34 CFR 272.12 - What geographic regions do the DACs serve?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. (b) New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. (c) Delaware..., Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. (e) Illinois, Indiana, Michigan..., Nebraska. (h) Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. (i) Arizona, California, Nevada...

34 CFR 272.12 - What geographic regions do the DACs serve?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. (b) New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. (c) Delaware..., Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. (e) Illinois, Indiana, Michigan..., Nebraska. (h) Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. (i) Arizona, California, Nevada...

34 CFR 272.12 - What geographic regions do the DACs serve?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. (b) New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. (c) Delaware..., Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. (e) Illinois, Indiana, Michigan..., Nebraska. (h) Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. (i) Arizona, California, Nevada...

34 CFR 272.12 - What geographic regions do the DACs serve?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. (b) New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. (c) Delaware..., Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. (e) Illinois, Indiana, Michigan..., Nebraska. (h) Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. (i) Arizona, California, Nevada...

34 CFR 272.12 - What geographic regions do the DACs serve?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. (b) New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. (c) Delaware..., Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. (e) Illinois, Indiana, Michigan..., Nebraska. (h) Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. (i) Arizona, California, Nevada...

SIMULATED CHANGES IN RUNOFF AND SEDIMENT IN DEVELOPING AREAS NEAR BENSON, ARIZONA

EPA Science Inventory

Residential and commercial development is occurring with unprecedented speed throughout the American Southwest. It is projected that from 1995 to 2025, the population in the six Southwestern states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado will increase by mor...

Vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities of southwest rangeland livestock production to climate change

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rangeland livestock industry across the southwestern US (California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico) consists of highly diverse production operations in these arid and semi-arid environments with low primary productivity. The vulnerabilities of this industry with projected increasing arid...

The Colorado River

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) true-color image shows the passage of the Colorado River through several southwestern states. The river begins, in this image, in Utah at the far upper right, where Lake Powell is visible as dark pixels surrounded by the salmon-colored rocks of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado flows southwest through Glen Canyon, to the Glen Canyon Dam, on the Utah-Arizona border. From there it flows south into Arizona, and then turns sharply west where the Grand Canyon of the Colorado cuts through the mountains. The Colorado flows west to the Arizona-Nevada (upper left) border, where it is dammed again, this time by the Hoover Dam. The dark-colored pixels surrounding the bend in the river are Lake Mead. The river flows south along the border of first Nevada and Arizona and then California and Arizona. The Colorado River, which begins in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, empties into the Gulf of California, seen at the bottom center of this image.

XENON-133 IN CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, AND UTAH FROM THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT (JOURNAL VERSION)

EPA Science Inventory

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the USSR introduced numerous radioactive nuclides into the atmosphere, including the noble gas xenon-133. EPA's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV, detected xenon-133 from the Chernobyl accident in air sampl...

Mineral Engineering Education in the West.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borgmann, Carl W.; Bartram, John W.

A large percentage of all US degrees in mineral engineering fields are awarded by 14 institutions of higher education in 13 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. But low undergraduate enrollments in the mineral engineering curricula have increased…

Drought in Southwestern United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

The southwestern United States pined for water in late March and early April 2007. This image is based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite from March 22 through April 6, 2007, and it shows the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, or NDVI, for the period. In this NDVI color scale, green indicates areas of healthier-than-usual vegetation, and only small patches of green appear in this image, near the California-Nevada border and in Utah. Larger areas of below-normal vegetation are more common, especially throughout California. Pale yellow indicates areas with generally average vegetation. Gray areas appear where no data were available, likely due to persistent clouds or snow cover. According to the April 10, 2007, update from the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of the southwestern United Sates, including Utah, Nevada, California, and Arizona, experienced moderate to extreme drought. The hardest hit areas were southeastern California and southwestern Arizona. Writing for the Drought Monitor, David Miskus of the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility reported that March 2007 had been unusually dry for the southwestern United States. While California's and Utah's reservoir storage was only slightly below normal, reservoir storage was well below normal for New Mexico and Arizona. In early April, an international research team published an online paper in Science noting that droughts could become more common for the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, as these areas were already showing signs of drying. Relying on the same computer models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in early 2007, the researchers who published in Science concluded that global warming could make droughts more common, not just in the American Southwest, but also in semiarid regions of southern Europe, Mediterranean northern Africa, and the Middle East.

Research to Practical Use: On-The-Ground Successes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit services a large area that runs from southern Nevada up to the Oregon border, and from northeastern California to the Utah Border. In this vast array of landscapes are a variety of stakeholders...

Introduction [Chapter 1

Treesearch

Joanne J. Ho

2018-01-01

The Intermountain Adaptation Partnership (IAP) is a science-management partnership with a wide variety of participants across the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) Intermountain Region, which spans Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho, eastern California, and western Wyoming. This USFS region is the largest in the Nation, representing nearly 17 percent of...

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Annual Report-1968.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO.

This report describes the organization, purposes, and functions of the Commission, which include representatives from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In September 1968, the first regional conference for state leaders of community colleges was held to discuss…

Investigation into seed collection practices and shrub manipulations to improve sustainable seed yield in wildland stands of bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)

Treesearch

F. Leland Roberts

2007-01-01

The Great Basin is a series of unique ecosystems. Starting at the western edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California it stretches east to the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. In the north it starts in central Oregon and Idaho and stretches south through out most of Nevada. In all the Great Basin is found in five states of the western U.S. The Great Basin supports...

Summary of State Legislation Affecting Higher Education in the West: 1969.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Patricia, Ed.

This report is designed to provide an interpretive summary of 1969 state legislative actions in the West that affected higher education. After a regional summary, both brief and extended analyses are provided of legislation in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.…

R&D Alert. Volume 7, Number 2, 2005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Noel, Ed.

2005-01-01

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. This issue of "R&D Alert" shares what WestEd is learning from a sample of their latest work, focusing on three points in the process:…

Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the Intermountain Region [Part 1

Treesearch

Jessica E. Halofsky; David L. Peterson; Joanne J. Ho; Natalie Little; Linda A. Joyce

2018-01-01

The Intermountain Adaptation Partnership (IAP) identified climate change issues relevant to resource management on Federal lands in Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho, eastern California, and western Wyoming, and developed solutions intended to minimize negative effects of climate change and facilitate transition of diverse ecosystems to a warmer climate. U.S. Department of...

Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the Intermountain Region [Part 2

Treesearch

Jessica E. Halofsky; David L. Peterson; Joanne J. Ho; Natalie Little; Linda A. Joyce

2018-01-01

The Intermountain Adaptation Partnership (IAP) identified climate change issues relevant to resource management on Federal lands in Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho, eastern California, and western Wyoming, and developed solutions intended to minimize negative effects of climate change and facilitate transition of diverse ecosystems to a warmer climate. U.S. Department of...

32 CFR 239.15 - List of HAP field offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Address: http://www.spk.usace.army.mil Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Pacific....O. Box 889, Savannah, GA 31402-0889. 1-800-861-8144. Internet Address: http://www.sas.usace.army.mil..., TX 76102-0300. (817) 886-1112. 1-888-231-7751. Internet Address: http://www.swf.usace.army.mil...

Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.: blackbrush

Treesearch

Burton K. Pendleton

2008-01-01

Blackbrush - Coleogyne ramosissima Torr. - grows in the transition zone between warm and cold deserts of southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, and southwestern Colorado. It is found at elevations of 760 to 1,980 m. Ranging from 0.3 to 1.2 m in height, blackbrush forms almost monotypic stands in the lower Mojave-Great Basin ecotone,...

Spatial Analysis of Gravity Data in the California, Nevada, and Utah (US)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferani, NA; Hartantyo, E.; Niasari, SW

2018-04-01

The geological condition of western North America is very complex because of the encounter of three major plates namely North America, Juan de Fuca, and Pacific Plate. The process of Juan de Fuca subduction and Pacific transform against North America plate created many mountains and produced Great Basin that we can see extending across California, Nevada, and Utah. The varied natural condition causes the varied value of gravity anomaly distribution. Using Topex free-air anomaly analyzed with second vertical derivative (SVD), we can analyze the fracture structures that occur in the Great Basin. The results show that the maximal SVD anomaly value is higher than the minimal SVD anomaly value at the western and eastern border of Great Basin. This explains that the two of Great Basin border are normal faults with trend direction NW-SE in the western boundary and NE-SW trending in the eastern boundary. This research result corresponds with the high seismicity data along the fault. Through this research, we can know that topex free-air anomaly data can be used to determine the type and trend of fault on a regional scale.

Physiological and morphological characterization of basalt milkvetch (Astragalus filipes): Basis for plant improvement

Treesearch

Kishor Bhattarai; Douglas A. Johnson; Thomas A. Jones; Kevin J. Connors; Dale R. Gardner

2008-01-01

Astragalus filipes Torr. ex A. Gray (basalt milkvetch or threadstalk milkvetch) is a legume that is widely distributed in western North America andholds promise for revegetation and restoration programs in the western United States. Seed of 67 accessions was collected in 2003 from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Washington. Field-collected forage samples...

Clinical Investigation Program, Fiscal Year 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-02-03

exposure to C. immitis (1) California (2) Arizona (3) New Mexico b.1 for moderate possibility of exposure to C. immitis (1) Texas (2) Utah (3) Nevada c...44 of 45 interns had blood drawn. P1 has serology on Rubeola, Rubella varicella on 44 of 44 and anti.HBSAG on 41/44. PI notified C, Infect Dis of

78 FR 40499 - Public Land Order No. 7818; Withdrawal of Public Lands for the Protection and Preservation of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-05

... Land Order No. 7818; Withdrawal of Public Lands for the Protection and Preservation of Solar Energy Zones for Future Energy Development; Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah AGENCY... existing rights, for a period of 20 years to protect 17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZ) for future solar energy...

Climate change effects in the southwestern states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California and Hawaii

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

On February 7, 2014 Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, created seven regional hubs across the U.S. The directors of the regional climate hubs are either from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) or the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to regional hubs, there are...

78 FR 72701 - Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Natural...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-03

... Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico; Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of the Moapa River Indian... and Colony, Nevada; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Salt River... Mexico & Utah; and Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation, California (hereafter...

National Hydroelectric Power Resources Study: Regional Assessment: Volume XXII: Western Systems Coordinating Council, (WSCC). Volume 22

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

respectively; the Klamath Mountains of Oregon and California; the Basin and Ranges of Nevada, the Teton Range of Wyoming; the Uinta Mountains of Utah...approximately 292,000 square miles, includes all of the Columbia River system in the United States and all other river basins in Idaho, Oregon, and...Central Valley and the Los Angeles Basin of California. The western valleys of the Pacific Northwest, the Denver-Cheyenne area along the Rockies’ eastern

Southwest Region Threatened, Endangered, and At-Risk Species Workshop: Managing Within Highly Variable Environments Hydrology and Ecology of Intermittent Stream and Dry Wash Ecosystems

EPA Science Inventory

Ephemeral (dry washes) and intermittent streams make up approximately 59% of all streams in the U.S. (excluding Alaska), and over 81% in the arid and semi-arid Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and California) according to the National Hydrography Dataset. T...

Western Region: A Report Identifying and Addressing the Educational Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2011

2011-01-01

During a four-week period (May 23, 2011-June 21, 2011), the Western Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) held a series of public meetings to solicit input and deliberate on key educational needs facing the four states in the region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. A two-day, face-to-face, public meeting was held May 23-24, 2011 in Arlington,…

Gravity data of Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.

1997-01-01

Gravity data for the entire state of Nevada and adjacent parts of California, Utah, and Arizona are available on this CD-ROM. About 80,000 gravity stations were compiled primarily from the National Geophysical Data Center and the U.S. Geological Survey. Gravity data was reduced to the Geodetic Reference System of 1967 and adjusted to the Gravity Standardization Net 1971 gravity datum. Data were processed to complete Bouguer and isostatic gravity anomalies by applying standard gravity corrections including terrain and isostatic corrections. Selected principal fact references and a list of sources for data from the National Geophysical Data Center are included.

Crustal Deformation Across the Basin and Range Province, Western United States, Measured with the Global Positioning System, 1992-2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, W. C.; Thatcher, W.

2002-12-01

The Basin and Range province of the western United States lies east of the Sierra Nevada mountains and accommodates roughly 25% of the motion between the North American and Pacific Plates in this region. It is experiencing both active extension and dextral shear, whose orientation is consistent with relative plate motion, suggesting that the province is an important part of the overall plate boundary system. We present results from recent measurement of Basin and Range crustal motion using the Global Positioning System (GPS). As of September 2002, ten years of deformation will have been observed with GPS measurements in 1992,1996, 1998 and 2002. The 800 km long east-to-west line of campaign-style geodetic benchmarks extends from east of the Wasatch fault zone in Utah to west of the Genoa fault zone and Lake Tahoe in California's Northern Sierra Nevada mountains, primarily along Interstate Highway 50. In all there are velocities at 91 GPS sites, nearly double the number previously presented (Thatcher et al. [1999]), all of which will be measured in September 2002. Incorporating this new data is expected to reduce the uncertainty in earlier measurements that show the motion of the Sierra Nevada block with respect to non-deforming North America to be accommodated by right lateral shear and extensional deformation in Nevada and Utah. Velocity variation of about 9 mm/yr is concentrated in the western one-third of the network, with a lesser amount (roughly 3 mm/yr) localized to the easternmost edge of the network, in the vicinity of the Wasatch fault zone. Recent densification of the GPS network across these two zones will also improve the spatial resolution of the deformation in these regions. The greatest rate of present-day deformation occurs near the ruptures of the Fairview Peak and Rainbow Mountain earthquakes in the Central Nevada Seismic Zone, extending west past the Genoa fault into the Sierra Nevada. This strain rate pattern is correlated with the concentration of historic faulting and seismicity in the western half of Nevada and eastern California, but is less well correlated with the relatively broad distribution of faults with Holocene and late Quaternary age. To process the data we use the GIPSY/OASIS II and Quasi-Observation Combination Analysis (Dong et al. [1998]) software packages and incorporate data from continuously recording GPS stations in California and Nevada.

Earthquake watch

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, M.

1976-01-01

 When the time comes that earthquakes can be predicted accurately, what shall we do with the knowledge? This was the theme of a November 1975 conference on earthquake warning and response held in San Francisco called by Assistant Secretary of the Interior Jack W. Carlson. Invited were officials of State and local governments from Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, utah, Washington, and Wyoming and representatives of the news media. 

Region 9 Tribal Lands

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Dataset of all Indian Reservations in US EPA Region 9 (California, Arizona and Nevada) with some reservation border areas of adjacent states included (adjacent areas of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah). Reservation boundaries are compiled from multiple sources and are derived from several different source scales. Information such as reservation type, primary tribe name are included with the feature dataset. Public Domain Allotments are not included in this data set.

Multicentury fire and forest histories at 19 sites in Utah and eastern Nevada

Treesearch

Emily K. Heyerdahl; Peter M. Brown; Stanley G. Kitchen; Marc H. Weber

2011-01-01

Our objective is to provide site-specific fire and forest histories from Utah and eastern Nevada that can be used for land management or additional research. We systematically sampled fire scars and tree-recruitment dates across broad gradients in elevation and forest type at 13 sites in Utah and 1 in eastern Nevada to characterize spatial and temporal variation in...

Aquifer systems in the Great Basin region of Nevada, Utah, and adjacent states: A study plan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harrill, James R.; Welch, Alan H.; Prudic, David E.; Thomas, James M.; Carman, Rita L.; Plume, Russell W.; Gates, Joseph S.; Mason, James L.

1983-01-01

The Great Basin Regional Aquifer Study includes about 140,000 square miles in parts of Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona. Within that area, 240 hydrographic areas occupy structural depressions formed primarily by basin-and-range faulting. The principal aquifers are in basin- fill deposits; however, permeable carbonate rocks underlie valleys in much of eastern Nevada and western Utah and are significant regional aquifers. Anticipated future water needs require a better understanding of the resource so that wise management will be possible. In October 1980, the U.S Geological Survey started a 4-year study to (1) describe the ground-water systems as they existed under natural conditions and as they exist today, (2) analyze the changes that have led to the systems' present condition, (3) tie the results of this and previous studies together in a regional analysis, and (4) provide means by which effects of future ground-water development can be estimated.A plan of work is presented that describes the general approach to be taken in this study. It defines (1) the major task necessary to meet objectives and (2) constraints on the scope of work. The approach has been strongly influenced by the diverse nature of ground-water flow systems and the large number of basins. A detailed appraisal of 240 individual areas would require more resources than are available. Consequently, the general approach is to study selected "typical" areas and key hydrologic processes. Effort during the first 3 years will be directed toward describing the regional hydrology, conducting detailed studies of "type" areas, and studying selected hydrologic processes. Effort during the final year will be directed toward developing a regional analyses of results.Special studies that will address hydrologic processes, key components of the ground-water system, and improved use of technology include evaluations of regional geochemistry, regional hydrogeology, recharge, ground-water discharge, and the use of remote sensing. Areas selected for study using ground-water flow models include the regional carbonate-rock province in eastern Nevada and western Utah, six valleys Las Vegas, Carson, Paradise, Dixie, Smith Creek, and Stagecoach in Nevada, plus Jordan Valley, the Milford area, and Tule Valley in Utah.

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY; Additional Outreach and Collaboration on Sharing Medical Records Would Improve Wounded Warriors’ Access to Benefits

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

told us that staff turnover at DOD facilities creates a challenge. For example, officials from the Colorado Springs SSA office told us that...Missouri West Virginia Colorado New Jersey Indiana Ohio Nevada Utah California Rhode IslandConnecticut Pennsylvania Illinois Massachusetts Nebraska...Evans US Army Hospital ( Colorado Springs, Colorado ) Colorado Springs, Colorado Denver, Colorado Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital (Camp Pendleton

Profile of American Youth: 1980 Nationwide Administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-03-01

recruiting results. In addition, if a national emergency necessitates the reintroduction of con- scription, military policymakers must be able to...Century-Crofts, 1965. Tyler, L.E. Individuality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1978. Tyler, R.W., & Wolf , R.M. Crucial issues in testing. Berkeley, CA...Texas WEST Mountain Pacific Montano Washington Idaho Oregon Wyoming California Colorado Alaska New Mexico Hawaii Arizona Utah Nevada OTHER Outlying

Proceedings of the 2002 fire conference: managing fire and fuels in the remaining wildlands and open spaces of the Southwestern United States

Treesearch

Marcia G. Narog

2008-01-01

Many issues confront scientists, land managers, policymakers, and the public who deal with or are affected by management of fire and fuels across the southwestern United States (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and California). The 2002 Fire Conference was convened to tackle these concerns. It began with a plenary session addressing the central problems of...

Historigraphical analysis of the 1857 Ft. Tejon earthquake, San Andreas Fault, California: Preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martindale, D.; Evans, J. P.

2002-12-01

Past historical analyses of the 1857 Forth Tejon earthquake include Townley and Allen (1939); Wood (1955) re-examined the earthquake and added some additional new material, and Agnew and Sieh (1978) published an extensive review of the previous publications and included primary sources not formerly known. Since 1978, most authors have reiterated the findings of Agnew and Sieh, with the exception of Meltzner and Wald's 1998 work that built on Sieh's foreshock research and included an extensive study of aftershocks. Approximately twenty-five years has past since the last full investigation of the event. In the last several decades, libraries and archives have continued to gather additional documents. Staff members continually inventory new and existing collections, making them accessible to researchers today. As a result, we are conducting an updated examination, with the hope of new insight regarding the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake. We use a new approached to the topic: the research skills of a historian in collaboration with a geologist to generate quantitative data on the nature and location of ground shaking associated with the earthquake. We analyze documents from the Huntington Library, California State Historical Society, California State Library-California Room, Utah Historical Association Information Center, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Archives and Historical Department, Cal Tech Archives, the National Archives, and the Fort Tejon State Park. New facilities reviewed also include Utah State University, University of Utah, and the LDS Family History Center. Each facility not only provided formerly quoted sources, but many offered new materials. For example, previous scholars examined popular, well-known newspapers; yet, publications in smaller towns and in languages other than English, also existed. Thirty newspapers published in January 1857 were located. We find records of the event at least one year after the earthquake. One outcome of such a search includes letters, approximately eight pictures useful in structure-damage analysis. Over 170 newspapers were published during 1857 throughout California, Nevada, and New Mexico Territory, encompassing the area of Arizona and New Mexico today. Historical information regarding the settlement of areas also proved useful. Although earlier scholars knew of LDS settlement missions in San Bernardino, California and Las Vegas, Nevada, only brief information was located. Preliminary results include increasing the felt area to include Las Vegas, Nevada; support for a Mercalli Index of IX or even X for San Bernardino; VIII or greater for sites NE of Sacramento, a northwest to southeast rupture pattern, and reports of electromagnetic disturbances. Based on these results, we suggest that the 1857 Ft. Tejon earthquake be felt over a wider area, and in places created greater ground shaking, than previously documented.

Geology and mineral resources of the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Oregon and Nevada), the Southeastern Oregon and North-Central Nevada, and the Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada (and Utah) Sagebrush Focal Areas: Chapter B in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vikre, Peter G.; Benson, Mary Ellen; Bleiwas, Donald I.; Colgan, Joseph P.; Cossette, Pamela M.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Dicken, Connie L.; Drake, Ronald M.; du Bray, Edward A.; Fernette, Gregory L.; Glen, Jonathan M.G.; Haacke, Jon E.; Hall, Susan M.; Hofstra, Albert H.; John, David A.; Ludington, Stephen; Mihalasky, Mark J.; Rytuba, James J.; Shaffer, Brian N.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Wallis, John C.; Williams, Colin F.; Yager, Douglas B.; Zürcher, Lukas

2016-10-04

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpose of the proposed action is to protect the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and its habitat from potential adverse effects of locatable mineral exploration and mining. The U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA) project was initiated in November 2015 and supported by the Bureau of Land Management to (1) assess locatable mineral-resource potential and (2) to describe leasable and salable mineral resources for the seven SFAs and Nevada additions.This chapter summarizes the current status of locatable, leasable, and salable mineral commodities and assesses the potential of selected locatable minerals in lands proposed for withdrawal that span the Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah borders. In this report, the four study areas evaluated were (1) the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex SFA in Washoe County, Nevada, and Harney and Lake Counties, Oregon; (2) the Southeastern Oregon and North-Central Nevada SFA in Humboldt County, Nevada, and Harney and Malheur Counties, Oregon; (3) the Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada SFA in Cassia, Owyhee, and Twin Falls Counties, Idaho, Elko County, Nevada, and Box Elder County, Utah; and (4) the Nevada additions in Humboldt and Elko Counties, Nevada.

49 CFR 71.9 - Boundary line between mountain and Pacific zones.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... the Salmon River; thence westerly along the main channel of the Salmon River to the Idaho-Oregon... City of West Wendover, Nevada. Then westward along the northern, western, and southern boundaries of the City of West Wendover back to the Utah-Nevada boundary. Then southerly along the Utah-Nevada...

Critical Elements in Produced Fluids from Nevada and Utah

DOE Data Explorer

Simmons, Stuart

2017-07-27

Critical elements and related analytical data for produced fluids from geothermal fields in Nevada and Utah, Sevier thermal belt hot springs, Utah, and Uinta basin oil-gas wells, Utah are reported. Analytical results include pH, major species, trace elements, transition metals, other metals, metalloids and REEs. Gas samples were collected and analyzed from Beowawe, Dixie Valley, Roosevelt Hot Springs, and Thermo. Helium gases and helium isotopes were analyzed on samples collected at Patua, San Emido and two wells in the Uinta basin.

The U.S. and Mexico: Trading Partners, Reluctant Military Allies

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

of Colorado and Wyoming were all once part of Mexico.”10 The early 20th century did not modify the status of the relationship; characterized by...Heredia, “North America Security Cooperation: Prospects for Growth” (PhD diss., University of Denver , 2006), 72–73. 14 Ibid. 15 John A. Cope, “In...Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming were all once part of Mexico.”24 The early 20th century did

7 CFR 1260.311 - Collecting persons for purposes of collection of assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... to aslaughter/ packer Sales to afeedlot Sales toan order buyer/dealer Countrysales 1 Arizona CP CP CP B B California CP CP B B-CP B Colorado CP B B B B Idaho B B B B B Montana CP B B B B Nebraska CP CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Nevada B B B B B Oregon CP B-CP B B B New Mexico CP B-CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Utah CP B-CP...

7 CFR 1260.311 - Collecting persons for purposes of collection of assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... to aslaughter/ packer Sales to afeedlot Sales toan order buyer/dealer Countrysales 1 Arizona CP CP CP B B California CP CP B B-CP B Colorado CP B B B B Idaho B B B B B Montana CP B B B B Nebraska CP CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Nevada B B B B B Oregon CP B-CP B B B New Mexico CP B-CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Utah CP B-CP...

7 CFR 1260.311 - Collecting persons for purposes of collection of assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... to aslaughter/ packer Sales to afeedlot Sales toan order buyer/dealer Countrysales 1 Arizona CP CP CP B B California CP CP B B-CP B Colorado CP B B B B Idaho B B B B B Montana CP B B B B Nebraska CP CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Nevada B B B B B Oregon CP B-CP B B B New Mexico CP B-CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Utah CP B-CP...

7 CFR 1260.311 - Collecting persons for purposes of collection of assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... to aslaughter/ packer Sales to afeedlot Sales toan order buyer/dealer Countrysales 1 Arizona CP CP CP B B California CP CP B B-CP B Colorado CP B B B B Idaho B B B B B Montana CP B B B B Nebraska CP CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Nevada B B B B B Oregon CP B-CP B B B New Mexico CP B-CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Utah CP B-CP...

7 CFR 1260.311 - Collecting persons for purposes of collection of assessments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... to aslaughter/ packer Sales to afeedlot Sales toan order buyer/dealer Countrysales 1 Arizona CP CP CP B B California CP CP B B-CP B Colorado CP B B B B Idaho B B B B B Montana CP B B B B Nebraska CP CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Nevada B B B B B Oregon CP B-CP B B B New Mexico CP B-CP B-CP B-CP B-CP Utah CP B-CP...

Compilation of selected hydrologic data from the MX missile-siting investigation, east-central Nevada and western Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bunch, Robin L.; Harrill, James R.

1984-01-01

Construction, water-level, and water-quality data for wells and site-description, discharge, and water-quality data for springs and streams in 37 hydrographic areas in Nevada and Utah are presented in this report. These data are grouped in tables, by area. Additional tables contain a summary of data and aquifer-test results for wells in valley-fill deposits at 42 sites in Nevada and Utah and for wells in carbonate rocks at five sites in Nevada. The data in this report were gathered by Ertec Western, Inc., or their subcontractors, for the U.S. Department of the Air Force as part of the MX missile-siting project and were originally presented in a number of individual reports.

Thirty Thousand Years of Vegetation Changes in the Alabama Hills, Owens Valley, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koehler, Peter A.; Anderson, R. Scott

1995-03-01

Twenty packrat ( Neotoma) middens recovered from three sites (1265-1535 m) in the Alabama Hills, Inyo County, California, provide a ca. 31,450-yr record of vegetation change. Located ca. 7 km east of the Sierra Nevada, the middens document that Utah juniper ( Juniperus osteosperma), Joshua tree ( Yucca brevifolia), and bitterbush ( Purshia tridentata) occupied the site between 31,450 and 19,070 yr B.P. Joshua tree and bitterbush departed by ca. 17,760 yr B.P., with cliffrose ( Purshia mexicana) and joint-fir ( Ephedra viridis) appearing. By 13,350 yr B.P., blackbush ( Coleogyne ramosissima) and cholla ( Opuntia echinocarpa) entered the record. Between 9540 and 7990 yr B.P., Utah juniper and other species now extralocal to the sites departed and modern components such as wolfberry ( Lycium andersonii) and rubber rabbitbrush ( Chrysothamnus teretifolius) appeared. The middle Holocene records little variation in plant macrofossil composition; however, pollen analysis reflects an increase in aquatic pollen types which might suggest more-open conditions. The transition to the modern vegetation associations at the sites occurred after ca. 2800 yr B.P. The record from the Alabama Hills correlates well with that of other regional vegetation data but documents conditions of increasing aridity earlier than many other packrat midden sites. A shift in understory vegetation between 19,070 and 17,760 yr B.P. may reflect a transition from glacial maximum to post-maximum conditions in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Modeling Habitat of the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Mojave and Parts of the Sonoran Deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nussear, Kenneth E.; Esque, Todd C.; Inman, Richard D.; Gass, Leila; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Wallace, Cynthia S.A.; Blainey, Joan B.; Miller, David M.; Webb, Robert H.

2009-01-01

Habitat modeling is an important tool used to simulate the potential distribution of a species for a variety of basic and applied questions. The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a federally listed threatened species in the Mojave Desert and parts of the Sonoran Desert of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Land managers in this region require reliable information about the potential distribution of desert tortoise habitat to plan conservation efforts, guide monitoring activities, monitor changes in the amount and quality of habitat available, minimize and mitigate disturbances, and ultimately to assess the status of the tortoise and its habitat toward recovery of the species. By applying information from the literature and our knowledge or assumptions of environmental variables that could potentially explain variability in the quality of desert tortoise habitat, we developed a quantitative habitat model for the desert tortoise using an extensive set of field-collected presence data. Sixteen environmental data layers were converted into a grid covering the study area and merged with the desert tortoise presence data that we gathered for input into the Maxent habitat-modeling algorithm. This model provides output of the statistical probability of habitat potential that can be used to map potential areas of desert tortoise habitat. This type of analysis, while robust in its predictions of habitat, does not account for anthropogenic changes that may have altered habitat with relatively high potential into areas with lower potential.

Evaluation of Hazardous Faults in the Intermountain West Region - Summary and Recommendations of a Workshop

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crone, Anthony J.; Haller, Kathleen M.; Maharrey, Joseph Z.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) has the responsibility to provide nationwide information and knowledge about earthquakes and earthquake hazards as a step to mitigating earthquake-related losses. As part of this mission, USGS geologists and geophysicists continue to study faults and structures that have the potential to generate large and damaging earthquakes. In addition, the EHP, through its External Grants Program (hereinafter called Program), supports similar studies by scientists employed by state agencies, academic institutions, and independent employers. For the purposes of earthquake hazard investigations, the Nation is geographically subdivided into tectonic regions. One such region is the Intermountain West (IMW), which here is broadly defined as starting at the eastern margin of the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana and extending westward to the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California and into the Basin and Range-High Plateaus of eastern Oregon and Washington. The IMW contains thousands of faults that have moved in Cenozoic time, hundreds of which have evidence of Quaternary movement, and thus are considered to be potential seismic sources. Ideally, each Quaternary fault should be studied in detail to evaluate its rate of activity in order to model the hazard it poses. The study of a single fault requires a major commitment of time and resources, and given the large number of IMW faults that ideally should be studied, it is impractical to expect that all IMW Quaternary faults can be fully evaluated in detail. A more realistic approach is to prioritize a list of IMW structures that potentially pose a significant hazard and to focus future studies on those structures. Accordingly, in June 2008, a two-day workshop was convened at the USGS offices in Golden, Colorado, to seek information from representatives of selected State Geological Surveys in the IMW and with knowledgeable regional experts to identify the important structures for future studies. Such a priority list allows Program managers to guide the limited resources toward studies of features that are deemed to potentially pose the most serious hazards in the IMW. It also provides the scientific community with a list of structures to investigate because they are deemed to pose a substantial hazard to population centers or critical structures. The IMW encompasses all or large parts of 12 states, including Arizona, New Mexico, extreme west Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, eastern California, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, Idaho, western Wyoming, and western Montana. In Utah, and more recently in Nevada, geoscientists have taken steps to evaluate geologic data related to well-studied faults and to develop a statewide priority list of hazardous structures. In contrast to Utah and Nevada, the other IMW states contain substantially fewer Quaternary faults, so there have not been any previous efforts to develop similar priority lists. This workshop was organized to address this matter and create a more balanced perspective of priorities throughout the entire IMW region. Because working groups and workshops had already been convened to specifically deal with Quaternary fault priorities in Utah and Nevada, this workshop specifically emphasized structures outside of these two states.

The Paleogene California River: Evidence of Mojave-Uinta paleodrainage from U-Pb ages of detrital zircons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, S.J.; Dickinson, W.R.; Gehrels, G.E.; Spencer, J.E.; Lawton, T.F.; Carroll, A.R.

2010-01-01

U-Pb age spectra of detrital zircons in samples from the Paleogene Colton Formation in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah and the Late Cretaceous McCoy Mountains Formation of southwestern Arizona (United States) are statistically indistinguishable. This finding refutes previous inferences that arkosic detritus of the Colton was derived from cratonic basement exposed by Laramide tectonism, and instead establishes the Cordilleran magmatic arc (which also provided sediment to the McCoy Mountains Formation) as the primary source. Given the existence of a north-south-trending drainage divide in eastern Nevada and the north-northeast direction of Laramide paleoflow throughout Arizona and southern Utah, we infer that a large river system headed in the arc of the Mojave region flowed northeast ~700 km to the Uinta Basin. Named after its source area, this Paleogene California River would have been equal in scale but opposite in direction to the modern Green River-Colorado River system, and the timing and causes of the subsequent drainage reversal are important constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Cordillera and the Colorado Plateau. ?? 2010 Geological Society of America.

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Aquatic Habitats and Biota.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

fish in Nevada and Utah. COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME NEVADA UTAH SALMON, TROUT, GRAYLING & WHITEFISH Family SALMONIDAE King Salmon Oncorhynchus ...tsawytscha X Kokanee Red Salmon 0. nerka kennalyi I X X Lake Trout Salvelinus namayeush X Brook Trout S. fontinalis X Dolly Varden Trout S. malma X

Joint FCRC Utah-Nevada MX Missile System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-22

FOUR CORN ]EIRS REGIONAL COMM4ISSIlON 2350 A.amno, .S. ,E., Suite 303 Albuquer(ue , New Mexico 871.06 NEVADA MX LOCAL OVFRSTG[IT COZMl’CVLEE Lincoln...coordinators have i had i .ny imiee, in gs anl traveled jointlIy to prosent a unified Utah fosition tLo regi•(liOna 1 anid federal agencies - A cob

Urban and community forests of the Mountain region: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

Treesearch

David J. Nowak; Eric J. Greenfield

2010-01-01

This report details how land cover and urbanization vary within the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming by community (incorporated and census designated places), county subdivision, and county. Specifically this report provides critical urban and community forestry information for each state including human population...

Field guide to geologic excursions in southwestern Utah and adjacent areas of Arizona and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lund, William R.; Lund, William R.

2002-01-01

This field guide contains road logs for field trips planned in conjunction with the 2002 Rocky Mountain Section meeting of the Geological Society of America held at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. There are a total of eight field trips, covering various locations and topics in southwestern Utah and adjacent areas of Arizona and Nevada. In addition, the field guide contains a road log for a set of Geological Engineering Field Camp Exercises run annually by the University of Missouri at Rolla in and around Cedar City. Two of the field trips address structural aspects of the geology in southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona; two trips deal with ground water in the region; and along with the Field Camp Exercises, one trip, to the Grand Staircase, is designed specifically for educators. The remaining trips examine the volcanology and mineral resources of a large area in and around the Tusher Mountains in Utah; marine and brackish water strata in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; and the Pine Valley Mountains, which are cored by what may be the largest known laccolith in the world. The "Three Corners" area of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada is home to truly world-class geology, and I am confident that all of the 2002 Rocky Mountain Section meeting attendees will find a field trip suited to their interests.

Assessment of Moderate- and High-Temperature Geothermal Resources of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Colin F.; Reed, Marshall J.; Mariner, Robert H.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Galanis, S. Peter

2008-01-01

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of our Nation's geothermal resources. Geothermal power plants are currently operating in six states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. The assessment indicates that the electric power generation potential from identified geothermal systems is 9,057 Megawatts-electric (MWe), distributed over 13 states. The mean estimated power production potential from undiscovered geothermal resources is 30,033 MWe. Additionally, another estimated 517,800 MWe could be generated through implementation of technology for creating geothermal reservoirs in regions characterized by high temperature, but low permeability, rock formations.

Tracking the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone in the northeastern Great Basin, Nevada and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodriguez, B.D.; Williams, J.M.

2008-01-01

It is important to know whether major mining districts in north-central Nevada are underlain by crust of the Archean Wyoming craton, known to contain major orogenic gold deposits or, alternatively, by accreted crust of the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. Determining the location and orientation of the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone between these provinces is also important because it may influence subsequent patterns of sedimentation, deformation, magmatism, and hydrothermal activity. The suture zone is exposed in northeastern Utah and south-western Wyoming and exhibits a southwest strike. In the Great Basin, the suture zone strike is poorly constrained because it is largely concealed below a Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic miogeocline and Cenozoic basin fill. Two-dimensional resistivity modeling of three regional north-south magnetotelluric sounding profiles in western Utah, north-central Nevada, and northeastern Nevada, and one east-west profile in northeastern Nevada, reveals a deeply penetrating (>10 km depth), broad (tens of kilometers) conductor (1-20 ohm-meters) that may be the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone, which formed during Early Proterozoic rifting of the continent and subsequent Proterozoic accretion. This major crustal conductor changes strike direction from southwest in Utah to northwest in eastern Nevada, where it broadens to ???100 km width that correlates with early Paleozoic rifting of the continent. Our results suggest that the major gold belts may be over-isolated blocks of Archean crust, so Phanerozoic mineral deposits in this region may be produced, at least in part, from recycled Archean gold. Future mineral exploration to the east may yield large gold tonnages. ?? 2008 Geological Society of America.

Gardening guide for high-desert urban landscapes of Great Basin regions in Nevada and Utah

Treesearch

Heidi Kratsch; Rick Heflebower

2013-01-01

Some Great Basin urban areas in Utah and Nevada exhibit climatic conditions that make it difficult for all but the toughest landscape plants to thrive without providing supplemental water. These areas are found at elevations from 4,000 feet to 6,000 feet in USDA cold-hardiness zones 6 and 7. Soils are often poor and gravelly, containing less than 1 percent organic...

Radioactive Waste Streams: Waste Classification for Disposal

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-13

INL; and Fort St. Vrain, Colorado .10 In contrast to commercial reactors, naval reactors can operate without refueling for up to 20 years. 11 As of 2003...originally of the states of Arizona, Colorado , Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.61 Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming later withdrew from the Compact, leaving... Colorado , Nevada, and New Mexico as remaining Compact members.62 The Rocky Mountain Compact defines low-level waste as specifically excluding

Water Resources of the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Welch, Alan H.; Bright, Daniel J.; Knochenmus, Lari A.

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION This report summarizes results of a water-resources study for White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in east-central Nevada and western Utah. The Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system (BARCAS) study was initiated in December 2004 through Federal legislation (Section 301(e) of the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2004; PL108-424) directing the Secretary of the Interior to complete a water-resources study through the U.S. Geological Survey, Desert Research Institute, and State of Utah. The study was designed as a regional water-resource assessment, with particular emphasis on summarizing the hydrogeologic framework and hydrologic processes that influence ground-water resources. The study area includes 13 hydrographic areas that cover most of White Pine County; in this report however, results for the northern and central parts of Little Smoky Valley were combined and presented as one hydrographic area. Hydrographic areas are the basic geographic units used by the State of Nevada and Utah and local agencies for water-resource planning and management, and are commonly defined on the basis of surface-water drainage areas. Hydrographic areas were further divided into subbasins that are separated by areas where bedrock is at or near the land surface. Subbasins are the subdivisions used in this study for estimating recharge, discharge, and water budget. Hydrographic areas are the subdivision used for reporting summed and tabulated subbasin estimates.

Water Resources of the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah - Draft Report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Welch, Alan H.; Bright, Daniel J.

2007-01-01

Summary of Major Findings This report summarizes results of a water-resources study for White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in east-central Nevada and western Utah. The Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system (BARCAS) study was initiated in December 2004 through Federal legislation (Section 131 of the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2004) directing the Secretary of the Interior to complete a water-resources study through the U.S. Geological Survey, Desert Research Institute, and State of Utah. The study was designed as a regional water-resource assessment, with particular emphasis on summarizing the hydrogeologic framework and hydrologic processes that influence ground-water resources. The study area includes 13 hydrographic areas that cover most of White Pine County; in this report however, results for the northern and central parts of Little Smoky Valley were combined and presented as one hydrographic area. Hydrographic areas are the basic geographic units used by the State of Nevada and Utah and local agencies for water-resource planning and management, and are commonly defined on the basis of surface-water drainage areas. Hydrographic areas were further divided into subbasins that are separated by areas where bedrock is at or near the land surface. Subbasins represent subdivisions used in this study for estimating recharge, discharge, and water budget. Hydrographic areas represent the subdivision used for reporting summed and tabulated subbasin estimates.

Community radiation monitoring program. Annual report, October 1, 1992--September 30, 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cooper, E.N.

1994-08-01

The Community Radiation Monitoring Program (CRMP) is a cooperative effort between the US Department of Energy (DOE), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Desert Research Institute (DRI), a division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, and the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory of the University of Utah (UUNEL). The thirteenth year of this program began in the fall of 1992, and the work continues as an integral part of the DOE--sponsored long-term offsite radiological monitoring effort that has been conducted by EPA and its predecessors since the inception of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Themore » CRMP began by enhancing and centralizing environmental monitoring and sampling equipment at 15 communities in the then-existing EPA monitoring network around the NTS, and has since expanded to 19 locations in Nevada, Utah, and California. The primary objectives of this program are still to increase the understanding by the people who live in the area surrounding the NTS of the activities for which DOE is responsible, to enhance the performance of radiological sampling and monitoring, and to inform all concerned of the results of these efforts. One of the primary methods used to improve the communication link with the people in the potentially impacted area has been the hiring and training of local citizens as Station Managers and program representatives in those selected communities in the offsite area. These mangers, active science teachers wherever possible, have succeeded through their training, experience, community standing, and effort in becoming a very visible, able, and valuable asset in this link.« less

Regional potentiometric-surface map of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system in Snake Valley and surrounding areas, Juab, Millard, and Beaver Counties, Utah, and White Pine and Lincoln Counties, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gardner, Philip M.; Masbruch, Melissa D.; Plume, Russell W.; Buto, Susan G.

2011-01-01

Water-level measurements from 190 wells were used to develop a potentiometric-surface map of the east-central portion of the regional Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system in and around Snake Valley, eastern Nevada and western Utah. The map area covers approximately 9,000 square miles in Juab, Millard, and Beaver Counties, Utah, and White Pine and Lincoln Counties, Nevada. Recent (2007-2010) drilling by the Utah Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey has provided new data for areas where water-level measurements were previously unavailable. New water-level data were used to refine mapping of the pathways of intrabasin and interbasin groundwater flow. At 20 of these locations, nested observation wells provide vertical hydraulic gradient data and information related to the degree of connection between basin-fill aquifers and consolidated-rock aquifers. Multiple-year water-level hydrographs are also presented for 32 wells to illustrate the aquifer system's response to interannual climate variations and well withdrawals.

Structural Inventory of Great Basin Geothermal Systems and Definition of Favorable Structural Settings

DOE Data Explorer

Faulds, James E.

