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ORGDP: Rapid City Quadrangle
A total of 514 stream-sediment and 417 ground-water samples was collected from the Rapid City quadrangle during May - October of 1979 by contracted personnel of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. These samples were analyzed by the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Rapid City Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study GJBX-159(80) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of sample types collected for the Rapid City quadrangle study.

These Rapid City quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:

Sediment Samples

• OR1: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for U.
• OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
• OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
• OR8: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for As and Se.
• OR-CS: Oak Ridge Analysis of rocks or sediments for Cl and/or Sulfate. (ORGDP Lab Procedure 37.)

Water Samples

• OR9-FL: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for U.
• OR9-MS: Oak Ridge Mass Spectrometry Analysis of waters for U.
• OR13: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)
• OR15: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Sulfate only.
• OR16: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Cl and Sulfate.
• OR17: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Rapid City Quadrangle

The Rapid City quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Rapid City Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-159(80) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

1. The abstract of the Rapid City Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-159(80) report states that 477 stream-sediment sediments were collected from the quadrangle, however, the report tables and the data file list results for 514 samples.
2. An unlikely sample collection date was found for one sample. This date was removed from the SAMPDAT field and the original SAMPDAT value with the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
3. One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 44°N, the dividing line between the Rapid City quadrangle and the Hot Springs quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Rapid City Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-159(80) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Rapid City quadrangle.

Water Records

1. An impossible sample hour value was found for one sample. This value was removed from the SAMPHR field and the original value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.

Download The Data

The NURE HSSR data are now available online in two databases: The sediment database (also includes data for soils and some rocks) at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/sediment/ and the water database at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/water/. From these two web sites, NURE HSSR data can be selected, examined, summarized, and downloaded by political boundaries (State and County), by quadrangle (1:250,000-scale, 1:100,000-scale, and 1:63,360-scale for Alaska or 1:24,000-scale for the Lower 48 States), and by hydrologic unit (drainage region, subregion, river basin, or sub-basin). Selected data can be downloaded as a dBase file, a shapefile, an HTML table, or ASCII text (tab- or comma-delimited).

Rapid City Quadrangle Sediment Data - 514 records
Rapid City Quadrangle Water Data - 417 records

Notes for Data Users

The water samples were reportedly collected in the field without any filtering or acidification. (See the SAMPTYP coding explanation in the On-Line Manual for USGS-Reformatted NURE HSSR Data Files for descriptions of different Sample Types). However, the samples were filtered later in the laboratory through a 0.45 micron membrane filter before analysis. Therefore, the samples were not true "untreated water" samples and the analytical data may not be directly comparable for other quadrangle water samples of the same SAMPTYP when collected by a different laboratory. Since this was the standard procedure for Oak Ridge, water data from other Oak Ridge quadrangles should be comparable.

Latitude-longitude coordinates were reported in the original data files, as decimal degrees, to only 3 decimal places. Therefore, the precision of these coordinates is limited to +/- 0.001 degrees or +/- 3.6 seconds. This translates to a minimum precision of +/- 365 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 280 feet (85 m) to +/- 259 feet (79 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 40° and 45°N, respectively.)

One stream-sediment sample collected in the Rapid City quadrangle was not analyzed by any method.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Rapid City Quadrangle

Rapid City Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Rapid City quadrangle by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation [PGJ/F-125(82)]. An additional 218 rock samples were collected and analyzed from the quadrangle. The multielement analytical data were released only as appendices on microfiche accompanying the summary report.

Uranium Anomalies in Wyoming
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation identified and ranked 269 uranium anomalies from 23 quadrangles in and adjacent to Wyoming. These anomalies were based on an evaluation of the NURE HSSR data, aerial radiometric reconnaissance surveys and, to a lesser extent, geologic evaluations. This report [GJBX-3(83)] lists 17 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Rapid City quadrangle. No additional geochemical data accompany this report.

Rapid City Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Goodknight, C.S., Ludlam, J.R., Burger, J.A., Dickson, R.E., Dayvault, R.D., Dexter, J.J., and Anderson, J.R., 1982, Uranium anomalies in Wyoming and parts of adjacent states: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-3(83), 11 p.
• Nanna, R.F., and Milton, E.J., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Rapid City Quadrangle, South Dakota: Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-125(82), 73 p.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1980, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Rapid City NTMS quadrangle, South Dakota: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-139, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-159(80), 127 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to South Dakota NURE data
Back to Wyoming NURE data
Back to Montana NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data

Page written by Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.00: September 11, 1998
Version 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_rapdcy.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:14 EDT 2016