Interpretive Geologic Cross Sections for the Death Valley Regional Flow System and Surrounding Areas, Nevada and California

Interpretive Geologic Cross Sections for the Death Valley Regional Flow System and Surrounding Areas, Nevada and California
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 5
Release: 2001
Genre:
ISBN:

This report presents a network of 28 geologic cross sections that portray subsurface geologic relations within the Death Valley regional ground-water system, a ground-water basin that encompasses a 3 degree x 3 degree area (approximately 70,000 square kilometers) in southern Nevada and eastern California. The cross sections transect that part of the southern Great Basin that includes Death Valley, the Nevada Test Site, and the potential high-level nuclear waste underground repository at Yucca Mountain. The specific geometric relationships portrayed on the cross sections are discussed in the context of four general sub-regions that have stratigraphic similarities and general consistency of structural style: (1) the Nevada Test Site vicinity; (2) the Spring Mountains, Pahrump Valley and Amargosa Desert region; (3) the Death Valley region; and (4) the area east of the Nevada Test Site. The subsurface geologic interpretations portrayed on the cross sections are based on an integration of existing geologic maps, measured stratigraphic sections, published cross sections, well data, and geophysical data and interpretations. The estimated top of pre-Cenozoic rocks in the cross sections is based on inversion of gravity data, but the deeper parts of the sections are based on geologic conceptual models and are more speculative.

Hydrostructural Maps of the Death Valley Regional Flow System, Nevada and California

Hydrostructural Maps of the Death Valley Regional Flow System, Nevada and California
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 5
Release: 2002
Genre:
ISBN:

The locations of principal faults and structural zones that may influence ground-water flow were compiled in support of a three-dimensional ground-water model for the Death Valley regional flow system, which covers 80,000 km2 in southwestern Nevada and southeastern California. Faults include Neogene extensional and strike-slip faults and pre-Tertiary thrust faults. Emphasis was given to characteristics of faults and deformed zones that may have a high potential for influencing hydraulic conductivity. These include: (1) faulting that results in the juxtaposition of stratigraphic units with contrasting hydrologic properties, which may cause ground-water discharge and other perturbations in the flow system; (2) special physical characteristics of the fault zones, such as brecciation and fracturing, that may cause specific parts of the zone to act either as conduits or as barriers to fluid flow; (3) the presence of a variety of lithologies whose physical and deformational characteristics m ay serve to impede or enhance flow in fault zones; (4) orientation of a fault with respect to the present-day stress field, possibly influencing hydraulic conductivity along the fault zone; and (5) faults that have been active in late Pleistocene or Holocene time and areas of contemporary seismicity, which may be associated with enhanced permeabilities.

A Hydrogeologic Map of the Death Valley Region, Nevada, and California, Developed Using GIS Techniques

A Hydrogeologic Map of the Death Valley Region, Nevada, and California, Developed Using GIS Techniques
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 22
Release: 1997
Genre:
ISBN:

In support of Yucca Mountain site characterization studies, a hydrogeologic framework was developed, and a hydrogeologic map was constructed for the Death Valley region. The region, covering approximately 100,000 km2 along the Nevada-California border near Las Vegas, is characterized by isolated mountain ranges juxtaposed against broad, alluvium-filled valleys. Geologic conditions are typical of the Basin and Range Province; a variety of sedimentary and igneous intrusive and extrusive rocks have been subjected to both compressional and extensional deformation. The regional ground-water flow system can best be described as a series of connected intermontane basins in which ground-water flow occurs in basin-fill deposits, carbonate rocks, clastic rocks, and volcanic rocks. Previous investigations have developed more site-specific hydrogeologic relationships; however, few have described all the lithologies within the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system. Information required to characterize the hydrogeologic units in the region was obtained from regional geologic maps and reports. Map data were digitized from regional geologic maps and combined into a composite map using a geographic information system. This map was simplified to show 10 laterally extensive hydrogeologic units with distinct hydrologic properties. The hydraulic conductivity values for the hydrogeologic units range over 15 orders of magnitude due to the variability in burial depth and degree of fracturing.

Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada and California

Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada and California
Author: Wayne R Belcher
Publisher: Scholar's Choice
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2015-02-16
Genre:
ISBN: 9781298050953

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