2013-12-31

Over the course of the entire project, field visits were made to 117 geothermal systems in the Great Basin region. Major field excursions, incorporating visits to large groups of systems, were conducted in western Nevada, central Nevada, northwestern Nevada, northeastern Nevada, east‐central Nevada, eastern California, southern Oregon, and western Utah. For example, field excursions to the following areas included visits of multiple geothermal systems: - Northwestern Nevada: Baltazor Hot Spring, Blue Mountain, Bog Hot Spring, Dyke Hot Springs, Howard Hot Spring, MacFarlane Hot Spring, McGee Mountain, and Pinto Hot Springs in northwest Nevada. - North‐central to northeastern Nevada: Beowawe, Crescent Valley (Hot Springs Point), Dann Ranch (Hand‐me‐Down Hot Springs), Golconda, and Pumpernickel Valley (Tipton Hot Springs) in north‐central to northeast Nevada. - Eastern Nevada: Ash Springs, Chimney Hot Spring, Duckwater, Hiko Hot Spring, Hot Creek Butte, Iverson Spring, Moon River Hot Spring, Moorman Spring, Railroad Valley, and Williams Hot Spring in eastern Nevada. - Southwestern Nevada‐eastern California: Walley’s Hot Spring, Antelope Valley, Fales Hot Springs, Buckeye Hot Springs, Travertine Hot Springs, Teels Marsh, Rhodes Marsh, Columbus Marsh, Alum‐Silver Peak, Fish Lake Valley, Gabbs Valley, Wild Rose, Rawhide‐ Wedell Hot Springs, Alkali Hot Springs, and Baileys/Hicks/Burrell Hot Springs. - Southern Oregon: Alvord Hot Spring, Antelope Hot Spring‐Hart Mountain, Borax Lake, Crump Geyser, and Mickey Hot Spring in southern Oregon. - Western Utah: Newcastle, Veyo Hot Spring, Dixie Hot Spring, Thermo, Roosevelt, Cove Fort, Red Hill Hot Spring, Joseph Hot Spring, Hatton Hot Spring, and Abraham‐Baker Hot Springs. Structural controls of 426 geothermal systems were analyzed with literature research, air photos, google‐Earth imagery, and/or field reviews (Figures 1 and 2). Of the systems analyzed, we were able to determine the structural settings of more than 240 sites. However, we found that many “systems” consisted of little more than a warm or hot well in the central part of a basin. Such “systems” were difficult to evaluate in terms of structural setting in areas lacking in geophysical data. Developed database for structural catalogue in a master spreadsheet. Data components include structural setting, primary fault orientation, presence or absence of Quaternary faulting, reservoir lithology, geothermometry, presence or absence of recent magmatism, and distinguishing blind systems from those that have surface expressions. Reviewed site locations for all 426 geothermal systems– Confirmed and/or relocated spring and geothermal sites based on imagery, maps, and other information for master database. Many systems were mislocated in the original database. In addition, some systems that included several separate springs spread over large areas were divided into two or more distinct systems. Further, all hot wells were assigned names based on their location to facilitate subsequent analyses. We catalogued systems into the following eight major groups, based on the dominant pattern of faulting (Figure 1): - Major normal fault segments (i.e., near displacement maxima). - Fault bends. - Fault terminations or tips. - Step‐overs or relay ramps in normal faults. - Fault intersections. - Accommodation zones (i.e., belts of intermeshing oppositely dipping normal faults), - Displacement transfer zones whereby strike‐slip faults terminate in arrays of normal faults. - Transtensional pull‐aparts. These settings form a hierarchal pattern with respect to fault complexity. - Major normal faults and fault bends are the simplest. - Fault terminations are typically more complex than mid‐segments, as faults commonly break up into multiple strands or horsetail near their ends. - A fault intersection is generally more complex, as it generally contains both multiple fault strands and can include discrete di...

Exploratory Study to Determine the Feasibility of a Comprehensive Program for the Development of Special Education Services for Emotionally Disturbed Children in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmberg, Gerald R.

Group conferences, individual study groups, personal visitations, and communication by the principal investigator were utilized to determine the availability and suitability of services for emotionally disturbed children in the four-state area o f Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada which has a low incidence of population in vast territorial…

Comparison of ground-based measurements of natural radiation to airborne radiation survey data on transects from coastal California to the Colorado Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoffer, P. W.; Hernández, L.; Messina, P.; Dearaujo, J.; Li, A.; Hicks, A.; White, L.

2008-12-01

Natural gamma radiation measurements were collected with a hand-held Geiger counter at nearly 400 locations on two general transects across the southwestern United States. The data are used to provide ground-truth comparison to published airborne radiation surveys of the region. The first transect was collected by high school students in the SF-ROCKS program at San Francisco State University in the summer of 2008 starting in San Francisco. Data were collected across the Sierra Nevada Range on I-80, and across Highway 50 in Nevada, and I-70 in Utah. Data were collected in and around Great Basin, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion National Parks, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. A second transect extends from San José, California to Flagstaff, Arizona and includes the Mojave National Reserve, Death Valley region, and locations throughout the Navajo Reservation region in northern Arizona and western New Mexico. Radiation data (with GPS reference) were collected from all the major sedimentary rock formations and igneous rocks of the Colorado Plateau and from many igneous and metamorphic rocks throughout the Great Basin and southern California deserts. Anomalously high localized levels were noted in selected sedimentary units associated with uranium exploration targets in the Colorado Plateau region, and in caverns and rock fissures where radon gas (and accumulation of derivative fission products) are the inferred sources.

Earth Observations

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-09

ISS024-E-014071 (9 Sept. 2010) --- This striking panoramic view of the southwestern USA and Pacific Ocean is an oblique image photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member looking outwards at an angle from the International Space Station (ISS). While most unmanned orbital satellites view Earth from a nadir perspective?in other words, collecting data with a ?straight down? viewing geometry?crew members onboard the space station can acquire imagery at a wide range of viewing angles using handheld digital cameras. The ISS nadir point (the point on Earth?s surface directly below the spacecraft) was located in northwestern Arizona, approximately 260 kilometers to the east-southeast, when this image was taken. The image includes parts of the States of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and California together with a small segment of the Baja California, Mexico coastline at center left. Several landmarks and physiographic features are readily visible. The Las Vegas, NV metropolitan area appears as a gray region adjacent to the Spring Mountains and Sheep Range (both covered by white clouds). The Grand Canyon, located on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona, is visible (lower left) to the east of Las Vegas with the blue waters of Lake Mead in between. The image also includes the Mojave Desert, stretching north from the Salton Sea (left) to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Sierra Nevada range is roughly 640 kilometers long (north-south) and forms the boundary between the Central Valley of California and the adjacent Basin and Range. The Basin and Range is so called due to the pattern of long linear valleys separated by parallel linear mountain ranges ? this landscape, formed by extension and thinning of Earth?s crust, is particularly visible at right.

Great Basin geoscience data base

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raines, Gary L.; Sawatzky, Don L.; Connors, Katherine A.

1996-01-01

This CD-ROM serves as the archive for 73 digital GIS data set for the Great Basin. The data sets cover Nevada, eastern California, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and western Utah. Some of the data sets are incomplete for the total area. On the CD-ROM, the data are provided in three formats, a prototype Federal Data Exchange standard format, the ESRI PC ARCVIEW1 format for viewing the data, and the ESRI ARC/INFO export format. Extensive documentation is provided to describe the data, the sources, and data enhancements. The following data are provided. One group of coverages comes primarily from 1:2,000,000-scale National Atlas data and can be assembled for use as base maps. These various forms of topographic information. In addition, public land system data sets are provided from the 1:2,500,000-scale Geologic Map of the United States and 1:500,000-scale geologic maps of Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. Geochemical data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program are provided for most of the Great Basin. Geophysical data are provided for most of the Great Basin, typically gridded data with a spacing of 1 km. The geophysical data sets include aeromagnetics, gravity, radiometric data, and several derivative products. The thematic data sets include geochronology, calderas, pluvial lakes, tectonic extension domains, distribution of pre-Cenozoic terranes, limonite anomalies, Landsat linear features, mineral sites, and Bureau of Land Management exploration and mining permits.

MX Siting Investigation. Municipal Water-Supply and Waste-Water Treatment Facilities in Selected Nevada and Utah Communities.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-20

located between the six cells of the lagoon system. Table 23 shows the characteristics of the system. I The detention lagoon was designed to...Wastewater Facilities for Selected Rural Nevada Communities B Municipal Water Resources Analysis for Area Potential- ly Impacted by MX Missile Complex in Utah...order teaet very large grocth up tntiel grond-cater rights In Stepee 0.4e/a , for average demand plus io a designated basin these quentiti Ruth- c~ill

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Native Americans (Nevada/Utah).

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

surface (Simpson, 1876:87; Wheat, 1967:115; Heizer and Baumhoff, 1962:48). Similar medicine rocks are found today on the Walker River Indian...addition, Heizer and Baumhoff (1962:60) refer to a Medicine Rock (site Pe-27) in the Humboldt Range, Pershing County (see Figure 2.3-1). Northern...1929) and Heizer and Baumhoff (1962). The distribution of known rock art sites in Nevada and western Utah is seen in Figures 2.3-1 and 2.3-2. Since

Deployment Area Selection and Land Withdrawal/Acquisition. M-X/MPS (M-X/Multiple Protective Shelter) Environmental Technical Report. Wilderness/Natural Areas.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-02

data from a well-watered heterogeneous area in the High Uintas (Stankey, 1973) as compared to the majority of the arid Great Basin wilderness resources...Jarbidge in the Humboldt National Forest in northeastern Nevada, and Lone Peak in the Uinta and Wasatch National Forest of central Utah. These areas...from a comprehensive study of the Great Basin (Bostick et al., 1975). Designated National - Natural Landmarks on the Registery in Nevada and Utah are

Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, and Lake Mead

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

A snowfall in the American West provides contrast to the landscape's muted earth tones and indicates changes in topography and elevation across (clockwise from top left) Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In Utah, the southern ranges of the Wasatch Mountains are covered in snow, and the Colorado River etches a dark ribbon across the red rock of the Colorado Plateau. In the center of the image is the reservoir created by the Glen Canyon Dam. To the east are the gray-colored slopes of Navaho Mountain, and to the southeast, dusted with snow is the region called Black Mesa. Southwest of Glen Canyon, the Colorado enters the Grand Canyon, which cuts westward through Arizona. At a deep bend in the river, the higher elevations of the Keibab Plateau have held onto snow. At the end of the Grand Canyon lies another large reservoir, Lake Mead, which is formed by the Hoover Dam. Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Western United States beyond the Four Corners

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The breathtaking beauty of the western United States is apparent in this image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer on NASA's Terra spacecraft. Data from 16 different swaths acquired between April 2000 and September 2001by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera were used to create this cloud-free natural-color image mosaic. The image is draped over a 100-meter (328-foot)shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation Model from the United States Geological Survey.

Among the prominent features are the snow-capped Rocky Mountains traversing Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. In the northern portion of the image, the Columbia Plateau stretches across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Many major rivers originate in this region, including the Missouri to the east of the Continental Divide, the Snake to the west, and the Colorado which wends across Utah and Arizona. The Colorado Plateau and vibrant red-colored rocks of the Painted Desert extend south from Utah into Arizona. In the southwestern portion of the image, California's San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada give way to the Los Angeles basin and the Pacific Ocean.

The Terra spacecraft is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long-term research and technology program designed to examine Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life as a total integrated system.

Selected hydrologic data for the Beaver Dam Wash area, Washington County, Utah, Lincoln County, Nevada, and Mohave County, Arizona, 1991-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enright, Michael

1996-01-01

The hydrologic data in this report were collected in Beaver Dam Wash and adjacent areas of Washington County, Utah, Lincoln County, Nevada, andMohave County, Arizona, from 1991 to 1995; some historical data from as far back as 1932 are included for comparative purposes. The data include records of about 100 wells, drillers' and geologic logs of selected wells, and results of chemical analyses of water from wells, springs, and surface-water sites. Discharge, water temperature, and specific-conductance measurements are reported for 33 surface-water and spring sites. Daily mean discharge data are reported for two U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations on Beaver Dam Wash (1992-95). The data were collected as part of a study done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources; the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

Preliminary maps showing ground-water resources in the Lower Colorado River region, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, S.G.

1976-01-01

This atlas was prepared to meet the need for information on the areal distribution, quantity, and availability of ground water in the lower Colorado River region, an area of about 140,000 square miles in parts of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The maps are necessarily generalized in places owing to the lack of sufficient data. In general the geohydrologic information pertains to large areas, and local exceptions occur. Users needing more detailed information for specific areas may address inquiries to the district chief of the U.S. Geological Survey at the addresses given in the section “Selected References.” The maps were prepared using data from previously published reports, data collected by other Federal State, and local agencies, and data from the files of the U.S. Geological Survey offices in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The report is the result of the lower Colorado River region Type I framework study made in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Safety and survival in an earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1969-01-01

Many earth scientists in this country and abroad are focusing their studies on the search for means of predicting impending earthquakes, but, as yet, an accurate prediction of the time and place of such an event cannot be made. From past experience, however, one can assume that earthquakes will continue to harass mankind and that they will occur most frequently in the areas where they have been relatively common in the past. In the United States, earthquakes can be expected to occur most frequently in the western states, particularly in Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Montana. The danger, however, is not confined to any one part of the country; major earthquakes have occurred at widely scattered locations.

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Alternative Potential Deployment Areas. Nevada/Utah.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

8217M 2 1 ’.. -1’,53 1:93,74 3.t 11701 199.470 I 2.8 Sorce, Bureau of Ecnomic Allysis, 1979. 15 Table 1.1-9. Per capita income and earnings shares by...been separated into Baseline I and Baseline 2. The first set of projections are essentially an extrapolation of 1967-1978 growth trends in the Nevada...migrants in essentially the same manner as the state as a whole although Arizona and Utah cuntribute in excess of 5 percent of the in-migrants

Flood on the Virgin River, January 1989, in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carlson, D.D.; Meyer, D.F.

1995-01-01

The impoundment of water in Quail Creek Reservoir in Utah began in April 1985. The drainage area for the reservoir is 78.4 square miles, including Quail Creek and Leeds Creek watersheds. Water also is diverted from the Virgin River above Hurricane, Utah, to supplement the filing of the reservoir. A dike, which is one of the structures impounding water in Quail Creek Reservoir, failed on January 1, 1989. This failure resulted in the release of about 25,000 acre-feet of water into the Virgin River near Hurricane, Utah. Flooding occurred along the Virgin River flood plain in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. The previous maximum discharge of record was exceeded at three U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, and the flood discharges exceeded the theoretical 100-year flood discharges. Peak discharge estimates ranged from 60,000 to 66,000 cubic feet per second at the three streamflow-gaging stations. Damage to roads, bridges, agricultural land, livestock, irrigation structures, businesses, and residences totaled more than $12 million. The greatest damage was to agricultural and public-works facilities. Washington County, which is in southwestern Utah, was declared a disaster area by President George Bush.

Geology and mineral resources of the Southwestern and South-Central Wyoming Sagebrush Focal Area, Wyoming, and the Bear River Watershed Sagebrush Focal Area, Wyoming and Utah: Chapter E in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Anna B.; Hayes, Timothy S.; Benson, Mary Ellen; Yager, Douglas B.; Anderson, Eric D.; Bleiwas, Donald I.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Dicken, Connie L.; Drake, Ronald M.; Fernette, Gregory L.; Giles, Stuart A.; Glen, Jonathan M. G.; Haacke, Jon E.; Horton, John D.; Parks, Heather L.; Rockwell, Barnaby W.; Williams, Colin F.

2016-10-04

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpose of the proposed action is to protect the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and its habitat from potential adverse effects of locatable mineral exploration and mining. The U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA) project was initiated in November 2015 and supported by the Bureau of Land Management to (1) assess locatable mineral-resource potential and (2) to describe leasable and salable mineral resources for the seven SFAs and Nevada additions.This chapter summarizes the current status of locatable, leasable, and salable mineral commodities and assesses the potential of locatable minerals in the Southwestern and South-Central Wyoming and Bear River Watershed, Wyoming and Utah, SFAs.

Tectonic controls on deposition of Middle Jurassic strata in a retroarc foreland basin, Utah-Idaho trough, western interior, United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjerrum, Christian J.; Dorsey, Rebecca J.

1995-08-01

An electronic supplement of this material may be obtained on a diskette or Anonymous FTP from KOSMOS.AGU.ORG. (LOGIN to AGU's FTP account using ANONYMOUS as the username and GUEST as the password. Go to the right directory by typing CD APEND. Type LS to see what files are available. Type GET and the name of the file to get it. Finally, type EXIT to leave the system.) (Paper 95TC01448, Tectonic controls on deposition of Middle Jurassic strata in a retroarc foreland basin, Utah-Idaho trough, western interior, United States, Christian J. Bjerrum and Rebecca J. Dorsey). Diskette may be ordered from American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N. W., Washington, DC 20009; $15.00. Payment must accompany order. A thick succession of Jurassic nonmarine and marine sedimentary rocks is exposed in a large area from northern Arizona to eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. These sediments accumulated in the Utah-Idaho trough, a deep elongate cratonal basin whose origin has recently been debated. Detailed stratigraphic analysis, subsidence analysis, and first-order flexural modeling of these deposits (this study) provide new insights into the timing and mechanisms of subsidence in the Utah-Idaho trough. Lower and Middle Jurassic strata are divided into six unconformity-bounded sequences. In contrast to the overall uniform thickness of Lower Jurassic sequences (1 and 2), Middle Jurassic strata (sequences 3 through 6) consist of distinctly westward thickening sedimentary packages in which basal shallow marine deposits onlap eastward onto bounding unconformities. Basal strata of sequences 3 through 6 pass upward into widespread progradational continental deposits that are truncated progressively toward the east (cratonward) by the next unconformity. Decompacted total subsidence curves show that the rate of subsidence in most sections increased sharply at the end of sequence 2 time (J-2 unconformity; ˜170 Ma). This is interpreted to record the onset of Middle Jurassic deposition in the distal part of a retroarc foreland basin. The unconformities and distinctive stratal geometries may have formed in response to forebulge migration caused by episodic thrusting in the Cordilleran orogen to the west. First-order flexural modeling was carried out to test the hypothesis of flexural subsidence in the Utah-Idaho trough. Trial-and-error comparisons produce a close match between decompacted stratigraphic profiles and model deflection profiles. The best fit is obtained using an infinite elastic plate (D = 1 × 1024 Nm), a moderate load topography, elevated base level, and an overfilled basin. Using recently published tectonic reconstructions for Nevada and Utah, we find close spatial agreement between a large Middle Jurassic fold-thrust belt and the supracrustal load inferred from model simulations. Our integrated basin analysis thus supports the interpretation of some previous studies that the Middle Jurassic Utah-Idaho trough was a retroarc foreland basin that formed east of a belt of regional contractile deformation and crustal thickening in western and central Nevada and southeastern California. Late Jurassic extension and normal faulting in northeastern Nevada may have been related to gravitational collapse of overthickened crust in the Cordilleran orogen. This coincides with a period of slowed subsidence in the Utah-Idaho trough that began at about 157 Ma.

Magnetotelluric survey to locate the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone in the northeastern Great Basin, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sampson, Jay A.; Rodriguez, Brian D.

2013-01-01

North-central Nevada contains a large amount of gold in linear belts, the origin of which is not fully understood. During July 2008, September 2009, and August 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, as part of the Assessment Techniques for Concealed Mineral Resources project, collected twenty-three magnetotelluric soundings along two profiles in Box Elder County, Utah; Elko County, Nevada; and Cassia, Minidoka, and Blaine Counties, Idaho. The main twenty-sounding north-south magnetotelluric profile begins south of Wendover, Nev., but north of the Deep Creek Range. It continues north of Wendover and crosses into Utah, with the north profile terminus in the Snake River Plain, Idaho. A short, three-sounding east-west segment crosses the main north-south profile near the northern terminus of the profile. The magnetotelluric data collected in this study will be used to better constrain the location and strike of the concealed suture zone between the Archean crust and the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. This report releases the magnetotelluric sounding data that was collected. No interpretation of the data is included.

Critical Elements in Reservoir Rocks of Produced Fluids Nevada and Utah August 2017

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simmons, Stuart

Critical and trace element data for drill cuttings from Beowawe, Dixie Valley, and Roosevelt Hot Springs-Blundell geothermal production fields, for drill cuttings from Uinta basin producing oil-gas wells, and from outcrops in the Sevier Thermal Anomaly-Utah.

Biomass of singleleaf pinyon and Utah juniper

Treesearch

E. L. Miller; R. O. Meeuwig; J. D. Budy

1981-01-01

Biomass determinations in singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) - Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) stands in Nevada indicate that stem diameter and average crown diameter are the tree measurements most highly correlated with ovendry weights. The equations and tables developed provide a means for estimating the total aboveground...

MX Siting Investigation. Geotechnical Evaluation. Volume VIII. Nevada - Utah Verification Studies, FY 79. Geotechnical Data Big Smoky CDP, Nevada.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-24

Diablo Baseline and Meridian references: (1) Fugro field measurements (1979) (2) Nevada State Engineers Office (1979) (3) Robinson, Thordarson , and...3) Robinson, Thordarson , and Beetem (1967) (4) Rush (1968) (5) Rush and Schroer (1970) (6) U. S. Geological Survey (1971) (7) U. S. Geological Survey...and Meridian references (1) Fugro field measurements (1979) (2) Nevada State Engineers Office (1979) (3) Robinson, Thordarson , and Beetem (1967) (4

Cone and seed traits of two Juniperus species influence roles of frugivores and scatter-hoarding rodents as seed dispersal agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimitri, Lindsay A.; Longland, William S.; Vander Wall, Stephen B.

2017-11-01

Seed dispersal in Juniperus is generally attributed to frugivores that consume the berry-like female cones. Some juniper cones are fleshy and resinous such as those of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), while others are dry and leathery such as those of Utah juniper (J. osteosperma). Rodents have been recorded harvesting Juniperus seeds and cones but are mostly considered seed predators. Our study sought to determine if rodents play a role in dispersal of western and Utah juniper seeds. We documented rodent harvest of cones and seeds of the locally-occurring juniper species and the alternate (non-local) juniper species in removal experiments at a western juniper site in northeastern California and a Utah juniper site in western Nevada. Characteristics of western and Utah juniper cones appeared to influence removal, as cones from the local juniper species were preferred at both sites. Conversely, removal of local and non-local seeds was similar. Piñon mice (Peromyscus truei) were responsible for most removal of cones and seeds at both sites. We used radioactively labeled seeds to follow seed fate and found many of these seeds in scattered caches (western juniper: 415 seeds in 82 caches, 63.0% of seeds found; Utah juniper: 458 seeds in 127 caches, 39.5% of seeds found) most of which were attributed to piñon mice. We found little evidence of frugivores dispersing Utah juniper seeds, thus scatter-hoarding rodents appear to be the main dispersal agents. Western juniper cones were eaten by frugivores, and scatter-hoarding is a complimentary or secondary form of seed dispersal. Our results support the notion that Utah juniper has adapted to xeric environments by conserving water through the loss of fleshy fruits that attract frugivores and instead relies on scatter-hoarding rodents as effective dispersal agents.

Geology of Utah and Nevada by ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, M. L.

1973-01-01

Repetitive ERTS-1 imagery covering Utah and Nevada is studied as an aid in structural geology, mineral exploration, and limnological and hydrological aspects. Limnological features of algal blooms and varying biological activities in Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake are grossly evident on the imagery with more subtle details detected on the different bands. Major structural breaks, lineages, or trends are abundant throughout the area of study. The correlation of positive aeromagnetic anomalies with the trends suggests near surface intrusive bodies, not yet exposed at the surface, that can be tested for possible associated mineralization by collecting soil-gas at the surface which is analyzed for mercury that is (1) apparently associated with mineralization, (2) escapes as a vapor, and (3) can be readily measured in extremely low amounts of less than 1 ppb by absorption.

Spatial decorrelation stretch of annual (2003-2014) Daymet precipitation summaries on a 1-km grid for California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.

PubMed

Ch Miliaresis, George

2016-06-01

A method is presented for elevation (H) and spatial position (X, Y) decorrelation stretch of annual precipitation summaries on a 1-km grid for SW USA for the period 2003 to 2014. Multiple linear regression analysis of the first and second principal component (PC) quantifies the variance in the multi-temporal precipitation imagery that is explained by X, Y, and elevation (h). The multi-temporal dataset is reconstructed from the PC1 and PC2 residual images and the later PCs by taking into account the variance that is not related to X, Y, and h. Clustering of the reconstructed precipitation dataset allowed the definition of positive (for example, in Sierra Nevada, Salt Lake City) and negative (for example, in San Joaquin Valley, Nevada, Colorado Plateau) precipitation anomalies. The temporal and spatial patterns defined from the spatially standardized multi-temporal precipitation imagery provide a tool of comparison for regions in different geographic environments according to the deviation from the precipitation amount that they are expected to receive as function of X, Y, and h. Such a standardization allows the definition of less or more sensitive to climatic change regions and gives an insight in the spatial impact of atmospheric circulation that causes the annual precipitation.

Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boarman, William I.; Boarman, William I.; Beaman, K.

2002-01-01

The desert tortoise is widely distributed throughout major portions of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa. Genetic, morphological, ecological, and behavioral features suggest an evolutionary divergence between the tortoises found south and east of the Colorado River (“Sonoran population”), and those found north and west of the river (“Mojave population;” Lamb et al. 1989). The latter is the population Federally and State-listed as threatened. This population will be referred to in the remainder of this account. The majority of animals in the Mojave population occur at variable densities in six distinct population segments (i.e., evolutionarily significant units), each identified in the Recovery Plan for desert tortoises as separate Recovery Units (USFWS 1994).

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Mining and Geology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

Nevada and Utah Great Basin area, can be quickly drawn because of the paucity of known sites. The sole commercially producing area of oil and gas in...good production (in addition to oil shale, tar, sand and Gilsonite) is to be found in the Uinta Basin . Major production in Utah comes from the four...Utah crude came from these four fields. About 3,000 ni 2 (7,800 km 2 ) in the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah is underlain by oil shale 15 ft (4.5 m

THE NEVADA GEOSPATIAL DATA BROWSER: A SPATIAL DATA ARCHIVE FOR THE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL GAP ANALYSIS PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

The Southwest Regional Gap Analysis project (SWReGAP) is a 5-state (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) inter-agency program that maps the distribution of plant communities and selected animal species and compares these distributions with land stewardship to identify...

Distribution of oil and natural-gas wells in relation to ground-water flow systems in the Great Basin region of Nevada and Utah, and adjacent states

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaefer, Donald H.

1996-01-01

This map publication is one of several in a series concerning various aspects of the ground-water hydrology of the Great Basin in Nevada, Utah, and adjacent States.  One report in the series describes the hydrogeologic framework of the Great Basin (Plume and Carlton, 1988).  Another shows the ground-water levels for the aquifer systems of the Great Basin (Thomas and others, 1986).  A third report in the series describes the regional ground-water flow patterns in the Great Basin (Harrill and others, 1988).

In-State and Interstate Associations Between Gun Shows and Firearm Deaths and Injuries: A Quasi-experimental Study.

PubMed

Matthay, Ellicott C; Galin, Jessica; Rudolph, Kara E; Farkas, Kriszta; Wintemute, Garen J; Ahern, Jennifer

2017-12-19

Gun shows are an important source of firearms, but no adequately powered studies have examined whether they are associated with increases in firearm injuries. To determine whether gun shows are associated with short-term increases in local firearm injuries and whether this association differs by the state in which the gun show is held. Quasi-experimental. California. Persons in California within driving distance of gun shows. Gun shows in California and Nevada between 2005 and 2013 (n = 915 shows) and rates of firearm-related deaths, emergency department visits, and inpatient hospitalizations in California. Compared with the 2 weeks before, postshow firearm injury rates remained stable in regions near California gun shows but increased from 0.67 injuries (95% CI, 0.55 to 0.80 injuries) to 1.14 injuries (CI, 0.97 to 1.30 injuries) per 100 000 persons in regions near Nevada shows. After adjustment for seasonality and clustering, California shows were not associated with increases in local firearm injuries (rate ratio [RR], 0.99 [CI, 0.97 to 1.02]) but Nevada shows were associated with increased injuries in California (RR, 1.69 [CI, 1.16 to 2.45]). The pre-post difference was significantly higher for Nevada shows than California shows (ratio of RRs, 1.70 [CI, 1.17 to 2.47]). The Nevada association was driven by significant increases in firearm injuries from interpersonal violence (RR, 2.23 [CI, 1.01 to 4.89]) but corresponded to a small increase in absolute numbers. Nonfirearm injuries served as a negative control and were not associated with California or Nevada gun shows. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses. Firearm injuries were examined only in California, and gun show occurrence was not randomized. Gun shows in Nevada, but not California, were associated with local, short-term increases in firearm injuries in California. Differing associations for California versus Nevada gun shows may be due to California's stricter firearm regulations. National Institutes of Health; University of California, Berkeley; and Heising-Simons Foundation.

Geologic database for digital geology of California, Nevada, and Utah: an application of the North American Data Model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bedford, David R.; Ludington, Steve; Nutt, Constance M.; Stone, Paul A.; Miller, David M.; Miller, Robert J.; Wagner, David L.; Saucedo, George J.

2003-01-01

The USGS is creating an integrated national database for digital state geologic maps that includes stratigraphic, age, and lithologic information. The majority of the conterminous 48 states have digital geologic base maps available, often at scales of 1:500,000. This product is a prototype, and is intended to demonstrate the types of derivative maps that will be possible with the national integrated database. This database permits the creation of a number of types of maps via simple or sophisticated queries, maps that may be useful in a number of areas, including mineral-resource assessment, environmental assessment, and regional tectonic evolution. This database is distributed with three main parts: a Microsoft Access 2000 database containing geologic map attribute data, an Arc/Info (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California) Export format file containing points representing designation of stratigraphic regions for the Geologic Map of Utah, and an ArcView 3.2 (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California) project containing scripts and dialogs for performing a series of generalization and mineral resource queries. IMPORTANT NOTE: Spatial data for the respective stage geologic maps is not distributed with this report. The digital state geologic maps for the states involved in this report are separate products, and two of them are produced by individual state agencies, which may be legally and/or financially responsible for this data. However, the spatial datasets for maps discussed in this report are available to the public. Questions regarding the distribution, sale, and use of individual state geologic maps should be sent to the respective state agency. We do provide suggestions for obtaining and formatting the spatial data to make it compatible with data in this report. See section ‘Obtaining and Formatting Spatial Data’ in the PDF version of the report.

In-state and interstate associations between gun shows and firearm deaths and injuries: A quasi-experimental study

PubMed Central

Matthay, Ellicott C.; Galin, Jessica; Rudolph, Kara E.; Farkas, Kriszta; Wintemute, Garen; Ahern, Jennifer

2018-01-01

Background Gun shows are an important source of firearms, but no adequately powered studies have examined whether these events are associated with increases in firearm injuries. Objective To determine whether gun shows are associated with short-term increases in locally occurring firearm injuries and whether this association differs by the state in which the gun show occurs. Design Quasi-experimental. Setting California. Study Population Individuals in California within driving distance of gun shows. Measurements Gun shows in California and Nevada between 2005 and 2013 (n = 915 shows) and rates of firearm-related deaths, emergency department visits, and inpatient hospitalizations in California. Results Compared to the two weeks before gun shows occurred, post-show firearm injury rates remained stable in regions near California gun shows but increased from 0.67 (95% CI, 0.55 to 0.80) to 1.14 (95% CI, 0.97 to 1.30) per 100,000 in regions near Nevada shows. After adjustment for seasonality and clustering, California shows were not associated with increases in local firearm injuries (RR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.97 to 1.02]), but Nevada shows were associated with increases in injuries occurring in California (RR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.16 to 2.45]). The pre-post difference was significantly higher for Nevada shows compared to California shows (Ratio of RRs, 1.70 [95% CI, 1.17 to 2.47]). The Nevada association was driven by significant increases in interpersonal violence firearm injuries (RR, 2.23 [95% CI, 1.01 to 4.89), but corresponded to a small increase in absolute numbers. Non-firearm injuries served as a negative control and were not associated with California or Nevada gun shows. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses. Limitation We only examined firearm injuries in California, and gun show occurrence was not randomized. Conclusion Gun shows occurring in Nevada, but not California, are associated with local, short-term increases in firearm injuries in California. Differing associations for California versus Nevada gun shows may be due to California’s stricter firearms regulations. PMID:29059689

Stability and change in minerotrophic peatlands, Sierra Nevada of California and Nevada

Treesearch

James W. Bartolome; Don C. Erman; Charles F. Schwara

1990-01-01

Minerotrophic peatlands or fens in California's Sierra Nevada are small wet meadows surrounded by mixed conifer forest. The dynamics of vegetation change at the meadow edge and the ages and development of fens were investigated, in the Sagehen Creek Basin near Truckee, California, through the use of radiocarbon dating of peat, pollen studies, examination of...

Precision Topography of Pluvial Features in Nevada as Analogs for Possible Pluvial Landforms on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zimbelman, J. R.; Garry, W. B.; Irwin, R. P.

2009-12-01

Topographic measurements with better than 2 cm horizontal and 4 cm vertical precision were obtained for pluvial features in Nevada using a Trimble R8 Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), making use of both real-time kinematic and post-processed kinematic techniques. We collected ten transects across shorelines in the southern end of Surprise Valley, near the California border in NW Nevada, on April 15-17, 2008, plus five transects of shorelines and eight transects of a wavecut scarp in Long Valley, near the Utah border in NE Nevada, on May 5-7, 2009. Each transect consists of topographic points keyed to field notes and photographs. In Surprise Valley, the highstand shoreline was noted at 1533.4 m elevation in 8 of the 10 transects, and several prominent intermediate shorelines could be correlated between two or more transects. In Long Valley, the well preserved highstand shoreline elevation of 1908.7 m correlated (within 0.6 m) to the base of the wavecut scarp along a horizontal distance of 1.2 km. These results demonstrate that adherence to a geopotential elevation level is one of the strongest indicators that a possible shoreline feature is the result of pluvial processes, and that elevation levels of features can be clearly detected and documented with precise topographic measurements. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) is returning images of Mars that show potential shoreline features in remarkable detail (e.g., image PSP_009998_2165, 32 cm/pixel, showing a possible shoreline in NW Arabia). Our results from studying shorelines in Nevada will provide a basis for evaluating the plausibility of possible shoreline features on Mars, the implications of which are significant for the overall history of Mars.

Reduction of earthquake risk in the united states: Bridging the gap between research and practice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hays, W.W.

1998-01-01

Continuing efforts under the auspices of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program are under way to improve earthquake risk assessment and risk management in earthquake-prone regions of Alaska, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, the New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones in the central United States, the southeastern and northeastern United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and Hawaii. Geologists, geophysicists, seismologists, architects, engineers, urban planners, emergency managers, health care specialists, and policymakers are having to work at the margins of their disciplines to bridge the gap between research and practice and to provide a social, technical, administrative, political, legal, and economic basis for changing public policies and professional practices in communities where the earthquake risk is unacceptable. ?? 1998 IEEE.

Aircraft and satellite remote sensing of desert soils and landscapes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, G. W.; Connors, K. F.; Miller, D. A.; Day, R. L.; Gardner, T. W.

1987-01-01

Remote sensing data on desert soils and landscapes, obtained by the Landsat TM, Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM), Simulated SPOT, and Thermal IR Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) aboard an aircraft, are discussed together with the analytical techniques used in the studies. The TM data for southwestern Nevada were used to discriminate among the alluvial fan deposits with different degrees of desert pavement and varnish, and different vegetation cover. Thermal-IR data acquired from the HCMM satellite were used to map the spatial distribution of diurnal surface temperatures and to estimate mean annual soil temperatures in central Utah. Simulated SPOT data for northwestern New Mexico identified geomorphic features, such as differences in eolian sand cover and fluvial incision, while the TIMS data depicted surface geologic features of the Saline Valley in California.

Creating a Regional Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) for California and Nevada: Building Off of Information Gathered and Lessons Learned after 5 Years of Drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, A. M.; Marrs, A.; Wall, T. U.; Cayan, D.; Kalansky, J.; Redmond, K. T.; Huntington, J. L.; McEvoy, D.

2016-12-01

In California and Nevada, a diverse set of sectors and regional variation amidst a 5-year spell of drought presents multiple needs, gaps and challenges in providing usable available information for drought preparedness. In response to the findings of Governor Sandoval's Nevada Drought Forum and a series of stakeholder meetings and drought and climate outlooks in California, NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has created the California-Nevada DEWS to leverage the activities of the existing California DEWS to better reflect the needs of the region after five years of unprecedented drought. In addition to presenting timely drought status and outlooks, these stakeholder-oriented meetings and listening sessions explored local drought impacts and drought informational needs. The information gathered will be integrated into a strategic plan for California-Nevada DEWS. This strategic plan will provide a roadmap of planned research and activities to enhance the ability of stakeholders in the region to better plan, prepare for and mitigate the impacts of drought. The implementation will involve key partners from a diverse network of federal, regional, tribal, state and local agencies and interests and will result in regionally specific deliverables to advance the California-Nevada DEWS.

Geophysical Studies in the Vicinity of the Warner Mountains and Surprise Valley, Northeast California, Northwest Nevada, and Southern Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.; Glen, Jonathan M.G.; Egger, Anne E.; Bouligand, Claire; Watt, Janet T.; Morin, Robert L.

2009-01-01

From May 2006 to August 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected 793 gravity stations, about 102 line-kilometers of truck-towed and ground magnetometer data, and about 325 physical-property measurements in northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, and southern Oregon. Gravity, magnetic, and physical-property data were collected to study regional crustal structures and geology as an aid to understanding the geologic framework of the Surprise Valley geothermal area and, in general, geothermal systems throughout the Great Basin. The Warner Mountains and Surprise Valley mark the transition from the extended Basin and Range province to the unextended Modoc Plateau. This transition zone, in the northwestern corner of the Basin and Range, is relatively diffuse compared to other, more distinct boundaries, such as the Wasatch front in Utah and the eastern Sierran range front. In addition, this transition zone is the site of a geothermal system with potential for development, and previous studies have revealed a complex structural setting consisting of several obliquely oriented fault sets. As a result, this region has been the subject of several recent geological and geophysical investigations. The gravity and magnetic data presented here support and supplement those studies, and although the study area is composed predominantly of Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Modoc Plateau rocks, the physical properties of these and others rocks create a distinguishable pattern of gravity and magnetic anomalies that can be used to infer subsurface geologic structure.

Propagation protocol for production of Lomatium grayi (J. M. Coult. and Rose) seeds

Treesearch

Derek Tilley; Loren St. John; Dan Ogle; Nancy Shaw

2012-01-01

Gray's biscuitroot occurs in Northwest North America, primarily from the Cascade and Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. There are two populations in British Columbia, Canada where it is considered a threatened species. Seed matures in July into August. Wildland seed disarticulates...

Environmental Assessment for Nellis Air Force Range Complex Fiber Optic Line Route from Indian Springs AFAF, Clark County to Cedar Pass Facility, NAFR North Range Nye County, Nevada

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

Nevada and Southeastern California, 1985-88. US Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-422. Thordarson , W., R.A. Young, and I.J. Winograd. 1967. Records...California. Winograd, I.J. and W. Thordarson . 1975. Hydrogeologic and Hydrogeochemical Framework, South-Central Great Basin, Nevada-California, with

TEMPORAL VARIATION IN PESTICIDE LEVELS IN SURFACE WATERS OF THE SOUTHERN NEVADA, CALIFORNIA

EPA Science Inventory

We sampled surface waters in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the Sierra Nevada of California from mid June to mid October 2003. Two pesticides found commonly in previous studies of pesticides in Sierra Nevada waters, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, were found only rarely.

Empowered: Renewable energy, western states and the Bureau of Land Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buthman, James Douglas

Renewable Energy (RE) increasingly influences electrical markets throughout the United States. The public lands, those lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are being used for the placement of utility-scale (20+ Megawatts) RE facilities, particularly solar, wind, and geothermal power plants. This dissertation uses Kingdon's (1984) multiple streams theory (MS) as a framework to examine state influence on the implementation phase of the federal policy process. This is a comparative case study of four western states (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah). Three theories guide the examination of the three streams of governmental action: problems = new institutionalism; policies = cooperative federalism; and politics = networks. The research question asks: How do state governments affect the implementation phase of the federal policy process concerning the use of the public lands for utility-scale RE?

Climate effects on historical fires (1630-1900) in Utah

Treesearch

Peter M. Brown; Emily K. Heyerdahl; Stanley G. Kitchen; Marc H. Weber

2008-01-01

We inferred climate effects on fire occurrence from 1630 to 1900 for a new set of crossdated fire-scar chronologies from 18 forested sites in Utah and one site in eastern Nevada. Years with regionally synchronous fires (31 years with fire at ≥20% of sites) occurred during drier than average summers and years with no fires at any site (100 years) were wetter...

Constraining the location of the Archean--Proterozoic suture in the Great Basin based on magnetotelluric soundings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodriguez, Brian D.; Sampson, Jay A.

2012-01-01

It is important to understand whether major mining districts in north-central Nevada are underlain by Archean crust, known to contain major orogenic gold deposits, or, alternatively, by accreted crust of the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. Determining the location and orientation of the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone between the Archean crust and Mojave province is also critical because it may influence subsequent patterns of sedimentation, deformation, magmatism, and hydrothermal activity. In the Great Basin, the attitude of the suture zone is unknown because it is concealed below cover. A regional magnetotelluric sounding profile along the Utah-Nevada State line reveals a deeply penetrating, broad electrical conductor that may be the Archean-Proterozoic suture zone in the northwest corner of Utah. This major crustal conductor's strike direction is northwest, where it broadens to about 80 km wide below about 3-km depth. These results suggest that the southwestern limit of intact Archean crust in this part of the Great Basin is farther north than previously reported. These results also suggest that the major gold belts in north-central Nevada are located over the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province, and the Archean terrain lies northeast in the northwest corner of Utah. Rifted Archean crust segments south and west of the suture suggest that future mineral exploration northeast of current mineral trends may yield additional gold deposits.

Introduction

Treesearch

Peter Stine; Patricia N. Manley

2017-01-01

The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) occurs across a large portion of California, including the portion of the southern Cascade Range south of the Pit River that abuts the Sierra Nevada and throughout the Sierra Nevada, the mountains of central coastal California, and the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges of southern...

Population dynamics of the California spotted owl in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

J.A. Blakesley; M.E. Seamans; M.M. Connor; A.B. Franklin; G.C. White; R.J. Gutierrez; J.E. Hines; J.D. Nichols; T.E. Munton; D.W.H. Shaw; J.J. Keane; G.N. Steger; T.L. McDonald

2010-01-01

The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is the only spotted owl subspecies not listed as threatened or endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act despite petitions to list it as threatened. We conducted a meta-analysis of population data for 4 populations in the southern Cascades and Sierra Nevada, California,...

Floods of April-June 1952 in Utah and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wells, J.V.B.

1957-01-01

The floods of April-June 1952 in the Great Basin and in the Green River basin in Utah came as the result of the heaviest snow cover recorded, a long period of near-record subnormal temperature during March and early April, and an abrupt change to above-normal temperature that induced rapid melting.Rainfall played an insignificant part. Low- and intermediate-elevation snow melted, bringing many streams to record-high level. Large diurnal fluctuations of discharge were evident on smaller streams. The temperature remained high until mid-May. As high-elevation snow became primed for runoff, the temperature dropped enough to refreeze and alter the structure of snow cover, thus reducing the effectiveness of the subsequent melting temperature. Had there been no respite from melting temperatures much greater peak discharges would have occurred, with damage greatly exceeding that experienced. Streams remained at high levels for several weeks.Record peaks were reached on Strawberry River, lower Weber River, Ogden River, Spanish Fork, lower Provo River, and Jordan River in Utah; Humboldt River and its tributaries draining the north area of the basin in Nevada; and the central Bear River in Idaho and Wyoming. Record volumes for the water year were measured on many streams in the northcentral part of Utah, the northeastern part of Nevada, and the central part of the Bear River basin in Idaho and Wyoming. Damage in the Great Basin reached \\$10 million and in the Green River basin, more than$300,000. Two lives were lost on Ogden River. The greatest urban damage, in Salt Lake City, totaled \\$1.9 million; the greatest single damage, to Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, was \\$510,000.

SACRIFICING THE ECOLOGICAL RESOLUTION OF VEGETATION MAPS AT THE ALTAR OF THEMATIC ACCURACY: ASSESSED MAP ACCURACIES FOR HIERARCHICAL VEGETATION CLASSIFICATIONS IN THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN OF THE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL GAP ANALYSIS PROJECT (SW REGAP)

EPA Science Inventory

The Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SW ReGAP) improves upon previous GAP projects conducted in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah to provide a
consistent, seamless vegetation map for this large and ecologically diverse geographic region. Nevada's compone...

