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National Geochemical Database—Reformatted Data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) Program

By Steven M. Smith
Version 1.40 (2006)

This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Totals of 1,536 sediment and 1,251 water samples were collected from 1,586 locations in the Bozeman quadrangle between September and November 1976 as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Bozeman Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and the analytical data were released in the GJBX-8(79) report. At a later date, the sediment samples were reanalyzed for up to 42 additional elements and all the analytical data were updated and released in the GJBX-235(80) report.

A follow-up, detailed geochemical survey collected an additional 1,273 sediment and 531 water samples from 3 study areas within the Bozeman quadrangle during July-August 1979. The objective of this study was to evaluate the uranium potential of the Three Forks Basin, the Spanish Peaks, and the Boulder River areas. Of these samples, 35 were collected from the Boulder River to evaluated dispersion of element concentrations downstream from tributaries. The samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 46 additional elements. The data from these detailed study samples were released in the GJBX-237(80) report.

The following is a list of all sample types collected within the Bozeman quadrangle for the HSSR study and the detailed studies.

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

Sediment Samples

• LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of sediments for U.
• LA2: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sn, and W. (Quadrangle Study samples only)
• LA3: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, W, and Zr. (Special Studies samples only)
• LA4: Los Alamos Arc-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of sediments for Be and Li.
• LA5: Los Alamos Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, V, Yb, and Zn.

Water Samples

• LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
• LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from the GJBX-8(79) uranium report combined with equivalent records from GJBX-235(80) multielement report plus the records from the detailed studies GJBX-237(80) report. The detailed studies records are identified with a code DS13 in the STUDY field and comments in 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 websites, 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).

Bozeman Quadrangle Sediment Data - 2,809 records
Bozeman Quadrangle Water Data - 1,781 records

Notes for Data Users

The data in the water database includes samples collected by 3 different methods with respect to filtering and acidification (See the SAMPTYP coding explanation in the On-Line Manual for New-Format NURE HSSR Data Files for descriptions of different Sample Types. Analytical data may not be directly comparable for water samples collected by different methods.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Bozeman Quadrangle

In a joint venture, the University of Montana at Missoula, Montana and Montana State University at Bozeman, Montana produced a summary report for the Bozeman quadrangle including data from an additional 237 rock and 31 sediment samples (PGJ/F-077(82)). The multielement analytical data for these samples appear only in the microfiche appendices to the summary report.

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 4 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Bozeman quadrangle. No additional data for any samples accompanies this report.

Bozeman Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Bolivar, S.L., 1978, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Bozeman NTMS quadrangle, Montana: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7504-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-8(79), 98 p.
• Bolivar, S.L., George, W.E., Gallimore, D., Apel, G., Hansel, J., Hensley, W.K., Van Haaften, I.J., and Pirtle, J., 1980, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance listing release for the Three Forks Basin, Spanish Peaks, and Boulder River areas for the Bozeman NTMS quadrangle, Montana, including concentrations of forty-six additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8486-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-237(80), 131 p.
• Bolivar, S.L., Hensley, W.K., Van Haaften, I.J., Pirtle, J., George, W.E., Gallimore, D., Apel, G., and Hansel, J., 1980, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Bozeman NTMS quadrangle, Montana, including concentrations of forty-two additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7504-MS Supplement, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-235(80), 155 p.
• 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.
• Lange, I.M., Fields, R.W., Fountain, D.M., Moore, J.N., Qamar, A.I., Silverman, A.J., and Thompson, G.R., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Bozeman quadrangle, Montana: Department of Geology, University of Montana, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-077(82), 67 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Montana NURE data
Back to Wyoming 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 1.40: January 13, 2006

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