Groundwater resources of the Columbia Plateau regional aquifer system
Links
- More information: Fact Sheet HTML
- Document: Fact Sheet (2.5 MB pdf)
- Related Work: Professional Paper 1817
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
The Columbia Plateau is a wide basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains that covers parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The climate over much of the Columbia Plateau is semiarid with precipitation ranging from 7 to 15 in/yr in the central part (Vaccaro and others, 2015), yet the area supports a $6 billion per year agricultural industry, including the production of apples, corn, grapes, hops, mint, potatoes, stone fruit, and wheat. Groundwater pumpage and surface-water diversions supply water to irrigated croplands that account for about 5 percent of the Nation’s irrigated lands. Groundwater also is the primary source of drinking water for about 1.3 million people living on the plateau.
Suggested Citation
Kahle, S.C., and Vaccaro, J.J., 2015, Groundwater resources of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2015-3063, 6 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153063.
ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)
ISSN: 2327-6916 (print)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Groundwater resources of the Columbia Plateau regional aquifer system |
| Series title | Fact Sheet |
| Series number | 2015-3063 |
| DOI | 10.3133/fs20153063 |
| Year Published | 2015 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Washington Water Science Center |
| Description | Report: 6 p.; HTML Document |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| Other Geospatial | Columbia Plateau |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |