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)-Allison Shipp
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.
Arkansas River Water-Quality Data
The Arkansas River Basin drains an area of 24,904 square miles of southeastern Colorado. Like other basins on the Front Range, the Arkansas Basin has experienced growth and is expected to have significant increases in growth in the future. Demands on the limited water resources also will increase as changes in water storage, water releases, and/or transfer of waters within or outside of the...
Water-Quality Assessment of Wolford Mountain Reservoir on Muddy Creek near Kremmling, Colorado
In March 1985 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD), began a monitoring program on Muddy Creek in anticipation of the construction of a water storage project. A site upstream of the proposed reservoir (Muddy Creek above Antelope Creek, 09041090), and a downstream site (Muddy Creek at Kremmling, 09041500) were chosen to...
Blue River Water-Quality Data
The Blue River drains approximately 680 square miles west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing northward into the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado. The Blue River watershed (BRW) is almost entirely located in Summit County and includes the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Montezuma, and Silverthorne. Dillon Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir are major...
Hydrologic assessment of groundwater resources in a foothills watershed in Jefferson County, Colorado
Water quantity, water-quality, and growth issues are of concern to Jefferson County, Colorado, officials who must balance the needs of current (2002) residents and requests for future development with protection and allocation of available water resources.
The current status of groundwater resources in the mountainous parts of Jefferson County must be determined as a basis for...
Using GIS and Multivariate Regressions to Model Salt and Selenium Loads in Regions of the Upper Colorado River Basin
Elevated loads of salt and selenium can impair the quality of water for both anthropogenic and natural uses. Understanding the environmental processes controlling how salt and selenium are introduced to streams is critical to managing and mitigating the effects of elevated loads. Dominant relations between salt and selenium loads and environmental characteristics can be established by using...
SAGEMAP
A GIS Database for Sage-grouse and Shrubsteppe Management in the Intermountain West
Water-Quality Sampling at Five Hydrologic Benchmark Stations in the Western United States
The Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN) was established in 1963 to provide Swiftwater Creek, MT long-term measurements of streamflow and water quality in areas of the United States that are minimally affected by human activities. Historically, the HBN has used a fixed-interval sampling strategy, however other more robust sampling strategies are now available. Trend networks, for example, can...
NAWQA South Platte River Basin Study
The South Platte River Basin study, conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program, combines information on water chemistry, physical characteristics, stream habitat, and aquatic life to provide science-based insights for current and...
Water-Quality Monitoring of the Vallecito Reservoir Watershed
The water quality of the Vallecito Reservoir watershed in southwestern Colorado was initially studied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during July 1996 to July 1997, in cooperation with the Pine River Irrigation District, to assess the suitability of the reservoir as a potential source of drinking water (Ranalli and Evans, 1999). As a result of this study, in December 1997 a group of...
Effects of increasing urbanization on ground- and surface-water resources in the Fraser River watershed
The USGS has assessed the effects of increasing urbanization on ground- and surface-water resources in the Fraser River watershed. The population of Grand County increased 93 percent between the years of 1970 and 1990. The majority of the new development in the watershed will rely on ground water and individual septic disposal systems (ISDS's). This study has assessed the potential effects of...
Effects of Fluvial Tailings Deposits on Receiving Waters in the Upper Arkansas River Basin, Lake County, Colorado
Fluvial tailings deposits stored in the floodplain of the upper Arkansas River represent a potential nonpoint source of contamination to surface and ground waters. The U.S. Geological Survey has been cooperating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor a lowcost, insitu remediation technique for the deposits. Remediation of selected sites occurred in 1998 through 2000 by...
Groundwater-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and Adjacent Areas
The Albuquerque hydrologic basin extends along the Rio Grande from Cochiti in the north to San Acacia in the south. Increases in groundwater pumping to accommodate population growth in the basin resulted in substantial groundwater-level drawdown in some 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.
Risk-targeted alternatives to deterministic ground motion caps in U.S. seismic provisions
Since their inception over 20 years ago, the maximum considered earthquake ground motion maps in U.S. building codes have capped probabilistic values with deterministic ground motions from characteristic earthquakes on known active faults. This practice has increasingly been called into question both because of spatially non-uniform risk levels...