Can aspen persist in conifer dominated forests?

Treesearch

Douglas H. Page; John D. Shaw

2016-01-01

In 1998 we measured a large, old aspen in a mixed spruce-fir-aspen forest on the Utah State University T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest in northern Utah. The tree was 297 years old - about the same age as the oldest spruce in the stand. A search of the forestry literature revealed that the oldest published age for an aspen came from a tree in the Sierra Nevada Range in...

Aggregate Resources Report Department of Defense and Bureau of Land Management Lands, Southwestern United States.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-02-10

Units ................................ 28 3.0 ARIZONA -CALIFORNIA STUDY AREA ........................ 35 3.1 Summary of Aggregate Resources...CONTENTS (Cont.) Page LIST OF APPENDICES A New Mexico-Texas Study Area Data Sheets B Arizona -California Study Area Data Sheets C Nevada-California Study...3 3 Arizona -California Study Area Location Map ..... 4 4 Nevada-California Study Area Location Map ...... 5 LIST OF TABLES 1 Preliminary

Ground Water Atlas of the United States: Segment 1, California, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Planert, Michael; Williams, John S.

1995-01-01

California and Nevada compose Segment 1 of the Ground Water Atlas of the United States. Segment 1 is a region of pronounced physiographic and climatic contrasts. From the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada of northern California, where precipitation is abundant, to the Great Basin in Nevada and the deserts of southern California, which have the most arid environments in the United States, few regions exhibit such a diversity of topography or environment. Since the discovery of gold in the mid-1800's, California has experienced a population, industrial, and agricultural boom unrivaled by that of any other State. Water needs in California are very large, and the State leads the United States in agricultural and municipal water use. The demand for water exceeds the natural water supply in many agricultural and nearly all urban areas. As a result, water is impounded by reservoirs in areas of surplus and transported to areas of scarcity by an extensive network of aqueducts. Unlike California, which has a relative abundance of water, development in Nevada has been limited by a scarcity of recoverable freshwater. The Truckee, the Carson, the Walker, the Humboldt, and the Colorado Rivers are the only perennial streams of significance in the State. The individual basin-fill aquifers, which together compose the largest known ground-water reserves, receive little annual recharge and are easily depleted. Nevada is sparsely populated, except for the Las Vegas, the Reno-Sparks, and the Carson City areas, which rely heavily on imported water for public supplies. Although important to the economy of Nevada, agriculture has not been developed to the same degree as in California due, in large part, to a scarcity of water. Some additional ground-water development might be possible in Nevada through prudent management of the basin-fill aquifers and increased utilization of ground water in the little-developed carbonate-rock aquifers that underlie the eastern one-half of the State. The potential problem of withdrawals in excess of natural recharge, however, will require careful management of ground-water withdrawals.

Status of the Sierra Nevada: the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Erman, Don C.; ,

1997-01-01

The Sierra Nevada ecosystem project was requested by Congress in the Conference Report for Interior and related Agencies 1993 Appropriation Act, which authorized funds for a scientific review of the remaining old growth in the national forests of the Sierra Nevada in California, and for a study of the entire Sierra Nevada ecosystem by an independent panel of scientists, with expertise in diverse areas related to this issue. This CD-ROM is a digital version of the set of reports titled 'Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project, final report to Congress' published in paper form by the Centers for Water and Wildland Resources of the University of California, Davis.

Distribution and Climatic Relationships of the American Pika (Ochotona princeps) in the Sierra Nevada and Western Great Basin, U.S.A.; Periglacial Landforms as Refugia in Warming Climates

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall

2010-01-01

We used a rapid assessment to survey American pika (Ochotona princeps) populations and documented 420 pika site occurrences in southwestern U.S.A. These included 329 sites from the Sierra Nevada (SN), California; 67 from six southwestern Great Basin (swGB) ranges, California and Nevada; 16 from three central Great Basin ranges, Nevada; and 8 from...

Studies of the Permian Phosphoria Formation and related rocks, Great Basin-Rocky Mountain region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wardlaw, Bruce R.

1979-01-01

PART A: The transgression of the Permian Retort Phosphatic Shale Member of the Phosphoria Formation is dated by the occurrence of diagnostic brachiopods. The complex pattern of this transgression reflects the paleogeography and indicates two initial basins of deposition: one in southwestern Montana and one in southeastern Idaho. PART B: A new formation is proposed for middle Permian rocks of a transitional facies positioned laterally between the Rex Chert Member of the Phosphoria Formation in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho and the Plympton Formation in northeastern Nevada and northwestern Utah. PART C: The relationships of the Permian Park City Group to the Phosphoria and Park City Formations are clarified by the stratigraphy of four sections in northwestern Utah, northeastern Nevada, and southern Idaho. PART D: Five biostratigraphic zones based on the distribution of brachiopods and conodonts are proposed for the Park City Group. They are: the Peniculauris ivesi-Neostreptognathodus prayi Zone, the Peniculauris bassi-Neostreptognathodus sulcoplicatus Zone, the Peniculauris bassi-Neostreptognathodus sp. C Zone, the Thamnosia depressa Zone, and the Yakovlevia. multistriata-Neogondolella bitteri Zone. They range in age from Leonardian to Wordian.

Geologic application of thermal inertia imaging using HCMM data. [Walker Lane, Nevada; San Rafael, Utah; and Death Valley and Pisgah Crater, Lavic Lake Region, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahle, A. B.; Schieldge, J. P.; Abrams, M. J.; Alley, R. E.; Levine, C. J. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

Three test sites in the western US were selected to discriminate among surface geologic materials on the basis of their thermal properties as determined from HCMM data. Attempts to determine quantitatively accurate thermal inertia values from HCMM digital data met with only partial success due to the effects of sensor miscalibrations, radiative transfer in the atmosphere, and varying meteorology and elevation across a scene. In most instances, apparent thermal inertia was found to be an excellent qualitative representation of true thermal inertia. Computer processing of digital day and night HCMM data allowed construction of geologically useful images. At some test sites, more information was provided by data than LANDSAT data. Soil moisture effects and differences in spectrally dark materials were more effectively displayed using the thermal data.

Magnetic susceptibility data for some exposed bedrock in the western conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gettings, Mark E.; Bultman, Mark W.

2014-01-01

In-place rock magnetic susceptibility measurements for 746 sites in the western conterminous United States are reported in a database. Of these 746 sites, 408 sites are in the Silverton Caldera area of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Of the 408 sites in the Silverton Caldera area, 106 sites are underground. The remaining 338 sites outside the Silverton Caldera area were on outcropping rock, are distributed from southern Arizona to northwestern Wyoming, and include data from California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Rock-density measurements are included for some sites. These data have been collected by various U.S. Geological Survey studies from 1991 through 2012 and are intended to help improve geophysical modeling of the Earth’s crust in the Western United States. A map-based graphical user interface is included to facilitate use of the data.

GPS Imaging of Sierra Nevada Uplift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, W. C.; Blewitt, G.; Kreemer, C.

2015-12-01

Recent improvements in the scope and precision of GPS networks across California and Nevada have allowed for uplift of the Sierra Nevada to be observed directly. Much of the signal, in the range of 1 to 2 mm/yr, has been attributed to lithospheric scale rebound following massive groundwater withdrawal in the San Joaquin Valley in southern California, exacerbated by drought since 2011. However, natural tectonic deformation associated with long term uplift of the range may also contribute to the observed signal. We have developed new algorithms that enhance the signal of Sierra Nevada uplift and improve our ability to interpret and separate natural tectonic signals from anthropogenic contributions. We apply our new Median Interannual Difference Adjusted for Skewness (MIDAS) algorithm to the vertical times series and a inverse distance-weighted median spatial filtering and Delaunay-based interpolation to despeckle the rate map. The resulting spatially continuous vertical rate field is insensitive to outliers and steps in the GPS time series, and omits isolated features attributable to unstable stations or unrepresentative rates. The resulting vertical rate field for California and Nevada exhibits regionally coherent signals from the earthquake cycle including interseismic strain accumulation in Cascadia, postseismic relaxation of the mantle from recent large earthquakes in central Nevada and southern California, groundwater loading changes, and tectonic uplift of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges. Uplift of the Sierra Nevada extends from the Garlock Fault in the south to an indefinite boundary in the north near the latitude of Mt. Lassen to the eastern Sierra Nevada range front in Owen's Valley. The rates transition to near zero in the southern Walker Lane. The eastern boundary of uplift coincides with the highest strain rates in the western Great Basin, suggesting higher normal fault slip rates and a component of tectonic uplift of the Sierra Nevada.

MX Siting Investigation. Water Resources Program, Technical Summary Report. Volume II.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-30

Selected digital computer techniques for groundwater resource evaluation, Illinois State Water Survey, Bulletin No. 55. Robinson, B. P., Thordarson , W., and...34, American Geophysical Union Transactions, v. 16. Thordarson , W., and Robinson, B. P., 1971, Wells and springs in California and Nevada within 100... Thordarson , W., 1975, Hydrogeologic and hydro- chemical framework, south-central Great Basin, Nevada- * California, with special reference to the Nevada

Status of the White-faced Ibis: Breeding colony dynamics of the Great Basin population, 1985-1997

USGS Publications Warehouse

Earnst, S.L.; Neel, L.; Ivey, G.L.; Zimmerman, T.

1998-01-01

The status of the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) in the Great Basin is of concern because of its small population size and the limited and dynamic nature of its breeding habitat. We analyzed existing annual survey data for the White-faced Ibis breeding in the Great Basin and surrounding area for 1985-1997. Methods varied among colonies and included flight-line counts and fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter surveys. The number of White-faced Ibis breeding pairs in the Great Basin area has nearly tripled since 1985, despite years of severe flooding and drought at major breeding areas. This growth is reflected in both peripheral (i.e., Oregon, California, Idaho) and core (i.e., Nevada and Utah) components of the population. Our data on colony dynamics in Oregon and Nevada illustrate the ability of the highly nomadic White-faced Ibis to compensate for poor conditions at traditional colony sites by moving among colonies and rapidly colonizing newly available wetlands. We suggest that the White-faced Ibis would benefit from a landscape mosaic of well-distributed peripheral wetlands and persistent colony sites. The nomadic nature of the White-faced Ibis and the dynamic nature of their breeding habitat necessitates that wetland management decisions and population monitoring be conducted in a regional context.

Status of the white-faced ibis: Breeding colony dynamics of the Great Basin population, 1985-1997

USGS Publications Warehouse

Earnst, Susan L.; Neel, L.; Ivey, G.L.; Zimmerman, T.

1998-01-01

The status of the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) in the Great Basin is of concern because of its small population size and the limited and dynamic nature of its breeding habitat. We analyzed existing annual survey data for the White-faced Ibis breeding in the Great Basin and surrounding area for 1985-1997. Methods varied among colonies and included flight-line counts and fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter surveys. The number of White-faced Ibis breeding pairs in the Great Basin area has nearly tripled since 1985, despite years of severe flooding and drought at major breeding areas. This growth is reflected in both peripheral (i.e., Oregon, California, Idaho) and core (i.e., Nevada and Utah) components of the population. Our data on colony dynamics in Oregon and Nevada illustrate the ability of the highly nomadic White-faced Ibis to compensate for poor conditions at traditional colony sites by moving among colonies and rapidly colonizing newly available wetlands. We suggest that the White-faced Ibis would benefit from a landscape mosaic of well-distributed peripheral wetlands and persistent colony sites. The nomadic nature of the White-faced Ibis and the dynamic nature of their breeding habitat necessitates that wetland management decisions and population monitoring be conducted in a regional context.

Stable isotope compositions of waters in the Great Basin, United States 3. Comparison of groundwaters with modern precipitation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, G.I.; Friedman, I.; Veronda, G.; Johnson, C.A.

2002-01-01

Groundwater samples from wells and springs, scattered over most of the Great Basin province, were collected and analyzed for their isotopic makeup. They were augmented by previously published isotopic data on groundwaters from southeast California and by several hundred unpublished isotopic analyses. The ratio of 2H (deuterium, D) to 1H, in water samples from valleys in parts of California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, are here compared with the winter, summer, and annual isotopic compositions of precipitation falling in or near the sampled areas. The main goal of this study was to identify basins where the groundwaters have isotopic compositions that are "lighter" (depleted in the heavier isotope, D) relative to modern winter precipitation. Where these basins do not adjoin substantially higher terrain, we consider those light groundwaters to be of Pleistocene age and thus more than 10,000 years old. Where the groundwater is 10 to 19??? lighter than local winter precipitation, we consider it to be possibly an indication of Pleistocene water; where the ??D makeup is >20??? lighter, we consider it to be probably Pleistocene water. More than 80 sites underlain by waters of possible or probable Pleistocene age were identified.

Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise). Non-native seed dispersal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ennen, J.R.; Loughran, Caleb L.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.

2011-01-01

Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) is a non-native, highly invasive weed species of southwestern U.S. deserts. Sahara Mustard is a hardy species, which flourishes under many conditions including drought and in both disturbed and undisturbed habitats (West and Nabhan 2002. In B. Tellman [ed.], Invasive Plants: Their Occurrence and Possible Impact on the Central Gulf Coast of Sonora and the Midriff Islands in the Sea of Cortes, pp. 91–111. University of Arizona Press, Tucson). Because of this species’ ability to thrive in these habitats, B. tournefortii has been able to propagate throughout the southwestern United States establishing itself in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. Unfortunately, naturally disturbed areas created by native species, such as the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), within these deserts could have facilitated the propagation of B. tournefortii. (Lovich 1998. In R. G. Westbrooks [ed.], Invasive Plants, Changing the Landscape of America: Fact Book, p. 77. Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds [FICMNEW], Washington, DC). However, Desert Tortoises have never been directly observed dispersing Sahara Mustard seeds. Here we present observations of two Desert Tortoises dispersing Sahara Mustard seeds at the interface between the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in California.

MMI attenuation and historical earthquakes in the basin and range province of western North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bakun, W.H.

2006-01-01

Earthquakes in central Nevada (1932-1959) were used to develop a modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) attenuation model for estimating moment magnitude M for earthquakes in the Basin and Range province of interior western North America. M is 7.4-7.5 for the 26 March 1872 Owens Valley, California, earthquake, in agreement with Beanland and Clark's (1994) M 7.6 that was estimated from geologic field observations. M is 7.5 for the 3 May 1887 Sonora, Mexico, earthquake, in agreement with Natali and Sbar's (1982) M 7.4 and Suter's (2006) M 7.5, both estimated from geologic field observations. MMI at sites in California for earthquakes in the Nevada Basin and Range apparently are not much affected by the Sierra Nevada except at sites near the Sierra Nevada where MMI is reduced. This reduction in MMI is consistent with a shadow zone produced by the root of the Sierra Nevada. In contrast, MMI assignments for earthquakes located in the eastern Sierra Nevada near the west margin of the Basin and Range are greater than predicted at sites in California. These higher MMI values may result from critical reflections due to layering near the base of the Sierra Nevada.

Introduction to the special issue on the changing Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berry, Kristin H.; Murphy, R.W.; Mack, Jeremy S.; Quillman, W.

2006-01-01

The Mojave Desert, which lies between the Great Basin Desert in the north and the Sonoran Desert in the south, covers an estimated 114 478–130 464 km2 of the south-western United States and includes parts of the states of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California, with the amount of land mass dependent on the definition (Fig. 1; Rowlands et al., 1982; McNab and Avers, 1994; Bailey, 1995; Groves et al., 2000). This desert is sufficiently diverse to be subdivided into five regions: northern, south-western, central, south-central, and eastern (Rowlands et al., 1982). It is a land of extremes both in topography and climate. Elevations range from below sea level at Death Valley National Park to 3633 m on Mt. Charleston in the Spring Range of Nevada. Temperatures exhibit similar extreme ranges with mean minimum January temperatures of −2.4 °C in Beatty, Nevada and mean maximum July temperatures of 47 °C in Death Valley. Mean annual precipitation varies throughout the regions (42–350 mm), is highest on mountain tops, but overall is low (Rowlands et al., 1982; Rowlands, 1995a). The distribution of precipitation varies from west to east and north to south, with >85% of rain falling in winter in the northern, south-western and south-central regions. In contrast, the central and eastern regions receive a substantial amount of precipitation in both winter and summer. The variability in topographic and climatic features contributes to regional differences in vegetation.

Ground-water modeling of the Death Valley Region, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Belcher, W.R.; Faunt, C.C.; Sweetkind, D.S.; Blainey, J.B.; San Juan, C. A.; Laczniak, R.J.; Hill, M.C.

2006-01-01

The Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) of southern Nevada and eastern California covers an area of about 100,000 square kilometers and contains very complex geology and hydrology. Using a computer model to represent the complex system, the U.S. Geological Survey simulated ground-water flow in the Death Valley region for use with U.S. Department of Energy projects in southern Nevada. The model was created to help address contaminant cleanup activities associated with the underground nuclear testing conducted from 1951 to 1992 at the Nevada Test Site and to support the licensing process for the proposed geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

Meta-analysis of California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) territory occupancy in the Sierra Nevada: habitat associations and their implications for forest management

Treesearch

Douglas J. Tempel; John J. Keane; R. J. Gutierrez; Jared D. Wolfe; Gavin M. Jones; Alexander Koltunov; Carlos M. Ramirez; William J. Berigan; Claire V. Gallagher; Thomas E. Munton; Paula A. Shaklee; Sheila A. Whitmore; M. Zachariah Peery

2016-01-01

We assessed the occupancy dynamics of 275 California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) territories in 4 study areas in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, from 1993 to 2011. We used Landsat data to develop maps of canopy cover for each study area, which we then used to quantify annual territory-specific habitat...

40 CFR Table W - 1D of Subpart W of Part 98-Designation Of Eastern And Western U.S.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Montana Ohio Nebraska Pennsylvania Nevada Rhode Island New Mexico South Carolina North Dakota Tennessee Oklahoma Vermont Oregon Virginia South Dakota West Virginia Texas Wisconsin Utah Washington Wyoming ...

40 CFR Table W - 1D of Subpart W of Part 98-Designation Of Eastern And Western U.S.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Montana Ohio Nebraska Pennsylvania Nevada Rhode Island New Mexico South Carolina North Dakota Tennessee Oklahoma Vermont Oregon Virginia South Dakota West Virginia Texas Wisconsin Utah Washington Wyoming ...

Spatial Patterns of Atmospherically Deposited Organic Contaminants at High Elevation in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

EPA Science Inventory

Atmospherically deposited contaminants in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California have been implicated as adversely affecting amphibians and fish, yet the distributions of contaminants within the mountains are poorly known, particularly at high elevation. We tested the hypothe...

Spatial Patterns of Atmospherically Deposited Organic Contaminants at High Elevation in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

EPA Science Inventory

Atmospherically deposited contaminants in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California have been implicated as a factor adversely affecting biological resources such as amphibians and fish, yet the distributions of contaminants within the mountains are poorly known, particularly at...

Effects of moisture on ignition behavior of moist California chaparral and Utah leaves

Treesearch

Thomas H. Fletcher; Brent M. Pickett; Steven G. Smith; Gregory S. Spittle; Megan M. Woodhouse; Elizabeth Haake; David R. Weise

2007-01-01

Individual cuttings from eight plant species native to California chaparral or Utah were burned in a well-controlled, well-instrumented facility. Gas temperatures above a flat-flame burner were controlled at 987 ± 12°C and 10 ± 0.5 mol% O2, resulting in a heat flux at the leaf surface varying from 80-140 kw/m2. High...

76 FR 19003 - Land Disposal Restrictions: Nevada and California; Site Specific Treatment Variances for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-06

... both a site-specific treatment variance to U.S. Ecology Nevada (USEN) located in Beatty, Nevada and... site-specific treatment variance to U.S. Ecology Nevada (USEN) located in Beatty, Nevada and withdraw... section of this document. II. Does this action apply to me? This proposal applies only to U. S. Ecology...

44 CFR 206.48 - Factors considered when evaluating a Governor's request for a major disaster declaration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... assistance under the Stafford Act, these are the primary factors in making a recommendation to the President... Hampshire, Nevada, Maine, New Mexico, Nebraska, Utah, West Virginia. U.S. Virgin Islands and all Pacific...

76 FR 44985 - Pipeline Safety: Potential for Damage to Pipeline Facilities Caused by Flooding

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-27

... Bulletin. SUMMARY: PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to all owners and operators of gas and hazardous..., Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, call 720-963-3160. Intrastate pipeline operators should... failure near [[Page 44986

10 CFR Appendix B to Part 600 - Audit Report Distributees

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin. Distributee: Manager..., Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington...

Mapping thermal maturity in the Chainman shale, near Eureka, Nevada, with Landsat Thematic Mapper images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rowan, L.C.; Pawlewicz, M.J.; Jones, O.D.

1992-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between measurements of organic matter (OM) maturity and laboratory measurements of visible and near-infrared spectral reflectance, and if Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images could be used to map maturity. The maturity of Mississippian Chainman Shale samples collected in east-central Nevada and west-central Utah was determined by using vitrinite reflectance and Rock-Eval pyrolysis. TM 4/TM 5 values correspond well to vitrinite reflectance and hydrogen index variations, and therefore this ratio was used to evaluate a TM image of the Eureka, Nevada, area for mapping thermal maturity differences in the Chainman Shale. -from Authors

76 FR 30377 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews of Species in California, Nevada...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-25

... classification requires a separate rulemaking process. In classifying, we use the following definitions, from 50... process. Table 2--Summary of 32 Species in California and Nevada for Which 5-Year Reviews Were Completed...) 431- 9440. San Joaquin woolly-threads...... Monolopia No status change.. Sacramento........ Josh Hull...

Back to the Basics: Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada--Spatial Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handley, Lawrence R.; Lockwood, Catherine M.; Handley, Nathan

2006-01-01

"Back to the Basics: South Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada" continues the series of exercises on teaching foundational map reading and spatial differentiation skills. It is the third published exercise from the Back to the Basics series developed by the Wetland Education through Maps and Aerial Photography (WETMAAP) Program. The current…

Meadows in the Sierra Nevada of California: state of knowledge

Treesearch

Raymond D. Ratliff

1985-01-01

This state-of-knowledge report summarizes the best available information on maintenance, restoration, and management of meadows of the Sierra Nevada, California. Major topics discussed include how to classify meadows, meadow soils, productivity of meadows, management problems, and how to evaluate range conditions and trends. Current methods and standards are reviewed,...

Native Americans of California and Nevada. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Jack D.

This book is designed to provide an introductory synthesis of the history and sociocultural evolution of Native American peoples in the Far West, with strong emphasis on California and Nevada. The book focuses particularly on those historical and cultural experiences likely to have contributed to the present conditions of Native communities and…

EXPOSURE OF AMPHIBIANS TO SEMI-VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS AND CALIFORNIA CASCADES: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TADPOLE TISSUE AND SEDIMENT CONCENTRATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Pesticides and other semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs) undergo regional and longrange atmospheric transport. One such example is the transport of current-use pesticides from the intensely cultivated Central Valley of California into the adjacent Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mou...

Airborne Pesticides as an Unlikely Cause for Population Declines of Alpine Frogs in the Sierra Nevada, California

EPA Science Inventory

Airborne pesticides from the Central Valley of California have been implicated as a cause for population declines of several amphibian species, with the strongest evidence for the mountain yellow-legged frog complex (Rana muscosa and R. sierrae) in the Sierra Nevada. We measured...

Wildfire impacts on California spotted owl nesting habitat in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Scott L. Stephens; Jay D. Miller; Brandon M. Collins; Malcolm P. North; John J. Keane; Susan L. Roberts

2016-01-01

California spotted owls (CSOs) (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) have received significant conservation attention beginning with the U.S. Forest Service interim management guidelines in 1992. The most commonly reported forest habitat feature for successful nesting habitat of CSO is canopy cover > 70%. Loss and degradation of Sierra Nevada CSO habitat, however,...

Current and projected condition of mid-elevation Sierra Nevada forests

Treesearch

Malcolm P. North; Mark W. Schwartz; Brandon M. Collins; John J. Keane

2017-01-01

Most of the California spotted owl’s (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) habitat is concentrated in mid-elevation forests of the Sierra Nevada (see chapter 9 for a discussion of southern California spotted owls and their habitat), which are made up primarily of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson), mixed-...

76 FR 18921 - Land Disposal Restrictions: Nevada and California; Site Specific Treatment Variances for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-06

... final actions to both issue a site- specific treatment variance to U.S. Ecology Nevada (USEN) in Beatty... me? This action applies only to U.S. Ecology Nevada located in Beatty, Nevada and to Chemical Waste... This Variance A. U.S. Ecology Nevada Petition B. What Type and How Much Waste Will be Subject to This...

Interest focuses on exploratory areas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stremel, K.

1984-10-01

Speculative geophysical programs are underway in sparsely drilled areas throughout the southern Rocky Mountain region. Responding to significant operator interest generated by new production in Nevada, a few contractors are designing programs to establish optimum recording parameters. Geophysical exploration activities in Colorado and Utah are discussed.

12 CFR 4.5 - District and field offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont..., Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Guam... Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The office address and the geographical...

12 CFR 4.5 - District and field offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont..., Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Guam... Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The office address and the geographical...

12 CFR 4.5 - District and field offices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont..., Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and Guam... Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The office address and the geographical...

Environmental Impact Statement, Establishment of the Gandy Range Extension and Adjacent Restricted Airspace as an Area for Supersonic Flight Training, Hill AFB, Utah

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-03

years, there have been noise complaintn centering out of the Montello, Nevada and Park Valley, Utah areas, There has been alleged damage to chicken ...of mink to sonic booms does not affect reproduction. 4. All eýxperisental evidence to date indicates that the exposure of chicken eggs to sonic booms...structural response to sonic boom overpressure. The most intens-ive test was conducted at White Sands, New Mexico , where 21 structures of various design

Novel Geothermal Development of Deep Sedimentary Systems in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moore, Joseph; Allis, Rick

Economic and reservoir engineering models show that stratigraphic reservoirs have the potential to contribute significant geothermal power in the U.S. If the reservoir temperature exceeds about 150 – 200 °C at 2 – 4 km depth, respectively, and there is good permeability, then these resources can generate power with a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of close to 10 ¢/kWh (without subsidies) on a 100 MW power plant scale. There is considerable evidence from both groundwater geology and petroleum reservoir geology that relatively clean carbonates and sandstones have, and can sustain, the required high permeability to depths of at leastmore » 5 km. This paper identifies four attractive stratigraphic reservoir prospects which are all located in the eastern Great Basin, and have temperatures of 160 – 230 °C at 3 – 3.5 km depth. They are the Elko basins (Nevada), North Steptoe Valley (Nevada), Pavant Butte (Utah), and the Idaho Thrust Belt. The reservoir lithologies are Paleozoic carbonates in the first three, and Jurassic sandstone and carbonate in the Idaho Thrust Belt. All reservoir lithologies are known to have high permeability characteristics. At North Steptoe Valley and Pavant Butte, nearby transmission line options allow interconnection to the California power market. Modern techniques for drilling and developing tight oil and gas reservoirs are expected to have application to geothermal development of these reservoirs.« less

Central Basin and Range Ecoregion: Chapter 20 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soulard, Christopher E.

2012-01-01

This chapter has been modified from original material published in Soulard (2006), entitled “Land-cover trends of the Central Basin and Range Ecoregion” (U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5288). The Central Basin and Range Ecoregion (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997) encompasses approximately 343,169 km² (132,498 mi2) of land bordered on the west by the Sierra Nevada Ecoregion, on the east by the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Ecoregion, on the north by the Northern Basin and Range and the Snake River Basin Ecoregions, and on the south by the Mojave Basin and Range and the Colorado Plateaus Ecoregions (fig. 1). Most of the Central Basin and Range Ecoregion is located in Nevada (65.4 percent) and Utah (25.1 percent), but small segments are also located in Idaho (5.6 percent), California (3.7 percent), and Oregon (0.2 percent). Basin-and-range topography characterizes the Central Basin and Range Ecoregion: wide desert valleys are bordered by parallel mountain ranges generally oriented northsouth. There are more than 33 peaks within the Central Basin and Range Ecoregion that have summits higher than 3,000 m (10,000 ft), but valleys in the ecoregion are also high, most having elevations above 1,200 m (4,000 ft) (Grayson, 1993).

Groundwater quality in the Central Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Two small watersheds of the Fresno and San Joaquin Rivers in the Central Sierra Nevada constitute one of the study units being evaluated.

Groundwater quality in the Southern Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California's drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State's groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The Tehachapi-Cummings Valley and Kern River Valley basins and surrounding watersheds in the Southern Sierra Nevada constitute one of the study units being evaluated.

Forecasting conditional climate-change using a hybrid approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Esfahani, Akbar Akbari; Friedel, Michael J.

2014-01-01

A novel approach is proposed to forecast the likelihood of climate-change across spatial landscape gradients. This hybrid approach involves reconstructing past precipitation and temperature using the self-organizing map technique; determining quantile trends in the climate-change variables by quantile regression modeling; and computing conditional forecasts of climate-change variables based on self-similarity in quantile trends using the fractionally differenced auto-regressive integrated moving average technique. The proposed modeling approach is applied to states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) in the southwestern U.S., where conditional forecasts of climate-change variables are evaluated against recent (2012) observations, evaluated at a future time period (2030), and evaluated as future trends (2009–2059). These results have broad economic, political, and social implications because they quantify uncertainty in climate-change forecasts affecting various sectors of society. Another benefit of the proposed hybrid approach is that it can be extended to any spatiotemporal scale providing self-similarity exists.

NASA Ames DEVELOP Interns: Helping the Western United States Manage Natural Resources One Project at a Time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justice, Erin; Newcomer, Michelle

2010-01-01

The western half of the United States is made up of a number of diverse ecosystems ranging from arid desert to coastal wetlands and rugged forests. Every summer for the past 7 years students ranging from high school to graduate level gather at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) as part of the DEVELOP Internship Program. Under the guidance of Jay Skiles [Ames Research Center (ARC) - Ames DEVELOP Manager] and Cindy Schmidt [ARC/San Jose State University Ames DEVELOP Coordinator] they work as a team on projects exploring topics including: invasive species, carbon flux, wetland restoration, air quality monitoring, storm visualizations, and forest fires. The study areas for these projects have been in Washington, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska and California. Interns combine data from NASA and partner satellites with models and in situ measurements to complete prototype projects demonstrating how NASA data and resources can help communities tackle their Earth Science related problems.

Extensive Fires in the Western U.S.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The summer of 2000 is shaping up to be the worst U.S. fire season in four years. On July 27, 2000, fires were burning in Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California. The Mesa Verde fire has threatened some prehistoric archeological sites. Ironically, other sites have been unearthed as vegetation was burned away by the fire and as firefighters dug trenches to serve as firebreaks. In a bizarre coincidence, one of the fires came close to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the third nuclear site affected by fire this year. This image from GOES 11, the newest NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), shows smoke plumes and heat signatures (red) from many of fires in the western United States on the evening of July 27. For current GOES images and more information, visit the GOES Project Science page. Marit Jentoft-Nilsen and Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC, based on data provided by NOAA

An engineering rock classification to evaluate seismic rock-fall susceptibility and its application to the Wasatch Front

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harp, E.L.; Noble, M.A.

1993-01-01

Investigations of earthquakes world wide show that rock falls are the most abundant type of landslide that is triggered by earthquakes. An engineering classification originally used in tunnel design, known as the rock mass quality designation (Q), was modified for use in rating the susceptibility of rock slopes to seismically-induced failure. Analysis of rock-fall concentrations and Q-values for the 1980 earthquake sequence near Mammoth Lakes, California, defines a well-constrained upper bound that shows the number of rock falls per site decreases rapidly with increasing Q. Because of the similarities of lithology and slope between the Eastern Sierra Nevada Range near Mammoth Lakes and the Wasatch Front near Salt Lake City, Utah, the probabilities derived from analysis of the Mammoth Lakes region were used to predict rock-fall probabilities for rock slopes near Salt Lake City in response to a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. These predicted probabilities were then used to generalize zones of rock-fall susceptibility. -from Authors

Southwest Project: resource/institutional requirements analysis. Volume III. Systems integration studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ormsby, L. S.; Sawyer, T. G.; Brown, Dr., M. L.

The purpose of this project is to provide information to DOE which can be used to establish its plans for accelerated commercialization and market penetration of solar electric generating plants in the southwestern region of the United States. The area of interest includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and sections of Oklahoma and Texas. The system integration study establishes the investment that utilities could afford to make in solar thermal, photovoltaic, and wind energy systems, and to assess the sensitivity of the break-even cost to critical variables including fuel escalation rates, fixed charge rates, load growth rates, cloudmore » cover, number of sites, load shape, and energy storage. This information will be used as input to Volume IV, Institutional Studies, one objective of which will be to determine the incentives required to close the gap between the break-even investment for the utilities of the Southwest and the estimated cost of solar generation.« less

Sierra Nevada Mountain Range as seen from STS-58

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-10-20

STS058-72-004 (18 Oct-1 Nov 1993) --- The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range can be seen in this north-looking high oblique view taken in October, 1993, by the STS-58 crew. Visible in the view to the west of the Sierra Nevada are the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys of central California. The San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area can be seen to the west of the valley at the extreme left of the photograph. To the east or right of the Sierra Nevada, the basin and Range Region of central and northern Nevada is visible. Mono Lake, Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake are also visible in this scene. The long northwest/southeast trending Walker Lane Shear Zone, which lies just to the east (right) of the Sierra Nevada is also visible. Near the top of the view (near the horizon), the snow covered volcanic peak Mount Shasta can be seen. Over 645 kilometers (400 miles) long and from 65 to 130 kilometers (40 to 80 miles) wide, the Sierra Nevada have many peaks in excess of 3,300 meters (11,000 feet) above sea level. A titled fault block in structure (the largest in the United States) and shaped by glaciers during the last ice age over 12,000 years ago, the Sierra Nevada eastern front rises sharply from the Great Basin of Nevada, while its western slope descends gradually to the hills bordering the Central Valley of California. Snow-fed streams supply much of the irrigation water to the Central Valley and to western Nevada and also generate hydroelectricity. Recent above normal precipitation (snowfall) of the last two years has helped in alleviating the drought conditions that had prevailed throughout most of California in the mid and late 1980's and early 1990's.

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Idaho Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter C in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lund, Karen; Zürcher, Lukas; Hofstra, Albert H.; Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Benson, Mary Ellen; Box, Stephen E.; Anderson, Eric D.; Bleiwas, Donald I.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Drake, Ronald M.; Fernette, Gregory L.; Giles, Stuart A.; Glen, Jonathan M. G.; Haacke, Jon E.; Horton, John D.; John, David A.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Rockwell, Barnaby W.; San Juan, Carma A.; Shaffer, Brian N.; Smith, Steven M.; Williams, Colin F.

2016-10-04

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpose of the proposed action is to protect the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and its habitat from potential adverse effects of locatable mineral exploration and mining. The U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA) project was initiated in November 2015 and supported by the Bureau of Land Management to (1) assess locatable mineral-resource potential and (2) to describe leasable and salable mineral resources for the seven SFAs and Nevada additions.This chapter summarizes the current status of locatable, leasable, and salable mineral commodities and assesses the potential of locatable minerals in the North-Central Idaho SFA, which extends from east-central to south-central Idaho. The geologically complex area is composed of many different rock units that locally contain potential mineral resources.

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Montana Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter D in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mauk, Jeffrey L.; Zientek, Michael L.; Hearn, B. Carter; Parks, Heather L.; Jenkins, M. Christopher; Anderson, Eric D.; Benson, Mary Ellen; Bleiwas, Donald I.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Denning, Paul; Dicken, Connie L.; Drake, Ronald M.; Fernette, Gregory L.; Folger, Helen W.; Giles, Stuart A.; Glen, Jonathan M. G.; Granitto, Matthew; Haacke, Jon E.; Horton, John D.; Kelley, Karen D.; Ober, Joyce A.; Rockwell, Barnaby W.; San Juan, Carma A.; Sangine, Elizabeth S.; Schweitzer, Peter N.; Shaffer, Brian N.; Smith, Steven M.; Williams, Colin F.; Yager, Douglas B.

2016-10-04

SummaryThe U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A). The purpose of the proposed action is to protect the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and its habitat from potential adverse effects of locatable mineral exploration and mining. The U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA) project was initiated in November 2015 and supported by the Bureau of Land Management to (1) assess locatable mineral-resource potential and (2) to describe leasable and salable mineral resources for the seven SFAs and Nevada additions.This chapter summarizes the current status of locatable, leasable, and salable mineral commodities and assesses the potential of locatable minerals in the North-Central Montana SFA. The proposed withdrawal area that is evaluated in this report is located in north-central Montana, and includes parts of Fergus, Petroleum, Phillips, and Valley Counties.

17 CFR 140.2 - Regional office-regional coordinators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina... at 140 Broadway, New York, New York, 10005 and is responsible for enforcement of the Act and..., Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and...

17 CFR 140.2 - Regional office-regional coordinators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

..., Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina... at 140 Broadway, New York, New York, 10005 and is responsible for enforcement of the Act and..., Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and...

17 CFR 140.2 - Regional office-regional coordinators.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina... at 140 Broadway, New York, New York, 10005 and is responsible for enforcement of the Act and..., Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and...

36 CFR 254.20 - Purpose and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... lands in Federal ownership. Indigenous community objectives may include space for housing and for... application, set aside and designate for townsite purposes up to 640 acres of National Forest System lands..., Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (b) National Forest System lands...

7 CFR 319.56-21 - Okra from certain countries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District...) Importations into areas south of the 38th parallel that are not pink bollworm generally infested or suppressive..., Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or...

Application of standard photogeologic techniques to LANDSAT imagery for mineral exploration in the basin and range province of Utah and Nevada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lattman, L. H. (Principal Investigator)

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Standard photogeologic techniques were applied to LANDSAT imagery of the basin and range province of Utah and Nevada to relate linear, tonal, textural, drainage, and geomorphic features to known mineralized areas in an attempt to develop criteria for the location of mineral deposits. No consistent correlation was found between lineaments, mapped according to specified criteria, and locations of mines, mining districts, or intrusive outcrops. Tonal and textural patterns were more closely related to geologic outcrop patterns than to mineralization. A statistical study of drainage azimuths of various length classes as measured on LANDSAT showed significant correlation with mineralized districts in the length class of 3-6 km. Alignments of outcrops of basalt, a rock type highly visible on LANDSAT imagery, appear to be colinear with acidic and intermediate intrusive centers in some areas and may assist on the recognition of regional fracture systems for mineral exploration.

Cordilleran hingeline: Late Precambrian rifted margin of the North American craton and its impact on the depositional and structural history, Utah and Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picha, Frank; Gibson, Richard I.

1985-07-01

The structural pattern set by late Precambrian rifting and fragmentation of the North American continent is apparent in both sedimentary and tectonic trends in western Utah and eastern Nevada. The late Precambrian cratonic margin (Cordilleran hingeline) displays several prominent structural features, such as the Wasatch and Ancient Ephraim faults, Fillmore arch and northeast-trending lineaments, which were repeatedly reactivated as structural uplifts, ramps, strike-slip faults, and extensional detachments. The renewed activity affected, among others, the geometry of the late Paleozoic Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplifts and basins, the extent of the Jurassic Arapien basin, the sedimentary pattern of the Cretaceous foreland basin, the geometry of the Sevier orogenic belt, and the extent and type of Basin-and-Range extensional tectonics. The rifted cratonic margin has thus remained a major influence on regional structures long after rifting has ceased. *Present address: Everest Geotech, 10101 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Eastern Great Basin Province, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Eastern Great Basin Province of eastern Nevada, western Utah, southeastern Idaho, and northwestern Arizona. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and three assessment units. All three assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

National Uranium Resource Evaluation: Wells Quadrangle, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Proffitt, J.L.; Mayerson, D.L.; Parker, D.P.

1982-08-01

The Wells 2/sup 0/ Quadrangle, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah, was evaluated using National Uranium Resource Evaluation criteria to delineate areas favorable for uranium deposits. Our investigation has resulted in the delineation of areas that contain Tertiary sedimentary rocks favorable for hydroallogenic deposits in the Mountain City area (Favorable Area A) and in the Oxley Peak area north of Wells (Favorable Area B). Environments considered to be unfavorable for uranium deposits include Tertiary felsic volcanic, felsic plutonic, intermediate to mafic volcanic, Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, Precambrian rocks, and most Tertiary sedimentary rocks located outside the favorable areas. Present-day basins aremore » unevaluated environments because of a paucity of adequate outcrop and subsurface data. However, the scarce data indicate that some characteristics favorable for uranium deposits are present in the Susie Creek-Tule Valley-Wild Horse basin, the Contact-Granite Range-Tijuana John stocks area, the Charleston Reservoir area, and the Wells-Marys River basin.« less

Aviation Turbine Fuels from Tar Sands Bitumen and Heavy Oils. Part 1. Process Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-09-01

Uinta Basin .......................too.... 11 b . Asphalt Ridge ........................ 13 c.* Tar Sand Triangle ..... to .. .. . .. .. . 15 e...Estimated ............**..* 7 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF UTAH’S MAJOR TAR SANDS ....... 12 4 UINTA BASIN DEPOSITS ................... *........ 13 *.5 UINTA ...7 UINTA BASIN , UTAH PROPERTIES -SUNNYSIDE ........ 20 8 UINTA BASIN , UTAH PROPERTIES -P. R. SPRINGS . 22 r9 ESTIMATED CALIFORNIA TAR SAND DISTRIBUTION

Airborne Fraunhofer line discriminator (FLD) luminescence imaging systems and its application to exploration problems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Watson, Robert D.; Theisen, Arnold F.; Hemphill, William R.; Barringer, Anthony R.

1980-01-01

Experiments with an imaging airborne Fraunhofer line discriminator (FLD) are being conducted to establish the feasibility of delineating the areal extent of luminescent materials on the earth's surface from aircraft and spacecraft. All luminescence measurements are related to a standard set of conditions with rhodamine wt dye used as a reference standard. The FLD has a minimum detectable rhodamine wt concentration of 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5.0. Luminescence, when expressed in a signal-to-noise ratio (R) is related to equivalent ppb rhodamine wt through the relationship ppb=(0.1R-0.4). Luminescent materials imaged from an aircraft altitude of approximately 2400 m above terrain include fluorite in association with molybdenum, Pinenut Mountains, Nevada (R=62.0); mineralized playas, Claunch, New Mexico (R=960.0); uranium and vanadium-bearing outcrops, Big Indian Valley, Utah (R=105.0); uranophane sandstones, Sandia Mountains, New Mexico (R=60.0); phosphate outcrops, Pine Mountain, California (R=76.0); and marine oil slicks, Santa Barbara Channel, California (R=24.0). Correlation between the amount of fluorite in the rocks and soils of the Pinenut Mountains and luminescence, measured by the FLD, is as high as 0.88 at the 95 percent confidence level.

Habitat modeling and movements of the Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus (=Bufo) canorus) in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

C.T. Liang

2010-01-01

The Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus (=Bufo) canorus) is a high-elevation species endemic to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and is part of the world-wide amphibian declines phenomenon. The toad is thought to have disappeared from over 50% of its historic range even in seemingly undisturbed areas, and...

Using epiphytic macrolichen communities for biomonitoring ammonia in forests of the greater Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Sarah Jovan; Bruce Mccune

2006-01-01

Chronic, excessive nitrogen deposition is potentially an important ecological threat to forests of the greater Sierra Nevada in California. We developed a model for ammonia bioindication, a major nitrogen pollutant in the region, using epiphytic macrolichens. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling to extract gradients in lichen community composition from surveys...

Ozone, nitric acid, and ammonia air pollution is unhealthy for people and ecosystems in southern Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

R. Cisneros; A. Bytnerowicz; D. Schweizer; S. Zhong; S. Traina; D.H. Bennett

2010-01-01

Two-week average concentrations of ozone (O3), nitric acid vapor (HNO3) and ammonia (NH3) were measured with passive samplers during the 2002 summer season across the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, along the San Joaquin River drainage. Elevated concentrations of the pollutants were...

