USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

About USGS /  Science Topics /  Maps, Products & Publications /  Education / Publication: FAQ

ORGDP: Iron Mountain Quadrangle
A total of 369 stream-sediment, 479 ground-water, and 389 surface-water samples were collected from the Iron Mountain quadrangle as part of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The stream-sediment and water sampling was conducted by ORGDP personnel between August and November of 1977. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-97(78) report.

Summary Tables
Because of the various analytical methods used, some ORGDP samples may have been analyzed once, twice, or not at all. The following table summarizes the analysis of Iron Mountain quadrangle samples.

The following is a listing of the sample types collected for the Iron Mountain quadrangle study.

These Iron Mountain 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.
• OR4: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Pt, Sc, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
• OR6: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
• OR8: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for As and Se.

Water Samples

• OR9-FL: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for U.
• OR9-MS: Oak Ridge Mass Spectrometry Analysis of waters for U.
• OR11: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
• 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.
• OR17: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Iron Mountain Quadrangle

The Iron Mountain quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-97(78) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

1. There were 304 sediment samples that were apparently analyzed twice by slightly different multielement methods. To avoid losing data for elements analyzed by both methods, these samples are each represented by two records in the sediment data.
2. One stream-sediment sample was found in the GJBX-97(78) report, table B-3, that was not in the digital data file. The partial data found in the published appendix and the accompanying field notes on microfiche were added to the digital data. This record is identified by a comment in the REFORMAT field.
3. Two separate sediment samples have the same latitude-longitude coordinates. It is unclear whether this represents two samples collected at the same site or two samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
4. One stream-sediment sample was collected at a latitude of exactly 45°N, the dividing line between the Iron Mountain quadrangle and the Green Bay quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-97(78) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Iron Mountain quadrangle.

Water Records

1. One stream-water sample was found in the GJBX-97(78) report, table C-3, that was not in the digital data file. The partial data found in the published appendix and the accompanying field notes on microfiche were added to the digital data. This record is identified by a comment in the REFORMAT field.
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. Two separate stream-water samples have the same latitude-longitude coordinates. It is unclear whether this represents two samples collected at the same site or two samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
4. One stream-water and two well-water samples were collected at a latitude of exactly 45°N, the dividing line between the Iron Mountain quadrangle and the Green Bay quadrangle. The coordinates for these samples were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-97(78) report. This slight change places these samples clearly in the Iron Mountain quadrangle.

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).

Iron Mountain Quadrangle Sediment Data - 673 records
Iron Mountain Quadrangle Water Data - 868 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 +/- 259 feet (79 m) to +/- 235 feet (72 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 45° and 50°N, respectively.)

One wet stream-sediment sample and three stream-water samples collected in the Iron Mountain quadrangle were not analyzed by any method.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Iron Mountain Quadrangle

Uranium Anomaly Reports
Two brief follow-up investigations were conducted by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation to investigate the anomalies found within the Goodman-Dunbar Area and the McCaslin Syncline of northeastern Wisconsin. These areas are discussed in separate chapters in the GJBX-222(82) report on uranium anomalies. Only a summary of the radiometric surveys and gamma spectrometry data without any additional geochemical data is found in these reports. The results of these investigations suggest that these areas do not have potential for the economic occurrence of uranium mineralization.

Iron Mountain Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Mathews, G.W., and Blackburn, W.H., 1982, Evaluation of uranium anomalies in the Goodman-Dunbar Area, northeastern Wisconsin, in Goodknight, C.S., and Burger, J.A., compilers, Reports on Investigations of Uranium Anomalies: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-222(82), p. 29-42.
• Mathews, G.W., and Blackburn, W.H., 1982, Evaluation of uranium anomalies in the McCaslin Syncline, northeastern Wisconsin, in Goodknight, C.S., and Burger, J.A., compilers, Reports on Investigations of Uranium Anomalies: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-222(82), p. 43-68.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1978, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Iron Mountain NTMS quadrangle, Michigan, and Wisconsin: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-106, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-97(78), 130 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Michigan NURE data
Back to Wisconsin NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data

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

AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_ironmt.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:13 EST 2016