USGS Open-File Report 03-294: Hydrogeologic Factors that Influence Ground Water Movement in the Desert Southwest United States

Hydrogeologic Factors that Influence Ground Water Movement in the Desert Southwest United States

By Frank C. Chuang, Edwin H. McKee, and Keith A. Howard

Introduction

A project to study ground-water and surface-water interactions in the desert southwestern United States was initiated in 2001 by the Tucson, Arizona office of the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). One of the goals of the Southwest Ground-water Resources Project was to develop a regional synthesis that includes the use of available digital geologic data, which is growing rapidly due to the increasing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Included in this report are the digital maps and databases of geologic information that should have a direct impact on the studies of ground-water flow and surface-water interaction.

Ground-water flow is governed by many geologic factors or elements including rock and soil permeability, stratigraphy and structural features. These elements directly influence ground-water flow, which is key to understanding the possible inter-connectivity of aquifer systems in desert basins of the southwestern United States. We derive these elements from the evaluation of regional geology and localized studies of hydrogeologic basins. These elements can then be applied to other unstudied areas throughout the desert southwest. This report presents a regional perspective of the geologic elements controlling ground-water systems in the desert southwest that may eventually lead to greater focus on smaller sub-regions and ultimately, to individual ground-water basins.

First posted May 27, 2003

Report PDF (624 MB)

Map sheets ZIP (12 MB)
Download the PDF versions of the 21 sheets that accompany this report as a .zip file

Map sheets ZIP (20 MB)
Download EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) versions of the 21 sheets that accompany this report as a .zip file

Database ZIP (20 MB)
Contains: geospatial database. Refer to the Readme file for more information.

Table 1 XLS (24 kB)
Table 1 summarizes the geologic events that have affected the hydrogeologic framework in the desert southwest

For additional information, contact:
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, MS 901
Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591
http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/gmeg/

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Suggested citation:

Chuang, Frank C., McKee, Edwin H., Howard, Keith A., 2003, Hydrogeologic Factors that Influence Ground Water Movement in the Desert Southwest United States: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-294, 39 pp, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/0294/.