Thermal regimes and snowpack relations of periglacial talus slopes, Sierra Nevada, California, USA.

Treesearch

Constance I Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany

2014-01-01

Thermal regimes of eight periglacial talus slopes, at contrasting elevations, aspects, and substrates, in the Sierra Nevada, California, had complex microclimatic patterns partially decoupled from external conditions. Over three years, warm seasons showed mean talus matrix temperatures and daily variances lower than surfaces and cooler than free-air; talus surface and...

Isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, D.A.; Blakely, R.J.; Morin, R.L.; Mankinen, E.A.

2001-01-01

An isostatic gravity map of the Death Valley groundwater model area was prepared from over 40,0000 gravity stations as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy to help characterize the geology and hydrology of southwest Nevada and parts of California.

Thinning – a tool for restoration of California's Southern Sierra Nevada blue oak woodlands

Treesearch

Richard B. Standiford; Ralph L. Phillips; Neil K. McDougald

2015-01-01

Fire frequency on a blue oak (Quercus douglasii) dominated rangeland in California's southern Sierra Nevada foothills was approximately every 10 years until 1965, followed by a 30 year period of fire exclusion. This resulted in a dense tree overstory with small diameters, high crown cover, poor acorn and forage production, and limited...

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Wilderness and Significant Natural Areas.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

National Forest in northeastern Nevada, and Lone Peak in the Uinta and Wasatch National Forest of central Utah. Each of these areas is more than 60 miles...natural landmarks was obtained from a compre- hensive study of the Great Basin (Bostick et al., 1975) and updated with information from DNL and Nevada...Montains~ 0 ALM :Battle Mtns) 35rks 42.000 .4% 53 I-- Iee -A~IMI Ditrc 10- - - 57 Se"lpeSes - - --- se Midle Img ie. Sle on. - --- 122 Gas . Fairvie

As the raven flies: using genetic data to infer the history of invasive common raven (Corvus corax) populations in the Mojave Desert.

PubMed

Fleischer, Robert C; Boarman, William I; Gonzalez, Elena G; Godinez, Alvaro; Omland, Kevin E; Young, Sarah; Helgen, Lauren; Syed, Gracia; McIntosh, Carl E

2008-01-01

Common raven (Corvus corax) populations in Mojave Desert regions of southern California and Nevada have increased dramatically over the past five decades. This growth has been attributed to increased human development in the region, as ravens have a commensal relationship with humans and feed extensively at landfills and on road-killed wildlife. Ravens, as a partially subsidized predator, also represent a problem for native desert wildlife, in particular threatened desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). However, it is unclear whether the more than 15-fold population increase is due to in situ population growth or to immigration from adjacent regions where ravens have been historically common. Ravens were sampled for genetic analysis at several local sites within five major areas: the West Mojave Desert (California), East Mojave Desert (southern Nevada), southern coastal California, northern coastal California (Bay Area), and northern Nevada (Great Basin). Analyses of mtDNA control region sequences reveal an increased frequency of raven 'Holarctic clade' haplotypes from south to north inland, with 'California clade' haplotypes nearly fixed in the California populations. There was significant structuring among regions for mtDNA, with high F(ST) values among sampling regions, especially between the Nevada and California samples. Analyses of eight microsatellite loci reveal a mostly similar pattern of regional population structure, with considerably smaller, but mostly significant, values. The greater mtDNA divergences may be due to lower female dispersal relative to males, lower N(e), or effects of high mutation rates on maximal values of F(ST). Analyses indicate recent population growth in the West Mojave Desert and a bottleneck in the northern California populations. While we cannot rule out in situ population growth as a factor, patterns of movement inferred from our data suggest that the increase in raven populations in the West Mojave Desert resulted from movements from southern California and the Central Valley. Ravens in the East Mojave Desert are more similar to ones from northern Nevada, indicating movement between those regions. If this interpretation of high gene flow into the Mojave Desert is correct, then efforts to manage raven numbers by local control may not be optimally effective.

30 CFR 947.701 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false General. 947.701 Section 947.701 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE..., Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona, the Eagle Pass field in Texas, and the...

77 FR 12553 - Sunshine Act Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-01

... Discussion on Agency Staffing V. State Advisory Committee Issues: Review of two Hawaii SAC applicants Re-chartering the Indiana SAC Re-chartering the District of Columbia SAC Re-chartering the Utah SAC Re-chartering the Maine SAC Re-chartering the Nevada SAC VI. Adjourn Meeting CONTACT PERSON FOR FURTHER...

Seismicity and recent faulting in eastern California and western and central Nevada: A preliminary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdel-Gawad, M. (Principal Investigator); Silverstein, J.; Tubbesing, L.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. ERTS-1 imagery covering the eastern California-Nevada seismic belt were utilized to study the fault pattern in relation to the distribution of earthquake epicenters and Quaternary volcanic rocks. Many suspected faults not previously mapped were identified. These include several suspected shear zones in Nevada, faults showing evidence of recent breakage, and major lineaments. Highly seismic areas are generally characterized by Holocene faulting and Quaternary volcanic activity. However, several major fault segments showing evidence of recent breakage are associated with little or no seismicity. The tectonic pattern strongly suggests that the eastern California-Nevada seismic belt coincides with a major crustal rift associated with zones of lateral shear. New data on potentially active fault zones have direct practical applications in national and local earthquake hazard reduction programs. Positive contacts have been made with Kern and Ventura Counties to make results of this investigation available for application to their earthquake hazards definition projects.

Species Composition and Habitat Associations of Benthic Algal Assemblages in Headwater Streams of the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Larry R. Brown; Jason T. May; Carolyn T. Hunsaker

2008-01-01

Despite their trophic importance and potential importance as bioindicators of stream condition, benthic algae have not been well studied in California. In particular there are few studies from small streams in the Sierra Nevada. The objective of this study was to determine the standing crop of chlorophyll-a and benthic algal species assemblages...

Riparian and upland vegetation on the Kings River Experimental Watershed, Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Christopher R. Dolanc; Carolyn T. Hunsaker

2007-01-01

The Kings River Experimental Watershed (KREW) is a watershed-level study on headwater streams in the Sierra Nevada, California. Eight perennial streams, from 1500 m (4920 ft) to 2490 m (8170 ft) elevation, have been instrumented and collecting data since 2002. Component research areas of the study include stream flow, water chemistry, sediment, soil chemistry, stream...

Map showing depth to pre-Cenozoic basement in the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blakely, R.J.; Ponce, D.A.

2001-01-01

A depth to basement map of the Death Valley groundwater model area was prepared using over 40,0000 gravity stations as part of an interagency effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of Energy to help characterize the geology and hydrology of southwest Nevada and parts of California.

Canopy arthropod responses to thinning and burning treatments in old-growth mixed-conifer forest in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Thomas Rambo; Timothy Schowalter; Malcolm North

2014-01-01

We compared canopy arthropod responses to common fuels reduction treatments at Teakettle Experimental Forest in the south-central Sierra Nevada of California. We sampled arthropod communities among four dominant overstory conifer species and three dominant understory angiosperm species before and after overstory or understory thinning or no thinning treatments followed...

Response of Brown Creepers to elevation and forest edges in the southern Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Kathryn Purcell; Craig Thompson; Douglas Drynan

2012-01-01

We studied the responses of the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) to forest edges in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. We censused birds and monitored nests in four forest types over an elevational gradient. We identified habitat patches homogeneous in terms of forest type, seral stage, and canopy cover and rated edges between adjoining...

Historical effects of logging on forests of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges of California

Treesearch

William F. Laudenslayer; Herman H. Darr

1990-01-01

Ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, mixed conifer, and white fir forests of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Ranges of California have been important resources and were extensively altered by timber harvest between 1850 and 1950. Many historical logging operations were small in size and of short duration. Other operations encompassed thousands of acres and existed for...

A Dendroclimatic Analysis of Fluctuations in the Great Salt Lake.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-01-01

in the Great Salt Lake drainage basin , and are therefore only an estimate of the amount of precipitation falling there; Tree ring indices end, for the...Express Nevada PONY Pinyon Pine 30 39 49’N 114 37’W 1400 - 1982 Uinta Mountains, Site D Utah UINTAD Pinyon Pine 8 40 37’N 109 57’W 1430 - 1971 Conners Pass...Single Leaf Pinyon 14 39 16’N 114 07’W 1610 - 1978 Uinta Mountains, North Utah UINTAN Englemann Spruce 18 40 57’N 110 26’W 1610 - 1971 Uinta Mountains

28 CFR 79.16 - Proof of medical condition.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... COMPENSATION ACT Eligibility Criteria for Claims Relating to Leukemia § 79.16 Proof of medical condition. (a... leukemia. Proof that the claimant contracted leukemia must be made either by using the procedure outlined... section. (b) If a claimant was diagnosed as having leukemia in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah...

28 CFR 79.16 - Proof of medical condition.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... COMPENSATION ACT Eligibility Criteria for Claims Relating to Leukemia § 79.16 Proof of medical condition. (a... leukemia. Proof that the claimant contracted leukemia must be made either by using the procedure outlined... section. (b) If a claimant was diagnosed as having leukemia in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah...

MX Siting Investigation. Geotechnical Evaluation. Aggregate Resources Report, Utah-Nevada Study Area.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-03

The material is gradually transported downslope under the influence of gravity and water and is deposited in characteristically fan-shaped geomorphic...as D1 iconsidered to be generally adequate for concrete auraWate meterial Is considered to be probably suitable but has .eal chaglactelf~tics which

IMPLICATIONS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR PLANT SITE LOCATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DEAN, ERNEST H.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO DETERMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY PLANT SITE SELECTION PROCESS. FROM A COMPOSITE LISTING OF 619 MANUFACTURING COMPANIES WHICH HAD LOCATED IN COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, NEVADA, IDAHO, UTAH, AND WYOMING SINCE JANUARY 1960, 116 INTERVIEWS AND 90 COMPLETED…

Magnesium compounds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kramer, D.A.

2004-01-01

Dead-burned and caustic-calcined magnesias were recovered from seawater by Premier Chemicals in Florida; from well brines in Michigan by Dow Chemical, Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties, and Rohm & Haas; and from magnesite in Nevada by Premier Chemicals. Reilly Industries and Great Salt Lake Minerals recovered magnesium chloride brines from the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

HABITAT DISTRIBUTION MODELS FOR 37 VERTEBRATE SPECIES IN T HE MOJAVE DESERT ECOREGION OF NEVADA, ARIZONA, AND UTAH

EPA Science Inventory

Thirty-seven covered species in the Clark County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) were previously modeled through the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP), using a deductive approach. To increase the applicability of such habitat models in the region ...

HABITAT DISTRIBUTION MODELS FOR 37 VERTEBRATE SPECIES IN THE MOJAVE DESERT ECOREGION OF NEVADA, ARIZONA, AND UTAH

EPA Science Inventory

Conservation planning for a species requires knowledge of the species’ population status and distribution. An important step in obtaining this information for many species is the development of models that predict the habitat distribution for the species. Such models can be usef...

Presentation--HABITAT DISTRIBUTION MODELS FOR 37 VERTEBRATE SPECIES IN THE MOJAVE DESERT ECOREGION OF NEVADA, ARIZONA, AND UTAH

EPA Science Inventory

Thirty-seven terrestrial vertebrate species in the Clark County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) were previously modeled through the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP), using a deductive approach. To increase the applicability of such habitat models ...

Improving sustainable seed yield in Wyoming big sagebrush

Treesearch

Jeremiah C. Armstrong

2007-01-01

As part of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, the effects of browsing, competition removal, pruning, fertilization and seed collection methods on increasing seed production in Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp wyomingensis Beetle & Young) were studied. Study sites were located in Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. A split-plot...

Microsatellite markers and polymorphism in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.)

Treesearch

Alisa P. Ramakrishnan; Craig E. Coleman; Susan E. Meyer; Daniel J. Fairbanks

2001-01-01

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) individuals were genetically characterized using polymorphic microsatellite markers. Through analysis of alleles of five polymorphic loci, genotypes were constructed of individuals from four populations in Utah and Nevada. There were 15 different genotypes: Whiterocks, UT, had nine genotypes, Hobble Creek, UT, had seven genotypes,...

78 FR 33799 - Newspapers Used for Publication of Legal Notices by the Intermountain Region; Utah, Idaho, Nevada...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-05

... District Ranger decisions for Duchesne, Roosevelt: Uintah Basin Standard Flaming Gorge District Ranger for... Register District Ranger decisions for Ashton, Dubois, Island Park, Palisades and Teton Basin: Post...: Idaho Mountain Express Sawtooth National Recreation Area: The Challis Messenger UINTA-WASATCH-CACHE...

76 FR 34034 - Newspapers Used for Publication of Legal Notices by the Intermountain Region; Utah, Idaho, Nevada...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-10

... Express District Ranger decisions for Duchesne, Roosevelt: Uintah Basin Standard Flaming Gorge District... Teton Basin: Post Register District Ranger decisions for Montpelier, Soda Springs and Westside: Idaho...: Idaho Mountain Express Sawtooth National Recreation Area: The Challis Messenger Uinta-Wasatch-Cache...

77 FR 33703 - Newspapers Used for Publication of Legal Notices by the Intermountain Region; Utah, Idaho, Nevada...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-07

... Express District Ranger decisions for Duchesne, Roosevelt: Uintah Basin Standard Flaming Gorge District... Teton Basin: Post Register District Ranger decisions for Montpelier, Soda Springs and Westside: Idaho... decisions: Idaho Mountain Express Sawtooth National Recreation Area: The Challis Messenger Uinta-Wasatch...

Mitochondrial DNA evolution in the Anaxyrus boreas species group

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goebel, A.M.; Ranker, T.A.; Corn, P.S.; Olmstead, R.G.

2009-01-01

The Anaxyrus boreas species group currently comprises four species in western North America including the broadly distributed A. boreas, and three localized species, Anaxyrus nelsoni, Anaxyrus exsul and Anaxyrus canorus. Phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA 12S rDNA, cytochrome oxidase I, control region, and restriction sites data, identified three major haplotype clades. The Northwest clade (NW) includes both subspecies of A. boreas and divergent minor clades in the middle Rocky Mountains, coastal, and central regions of the west and Pacific Northwest. The Southwest (SW) clade includes A. exsul, A. nelsoni, and minor clades in southern California. Anaxyrus canorus, previously identified as paraphyletic, has populations in both the NW and SW major clades. The Eastern major clade (E) includes three divergent lineages from southern Utah, the southern Rocky Mountains, and north of the Great Basin at the border of Utah and Nevada. These results identify new genetic variation in the eastern portion of the toad's range and are consistent with previous regional studies from the west coast. Low levels of control region sequence divergence between major clades (2.2-4.7% uncorrected pair-wise distances) are consistent with Pleistocene divergence and suggest that the phylogeographic history of the group was heavily influenced by dynamic Pleistocene glacial and climatic changes, and especially pluvial changes, in western North America. Results reported here may impact conservation plans in that the current taxonomy does not reflect the diversity in the group. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc.

Cancer incidence in an area of radioactive fallout downwind from the Nevada Test Site.

PubMed

Johnson, C J

1984-01-13

Exposures in southwestern Utah to radioactive fallout (1951 through 1962) from atmospheric nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) were followed by smaller exposures (1962 through 1979) from venting of underground nuclear detonations. The cancer incidence in a 1951 cohort (4, 125) of Mormon families in southwestern Utah near the NTS was compared with that of all Utah Mormons (1967 through 1975). There were 109 more cases of cancer than expected (288[observed]/179[expected]). Leukemia was most prominent early (1958 through 1966), with 19 cases, five times more than expected (3.6). The excess of leukemia persisted into the later period (1972 through 1980), with 12 cases observed, 3.4 expected. There was an increase in lymphoma. Excess cases of thyroid cancer appeared early and a notable excess appeared later (14/1.7). An excess of breast cancer was noted later (27/14). There were more cancers of the gastrointestinal tract than expected. There was an excess of melanoma (12/4.5), bone cancer (8/0.7), and brain tumors (9/3.9). A subgroup with history of acute fallout effects had a higher cancer incidence. That these cases can be associated with radiation exposures is supported by a comparison between groups of the ratio of cancers of more radiosensitive organs with all other types of cancer.

Response of Subalpine Conifers in the Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., to 20th-Century Warming and Decadal Climate Variability

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany; John C. King; Lisa J. Graumlich

2004-01-01

Four independent studies of conifer growth between 1880 and 2002 in upper elevation forests of the central Sierra Nevada, California, U.S.A., showed correlated multidecadal and century-long responses associated with climate. Using tree-ring and ecological plot analysis, we studied annual branch growth of krummholz Pinus albicaulis; invasion by P....

Granite Exfoliation, Cosumnes River Watershed, Somerset, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crockett, I. Q.; Neiss-Cortez, M.

2015-12-01

In the Sierra Nevada foothills of California there are many exposed granite plutons within the greater Sierra Nevada batholith. As with most exposed parts of the batholith, these granite slabs exfoliate. It is important to understand exfoliation for issues of public safety as it can cause rock slides near homes, roads, and recreation areas. Through observation, measuring, and mapping we characterize exfoliation in our Cosumnes River watershed community.

Response of high-elevation limber pine (Pinus flexilis) to multiyear droughts and 20th-century warming, Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany

2007-01-01

Limber pine (Pinus flexilis James) stands along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, California, experienced significant mortality from 1985 to 1995 during a period of sustained low precipitation and high temperature. The stands differ from old-growth limber pine forests in being dense, young, more even-aged, and located in warmer, drier...

Ozone injury responses of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine in the Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains in California

Treesearch

Paul Miller; Raleigh Guthrey; Susan Schilling; John Carroll

1998-01-01

Ozone injury was monitored on foliage of ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and Jeffrey (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) pines at 11 locations in the Sierra Nevada and 1 site in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. Ozone injury on all age cohorts of needles on about 1,600 trees was surveyed annually from...

Carbon and nutrient contents in soils from the Kings River Experimental Watersheds, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Treesearch

D.W. Johnson; C.T. Hunsaker; D.W. Glass; B.M. Rau; B.A. Roath

2011-01-01

Soil C and nutrient contents were estimated for eight watersheds in two sites (one high elevation, Bull, and one low elevation, Providence) in the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in the western Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Eighty-seven quantitative pits were dug to measure soil bulk density and total rock content, while three replicate surface samples...

Survival of fishers in the southern Sierra Nevada region of California

Treesearch

Richard A. Sweitzer; Craig M. Thompson; Rebecca E. Green; Reginald H. Barrett; Kathryn L. Purcell

2015-01-01

Fishers in the western United States were recently proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because of concerns for loss of suitable habitat and evidence of a diversity of mortality risks that reduce survival. One of 2 remnant populations of fishers in California is in the southern Sierra Nevada region, where we studied them at 2 research sites in the...

Truffle abundance in riparian and upland mixed-conifer forest of California's southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Marc D. Meyer; Malcolm P. North

2005-01-01

We compared the abundance, diversity, and composition of truffles in riparian and upland areas within a mixed-conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada of California. We sampled for truffles in a single watershed over two seasons (spring and summer) and 4 years to determine whether truffles were more abundant and diverse in riparian than upland sites in old-growth, mixed-...

New geothermal site identification and qualification. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2004-04-01

This study identifies remaining undeveloped geothermal resources in California and western Nevada, and it estimates the development costs of each. It has relied on public-domain information and such additional data as geothermal developers have chosen to make available. Reserve estimation has been performed by volumetric analysis with a probabilistic approach to uncertain input parameters. Incremental geothermal reserves in the California/Nevada study area have a minimum value of 2,800 grosss MW and a most-likely value of 4,300 gross MW. For the state of California alone, these values are 2,000 and 3,000 gross MW, respectively. These estimates may be conservative to themore » extent that they do not take into account resources about which little or no public-domain information is available. The average capital cost of incremental generation capacity is estimated to average $3,100/kW for the California/Nevada study area, and $2,950/kW for the state of California alone. These cost estimates include exploration, confirmation drilling, development drilling, plant construction, and transmission-line costs. For the purposes of this study, a capital cost of $2,400/kW is considered competitive with other renewable resources. The amount of incremental geothermal capacity available at or below $2,400/kW is about 1,700 gross MW for the California/Nevada study area, and the same amount (within 50-MW rounding) for the state of California alone. The capital cost estimates are only approximate, because each developer would bring its own experience, bias, and opportunities to the development process. Nonetheless, the overall costs per project estimated in this study are believed to be reasonable.« less

Petrographic and geochemical data for Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Bodie Hills, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

du Bray, Edward A.; John, David A.; Box, Stephen E.; Vikre, Peter G.; Fleck, Robert J.; Cousens, Brian L.

2013-04-23

Petrographic and geochemical data for Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Bodie Hills, California and Nevada // // This report presents petrographic and geochemical data for samples collected during investigations of Tertiary volcanism in the Bodie Hills of California and Nevada. Igneous rocks in the area are principally 15–6 Ma subduction-related volcanic rocks of the Bodie Hills volcanic field but also include 3.9–0.1 Ma rocks of the bimodal, post-subduction Aurora volcanic field. Limited petrographic results for local basement rocks, including Mesozoic granitoid rocks and their metamorphic host rocks, are also included in the compilation. The petrographic data include visual estimates of phenocryst abundances as well as other diagnostic petrographic criteria. The geochemical data include whole-rock major oxide and trace element data, as well as limited whole-rock isotopic data.

Estimating contribution of wildland fires to ambient ozone levels in National Parks in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Haiganoush K. Preisler; Shiyuan (Sharon) Zhong; Annie Esperanza; Timothy J. Brown; Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Leland Tarnay

2010-01-01

Data from four continuous ozone and weather monitoring sites operated by the National Park Service in Sierra Nevada, California, are used to develop an ozone forecasting model and to estimate the contribution of wildland fires on ambient ozone levels. The analyses of weather and ozone data pointed to the transport of ozone precursors from the Central Valley as an...

Surface motion of active rock glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA: inventory and a case study using InSAR

Treesearch

L. Liu; C.I. Millar; R.D. Westfall; H.A. Zebker

2013-01-01

Despite the abundance of rock glaciers in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA, few efforts have been made to measure their surface flow. Here we use the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique to compile a~benchmark inventory describing the kinematic state of 59 active rock glaciers in this region. Statistically, these rock glaciers moved at...

Fluctuating populations of house wrens and Bewick's wrens in foothills of the western Sierra Nevada of California

Treesearch

Jared Verner; Kathryn L. Purcell

1999-01-01

In foothills of the western Sierra Nevada, 31 km east of Madera, California, we studied whether Bewick's Wrens (Thryomanes bewickii) tend to be excluded from an area occupied by House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) as reported in several studies in the eastern United States. Neither point counts from 1985 to 1997 nor spot mapping from 1989 to 1993 suggests any...

Groundwater quality in the Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth

2014-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. The Sierra Nevada Regional study unit constitutes one of the study units being evaluated.

Site index curves for young-growth California white fir on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

K. Leroy Dolph

1987-01-01

Site index curves for young-growth California white fir were developed by using stem analysis data from 77 dominant and codominant trees growing in mixed-coniferstands on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Site index reference age is 50 years at breast height. A family of 11 curves is presented for site index estimation. For more precise estimates, the site index...

Climate, rain shadow, and human-use influences on fire regimes in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

M.P. North; K.M. van de Water; S.L. Stephens; B.M. Collins

2009-01-01

There have been few fire history studies of eastern Sierra Nevada forests in California, USA, where a steep elevation gradient, rain shadow conditions, and forest stand isolation may produce different fire regimes than those found on the range’s western slope. We investigated historic fire regimes and potential climate influences on four forest types ranging in...

Potential climatic refugia in semi-arid, temperate mountains: plant and arthropod assemblages associated with rock glaciers, talus slopes, and their forefield wetlands, Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Angela Evenden; Jeffrey G. Holmquist; Jutta Schmidt-Gengenbach; Rebecca S. Franklin; Jan Nachlinger; Diane L. Delany

2015-01-01

Unique thermal and hydrologic regimes of rock-glacier and periglacial talus environments support little-studied mountain ecosystems. We report the first studies of vascular plant and arthropod diversity for these habitats in the central Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Surfaces of active rock glaciers develop scattered islands of soil that provide habitat for vegetation...

Short-term effects of fire and forest thinning on truffle abundance and consumption by Neotamias speciosus in the Sierra Nevada of California

Treesearch

Marc D. Meyer; Malcolm P. North; Douglas A. Kelt

2005-01-01

In many western North American forests, prescribed burning and mechanical thinning are widely used to reduce fuels and restore stand conditions after a century of fire suppression. Few studies have followed the relative impacts of these treatments on the production and consumption of truffles in forest ecosystems, particularly in the Sierra Nevada of California. Using...

Regional Interstate Planning Project Program . . . Vol. VI. Administrative Renewal for School District Personnel. Seminar Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Jake, Ed.; Dearmin, Evalyn, Ed.

The Regional Interstate Planning Project (RIPP) is composed of representatives from ten state departments of education who meet periodically to discuss topical educational issues of general concern. RIPP member states include Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. This particular booklet reports…

The University Library: A Study of Services Offered the Blind.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkin, Derral

A survey based on the American Library Association's "Standards for Library Services for the Blind and Visually Handicapped" (1966) was sent to 65 four year universities in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Arizona. Libraries were asked how many blind patrons they had and what services and facilities were…

The Last Five Years of the Millennium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vickerman, Kathrine D.

This document presents the history of the last five years (1996-2000) of the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA) through summaries and photos of the yearly conferences held between 1996 and 2000. The MPAEA, which includes adult education leaders from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming,…

The Voice of Our History, 1945-1995.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vickerman, Kathrine D.

This document presents the history of the first 50 years (1945-95) of the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA). The MPAEA, which includes adult education leaders from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, strives to ensure that every adult is prepared for a lifetime of learning and…

Effects of climate change on outdoor recreation [Chapter 10

Treesearch

Michael S. Hand; Jordan W. Smith; David L. Peterson; Nancy A. Brunswick; Carol P. Brown

2018-01-01

Federal agencies and other public land management agencies in Utah, Nevada, and southern Idaho provide and manage for numerous outdoor recreation opportunities. National forests in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) Intermountain Region have nearly 19 million visits per year (table 10.1); adjacent National Park System units account for an...

Personnel Serving the Severely/Profoundly Handicapped: Professional Preparation and Priorities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gisler, Jan; And Others

A survey was designed to collect descriptive information from teachers of severely/profoundly handicapped (S/PH) students in the public schools of Nevada and Utah. Analysis of 59 responses provided information on teacher demographics (including that the majority of teachers were female, held a special education credential and were relatively…

Harold Knapp and the geography of normal controversy: radioiodine in the historical environment.

PubMed

Kirsch, Scott

2004-01-01

In 1962, after high levels of the isotope Iodine-131 were detected in Utah milk supplies, Dr. Harold Knapp, a mathematician working for the AEC's Division of Biology and Medicine, developed a new model of estimating, first, the relation between a single deposition of radioactive fallout on pasturage and the levels of Iodine-131 in fresh milk and, second, the total dose to human thyroids, resulting from daily intake of the contaminated milk. The implications of Knapp's findings were enormous. They suggested that short-living radioiodine, rather than long-living nuclides such as radiostrontium, posed the greatest hazard from nuclear test fallout and that children raised in Nevada and Utah during the 1950s had been exposed to internal radiation doses far in excess of recommended guidelines. This paper explores the explicit historical revisionism of Knapp's study, his refusal, contra normal AEC practices of knowledge production and spatial representation, to distance himself from the people and places downwind from the Nevada Test Site, and the reactions his work provoked among his AEC colleagues.

Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Southwestern United States (Arizona, Nevada, and Utah)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Gosen, Bradley S.

2008-01-01

This map and its accompanying dataset provide information for 113 natural asbestos occurrences in the Southwestern United States (U.S.), using descriptions found in the geologic literature. Data on location, mineralogy, geology, and relevant literature for each asbestos site are provided. Using the map and digital data in this report, the user can examine the distribution of previously reported asbestos occurrences and their geological characteristics in the Southwestern U.S., which includes sites in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. This report is part of an ongoing study by the U.S. Geological Survey to identify and map reported natural asbestos occurrences in the U.S., which thus far includes similar maps and datasets of natural asbestos occurrences within the Eastern U.S. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1189/), the Central U.S. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1211/), and the Rocky Mountain States (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1182/. These reports are intended to provide State and local government agencies and other stakeholders with geologic information on natural occurrences of asbestos in the U.S.

Fracture trends identified by ERTS-1 imagery in Utah and Nevada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, M. L. (Principal Investigator); Erickson, M. P.; Smith, M. R.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. In the Utah-Nevada area, linear structural trends recorded on ERTS-1 imagery conform in part to previously recognized structures. In addition, the ERTS-1 imagery reveals cryptic structures not previously identified and not readily apparent in other imagery. These structures are illustrated by prominent east-west trending structures which appear to be concentrated in pre-volcanic rocks. This suggests that the structures are older than many of those with other trends which are equally prominent in volcanic and non-volcanic terrain. Since the older east-west structures may have controlled early Tertiary emplacement of magma or the ascent of mineralizing fluids, their recognition is important in minerial exploration. Soil-gas sampling and analysis for mercury content is being continued over structures, and projected trends of buried structures which appear, from studies of ERTS-1 imagery, to be favorable to mineralization. Comparison of ERTS-1 and Skylab imagery indicated that ERTS-1 imagery records more previously unrecognized linear structures than the Skylab imagery. In differentiating and identifying different rock types, the Skylab imagery appears to be more effective.

Mineral exploration and fracture trends in Utah and Nevada, by ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, M. L. (Principal Investigator); Smith, M. R.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Major structural trends have been compiled on five separate maps, at a scale of 1:1,000,000, of Utah and Nevada from ERTS-1 imagery. An arbitrary length of ten kilometers has been chosen as a minimum length of the trends. The selection is based upon: (1) obvious displacement of structures; (2) continuity or persistence of trends across structures; (3) line-up of outcrop patterns, drainage, erosional features or vegetation; and (4) near-linear trends. Several recognizable trend directions have noted, viz., N 10-15 deg W, N 35 deg W, N 80 deg W, N 30 deg E, and E-W. More than 1500 structural trends have been identified, some of which are mineralized and extend into pediment or shallow alluvial cover. Those fracture trends that exhibit mineralization in exposed bedrock will be assayed for mercury content with a soil-gas analyzer and similar collection will be done over alluvial posture blankets by the same technique with the hope of discovering blind mineralized zones that are not exposed on the surface.

Flooding During Drought: Learning from Stakeholder Engagement & Partner Coordination in the California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System (DEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, A. M.

2017-12-01

After more than 5 years of drought, extreme precipitation brought drought relief in California and Nevada and presents an opportunity to reflect upon lessons learned while planning for the future. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) in June 2017 convened a regional coordination workshop to provide a forum to discuss and build upon past drought efforts in the region and increase coordination, collaboration and information sharing across the region as a whole. Participants included federal, tribal, state, academic, and local partners who provided a post-mortem on the recent drought and impacts as well as recent innovations in drought monitoring, forecasts, and decision support tools in response to the historic drought. This presentation will highlight lessons learned from stakeholder outreach and engagement around flooding during drought, and pathways for moving forward coordination and collaboration in the region. Additional focus will be on the potential opportunities from examining California decision making calendars from this drought. Identified gaps and challenges will also be shared, such as the need to connect observations with social impacts, capacity building around available tools and resources, and future drought monitoring needs. Drought will continue to impact California and Nevada, and the CA-NV DEWS works to make climate and drought science readily available, easily understandable and usable for decision makers; and to improve the capacity of stakeholders to better monitor, forecast, plan for and cope with the impacts of drought.

Three-dimensional crustal structure of the southern Sierra Nevada from seismic fan profiles and gravity modeling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fliedner, M.M.; Ruppert, S.; Malin, P.E.; Park, S.K.; Jiracek, G.; Phinney, R.A.; Saleeby, J.B.; Wernicke, B.; Clayton, R.; Keller, Rebecca Hylton; Miller, K.; Jones, C.; Luetgert, J.H.; Mooney, W.D.; Oliver, H.; Klemperer, S.L.; Thompson, G.A.

1996-01-01

Traveltime data from the 1993 Southern Sierra Nevada Continental Dynamics seismic refraction experiment reveal low crustal velocities in the southern Sierra Nevada and Basin and Range province of California (6.0 to 6.6 km/s), as well as low upper mantle velocities (7.6 to 7.8 km/s). The crust thickens from southeast to northwest along the axis of the Sierra Nevada from 27 km in the Mojave Desert to 43 km near Fresno, California. A crustal welt is present beneath the Sierra Nevada, but the deepest Moho is found under the western slopes, not beneath the highest topography. A density model directly derived from the crustal velocity model but with constant mantle density satisfies the pronounced negative Bouguer anomaly associated with the Sierra Nevada, but shows large discrepancies of >50 mgal in the Great Valley and in the Basin and Range province. Matching the observed gravity with anomalies in the crust alone is not possible with geologically reasonable densities; we require a contribution from the upper mantle, either by lateral density variations or by a thinning of the lithosphere under the Sierra Nevada and the Basin and Range province. Such a model is consistent with the interpretation that the uplift of the present Sierra Nevada is caused and dynamically supported by asthenospheric upwelling or lithospheric thinning under the Basin and Range province and eastern Sierra Nevada.

Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Day, Warren C.; Frost, Thomas P.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Zientek, Michael L.

2016-08-19

Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089 and accompanying data releases are the products of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA). The assessment was done at the request of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to evaluate the mineral-resource potential of some 10 million acres of Federal and adjacent lands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The need for this assessment arose from the decision by the Secretary of the Interior to pursue the protection of large tracts of contiguous habitat for the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Western United States. One component of the Department of the Interior plan to protect the habitat areas includes withdrawing selected lands from future exploration and development of mineral and energy resources, including copper, gold, silver, rare earth elements, and other commodities used in the U.S. economy. The assessment evaluates the potential for locatable minerals such as gold, copper, and lithium and describes the nature and occurrence of leaseable and salable minerals for seven Sagebrush Focal Areas and additional lands in Nevada (“Nevada additions”) delineated by BLM. Supporting data are available in a series of USGS data releases describing mineral occurrences (the USGS Mineral Deposit Database or “USMIN”), oil and gas production and well status, previous mineral-resource assessments that covered parts of the areas studied, and a compilation of mineral-use cases based on data provided by BLM, as well as results of the locatable mineral-resource assessment in a geographic information system. The present assessment of mineral-resource potential will contribute to a better understanding of the economic and environmental trade-offs that would result from closing approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands to mineral entry.

Reconnaissance for uranium-bearing carbonaceous rocks in California and adjacent parts of Oregon and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, George Winfred; Stephens, James G.

1954-01-01

During the summer of 1952 a reconnaissance was conducted in California and parts of Oregon and Nevada in search of new deposits of uranium-bearing carbonaceous rocks. The principal localities found in California where uranium occurs in coal are listed here with. the uranium content of the coal: Newhall prospect, Los Angeles County, 0.020 percent; Fireflex mine, San Benito County, 0.005 percent; American licyaite mine, Amador County, 0.004 percent; and Tesla prospect, Alameda County, 0.003 percent. An oil-saturated sandstone near Edna, San Luis Obispo County, contains 0.002 percent uranium.

Regional geophysics of western Utah and eastern Nevada, with emphasis on the Confusion Range

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; Rowley, Peter D.; Dixon, Gary L.; McKee, Edwin H.

2016-01-01

As befits its name, the geology of the Confusion Range of Utah has been a point of contention for many years, so we looked at it in greater detail in the course of our regional study. The northern part of the range is underlain by a large gravity high, which continues south through the Conger Range, Burbank Hills, and northern Mountain Home Range. This is the "structural trough" reported in the literature that was mapped as the axial part of a Sevier synclinorium and contains the maximum thickness (7 km) of high-density carbonates in the area, thus the largest high gravity anomaly.

Mediterranean California, Chapter 13

Treesearch

M.E. Fenn; E.B. Allen; L.H. Geiser

2011-01-01

The Mediterranean California ecoregion (CEC 1997; Fig 2.2) encompasses the greater Central Valley, Sierra foothills, and central coast ranges of California south to Mexico and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Mojave Desert.

The accuracy of seismic estimates of dynamic strains: an evaluation using strainmeter and seismometer data from Piñon Flat Observatory, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gomberg, Joan S.; Agnew, Duncan Carr

1996-01-01

The dynamic strains associated with seismic waves may play a significant role in earthquake triggering, hydrological and magmatic changes, earthquake damage, and ground failure. We determine how accurately dynamic strains may be estimated from seismometer data and elastic-wave theory by comparing such estimated strains with strains measured on a three-component long-base strainmeter system at Pin??on Flat, California. We quantify the uncertainties and errors through cross-spectral analysis of data from three regional earthquakes (the M0 = 4 ?? 1017 N-m St. George, Utah; M0 = 4 ?? 1017 N-m Little Skull Mountain, Nevada; and M0 = 1 ?? 1019 N-m Northridge, California, events at distances of 470, 345, and 206 km, respectively). Our analysis indicates that in most cases the phase of the estimated strain matches that of the observed strain quite well (to within the uncertainties, which are about ?? 0.1 to ?? 0.2 cycles). However, the amplitudes are often systematically off, at levels exceeding the uncertainties (about 20%); in one case, the predicted strain amplitudes are nearly twice those observed. We also observe significant ?????? strains (?? = tangential direction), which should be zero theoretically; in the worst case, the rms ?????? strain exceeds the other nonzero components. These nonzero ?????? strains cannot be caused by deviations of the surface-wave propagation paths from the expected azimuth or by departures from the plane-wave approximation. We believe that distortion of the strain field by topography or material heterogeneities give rise to these complexities.

Spatial and seasonal patterns of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

Treesearch

Ricardo Cisneros; Don Schweizer; Haiganoush Preisler; Deborah H. Bennett; Glenn Shaw; Andrzej Bytnerowicz

2014-01-01

This paper presents particulate matter data collected in the California southern Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) during 2002 to 2009 from the Central Valley (elevation 91 m) into the SNM (elevation 2,598 m). Annual average concentrations of particles smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) for all sites during this study ranged from 3.1 to 22.2 µg...

Seasonality of Groundwater Recharge in the Basin and Range Province, Western North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neff, K. L.; Meixner, T.; Ajami, H.; De La Cruz, L.

2015-12-01

For water-scarce communities in the western U.S., it is critical to understand groundwater recharge regimes and how those regimes might shift in the face of climate change and impact groundwater resources. Watersheds in the Basin and Range Geological Province are characterized by a variable precipitation regime of wet winters and variable summer precipitation. The relative contributions to groundwater recharge by summer and winter precipitation vary throughout the province, with winter precipitation recharge dominant in the northern parts of the region, and recharge from summer monsoonal precipitation playing a more significant role in the south, where the North American Monsoon (NAM) extends its influence. Stable water isotope data of groundwater and seasonal precipitation from sites in Sonora, Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas were examined to estimate and compare groundwater recharge seasonality throughout the region. Contributions of winter precipitation to annual recharge vary from 69% ± 41% in the southernmost Río San Miguel Basin in Sonora, Mexico, to 100% ± 36% in the westernmost Mojave Desert of California. The Normalized Seasonal Wetness Index (NSWI), a simple water budget method for estimating recharge seasonality from climatic data, was shown to approximate recharge seasonality well in several winter precipitation-dominated systems, but less well in basins with significant summer precipitation.

Update of the Accounting Surface Along the Lower Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiele, Stephen M.; Leake, Stanley A.; Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.; McGuire, Emmet H.

2008-01-01

The accounting-surface method was developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, to identify wells outside the flood plain of the lower Colorado River that yield water that will be replaced by water from the river. This method was needed to identify which wells require an entitlement for diversion of water from the Colorado River and need to be included in accounting for consumptive use of Colorado River water as outlined in the Consolidated Decree of the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v. California. The method is based on the concept of a river aquifer and an accounting surface within the river aquifer. The study area includes the valley adjacent to the lower Colorado River and parts of some adjacent valleys in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah and extends from the east end of Lake Mead south to the southerly international boundary with Mexico. Contours for the original accounting surface were hand drawn based on the shape of the aquifer, water-surface elevations in the Colorado River and drainage ditches, and hydrologic judgment. This report documents an update of the original accounting surface based on updated water-surface elevations in the Colorado River and drainage ditches and the use of simple, physically based ground-water flow models to calculate the accounting surface in four areas adjacent to the free-flowing river.

GIS database and discussion for the distribution, composition, and age of Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Pacific Northwest Volcanic Aquifer System study area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sherrod, David R.; Keith, Mackenzie K.

2018-03-30

A substantial part of the U.S. Pacific Northwest is underlain by Cenozoic volcanic and continental sedimentary rocks and, where widespread, these strata form important aquifers. The legacy geologic mapping presented with this report contains new thematic categorization added to state digital compilations published by the U.S. Geological Survey for Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Washington (Ludington and others, 2005). Our additional coding is designed to allow rapid characterization, mainly for hydrogeologic purposes, of similar rocks and deposits within a boundary expanded slightly beyond that of the Pacific Northwest Volcanic Aquifer System study area. To be useful for hydrogeologic analysis and to be more statistically manageable, statewide compilations from Ludington and others (2005) were mosaicked into a regional map and then reinterpreted into four main categories on the basis of (1) age, (2) composition, (3) hydrogeologic grouping, and (4) lithologic pattern. The coding scheme emphasizes Cenozoic volcanic or volcanic-related rocks and deposits, and of primary interest are the codings for composition and age.

Western state instream flow programs: a comparative assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKinney, Matthew J.; Taylor, Jonathan G.

1988-01-01

During their early history, Western States water rights laws were primarily means for facilitating and regulating water diversions for offstream, consumptive use. More recently, a countervailing concern for instream values such as fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, aesthetic values, and water quality has emerged in the legislative and administrative handling of water rights. As of 1988, the Western United States show a variety of approaches to balancing instream and diversion water rights, from zero control through administrative actions to legislatively established rights for guaranteed instream flows. The nine Western States that have adopted statutory instream flow protection programs include Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Arizona, California, and Nevada have relied, to date, on administrative and judicial decisions, while New Mexico has established no mechanism for protecting instream water uses. In the States with statutory protection, instream water uses are granted the same legal status as any other water uses under the prior appropriation doctrine. The success of instream flow protection has been remarkable, given the controversial nature of the issue, with nearly 2,000 stream reaches protected.

Annual Report upon the geographical surveys of the territory of the United States west of the 100th meridian, in the States and Territories of California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming: Being Appendix NN of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1878

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wheeler, George Montague

1878-01-01

I [George M. Wheeler] have the honor to submit the following report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878: At the close of the present field season parties of the survey will have been engaged in fourteen of the fifteen States and Territories, a part or all of which lie west of the 100th meridian of longitude; the remaining political division (Dakota) alone having been unvisited. The progress of the work since its commencement has been directed over connected areas, and in such manner that, at a minimum of time and expense, as large areas as practicable, pursuant to required methods, shall be topographically surveyed in detail, to the end that the War Department shall have, at as early a date as possible, a complete map of the entire region.

76 FR 35208 - Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Nevada Irrigation District; Notice of Environmental Site Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-16

...; Project No. 2266-102--California] Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Nevada Irrigation District; Notice of... Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Nevada Irrigation District (NID) (applicants) will conduct an... (recommend a 4-wheel drive vehicle), but car pooling to the extent possible is encouraged. We do not...

78 FR 5179 - Change in Bank Control Notices; Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or Bank Holding Company

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-24

..., Joseph Bosshard and Makenzie Bosshard, both of Boulder, Colorado, Nathan Bosshard-Blakely, Berkeley, California, Elizabeth Bosshard-Blakely, South Pasadena, California, Alexandra Bosshard, Sandy, Utah, and John...

7 CFR 407.10 - Group risk plan for barley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...; California; and Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada October 31 June 30. All Colorado counties except Kit Carson...; all Nevada counties except Clark and Nye Counties; Taos County, New Mexico; and all other states...

