Water resources of Washakie County, Wyoming
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- Document: Report (pdf)
- Plate: Plate 1 (pdf)
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Abstract
Data on the surface- and ground-water resources are complied to summarize the water resources of Washakie County. This study, prepared in cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer, is one in a series investigating the water resources of Wyoming counties . The three principal types of streams in the county are perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral. Perennial streams have continuous streamflows, and high streamflows are associated with snowmelt runoff; low streamflows usually occur in the winter months when the snowpack is frozen and ground-water discharge is at its smallest rate. Intermittent and ephemeral streams are characterized by periods of no flow, and high streamflows are associated with snowmelt or thunderstorms.
The principal aquifers are as follows: alluvium of Quaternary age, Willwood Formation of Tertiary age, Fort Union Formation of Tertiary age, and the formations of primarily Paleozoic age--Goose Egg Formation, Tensleep Sandstone, Madison Limestone, Bighorn Dolomite, and Flathead Sandstone. Reported yields from wells completed in the alluvium ranged from 10 to 40 gallons per minute, and reported yields from wells completed in the Willwood Formation ranged from 1 to 28 gallons per minute. Yields as large as 2,500 gallons per minute are reported from wells completed in the Madison Limestone, Bighorn Dolomite, and Flathead Sandstone.
Calcium magnesium sodium sulfate water and sodium sulfate water with concentrations of dissolved solids greater than 1,000 milligrams per liter are common in the alluvium, Willwood Formation and Fort Union Formation. Water samples from six of eight wells completed in the Willwood Formation have trace concentrations of herbicides. Calcium carbonate water with small dissolved-solids concentrations is common in the aquifers in Paleozoic formations.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Water resources of Washakie County, Wyoming |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 91-4044 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri914044 |
| Year Published | 1993 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | Report: v, 82 p.; Plate: 21.07 x 29.44 inches |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wyoming |
| County | Washakie County |
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