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.
Baseline groundwater hydrology and water quality in and around Bluff, Utah
Southeastern Utah has a long history of oil and gas production. Two new hydrocarbon extraction wells have been proposed several miles northeast of the town of Bluff, Utah. In response to concern about the impacts of oil and gas extraction in the area on drinking-water quality, this study provides groundwater quality and hydrologic baseline data...
Miller, Olivia L.Luminescence as a sediment tracer and provenance tool
Luminescence holds unique potential as a sediment tracer and provenance method. The tracer application of luminescence has key advantages including ease of measurement, relatively low cost, and applicability to geologically ubiquitous quartz and feldspar sand and silt. These advantages can help answer fundamental questions about geomorphology,...
Gray, Harrison J.; Jain, Mayank; Sawakuchi, Andre; Mahan, Shannon A.; Tucker, Gregory E.The 2016 Lamplugh rock avalanche, Alaska: Deposit structures and emplacement dynamics
Supraglacial landslides result from the catastrophic failure of periglacial rock slopes and deposit large volumes of rock and ice onto the glacier surface. The most remarkable features of these landslides are their prominent long flowbands and a high mobility that exceeds that of their counterparts in other environments. Based on field surveys,...
Dufresne, A.; Wolken, G.; Hibert, C; Bessette-Kirton, Erin; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Geertsema, M.; Ekström, GThe effect of stress changes on time-dependent earthquake probabilities for the central Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah, USA
Static and quasi-static Coulomb stress changes produced by large earthquakes can modify the probability of occurrence of subsequent events on neighboring faults. This approach is based on physical (Coulomb stress changes) and statistical (probability calculations) models, which are influenced by the quality and quantity of data available in the...
Verdecchia, A.; Carena, S.; Pace, B.; Duross, ChristopherWater-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2018
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent...
Ritchie, Andre B.; Galanter, Amy E.Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California
Arlington Canyon, in the northwest part of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has been the setting for important scientific discoveries over the past half century, including the oldest human remains in North America, several vertebrate fossil sites, and purported evidence of a catastrophic extinction event at the end of...
Schumann, R. Randall; Pigati, Jeffrey S.Natural hazards and mineral commodity supply: Quantifying risk of earthquake disruption to South American copper supply
Mineral resources, and their mining and enrichment operations, are not equally distributed across Earth. The concentration of mineral supply in certain regions, owing to the geology or geography of the mineral resource, raises the level of risk related to supply disruption. Where mineral production coincides with areas prone to natural hazards,...
Schnebele, Emily; Jaiswal, Kishor; Luco, Nicolas; Nassar, Nedal T.Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
The objectives of this white paper are to describe the state of the science with respect to total Nr deposition budgets in North America and the research needed to improve these budgets from both a measurement and modeling standpoint. The document is intended to serve as a plan for TDep research activities but also, more broadly, to provide...
Wetherbee, Gregory A.; Templar, Pamela H.; Richard V. Pouyat; Stephen M. Decina; Brian M. Kerschner; Thomas H. Whitlow; Pamela E. Padgett; Donna B. Schwede; Baron, Jill; Clow, David; Mast, Alisa; Sexstone, Graham A.; Kristi H. MorrisRoot-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales
Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia...
Arredondo, Mariela Garcia; Lawrence, Corey; Schulz, Marjorie S.; Tfaily, Malak M.; Kukkadapu, Ravi K.; Jones, Morris E.; Boye, Kristin; Keiluweit, MarcoWater-budget analysis of the Upper Big Sandy Designated Ground-water Basin alluvial aquifer, Elbert, El Paso, and Lincoln Counties, Colorado, 2016
The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Upper Big Sandy Groundwater Management District carried out a study in 2016 to evaluate potential groundwater storage changes within the Upper Big Sandy Designated Groundwater Basin (UBSDGB) alluvial aquifer, including groundwater flow between the UBSDGB...
Kohn, Michael S.; Oden, Jeannette H.; Arnold, L. R.Reactivity of As and U co-occurring in mine wastes in northeastern Arizona
The reactivity of co-occurring arsenic (As) and uranium (U) in mine wastes was investigated using batch reactors, microscopy, spectroscopy, and aqueous chemistry. Analyses of field samples collected in proximity to mine wastes in northeastern Arizona confirm the presence of As and U in soils and surrounding waters, as reported in a previous study...
Blake, Johanna; Avasarala, Sumant; Ali, Abdul-Mehdi; Spilde, Michael; Lezama-Pacheco, Juan S; Latta, Drew; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Ilgen, Anastasia G; Christopher Shuey; Christopher Nez; Cerrato, Jose MSeismic loss and damage in light-frame wood buildings from sequences of induced earthquakes
Activities related to oil and gas production, especially deep disposal of wastewater, have led to sequences of induced earthquakes in the central U.S. This study aims to quantify damage to and seismic losses for light-frame wood buildings when subjected to sequences of induced, small to moderate magnitude, events. To conduct this investigation,...
Chase, Robert E; Liel, Abbie B.; Luco, Nicolas; Baird, Bridger WPhotos 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.