H.Investigation into the effect of heteroatom content on kerogen structure using advanced 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
To elucidate how different extreme heteroatom concentrations in oil shale kerogen may present and contribute to various structural features, three shale samples, containing kerogen with high oxygen content, low heteroatom content, and high sulfur content, were analyzed using advanced 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques...
Chu, Wenying; Cao, Xiaoyan; Schmidt-Rohr, Klaus; Birdwell, Justin E.; Mao, JingdongA collection of historic seismic instrumentation photographs at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory
The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) has preserved a collection of photographs of seismographic equipment, stations, and drawings used by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) in the early-to-mid-twentieth century. The photographs were transferred to ASL from the US Department of Commerce building in Washington DC...
Moore, Sabrina Veronica; Hutt, Charles R.; Anthony, Robert E.; Ringler, Adam T.; Alejandro, Alexis Casondra Bianca; Wilson, David C.Data sharing in magnetotellurics
Here, we introduce the first openly available comprehensive database of magnetotelluric (MT) and related electromagnetic data that we developed and matured over the past decade, explain how to access the data, and describe the challenges that had to be overcome to make MT data sharing possible. The database is a helpful tool for MT scientists, and...
Kelbert, Anna; Erofeeva, Svetlana; Trabant, Chad; Karstens, Rich; Van Fossen, Mickey C.Long-term soil-water tension measurements in semi-arid environments: A method for automated tensiometer refilling
Tensiometer-equipped data acquisition systems measure and record positive and negative soil-water pressures. These data contribute to studies in hillslope hydrology, including analyses of rainfall runoff, near-surface hydrologic response, and slope stability. However, the unique ability of a tensiometer to rapidly and accurately measure pre- and...
Smith, Joel B.; Kean, Jason W.The Albuquerque Seismological Lab WWSSN film chip preservation project
From 1961 to 1996, the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) installed and operated the World‐Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN). Each station within the network consisted of three Benioff short‐period sensors and three Sprengnether Press‐Ewing long‐period sensors along with recording, timing, and calibration equipment....
Alejandro, Alexis Casondra Bianca; Hutt, Charles R.; Ringler, Adam T.; Moore, Sabrina Veronica; Anthony, Robert E.; Wilson, David C.The ~1.85 Ga carbonatite in north China and its implications on the evolution of the Columbia supercontinent
Mantle-derived carbonatites provide a unique window in the understanding of mantle characteristics and dynamics, as well as insight into the assembly and breakup of supercontinents. As a petrological indicator of extensional tectonic regimes, Archean/Proterozoic carbonatites provide important constraints on the timing of the breakup of ancient...
Xie, Yuling; Qu, Yunwei; Zhong, Richen; Verplanck, Philip L.; Meffre, Sebastien; Xu, DaoxueControls on organic matter distributions in Eocene Lake Uinta, Utah and Colorado
The Green River Formation deposited in Eocene Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins, Utah and Colorado, contains the largest oil shale resource in the world with an estimated 1.53 trillion barrels of oil in-place in the Piceance Basin and 1.32 trillion barrels in the Uinta Basin. The Douglas Creek arch, a slowly subsiding hinge-line between...
Johnson, Ronald C.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Birdwell, Justin E.The extreme space weather event in September 1909
We evaluate worldwide low-latitude auroral activity associated with the great magnetic storm of September 1909 for which a minimum Dst value of −595 nT has recently been determined. From auroral observations, we calculate that the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval in the 1909 event was in the range from 31°–35° invariant latitude (...
Hayakawa, Hisashi; Ebihara, Yusuke; Cliver, Edward W.; Hattori, Kentaro; Toriumi, Shin; Love, Jeffrey J.; Umemura, Norio; Namekata, Kosuke; Sakaue, Takahito; Takahashi, Takuya; Shibata, KazunariIdentification of conservation and restoration priority areas in the Danube River based on the multi-functionality of river-floodplain systems
Large river-floodplain systems are hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem services but are also used for multiple human activities, making them one of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. There is wide evidence that reconnecting river channels with their floodplains is an effective measure to increase...
Funk, Andrea; Martinez-Lopez, Javier; Borgwardt, Florian; Traunder, Daniel; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Balbi, Stefano; Magrach, Ainhoa; Villa, Ferdinando; Hein, ThomasDo low-cost seismographs perform well enough for your network? An overview of laboratory tests and field observations of the OSOP Raspberry Shake 4D
Seismologists have recently begun utilizing low-cost nodal sensors in dense deployments to sample the seismic wavefield at unprecedented spatial resolution. Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) and other monitoring networks (e.g. wastewater injection) would additionally benefit from network densification; however, current nodal systems lack...
Anthony, Robert E.; Ringler, Adam T.; Wilson, David C.; Wolin, EmilySpatiotemporal analysis of the Foreshock-Mainshock-Aftershock sequence of the 6 July 2017 M5.8 Lincoln, Montana, earthquake
A MW 5.8 earthquake occurred on 6 July 2017 at 12.2 km depth, 11 km southeast of Lincoln in west central Montana. No major damage or injuries were reported; however, the widely felt mainshock generated a prolific aftershock sequence with more than 1200 located events through the end of 2017. The Lincoln event is the latest in a series of moderate-...
McMahon, Nicole D; Yeck, William L.; Stickney, Michael C.; Aster, Richard C.; Martens, Hilary R; Benz, Harley M.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.
Devil's Thumb Meteorologic site
Realtime snow weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, snow depth) at Devil's Thumb meteorological site in Colorado.
Pecos River Webcam Near Roswell, NM
Webcam image of the Pecos River near Roswell, New Mexico - Site #334716104175400
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.