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LASL: Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles
In 1976, three private subcontractors, under contract with the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), collected 1,561 water and 2,577 sediment samples from the New Mexico portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns quadrangles. (672 sediment and 437 water samples were collected within the St. Johns quadrangle). All of the samples were sent to LASL for uranium analyses and the data for all 4 quadrangles were released in the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) GJBX-69(78) report.

LASL: St. Johns Quadrangle
In 1977, the entire NURE HSSR program changed from a study area basis (State, County, or geomorphic provinces) to a 1° x 2° quadrangle basis. As a result of this decision, the responsibility for the Arizona portion of the St. Johns quadrangle was reassigned to the LASL. In April and May of 1979, additional sampling of 818 sediment and 429 water samples were completed within the western half (mostly Arizona portion) of the St. Johns quadrangle. All samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium. The Arizona sediment samples plus 657 sediments from the original New Mexico samples (with new LASL sample identification numbers) were analyzed for 42 additional elements and the data were released in the LASL St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-191(80) report. This report also contains the uranium analytical data for the Arizona water samples plus data for 419 of the original New Mexico water samples (again with new LASL sample identification numbers).

LASL: Pie Town Special Study
During June of 1979, LASL conducted a detailed geochemical survey of well waters from an area around Pie Town within parts of the St. Johns and Socorro quadrangles. LASL collected 300 well water samples and measured carbonate and bicarbonate concentrations in the field by a titration method. (Of these samples, 238 were collected within the St. Johns quadrangle). After LASL analyzed the samples for uranium, they were sent to Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and analyzed for 23 additional elements. All of the analytical data were released in the LASL Pie Town Area Special Study GJBX-23(81) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of NURE sample types collected for all studies within the St. Johns quadrangle study.

These St. Johns 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.
• LL2-ES: Lawrence Livermore Optical Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mo, Na, P, Si, Ti, V, and Zn (Note: Table 3, in the published report, gives analytical detection limits for this method and includes B, Co, K, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, U, and Zr but no data for these elements were found in the data files.) (Pie Town Area study only).

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for St. Johns Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The St. Johns quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report combined with St. Johns quadrangle records from the earlier New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the St. Johns quadrangle sediment data:

1. 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.
2. A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the St. Johns 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 LASL St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, sample containers and reported in the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report.
3. The St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report included records for 657 sediment samples from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report. These samples were reanalyzed for multiple elements by the same methods used for the quadrangle study. Because there were no overlapping data fields, the corresponding records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
4. In the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report, 572 St. Johns quadrangle sediment records had LASLID values that did not conform with the standard identification number protocols. By comparing these records with corresponding records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report, it was possible to identify and correct 557 of the LASLID values. Fifteen records could not be corrected and still have the bad LASLID values.
5. When combining the 657 corresponding sediment records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports, some differences between corresponding records were found in the sample type(SAMPTYP), sediment type(SEDTYPR), sediment color(SEDCOLR), stream flow(STRFLOWC), pH measurement(PH), conductivity measurement(COND), water level(WTRLEVEL), water color(WTRCOLR), or water temperature(WTRTEMP) fields. These differences appear to be due to corrections added to the later St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report. Therefore when differences were found, the value from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report was retained in the field and the differing value from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field. However, when values for these fields were missing in records from the St. Johns Quadrangle study but present in records from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles study, the New Mexico study values were added to the combined record. These changes were also noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
6. When combining corresponding sediment records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports, differences in latitude(LAT) and longitude(LONG) coordinates were found for 3 sediment samples. These differences appear to be due to corrections added to the later Gallup Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-186(80) report. Therefore when differences were found, the value from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report was retained in the field and the differing value from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report was added as a comment to the COORDPRB field.
7. Two sediment sample records contained values for the well pump type(WELLPUMP) or well water depth(WWTRDPTH). These parameters were not normally recorded for sediment sample records. The values were removed from each record and added as a comment to the corresponding REFORMAT field.
8. Unlikely sample collection dates were found for seven samples. These dates were removed from the SAMPDAT field. For each record, the original SAMPDAT value and the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
9. Forty-one sediment records with a STATE value of 'AZ' had coordinates that plotted in New Mexico. These STATE values were changed and a comment was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.
10. Six sediment records with a STATE value of 'NM' had coordinates that plotted in Arizona. These STATE values were changed and a comment was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.
11. One stream-sediment sample has a latitude of exactly 34°N, the dividing line between the St. Johns quadrangle and the Clifton quadrangle. This coordinate value was not changed but a comment was added to the COORDPRB field.
12. One stream sediment sample and one spring sediment sample in this quadrangle share the same latitude-longitude coordinates (1 distinct coordinate site). It is unclear whether this represents a set of samples collected at the same site or single samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish locations.

