A brief geologic and hydrologic reconnaissance of the Furnace Creek wash area, Death Valley National Monument, California

Pistrang, M.A.; Kunkel, Fred

doi:10.3133/ofr5875

Cited by 10 publications

(31 citation statements)

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“…The estimated total discharge in the area is about 2,500 gpm, or about 4,100 acre-feet per year (Pistrang and Kunkel, 1964, table 4). Hunt, Robinson, Bowles, and Washburn (1966) estimated a total discharge of about 3,200 gpm (about 5,100 acre-ft) for a larger discharge area than that considered by Pistrang and Kunkel. Pistrang and Kunkel (1964) considered the discharge to be derived from precipitation on the highlands bordering Death Valley on the east.…”

Section: Probable Hydraulic Connection Between Central Amargosa Desermentioning

confidence: 81%

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Hydrogeologic and hydrochemical framework, south-central Great Basin, Nevada-California, with special reference to the Nevada Test Site

Winograd¹,

Thordarson²

1975

Professional Paper

395

681

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Intensely fractured Precambrian and Paleozoic carbonate and clastic rocks and block-faulted Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary strata in the Nevada Test Site are divided into 10 hydrogeologic units. Three of these the lower clastic aquitard, the lower carbonate aquifer, and the tuff aquitard control the regional movement of ground water. The coefficients of fracture transmissibility of these rocks are, respectively, less than 1,000, 1,000 to 900,000, and less than 200 gallons per day per foot; interstitial permeability is negligible. Solution caverns are locally present in the carbonate aquifer, but regional movement of water is controlled by variations in fracture transmissibility and by structural juxtaposition of the aquifer and the lower clastic aquitard. Water circulates freely to depths of at least 1,500 feet beneath the top of the aquifer and up to 4,200 feet below land surface. Synthesis of hydrogeologic, hydrochemical, and isotopic data suggests that an area of at least 4,500 square miles (including 10 intermontane valleys) is hydraulically integrated into one groundwater basin, the Ash Meadows basin, by interbasin movement of ground water through the widespread carbonate aquifer. Discharge from this basin a minimum of about 17,000 acre-feet annually occurs along a fault-controlled spring line at Ash Meadows in east-central Amargosa Desert. Intrabasin movement of water between Cenozoic aquifers and the lower carbonate aquifer is controlled by the tuff aquitard, the basal Cenozoic hydrogeologic unit. Such movement significantly influences the chemistry of water in the carbonate aquifer. Groundwater velocity through the tuff aquitard in Yucca Flat is less than 1 foot per year. Velocity through the lower carbonate aquifer ranges from an estimated 0.02 to 200 feet per day, depending upon geographic position within the flow system. Within the Nevada Test Site, ground water moves southward and southwestward toward Ash Meadows. C2 HYDROLOGY OF NUCLEAR TEST SITES The scope of the report is broad in view of the complexities of the geology, the vastness of the study area, and the absence of previous detailed hydrogeologic studies of similar terrane. Yet, the types and quantity of data obtained during this investigation are seldom available in hydrogeologic studies. In addition to standard hydrologic data, a wealth of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and isotopic data were used to supplement interpretations of the hydrologic data. To a first approximation, therefore, the objectives of the study are believed to have been accomplished. The development of groundwater supplies was an important byproduct of the investigation; more than half the test holes are used as water wells. This report does not discuss the exploration for, and development of, new water supplies, although many of the data and interpretations will aid others in such tasks.

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Section: Probable Hydraulic Connection Between Central Amargosa Desermentioning

confidence: 81%

“…1). The hydrogeologic setting at these springs was described briefly by Pistrang and Kunkel (1964) and by Hunt, Robinson, Bowles, and Washburn (1966). Travertine and Texas Springs issue from Quaternary gravels underlain at shallow depth and partly surrounded by Tertiary lacustrine deposits.…”

Section: Probable Hydraulic Connection Between Central Amargosa Desermentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogeologic and hydrochemical framework, south-central Great Basin, Nevada-California, with special reference to the Nevada Test Site

Winograd¹,

Thordarson²

1975

Professional Paper

395

681

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Historically, estimates of evapotranspiration in the DVRFS were computed as part of regional assessments of the ground-water resource (Malmberg and Eakin, 1962;Walker and Eakin, 1963;Pistrang and Kunkel, 1964;Malmberg, 1967;Rush, 1968). These regional assessments estimated annual ET losses as the product of the acreage of phreatophytes within a discharge area and an annual ET rate representative of the vegetation and soil conditions of the discharge area.…”

Section: Estimation Of Annual Evapotranspiration and Ground-water Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most previous attempts to quantify ground-water discharge from the DVRFS have been based on measurements of springflow or on estimates of ET from the major discharge areas (Malmberg and Eakin, 1962;Walker and Eakin, 1963;Pistrang and Kunkel, 1964;Malmberg, 1967;Rush, 1968, Dudley andLarson, 1976). In discharge areas where seeps are dominant or where springs are difficult to measure, estimates of ground-water discharge account only for measurable outflow.…”

Section: Estimation Of Annual Evapotranspiration and Ground-water Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accurate estimates of ground-water discharge from the DVRFS are crucial to developing realistic simulations of ground-water flow and contaminant transport away from the NTS and Yucca Mountain. Although early reconnaissance studies completed in the 1960s and 1970s (Malmberg and Eakin, 1962;Walker and Eakin, 1963;Pistrang and Kunkel, 1964;Malmberg, 1967;Cardinalli and others, 1968;Rush, 1968;Winograd and Thordarson, 1975) provide general estimates of regional discharge from many of the major valleys in the region, the methodologies and techniques applied often differed among the various investigations. More accurate and defensible estimates of regional ground-water discharge across the DVRFS require that a more thorough and consistent approach be applied to all major discharge areas within its boundaries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ground-water discharge determined from estimates of evapotranspiration, Death Valley regional flow system, Nevada and California

Laczniak¹,

Smith²,

Elliott³

et al. 2001

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Hydrogeologic evaluation and numerical simulation of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California

D'Agnese¹,

Faunt²,

Turner³

et al. 1997

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A brief geologic and hydrologic reconnaissance of the Furnace Creek wash area, Death Valley National Monument, California

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Hydrogeologic and hydrochemical framework, south-central Great Basin, Nevada-California, with special reference to the Nevada Test Site

Hydrogeologic and hydrochemical framework, south-central Great Basin, Nevada-California, with special reference to the Nevada Test Site

Ground-water discharge determined from estimates of evapotranspiration, Death Valley regional flow system, Nevada and California

Hydrogeologic evaluation and numerical simulation of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California

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