7 CFR 407.10 - Group risk plan for barley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...; California; and Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada October 31 June 30. All Colorado counties except Kit Carson...; all Nevada counties except Clark and Nye Counties; Taos County, New Mexico; and all other states...

77 FR 56797 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California; Determinations of Attainment for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-14

..., Kern County, Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties, Nevada County, and Sutter County) (``six CA areas... dates. Second, in making these proposed determinations for Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties and Nevada...

MX Siting Investigation. Geotechnical Evaluation. Volume IV. Nevada - Utah Verification Studies, FY 79. Geotechnical Data Hamlin CDP, Nevada.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-24

5.0 GRAVITY DATA 6.0 BORING LOGS 7.0 TRENCH AND TEST PIT LOGS 8.0 SURFICIAL SAMPLE LOGS 9.0 LABORATORY TEST RESULTS DRAWINGS IN POCKET 1 ACTIVITY...IV ELECTRODE SPACING - AS/2 ( METERIS ) 5 10 20 40 so 80 100 400 - , - - - 200 ____ _ _ _ _ - 100 II 80 ~as 40 46 2I0 leil 110 20 40 30 60 100 200 400...DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE - SAISO 441.9 2LDm NATIONAL, INC-L2 JUL 79 AFV-18 SECTION 5.0 GRAVITY DATA- FN-TR-27-IV -EXPLANATIONS OF GRAVITY DATA

Staff Report to the Senior Department Official on Recognition Compliance Issues. Recommendation Page: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2010

2010-01-01

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) currently accredits approximately 160 degree-granting institutions located in the Northwest region, which consists of the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The agency's recognition enables the institutions it accredits to seek eligibility to…

Translocation as a conservation tool for Agassiz's desert tortoises: Survivorship, reproduction, and movements

Treesearch

K. E. Nussear; C. R. Tracy; P. A. Medica; D. S. Wilson; R. W. Marlow; P. S. Corn

2012-01-01

We translocated 120 Agassiz's desert tortoises to 5 sites in Nevada and Utah to evaluate the effects of translocation on tortoise survivorship, reproduction, and habitat use. Translocation sites included several elevations, and extended to sites with vegetation assemblages not typically associated with desert tortoises in order to explore the possibility of moving...

IMPLICATIONS OF THE DISCOVERY OF RANA YAVAPAIENSIS IN THE WESTERN GRAND CANYON TO THE CONSERVATION STRATEGY FOR RANA ONCA

EPA Science Inventory

The minimum historical range of the relict leopard frog, Rana onca, comprises the drainages of the Virgin and Colorado rivers from the vicinity ofHurricane, Utah, to Black Canyon below Lake Mead, in Nevada and Arizona. Extant populations are known near only the Black Canyon and O...

Intermountain Range plant names and symbols

Treesearch

A. Perry Plummer; Stephen B. Monsen; Richard Stevens

1977-01-01

This revised alphabetical list of botanical and common names of vascular plants that primarily grow on wildlands of the Intermountain region and adjacent areas has been assembled for use in quickly recording occurrence of plants in the field and for rapid machine processing of field data. Included are plants found in Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho, and Wyoming, and most...

Underuse of Title VII Funding for Indian Education in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West Comprehensive Center at WestEd, 2015

2015-01-01

Title VII provides funding for the education of American Indian/Alaska Native students based on a formula grant available to school districts, charter schools, and local education agencies (LEAs). This report explores why some eligible schools and districts do not apply for federal Title VII, potentially resulting in American Indian/Alaska Native…

An Evaluation of Career Selection Education in Thirteen Project Schools of the Western States Small Schools Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cragun, John R.; Kartchner, Eugene C.

The Western States Small Schools Project (WSSSP) developed the Career Selection Education (CSE) program to provide students from small high schools in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah with: (1) knowledge about self, broad occupational groupings, the institution and dynamics of society which generate, define, and lend meaning to…

Descriptive statistics of tree crown condition in the United States Interior West

Treesearch

KaDonna C. Randolph; Mike T. Thompson

2010-01-01

The U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program uses visual assessments of tree crown condition to monitor changes and trends in forest health. This report describes four crown condition indicators (crown dieback, crown density, foliage transparency, and sapling crown vigor) measured in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming between 1996 and...

A new genus of pine-feeding Cochylina from the western United States and northern Mexico (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Euliini)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Eupinivora, new genus, is described and illustrated from the montane regions of western United States (Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas) and northern Mexico (Nuevo León and Durango). As presently defined, the genus includes six species: E. ponderosae, n. sp. (USA: Ariz...

Ecology of pinon-juniper vegetation in the Southwest and Great Basin

Treesearch

Rex D. Pieper

2008-01-01

Pinon-juniper vegetation is conspicuous in foothills surrounding most mountain ranges in the Great Basin and the Southwest. Utah has the largest percentage of pinon-juniper vegetation, followed by New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado. Although pinon-juniper stands may appear to be similar, the vegetation component varies. The most abundant junipers are Juniperus...

Notice of release of Fanny Germplasm, Carmel Germplasm, and Bonneville Germplasm Searls' prairie clover: Selected class of natural germplasm

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Three natural-track selected germplasms of Searls' prairie clover (Dalea searlsiae [A. Gray] Barneby [Fabaceae]) have been released for use in revegetation/restoration of semi-arid rangelands in the western US. Searls' prairie clover is a perennial leguminous forb that is native to Utah, Nevada, Ar...

Assessment of COWFISH for predicting trout populations in grazed watersheds of the Intermountain West

Treesearch

Craig R. Cantor; William S. Platts

1991-01-01

The COWFISH model, developed and applied in selected Montana streams, was tested on 14 streams in Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, where it proved to have little value for predicting numbers of trout in watersheds grazed by livestock. The model holds promise for estimating the health of stream channels and riparian complexes.

Fire on the early western landscape: An annotated record of wildland fires 1776-1900

Treesearch

George E. Gruell

1985-01-01

Scientific and historical literature was searched for documented accounts of early fires in the '"interior West" - Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and eastern Oregon. One hundred and forty-five accounts of fires by 44 observers were found. The majority of accounts described fires in progress. A smaller proportion referred to burned areas...

AQUATIC STREAM INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR ARIZONA, NEVADA, AND UTAH

EPA Science Inventory

Beginning in 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a 5-year study of streams and rivers in 12 western States (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, ND, OR, SD, UT, WA, and V;Y) as a component of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). The objective of EMA...

AN APPROACH FOR DETERMINING REGIONAL LAND COVER AND SPECIES HABITAT DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST: THE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL GAP ANALYSIS PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

The Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP) is developing seamless digital coverages for land cover, vertebrate animal habitat, and land management status for the 5-state region of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The project is a second generation effor...

Analysing the effects of the 2002 McNally fire on air quality in the San Joaquin Valley and southern Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Ricardo Cisneros; Donald Schweizer; Sharon Zhong; Katharine Hammond; Miguel A. Perez; Qinghua Guo; Samuel Traina; Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Deborah H. Bennett

2012-01-01

Smoke from wildfires can expose individuals and populations to elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3). Between 21 July and 26 August 2002, the McNally Fire burned over 150 000 acres (61 000 ha). The fire occurred in the Sequoia National Forest, in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. This study evaluated the effects of the McNally Fire on air...

75 FR 11555 - Notice of Public Meeting: Northeast California Resource Advisory Council and Subcommittee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-11

... Public Meeting: Northeast California Resource Advisory Council and Subcommittee AGENCY: Bureau of Land.... Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northeast California Resource Advisory Council... management in northeast California and the northwest corner of Nevada. At the subcommittee meeting members...

A density management diagram for even-aged Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer stands

Treesearch

James N. Long; John D. Shaw

2012-01-01

We have developed a density management diagram (DMD) for even-aged mixed-conifer stands in the Sierra Nevada Mountains using forest inventory and analysis (FIA) data. Analysis plots were drawn from FIA plots in California, southern Oregon, and western Nevada which included those conifer species associated with the mixed-conifer forest type. A total of 204 plots met the...

Prediction of periodic basal area increment for young-growth mixed conifers in sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Leroy K. Dolph

1988-01-01

Mixed-conifer forests are the largest vegetation type in California, covering more than 13 million acres (Barbour and Major 1977). This type, the Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer (Society of American Foresters Forest cover type 243, Tappeiner 1980) dominates mid-elevations of the Sierra Nevada's western slopes. The extent of the mixed-conifer type and the amount of...

Population declines lead to replicate patterns of internal range structure at the tips of the distribution of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richmond, Jonathan Q.; Backlin, Adam R.; Tatarian, Patricia J.; Solvesky, Ben G.; Fisher, Robert N.

2014-01-01

Demographic declines and increased isolation of peripheral populations of the threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) have led to the formation of internal range boundaries at opposite ends of the species’ distribution. While the population genetics of the southern internal boundary has been studied in some detail, similar information is lacking for the northern part of the range. In this study, we used microsatellite and mtDNA data to examine the genetic structuring and diversity of some of the last remaining R. draytonii populations in the northern Sierra Nevada, which collectively form the northern external range boundary. We compared these data to coastal populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the species is notably more abundant and still exists throughout much of its historic range. We show that ‘external’ Sierra Nevada populations have lower genetic diversity and are more differentiated from one another than their ‘internal’ Bay Area counterparts. This same pattern was mirrored across the distribution in California, where Sierra Nevada and Bay Area populations had lower allelic variability compared to those previously studied in coastal southern California. This genetic signature of northward range expansion was mirrored in the phylogeography of mtDNA haplotypes; northern Sierra Nevada haplotypes showed greater similarity to haplotypes from the south Coast Ranges than to the more geographically proximate populations in the Bay Area. These data cast new light on the geographic origins of Sierra Nevada R. draytonii populations and highlight the importance of distinguishing the genetic effects of contemporary demographic declines from underlying signatures of historic range expansion when addressing the most immediate threats to population persistence. Because there is no evidence of contemporary gene flow between any of the Sierra Nevada R. draytonii populations, we suggest that management activities should focus on maintaining and creating additional ponds to support breeding within typical dispersal distances of occupied habitat.

Age structure and growth of California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) in the central Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Barrett A. Garrison; Christopher D. otahal; Matthew L. Triggs

2002-01-01

Age structure and growth of California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) was determined from tagged trees at four 26.1-acre study stands in Placer County, California. Stands were dominated by large diameter (>20 inch dbh) California black oak and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Randomly selected trees were tagged in June-August...

Ecosystem health in mineralized terrane: Data from podiform chromite (Chinese Camp mining district, California), quartz alunite (Castle Peak and Masonic mining districts, Nevada/California), and Mo/Cu porphyry (Battle Mountain mining district, Nevada) deposits

Treesearch

Steve W. Blecker; Lisa L. Stillings; Michael C. Amacher; James A. Ippolito; Nicole M. DeCrappeo

2010-01-01

The myriad definitions of soil/ecosystem quality or health are often driven by ecosystem and management concerns, and they typically focus on the ability of the soil to provide functions relating to biological productivity and/or environmental quality (Doran and Parkin, 1994; Karlen and others, 1997). A variety of attempts have been made to create indices that quantify...

234U/238U as a ground-water tracer, SW Nevada-SE California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ludwig, K. R.; Peterman, Z.E.; Simmons, K.R.; Gutentag, E.D.

1993-01-01

The 234U/238U ratio of uranium in oxidizing ground waters is potentially an excellent ground-water tracer because of its high solubility and insensitivity to chemical reactions. Moreover, recent advances in analytical capability have made possible very precise uranium-isotopic analyses on modest (approx.100 ml) amounts of normal ground water. Preliminary results on waters from SW Nevada/Se California indicate two main mixing trends, but in detail indicate significant complexity requiring three or more main components.

Groundwater quality in the Yuba River and Bear River Watersheds, Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Jasper, Monica; Taylor, Kimberly A.

2017-09-27

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project assesses the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking water supply and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. In the Yuba River and Bear River Watersheds of the Sierra Nevada, many rural households rely on private wells for their drinking water supplies. 

Groundwater quality in the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, and American River Watersheds, Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fram, Miranda S.; Shelton, Jennifer L.

2018-03-23

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project assesses the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking water supply and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. In the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, and American River Watersheds of the Sierra Nevada, many rural households rely on private wells for their drinking-water supplies.

Truckee Meadows (Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area) Nevada. Documentation Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

borehole. (10) Borehole No. 7 and borehole Nos. 9 through 14 were not drilled to a depth of 20 feet because gravel was encountered, rendering both...through the Washo and on to the Maidu ( Heizer and Whipple 1917:58). 4. H.[ST0RIC.. B..KGR.UND a. The first non-Ind:i.ans known to visit what is now the...Reno, University of Nevada. 32 pp. Heizer , Robert F. & M. A. Whipply 1971 The California Indians. Berkeley, University of California Press. 619 pp

Digital Aeromagnetic Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.

2000-01-01

An aeromagnetic map of the Nevada Test Site area was prepared from publicly available aeromagnetic data described by McCafferty and Grauch (1997). Magnetic surveys were processed using standard techniques. Southwest Nevada is characterized by magnetic anomalies that reflect the distribution of thick sequences of volcanic rocks, magnetic sedimentary rocks, and the occurrence of granitic rocks. In addition, aeromagnetic data reveal the presence of linear features that reflect faulting at both regional and local scales.

Sierra Nevada, California

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-09-30

STS068-267-097 (30 September-11 October 1994) --- An extensive view eastward from the irrigated San Joaquin Valley in the foreground, across the Sierra Nevada (living up to its name in early October), into the desert of eastern California and Nevada (which has no snow, despite the name). Mono Lake is just visible at the left edge of the frame; Owens Valley extends southward to Owens Lake, the next valley is Panamint Valley, and then Death Valley. Las Vegas and Lake Mead are visible at the upper right of the frame. The Space Radar Laboratory 2 (SRL-2) obtained extensive, multiple-pass data from many test sites within the region displayed, including Mammoth Mountain ski area south of Mono Lake, and in Death Valley.

A framework for setting land conservation priorities in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Frank W. Davis; Chris C. Costello; David Stoms; Elia Machado; Josh Metz

2004-01-01

In California, hundreds of different public and private organizations are involved in prioritizing and acquiring new conservation lands (California Environmental Dialogue 1999, California Continuing Resources Investment Strategy Project 2001). Although the State of California owns less than 3 percent of the land (Davis and Stoms 1998), it plays a significant role in...

Population distribution and trends of California spotted owls

Treesearch

Douglas J. Tempel; R.J. Gutiérrez; M. Zachariah Peery

2017-01-01

Following Verner et al.’s (1992) technical assessment of the California spotted owl (CASPO), we divided the range of the California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) into two major physiographic provinces: the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of southern California (Tehachapi Pass was the demarcation between the regions). Verner et al. (...

Invasive exotic plant species in Sierra Nevada ecosystems

Treesearch

Carla M. D' Antonio; Eric L. Berlow; Karen L. Haubensak

2004-01-01

The Sierra Nevada is a topographically and floristically diverse region of the western United States. While it comprises only a fifth of the total land area of California, half of the native plant species in the state occur within the range. In addition, more than 400 plant species are endemic to the Sierra Nevada and many of these are listed as threatened or have...

Ecological significance of microsatellite variation in western North American populations of Bromus tectorum

Treesearch

Alisa P. Ramakrishnan; Susan Meyer; Daniel J. Fairbanks; Craig E. Coleman

2006-01-01

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass or downy brome) is an exotic annual weed that is abundant in western USA. We examined variation in six microsatellite loci for 17 populations representing a range of habitats in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Colorado (USA) and then intensively sampled four representative populations, for a total sample size of approximately 1000 individuals. All...

Nutrient availability in rangeland soils: influence of prescribed burning, herbaceous vegetation removal, overseeding with Bromus tectorum, season, and elevation

Treesearch

R. R. Blank; J. Chambers; B. Roundy; A. Whittaker

2007-01-01

Soil nutrient availability influences plant invasions. Resin capsules were used to examine soil nutrient bioavailability along 2 sagebrush-grassland elevation transects in the east Tintic Range (Utah) and Shoshone Range (Nevada). In the fall of 2001, treatments were applied to 3 replicate plots at each site, which included prescribed burning, herbaceous vegetation...

Does Offender Gambling on the inside Continue on the outside? Insights from Correctional Professionals on Gambling and Re-Entry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, D. J.; Walker, Gordon J.

2009-01-01

This study brings to light a neglected topic of particular importance--offender gambling issues within the context of re-entry into the community. Fifteen correctional professionals from Nevada (high gambling availability) and Utah (no legalized gambling) participated in semi-structured interviews to provide insights into how gambling may impact…

MX Siting Investigation. DTN/OBTS Field Surveys. Volume III. Biological Resources Nevada and Utah.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-30

Black - throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) X X X REPTILES Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizi) X X Zebra-tailed...observed on the greatest number of sites was the black - throated sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata). The reptile most frequently observed was the side-blotched...Poliopt~ila caerula Loggerhead shrike Lanius ludovicianus Black - throated sparrow Amphispiza bilineata Unidentified sparrow Unidentified buteo REPTILES

Dating previously balanced rocks in seismically active parts of California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bell, J.W.; Brune, J.N.; Liu, T.; Zreda, M.; Yount, J.C.

1998-01-01

Precariously balanced boulders that could be knocked down by strong earthquake ground motion are found in some seismically active areas of southern California and Nevada. In this study we used two independent surface-exposure dating techniques - rock-varnish microlamination and cosmogenic 36Cl dating methodologies - to estimate minimum- and maximum-limiting ages, respectively, of the precarious boulders and by inference the elapsed time since the sites were shaken down. The results of the exposure dating indicate that all of the precarious rocks are >10.5 ka and that some may be significantly older. At Victorville and Jacumba, California, these results show that the precarious rocks have not been knocked down for at least 10.5 k.y., a conclusion in apparent conflict with some commonly used probabilistic seismic hazard maps. At Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the ages of the precarious rocks are >10.5 to >27.0 ka, providing an independent measure of the minimum time elapsed since faulting occurred on the Solitario Canyon fault.

Overview with methods and procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey mineral-resource assessment of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming: Chapter A in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Day, Warren C.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Zientek, Michael L.; Frost, Thomas P.

2016-08-19

This report, chapter A of Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089, provides an overview of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment (SaMiRA). The report also describes the methods, procedures, and voluminous fundamental reference information used throughout the assessment. Data from several major publicly available databases and other published sources were used to develop an understanding of the locatable, leaseable, and salable mineral resources of this vast area. This report describes the geologic, mineral-occurrence, geochemical, geophysical, remote-sensing, and Bureau of Land Management mineral-case-status data used for the assessment, along with the methods for evaluating locatable mineral-resource potential. The report also discusses energy-resource data (oil and gas, coal, and geothermal) used in the assessment. Appendixes include summary descriptive mineral-deposit models that provide the criteria necessary to assess for the pertinent locatable minerals and market-demand commodity profiles for locatable mineral commodities relevant to the project. Datasets used in the assessment are available as USGS data releases.

78 FR 57650 - Endangered Species Recovery Permit Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

... and population monitoring activities throughout the range of the species in California, Nevada... World Airports, Los Angeles, California. The applicant requests a permit renewal to take (harass by... on lands owned and operated by the Los Angeles World Airport, Los Angeles County, California, for the...

Spatial Investigation of Columnar AOD and Near-Surface PM2.5 Concentrations During the 2013 American and Yosemite Rim Fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loria Salazar, S. M.; Holmes, H.; Arnott, W. P.; Moosmuller, H.; Liming, A.; Echevarria, B.

2014-12-01

The study of aerosol pollution transport and optical properties in the western U.S. is a challenge due to the complex terrain, bright surfaces, presence of anthropogenic and biogenic emissions, secondary organic aerosol formation, and smoke from wild fires. In addition, the complex terrain influences transport phenomena by recirculating mountain air from California to Nevada, where air pollution from the Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) is mixed with urban air from the Central Valley in California. Previous studies in Reno hypothesize that elevated aerosol concentrations aloft, above the convective boundary layer height, make air quality monitoring in Reno challenging with MODIS products. Here, we analyze data from August 2013 as a case study for wildfire smoke plumes in California and Nevada. During this time period, northern California was impacted by large wild fires known as the American and Yosemite Rim fires. Thousands of acres burned, generating large quantities of aerosol pollutants that were transported downwind. The aim of the present work is to investigate the fire plume behavior and transport phenomena using ground level PM2.5 concentrations from routine monitoring networks and aerosol optical properties from AERONET, both at multiple locations in California and Nevada. In addition, the accuracy of MODIS (Collection 6) and VIIRS aerosol satellite products will be evaluated. The multispectral photoacoustic instruments and reciprocal nephelometers located in Reno support the estimation of approximated aerosol height. The objectives are to investigate the impact of the vertical distribution of PM concentrations on satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals; assess the ability to estimate ground level PM2.5 mass concentrations for wildfire smoke plumes from satellite remote sensing; and investigate the influence of complex terrain on the transport of pollutants, convective boundary layer depth, and aerosol optical height.

Concentration-discharge relationships in headwater streams of the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Carolyn T. Hunsaker; Dale W. Johnson

2017-01-01

We examined streamwater concentration-discharge relationships for eight small, forest watersheds ranging in elevation from 1,485 to 2,465 m in the southern Sierra Nevada. These headwater streams revealed nearly chemostatic behavior by current definitions for K+, Ca...

75 FR 79387 - Endangered Species Recovery Permit Applications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... California and Nevada for the purpose of enhancing its survival. Permit No. TE-835549 Applicant: Charles H..., 65 FR 11798) to remove/remove to possession California Orcutt grass (Orcuttia californica) and...

Northwest Basin and Range tectonic deformation observed with the Global Positioning System, 1999-2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hammond, W.C.; Thatcher, W.

2005-01-01

We use geodetic velocities obtained with the Global Positioning System (GPS) to quantify tectonic deformation of the northwest Basin and Range province of the western United States. The results are based on GPS data collected in 1999 and 2003 across five new quasi-linear networks in northern Nevada, northeast California, and southeast Oregon. The velocities show ???3 mm/yr westward movement of northern Nevada with respect to stable North America. West of longitude 119??W the velocities increase and turn northwest, parallel to Sierra Nevada/Great Valley microplate motion, and similar to velocities previously obtained to the south. The observations are explained by a kinematic model with three domains that rotate around Euler poles in eastern Oregon and western Idaho. Northeast California experiences internal dextral shear deformation (11.2 ?? 3.6 nstrain/yr) subparallel to Pacific/North America motion. Relative motions of the domains imply 2-5 mm/yr approximately east-west extension in northwest Nevada and 1-4 mm/yr approximately north-south contraction near the California/Oregon border. The northward decreasing approximately east-west extension in northwest Nevada is consistent with the northern termination of Basin and Range deformation, faulting and characteristic topography. No significant extension is detected in the Oregon Basin and Range. The Oregon Cascade arc moves north at ???3.5 mm/yr and is possibly influenced by the approximately eastward motion of the Juan de Fuca plate. These results disagree with secular northwest trenchward motion of the Oregon forearc inferred from paleomagnetic rotations. South of latitude 43??, however, trenchward motion exists and is consistent with block rotations, approximately east-west Basin and Range extension, and northwest Sierra Nevada translation. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

Analysis of SIR-B radar illumination of geometry for depth of penetration and surface feature and vegetation detection, Nevada and California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taranik, J. V.; Slemmons, D. B.; Bell, E. J.; Borengasser, M.; Lugaski, T. P.; Vreeland, H.; Vreeland, P.; Kleiner, E.; Peterson, F. F.; Kleiforth, H.

1984-01-01

The measurement capability provided by the Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) was used to determine: (1) the relationships between radar illumination geometry and depth of penetration in different climatic and physiographic environments in Nevada; and, (2) the relationships between radar illumination geometry and detection and analysis of structural features in different climatic and physiographic environments in Nevada.

Dollar Summary of Federal Supply Classification and Service Category by Company, FY84, Part 5 (6630-7530).

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

INSTR CONN ARMY OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS 83 CONTRAVES GOERZ CORPORATION PENN ARMY OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS 1.830 CORDIN COMPANY UTAH ARMY OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS 99 D A...CO ALABAMA ARMY OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS 27𔄃 INTERACTIVE VIDEO DISC CALIFORNIA NAVY OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS 30 INTERNATIONAL SCTFC INST CALIFORNIA ARMY...PHOTOGRAPHIC SETS KITS AND OUTFITS 41 CALIFORNIA VIDEO SALES INC CALIFORNIA ARMY PHOTOGRAPHIC SETS KITS AND OUTFITS 31 CONTRAVES GOERZ CORPORATION

Soil acidity, temperature, and water relationships of four clovers in Sierra Nevada meadows

Treesearch

Raymond D. Ratliff; Ethelynda E. Harding

1993-01-01

Sites in meadows of the Sierra Nevada near Fresno, California, were studied to learn whether Bolander's (Trifolium holanderi Gray.), longstalked (T. longipes Nutt.), carpet (T. monanthum Gray.), and mountain (T. wormskioldii Lehm.) clovers occurred under the same soil acidity, temperature...

Mammal mortality at Arizona, California, and Nevada gold mines using cyanide extraction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, D.R.; Hothem, R.L.

1991-01-01

Five-hundred nineteen mammals were reported dead at cyanide-extraction gold mines in Arizona [USA], California, and Nevada from 1984 through 1989. Most numerous were rodents (34.9%) and bats (33.7%); 'bat' was the most often reported category among 24 species or species groups. There are an estimated 160 cyanide-extraction gold mines in these three states, and the number is increasing. Ten mammal species listed as endangered, threatened, rare, protected, or species of special concern are known to have cyanide-extraction gold mines within their geographic ranges.

Bioaccumulation of selenium from natural geologic sources in western states and its potential consequences

USGS Publications Warehouse

Presser, T.S.; Sylvester, M.A.; Low, W.H.

1994-01-01

Ecological impacts of water-quality problems have developed in the western United States resulting from the disposal of seleniferous agricultural wastewater in wetland areas. Overt effects of selenium toxicosis occurred at five areas where deformities of wild aquatic birds were similar to those first observed at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the west-central San Joaquin Valley of California. These areas are: Tulare Lake Bed Area, California, Middle Green River Basin, Utah, Kandrick Reclamation Project Area, Wyoming, Sun River Basin, Montana, and Stillwater Wildlife Management Area, Nevada. Potential for ecological damage is indicated at six more sites in Oregon, Colorado, the Colorado/Kansas border, and South Dakota out of 16 areas in 11 states where biological tissue data were collected. This conclusion is based on the fact that selenium bioaccumulated in bird livers to median levels that had exceeded or were in the range associated with adverse reproductive effects. Selenium concentrations in samples of fish and bird eggs support these conclusions at a majority of these areas. Reason for concern is also given for the lower Colorado River Valley, although this is not exclusively a conclusion from these reconnaissance data. Biogeochemical conditions and the extent of selenium contamination of water, bottom sediment, and biota from which this assessment was made are given here. In a companion paper, the biogeochemical pathway postulated for selenium contamination to take place from natural geologic sources to aquatic wildlife is defined.

Bioaccumulation of selenium from natural geologic sources in western states and its potential consequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Presser, Theresa S.; Sylvester, Marc A.; Low, Walton H.

1994-05-01

Ecological impacts of water-quality problems have developed in the western United States resulting from the disposal of seleniferous agricultural wastewater in wetland areas. Overt effects of selenium toxicosis occurred at five areas where deformities of wild aquatic birds were similar to those first observed at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the west-central San Joaquin Valley of California. These areas are: Tulare Lake Bed Area, California, Middle Green River Basin, Utah, Kendrick Reclamation Project Area, Wyoming, Sun River Basin, Montana, and Stillwater Wildlife Management Area, Nevada. Potential for ecological damage is indicated at six more sites in Oregon, Colorado, the Colorado/Kansas border, and South Dakota out of 16 areas in 11 states where biological tissue data were collected. This conclusion is based on the fact that selenium bioaccumulated in bird livers to median levels that had exceeded or were in the range associated with adverse reproductive effects. Selenium concentrations in samples of fish and bird eggs support these conclusions at a majority of these areas. Reason for concern is also given for the lower Colorado River Valley, although this is not exclusively a conclusion from these reconnaissance data. Biogeochemical conditions and the extent of selenium contamination of water, bottom sediment, and biota from which this assessment was made are given here. In a companion paper, the biogeochemical pathway postulated for selenium contamination to take place from natural geologic sources to aquatic wildlife is defined.

Environmental Assessment Military Housing Privatization Initiative at Beale Air Force Base, California

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-01

Sacramento Valley south to southern California; Coast Ranges south of Sonoma County ; below 4,000 feet in northern California Grasslands, brushlands...Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) SC/SSC Winter visitor along the coast from Sonoma County to San Diego County, eastward to the Sierra Nevada foothills

Home range characteristics of fishers in California

Treesearch

W. J. Zielinski; R. L. Truex; G. A. Schmidt; F. V. Schlexer; K. N. Schmidt; R. H. Barrett

2004-01-01

The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a forest mustelid that historically occurred in California from the mixed conifer forests of the north coast, east to the southern Cascades, and south throughout the Sierra Nevada. Today fishers in California occur only in 2 disjunct populations in the northwestern mountains and the...

76 FR 7622 - California Disaster #CA-00162

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-10

... Administrative declaration of a disaster for the State of California dated 02/02/2011. Incident: Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Debris and Mud Flows. Incident Period: 12/17/2010 through 01/04/2011. Effective... is 12460 0. The States which received an EIDL Declaration are California, Arizona, Nevada. (Catalog...

Seismo-Acoustic Generation by Earthquakes and Explosions and Near-Regional Propagation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-30

earthquakes generate infrasound . Three infrasonic arrays in Utah (BGU, EPU, and NOQ), one in Nevada (NVIAR), and one in Wyoming (PDIAR) recorded...Katz, and C. Hayward (2009b). The F-detector Revisited: An Improved Strategy for Signal Detection at Seismic and Infrasound Arrays , Bull. Seism. Soc...sources. RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHED Infrasound Observations of the Wells Earthquake Most studies documenting earthquake - generated infrasound are based

MX Siting Investigation. Mineral Resources Survey, Seven Additional Valleys, Nevada/Utah Siting Area. Volume IV.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-23

Lead, copper , silver In brecciated Devonian (?) limestone at the contact with altered grane* Porphyry (507). Silver, lead, copper , gold. Silver, lead...rhyolite and latite. Molybdenum- quartz yamns and disseminated in quartz monaonilte porphyry ( 402) Silveir, gold, lead, Silver, gold, lead, copper ...in parentheses ) Canyon) Tfungsten, gold. silver Tungsten -irregular pipelike bodies in brocaiated and silicified copper , lead. flourspar liniestone

Mineralogy of Drill Cuttings Beowawe, Dixie Valley and Roosevelt Hot Springs

DOE Data Explorer

Simmons, Stuart

2017-01-25

Mineralogical, lithological, and geospatial data of drill cuttings from exploration production wells in Beowawe, Dixie Valley and Roosvelt Hot Springs. These data support whole rock analyses for major, minor and critical elements to assess critical metals in produced fluids from Nevada and Utah geothermal fields. The samples were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (legacy data) and then checked by thin section analysis.

Selected hydrologic data for the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley, western Utah, 1991-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mason, James L.; Brothers, William C.; Gerner, Linda J.; Muir, Pamela S.

1995-01-01

This report contains hydrologic data collected during 1991-93 in the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley study area of western Utah. These data were collected in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, as part of a study to investigate possible salt loss from the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Bonneville Salt Flats and adjacent Pilot Valley are located in the western part of the Great Salt Lake Desert in Utah, near the Nevada border. The Bonneville Salt Flats playa has a thick, perennial salt crust and the Pilot Valley playa has a thin, ephemeral salt crust. Well-completion data, including well depth and screened intervals, are presented in this report for selected shallow and deep monitoring wells. Water-level measurements are reported with corresponding specfic-gravity and temperature measurements. Results of chemical analyses are reported for brine collected from wells and pore fluids extracted from cores.

Application of the Basin Characterization Model to Estimate In-Place Recharge and Runoff Potential in the Basin and Range Carbonate-Rock Aquifer System, White Pine County, Nevada, and Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flint, Alan L.; Flint, Lorraine E.

2007-01-01

A regional-scale water-balance model was used to estimate recharge and runoff potential and support U.S. Geological Survey efforts to develop a better understanding of water availability for the Basin and Range carbonate-rock aquifer system (BARCAS) study in White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in Nevada and Utah. The water-balance model, or Basin Characterization Model (BCM), was used to estimate regional ground-water recharge for the 13 hydrographic areas in the study area. The BCM calculates recharge by using a distributed-parameter, water-balance method and monthly climatic boundary conditions. The BCM requires geographic information system coverages of soil, geology, and topographic information with monthly time-varying climatic conditions of air temperature and precipitation. Potential evapotranspiration, snow accumulation, and snowmelt are distributed spatially with process models. When combined with surface properties of soil-water storage and saturated hydraulic conductivity of bedrock and alluvium, the potential water available for in-place recharge and runoff is calculated using monthly time steps using a grid scale of 866 feet (270 meters). The BCM was used with monthly climatic inputs from 1970 to 2004, and results were averaged to provide an estimate of the average annual recharge for the BARCAS study area. The model estimates 526,000 acre-feet of potential in-place recharge and approximately 398,000 acre-feet of potential runoff. Assuming 15 percent of the runoff becomes recharge, the model estimates average annual ground-water recharge for the BARCAS area of about 586,000 acre-feet. When precipitation is extrapolated to the long-term climatic record (1895-2006), average annual recharge is estimated to be 530,000 acre-feet, or about 9 percent less than the recharge estimated for 1970-2004.

Geology of Utah and Nevada by ERTS imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, M. L. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Two ancient watercourses have been observed on ERTS-1 imagery. These lie in the Waterpocket Fold area, north of the Marble Canyon section of the Colorado River, in Arizona and Utah. A third old watercourse of interest is an ancient canyon of the Colorado and is located on image no. 1156-17260. Image no. 1051-17414 contains some very useful information concerning the hydrology, sedimentology, and biology of Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake in Utah. In Great Salt Lake, there is a sharp line between the portion of the lake north of the railroad causeway and that south of the causeway. There is a marked difference in salinity across the causeway, and this is reflected in different algal species. On the same image, sediment plumes in Bear Lake clearly delineate the circulation pattern, and provide excellent indications of bottom contours over much of the area. Image no. 1051-17420 contains part of Great Salt Lake and all of Utah Lake. The latter displays a very interesting surface pattern which is probably due to an algal bloom which has been swirled into a spiral by the circulation of the lake.

Summary of space imagery studies in Utah and Nevada. [using LANDSAT 1, EREP, and Skylab imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, M. L.; Laylander, P.

1975-01-01

LANDSAT-1, Skylab, and RB-57 imagery acquired within days of each other of the San Rafael swell enabled geological mapping of individual formations of the southern portion of this broad anticlinal feature in eastern Utah. Mapping at a scale of 1/250,000 on an enhanced and enlarged S-190B image resulted in a geological map showing correlative mappable features that are indicated on the geological map of Utah at the same scale. An enhanced enlargement of an S-190B color image at a scale of 1/19,200 of the Bingham Porphyry Copper deposit allowed comparison of a geological map of the area with the space imagery map as fair for the intrusion boundaries and total lack of quality for mapping the sediments. Hydrothermal alteration is only slightly evident on space imagery at Bingham but in the Tintic mining district and the volcanic piles of the Keg and Thomas ranges, Utah, hydrothermal alteration is readily mapped on color enlargements of S-190B (SL-3, T3-3N Tr-2). A mercury soil-gas analyzer was developed for locating hidden mineralized zones which were suggested from space imagery.

Western United States and Southwestern Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

This natural-color image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) captures the beauty of the western United States and Canada. Data from 45 swaths from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera were combined to create this cloud-free mosaic. The image extends from 48o N 128o W in the northwest, to 32oN, 104o W in the southeast, and has been draped over a shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation Model from the United States Geological Survey.

The image area includes much of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan in the north, and extends southward to California, Arizona and New Mexico. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains are a prominent feature extending through British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Many major rivers originate in the Columbia Plateau region of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Colorado Plateau region is characterized by the vibrant red-colored rocks of the Painted Desert in Utah and Arizona, and in New Mexico, White Sands National Park is the large white feature in the Southeast corner of the image with the Malpais lava flow just to its North. The southwest is dominated by the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, California's San Joaquin Valley, the Los Angeles basin and the Pacific Ocean.

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during 2000-2002. The panels utilize data from blocks 45 to 65 within World Reference System-2 paths 31 to 53.

MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.

Ground-water quality in the carbonate-rock aquifer of the Great Basin, Nevada and Utah, 2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaefer, Donald H.; Thiros, Susan A.; Rosen, Michael R.

2005-01-01

The carbonate-rock aquifer of the Great Basin is named for the thick sequence of Paleozoic limestone and dolomite with lesser amounts of shale, sandstone, and quartzite. It lies primarily in the eastern half of the Great Basin and includes areas of eastern Nevada and western Utah as well as the Death Valley area of California and small parts of Arizona and Idaho. The carbonate-rock aquifer is contained within the Basin and Range Principal Aquifer, one of 16 principal aquifers selected for study by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water- Quality Assessment Program.Water samples from 30 ground-water sites (20 in Nevada and 10 in Utah) were collected in the summer of 2003 and analyzed for major anions and cations, nutrients, trace elements, dissolved organic carbon, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, radon, and microbiology. Water samples from selected sites also were analyzed for the isotopes oxygen-18, deuterium, and tritium to determine recharge sources and the occurrence of water recharged since the early 1950s.Primary drinking-water standards were exceeded for several inorganic constituents in 30 water samples from the carbonate-rock aquifer. The maximum contaminant level was exceeded for concentrations of dissolved antimony (6 μg/L) in one sample, arsenic (10 μg/L) in eleven samples, and thallium (2 μg/L) in one sample. Secondary drinking-water regulations were exceeded for several inorganic constituents in water samples: chloride (250 mg/L) in five samples, fluoride (2 mg/L) in two samples, iron (0.3 mg/L) in four samples, manganese (0.05 mg/L) in one sample, sulfate (250 mg/L) in three samples, and total dissolved solids (500 mg/L) in seven samples.Six different pesticides or metabolites were detected at very low concentrations in the 30 water samples. The lack of VOC detections in water sampled from most of the sites is evidence thatVOCs are not common in the carbonate-rock aquifer. Arsenic values for water range from 0.7 to 45.7 μg/L, with a median value of 9.6 μg/L. Factors affecting arsenic concentration in the carbonate-rock aquifer in addition to geothermal heating are its natural occurrence in the aquifer material and time of travel along the flow path.Most of the chemical analyses, especially for VOCs and nutrients, indicate little, if any, effect of overlying land-use patterns on ground-water quality. The water quality in recharge areas for the aquifer where human activities are more intense may be affected by urban and/or agricultural land uses as evidenced by pesticide detections. The proximity of the carbonate-rock aquifer at these sites to the land surface and the potential for local recharge to occur through the fractured rock likely results in the occurrence of these and other land-surface related contaminants in the ground water. Water from sites sampled near outcrops of carbonate-rock aquifer likely has a much shorter residence time resulting in a potential for detection of anthropogenic or land-surface related compounds. Sites located in discharge areas of the flow systems or wells that are completed at a great depth below the land surface generally show no effects of land-use activities on water quality. Flow times within the carbonate-rock aquifer, away from recharge areas, are on the order of thousands of years, so any contaminants introduced at the land surface that will not degrade along the flow path have not reached the sampled sites in these areas.

Endangered plant species of the Nevada Test Site, Ash Meadows, and Central-Southern Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beatley, J.C.

A total of 15 vascular plant taxa, currently appearing on the Endangered Species list, occur in southern Nye County, Nevada, and/or adjacent Inyo County, California. It is the purpose of this report to record in detail the locations of the plant collections upon which the distributions are based, and other information relevant to their status as Endangered Species, and to recommend the areas to be designated critical habitats.

Change in Total Water in California's Mountains and Groundwater in Central Valley During the 2011-2014 Drought From GPS, GRACE, and InSAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Argus, D. F.; Fu, Y.; Landerer, F. W.; Farr, T.; Watkins, M. M.; Famiglietti, J. S.

2014-12-01

Changes in total water thickness in most of California are being estimated using GPS measurements of vertical ground displacement. The Sierra Nevada each year subsides about 12 mm in the fall and winter due to the load of rain and snow, then rises about the same amount in the spring and summer when the snow melts, water runs off, and soil moisture evaporates. Earth's elastic response to a surface load is well known (except at thick sedimentary basins). Changes in equivalent water thickness can thus be inferred [Argus Fu Landerer 2014]. The average seasonal change in total water thickness is found to be 0.5 meters in the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains and 0.1 meters in the Great Basin. The average seasonal change in the Sierra Nevada Mountains estimated with GPS is 35 Gigatons. GPS vertical ground displacements are furthermore being used to estimate changes in water in consecutive years of either drought or heavy precipitation. Changes in the sum of snow and soil moisture during California's drought from June 2011 to June 2014 are estimated from GPS in this study. Changes in water in California's massive reservoirs are well known and removed, yielding an estimate of change in the thickness of snow plus soil moisture. Water loss is found to be largest near the center of the southern Sierra Nevada (0.8 m equivalent water thickness) and smaller in the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Klamath Mountains (0.3 m). The GPS estimates of changes in the sum of snow and soil moisture complement GRACE observations of water change in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin. Whereas GPS provides estimates of water change at high spatial resolution in California's mountains, GRACE observes changes in groundwater in the Central Valley. We will further compare and contrast the GPS and GRACE measurements, and also evaluate the finding of Amos et al. [2014] that groundwater loss in the southern Central Valley (Tulare Basin) is causing the mountains on either side to rise at 1 to 3 mm/yr.

A comparison of empirical and modeled nitrogen critical loads for Mediterranean forests and shrublands in California

Treesearch

M.E. Fenn; H.-D. Nagel; I. Koseva; J. Aherne; S.E. Jovan; L.H. Geiser; A. Schlutow; T. Scheuschner; A. Bytnerowicz; B.S. Gimeno; F. Yuan; S.A. Watmough; E.B. Allen; R.F. Johnson; T. Meixner

2014-01-01

Nitrogen (N) deposition is impacting a number of ecosystem types in California. Critical loads (CLs) for N deposition determined for mixed conifer forests and chaparral/oak woodlands in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California using empirical and various modelling approaches were compared. Models used included...

Historical and Contemporary DNA Indicate Fisher Decline and Isolation Occurred Prior to the European Settlement of California

PubMed Central

Tucker, Jody M.; Schwartz, Michael K.; Truex, Richard L.; Pilgrim, Kristine L.; Allendorf, Fred W.

2012-01-01

Establishing if species contractions were the result of natural phenomena or human induced landscape changes is essential for managing natural populations. Fishers (Martes pennanti) in California occur in two geographically and genetically isolated populations in the northwestern mountains and southern Sierra Nevada. Their isolation is hypothesized to have resulted from a decline in abundance and distribution associated with European settlement in the 1800s. However, there is little evidence to establish that fisher occupied the area between the two extant populations at that time. We analyzed 10 microsatellite loci from 275 contemporary and 21 historical fisher samples (1880–1920) to evaluate the demographic history of fisher in California. We did not find any evidence of a recent (post-European) bottleneck in the northwestern population. In the southern Sierra Nevada, genetic subdivision within the population strongly influenced bottleneck tests. After accounting for genetic subdivision, we found a bottleneck signal only in the northern and central portions of the southern Sierra Nevada, indicating that the southernmost tip of these mountains may have acted as a refugium for fisher during the anthropogenic changes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Using a coalescent-based Bayesian analysis, we detected a 90% decline in effective population size and dated the time of decline to over a thousand years ago. We hypothesize that fisher distribution in California contracted to the two current population areas pre-European settlement, and that portions of the southern Sierra Nevada subsequently experienced another more recent bottleneck post-European settlement. PMID:23300783

Active crustal deformation across the Basin and Range province, western United States, measured with the Global Positioning System, 1992-2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, W.; Thatcher, W.