Stewart, Jonathan P.; Luco, Nicolas; Hooper, John D; Crouse, C. B. Exploring regional scale metamorphic fabrics in the Yukon Tanana terrane and environs using quantitative domain analyses
Metamorphic rock fabrics such as foliations and lineations provide a rock record of numerous deformational characteristics in the Earth’s crust. When spatial information is combined with fabric data collected at points on geologic maps, the nature and consistency of metamorphic fabrics can be explored through structural domain analysis. This is...
Caine, Jonathan; Jones, James V. Mineralogy and lithology of the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation determined by hyperspectral core imaging
Sections of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian to Campanian) Niobrara Formation in two cores from Kansas and Colorado, the Amoco Rebecca Bounds and USGS Portland 1, respectively, were examined by hyperspectral core imaging and analysis. A spectral imaging system combining high-resolution photography (50 μm), 3D laser profiling (20 μm), and near-...
Birdwell, Justin E.; Fontenot, Lionel C.; Martini, Brigette Predicting the floods that follow the flames
No abstract available.
Gourley, Jonathan J; Vergara, Humberto; Arthur, Ami; Clark, Robert A III; Staley, Dennis M.; Fulton, John; Hempel, Laura A.; Goodrich, David C.; Rowden, Katherine; Robichaud, Peter R.
Bayesian modeling of non-stationary, univariate, spatial data for the Earth sciences
Some Earth science data, such as geochemical measurements of element concentrations, are non-stationary—the mean and the standard deviation vary spatially. It is important to estimate the spatial variations in both statistics because such information is indicative of geological and other Earth processes. To this end, an estimation method is...
Ellefsen, Karl J.; Van Gosen, Bradley S.
User guide to the bayesian modeling of non-stationary, univariate, spatial data using R language package BMNUS
Bayesian modeling of non-stationary, univariate, spatial data is performed using the R-language package BMNUS. A unique advantage of this package is that it can map the mean, standard deviation, quantiles, and probability of exceeding a specified value. The package includes several R-language classes that prepare the data for the modeling, help...
Ellefsen, Karl J.; Goldman, Margaret A.; Van Gosen, Bradley S. Economic, land use, and ecosystem services impacts of Rwanda's Green Growth Strategy: An application of the IEEM+ESM platform
We develop and link the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modeling (IEEM) Platform to ecosystem services modeling (ESM). The IEEM+ESM Platform is an innovative decision-making framework for exploring complex public policy goals and elucidating synergies and trade-offs between alternative policy portfolios. The IEEM+ESM approach is powerful in its...
Banerjee, Onil; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Cicowiecz, Martin; Dudek, Sebastian; Horridge, Mark; Alavalapati, Janaki; Masozera, Michel K.; Rukundo, Emmanuel; Rutebuka, Evariste Salt flushing, salt storage, and controls on selenium: A 31-year mass-balance analysis of an irrigated, semiarid valley
Salinity, selenium, and uranium pose water‐quality challenges for the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado and other rivers that support irrigation in semiarid regions. This study used 31 years of continuous discharge and specific conductance (SC) monitoring data to assess interannual patterns in water quality using mass balance on a 120‐...
Bern, Carleton R.; Holmberg, Michael J.; Kisfalusi, Zachary D. Holocene relative sea-level change along the tectonically active Chilean coast
We present a comprehensive relative sea-level (RSL) database for north, central, and south-central Chile (18.5°S – 43.6°S) using a consistent, systematic, and internationally comparable approach. Despite its latitudinal extent, this coastline has received little rigorous or systematic attention and details of its RSL history remain largely...
Garrett, Ed; Melnick, Daniel; Dura, Tina; Cisternas, Marco; Ely, Lisa; Wesson, Robert L.; Jara-Munoz, Julius; Whitehouse, Pippa L Near-field remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge using radars and the probability concept at 10 USGS streamgages
Near-field remote sensing of surface velocity and river discharge (discharge) were measured using coherent, continuous wave Doppler and pulsed radars. Traditional streamgaging requires sensors be deployed in the water column; however, near-field remote sensing has the potential to transform streamgaging operations through non-contact methods in...
