VOLUME II-A
OCCURRENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
GROUND WATER IN THE
-------
VOLUME II-A
OCCURRENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
GROUND WATER IN THE BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
by
Robert Libra, Dale Doremus, Craig Goodwin
Project Manager
Craig Eisen
Water Resources Research Institute
University of Wyoming
Report to
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Contract Number G 008269-791
Project Officer
Paul Osborne
-------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER Page
I. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 1
II. GEOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC SETTING 7
PHYSIOGRAPHY . 8
Topography 8
Climate and Surface Drainage 10
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 10
Population Distribution 10
Land Use and Ownership 12
GEOLOGY 15
Stratigraphy and Depositional History .... 15
Structure 18
Hydrostratigraphy 21
III. GROUND-WATER USE 25
MAJOR GROUND-WATER USERS 23
Petroleum Industry . 28
Agriculture 29
Irrigation 30
Livestock 31
Underground Drinking Water Supplies 31
Private Domestic Use 31
Public Drinking Water Supplies 32
Surface Water Use 38
IV. HYDROGEOLOGY 39
FLATHEAD AQUIFER 40
-------
CHAPTER Page
PALEOZOIC AQUIFER SYSTEM 46
Hydrologic Properties 49
Permeability 49
Specific Capacity 50
Transmissivity 54
Ground-Water Movement 54
UPPER PALEOZOIC AND LOWER AND MIDDLE
MESOZOIC AQUIFERS 58
Hydrologic Properties 60
Permeability 60
Specific Capacity 64
Transmissivity 64
Ground-Water Movement 67
UPPER CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY AQUIFER SYSTEM .... 67
Hydrologic Properties 68
Specific Capacity 68
Ground-Water Movement 72
QUATERNARY AQUIFERS 73
Hydrologic Properties 73
Specific Capacity 73
Transmissivities 73
Ground-Water Movement 79
V. WATER QUALITY 81
GENERAL WATER QUALITY 82
Flathead Aquifer 82
Paleozoic Aquifer System 83
Upper Paleozoic and Lower and Middle
Mesozoic Aquifers . 85
Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary Aquifer System. . . 89
Quaternary Aquifers 91
Absaroka Volcanics 93
-------
CHAPTER Page
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS 93
Primary Standards 93
Fluoride 93
Nitrate 98
Other Primary Standards 98
Secondary Standards 101
Total Dissolved Solids 101
Sulfate 101
Chloride 104
Radionuclear Species 104
VI. REFERENCES 109
APPENDIX A: Non-Municipal and Non-Community
Public Drinking Water Supplies A-l
APPENDIX B: Geologic Properties of Major
Water-Bearing Strata B-l
APPENDIX C: Chemical Analyses of Bighorn Basin
Ground Waters Sampled by WRRI C-l
APPENDIX D: Location and Numbering System D-l
-------
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
II-l. Location and drainage map of the Bighorn basin . . 9
II-2. Population map of the Bighorn basin 14
II-3. Stratigraphic section of the Bighorn basin .... 17
II-4. Geologic cross sections through the Bighorn
basin 19
II-5. Major structural features of the Bighorn basin,
Wyoming 20
II-6. Generalized hydrostratigraphy of the Bighorn
basin, Wyoming 22
III-l. Location of public drinking water supplies in
the Bighorn basin 34
IV-1. Potentiometric surface of the Tensleep aquifer
in the Bighorn basin 56
IV-2. Generalized Upper Paleozoic-Lower Mesozoic
stratigraphy of the Bighorn basin 59
V-l. Major ion composition of waters from the
Paleozoic aquifer system, Bighorn basin,
Wyoming 84
V-2. Major ion composition of waters from the
Phosphoria Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming ... 86
V-3. Major ion composition of waters from the
Cloverly Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming .... 87
V-4. Major ion composition of waters from the
Frontier Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming .... 88
V-5. Major ion composition of waters from the Upper
Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system, Bighorn
basin, Wyoming 90
V-6. Major ion composition of waters from Quaternary
-------
Figure Page
V-7. Major ion composition of waters from Quaternary
terrace aquifers, Bighorn basin, Wyoming 95
V-8. Location of ground-water fluoride concentrations
greater than 2.0 mg/1 97
V-9. Variations in fluoride concentrations in Lance
Formation waters, Manderson, Wyoming 99
V-10. Location of ground-water nitrate concentrations
in excess of 10 mg/1 NO^-N 100
-------
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
II-l. Surface drainage in the Bighorn basin 11
II-2. Populations of counties and population
centers in the Bighorn basin 13
II-3. Land cover in the Bighorn basin 16
III-l. Summary of ground-water use, Bighorn basin,
Wyoming 27
III-2. Number of public drinking water supplies in the
Bighorn basin by service category 33
III-3. Municipal ground-water supplies in the
Bighorn basin 36
IV-1. Lithologic and hydrologic characteristics of
rock units in the Bighorn basin, Wyoming 41
IV-2. Hydrologic properties of Paleozoic aquifer
system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming 51
IV-3. Reported specific capacities of wells in the
Paleozoic aquifer system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming . . 53
IV-4. Transmissivities of members of Paleozoic aquifer
system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming 55
IV-5. Hydrologic properties of Upper Paleozoic and
Lower and Middle Mesozoic aquifers, Bighorn
basin, Wyoming 61
IV-6. Reported specific capacity for wells in the
Upper Paleozoic and Lower and Middle Mesozoic
aquifers, Bighorn basin, Wyoming 65
IV-7. Reported specific capacity of wells in the
Willwood aquifer, Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary
aquifer system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming 69
IV-8. Reported specific capacity and estimated
transmissivity for wells completed in the
-------
Table Page
V—1 • Concentration ranges for sulfate, chloride,
and total dissolved solids in ground waters
from the Bighorn basin, Wyoming 102
V-2. Concentrations of radionuclear species in ground
waters from the Bighorn basin, Wyoming 105
-------
LIST OF PLATES1
Plate
1. Structural contour map of the Bighorn basin.
2. Permitted domestic wells in the Bighorn basin.
3. Total dissolved solids map of the Paleozoic aquifer
system, Bighorn basin.