2003-04-01

The Basin and Range province of the western United States is a region of active tectonic extension and dextral shear, accommodating roughly 25% of the motion between non-deforming North America (NA) and the Pacific Plate (PA). The orientation of dextral shear is consistent with that of NA/PA relative plate motion, suggesting that this high elevation interior province is an important part of the plate boundary system. We present an analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS) data collected from 1992 to 2002. An 800 km long network of campaign-style geodetic benchmarks extends from east of the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ) in central Utah to west of the Genoa fault zone and Lake Tahoe in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains. From the new data collected in September 2002 and from data collected in 1992, 1996, and 1998, velocities have been estimated at 92 GPS sites, nearly double the number previously presented by Thatcher et al. [1999]. This new data reduces the uncertainty in site velocities and increases the spatial detail compared to earlier results, and now allows resolution of distinct domains in the tensor strain rate field. To process the data we use the GIPSY/OASIS and Quasi-Observation Combination Analysis (Dong et al. [1998]) software packages and incorporate data from continuously recording GPS stations in California and Nevada. The results show that most of the approximately 12 mm/yr of Sierra Nevada block motion is accommodated by right lateral shear and extensional deformation concentrated in the westernmost 200 km of Nevada, in the vicinity of the Walker Lane (WL). A lesser amount of velocity variation (roughly 3 mm/yr) is localized at the easternmost edge of the network, in the vicinity of the Wasatch Fault Zone (WFZ). Estimates of tensor strain rates show transitions in the style of deformation. Near the WFZ only uniaxial, roughly east-west extension can be resolved. Between longitude -112 and -117.5 no deformation is resolvable. Near longitude -118, in the vicinity of the historic ruptures of the Fairview Peak, Dixie Valley, and Rainbow Mountain earthquakes in the Central Nevada Seismic Zone, the deformation is mostly uniaxial extension oriented roughly NW/SE, in agreement with the roughly NE/SW strike of the normal faults. At the WL between longitude -118.5 and -119.5, deformation is best characterized by right lateral simple shear, which transitions westward to a blend of right lateral shear and uniaxial extension at the westernmost end of our network.

Accounting for Consumptive Use of Lower Colorado River Water in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.; Wilson, Richard P.

1994-01-01

In the Colorado River valley between the east end of Lake Mead and the international boundary with Mexico (see figure), the river is the principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power generation, and recreational purposes. Water is stored in surface reservoirs and in the river aquifer---permeable sediments and sedimentary rocks that fill the lower Colorado River valley and adjacent tributary valleys. The hydraulic connection between the river and the river aquifer, overbank flow prior to building of the dams, and infiltration as the reservoirs filled allowed the sediments and sedimentary rocks to become saturated with water from the river. Ratios of isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water from wells indicate that most of the water in the river aquifer beneath the flood plain and in many places beneath the adjacent alluvial slopes originated from the river. The water table in the river aquifer extends from the river, beneath the flood plain, and under the alluvial slopes until it intersects bedrock. Precipitation in the surrounding mountains and inflow from tributary valleys also contribute small quantities of water to the river aquifer. Consumptive use of river water in the valley results from evapotranspiration by vegetation (crops and phreatophytes) on the flood plain, pumpage from wells to meet domestic and municipal needs, and pumpage from the river for export to areas in California, Arizona, and Nevada outside of the river valley. Most crops are grown on the flood plain; in a few areas, land on the adjacent terraces has been cultivated. Crops were grown on about 70 percent of the total vegetated area in 1984. Phreatophytes---natural vegetation that obtains water from the river aquifer---covered the remaining vegetated areas on the uncultivated flood plain. Most of the water used for irrigation is diverted or pumped directly from the river and reservoirs. Most of the water used for domestic and municipal purposes is pumped from wells on the flood plain, on adjacent alluvial slopes, and in tributary valleys. River water also is delivered to Mexico in accordance with an international treaty.

Mercury in Tadpoles Collected from Remote Alpine Sites in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA

EPA Science Inventory

Amphibians in alpine wetlands of the Sierra Nevada mountains comprise key components of an aquatic-terrestrial food chain, and mercury contamination is a concern because concentrations in fish from this regin exceed thresholds of risk to piscivorous wildlife. Total mercury conc...

DISTRIBUTIONS OF AIRBORNE AGRICULTURAL CONTAMINANTS RELATIVE TO AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA, CA

EPA Science Inventory

The Sierra Nevada mountain range lies adjacent to one of the heaviest pesticide use areas in the USA, the Central Valley of California. Because of this proximity, concern has arisen that agricultural pesticides, in addition to other contaminants, are adversely affecting the natur...

75 FR 57290 - Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, CO

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-20

...; Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona... of Oklahoma; Susanville Indian Rancheria, California; and Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde...; Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada; Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona...

Watershed Restoration in the Northern Sierra Nevada: A Biotechnical Approach

Treesearch

Donna S. Lindquist; Linton Y. Bowie

1989-01-01

A cooperative erosion control project was initiated in 1985 for the North Fork Feather River watershed in California's northern Sierra Nevada due to widespread accelerated erosion. Resulting sedimentation problems have impacted fish, wildlife and livestock resources, and have created operational concerns for hydroelectric facilities located downstream. In response...

Hydrologic Response and Watershed Sensitivity to Climate Warming in California's Sierra Nevada

PubMed Central

Null, Sarah E.; Viers, Joshua H.; Mount, Jeffrey F.

2010-01-01

This study focuses on the differential hydrologic response of individual watersheds to climate warming within the Sierra Nevada mountain region of California. We describe climate warming models for 15 west-slope Sierra Nevada watersheds in California under unimpaired conditions using WEAP21, a weekly one-dimensional rainfall-runoff model. Incremental climate warming alternatives increase air temperature uniformly by 2°, 4°, and 6°C, but leave other climatic variables unchanged from observed values. Results are analyzed for changes in mean annual flow, peak runoff timing, and duration of low flow conditions to highlight which watersheds are most resilient to climate warming within a region, and how individual watersheds may be affected by changes to runoff quantity and timing. Results are compared with current water resources development and ecosystem services in each watershed to gain insight into how regional climate warming may affect water supply, hydropower generation, and montane ecosystems. Overall, watersheds in the northern Sierra Nevada are most vulnerable to decreased mean annual flow, southern-central watersheds are most susceptible to runoff timing changes, and the central portion of the range is most affected by longer periods with low flow conditions. Modeling results suggest the American and Mokelumne Rivers are most vulnerable to all three metrics, and the Kern River is the most resilient, in part from the high elevations of the watershed. Our research seeks to bridge information gaps between climate change modeling and regional management planning, helping to incorporate climate change into the development of regional adaptation strategies for Sierra Nevada watersheds. PMID:20368984

Structure and regional significance of the Late Permian(?) Sierra Nevada - Death Valley thrust system, east-central California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, C.H.; Stone, P.

2005-01-01

An imbricate system of north-trending, east-directed thrust faults of late Early Permian to middle Early Triassic (most likely Late Permian) age forms a belt in east-central California extending from the Mount Morrison roof pendant in the eastern Sierra Nevada to Death Valley. Six major thrust faults typically with a spacing of 15-20 km, original dips probably of 25-35??, and stratigraphic throws of 2-5 km compose this structural belt, which we call the Sierra Nevada-Death Valley thrust system. These thrusts presumably merge into a de??collement at depth, perhaps at the contact with crystalline basement, the position of which is unknown. We interpret the deformation that produced these thrusts to have been related to the initiation of convergent plate motion along a southeast-trending continental margin segment probably formed by Pennsylvanian transform truncation. This deformation apparently represents a period of tectonic transition to full-scale convergence and arc magmatism along the continental margin beginning in the Late Triassic in central California. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Travel history key to picking up on signs of bubonic plague.

PubMed

2015-11-01

Health officials note an uptick in cases of bubonic plague in the United States this year, with at least 12 reported human cases reported since April 1. The CDC notes that healthcare providers should consider plague in patients who have traveled to plague-endemic areas and exhibit fever, headache, chills, weakness, and one or more swollen or tender and painful lymph nodes, referred to as buboes. Officials note that the disease rarely passes from person to person, but that this is a concern with patients who have developed the pneumonic form of the disease. Health officials note that in recent years there has been an average of seven cases of human plague each year in the United States, and that most of these cases are the bubonic form of the illness. Four patients confirmed to have plague this year have died, including the most recent case, a Utah man in his 70s. Most cases of plague in the United States occur in two regions. The first includes northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, and southern Colorado, and the second includes California, southern Oregon, and far western Nevada. When plague is suspected, treatment with antibiotics should begin immediately.

78 FR 343 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Southwestern...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-03

...We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate revised critical habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) (flycatcher) under the Endangered Species Act. In total, approximately 1,975 stream kilometers (1,227 stream miles) are being designated as critical habitat. These areas are designated as stream segments, with the lateral extent including the riparian areas and streams that occur within the 100-year floodplain or flood-prone areas encompassing a total area of approximately 84,569 hectares (208,973 acres). The critical habitat is located on a combination of Federal, State, tribal, and private lands in Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Counties in California; Clark, Lincoln, and Nye Counties in southern Nevada; Kane, San Juan, and Washington Counties in southern Utah; Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, and La Plata Counties in southern Colorado; Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai Counties in Arizona; and Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, Mora, Rio Arriba, Socorro, Taos, and Valencia Counties in New Mexico. The effect of this regulation is to conserve the flycatcher's habitat under the Endangered Species Act.

Effects of agriculture and urbanization on quality of shallow ground water in the arid to semiarid western United States, 1993-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paul, Angela P.; Seiler, Ralph L.; Rowe, Timothy G.; Rosen, Michael R.

2007-01-01

Within the Western United States, agricultural and rural lands are being developed into commercial and residential areas. With changes in land use and increasing population, greater demands are placed on water resources for agricultural, industrial, and domestic supplies. Many areas in the Western United States rely exclusively on ground water as their source of drinking water. Areas that use surface-water resources often need to supplement this supply with ground water.Generally, shallow ground water is susceptible to fluctuating water quality within relatively short time scales and therefore can be used as an indicator of land-use stresses that may, in time, affect deep aquifer systems. This regional study examines data on shallow ground-water quality collected from 1993 to 2004 from 273 agricultural and 181 urban wells from 7 U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment study units in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, south-central Colorado, and Utah. This report determines important influences that land-use practices may have on the quality of recently recharged ground water, which may ultimately affect deep water supplies within the region.

Petrographic and chemical reconnaissance study of some granitic and gneissic rocks near the San Andreas fault from Bodega Head to Cajon Pass, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ross, Donald C.

1972-01-01

This petrographic and chemical study is based on reconnaissance sampling of granitic and related gneissic rock in the California Coast and Transverse Ranges. In the Coast Ranges, granitic rocks are restricted to an elongate belt, the Salinian block, between the San Andreas and Sur-Nacimiento fault zones. These rocks have a considerable compositional range, but are dominantly quartz monzonite and granodiorite. Moist of the Salinian block seems to be a structurally coherent basement block of chemically related granitic rocks. However, on both the east and the west sides of the block, gneiss crops out in abundance; these rocks may be structurally separate from the main part of the Salinian block. In the Transverse Ranges, the granitic and related rocks are dominantly of granodiorite composition, and in many areas granitic and gneissic rocks are intimately intermixed.Chemically the rocks of the California Coast and Transverse Ranges are somewhat intermediate in character between those of the east-central part of the Sierra Nevada batholith and those of the western part of the Sierra Nevada batholith and the southern California batholith. Probably the closest similarity is to the east-central Sierra Nevada rocks, but the rocks of the Coast and Transverse Ranges are somewhat higher in Al2O3 and lower in K2O than Sierran rocks of the comparable SiO2 content.Granitic basement rocks of the Salinian block are now anomalously sandwiched between Franciscan terranes. The petrographic and chemical data are compatible with the concept that the Salinian rocks were originally part of the great batholithic belt along the west coast, which is exemplified by the Sierra Nevada hatholith. It also seems most likely that the Salinian block was transported from somewhere south of the Sierra Nevada batholith by large-scale right-lateral movement along the San Andreas fault zone.

77 FR 47868 - Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-10

...: (Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation, California; Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Viejas Reservation, California... Rancheria of California Tejon Indian Tribe Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four...

75 FR 60810 - Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-01

... California: Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Barona Reservation, California Viejas (Baron Long) Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians of the Viejas Reservation, California... Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent bands: Battle Mountain Band...

Growth of thinned and unthinned hardwood stands on a good site in northern California

Treesearch

Philip M. McDonald; Nicholas R. Vaughn

2007-01-01

Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii Pursh), tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd.), and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii Newb.) are three hardwood species commonly found in the Sierra Nevada of California, an area better known for its mixed-conifer forests. Hardwood stands in this region currently are...

Present-day deformation across the Basin and Range Province, western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thatcher, W.; Foulger, G.R.; Julian, B.R.; Svarc, J.; Quilty, E.; Bawden, G.W.

1999-01-01

The distribution of deformation within the Basin and Range province was determined from 1992, 1996, and 1998 surveys of a dense, 800-kilometer- aperture, Global Positioning System network, Internal deformation generally follows the pattern of Holocene fault distribution and is concentrated near the western extremity of the province, with lesser amounts focused near the eastern boundary. Little net deformation occurs across the central 500 kilometers of the network in western Utah and eastern Nevada. Concentration of deformation adjacent to the rigid Sierra Nevada block indicates that external plate-driving forces play an important role in driving deformation, modulating the extensional stress field generated by internal buoyancy forces that are due to lateral density gradients and topography near the province boundaries.

MX Siting Investigation. Geotechnical Evaluation. Volume V. Nevada - Utah Verification Studies, FY 79. Geotechnical Data White River North CDP, Nevada.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-24

5 . TYPE OF REPORT 0 PERIOD COVERED L’-, P.eRORMCG- 0 i. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT t...34 0 / AJ " " 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse side It necesry and identify by block umberj hI-)? , --c. r ’ & 5 iI"’ Ia’A L_ q- ..>- 4c r, 5 - -41 ac...8217 241 291 Ill Ill 11 11 11 Ill It, T:-1: 11 1: ;, s2 2 L I I 1 5 I.L cc. a. is I.. :I 3 ’ S 0 5 2 2 1 󈧩 2 2 1 *1 -I %V44 3 IA &it 045 00 19 055

Reproduction, abundance, and population growth for a fisher (Pekania pennanti) population in the Sierra National Forest, California

Treesearch

Rick A. Sweitzer; Viorel D. Popescu; Reginald H. Barrett; Kathryn L. Purcell; Craig M. Thompson

2015-01-01

In the west coast region of the United States, fishers (Pekania pennanti) exist in 2 remnant populations—1 in northern California and 1 in the southern Sierra Nevada, California—and 3 reintroduced populations (western Washington, southern Oregon, and northeastern California). The West Coast Distinct Population Segment of fishers encompassing all of...

Air-Quality Impacts and Intake Fraction of PM2.5 during the 2013 Rim Megafire.

PubMed

Navarro, Kathleen M; Cisneros, Ricardo; O'Neill, Susan M; Schweizer, Don; Larkin, Narasimhan K; Balmes, John R

2016-11-01

The 2013 Rim Fire was the third largest wildfire in California history and burned 257 314 acres in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We evaluated air-quality impacts of PM 2.5 from smoke from the Rim Fire on receptor areas in California and Nevada. We employed two approaches to examine the air-quality impacts: (1) an evaluation of PM 2.5 concentration data collected by temporary and permanent air-monitoring sites and (2) an estimation of intake fraction (iF) of PM 2.5 from smoke. The Rim Fire impacted locations in the central Sierra nearest to the fire and extended to the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada monitoring sites. Daily 24-h average PM 2.5 concentrations measured at 22 air monitors had an average concentration of 20 μg/m 3 and ranged from 0 to 450 μg/m 3 . The iF for PM 2.5 from smoke during the active fire period was 7.4 per million, which is slightly higher than representative iF values for PM 2.5 in rural areas and much lower than for urban areas. This study is a unique application of intake fraction to examine emissions-to-exposure for wildfires and emphasizes that air-quality impacts are not only localized to communities near large fires but can extend long distances and affect larger urban areas.

Sediment sources in the Lake Tahoe Basin, California-Nevada; preliminary results of a four-year study, August 1983-September 1987

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, B.R.; Hill, J.R.; Nolan, K.M.

1988-01-01

Data were collected during a 4-yr study of sediment sources in four drainage basins tributary to Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada. The study areas include the Blackwood, General, Edgewood, and Logan House Creek basins. Data include changes in bank and bed positions at channel cross sections; results of stream-channel mapping; analyses of bank and bed material samples; tabulations of bed material point counts; measured rates of hillslope erosion; dimensions of gullies; suspended-sediment data collected during synoptic snowmelt sampling; and physiographic data for the four study basins. (USGS)

Sediment-source data for four basins tributary to Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada; August 1983-June 1988

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, B.R.; Hill, J.R.; Nolan, K.M.

1990-01-01

Data were collected during a 5-year study of sediment sources in four drainage basins tributary to Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada. The study areas include the Blackwood Creek, General Creek, Edgewood Creek, and Logan House Creek basins. Data include changes in bank and bed positions at channel cross sections; results of stream-channel inventories; analyses of bank and bed material samples; tabulations of bed-material pebble counts; measured rates of hillslope erosion; dimensions of gullies; suspended-sediment data collected during synoptic snowmelt sampling; and physiographic data for the four study basins. (USGS)

Use of digital Munsell color space to assist interretation of imaging spectrometer data: Geologic examples from the northern Grapevine Mountains, California and Nevada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruse, F. A.; Knepper, D. H., Jr.; Clark, R. N.

1986-01-01

Techniques using Munsell color transformations were developed for reducing 128 channels (or less) of Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) data to a single color-composite-image suitable for both visual interpretation and digital analysis. Using AIS data acquired in 1984 and 1985, limestone and dolomite roof pendants and sericite-illite and other clay minerals related to alteration were mapped in a quartz monzonite stock in the northern Grapevine Mountains of California and Nevada. Field studies and laboratory spectral measurements verify the mineralogical distributions mapped from the AIS data.

Taking a Closer Look at English Learner Subgroups Whose Achievement Stalls Out. REL West Research Digest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Regional Educational Laboratory West, 2014

2014-01-01

To figure out better ways to serve their English language learner (ELL) students, the state departments of education in the West Region states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, who are members of the English Learner Alliance, asked REL West to help them put together a more detailed picture of two particular groups of K-12 ELL students who seem to…

Research Natural Areas on National Forest System lands in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Western Wyoming: A guidebook for scientists, managers, and educators

Treesearch

Angela G. Evenden; Melinda Moeur; J. Stephen Shelly; Shannon F. Kimball; Charles A. Wellner

2001-01-01

This guidebook is intended to familiarize land resource managers, scientists, educators, and others with Research Natural Areas (RNAs) managed by the USDA Forest Service in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Intermountain West. This guidebook facilitates broader recognition and use of these valuable natural areas by describing the RNA network, past and current research...

Water in the Great Basin region; Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Price, Don; Eakin, Thomas E.

1974-01-01

The Great Basin Region is defined to include the drainage of the Great Basin physiographic section (Fennman, 1931) in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. In October 1966, the President’s Water Resources Council requested that a comprehensive framework study be made in the Great Basin Region under the leadership of the Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee. The study, which included evaluation of the water resources of the region and guidelines for future study and development, was completed June 30, 1971. Results of the study received limited distribution.The purpose of this atlas is to make available to the public the hydrologic data (including a general appraisal) that were compiled for the comprehensive framework study. Most of the work was done by a water-resources work group consisting of members from several Federal and State agencies under the chairmanship of Thomas E. Eakin of the U.S. Geological Survey. This atlas contains some data not included in the framework study.The data presented herein are reconnaissance in nature and should be used with discretion. The maps are highly generalized and are intended only to illustrate the regional distribution of the supply and general chemical quality of the water. Sources of more detailed information on the hydrology of specific parts of the Great Basin region are listed in the selected references.

Images Show Severity of California Drought

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-07-23

The effects of California severe multiyear drought are seen in this pair of images acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft of the area northeast of Madera, in the Sierra Nevada Moutains foothills between Yosemite National Park and the San Joaquin Valley

Ecology, biodiversity, management, and restoration of aspen in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Wayne D. Shepperd; Paul C. Rogers; David Burton; Dale L. Bartos

2006-01-01

This report was commissioned by the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to synthesize existing information on the ecology and management of aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the Sierra Nevada of California and surrounding environs. It summarizes available information on aspen throughout North America from published literature, internal...

Fungi in the diets of northern flying squirrels and lodgepole chipmunks in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Marc D. Meyer; Malcolm P. North; Douglas A. Kelt

2005-01-01

The diets of a fungal specialist, northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw, 1801)), and a dietary generalist, lodgepole chipmunk (Neotamias speciosus (Merriam, 1890)), were examined in the old-growth, mixed-conifer forest at the Teakettle Experimental Forest in California's southern Sierra Nevada. Spores of fungi...

Hoover Dam Learning Packet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Reclamation (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

This learning packet provides background information about Hoover Dam (Nevada) and the surrounding area. Since the dam was built at the height of the Depression in 1931, people came from all over the country to work on it. Because of Hoover Dam, the Colorado River was controlled for the first time in history and farmers in Nevada, California, and…

78 FR 57449 - Notice Rescinding a Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-18

... California-Nevada Interstate Maglev Project in cooperation with the project sponsor, the Nevada Department of.... During the late 1990s, FRA was implementing the Maglev Deployment Program (Program) created by Congress... the Program was to demonstrate the feasibility of maglev technology. In addition to a number of...

Concerning KAr dating of a basalt flow from the Tahoe-Tioga interglaciation, Sawmill Canyon, southeastern Sierra Nevada, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dalrymple, G.B.; Burke, R.M.; Birkeland, P.W.

1982-01-01

New KAr ages for a basalt flow interbedded with Tahoe and Tioga tills in Sawmill Canyon, southeastern Sierra Nevada, slightly refine previously published ages for the flow and provide an estimate of 53,000 ± 44,000 yr for the Tahoe-Tioga interglaciation.

REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF INORGANIC NITROGEN YIELD AND RETENTION IN HIGH-ELEVATION ECOSYSTEMS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS

EPA Science Inventory

Yields and retention of inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and nitrate concentrations in surface runoff are summarized for 28 high elevation watersheds in the Sierra Nevada, California and Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. Catchments ranged in elevation from 2475 to 3603 m and from...

Nest trees of northern flying squirrels in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Marc D. Meyer; Douglas A. Kelt; Malcolm P. North

2005-01-01

We examined the nest-tree preferences of northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) in an old-growth, mixed-conifer and red fir (Abies magnifica) forest of the southern Sierra Nevada of California. We tracked 27 individuals to 122 nest trees during 3 summers. Flying squirrels selected nest trees that were larger in diameter and...

Precipitation structure in the Sierra Nevada of California during winter

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pandey, G.R.; Cayan, D.R.; Georgakakos, K.P.

1999-01-01

Influences of upper air characteristics along the coast of California upon wintertime (November-April) precipitation in the Sierra Nevada are investigated. Precipitation events in the Sierra Nevada region occur mostly during wintertime, irrespective of station location (leeside or wihdside) and elevation. Most precipitation episodes in the region are associated with moist southwesterly winds (coming from the southwest direction) and also tend to occur when the 700-mbar temperature at the upwind direction is close to -2??C. This favored wind direction and temperature signify the importance of both moisture transport and orographic lifting in augmenting precipitation in the region. By utilizing the observed dependency of the precipitation upon the upper air conditions, a linear model is formulated to quantify the precipitation observed at different sites as a function of moisture transport. The skill of the model increases with timescale of aggregation, reaching more than 50% variance explained at an aggregation period of 5-7 days. This indicates that upstream air moisture transport can be used to estimate the precipitation totals in the Sierra Nevada region. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union.

Geologic and hydrologic characterization and evaluation of the Basin and Range Province relative to the disposal of high-level radioactive waste: Part II, Geologic and hydrologic characterization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sargent, Kenneth A.; Bedinger, M.S.

1985-01-01

The geology and hydrology of the Basin and Range Province of the western conterminous United States are characterized in a series of data sets depicted in maps compiled for evaluation of prospective areas for further study of geohydrologic environments for isolation of high-level radioactive waste. The data sets include: (1) Average precipitation and evaporation; (2) surface distribution of selected rock types; (3) tectonic conditions; and (4) surface- and ground -water hydrology and Pleistocene lakes and marshes.Rocks mapped for consideration as potential host media for the isolation of high-level radioactive waste are widespread and include argillaceous rocks, granitic rocks, tuffaceous rocks, mafic extrusive rocks, evaporites, and laharic breccias. The unsaturated zone, where probably as thick as 150 meters (500 feet), was mapped for consideration as an environment for isolation of high-level waste. Unsaturated rocks of various lithologic types are widespread in the Province.Tectonic stability in the Quaternary Period is considered the key to assessing the probability of future tectonism with regard to high-level radioactive waste disposal. Tectonic conditions are characterized on the basis of the seismic record, heat-flow measurements, the occurrence of Quaternary faults, vertical crustal movement, and volcanic features. Tectonic activity, as indicated by seismicity, is greatest in areas bordering the western margin of the Province in Nevada and southern California, the eastern margin of the Province bordering the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and in parts of the Rio Grande valley. Late Cenozoic volcanic activity is widespread, being greatest bordering the Sierra Nevada in California and Oregon, and bordering the Wasatch Mountains in southern Utah and Idaho.he arid to semiarid climate of the Province results in few perennial streams and lakes. A large part of the surface drainage is interior and the many closed basins commonly are occupied by playas or dry lake beds. The Province is divided into ground-water flow units defined on the basis of ground-water divides, ground-water flow lines, and surface streams that receive ground-water discharge.Ground water contains less than 500 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids throughout most of the Province. Ground water is more mineralized in areas underlain by evaporitic rocks, overlain by playas, and near saline lakes. Ground water is of the calcium, magnesium, or sodium bicarbonate type in the areas where dissolved-solids concentrations are less than 500 milligrams per liter, and of the calcium, magnesium, or sodium sulfate or chloride type where dissolved-solids concentrations are greater than 500 milligrams per liter.Geologic and hydrologic evidence is found for about 100 lakes and marshes that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch. The possibility of a recurrence of pluvial conditions, such as existed in the Pleistocene, is of concern in repository siting because of possible changes in hydrologic conditions. The Pleistocene lakes and marshes provide clues to the hydrology during pluvial climates.

California golden trout and climate change: Is their stream habitat vulnerable to climate warming?

Treesearch

Kathleen Matthews; Sebastien Nussle

2014-01-01

To determine the current range of water temperatures in streams inhabited by California Golden Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita, we deployed and monitored water temperature recording probes from 2008-2013 in three meadows in the Golden Trout Wilderness in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. Ninety probes were placed in three meadow streams...

Aqui y Alla en California. (Here and There in California).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galarza, Ernesto

One in the series "Coleccion Mini-Libros" (Mini-Book Collection) written in Spanish as an enrichment tool for the Spanish speaker, the booklet is a compilation of photographs accompanied by brief descriptions of various points of beauty and interest throughout the State of California. Among the points of interest described are La Sierra Nevada,…

MX Siting Investigation. Water Resources Program. Results of Regional Carbonate Aquifer Testing, Coyote Spring Valley, Nevada.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-18

Winograd and Thordarson (1975) and the regional transmissivity of 200,000 gpd/ft (2500 m2/day) esti- mated by Eakin (1966) for the carbonate aquifers...flow, southern Great Basin, Nevada and California, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, v. 83, p. 3691-3708. Winograd, I. J., and Thordarson , W., 1975...Survey Professional Paper No. 712-C, p. 126. Winograd, I. J., Thordarson , W., and Young, R. A., 1971, Hy- drology of the Nevada Test Site and vicinity

Elevation, Substrate, & Climate effects on Alpine & Sub-Alpine Plant Distribution in California & Nevada's High Mountains: Preliminary Data from the California and Nevada GLORIA Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barber, A.; Millar, C.

2014-12-01

Documenting plant response to global climate change in sensitive zones, such as the alpine, is a major goal for global change biology. Basic information on alpine plant distribution by elevation and substrate provides a basis for anticipating which species may decline in a warming climate. The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) is a worldwide effort to document vegetation changes over time in alpine settings using permanent multi-summit plots. The California/Nevada group currently monitors seven permanent GLORIA target regions, composed of 29 summits in alpine and subalpine zones. Summits range in elevations from 2918m to 4325m on substrates including dolomite, granite, quartzite, and volcanics. High-resolution plant occurrence and cover data from the upper 10 meters of each summit are presented. Plants from our target regions can be divided into three groups: summit specialists found only on the highest peaks, alpine species found predominantly within the alpine zone, and broadly distributed species found in the alpine zone and below. Rock substrate and microsite soil development have a strong influence on plant communities and species richness. We present the first set of five-year resurvey and temperature data from 18 summits. We have documented some annual variation in species presence/absence at almost all sites, but no dramatic changes in total diversity. Consistent with the expectation of rising global temperatures, our soil temperature loggers have documented temperature increases at most of our sites. These data are a baseline for assessing bioclimatic shifts and future plant composition in California and Nevada's alpine zone.

Geologic map of the Hart Peak Quadrangle, California and Nevada: a digital database

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nielson, Jane E.; Turner, Ryan D.; Bedford, David R.

1999-01-01

The Hart Peak 1:24,000-scale quadrangle is located about 12 km southwest of Searchlight, Nevada, comprehending the eastern part of the Castle Peaks, California, and most of the Castle Mountains and the northwestern part of the Piute Range, in California and Nevada. The Castle Peaks area constitutes the northeasternmost part of the northeast-trending New York Mountains. The Castle Mountains straddle the California-Nevada State line between the Castle Peaks and north-trending Piute Range. The southern part of the Piute Range, near Civil War-era Fort Piute, adjoins Homer Mountain mapped by Spencer and Turner (1985). Adjacent and nearby 1:24,000-scale quadrangles include Castle Peaks, East of Grotto Hills, Homer Mountain, and Signal Hill, Calif.; also Tenmile Well and West of Juniper Mine, Calif. and Nev. The oldest rocks in the Hart Peak quadrangle are Early Proterozoic gneiss and foliated granite that crop out in the northern part of the quadrangle on the eastern flank of the Castle Peaks and in the central Castle Mountains (Wooden and Miller, 1990). Paleozoic rocks are uncommon and Mesozoic granitic rocks are not found in the map area. The older rocks are overlain nonconformably by several km of Miocene volcanic deposits, which accumulated in local basins. Local dikes and domes are sources of most Miocene eruptive units; younger Miocene intrusions cut all the older rocks. Upper Miocene to Quaternary gravel deposits interfinger with the uppermost volcanic flows; the contact between volcanic rocks and the gravel deposits is unconformable locally. Canyons and intermontane valleys contain dissected Quaternary alluvialfan deposits that are mantled by active drainage and alluvial fan detritus.

Digital Geologic Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slate, Janet L.; Berry, Margaret E.; Rowley, Peter D.; Fridrich, Christopher J.; Morgan, Karen S.; Workman, Jeremiah B.; Young, Owen D.; Dixon, Gary L.; Williams, Van S.; McKee, Edwin H.; Ponce, David A.; Hildenbrand, Thomas G.; Swadley, W.C.; Lundstrom, Scott C.; Ekren, E. Bartlett; Warren, Richard G.; Cole, James C.; Fleck, Robert J.; Lanphere, Marvin A.; Sawyer, David A.; Minor, Scott A.; Grunwald, Daniel J.; Laczniak, Randell J.; Menges, Christopher M.; Yount, James C.; Jayko, Angela S.

1999-01-01

This digital geologic map of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and vicinity, as well as its accompanying digital geophysical maps, are compiled at 1:100,000 scale. The map compilation presents new polygon (geologic map unit contacts), line (fault, fold axis, metamorphic isograd, dike, and caldera wall) and point (structural attitude) vector data for the NTS and vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California. The map area covers two 30 x 60-minute quadrangles-the Pahute Mesa quadrangle to the north and the Beatty quadrangle to the south-plus a strip of 7.5-minute quadrangles on the east side-72 quadrangles in all. In addition to the NTS, the map area includes the rest of the southwest Nevada volcanic field, part of the Walker Lane, most of the Amargosa Desert, part of the Funeral and Grapevine Mountains, some of Death Valley, and the northern Spring Mountains. This geologic map improves on previous geologic mapping of the same area (Wahl and others, 1997) by providing new and updated Quaternary and bedrock geology, new geophysical interpretations of faults beneath the basins, and improved GIS coverages. Concurrent publications to this one include a new isostatic gravity map (Ponce and others, 1999) and a new aeromagnetic map (Ponce, 1999).

The 2008 Mw 6.0 Wells, Nevada Earthquake Sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, K.; Depolo, D.; Torrisi, J.; Edwards, N.; Biasi, G.; Slater, D.

2008-12-01

The Mw 6.0 February 21, 2008 (06:16 AM PDT) Wells, Nevada normal faulting earthquake occurred in Town Creek Flat about 8 km northeast of the small community of Wells. A preliminary set of about 1000 aftershock relocations clearly defines a 55-60 degree southeast dipping fault plane. The structure projects to the surface along the southern end of the Snake Range, although no surface offsets have been identified. The earthquake occurred east of the Ruby Mountains and Snake Range west dipping range front faults, possibly on a northern extension of an east dipping normal fault system on the eastern side of the East Humbolt Range. The depth of the mainshock is estimated to be 10.5 km with the aftershock sequence extending to about 15 km. Typical of moderate sized Basin and Range earthquakes, the early aftershock period included several earthquakes of M > 4 and these were felt strongly by the residents of Wells. From the preliminary relocations, the source radius of the mainshock is estimated to be about 4 km, resulting in an estimated displacement of 55 to 83 cm and static stress drop of 72 to 86 bars, depending on the seismic moment estimate used. Aftershock relocations suggest a radial rupture mechanism. Fortunately, the EarthScope USArray network was operating in Nevada at the time of the event and provided unique controls on the mainshock and early aftershock locations. The earthquake occurred in an area of relatively low seismic hazard and the only permanent seismograph in the region was the U.S. National Network broadband station east of the Ruby Mountains south of Wells. The University of Utah and University of Nevada deployed locally recorded strong motion instruments in the Wells area. Also, an 8 station IP telemetered strong motion network, jointly deployed by the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Nevada Reno, provided real-time data for quick high-quality aftershock relocations and ground motion estimates. In addition, the University of Utah established several telemetered analog stations for improved aftershock locations. IP data communications was routed through the Nevada Department of Information Technology microwave communications site north of Wells. The aftershock deployment was not possible without the considerable support of a number of public and private agencies in the Wells area and the Wells community itself. Many unreinforced masonry structures in old-town Wells, dating to the early 1900's, experienced significant damage. There was also damage to homes and businesses within the community, including the local High School, but fortunately there were no serious injuries associated with the earthquake.

Magnetotelluric survey to locate the Archean/Proterozoic suture zone north of Wells, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Jackie M.; Rodriguez, Brian D.

2006-01-01

It is important to know whether major mining districts in the Northern Nevada Gold Province are underlain by rocks of the Archean Wyoming craton, which are known to contain orogenic gold deposits, or by accreted rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Mojave province. It is also important to know the location and orientation of the Archean/Proterozoic suture zone between these provinces as well as major basement structures within these terranes because they may influence subsequent patterns of sedimentation, deformation, magmatism, and hydrothermal activity. The Archean was the main gold-mineralization period, and Archean lode-gold deposits were formed at mid-crustal depths along major shear zones. The nature of the crystalline basement below the Northern Nevada Gold Province and the location of major faults within it are relevant to Rodinian reconstructions, crustal development, and ore deposit models (e.g., Hofstra and Cline, 2000; Grauch and others, 2003). According to Whitmeyer and Karlstrom (2004), the Archean cratons of the northwestern United States and Canada had stabilized as continental lithosphere by 2.5 Ga, and were rifted and assembled into a large continental mass by 1.8 Ga, to which the 1.73-1.68 Ga Mohave province was accreted by 1.65 Ga. The Archean/Proterozoic suture zone has a west-southwest strike where it is exposed (Reed, 1993) at the eastern Utah and southwestern Wyoming border (Cheyenne Belt) where it is characterized by an up to 7-km-thick mylonite zone (Smithson and Boyd, 1998). In the Great Basin, the strike of the Archean/Proterozoic suture zone is poorly constrained because it is largely concealed below a Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic miogeocline and basin fill. East-west and southwest-northeast strikes for the Archean/Proterozoic suture zone have been inferred based on Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of granitoid intrusions (Tosdal and others, 2000). To better constrain the location and strike of the Archean/Proterozoic suture zone below cover, three regional north-south magnetotelluric (MT) sounding profiles were acquired in western Utah and northeastern Nevada (Williams and Rodriguez, 2003; 2004; 2005), and one east-west MT sounding profile (fig. 1) MT sounding profile was acquired in northeastern Nevada. Resistivity modeling of the MT data can be used to investigate buried structures or sutures that may have influenced subsequent regional fluid flow and localized mineralization. The purpose of this report is to release the MT sounding data collected along the east-west profile in northeastern Nevada; no interpretation of the data is included.

GPS Imaging suggests links between climate, magmatism, seismicity, and tectonics in the Sierra Nevada-Long Valley Caldera-Walker Lane system, western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, W. C.; Blewitt, G.; Kreemer, C.; Smith, K.

2017-12-01

The Walker Lane is a region of complex active crustal transtension in the western Great Basin of the western United States, accommodating about 20% of the 50 mm/yr relative motion between the Pacific and North American plates. The Long Valley caldera lies in the central Walker Lane in eastern California, adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Sierra Nevada/Great Valley microplate, and experiences intermittent inflation, uplift, and volcanic unrest from the magma chamber that resides at middle crustal depths. Normal and transform faults accommodating regional tectonic transtension pass by and through the caldera, complicating the interpretation of the GPS-measured strain rate field, estimates of fault slip rates, and seismic hazard. Several dozen continuously recording GPS stations measure strain and uplift in the area with mm precision. They observe that the most recent episode of uplift at Long Valley began in mid-2011, continuing until late 2016, raising the surface by 100 mm in 6 years. The timing of the initiation of uplift coincides with the beginning of severe drought in California. Furthermore, the timing of a recent pause in uplift coincides with the very wet 2016-2017 winter, which saw approximately double normal snow pack. In prior studies, we showed that the timing of changes in geodetically measured uplift rate of the Sierra Nevada coincides with the timing of drought conditions in California, suggesting a link between hydrological loading and Sierra Nevada elevation. Here we take the analysis three steps further to show that changes in Sierra Nevada uplift rate coincide in time with 1) enhanced inflation at the Long Valley caldera, 2) shifts in the patterns and rates of horizontal tensor strain rate, and 3) seismicity patterns in the central Walker Lane. We use GPS solutions from the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory and the new GPS Imaging technique to produce robust animations of the time variable strain and uplift fields. The goals of this work are to document links between climate, Sierra Nevada uplift rates, response of the magmatic system, and seismicity in the Central Walker Lane, and to explore the physical mechanisms that may be behind these correlations.

MISR Sees the Sierra Nevadas in Stereo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

These MISR images of the Sierra Nevada mountains near the California-Nevada border were acquired on August 12, 2000 during Terra orbit 3472. On the left is an image from the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. On the right is a stereo 'anaglyph' created using the nadir and 45.6-degree forward-viewing cameras, providing a three-dimensional view of the scene when viewed with red/blue glasses. The red filter should be placed over your left eye. To facilitate the stereo viewing, the images have been oriented with north toward the left.

Some prominent features are Mono Lake, in the center of the images; Walker Lake, to its left; and Lake Tahoe, near the lower left. This view of the Sierra Nevadas includes Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states (elev. 14,495 feet), is visible near the righthand edge. Above it (to the east), the Owens Valley shows up prominently between the Sierra Nevada and Inyo ranges.

Precipitation falling as rain or snow on the Sierras feeds numerous rivers flowing southwestward into the San Joaquin Valley. The abundant fields of this productive agricultural area can be seen along the lower right; a large number of reservoirs that supply water for crop irrigation are apparent in the western foothills of the Sierras. Urban areas in the valley appear as gray patches; among the California cities that are visible are Fresno, Merced, and Modesto.

MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Fault Slip Rates Across the Central Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rood, D. H.; Burbank, D.; Finkel, R. C.

2010-12-01

We examine patterns in fault slip rates through time and space across the transition from the Sierra Nevada to the Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt. At each of four sites along the eastern Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone between 38-39° N latitude, geomorphic markers, such as glacial moraines and outwash terraces, are displaced by a suite of range-front normal faults. Using geomorphic mapping, surveying, and Be-10 surface exposure dating, we define mean fault slip rates, and by utilizing markers of different ages (generally, ~20 ka and ~150 ka), we examine rates through time and interactions among multiple faults over 10-100 ky timescales. At each site for which data are available for the last ~150 ky, mean slip rates across the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone have probably not varied by more than a factor of two over time spans equal to half of the total time interval (~20 ky and ~150 ky timescales): 0.3 ± 0.1 mm/yr (mode and 95% CI) at both Buckeye Creek in the Bridgeport basin and Sonora Junction; and 0.4 +0.3/-0.1 mm/yr along the West Fork of the Carson River at Woodfords. Our data permit that rates are relatively constant over the time scales examined. In contrast, slip rates are highly variable in space over the last ~20 ky. Slip rates decrease by a factor of 3-5 northward over a distance of ~20 km between the northern Mono Basin (1.3 +0.6/-0.3 mm/yr at Lundy Canyon site) and the Bridgeport Basin (0.3 ± 0.1 mm/yr). The 3-fold decrease in the slip rate on the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone northward from Mono Basin reflects a change in the character of faulting north of the Mina Deflection as extension is transferred eastward onto normal faults between the Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane belt. A compilation of regional deformation rates reveal that the spatial pattern of extension rates changes along strike of the Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt. South of the Mina Deflection, extension is accommodated within a diffuse zone of normal and oblique faults, with extension rates increasing northward on the Fish Lake Valley fault. Where faults of the Eastern California Shear Zone terminate northward into the Mina Deflection, extension rates increase northward along the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone to ~0.7 mm/yr in northern Mono Basin. This spatial pattern suggests that extension is transferred from faults systems to the east (e.g. Fish Lake Valley fault) and localized on the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone as Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt faulting is transferred through the Mina Deflection.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal assemblages in native plant roots change in the presence of invasive exotic grasses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hawkes, C.V.; Belnap, J.; D'Antonio, C.; Firestone, M.K.

2006-01-01

Plant invasions have the potential to significantly alter soil microbial communities, given their often considerable aboveground effects. We examined how plant invasions altered the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of native plant roots in a grassland site in California and one in Utah. In the California site, we used experimentally created plant communities composed of exotic (Avena barbata, Bromus hordeaceus) and native (Nassella pulchra, Lupinus bicolor) monocultures and mixtures. In the Utah semi-arid grassland, we took advantage of invasion by Bromus tectorum into long-term plots dominated by either of two native grasses, Hilaria jamesii or Stipa hymenoides. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing roots were characterized with PCR amplification of the ITS region, cloning, and sequencing. We saw a significant effect of the presence of exotic grasses on the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi colonizing native plant roots. In the three native grasses, richness of mycorrhizal fungi decreased; in the native forb at the California site, the number of fungal RFLP patterns increased in the presence of exotics. The exotic grasses also caused the composition of the mycorrhizal community in native roots to shift dramatically both in California, with turnover of Glomus spp., and Utah, with replacement of Glomus spp. by apparently non-mycorrhizal fungi. Invading plants may be able to influence the network of mycorrhizal fungi in soil that is available to natives through either earlier root activity or differential carbon provision compared to natives. Alteration of the soil microbial community by plant invasion can provide a mechanism for both successful invasion and the resulting effects of invaders on the ecosystem. ?? Springer 2006.

