Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4212

Probability Distributions of Hydraulic Conductivity for the Hydrogeologic Units of the Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada and California

By Wayne R. Belcher, Donald S. Sweetkind, and Peggy E. Elliott

CONTENTS

Abstract

Introduction

Location
Purpose and Scope
Limitations
Acknowledgments

Hydrogeologic Setting

Regional Overview
Hydrogeologic Units

Data Analysis and Synthesis

Estimating Probability Distributions
Statistical Hypothesis Testing

Probability Distributions

Basin-Fill Hydrogeologic Units
Bedrock Confining Hydrogeologic Units
Carbonate Rock Hydrogeologic Units
Volcanic Rock Hydrogeologic Units
Applicability of Distributions to a Regional Model
Principle of Parsimony

Summary

References Cited

FIGURES

• 1. Location map of study area
• 2-8. Graphs showing hydraulic-conductivity distributions for:
  • 2. Basin-fill hydrogeologic units
  • 3. Regional bedrock confining hydrogeologic units
  • 4. Carbonate rock hydrogeologic units
  • 5. Tertiary volcanic rock hydrogeologic units
  • 6. Tertiary volcanic rock lithologies
  • 7. Welding in ash-flow tuffs
  • 8. Alteration in ash-flow tuffs

TABLES

• 1. Horizontal hydraulic-conductivity estimates of hydrogeologic units in the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system
• 2. Horizontal hydraulic-conductivity estimates of volcanic rock hydrogeologic units in the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system
• 3-9. Results of hypothesis testing for:
  • 3. Basin-fill hydrogeologic units
  • 4. Bedrock confining units
  • 5. Carbonate rocks
  • 6. Tertiary volcanic rock hydrogeologic units
  • 7. Tertiary volcanic rock lithologies
  • 8. Welding in ash-flow tuffs
  • 9. Alteration in tuffs

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