U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-161 Title-- Baseline analytical data for stream sediment and surface water samples from Panther Creek, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and the Main Salmon River from North Fork to Corn Creek, collected prior to the severe wildfires of 2000 in central Idaho Authors-- Robert G. Eppinger, Paul H. Briggs, Zoe Ann Brown, James G. Crock, Allen Meier, Peter M. Theodorados, and Stephen A. Wilson Affiliations-- U.S. Geological Survey, DFC, PO Box 25046, MS 973, Denver, CO, 80225 Overview-- In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a reconnaissance baseline geochemical study in central Idaho. The purpose of the baseline study was to establish a "geochemical snapshot" of the area, as a datum for monitoring future change in the geochemical landscape, whether natural or human-induced. This report presents the methology, analytical results, and sample descriptions for water, sediment, and heavy-mineral concentrate samples collected during this geochemical investigation. In the summer of 2000, the Clear Creek, Little Pistol, and Shellrock wildfires swept across much of the area that was sampled. Thus, these data represent a pre-fire baseline geochemical dataset. A 2001 post- fire study is planned and will involve re-sampling of the pre-fire baseline sites, to allow for pre- and post-fire comparison. System Requirements-- Compatible operating environments or systems: Microsoft Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT Minimum hardware requirements: CD-ROM drive, color graphics monitor, mouse, 386 microprocessor, 4 MB RAM, 25MB available hard disk space. Software Installation-- The report (TEXT.PDF) and associated figures are Adobe Acrobat PDF format. View or print the report and figures with version 4 or later of the program Adobe Acrobat Reader (available for free download at www.adobe.com). After Acrobat Reader is installed, double-click on the TEXT.PDF icon to load Reader and open the report. Refer to the built-in help system in Reader for assistance with commands. Contents of This Report-- There are 3 directories (folders) containing data associated with the report TEXT.PDF. The directories and their contents are: Directory: FIGURES Contents: location figures referred to in TEXT.PDF file, all in .PDF format Files: FIGURE1.PDF general location figure of study area FIGURE2.PDF more detailed location figure with sample sites Directory: ACCESS Contents: analytical data as integrated Microsoft Access 2000 database Files: DATA.MDB Directory: EXCEL Contents: analytical data as individual Microsoft Excel files (version 3.0) Files: SAMPLOG.XLS Listing of all sample sites and media collected at each site SITEINFO.XLS Information related to the sample site WATSITEI.XLS Information related to water sample sites WATERFU.XLS Anion analyses, filtered/unacidified water samples WATERFA.XLS Cation analyses, filtered/acidified water samples WATERRA.XLS Cation analyses, raw unfiltered/acidified water samples WATERFE.XLS Fe2+ analyses, filtered/acidified water samples CONCENTR.XLS Heavy-mineral concentrate descriptive and analytical data SEDIMENT.XLS Sediment descriptive and analytical data Web site URL-- http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0161/ Disclaimer-- This publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof nor any of their employees makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therin to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademanrk, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data and software published here have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and (or) the functioning of the software. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data, software, or related materials.