Forest-Fire Prevention Knowledge and Attitudes of Residents of Utah County, Utah, With Comparisons to Butte County, California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christiansen, John R.; And Others

The use of land for outdoor recreation is becoming more and more important, and the increased use of the land has raised the risk of man-caused forest fires. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the kinds and numbers of visits that people are making to public forests, (2) to identify the social characteristics of forest users, (3) to…

Pesticides and Population Declines of California Alpine Frogs

EPA Science Inventory

Airborne pesticides from the Central Valley of California have been implicated as a cause for population declines of several amphibian species, with the strongest evidence for the mountain yellow-legged frog complex (Rana muscosa and R. sierrae) in the Sierra Nevada. We measured ...

75 FR 76521 - Open Meeting of the Area 7 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the States of Alaska, California...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-08

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Area 7 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the States of Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Nevada) AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Treasury. [[Page 76522

Children, Youth, and Families of the Mountain West. Hearing before the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families. House of Representatives, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First session (Salt Lake City, UT, December 6, 1983).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.

The third of five regional fact-finding committee hearings across the United States, this report includes testimony from hearing committee members and social service organizations in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana. Live and prepared testimony presents information on problems associated with abuse of women, children, and the elderly;…

Regional operations research program for development of geothermal energy in the southwest United States. Final technical report, June 1977-August 1978

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marlin, J.M.; Christ, R.; McDevitt, P.

1979-01-01

The efforts by the Core and State Teams in data acquisition, electric and non-electric economic studies, development of computer support functions and operations, and preparation of geothermal development scenarios are described. Team reports for the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are included in the appendices along with a summary of the state scenarios. (MHR)

The San Juan Canyon, southeastern Utah: A geographic and hydrographic reconnaissance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miser, Hugh D.

1924-01-01

This report, which describes the San Juan Canyon, San Juan River and the tributary streams and the geography and to some extent the geology of the region, presents information obtained by me during the descent of the river with the Trimble party in 1921. The exploration of the canyon, which was financed jointly by the United States Geological Survey and the Southern California Edison Co., had as its primary object the mapping and study of the San Juan in connection with proposed power and storage projects along this and Colorado rivers.1 The exploration party was headed by K. W. Thimble, topographic engineer of the United States Geological Survey. Other members of the party were Robert N. Allen, Los Angeles, Calif., recorder; H. E. Blake, jr., Monticello, Utah, and Hugh Hyde, Salt Lake City, Utah, rodmen; Bert Loper, Green River, Utah, boatman; Heber Christensen, Moab, Utah, cook; and H. D. Miser, geologist. Wesley Oliver, of Mexican Hat, Utah, served as packer for the party and brought mail and provisions by pack train twice a month to specified accessible places west of Goodridge.

Constraints on mechanized treatment significantly limit mechanical fuels reduction extent in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Malcolm P. North; April Brough; Jonathan W. Long; Brandon M. Collins; Phil Bowden; Don Yasuda; Jay Miller; Neil Suighara

2015-01-01

With air quality, liability, and safety concerns, prescribed burning and managed wildfire are often considered impractical treatments for extensive fuels reduction in western US forests. For California's Sierra Nevada forests, we evaluated the alternative and analyzed the amount and distribution of constraints on mechanical fuels treatments on USDA Forest Service...

Oak management by county jurisdictions in the central Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Richard R. Harris; Susan D. Kocher

2002-01-01

We evaluated county planning policies and procedures to determine what protection is provided to oak woodlands during the land development process. We selected three Sierra Nevada counties to do a pilot assessment: El Dorado, Placer and Madera. The assessment methodology included three components: 1) analysis of county plans, policies, guidelines, and ordinances to...

Factors influencing the scarification and germination of three montane Sierra Nevada shrubs

Treesearch

J. Boone Kaufmann; R. E. Martin

1991-01-01

Following fires in the forested ecosystems of the northern Sierra Nevada, California, early successional communities are often dominated by shrubs that arise from seeds that have remained viable in soil seedbanks for long periods. The germination response of seeds of three seral montane shrub species was investigated following exposure to differing types of heat (wet...

Response of two terrestrial salamander species to spring burning in the Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Karen E. Bagne; Kathryn L. Purcell

2009-01-01

Terrestrial salamanders may be vulnerable to prescribed fire applications due to their moist, permeable skin and limited mobility. We present data collected on terrestrial salamander populations in a ponderosa pine-dominated forest in the Sierra Nevada where fire was applied in the spring. Two species, Sierra ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzi platensis...

Multi-scale evaluation of the environmental controls on burn probability in a southern Sierra Nevada landscape

Treesearch

Sean A. Parks; Marc-Andre Parisien; Carol Miller

2011-01-01

We examined the scale-dependent relationship between spatial fire likelihood or burn probability (BP) and some key environmental controls in the southern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Continuous BP estimates were generated using a fire simulation model. The correspondence between BP (dependent variable) and elevation, ignition density, fuels and aspect was evaluated...

Aspen in the Sierra Nevada: Regional conservation of a continental species

Treesearch

Paul C. Rogers; Wayne D. Shepperd; Dale L. Bartos

2007-01-01

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) a common species in North America, is a minor species in the Sierra Nevada of California. However, the limited coverage of aspen in this area appears to carry a disproportionate biodiversity load: numerous species are dependent on the unique components of aspen forests habitat. Land managers in the region...

A multi-scale evaluation of pack stack effects on subalpine meadow plant communities in the Sierra Nevada

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We evaluated the influence of pack stock (i.e., horse and mule) use on meadow plant communities in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Meadows were sampled to account for inherent variability across multiple scales by: 1) controlling for among-meadow var...

Silviculture-ecology of forest-zone hardwoods in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Philip M. McDonald; John C. Tappeiner

1996-01-01

Although the principal hardwood species in the forest zone of the Sierra Nevada (California black oak, tanoak, Pacific madrone, and canyon live oak) are key components of many ecosystems, they have received comparatively little study. Currently they are underutilized and unmanaged. This paper brings together what is known on the silviculture-ecology of these species...

Nesting habitat of Warbling Vireos across an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Kathryn Purcell

2007-01-01

Populations of Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus) are declining in California, apparently due to low reproductive success. From 1989—2002, I studied the nest-site selection and reproductive success ofWarbling Vireos across an elevational gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada. Warbling Vireos regularly nested in upland coniferous forests with...

GPS Imaging of vertical land motion in California and Nevada: Implications for Sierra Nevada uplift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, William C.; Blewitt, Geoffrey; Kreemer, Corné

2016-10-01

We introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) Imaging, a new technique for robust estimation of the vertical velocity field of the Earth's surface, and apply it to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in the western United States. Starting with vertical position time series from Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, we first estimate vertical velocities using the MIDAS robust trend estimator, which is insensitive to undocumented steps, outliers, seasonality, and heteroscedasticity. Using the Delaunay triangulation of station locations, we then apply a weighted median spatial filter to remove velocity outliers and enhance signals common to multiple stations. Finally, we interpolate the data using weighted median estimation on a grid. The resulting velocity field is temporally and spatially robust and edges in the field remain sharp. Results from data spanning 5-20 years show that the Sierra Nevada is the most rapid and extensive uplift feature in the western United States, rising up to 2 mm/yr along most of the range. The uplift is juxtaposed against domains of subsidence attributable to groundwater withdrawal in California's Central Valley. The uplift boundary is consistently stationary, although uplift is faster over the 2011-2016 period of drought. Uplift patterns are consistent with groundwater extraction and concomitant elastic bedrock uplift, plus slower background tectonic uplift. A discontinuity in the velocity field across the southeastern edge of the Sierra Nevada reveals a contrast in lithospheric strength, suggesting a relationship between late Cenozoic uplift of the southern Sierra Nevada and evolution of the southern Walker Lane.

Gravity survey and depth to bedrock in Carson Valley, Nevada-California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maurer, D.K.

1985-01-01

Gravity data were obtained from 460 stations in Carson Valley, Nevada and California. The data have been interpreted to obtain a map of approximate depth to bedrock for use in a ground-water model of the valley. This map delineates the shape of the alluvium-filled basin and shows that the maximum depth to bedrock exceeds 5,000 feet, on the west side of the valley. A north-south trending offset in the bedrock surface shows that the Carson-Valley/Pine-Nut-Mountain block has not been tilted to the west as a simple unit, but is comprised of several smaller blocks. (USGS)

Evidence from the lamarck granodiorite for rapid late cretaceous crust formation in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coleman, D.S.; Frost, T.P.; Glazner, A.F.

1992-01-01

Strontium and neodymium isotopic data for rocks from the voluminous 90-million-year-old Lamarck intrusive suite in the Sierra Nevada batholith, California, show little variation across a compositional range from gabbro to granite. Data for three different gabbro intrusions within the suite are identical within analytical error and are consistent with derivation from an enriched mantle source. Recognition of local involvement of enriched mantle during generation of the Sierran batholith modifies estimates of crustal growth rates in the United States. These data indicate that parts of the Sierra Nevada batholith may consist almost entirely of juvenile crust added during Cretaceous magmatism.

Sierra Nevada, California as seen from STS-59

NASA Image and Video Library

1994-04-14

STS059-L09-162 (9-20 April 1994) --- Orient with the snow-covered mountains (Sierra Nevada of California) in the upper right corner. Then Owens Valley runs along the top of the photograph to Owens Lake playa at top center. The upper end of Death Valley extends from right to left in the foreground, with the drainage running down to a playa at Stovepipe Wells in the left foreground. Geologists are studying microwave signatures of the different playa surfaces, and the coatings on alluvial fans that extend from mountain masses, to try to sort out the history of different climates in this formerly wet but now hyperarid region.

Two-dimensional magnetotelluric model of deep resistivity structure in the Bodie-Aurora district of California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sampson, Jay A.

2006-01-01

Introduction: Magnetotelluric data were acquired during October 2001 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of a study to examine the structural nature of basins in the transition zone between the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the Basin and Range province of Nevada. Magnetotelluric (MT) geophysical studies assist the mapping of geologic structure and the inference of lithologic packages that are concealed beneath the Earth's surface. The Basin and Range province has a complicated geologic history, which includes extension and compression of the Earth's crust to form the basins and ranges that blanket much of Nevada. The basins and ranges in the vicinity of this study trend northeastward and are bounded by steeply dipping strike slip faults. Interestingly, deep east-west magnetic trends occur in the aeromagnetic data of this study area indicating that the northeast-trending basins and ranges represent only thin-skinned deformation at the surface with an underlying east-west structure. To investigate this issue, MT data were acquired at seven stations in eastern California, 20 km east of Mono Lake. The purpose of this report is to present a two-dimensional apparent resistivity model of the MT data acquired for this study.

Maps of estimated nitrate and arsenic concentrations in basin-fill aquifers of the southwestern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beisner, Kimberly R.; Anning, David W.; Paul, Angela P.; McKinney, Tim S.; Huntington, Jena M.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Thiros, Susan A.

2012-01-01

Human-health concerns and economic considerations associated with meeting drinking-water standards motivated a study of the vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers to nitrate contamination and arsenic enrichment in the southwestern United States. Statistical models were developed by using the random forest classifier algorithm to predict concentrations of nitrate and arsenic across a model grid representing about 190,600 square miles of basin-fill aquifers in parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The statistical models, referred to as classifiers, reflect natural and human-related factors that affect aquifer vulnerability to contamination and relate nitrate and arsenic concentrations to explanatory variables representing local- and basin-scale measures of source and aquifer susceptibility conditions. Geochemical variables were not used in concentration predictions because they were not available for the entire study area. The models were calibrated to assess model accuracy on the basis of measured values.Only 2 percent of the area underlain by basin-fill aquifers in the study area was predicted to equal or exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standard for nitrate as N (10 milligrams per liter), whereas 43 percent of the area was predicted to equal or exceed the standard for arsenic (10 micrograms per liter). Areas predicted to equal or exceed the drinking-water standard for nitrate include basins in central Arizona near Phoenix; the San Joaquin Valley, the Santa Ana Inland, and San Jacinto Basins of California; and the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Much of the area predicted to equal or exceed the drinking-water standard for arsenic is within a belt of basins along the western portion of the Basin and Range Physiographic Province that includes almost all of Nevada and parts of California and Arizona. Predicted nitrate and arsenic concentrations are substantially lower than the drinking-water standards in much of the study area-about 93 percent of the area underlain by basin-fill aquifers was less than one-half the standard for nitrate as N (5.0 milligrams per liter), and 50 percent was less than one-half the standard for arsenic (5.0 micrograms per liter). The predicted concentrations and the improved understanding of the susceptibility and vulnerability of southwestern basin-fill aquifers to nitrate contamination and arsenic enrichment can be used by water managers as a qualitative tool to assess and protect the quality of groundwater resources in the Southwest.

Utah Southwest Regional Geothermal Development Operations Research Project. Appendix 10 of regional operations research program for development of geothermal energy in the Southeast United States. Final technical report, June 1977--August 1978

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Green, Stanley; Wagstaff, Lyle W.

1979-01-01

The Southwest Regional Geothermal Operations/Research project was initiated to investigate geothermal development in the five states within the region: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Although the region changed during the first year to include Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the project objectives and procedures remained unchanged. The project was funded by the DOE/DGE and the Four Corners Regional Commission with participation by the New Mexico Energy Resources Board. The study was coordinated by the New Mexico Energy Institute at New Mexico State University, acting through a 'Core Team'. A 'state' team, assigned by the states,more » conducted the project within each state. This report details most of the findings of the first year's efforts by the Utah Operations/Research team. It is a conscientious effort to report the findings and activities of the Utah team, either explicitly or by reference. The results are neither comprehensive nor final, and should be regarded as preliminary efforts to much of what the Operations/Research project was envisioned to accomplish. In some cases the report is probably too detailed, in other cases too vague; hopefully, however, the material in the report, combined with the Appendices, will be able to serve as source material for others interested in geothermal development in Utah.« less

Monitoring for ozone injury in West Coast (Oregon, Washington, California) forests in 1998.

Treesearch

Sally Campbell; Gretchen Smith; Pat Temple; John Pronos; Regina Rochefort; Chris Andersen

2000-01-01

In 1998, forest vegetation was monitored for ozone injury on permanent plots in two Sierra Nevada national forests in California, at three locations in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, and at 68 forest health monitoring (FHM) locations throughout Washington, Oregon, and California. This was the first year that extensive monitoring of forest vegetation for...

The California spotted owl: a technical assessment of its current status

Treesearch

Jared Verner; Kevin S. McKelvey; Barry R. Noon; R. J. Gutierrez; Gordon I. Jr. Gould; Thomas W. Beck

1992-01-01

This report is based an the Final Repart submitted on May 8, 1992 by the Technical Assessment Team to the interagency Steering Committee for the California Spotted Owl Assessment. The 13 chapters cover the assessment of the current status of the California spotted owl, its biology and habitat use, and forests where the subspecies occurs in the Sierra Nevada and...

The Incidence and Impact of Heterobasidion annosum on Pine and Incense-Cedar in California Forests

Treesearch

Melissa Marosy; John R. Parmeter Jr.

1989-01-01

Approximately 12.5 percent of California commercial forest land is infested with Heterobasidion annosum, resulting in annual losses of approximately 111 million board feet. The east side of the Sierra Nevada/Cascade Crest in northeastern California is most severely affected, with about 20percent of the land out of production because of annosus root...

AIRBORNE PESTICIDES AND POPULATION DECLINES OF A CALIFORNIA ALPINE FROG

EPA Science Inventory

The mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) has disappeared from most of its historic localities in the Sierra Nevada of California, and airborne pesticides from the Central Valley have been implicated as a causal agent. To determine the distribution and temporal variation of ...

Compilation of Stratigraphic Thicknesses for Caldera-Related Tertiary Volcanic Rocks, East-Central Nevada and West-Central Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sweetkind, D.S.; Du Bray, E.A.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a designee from the State of Utah are currently conducting a water-resources study of aquifers in White Pine County, Nevada, and adjacent areas in Nevada and Utah, in response to concerns about water availability and limited geohydrologic information relevant to ground-water flow in the region. Production of ground water in this region could impact water accumulations in three general types of aquifer materials: consolidated Paleozoic carbonate bedrock, and basin-filling Cenozoic volcanic rocks and unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. At present, the full impact of extracting ground water from any or all of these potential valley-graben reservoirs is not fully understood. A thorough understanding of intermontane basin stratigraphy, mostly concealed by the youngest unconsolidated deposits that blanket the surface in these valleys, is critical to an understanding of the regional hydrology in this area. This report presents a literature-based compilation of geologic data, especially thicknesses and lithologic characteristics, for Tertiary volcanic rocks that are presumably present in the subsurface of the intermontane valleys, which are prominent features of this area. Two methods are used to estimate volcanic-rock thickness beneath valleys: (1) published geologic maps and accompanying descriptions of map units were used to compile the aggregate thicknesses of Tertiary stratigraphic units present in each mountain range within the study areas, and then interpolated to infer volcanic-rock thickness in the intervening valley, and (2) published isopach maps for individual out-flow ash-flow tuff were converted to digital spatial data and thickness was added together to produce a regional thickness map that aggregates thickness of the individual units. The two methods yield generally similar results and are similar to volcanic-rock thickness observed in a limited number of oil and gas exploration drill holes in the region, although local geologic complexity and the inherent assumptions in both methods allow only general comparison. These methods serve the needs of regional ground-water studies that require a three-dimensional depiction of the extent and thickness of subsurface geologic units. The compilation of geologic data from published maps and reports provides a general understanding of the distribution and thickness of tuffs that are presumably present in the subsurface of the intermontane valleys and are critical to understanding the ground-water hydrology of this area.

Aeromagnetic map of northwest Utah and adjacent parts of Nevada and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langenheim, Victoria

2016-01-01

Two aeromagnetic surveys were flown to promote further understanding of the geology and structure in northwest Utah and adjacent parts of Nevada and Idaho by serving as a basis for geophysical interpretations and by supporting geological mapping, water and mineral resource investigations, and other topical studies. Although this area is in general sparsely populated, (except for cities and towns along the Wasatch Front such as Ogden and Brigham City), it encompasses metamorphic core complexes in the Grouse Creek and Raft River Mountains (figure 1) of interest to earth scientists studying Cenozoic extension. The region was shaken in 1909 and 1934 by M6+ earthquakes east of the Hansel Mountains (Doser, 1989; Arabasz and others, 1994); damage from the 1934 earthquake occurred as far east as Logan, Utah (http:// www.seis.utah.edu/lqthreat/nehrp_htm/1934hans/n1934ha1. shtml#urbse). The presence of Quaternary shield volcanoes and bimodal Pleistocene volcanism in Curlew Valley (Miller and others, 1995; Felger and others, 2016) as well as relatively high temperature gradients encountered in the Indian Cove drillhole in the north arm of Great Salt Lake (Blackett and others, 2014) may indicate some potential for geothermal energy development in the area (Miller and others, 1995). The area also hosts four significant mining districts, in the northern Pilot Range, the Goose Creek Mountains in the northwest corner of the map, the southern end of the Promontory Mountains, and the southwest part of the Raft River Mountains, although production notably waned after World War II (Doelling, 1980). Other prospects of interest include those in the southern Grouse Creek Mountains, Silver Island, and the northern Newfoundland Mountains.Large areas of northwest Utah are covered by young, surficial deposits or by Great Salt Lake or are down-dropped into deep Cenozoic basins, making extrapolation of bedrock geology from widely spaced exposures difficult or tenuous (figure 1). Local spatial variations in the Earth's magnetic field (evident as anomalies on aeromagnetic maps) reflect the distribution of magnetic minerals, primarily magnetite, in the underlying rocks. In many cases the volume content of magnetic minerals can be related to rock type, and abrupt spatial changes in the amount of magnetic minerals commonly mark lithologic or structural boundaries. Magnetic data reflect magnetization variations within the crust and are well suited for mapping the distribution of mafic igneous rocks, although felsic igneous rocks, some mineralized zones, and other rock types also can produce measurable magnetic anomalies. For these reasons, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Utah Geological Survey (UGS) contracted for the collection of aeromagnetic data in this area.

Resting habitat selection by fishers in California

Treesearch

William J. Zielinski; Richard L. Truex; Gregory A. Schmidt; Fredrick V. Schlexer; Kristin N. Schmidt; Reginald H. Barrett

2004-01-01

We studied the resting habitat ecology of fishers (Martes pennanti) in 2 disjunct populations in California, USA: the northwestern coastal mountains (hereafter, Coastal) and the southern Sierra Nevada (hereafter, Sierra). We described resting structures and compared features surrounding resting structures (the resting site) with those at randomly...

Avoid planting Scotch pine near dwarf mistletoe-infected California pines

Treesearch

Robert F. Scharpf; Arthur H. McCain

1988-01-01

Eight-year-old Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) were severely infected by dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium occidentale) when planted near infected Digger pine (P. sabiniana) in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada, in California. But 6-year-old knobcone x Monterey (P. attenuata x P....

Upper mantle diapers, lower crustal magmatic underplating, and lithospheric dismemberment of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau regions, Nevada and Utah; implications from deep MT resistivity surveying

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wannamaker, P. E.; Doerner, W. M.; Hasterok, D. P.

2005-12-01

In the rifted Basin and Range province of the southwestern U.S., a common faulting model for extensional basins based e.g. on reflection seismology data shows dominant displacement along master faults roughly coincident with the main topographic scarp. On the other hand, complementary data such as drilling, earthquake focal mechanisms, volcanic occurrences, and trace indicators such as helium isotopes suggest that there are alternative geometries of crustal scale faulting and material transport from the deep crust and upper mantle in this province. Recent magnetotelluric (MT) profiling results reveal families of structures commonly dominated by high-angle conductors interpreted to reflect crustal scale fault zones. Based mainly on cross cutting relationships, these faults appear to be late Cenozoic in age and are of low resistivity due to fluids or alteration (including possible graphitization). In the Ruby Mtns area of north-central Nevada, high angle faults along the margins of the core complex connect from near surface to a regional lower crustal conductor interpreted to contain high-temperature fluids and perhaps melts. Such faults may exemplify the high angle normal faults upon which the major earthquakes of the Great Basin appear to nucleate. A larger-scale transect centered on Dixie Valley shows major conductive crustal-scale structures connecting to conductive lower crust below Dixie Valley, the Black Rock desert in NW Nevada, and in east-central Nevada in the Monitor-Diamond Valley area. In the Great Basin-Colorado Plateau transition of Utah, the main structures revealed are a series of nested low-angle detachment structures underlying the incipient development of several rift grabens. All these major fault zones appear to overlie regions of particularly conductive lower crust interpreted to be caused by recent basaltic underplating. In the GB-CP transition, long period data show two, low-resistivity upper mantle diapirs underlying the concentrated conductive lower crust and nested faults, and these are advanced as melt source regions for the underplating. MT, with its wide frequency bandwidth, allows views of nearly a complete melting and emplacement process, from mantle source region, through lower crustal intrusion, to brittle regime deformational response.

Geothermal GIS coverage of the Great Basin, USA: Defining regional controls and favorable exploration terrains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coolbaugh, M.F.; Sawatzky, D.L.; Oppliger, G.L.; Minor, T.B.; Raines, G.L.; Shevenell, L.; Blewitt, G.; Louie, J.N.

2003-01-01

A geographic information system (GIS) of geothermal resources, built last year for the state of Nevada, is being expanded to cover the Great Basin, USA. Data from that GIS is being made available to industry, other researchers, and the public via a web site at the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, Reno, Nevada. That web site features a search engine, supports ArcExplorer?? for on-line map construction, and provides downloadable data layers in several formats. Though data collection continues, preliminary analysis has begun. Contour maps of geothermal temperatures, constructed using geothermometer temperatures calculated from a Great Basin geochemical database compiled by the Geo-Heat Center, reveal distinctive trends and patterns. As expected, magmatic-type and extensional-type geothermal systems have profoundly different associations, with magmatic-type systems following major tectonic boundaries, and extensional-type systems associating with regionally high heat flow, thin crust, active faulting, and high extensional strain rates. As described by earlier researchers, including Rowen and Wetlaufer (1981) and Koenig and McNitt (1983), high-temperature (> 100??C) geothermal systems appear to follow regional northeast trends, most conspicuously including the Humboldt structural zone in Nevada, the "Black Rock-Alvord Desert" trend in Oregon and Nevada, and the "Newcastle-Roosevelt" trend in Utah and Nevada. Weights-of-evidence analyses confirm a preference of high-temperature geothermal systems for young northeast-trending faults, but the distribution of geothermal systems correlates even better with high rates of crustal extension, as measured from global positioning system (GPS) stations in Nevada. A predictive map of geothermal potential based only on areas of high extensional strain rates and high heat flux does an excellent job of regionally predicting the location of most known geothermal systems in Nevada, and may prove useful in identifying blind systems.

Conifer seedling survival under closed-canopy and manzanita patches in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

A. Plamboeck; M. North; T. Dawson

2008-01-01

After a century of fire suppression, prescribed fire and mechanical thinning are widely used to restore mixed-conifer forests in California’s Sierra Nevada, yet after these treatments, trees sometimes fail to regenerate on many sites, for several possible reasons. Notably, competition between shrubs and tree seedlings for scarce water during prolonged summer dry...

Thermal and hydrologic attributes of rock glaciers and periglacial talus landforms: Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany

2013-01-01

To explore thermal regimes and hydrologic capacity of rock glaciers and related periglacial talus landforms, mini-thermochrons were deployed in and around potentially ice-embedded features of the Sierra Nevada. Results from pilot studies at 13 rock glaciers and 7 taluses indicate that outlet springs from these landforms generally do not desiccate but persist year...

Modeling the influence of precipitation and nitrogen deposition on forest understory fuel connectivity in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

Treesearch

M. Hurteau; M. North; T. Foines

2009-01-01

Climate change models for California’s Sierra Nevada predict greater inter-annual variability in precipitation over the next 50 years. These increases in precipitation variability coupled with increases in nitrogen deposition fromfossil fuel consumption are likely to result in increased productivity levels and significant increases in...

Role of oaks in fisher habitat quality in the Sierra Nevada mountains at multiple spatial scales

Treesearch

Craig M. Thompson; Kathryn Purcell; Rebecca Green; Richard. Sweitzer

2015-01-01

Fishers (Pekania pennanti) occur in ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and mixed hardwood conifer habitats in the southern Sierra Nevada at elevations from approximately 1400 to 2300 m. They are a candidate species for listing under both the Federal and California Endangered Species Acts. Since 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (...

Developing and managing sustainable forest ecosystems for spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

J. Verner; K.S. McKelvey

1994-01-01

Studies of the California spotted owl have revealed significant selection for habitats with large, old trees; relatively high basal areas of snags; and relatively high biomass in large, downed logs. Based on planning documents for national forests in the Sierra Nevada, we projected declining amounts of older-forest attributes. Region 5 has adopted measures to retain...

Shorthair meadows in the high Sierra Nevada...an hypothesis of their development

Treesearch

Raymond D. Ratliff

1973-01-01

Bands of shorthair meadow are found around lakes in the high Sierra Nevada of California. A hypothesis, based on observations in the Kings Canyon National Park, to explain the development of these meadows is offered: Boulders form the foundation upon which American-laurel, Sierra bilberry, and moss combine to produce thick mats. The lower layers of the mats are...

Diversity of small mammals in the Sierra Nevada: Filtering by natural selection or by anthropogenic activities?

Treesearch

Douglas A. Kelt; Rahel Sollmann; Angela M. White; Susan L. Roberts; Dirk H. Van Vuren

2016-01-01

Both historical and contemporary factors may influence the structure and composition of biotas. Small mammal faunas in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States, are strongly dominated by generalist species; however, whereas 1 recent study argues that this is a product of recent anthropogenic influences, another provides a deeper evolutionary explanation based on...

Resting structures and resting habitat of fishers in the southern Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Kathryn L. Purcell; Amie K. Mazzoni; Sylvia R. Mori; Brian B. Boroski

2009-01-01

The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a forest mustelid endemic to North America that has experienced range reductions in Pacific states that have led to their listing under the Endangered Species Act as warranted but precluded by higher priorities. The viability of the southern Sierra Nevada fisher population is of particular concern due to its reduced...

Snowmelt runoff and water yield along elevation and temperature gradients in California's southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Carolyn T. Hunsaker; Thomas W. Whitaker; Roger C. Bales

2012-01-01

Differences in hydrologic response across the rain-snow transition in the southern Sierra Nevada were studied in eight headwater catchments – the Kings River Experimental Watersheds – using continuous precipitation, snowpack, and streamflow measurements. The annual runoff ratio (discharge divided by precipitation) increased about 0.1 per 300 m of mean catchment...

Forested Communities of the Upper Montane in the Central and Southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Donald A. Potter

1998-01-01

Upper montane forests in the central and southern Sierra Nevada of California were classified into 26 plant associations by using information collected from 0.1-acre circular plots. Within this region, the forested environment including the physiographic setting, geology, soils, and vegetation is described in detail. A simulation model is presented for this portion of...

Site fidelity of the declining amphibian Rana sierrae (Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog)

Treesearch

Kathleen Matthews; Haiganoush Preisler

2010-01-01

From 1997 to 2006, we used mark–recapture models to estimate the site fidelity of 1250 Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs (Rana sierrae) in Kings Canyon National Park, California, USA, during their three main activity periods of overwintering, breeding, and feeding. To quantify site fidelity, the tendency to return to and reuse previously occupied...

Energy Engineering Analysis Program, limited energy study of steam distribution systems, Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot, Hawthorne, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-12-31

This report summarizes all work of the Limited Energy Study of Steam Distribution Systems, Energy Engineering Analysis Program, Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot (HWAAD), Nevada. The project is authorized under Contract No. DACA05-92-C-0155 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, California. The purpose of this limited energy study is to evaluate steam distribution and condensate collection systems in both the Industrial Area and Ordnance Area of HWAAD to develop a set of replacement actions that will reduce energy consumption and operating costs. These efforts consist of corrections and revisions to previously submitted funding requests. Amended DD Forms 1391 andmore » supporting documentation are prepared for: (1) Project 40667, Modernize Steam Distribution System, Industrial Area, and (2) Project 42166, Modernize Ordnance Area Steam Distribution, Ordnance Area. HWAAD is located next to Highway 95 near the center of Nevada`s border with California, about 130 miles southeast of Reno. The elevation is about 4,100 feet. The location is depicted on Figure 1-1. A number of facilities covering over 140,000 acres constitute HWAAD; however, this study was limited to the Industrial and Ordnance Areas.« less

Estimated flood flows in the Lake Tahoe basin, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crompton, E. James; Hess, Glen W.; Williams, Rhea P.

2002-01-01

Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America, covers about 192 square miles (mi2) of the 506-mi2 Lake Tahoe Basin, which straddles the border between California and Nevada (Fig. 1). In cooperation with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the flood frequencies of the streams that enter the lake. Information about potential flooding of these streams is used by NDOT in the design and construction of roads and highways in the Nevada portion of the basin. The stream-monitoring network in the Lake Tahoe Basin is part of the Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program (LTIMP), which combines the monitoring and research efforts of various Federal, State, and regional agencies, including both USGS and NDOT. The altitude in the basin varies from 6,223 feet (ft) at the lake's natural rim to over 10,000 ft along the basin's crest. Precipitation ranges from 40 inches per year (in/yr) on the eastern side to 90 in/yr on the western side (Crippen and Pavelka, 1970). Most of the precipitation comes during the winter months as snow. Precipitation that falls from June through September accounts for less than 20 percent of the annual total.

MX Siting Investigation Geotechnical Evaluation. Volume IA. Nevada-Utah Verification Studies, FY 79.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-08-24

JUSTIFICATION E ECTE DISTRIUrION, D AVAILABILITY CODES DIST AVAIL AND/OR SPECIAL DATE ACCESSIONED 11 * Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproduct- IA...White River North, Garden- Coal , Reveille-Railroad and Big Smoky CDPs. Section 11.0 briefly explains previous work performed in Dry Lake and Ralston...Hamlin CDP Volume V - White River North CDP Volume VI - Garden- Coal CDP Volume VII - Reveille-Railroad CDP Volume VIII - Big Smoky CDP Volume IX - Dry

MX Siting Investigation. Water Resources Program Industry Activity Inventory, Nevada-Utah.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-02

sites. New and revived mining activities and the cooling needs of possible new coal -fired electric power plants represent the chief competitors with MX...34 !- ---- ON CO. Figure .-. Ma showing araipce yUaIoto f𔃻XMsieCmlx 1 3 include new mining activity and coal -fired, geothermal, and hydroelectric j energy...in northeastern Juab County. The Soil Conservation Service has been actively pushing land treatment programs to increase the productivity of irrigated

Active Faults and Earthquake Hazards in the FY 79 Verification Sites - Nevada-Utah Siting Region.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-26

structures, such as shelters and command/control facilities, away from rup- ture hazards. Again, the probability of rupture, the effect of damage and ...accommodate an MCE, and less critical structures (such as the shelters ) designed for a probabilistically determined event, may have merit for the MX...B., and Eaton, G. P., eds., Cenozoic tectonics and regional geophysics of the western cordillera : Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 152, p. 1-32. Stewart, J. H

MX Siting Investigation. Faults and Lineaments in the MX Siting Region, Nevada and Utah. Volume I.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-06

indicate favorable mineral potential. Verifi- cation, Operational Base, and Shelter Layout studies used fault and lineament data to assist in determining... shelter locations were situated so as to avoid faults but roads were allowed to cross some faults and lineaments because it is generally infeasible, if not... Cordillera in the Western United States, in Smith, R. B., and Eaton, G. P., eds., Cenozoic tectonics - and regional geophysics of the western Cordillera

Digital Isostatic Gravity Map of the Nevada Test Site and Vicinity, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, Nevada, and Inyo County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.; Mankinen, E.A.; Davidson, J.G.; Morin, R.L.; Blakely, R.J.

2000-01-01

An isostatic gravity map of the Nevada Test Site area was prepared from publicly available gravity data (Ponce, 1997) and from gravity data recently collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (Mankinen and others, 1999; Morin and Blakely, 1999). Gravity data were processed using standard gravity data reduction techniques. Southwest Nevada is characterized by gravity anomalies that reflect the distribution of pre-Cenozoic carbonate rocks, thick sequences of volcanic rocks, and thick alluvial basins. In addition, regional gravity data reveal the presence of linear features that reflect large-scale faults whereas detailed gravity data can indicate the presence of smaller-scale faults.

Native American Affairs and the Department of Defense.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-01-01

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of Oregon Coyote Valley Band of Porno Indians of California Creek Nation of Oklahoma Crow Tribe of Montana...Reservation, North Dakota Dry Creek Rancheria of Porno Indians of California Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation, Nevada...Band of Porno Indians of the Hopland Rancheria, California Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians of Maine Hualapai Tribe of the Hualapai Indian

Patterns and dynamics of vegetation recovery following grazing cessation in the California golden trout habitat

Treesearch

Sébastien Nusslé; Kathleen R. Matthews; Stephanie M. Carlson

2017-01-01

In 1978, the Golden Trout Wilderness area was established to protect the California golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita)—a vulnerable subspecies of the rainbow trout that is endemic to California—and its habitat, which is currently restricted to a few streams within high-elevation meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range....

Effect of firewood harvesting on birds in a California oak-pine woodland

Treesearch

Paul A. Aigner; William M. Block; Michael L. Morrison

1998-01-01

Despite a history of oak clearing and thinning in California, little is known about the effects of firewood harvesting on wildlife in oak woodlands. We studied the effect of firewood harvesting on population trends of birds during the breeding season in an oak-pine woodland in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada, California. During fall-winter of 1993-94, total...

Phylogeography of the California mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata (Colubridae).

PubMed

Rodríguez-Robles, J A; Denardo, D F; Staub, R E

1999-11-01

The phylogeography of the California mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata, was studied using mitochondrial DNA sequences from specimens belonging to the seven recognized subspecies and collected throughout the range of the species. Maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods identified a basal split within L. zonata that corresponds to southern and northern segments of its distribution. The southern clade is composed of populations from southern California (USA) and northern Baja California, Mexico. The northern clade is divided into two subclades, a 'coastal' subclade, consisting of populations from the central coast of California and the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California, and a 'northeastern' subclade, mainly comprised of populations north of the San Francisco Bay and from the majority of the Sierra Nevada. We suggest that past inland seaways in southwestern California and the embayment of central California constituted barriers to gene flow that resulted in the two deepest divergences within L. zonata. Throughout its evolutionary history, the northern clade apparently has undergone instances of range contraction, isolation, differentiation, and then expansion and secondary contact. Examination of colour pattern variation in 321 living and preserved specimens indicated that the two main colour pattern characters used to define the subspecies of L. zonata are so variable that they cannot be reliably used to differentiate taxonomic units within this complex, which calls into question the recognition of seven geographical races of this snake.

A Miocene to Pleistocene climate and elevation record of the Sierra Nevada (California)

PubMed Central

Mulch, A.; Sarna-Wojcicki, A. M.; Perkins, M. E.; Chamberlain, C. P.

2008-01-01

Orographic precipitation of Pacific-sourced moisture creates a rain shadow across the central part of the Sierra Nevada (California) that contrasts with the southern part of the range, where seasonal monsoonal precipitation sourced to the south obscures this rain shadow effect. Orographic rainout systematically lowers the hydrogen isotope composition of precipitation (δDppt) and therefore δDppt reflects a measure of the magnitude of the rain shadow. Hydrogen isotope compositions of volcanic glass (δDglass) hydrated at the earth's surface provide a unique opportunity to track the elevation and precipitation history of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent Basin and Range Province. Analysis of 67 well dated volcanic glass samples from widespread volcanic ash-fall deposits located from the Pacific coast to the Basin and Range Province demonstrates that between 0.6 and 12.1 Ma the hydrogen isotope compositions of meteoric water displayed a large (>40‰) decrease from the windward to the leeward side of the central Sierra Nevada, consistent with the existence of a rain shadow of modern magnitude over that time. Evidence for a Miocene-to-recent rain shadow of constant magnitude and systematic changes in the longitudinal climate and precipitation patterns strongly suggest that the modern first-order topographic elements of the Sierra Nevada characterized the landscape over at least the last 12 million years. PMID:18441101

Occurrence and transport of total mercury and methyl mercury in the Sacramento River Basin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Domagalski, Joseph L.

1999-01-01

Mercury poses a water-quality problem for California's Sacramento River, a large river with a mean annual discharge of over 650 m3/s. This river discharges into the San Francisco Bay, and numerous fish species of the bay and river contain mercury levels high enough to affect human health if consumed. Two possible sources of mercury are the mercury mines in the Coast Ranges and the gold mines in the Sierra Nevada. Mercury was once mined in the Coast Ranges, west of the Sacramento River, and used to process gold in the Sierra Nevada, east of the river. The mineralogy of the Coast Ranges mercury deposits is mainly cinnabar (HgS), but elemental mercury was used to process gold in the Sierra Nevada. Residual mercury from mineral processing in the Sierra Nevada is mainly in elemental form or in association with oxide particles or organic matter and is biologically available. Recent bed-sediment sampling, at sites below large reservoirs, showed elevated levels of total mercury (median concentration 0.28 ??g/g) in every large river (the Feather, Yuba, Bear, and American rivers) draining the Sierra Nevada gold region. Monthly sampling for mercury in unfiltered water shows relatively low concentrations during the nonrainy season in samples collected throughout the Sacramento River Basin, but significantly higher concentrations following storm-water runoff. Measured concentrations, following storm-water runoff, frequently exceeded the state of California standards for the protection of aquatic life. Results from the first year of a 2-year program of sampling for methyl mercury in unfiltered water showed similar median concentrations (0.1 ng/l) at all sampling locations, but with apparent high seasonal concentrations measured during autumn and winter. Methyl mercury concentrations were not significantly higher in rice field runoff water, even though rice production involves the creation of seasonal wetlands: higher rates of methylation are known to occur in stagnant wetland environments that have high dissolved carbon.Mercury poses a water-quality problem for California's Sacramento River, a large river with a mean annual discharge of over 650 m3/s. This river discharges into the San Francisco Bay, and numerous fish species of the bay and river contain mercury levels high enough to affect human health if consumed. Two possible sources of mercury are the mercury mines in the Coast Ranges and the gold mines in the Sierra Nevada. Mercury was once mined in the Coast Ranges, west of the Sacramento River, and used to process gold in the Sierra Nevada east of the river. The mineralogy of the Coast Ranges mercury deposits is mainly cinnabar (HgS), but elemental mercury was used to process gold in the Sierra Nevada. Residual mercury from mineral processing in the Sierra Nevada is mainly in elemental form or in association with oxide particles or organic matter and is biologically available. Recent bed-sediment sampling, at sites below large reservoirs, showed elevated levels of total mercury (median concentration 0.28 ??g/g) in every large river (the Feather, Yuba, Bear, and American rivers) draining the Sierra Nevada gold region. Monthly sampling for mercury in unfiltered water shows relatively low concentrations during the nonrainy season in samples collected throughout the Sacramento River Basin, but significantly higher concentrations following storm-water runoff. Measured concentrations, following storm-water runoff, frequently exceeded the state of California standards for the protection of aquatic life. Results from the first year of a 2-year program of sampling for methyl mercury in unfiltered water showed similar median concentrations (0.1 ng/l) at all sampling locations, but with apparent high seasonal concentrations measured during autumn and winter. Methyl mercury concentrations were not significantly higher in rice field runoff water, even though rice production involves the creation of seasonal wetlands: higher rates of methylation a

Age, geochemical composition, and distribution of Oligocene ignimbrites in the northern Sierra Nevada, California: Implications for landscape morphology, elevation, and drainage divide geography of the Nevadaplano

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cassel, Elizabeth J.; Calvert, Andrew T.; Graham, Stephan A.

2009-01-01

To gain a better understanding of the topographic and landscape evolution of the Cenozoic Sierra Nevada and Basin and Range, we combine geochemical and isotopic age correlations with palaeoaltimetry data from widely distributed ignimbrites in the northern Sierra Nevada, California. A sequence of Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites is preserved across the modern crest of the range and into the western foothills. Using trace and rare earth element geochemical analyses of volcanic glass, these deposits have been correlated to ignimbrites described and isotopically dated in the Walker Lane fault zone and in central Nevada (Henry et al., 2004, Geologic map of the Dogskin mountain quadrangle; Washoe County, Nevada; Faulds et al., 2005, Geology, v. 33, p. 505–508). Ignimbrite deposits were sampled within the northern Sierra Nevada and western Nevada, and four distinct geochemical compositions were identified. The majority of samples from within the northern Sierra Nevada have compositions similar to the tuffs of Axehandle Canyon or Rattlesnake Canyon, both likely sourced from the same caldera complex in either the Clan Alpine Mountains or the Stillwater Range, or to the tuff of Campbell Creek, sourced from the Desatoya Mountains caldera. New 40Ar/39Ar age determinations from these samples of 31.2, 30.9, and 28.7 Ma, respectively, support these correlations. Based on an Oligocene palinspastic reconstruction of the region, our results show that ignimbrites travelled over 200 km from their source calderas across what is now the crest of the Sierra Nevada, and that during that time, no drainage divide existed between the ignimbrite source calderas in central Nevada and sample locations 200 km to the west. Palaeoaltimetry data from Sierra Nevada ignimbrites, based on the hydrogen isotopic composition of hydration water in glass, reflect the effect of a steep western slope on precipitation and indicate that the area had elevations similar to the present-day range. These combined results suggest that source calderas were likely located in a region of high elevation to the east of the Oligocene Sierra Nevada, which had a steep western slope that allowed for the large extent and broad distribution of the ignimbrites.

California spotted owl: scientific considerations for forest planning

Treesearch

John J. Keane

2014-01-01

California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) (fig. 1) have been at the forefront of Sierra Nevada management and conservation debates for 25 years because of their strong habitat associations with commercially valuable large trees, snags, and late-successional forests. Initial concerns focused on the effects of timber harvest on large...

Temporal and Spatial Variation of Atmospherically Deposited Organic Contaminants at High Elevation in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

EPA Science Inventory

Atmospherically deposited organic contaminants in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, USA, have exceeded some thresholds of concern, but the spatial and temporal distributions of contaminants in the mountains are not well known. The present study evaluated (1) whether the...