Water Records
The St. Johns quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report combined with St. Johns quadrangle records from the earlier New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report plus reformatted records from the St. Johns portion of the Pie Town Area Special Study GJBX-23(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Socorro quadrangle water data:

1. A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the St. Johns 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 LASL St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, sample containers and reported in the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report.
2. The St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report included records for 419 water samples from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report. These samples were reanalyzed for multiple elements by the same methods used for the quadrangle study. Because there were no overlapping data fields, the corresponding records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
3. In the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report, 437 St. Johns quadrangle water records had LASLID values that did not conform with the standard identification number protocols. By comparing these records with corresponding records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report, it was possible to identify and correct 419 of the LASLID values. Eighteen records could not be corrected and still have the bad LASLID values.
4. When combining the 419 corresponding water records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports, some differences between corresponding records were found in the sediment type(SEDTYPR), sediment color(SEDCOLR), stream flow(STRFLOWC), stream channel character(STRCHANL), well pump(WELLPUMP), or water level(WTRLEVEL) fields. These differences appear to be due to corrections added to the later St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report. Therefore when differences were found, the value from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report was retained in the field and the differing value from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field. However, when values for these fields were missing in records from the St. Johns Quadrangle study but present in records from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles study, the New Mexico study values were added to the combined record. These changes were also noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
5. When combining corresponding water records from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) and New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) reports, differences in latitude(LAT) and longitude(LONG) coordinates were found for 1 water sample. These differences appear to be due to corrections added to the later Gallup Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-186(80) report. Therefore when differences were found, the value from the St. Johns Quadrangle NURE HSSR GJBX-191(80) report was retained in the field and the differing value from the New Mexico Portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and St. Johns Quadrangles NURE HSSR GJBX-69(78) report was added as a comment to the COORDPRB field.
6. The original Pie Town Area Special Study digital file did not include any multielement data. These data were hand entered from appendices in the Pie Town Area Special Study GJBX-23(81) report. The appendices also included data for carbonate and bicarbonate concentrations in waters. Because of the limited number of carbonate and bicarbonate values in the entire NURE HSSR water database, no additional field were added to the format for these values. These data were entered only as a comment in the REFORMAT field for each Pie Town Area Special Study record.
7. Two water samples collected as part of the Pie Town Area Special Study had LASLID values that were exactly the same as two water samples collected by LASL in the Kalispell, Montana Quadrangle. To prevent confusion and to preserve uniqueness in sample records, a suffix of DS was added to the Primary Identification Number(PRIME_ID) for each of these 2 Pie Town Area records.
8. Twenty-four well water samples in this quadrangle share the same latitude-longitude coordinates with one other sample (12 distinct coordinate sites). These appear to be sites collected during Socorro quadrangle study that were resampled during the Pie Town Area Special Study. A comment in the COORDPRB field identifies each of these pairs.
9. Eight other well water samples in this quadrangle also share the same latitude-longitude coordinates with one other sample (4 distinct coordinate sites). It is unclear whether this represents sets of samples collected at the same four sites or single samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish locations.
10. Unlikely sample collection dates were found for four samples. These dates were removed from the SAMPDAT field. For each record, the original SAMPDAT value and the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
11. Eighteen water records with a STATE value of 'AZ' had coordinates that plotted in New Mexico. These STATE values were changed and a comment was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.
12. Thirteen water records with a STATE value of 'NM' had coordinates that plotted in Arizona. These STATE values were changed and a comment was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.

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).

St. Johns Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,490 records
St. Johns Quadrangle Water Data - 1,104 records

Notes for Data Users

None at this time.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the St. Johns Quadrangle

St. Johns Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the St. Johns quadrangle by the Bendix Field Engineering Corp. of Grand Junction, Colorado [PGJ/F-011(82)]. An additional 215 rock samples were collected from known uranium occurrences and analyzed as a part of this evaluation process. These analytical data were released only as appendices on microfiche accompanying the summary report.

St. Johns Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Maassen, L.W., George, W.E., Apel, C.T., Hansel, J.M., Hensley, W.K., Minor, M.M., and Mills, C.F., 1980, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data release for the Saint Johns NTMS quadrangle, Arizona/New Mexico, including concentrations of forty-two additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8015-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-191(80), 158 p.
• May, R.T., Foster, M.G., Daw, P.E., Brouillard, L.A., and White, D.L., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Saint Johns quadrangle, Arizona and New Mexico: Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-011(82), 58 p.
• Morgan, T.L., George, W.E., Hensley, W.K., Thomas, G.J., and Langhurst, A.L., 1981, Uranium hydrogeochemical survey of well waters from an area around Pie Town, Carton County, west-central New Mexico, including concentrations of twenty-three additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8017-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-23(81), 49 p.
• Sharp, R.R., Morris, W.A., and Aamodt, P.L., 1978, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data release for the New Mexico portions of the Douglas, Silver City, Clifton, and Saint Johns NTMS quadrangles, New Mexico/Arizona: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7180-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-69(78), 123 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

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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
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_stjohn.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:15 EST 2016