OFR 97-492: Lander Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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)
Brief History and Description of Data
[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
LASL: Lander Quadrangle
Totals of 1,376 sediment and 355 water samples were collected from 1,441 locations in the Lander quadrangle during two distinct time periods as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Lander Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study.
- 1969 and 1972: 94 minus-80 mesh stream-sediment samples collected during USGS Wilderness studies (Pearson and others, 1971; Pearson and others, 1973).
- June - July, 1977: 1,282 minus-100 mesh sediment and 355 water samples collected by contractors from the remainder of the quadrangle. However, no samples were collected from the strip of Wind River Indian Reservation found in northern 1/8th of the Lander quadrangle.
All of the sediment samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 42 additional elements. The water samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 12 additional elements. These data were released in the Lander Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-147(79) report.
Summary Tables
The following is a list of NURE sample types collected for the Lander quadrangle study.
Summary of Lander quadrangle sample types.
| Wet Streams (minus-100 mesh) |
210 |
Streams |
213 |
| Wet Streams (minus-80 mesh) |
94 |
Wells |
14 |
| Dry Streams |
889 |
Springs |
128 |
| Wet Springs |
82 |
|
|
| Dry Springs |
56 |
|
|
| Dry Natural Ponds |
22 |
|
|
| Dry Artificial Ponds |
23 |
|
|
| Total Sediments |
1,376 |
Total Waters |
355 |
These Lander 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.
- 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.
- LA7: Los Alamos Plasma-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of waters for Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn.
Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Lander Quadrangle
The Lander quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Lander Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-147(79) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Lander quadrangle data:
Sediment Records
- During the NURE sample collection phase, LASL sites and samples were initially assigned a 6-digit integer Identification Number (LASLID) starting with 000001. After 1977, most LASL sites were reassigned a new 1-letter+5-digit Identification Number starting with A00001. All LASL samples and the early LASL reports use the 6-digit integer LASLID. Most of the later reports only use the 1-letter+5-digit LASLID. Although both sets of numbers were usually assigned sequentially, they do not correspond one to one with each other: 100001 does not equal C00001, etc. Whenever possible, the 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field. When the corresponding 6-digit site number could be determined from sample number translation key lists or other sources, this Identification Number was saved in the SITE field.
- A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Lander quadrangle sediment samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the Lander Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-147(79) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
- Records for 37 stream-sediment samples originally collected by the USGS as part of the Popo Agie Primitive Area (Pearson and others, 1971 and Pearson and others, 1973) are identified by a comment in the REFORMAT field.
Water Records
- A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Lander quadrangle water samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the Lander Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-147(79) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
- One sample record contained an invalid value for the air temperature(AIRTEMP) of -22. Although the most likely source of this error is an unwanted negative sign, this could not be confirmed in published sources. This value was removed from the AIRTEMP field and 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).
Lander Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,376 records
Lander Quadrangle Water Data - 355 records
Notes for Data Users
Sediment samples from the Lander quadrangle were collected by two different methods with respect to sieving. Samples obtained from the USGS (identified with SAMPTYP 37) were sieved at -80 mesh. The remaining sediments were sieved at -100 mesh. (See the SAMPTYP coding explanation in the On-Line Manual for USGS-Reformatted NURE HSSR Data Files for descriptions of different Sample Types.) Analytical data may not be directly comparable for sediment samples sieved to different fractions.
Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Lander Quadrangle
Lander Quadrangle NURE Summary
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation produced a summary evaluation report for the Lander quadrangle [PGJ/F-050(82)]. During this evaluation an additional 130 rock samples were collected and analyzed for K, U, and Th. These 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 8 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Lander quadrangle. No additional geochemical data accompany this report.
Great Divide Basin Potential Tonnage Assessment
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation conducted a study to determine tonnage of potential uranium resources in fine-grained carbonaceous rocks from the Great Divide Basin area, which includes parts of the Casper, Lander, Rawlins, and Rock Springs quadrangles. This assessment was based primarily on data from some 600 boreholes. The report of this study [GJBX-225(82)] also includes appendices on microfiche that list data for analyses of drill core or cuttings for uranium (231 samples by fluorometric chemical analysis) and 18 selected elements (160 samples by emission spectroscopy analysis).
Red Desert Multidisciplinary Studies
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation was involved in a detailed study of a small area in the Red Desert of Wyoming (about 13 square miles on the border between the Casper and Lander quadrangles) to investigate methods for identifying mineral halos associated with a known sandstone-type uranium deposit [GJBX-1(83)]. The text discusses the results of geochemical surveys that generated multielement data for 437 soil samples and 994 composited sections from drillholes. Although included tables give statistical summaries and figures show element distribution, none of the raw data for these samples were found or referenced in the text.
Lander Quadrangle NURE Bibliography
- Burger, J.A., Roe, L.M., II, Hacke, C.M., and Mosher, M.M., 1982, Uranium resources in fine-grained carbonaceous rocks of the Great Divide Basin, south-central Wyoming: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-225(82), 45 p.
- Gebhardt, R., Jennings, R., and Fiscus, D., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Lander quadrangle, Wyoming: Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-050(82)F, 37 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.
- Pearson, R.C., Kiilsgaard, T.H., and Patten, L.L., 1971, Mineral resources of the Popo Agie Primitive Area, Fremont and Sublette counties, Wyoming, with a section on Interpretation of aeromagnetic data by R.E. Mattick: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1353-B, p. B1-B55.
- Pearson, R.C., Patten, L.L., and Gaskill, D.L., 1973, Mineral resources of an area near the Popo Agie Primitive Area, Fremont County, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1391-A, 18 p.
- Shannon, S.S., Jr., Sandoval, W.F., Montoya, J.D., Minor, M.M., Simi, O.R., Talcott, C.L., and Pirtle, D.J., 1979, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Lander NTMS quadrangle, Wyoming, including concentrations of forty-three additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7512-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-147(79), 172 p.
- Wayland, T.E., and Sayala, D., 1983, Multidisciplinary studies of uranium deposits in the Red Desert, Wyoming: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-1(83), 402 p.
Links Within Open-File Report 97-492
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 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006