43 CFR 419.1 - What is the purpose of this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Truckee River Reservoirs to satisfy the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr Ditch Decree...) This part satisfies the requirement of Section 205(a)(5) of the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water...: (1) Implements California's allocation of Truckee River basin water and the Nevada and California...

43 CFR 419.1 - What is the purpose of this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Truckee River Reservoirs to satisfy the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr Ditch Decree...) This part satisfies the requirement of Section 205(a)(5) of the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water...: (1) Implements California's allocation of Truckee River basin water and the Nevada and California...

43 CFR 419.1 - What is the purpose of this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Truckee River Reservoirs to satisfy the exercise of water rights in conformance with the Orr Ditch Decree...) This part satisfies the requirement of Section 205(a)(5) of the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water...: (1) Implements California's allocation of Truckee River basin water and the Nevada and California...

Sagebrush defoliator outbreak in Northern California

Treesearch

Ralph C. Hall

1965-01-01

The sagebrush defoliator was responsible for varying degrees of sagebrush defoliation and mortality over a widespread area in southeastern Oregon, northeastern California, and northwestern Nevada in 1963 and 1964. Severe defoliation sometimes killed sagebrush in a single season. Indications are that the outbreak will continue at least another season. A....

Thermal airborne multispectral aster simulator and its preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, F.; Kannari, Y.; Watanabe, H.; Sano, M.; Chang, S. H.

1994-03-01

An Airborne ASTER Simulator (AAS) is being developed for the Japan Resources Observation System Organization (JAROS) by the Geophysical Environmental Research (GER) Corporation. The first test flights of the AAS were over Cuprite, Nevada; Long Valley, California; and Death Valley, California, in December 1991. Preliminary laboratory tests at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) were completed in April 1992. The results of the these tests indicate the AAS can discriminate between silicate and non-silicate rocks. The improvements planned for the next two years may give a spectral Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) of 0.3 μm and NEΔT of 0.2 - 0.5°K. The AAS has the potential to become a good tool for airborne TIR research and can be used for simulations of future satellite-borne TIR sensors. Flight tests over Cuprite, Nevada, and Castaic Lake, California, are planned for October-December 1992.

Power Origami

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-08-14

Researchers at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, collaborated to construct a prototype of a solar panel array that folds up in the style of origami, to make for easier deployment.

The Conterminous United States Mineral Appraisal Program; background information to accompany folio of geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral resources maps of the Walker Lake 1 degree x 2 degrees Quadrangle, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stewart, John Harris; Chaffee, M.A.; Dohrenwend, J.C.; John, D.A.; Kistler, R.W.; Kleinhampl, F.J.; Menzie, W.D.; Plouff, Donald; Rowan, L.C.; Silberling, Norman J.

1984-01-01

The Walker Lake 1? by 2? quadrangle in eastern California and western Nevada was studied by an interdisciplinary research team to appraise its mineral resources. The appraisal is based on geological, geochemical, and geophysical field and laboratory investigations, the results of which are published as a folio of maps, figures, and tables, with accompanying discussions. This circular provides background information on the investigations and integrates the information presented in the folio. The selected bibliography lists selected references to the geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and mineral deposits of the Walker Lake 1? by 2? quadrangle.

A guide for using the transient ground-water flow model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blainey, Joan B.; Faunt, Claudia C.; Hill, Mary C.

2006-01-01

This report is a guide for executing numerical simulations with the transient ground-water flow model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California using the U.S. Geological Survey modular finite-difference ground-water flow model, MODFLOW-2000. Model inputs, including observations of hydraulic head, discharge, and boundary flows, are summarized. Modification of the DVRFS transient ground-water model is discussed for two common uses of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system model: predictive pumping scenarios that extend beyond the end of the model simulation period (1998), and model simulations with only steady-state conditions.

Spatiotemporal patterns of fault slip rates across the Central Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rood, Dylan H.; Burbank, Douglas W.; Finkel, Robert C.

2011-01-01

Patterns in fault slip rates through time and space are examined across the transition from the Sierra Nevada to the Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt. At each of four sites along the eastern Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone between 38 and 39° N latitude, geomorphic markers, such as glacial moraines and outwash terraces, are displaced by a suite of range-front normal faults. Using geomorphic mapping, surveying, and 10Be surface exposure dating, mean fault slip rates are defined, and by utilizing markers of different ages (generally, ~ 20 ka and ~ 150 ka), rates through time and interactions among multiple faults are examined over 10 4-10 5 year timescales. At each site for which data are available for the last ~ 150 ky, mean slip rates across the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone have probably not varied by more than a factor of two over time spans equal to half of the total time interval (~ 20 ky and ~ 150 ky timescales): 0.3 ± 0.1 mm year - 1 (mode and 95% CI) at both Buckeye Creek in the Bridgeport basin and Sonora Junction; and 0.4 + 0.3/-0.1 mm year - 1 along the West Fork of the Carson River at Woodfords. Data permit rates that are relatively constant over the time scales examined. In contrast, slip rates are highly variable in space over the last ~ 20 ky. Slip rates decrease by a factor of 3-5 northward over a distance of ~ 20 km between the northern Mono Basin (1.3 + 0.6/-0.3 mm year - 1 at Lundy Canyon site) to the Bridgeport Basin (0.3 ± 0.1 mm year - 1 ). The 3-fold decrease in the slip rate on the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone northward from Mono Basin is indicative of a change in the character of faulting north of the Mina Deflection as extension is transferred eastward onto normal faults between the Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane belt. A compilation of regional deformation rates reveals that the spatial pattern of extension rates changes along strike of the Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt. South of the Mina Deflection, extension is accommodated within a diffuse zone of normal and oblique faults, with extension rates increasing northward on the Fish Lake Valley fault. Where faults of the Eastern California Shear Zone terminate northward into the Mina Deflection, extension rates increase northward along the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone to ~ 0.7 mm year - 1 in northern Mono Basin. This spatial pattern suggests that extension is transferred from more easterly fault systems, e.g., Fish Lake Valley fault, and localized on the Sierra Nevada frontal fault zone as the Eastern California Shear Zone-Walker Lane belt faulting is transferred through the Mina Deflection.

GPS Imaging of vertical land motion in California and Nevada: Implications for Sierra Nevada uplift

PubMed Central

Blewitt, Geoffrey; Kreemer, Corné

2016-01-01

Abstract We introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) Imaging, a new technique for robust estimation of the vertical velocity field of the Earth's surface, and apply it to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in the western United States. Starting with vertical position time series from Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, we first estimate vertical velocities using the MIDAS robust trend estimator, which is insensitive to undocumented steps, outliers, seasonality, and heteroscedasticity. Using the Delaunay triangulation of station locations, we then apply a weighted median spatial filter to remove velocity outliers and enhance signals common to multiple stations. Finally, we interpolate the data using weighted median estimation on a grid. The resulting velocity field is temporally and spatially robust and edges in the field remain sharp. Results from data spanning 5–20 years show that the Sierra Nevada is the most rapid and extensive uplift feature in the western United States, rising up to 2 mm/yr along most of the range. The uplift is juxtaposed against domains of subsidence attributable to groundwater withdrawal in California's Central Valley. The uplift boundary is consistently stationary, although uplift is faster over the 2011–2016 period of drought. Uplift patterns are consistent with groundwater extraction and concomitant elastic bedrock uplift, plus slower background tectonic uplift. A discontinuity in the velocity field across the southeastern edge of the Sierra Nevada reveals a contrast in lithospheric strength, suggesting a relationship between late Cenozoic uplift of the southern Sierra Nevada and evolution of the southern Walker Lane. PMID:27917328

GPS Imaging of vertical land motion in California and Nevada: Implications for Sierra Nevada uplift.

PubMed

Hammond, William C; Blewitt, Geoffrey; Kreemer, Corné

2016-10-01

We introduce Global Positioning System (GPS) Imaging, a new technique for robust estimation of the vertical velocity field of the Earth's surface, and apply it to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range in the western United States. Starting with vertical position time series from Global Positioning System (GPS) stations, we first estimate vertical velocities using the MIDAS robust trend estimator, which is insensitive to undocumented steps, outliers, seasonality, and heteroscedasticity. Using the Delaunay triangulation of station locations, we then apply a weighted median spatial filter to remove velocity outliers and enhance signals common to multiple stations. Finally, we interpolate the data using weighted median estimation on a grid. The resulting velocity field is temporally and spatially robust and edges in the field remain sharp. Results from data spanning 5-20 years show that the Sierra Nevada is the most rapid and extensive uplift feature in the western United States, rising up to 2 mm/yr along most of the range. The uplift is juxtaposed against domains of subsidence attributable to groundwater withdrawal in California's Central Valley. The uplift boundary is consistently stationary, although uplift is faster over the 2011-2016 period of drought. Uplift patterns are consistent with groundwater extraction and concomitant elastic bedrock uplift, plus slower background tectonic uplift. A discontinuity in the velocity field across the southeastern edge of the Sierra Nevada reveals a contrast in lithospheric strength, suggesting a relationship between late Cenozoic uplift of the southern Sierra Nevada and evolution of the southern Walker Lane.

Principal facts for gravity stations collected in 2010 from White Pine and Lincoln Counties, east-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mankinen, Edward A.; McKee, Edwin H.

2011-01-01

Increasing demands on the Colorado River system within the arid Southwestern United States have focused attention on finding new, alternative sources of water. Particular attention is being paid to the eastern Great Basin, where important ground-water systems occur within a regionally extensive sequence of Paleozoic carbonate rocks and in the Cenozoic basin-fill deposits that occur throughout the region. Geophysical investigations to characterize the geologic framework of aquifers in eastern Nevada and western Utah began in a series of cooperative agreements between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Southern Nevada Water Authority in 2003. These studies were intended to better understand the formation of basins, define their subsurface shape and depth, and delineate structures that may impede or enhance groundwater flow. We have combined data from gravity stations established during the current study with previously available data to produce an up-to-date isostatic-gravity map of the study area, using a gravity inversion method to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and to estimate alluvial/volcanic fill in the valleys.

Use of an analog site near Raymond, California, to develop equipment and methods for characterizing a potential high-level, nuclear waste repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Umari, A.M.J.; Geldon, A.; Patterson, G.

1994-12-31

Yucca Mountain, Nevada, currently is being investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey as a potential site for a high-level nuclear waste repository. Planned hydraulic-stress and tracer tests in fractured, tuffaceous rocks below the water table at Yucca Mountain will require work at depths in excess of 1,300 feet. To facilitate prototype testing of equipment and methods to be used in aquifer tests at Yucca Mountain, an analog site was selected in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Raymond, California. Two of nine 250- to 300-feet deep wells drilled into fractured, granitic rocks at the Raymond site have been instrumentedmore » with packers, pressure transducers, and other equipment that will be used at Yucca Mountain. Aquifer tests conducted at the Raymond site to date have demonstrated a need to modify some of the equipment and methods conceived for use at Yucca Mountain.« less

Deposition patterns and transport mechanisms for the endocrine disruptor 4-nonylphenol across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.

PubMed

Lyons, Rebecca; Van de Bittner, Kyle; Morgan-Jones, Sean

2014-12-01

Dust and particulate distribution patterns are shifting as global climate change brings about longer drought periods. Particulates act as vehicles for long range transport of organic pollutants, depositing at locations far from their source. Nonylphenol, a biodegradation product of nonylphenol polyethoxylate, is a known endocrine disruptor. Nonylphenol polyethoxylate enters the environment as an inert ingredient in pesticide sprays, potentially traveling great distances from its application site. This is of concern when a highly agricultural region, California's Central Valley, lies adjacent to sensitive areas like the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The distribution and transport mechanisms for 4-nonylphenol were investigated in Eastern Sierra Nevada canyons. Regions close to canyon headwalls showed trace amounts of 4-nonylphenol in surface water, snow, and atmospheric deposition. Exposed areas had yearly average concentrations as high as 9 μg/L. Distribution patterns are consistent with particulate-bound transport. This suggests with increasing drought periods, higher levels of persistent organic pollutants are likely. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating connection of aquifers to springs and streams, Great Basin National Park and vicinity, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prudic, David E.; Sweetkind, Donald S.; Jackson, Tracie R.; Dotson, K. Elaine; Plume, Russell W.; Hatch, Christine E.; Halford, Keith J.

2015-12-22

Groundwater flow from southern Spring Valley continues through the western side of Hamlin Valley before being directed northeast toward the south end of Snake Valley. This flow is constrained by southward-flowing groundwater from Big Spring Wash and northward-flowing groundwater beneath central Hamlin Valley. The redirection to the northeast corresponds to a narrowing of the width of flow in southern Snake Valley caused by a constriction formed by a steeply dipping middle Paleozoic siliciclastic confining unit exposed in the flanks of the mountains and hills on the east side of southern Snake Valley and shallowly buried beneath basin fill in the valley. The narrowing of groundwater flow could be responsible for the large area where groundwater flows to springs or is lost to evapotranspiration between Big Springs in Nevada and Pruess Lake in Utah.

The Role of Middle and Late Holocene North Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Precipitation Patterns in the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barron, J. A.; Anderson, L.; Starratt, S.; Wahl, D.; Anderson, L.; Addison, J. A.

2015-12-01

Comparative analyses of marine and terrestrial proxy records reveal regional changes in precipitation seasonality and relationships with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) as indicators of ocean-atmosphere dynamics. Enhanced La Niña-like conditions and cooler SSTs characterized the middle Holocene (~8.O to 4.0 ka) waters off northern California and in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Terrestrial records suggest that winters in the western US were generally dry, although wetter intervals attributed to winter precipitation beginning at ~5.5 ka are documented in coastal Oregon and Washington and in the northern Great Basin. Proxy studies suggest that the North American Monsoon (NAM) intensified beginning at ~7.5 ka, coinciding with warming Gulf of California SSTs coupled with a more northerly position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). If monsoonal precipitation spread northward into the eastern Great Basin and the western Rockies of Colorado, it is possible that wetter intervals of the middle Holocene in Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado may reflect increases in both summer and winter precipitation. El Niño event frequency and intensity began increasing between 4.0 and 3.0 ka, when modern ocean-atmosphere dynamics appear to have been established along the California coastal margin. Effects included cool, wet winters, enhanced spring coastal upwelling that extended into the summer, and higher September-October SSTs corresponding with the end of the coastal upwelling season. Winters became wetter in both the coastal and interior regions of the western US, while spring and summers generally became drier. The intensity of NAM precipitation also declined due to a more southerly mean position of the ITCZ. By ~3.0 cal ka the modern climatology of the margins of eastern North Pacific was established, resulting in intensification of the northwest-southwest precipitation dipole and the development of distinct Pacific Decadal Oscillation cycles.

Effects of natural and human factors on groundwater quality of basin-fill aquifers in the southwestern United States-conceptual models for selected contaminants

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bexfield, Laura M.; Thiros, Susan A.; Anning, David W.; Huntington, Jena M.; McKinney, Tim S.

2011-01-01

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, the Southwest Principal Aquifers (SWPA) study is building a better understanding of the factors that affect water quality in basin-fill aquifers in the Southwestern United States. The SWPA study area includes four principal aquifers of the United States: the Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona; the Rio Grande aquifer system in New Mexico and Colorado; and the California Coastal Basin and Central Valley aquifer systems in California. Similarities in the hydrogeology, land- and water-use practices, and water-quality issues for alluvial basins within the study area allow for regional analysis through synthesis of the baseline knowledge of groundwater-quality conditions in basins previously studied by the NAWQA Program. Resulting improvements in the understanding of the sources, movement, and fate of contaminants are assisting in the development of tools used to assess aquifer susceptibility and vulnerability.This report synthesizes previously published information about the groundwater systems and water quality of 15 information-rich basin-fill aquifers (SWPA case-study basins) into conceptual models of the primary natural and human factors commonly affecting groundwater quality with respect to selected contaminants, thereby helping to build a regional understanding of the susceptibility and vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers to those contaminants. Four relatively common contaminants (dissolved solids, nitrate, arsenic, and uranium) and two contaminant classes (volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and pesticide compounds) were investigated for sources and controls affecting their occurrence and distribution above specified levels of concern in groundwater of the case-study basins. Conceptual models of factors that are important to aquifer vulnerability with respect to those contaminants and contaminant classes were subsequently formed. The conceptual models are intended in part to provide a foundation for subsequent development of regional-scale statistical models that relate specific constituent concentrations or occurrence in groundwater to natural and human factors.

Statistical Analysis of Terrestrial Water Storage Change Over Southwestern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eibedingil, I. G.; Mubako, S. T.; Hargrove, W. L.; Espino, A. C.

2017-12-01

A warming trend over recent decades has aggravated water resource challenges in the arid southwestern region of the United States (U.S.). An increase in temperature, coupled with decreasing snowpack and rainfall have impacted the region's cities, ecosystems, and agriculture. The region is the largest contributor of agricultural products to the U.S. market resulting from irrigation. Water use through irrigation is stressing already limited terrestrial water resources. Population growth in recent decades has also led to increased water demand. This study utilizes products of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) twin satellites experiment in MATLAB and ArcGIS to examine terrestrial water storage changes in the southwestern region of the U.S., comprised of the eight states of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Linear trend analysis was applied to the equivalent water-height data of terrestrial water storage changes (TWSC), precipitation, and air temperature. Correlation analysis was performed on couplings of TWSC - precipitation and TWSC - air temperature to examine the impact of temperature and precipitation on the region's water resources. Our preliminary results show a decreasing trend of TWSC from April 2002 to July 2016 in almost all parts of the region. Precipitation shows a decreasing trend from March 2000 to March 2017 for most of the region, except for sparse areas of increased precipitation near the northwestern coast of California, and a belt running from Oklahoma through the middle of Texas to the El Paso/New Mexico border. From April 2002 to December 2014, air temperature exhibited a negative trend for most of the region, except a larger part of California and a small location in central Texas. Correlation between TWSC and precipitation was mostly positive, but a negative trend was observed when TWSC and air temperature were correlated. The study contributes to the understanding of terrestrial water storage trends and their relationship with climatic variables, crucial for implementing appropriate adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies, and managing water demand.

Southwestern USA Drought over Multiple Millennia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salzer, M. W.; Kipfmueller, K. F.

2014-12-01

Severe to extreme drought conditions currently exist across much of the American West. There is increasing concern that climate change may be worsening droughts in the West and particularly the Southwest. Thus, it is important to understand the role of natural variability and to place current conditions in a long-term context. We present a tree-ring derived reconstruction of regional-scale precipitation for the Southwestern USA over several millennia. A network of 48 tree-ring chronologies from California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado was used. All of the chronologies are at least 1,000 years long. The network was subjected to data reduction through PCA and a "nested" multiple linear regression reconstruction approach. The regression model was able to capture 72% of the variance in September-August precipitation over the last 1,000 years and 53% of the variance over the first millennium of the Common Era. Variance captured and spatial coverage further declined back in time as the shorter chronologies dropped out of the model, eventually reaching 24% of variance captured at 3250 BC. Results show regional droughts on decadal- to multi-decadal scales have been prominent and persistent phenomena in the region over the last several millennia. Anthropogenic warming is likely to exacerbate the effects of future droughts on human and other biotic populations.

Measurements of tropospheric nitric acid over the Western United States and Northeastern Pacific Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lebel, P. J.; Huebert, B. J.; Schiff, H. I.; Vay, S. A.; Vanbramer, S. E.; Hastie, D. R.

1990-01-01

Over 240 measurements of nitric acid (HNO3) were made in the free troposphere as well as in the boundary layer. Marine HNO3 measurement results were strikingly similar to results from GAMETAG and other past atmospheric field experiments. The marine boundary layer HNO3 average, 62 parts-per-trillion by volume (pptv), was 1/3 lower than the marine free tropospheric average, 108 pptv, suggesting that the boundary layer is a sink for tropospheric nitric acid, probably by dry deposition. Nitric acid measurements on a nighttime continental flight gave a free tropospheric average of 218 pptv, substantially greater than the daytime continental free tropospheric 5-flight average of 61 pptv. However, the nighttime results may be influenced by highly convective conditions that existed from thunderstorms in the vicinity during that night flight. The continental boundary layer HNO3 average of 767 pptv is an order of magnitude greater than the free tropospheric average, indicating that the boundary layer is a source of free tropospheric HNO3. The distribution of continental boundary layer HNO3 data, from averages of 123 over rural Nevada and Utah to 1057 pptv in the polluted San Joaquin Valley of California suggest a close tie between boundary layer HNO3 and anthropogenic activity.

The prevalence and predictors of helmet use by skiers and snowboarders at ski areas in western North America in 2001.

PubMed

Buller, David B; Andersen, Peter A; Walkosz, Barbara J; Scott, Michael D; Cutter, Gary R; Dignan, Mark B; Voeks, Jenifer H

2003-11-01

Helmets may protect the heads of skiers and snowboarders. The prevalence of helmet use by these groups was estimated. Helmet use was observed in face-to-face surveys (N = 2,978) on sun protection at 28 ski areas in Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and British Columbia (0.7% refusal rate) from January to April 2001. Helmets were worn by 12.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.0-13.3) of the sample. Use was highest among guests who skied or snowboarded more frequently (fourth quartile vs. first quartile, odds ratio [OR] = 11.998 [95% CI, 6.774-21.251]; third vs. first, OR = 5.556 [95% CI, 3.119-9.896]; second vs. first, OR = 2.186 [95% CI, 1.162-4.112]), were experts (OR = 3.326 [95% CI, 1.297-8.528]), used snowboards (OR = 2.301 [95% CI, 1.731-3.058]), and were more educated (college graduate, OR = 2.167 [95% CI, 1.271-3.695]; some college, OR = 1.969 [95% CI, 1.130-3.431]). Helmet use was generally low but may be high enough by experts, snowboarders, and in the central Rocky Mountains to produce a norm stimulating further adoption.

Snowmelt runoff in the Green River basin derived from MODIS snow extent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barton, J. S.; Hall, D. K.

2011-12-01

The Green River represents a vital water supply for southwestern Wyoming, northern Colorado, eastern Utah, and the Lower Colorado River Compact states (Arizona, Nevada, and California). Rapid development in the southwestern United States combined with the recent drought has greatly stressed the water supply of the Colorado River system, and concurrently increased the interest in long-term variations in stream flow. Modeling of snowmelt runoff represents a means to predict flows and reservoir storage, which is useful for water resource planning. An investigation is made into the accuracy of the Snowmelt Runoff Model of Martinec and Rango, driven by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow maps for predicting stream flow within the Green River basin. While the moderate resolution of the MODIS snow maps limits the spatial detail that can be captured, the daily coverage is an important advantage of the MODIS imagery. The daily MODIS snow extent is measured using the most recent clear observation for each 500-meter pixel. Auxiliary data used include temperature and precipitation time series from the Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) and Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) networks as well as from National Weather Service records. Also from the SNOTEL network, snow-water equivalence data are obtained to calibrate the conversion between snow extent and runoff potential.

Preliminary Surficial Geologic Map of the Mesquite Lake 30' X 60' Quadrangle, California and Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, Kevin M.; McMackin, Matthew

2006-01-01

The Quaternary surficial geologic map of the Mesquite Lake, California-Nevada 30'X60' quadrangle depicts deposit age and geomorphic processes of erosion and deposition, as identified by a composite of remote sensing investigations, laboratory analyses, and field work, in the arid to semi-arid Mojave Desert area, straddling the California-Nevada border. Mapping was motivated by the need to address pressing scientific and social issues such as understanding and predicting the effects of climate and associated hydrologic changes, human impacts on landscapes, ecosystem function, and natural hazards at a regional scale. As the map area lies just to the south of Las Vegas, Nevada, a rapidly expanding urban center, land use pressures and the need for additional construction materials are forecasted for the region. The map contains information on the temporal and spatial patterns of surface processes and hazards that can be used to model specific landscape applications. Key features of the geologic map include: (1) spatially extensive Holocene alluvial deposits that compose the bulk of Quaternary units (~25%), (2) remote sensing and field studies that identified fault scarps or queried faults in the Kingston Wash area, Shadow Mountains, southern Pahrump Valley, Bird Spring Range, Lucy Gray Mountains and Piute Valley, (3) a lineament indicative of potential fault offset is located in Mesquite Valley, (4) active eolian dunes and sand ramps located on the east side of Mesquite, Ivanpah, and Hidden Valleys adjacent to playas, (4) groundwater discharge deposits in southern Pahrump Valley, Spring Mountains, and Lucy Gray Mountains and (5) debris-flow deposits spanning almost the entire Quaternary period in age.

Is the Isabella anomaly a fossil slab or the foundered lithospheric root of the Sierra Nevada batholith?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoots, C. R.; Schmandt, B.; Clayton, R. W.; Hansen, S. M.; Dougherty, S. L.

2015-12-01

The Isabella Anomaly is a volume of relatively high seismic velocity upper mantle beneath the southern Great Valley in California. We deployed ~45 broadband seismometers in central California to test two main hypotheses for the origin of the Isabella Anomaly. One suggests that the Isabella Anomaly is the foundered lithospheric root of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith, which delaminated on account of eclogite-rich composition and translated westward as it began to sink into the asthenosphere. The other hypothesis suggests that the Isabella Anomaly is a fossil slab fragment attached to the Monterey microplate that lies offshore of central California and thus it is mechanically coupled to the Pacific plate. Prior seismic imaging with ~70 km station spacing cannot resolve the landward termination of Monterey microplate lithosphere beneath coastal California or where/if the Isabella Anomaly is attached to North America lithosphere beneath the Great Valley. The new temporary broadband array consists of 40 broadband seismometers with ~7 km spacing extending from the central California coast to the western Sierra Nevada batholith, plus some outliers to fill gaps in the regional network coverage. The temporary array was initially deployed in early 2014 and will continue to record until October 2015 so the complete data are not yet available. Preliminary Ps scattered wave images show an abrupt ~6 km increase in Moho depth eastward across the San Andreas fault, a strong positive impedance contrast that dips westward from ~7-25 km beneath Great Valley, and a sharp Moho with a slight westward dip beneath the western edge of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Apparently low impedance contrast characterizes the Moho beneath the eastern Great Valley and foothills, consistent with near mantle velocities in the lower crust. Processing of the cumulative data that will be available in October 2015 and incorporation of new tomography models into scattered wave imaging are needed before assessing the significance of potential uppermost mantle interfaces that may represent edges of the Isabella Anomaly. Results from Ps and Sp scattered wave imaging, ambient noise surface wave tomography, teleseismic body-wave tomography, and teleseismic shear wave splitting will be presented.

Effects on nonnative fishes on wilderness lake ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada and recommendations for reducing impacts

Treesearch

R. A. Knapp; Kathleen R. Matthews

2000-01-01

Wilderness areas of the Sierra Nevada, California contain thousands of lakes and ponds, nearly all of which were historically fishless. After more than a century of fish stocking, introduced trout are now present in up to 80% of larger lakes. These nonnative fishes have had profound impacts on native fishes, amphibians, and invertebrates. Several of these native...

Nutrient and sediment transport in streams of the Lake Tahoe basin: a 30-year retrospective

Treesearch

Robert Coats

2004-01-01

Lake Tahoe, widely renowned for its astounding clarity and deep blue color, lies at an elevation of 1,898 meters (m) in the central Sierra Nevada, astride the California-Nevada border. The volume of the lake is 156 cubic kilometers (km3), and its surface area is 501 square kilometers (km2), 38 percent of the total basin...

PAST CLIMATES, FORESTS, AND DISTURBANCES OF THE SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA: UNDERSTANDING THE PAST TO MANAGE FOR THE FUTURE

Treesearch

William F. Laudenslayer; Carl N. Skinner

1995-01-01

The forests of the Sierra Nevada have been altered for millennia by climate, natural disturbances, and more recently by the activities of humans. Management of these forests and their resources as ecosystems to meet diverse objectives, requires an understanding of the conditions under which existing forests developed and how they have changed through time. Recently...

NASA Acting Deputy Chief Technologist Vicki Crisp Discusses Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser with Lee Archambault

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-30

NASA Acting Deputy Chief Technologist Vicki Crisp discusses Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser captive carry flight and future tests with former Astronaut Lee "Bru" Archambault, who is now a test pilot for the American company. The Dream Chaser completed a successful captive carry flight at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California, on Aug. 30, 2017.

Rock glaciers and related periglacial landforms in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA; inventory, distribution and climatic relationships

Treesearch

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall

2008-01-01

Rock glaciers and related periglacial rock-ice features (RIFs) are abundant yet overlooked landforms in the Sierra Nevada, California, where they occur in diverse forms. We mapped 421 RIFs from field surveys, and grouped these into six classes based on morphology and location. These categories comprise a greater range of frozen-ground features than are commonly...

Summer evapotranspiration trends as related to time after logging of forests in Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Robert R. Ziemer

1964-01-01

Abstract - The quantity of summer soil moisture lost from logged forest openings was related to the length of time since the creation of the opening, in the subalpine forest zone of the Sierra Nevada west side, near the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, California, at an elevation of 6000 to 7000 feet. Soil moisture depletion was measured in forest openings which were...

Evaluating avian-habitat relationships models in mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Kathryn L. Purcell; Sallie J. Hejl; Terry A. Larson

1992-01-01

Using data from two studies in the southern and central Sierra Nevada, we compared the presence and abundance of bird species breeding in mixedconifer forests during 1978-79 and 1983-85 to predictions &om the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships (WHR) System. Twelve percent of the species observed in either study were not predicted by the WHR database to occur...

Controls of streamflow generation in small catchments across the snow-rain transition in the southern Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Fengjing Liu; Carolyn Hunsaker; Roger C. Bales

2012-01-01

Processes controlling streamflow generation were determined using geochemical tracers for water years 2004–2007 at eight headwater catchments at the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in southern Sierra Nevada. Four catchments are snowdominated, and four receive a mix of rain and snow. Results of diagnostic tools of mixing models indicate that Ca2+...

Hydrogeologic influence on changes in snowmelt runoff with climate warming: Numerical experiments on a mid-elevation catchment in the Sierra Nevada, USA

Treesearch

S.M. Jepsen; T.C. Harmon; M.W. Meadows; C.T. Hunsaker

2016-01-01

The role of hydrogeology in mediating long-term changes in mountain streamflow, resulting from reduced snowfall in a potentially warmer climate, is currently not well understood. We explore this by simulating changes in stream discharge and evapotranspiration from a mid-elevation, 1-km2 catchment in the southern Sierra Nevada of California (USA)...

Confronting the implications of wicked problems: changes needed in Sierra Nevada National Forest planning and problem solving

Treesearch

Hal Salwasser

2004-01-01

Thirty years ago, the fate of migratory deer in the Sierra Nevada was thought to be the major forest wildlife issue. Ten years later, agencies were building the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System to allow managers to integrate all terrestrial vertebrates with timber management in comprehensive National Forest planning. Another ten years after that, Tom...

Characteristics of nest trees and nest sites of California spotted owls in coniferous forests of the southern Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

George N. Steger; Thomas E. Munton; Kenneth D. Johnson; Gary E. Eberlein

1997-01-01

We described 86 nest sites of California spotted owl (Sh-ix occidentalis occrdentalzs) and tested for differences in vegetation structure at nest locations rn conifer-dominated stands in 2 study areas, the Sierra National Forest (SNF) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SNP), California. All nests were between 1061 and 2414 m in elevation, 52 were side-cavity...

Structural and lithologic study of northern California Coast Range and Sacramento Valley, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rich, E. I. (Principal Investigator); Steele, W. C.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Photgeologic examination of repetitive multispectral ERTS-1 imagery of Northern California has disclosed several systems of linear features which may be important for the interpretation of the structural history of California. They are separated from an orthogonal system of linears in the Klamath Mts. by a set of discontinuous southeast-trending linear features (the Mendocino system) which is traceable from the Pacific Coast, at Cape Mendocino, into the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Within the Sierra Nevada, the Mendocino system separates the north-trending Sierran system from a set of linears characteristic of the Modoc Plateau. With minor exception, little overlap exists among the systems which suggests a decipherable chronology and evolutionary history for the region. The San Andres system of linears appears to truncate or co-exist with most of the other systems in the northern Coast Ranges. The Mendocino system truncates the Klamath, Sierran, and Modoc systems. The Sierran system may represent fundamental and long-persisting pre-late Paleozoic zones of crustal weakness which have been reactivated from time to time. The Mendocino system was possibly developed in early Mesozoic and is important to the structural framework of Northern California.

Arsenic associated with historical gold mining in the Sierra Nevada foothills: Case study and field trip guide for Empire Mine State Historic Park, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alpers, Charles N.; Myers, Perry A; Millsap, Daniel; Regnier, Tamsen B; Bowell, Robert J.; Alpers, Charles N.; Jamieson, Heather E.; Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Majzlan, Juraj

2014-01-01

The Empire Mine, together with other mines in the Grass Valley mining district, produced at least 21.3 million troy ounces (663 tonnes) of gold (Au) during the 1850s through the 1950s, making it the most productive hardrock Au mining district in California history (Clark 1970). The Empire Mine State Historic Park (Empire Mine SHP or EMSHP), established in 1975, provides the public with an opportunity to see many well-preserved features of the historic mining and mineral processing operations (CDPR 2014a).A legacy of Au mining at Empire Mine and elsewhere is contamination of mine wastes and associated soils, surface waters, and groundwaters with arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and other metals. At EMSHP, As has been the principal contaminant of concern and the focus of extensive remediation efforts over the past several years by the State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Newmont USA, Ltd. In addition, the site is the main focus of a multidisciplinary research project on As bioavailability and bioaccessibility led by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Brownfields Program.This chapter was prepared as a guide for a field trip to EMSHP held on June 14, 2014, in conjunction with a short course on “Environmental Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Microbiology of Arsenic” held in Nevada City, California on June 15–16, 2014. This guide contains background information on geological setting, mining history, and environmental history at EMSHP and other historical Au mining districts in the Sierra Nevada, followed by descriptions of the field trip stops.

Quantifying the Impacts of Droughts on the Electricity Sector and its Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the American West

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrera-Estrada, J. E.; Sheffield, J.

2016-12-01

The electricity sector relies heavily on water, as it is needed for hydroelectric generation and to cool thermoelectric power plants. Droughts decrease river and reservoir levels, reducing the affected region's capacity for electricity generation. These cuts in electricity supply have to be replaced by more expensive alternatives with potentially higher associated greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. coal, natural gas, or imports) to meet the region's demand. To date, the quantification of the impacts of droughts on the electricity sector tends to be restricted to individual events, such as the recent California drought. In this work, the impacts of droughts on electricity prices paid by consumers and on greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector are calculated over the American West from 2001 to 2014 using monthly data. This region was selected because it falls within the Western Interconnection power grid, because of its important reliance on hydropower, and because it has large areas that are vulnerable to droughts due to their semi-arid climates. Furthermore, this regional approach allows us to quantify the effects of non-local droughts, i.e. droughts in neighboring states that affect electricity imports into a given state. Results show large heterogeneities in the effects of droughts across the region, given the diversity of energy sources used in each state. As expected, the effect of a local drought event on hydroelectricity is largest in California, Oregon, and Washington since they have the highest hydropower capacity. California and Oregon tend to replace a large portion of their lost hydroelectricity with natural gas, while Washington appears to rely more on imports from its neighbors. On the other hand, Montana, Nevada, and Utah, tend to rely more heavily on coal. The results also show that consumers in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors may sometimes pay millions of dollars more for their electricity use at the state level due to the effects of a drought on the state's energy mix, as has been the case in California.

Potential increase in floods in California's Sierra Nevada under future climate projections

USGS Publications Warehouse

Das, T.; Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R.; Hidalgo, H.G.

2011-01-01

California's mountainous topography, exposure to occasional heavily moisture-laden storm systems, and varied communities and infrastructures in low lying areas make it highly vulnerable to floods. An important question facing the state-in terms of protecting the public and formulating water management responses to climate change-is "how might future climate changes affect flood characteristics in California?" To help address this, we simulate floods on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the state's primary catchment, based on downscaled daily precipitation and temperature projections from three General Circulation Models (GCMs). These climate projections are fed into the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model, and the VIC-simulated streamflows and hydrologic conditions, from historical and from projected climate change runs, allow us to evaluate possible changes in annual maximum 3-day flood magnitudes and frequencies of floods. By the end of the 21st Century, all projections yield larger-than-historical floods, for both the Northern Sierra Nevada (NSN) and for the Southern Sierra Nevada (SSN). The increases in flood magnitude are statistically significant (at p <= 0. 01) for all the three GCMs in the period 2051-2099. The frequency of flood events above selected historical thresholds also increases under projections from CNRM CM3 and NCAR PCM1 climate models, while under the third scenario, GFDL CM2. 1, frequencies remain constant or decline slightly, owing to an overall drying trend. These increases appear to derive jointly from increases in heavy precipitation amount, storm frequencies, and days with more precipitation falling as rain and less as snow. Increases in antecedent winter soil moisture also play a role in some areas. Thus, a complex, as-yet unpredictable interplay of several different climatic influences threatens to cause increased flood hazards in California's complex western Sierra landscapes. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Deployment Area Selection and Land Withdrawal/Acquisition. M-X/MPS (M-X/Multiple Protective Shelter) Environmental Technical Report. Native Americans Nevada/Utah.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-02

Northern Paiute, Shoshone, Ute, and Southern Paiute peoples developed solutions to natural limitations based upon botanical and zoological expertise and...Land Management and the Forest Service. Other Land-based Activities (3.1.5.2.2) The tribe intends to build a hydroponic greenhouse which will utilize the...other development goals--notably the development of a hydroponic greenhouse utilizing flow from natural wdrm springs on the reservation, and development

Proceedings of a Seminar on Water Quality Evaluation. 22-24 January 1980, Tampa, Florida.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

Columbia River system from the Pacific Ocean to Lewiston , Idaho , a distance of 465 miles. Tugs and barges are raised a total of 738 feet in this distance by...States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho , Montana and small areas in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. It drains 259,000 square miles, about 15% of which are in...million acres of agricultural land in Oregon, Washington and Idaho were irrigated with water from the river system in 1979. - Fisheries In the Columbia

M-X Environmental Technical Report. Environmental Characteristics of Alternative Designated Deployment Areas, Power and Energy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-22

Vertical Axis Turbine (3.4.2) A vertical axis ( Darrieus ) turbine has the following advantages over a horizontal turbine : I. Accepts wind from all...would be too large, while wind and solar could only achieve capacity factors of 40 to 50 percent. Alcohol fue’s in gas turbines would be too expensive...or biomass base load system. Wind would not be a good choice to supply such a small toad cencer, especially in Nevada/Utah, since the turbine would

MX Siting Investigation. Mineral Resources Survey, Seven Additional Valleys, Nevada/Utah Siting Area. Volume I.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-23

Some negative impacts of MX deployment on mining in the study area are unavoidable, but careful planning in water use and actual shelter site...depend upon the extent of deployment and location of shelter sites. A major impact on the mining industry will result if draw-down of the water table...use and acquire the necessary land rights or whether the affected shelter (s) should be abandoned or replaced elsewhere in the deployment area. Egec E-TR

Deployment Area Selection and Land Withdrawal/Acquisition. M-X/MPS (M-X/Multiple Protective Shelter) Environmental Technical Report. Economic Model.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-02

Estimated non-residential building development . 176 D-I Correspondence between RIMS sectors and 1974 Census of Agriculture reporting categories. 185 D-2...deployment would be the development of new economic sectors . For example, building an M-X operating N.’ base or DDA facilities in a county would be likely...construction sectors . For the rural Nevada/Utah ROI counties, many of these location quotients are significantly less than one and in many cases zero because

Project Sedan Event, July 6, 1962

DTIC Science & Technology

1962-12-12

Queen City Summit over Highway 25 14 1532 358 68 300 32 miles NW of Queen City Summit over Highway 25 14 1534 357 69 300 36 miles NW of Queen City...Blast Propagation REECO 203F On-Site Rad-Safe AEC/ USBM 204F Structural Survey of Private Mining Opera- tions FAA 205F Airspace Closure SC 211F Close-In...Weather Bureau, Las Vegas, Nevada USBM U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C. FAA Federal Aviation Agency, Salt Lake City, Utah REECO Reynolds

Evaluation of new spectral bands for multi-spectral imaging: SMIRR aircraft test results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goetz, Alexander F.H.; Rowan, Lawrence C.; Barringer, Anthony R.

1980-01-01

A 10-channel radiometer called the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) is scheduled to take data from orbit on the second shuttle orbital light test. As part of the instrument test sequence, a series of aircraft flights was carried out over 10 test areas in Utah and Nevada. Apart from vegetation, the materials exposed at the surface were volcanic sequences ranging from tuffs to basalts, areas of hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks, sedimentary sequences of sandstone and carbonate rocks, and alluvial cover.

Movements and habitat use of Yosemite toads (Anaxyrus (formerly Bufo) canorus) in the Sierra National Forest, California

Treesearch

Christina T. Liang

2013-01-01

The Yosemite Toad (Anaxyrus (Bufo) canorus) is a high-elevation species endemic to the central Sierra Nevada mountain range in California whose populations are in decline. There is limited information on their terrestrial movement and habitat use, which impairs our understanding of the ecology and habitat...

Current distribution of the fisher, Martes pennanti, in California

Treesearch

William J. Zielinski; Thomas E. Kucera; Reginald H. Barrett

1995-01-01

We describe the 1989-1994 distribution of the fisher, Martes pennanti, in California based on results of detection surveys that used either sooted track-plates or cameras. Fishers were detected in two regions of the state: the northwest and the southern Sierra Nevada. Despite considerable survey effort, neither fisher tracks nor photographs were...

Current distribution of the american marten, Martes americana, in California

Treesearch

Thomas E. Kurcera; William J. Zielinski; Reginald H. Barrett

1996-01-01

We describe the current distribution of the American marten, Martes americana, in California based on field surveys conducted between 1989 and 1995 that used either sooted track-plates or cameras. The Sierra Nevada marten, M. a. sierrae, occupies much of its historic range from northwestern Shasta County to the southern Sierra...

The spotted owl in southern and central coastal California

Treesearch

R.J. Gutiérrez; Douglas J. Tempel; M. Zachariah Peery

2017-01-01

Spotted owl populations found in southern and central coastal California have received much less attention than those inhabiting the Sierra Nevada because of economic (effect of habitat conservation measures on timber harvest) and social issues (community stability and desire for naturally functioning ecosystems). Yet there has been continued concern over the...

Population dynamics of dwarf mistletoe on young true firs in the central Sierra Nevada, California

Treesearch

Robert E Scharpf; J. R. Jr. Parmeter

1982-01-01

Young red firs (Abies magnifica A. Murr.) and white firs (A. concolor [Gord. & Glend.] Lindl. ex Hildebr.) on the Stanislaus National Forest, California, were inoculated with seeds of dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium abietinum) for 5 successive years. Only 3 to 4 percent of about 7000 seeds placed on branches...

Profiles of California vegetation

Treesearch

William B. Critchfield

1971-01-01

This publication brings together 57 elevational profiles illustrating the dominant vegetation of much of the Sierra Nevada, southern Coast Ranges, and montane southern California as it existed in the 1930's. The profiles were drawn by Michael N. Dobrotin for the U.S. Forest Service's Vegetation Type Map survey, which mapped nearly half of the State's...

Southern cascades bioregion

Treesearch

Carl N. Skinner; Alan H. Taylor

2006-01-01

The Cascade Range extends from British Columbia, Canada, south to northern California where it meets the Sierra Nevada. The Southern Cascades bioregion in California is bounded on the west by the Sacramento Valley and the Klamath Mountains, and on the east by the Modoc Plateau and Great Basin. The bioregion encompasses the Southern Cascades section of Miles and Goudey...

77 FR 25112 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 5-Year Reviews of Species in California and Nevada

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-27

....gov . To obtain further information, contact Josh Hull at the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office at... Alameda whipsnake (=striped Masticophis No status change. Sacramento Josh Hull, (916) racer). lateralis... Hull, (916) relictus. 414-6600. California freshwater shrimp... Syncaris pacifica No status change...