OFR 97-492: Butte Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.
[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
During the spring (April - July) and fall (October) of 1976, a total of 1,999 sediment and 1,674 water samples were collected from 1,046 locations over parts of the Butte, Dillon, and White Sulphur Springs quadrangles in western Montana for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Boulder Batholith Pilot Study. Within the Butte quadrangle, 1,125 sediments (various fractions of spring, stream, and pond sediment samples) and 1,119 waters (various treatments of spring, stream, and pond water samples) were collected. The samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium content and the data were released in the GJBX-56(78) report.
The Boulder Batholith pilot study had several objectives:
According to the GJBX-56(78) report:
The results of this study show that, at least in this area, treatments such as filtration and acidification made very little difference in the amount of uranium measured in the waters. Changes in mean pH, specific conductance, and uranium values in waters taken in the spring sampling period and the fall sampling period were surprisingly small in this area. No definite correlation between the pH and uranium content was apparent; however, the range of measured pH values in this area was quite narrow. A distinct correlation between high uranium and high specific conductance was shown by the data. The analyses of sediment sieved to four size fractions indicated that the -100 mesh and -230 mesh fractions generally contained the highest mean uranium contents. Finally, it was shown that in this area the standard LASL HSSR methods were quite effective in delineating areas where uranium mineralization is known to occur.
Between April and July of 1977, the remainder of the Butte quadrangle was sampled as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Butte Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Totals of 1,951 sediments (1,407 new samples plus 544 samples from the pilot study) and 1,370 water (964 new samples plus 406 samples from the pilot study) were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 42 additional elements and the analytical data were released in the GJBX-129(80) report.
The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Butte quadrangle.
| Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet Streams | 1,801 | Streams | 2,033 |
| Dry Streams | 676 | Springs | 49 |
| Wet Springs | 50 | Natural Ponds | 1 |
| Wet Natural Ponds | 5 | ||
| Total Sediments | 2,532 | Total Waters | 2,083 |
These Butte quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from the GJBX-56(78) report of the pilot study combined with records from the GJBX-129(80) Butte quadrangle report. In total, the reformatted sediment data contain 2,532 records; 581 Pilot study samples analyzed only for uranium plus 544 Pilot study samples and 1,407 new samples used in the quadrangle study and analyzed for uranium and up to 42 additional elements. The reformatted water data contain 2,083 records; 713 Pilot study samples analyzed only for uranium plus 406 Pilot study samples and 964 new samples used in the quadrangle study and analyzed for uranium and up to 12 additional elements. These different groups of records can be distinguished in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files by using the TAPEFILE and STUDY fields.
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).
Butte Quadrangle Sediment Data - 2,530 records
Butte Quadrangle Water Data - 2,078 records
The data in the water database includes samples collected by several different methods with respect to filtering and acidification and the data in the sediment database includes samples collected by sieving to multiple sieve fractions (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 or sediments with different sieve fractions.
When Butte quadrangle data are combined with other quadrangles for regional studies, it has been the experience of previous users that the water SAMPTYP's 06 and 07 and the sediment SAMPTYP's 11, 12, and 15 are the most useful and ubiquitous sample media in this quadrangle.
Salisbury & Dietz, Inc. of Spokane, Washington released a summary report of the Butte quadrangle [PGJ/F-064(82)]. An additional 705 rock, 4 soil, and 51 ground water samples were collected and analyzed from selected areas of the quadrangle. From previous USGS reports, 107 rock samples were analyzed and also included and referenced in the summary report. The multielement analytical data for the additional samples were released only on microfiche as an appendix to the summary report.
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 1.40: January 13, 2006
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