Geology and geophysics of the southern Raft River valley geothermal area, Idaho, U.S.A.

Williams, Paul L.; Mabey, Don R.; Zohdy, Adel A.R.; Ackermann, Hans D.; Hoover, Donald B.; Pierce, Kenneth L.; Oriel, Steven S.

doi:10.3133/ofr75322

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…The vertical flow can be interpreted as an upwelling of hot water over a broad area as in the model of Bredehoeft and Papadopulos (1965); however, the two wells are sited along a fault. RRGE-1 is interpreted to have intersected this fault at depth (Williams et al, 1976) while RRGE-2 did not (Covington, 1977b). Consistent with the geologic interpretation that the two wells are sited along a fault, we can analyze their temperature profiles by assuming that flow is restricted to a thin zone.…”

Section: Deep Wellsmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…To the east, the Black Pine Mountains consist mainly of faulted Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary rocks. The valley fill is composed of sand, gravel, silt, and clay of Pleistocene age and tuffaceous sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate of Tertiary age (Williams et al, 1976). Figure 2 shows the same area as Figure 1, along with the faults (Williams et al, 1976) and gravity contours (Mabey and Wilson, 1973).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…5 does not conform to the topography ( Figure 1). This gravity high trends northwest across the Jim Sage Mountains and may be an extension of the Big Bertha gneiss dome of the Albion Mountains (Williams et al, 1976). The Narrows structure (shown on Figure 2 as a set of double broken lines) trends from the southwest to the northeast (Williams et al, 1976;Mabey et al, 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Basalt associated with the Snake River Plain province outcrops about 15 km to the north. The Jim Sage Mountains (center, Figure 1) are made up of Tertiary rhyolites and tuffaceous sediments that define a broken antiform structure (Williams et al, 1976). The Albion Mountains to the west and the Raft River Mountains to the south expose Precambrian adamellite (quartz monzonite) mantled by Precambrian and lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and by allochthonous upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Albion Mountains to the west and the Raft River Mountains to the south expose Precambrian adamellite (quartz monzonite) mantled by Precambrian and lower Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks and by allochthonous upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. The narrow fault-defined valley separating the Albion and Jim Sage Mountains (Williams et al, 1976) rises about 600 feet (180 m) from its low point in the south (Upper Raft River Valley) to its saddle near Elba. To the east, the Black Pine Mountains consist mainly of faulted Pennsylvanian and Permian sedimentary rocks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temperatures, heat flow, and water chemistry from drill holes in the Raft River geothermal system, Cassia County, Idaho

Nathenson¹,

Urban²,

Diment³

et al. 1980

Open-File Report

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The Raft River area of Idaho contains a geothermal system of intermediate temperatures (#150°C) at depths of about 1.5 km. Outside of the geothermal area, temperature measurements in three intermediate-depth drill holes (200-400 m) and one deep well (1500 m] indicate that the regional conductive heat flow is about 2.5 ycal/cm^ sec or slightly higher and that temperature gradients range from 50° to 60°C/km in the sediments, tuffs, and volcanic debris that fill the valley. Within and close to the geothermal system, temperature gradients in intermediate-depth drill holes (100-350 m) range from 120° to more than 600°C/km, the latter value found close to an artesian hot well that was once a hot spring. Temperatures measured in three deep wells (1-2 km) within the geothermal area indicate that two wells are in or near an active upflow zone, whereas one well shows a temperature reversal. Assuming that the upflow is fault controlled, the flow is estimated to be 6 liter/sec per kilometer of fault length. From shut-in pressure data and the estimated flow, the permeability times thickness of the fault is calculated to be 2.4 darcy m.Chemical analyses of water samples from old flowing wells, recently completed intermediate-depth drill holes, and deep wells show a confused pattern. Geothermometer temperatures of shallow samples suggest significant re-equilibration at temperatures below those found in the deep wells. Silica geothermometer temperatures of water samples from the deep wells are in reasonable agreement with measured temperatures, whereas Na-K-Ca temperatures are significantly higher than measured temperatures. The chemical characteristics of the water, as indicated by chloride concentration, are extremely variable in shallow and deep samples. Chloride concentrations of the deep samples range from 580 to 2200 mg/kg.

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Section: Deep Wellsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Temperatures, heat flow, and water chemistry from drill holes in the Raft River geothermal system, Cassia County, Idaho

Nathenson¹,

Urban²,

Diment³

et al. 1980

Open-File Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Geothermal resource assessment of the United States

Muffler

Christiansen

1978

PAGEOPH

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Electromagnetic studies in geothermal regions

Berktold¹

1983

Geophysical Surveys

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Abstract. During the past 25 yr, nearly all available electromagnetic and geoelectric techniques have been tested for their usefulness in geothermal exploration and exploitation. Dipole-dipole profiling, audiomagnetotellurics and controlled source electromagnetic methods are examples of those which have proven to be rather efficient for geothermal exploration. From the hundreds of field surveys which have been performed in many geothermal regions of the world, a large variety of geothermal regions and local geothermal systems, with different geological, hydrological and heat transfer characteristics, has been found to exist. Depending on the combination of these different characteristics each geothermal region or system presents a new problem which may need a different field technique or group of field techniques for optimal exploration. Despite these problems, new geothermal regions have been detected and structures and processes in geothermal systems are now much better understood. For example, advances have been made in the study of (a) the characteristics of porous/permeable hot water/vapor reservoirs and of fractioned zones for hot water/vapor circulation and production (b) the distribution and movement of cold meteoric and of hot water (c) the thermal insulation of reservoirs by cap-rocks (d) convective and/or conductive heat transfer and (e) the thermal influence of magma intrusions to high crustal levels.New exploration techniques, data analysis procedures and model calculations have been developed in the course of research in geothermal areas. They include the controlled source electromagnetic methods, the remote reference field technique and the development of better and faster algorithms for direct and inverse model calculations. Problems for the future are (a) the development and improvement of equipment and field techniques for more precise delineation and resolution of the conductivity distribution in geothermal areas especially those with productive zones of high porosity/permeability and fracturing, (b) the improvement of computerised data analysis in the field to optimise progress during the field measurements and (c) the development of more efficient interpretation procedures for the rather inhomogeneous conductivity distribution which exists in most geothermal areas.

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Geology and geophysics of the southern Raft River valley geothermal area, Idaho, U.S.A.

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Temperatures, heat flow, and water chemistry from drill holes in the Raft River geothermal system, Cassia County, Idaho

Temperatures, heat flow, and water chemistry from drill holes in the Raft River geothermal system, Cassia County, Idaho

Geothermal resource assessment of the United States

Electromagnetic studies in geothermal regions

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