Fulton, John; Mason, Christopher Allen; Eggleston, Jack R.; Nicotra, Matthew J.; Chiu, C.-L.; Henneberg, Mark F.; Best, Heather; Cederberg, Jay; Holnbeck, Stephen R.; Lotspeich, R. Russell; Laveau, Christopher; Moramarco, Tommaso; Jones, Mark E.; Gourley, Jonathan J; Wasielewski, Danny The Landsat Burned Area algorithm and products for the conterminous United States
Complete and accurate burned area map data are needed to document spatial and temporal patterns of fires, to quantify their drivers, and to assess the impacts on human and natural systems. In this study, we developed the Landsat Burned Area (BA) algorithm, an update from the Landsat Burned Area Essential Climate Variable (BAECV) algorithm. Here,...
Hawbaker, Todd J.; Vanderhoof, Melanie K.; Schmidt, Gail L.; Beal, Yen-Ju G.; Picotte, Joshua J.; Takacs, Joshua; Falgout, Jeff T.; Dwyer, John L. A critical assessment of human-impact indices based on anthropogenic pollen indicators
Anthropogenic pollen indicators in pollen records are an established tool for reconstructing the history of human impacts on vegetation and landscapes. They are also used to disentangle the influence of human activities and climatic variability on ecosystems. The comprehensive anthropogenic pollen-indicator approach developed by Behre (1981) has...
Deza-Araujo, Mara; Morales-Molino, César; Tinner, Willy; Henne, Paul D.; Heitz, Caroline; Pezzatti, Gianni B; Hafner, Albert; Conedera, MarcoPhotos 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.
USGS Field Crew On-Site During the Sept 2013 Colorado Flood
Bob Brandle and Cory Stevens of the USGS Colorado Water Science Center record streamflow and water level measurements for the flooded St. Vrain River near Longmont, Colo. The river is one of many that flooded during a significant September 2013 rain event along Colorado's Front Range, damaging or destroying several USGS streamgages.
Bear River, Utah
Looking northeast along the Bear River Duck Club Canal toward the Wellsville Mountains.
A new report illustrates how groundwater pumping can affect the amount of water available in streams within the Malad-Lower Bear River Area in Utah. The product was developed by the USGS, in cooperation with the Utah
...
Wastewater Disposal Facility in Colorado
Oilfield waste arrives by tanker truck at a wastewater disposal facility near Platteville, Colo. After removal of solids and oil, the wastewater is injected into a deep well for permanent storage underground. This disposal process has the potential to trigger earthquakes, but very few wastewater disposal wells produce earthquakes. No earthquakes are associated with
...
Wastewater Disposal Facility in Colorado
Oilfield waste arrives by tanker truck at a wastewater disposal facility near Platteville, Colo. After removal of solids and oil, the wastewater is injected into a deep well for permanent storage underground. This disposal process has the potential to trigger earthquakes, but very few wastewater disposal wells produce earthquakes. No earthquakes are associated with
...
USGS scientist collecting a water sample from Boulder Creek, Colorado.
A USGS scientist collecting a water-quality sample from Boulder Creek, Colorado. USGS scientists have shown that many chemicals discharged from municipal wastewater treatment facilities persist for miles downstream at levels known, or suspected, to cause adverse
...
Bacteria contained in filter chambers
Microbial-Contaminant Interactions Laboratory — Boulder, Colorado. Bacteria contained in filter chambers placed in downgradient observation wells were exposed to sulfamethoxazole for 30 days as it traveled past the wells.
Bacteria contained in filter chambers
Bacteria contained in filter chambers placed in downgradient observation wells were exposed to sulfamethoxazole for 30 days as it traveled past the wells
Prairie dog and SPV bait
In this image, a Gunnison prairie dog eats a bait laden with the sylvatic plague vaccine. Prairie dogs in the wild are less likely to succumb to plague after they ingest peanut-butter-flavored bait that contains a vaccine against the disease.
Utah Tribal Coop
In the stream is Martel Fisher (USGS) and Bart Powaukee (Coordinator Ute Indian Tribe Water Quality Department) and some of the Ute Tribe Water Quality Department employees.
map of historic and current sage-grouse range in 2000
Map of historic and current sage-grouse range in 2000, provided as a download from the old USGS Sagemap website.
Red Mountain, CO Hydrothermal Alteration
Photo showing intense acid-sulfate hydrothermal alteration on Red Mountain No. 2, Silverton CO. View is looking to the west across Corkscrew Gulch.
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