Revised potentiometric-surface map, Yucca Mountain and vicinity, Nevada
Water-Resources Investigations Report
93-4000
By: E. M. Ervin, R. R. Luckey, and D.J. Burkhardt
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Abstract
The revised potentiometric-surface map presented in this report updates earlier maps of the Yucca Mountain area using mainly 1988 average water levels. Because of refinements in the corrections to the water-level measurements, these water levels have increased accuracy and precision over older values. The small-gradient area to the southeast of Yucca Mountain is contoured with a 0.25-meter interval and ranges in water-level altitude from 728.5 to 731.0 meters. Other areas with different water levels, to the north and west of Yucca Mountain, are illustrated with shaded patterns. The potentiometric surface can be divided into three regions: 1) A small-gradient area to the southeast of Yucca Mountain, which may be explained by flow through high-transmissivity rocks or low ground-water flux through the area; 2) A moderate-gradient area, on the western side of Yucca Mountain, where the water-level altitude ranges from 775 to 780 meters, and appears to be impeded by the Solitario Canyon Fault and a splay of that fault; and 3) A large-gradient area, to the north-northeast of Yucca Mountain, where water level altitude ranges from 738 to 1,035 meters, possibly as a result of a semi-perched groundwater system. Water levels from wells at Yucca Mountain were examined for yearly trends (1986-89) using linear least-squares regression. Data from five wells exhibited trends which were statistically significant, but some of those may be a result of slow equilibration of the water level from drilling in less permeable rocks. Adjustments for temperature and density changes in the deep wells with long fluid columns were attempted, but some of the adjusted data did not fit the surrounding data and, thus, were not used.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Revised potentiometric-surface map, Yucca Mountain and vicinity, Nevada |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 93-4000 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri934000 |
| Edition | - |
| Year Published | 1993 |
| Language | ENGLISH |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey : USGS Earth Science Information Center, Open-File Reports Section [distributor], |
| Description | iv, 17 p. :ill., maps ;28 cm. |
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