4. Total dissolved solids map of the Upper Cretaceous-
Tertiary aquifer system, Bighorn basin.
5. Total dissolved solids map of the Quaternary aquifers,
Bighorn basin.
-------
-------
I. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
1. Two major bedrock aquifer systems have been identified within
the Bighorn basin. These are the Paleozoic and Upper Cretaceous-
Tertiary aquifer systems. Additionally, several dispersed, hydro-
logically isolated water-bearing units have been distinguished
including the basal Cambrian sandstone, several sandstone and carbonate
units within the Upper Paleozoic through Middle Mesozoic sequence,
and unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age. Aquifer recharge
rates, ground-water flow paths, the extent of interformational mixing,
and historic water level fluctuations are poorly known. Data concern-
ing hydrologic properties are sparse, especially for pre-Tertiary
strata in the central basin.
2. On the basis of available hydrologic and hydrochemical
data, the Paleozoic aquifer system (Ordovician through Pennsylvanian
strata) has excellent potential for producing large quantities of
good quality water. The Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone and
Mississippian Madison Limestone are the most extensively exploited
aquifers, mainly for secondary oil recovery, irrigation, and municipal
uses. Declines in potentiometric elevations along the east flank
of the Bighorn basin have been identified for the Madison Limestone.
Available data on the Tensleep Sandstone indicate it generally
has the highest permeabilities within the system, although they
decrease with increased burial depth. Madison Limestone hydrologic
data are sparse; available information indicates somewhat poorer
water production capabilities than the Tensleep, although areas
-------
with secondary permeability produce high yields. Areas of intense
fracturing produce the highest yields in all Paleozoic aquifers.
Consequently, site specific studies are needed before any large-
scale development of these aquifers can be considered.
Recharge to the Paleozoic aquifer system is considered to occur
primarily within outcrop areas, through direct infiltration of precip-
itation and surface water. Deep burial and thick overlying shales
produce highly artesian conditions away from the basin margins.
Generally, the Paleozoic aquifer system waters contain less
than 1,000 mg/1 TDS (total dissolved solids) in the area east of
the Bighorn River. Deep basin waters typically have TDS concentra-
tions in excess of 3,000 mg/1 and are associated with increased
levels of sodium, sulfate, and chloride. Low-TDS waters may occur
in this system along the west flank of the basin, but substantiating
data are lacking. Fluoride concentrations exceeded 2 mg/1 F in
one-third of the tested wells in this system.
2. Where present, Quaternary aquifers yield the largest quantities
of ground water within the basin. The unconsolidated sediments
of these alluvial terrace and flood plain deposits have transmissivites
to 80,000 gpd/ft and specific capacities as high as 70 gpm/ft. Develop-
ment of the system for drinking water, irrigation, and stock uses
has been extensive, and large yields and shallow drilling depths
allow for a relatively inexpensive water source. Additional develop-
ment potential of the aquifers may be limited locally by existing use.
Recharge to Quaternary aquifers takes place through direct
infiltration of precipitation, streamflow loss, upward leakage from
underlying bedrock units, and from excess irrigation waters, which
have created artificial aquifers in places.
-------
Quaternary waters generally contain over 500 mg/1 TDS, though
less mineralized waters are Eound along the upper reaches of these
valley aquifers. Locally, nitrate concentrations may be objectionably
high.
4. Formations comprising the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer
system, the Mesaverde, Meeteetse, Lance, Fort Union, and Willwood
formations, are characterized by large variations in both the quantity
and quality of water produced due to sporadically changing lithologies.
Hydrologic data are sparse, but reported specific capacities generally
are from 5 to 20 gpm/ft drawdown. TDS ranges from 250 mg/1 to 4,500
mg/1 and most values exceed 1,000 mg/1. Major ion composition is
variable. Objectionably high levels of fluoride may be present.
However, the shallowness and wide geographic extent of this aquifer
system allows for an easily exploitable ground-water resource through-
out much of the basin. Because the quality and quantity of water
vary both locally and regionally, site specific investigations are
needed prior to development.
Recharge to the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system is
through both outcrop infiltration and downward leakage from overlying
strata.
5. The Cambrian Flathead Sandstone aquifer, at the base of
the Paleozoic sedimentary sequence, contains good quality water
(<500 mg/1 TDS) under high artesian pressure. Deep burial and the
presence of highly productive overlying aquifers have limited current
development of this unit.
Minor water-bearing formations ranging in age from Late Paleozoic
to Late Cretaceous, the most important of which are the Phosphoria,
-------
Cloverly, and Frontier formations, yield small quantities of marginal
to poor quality water. TDS varies from 1,000 mg/1 to over 10,000
mg/1. Development is generally restricted to outcrop areas, where
more desirable water-bearing units are absent or deeply buried.
6. Constituents that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency primary drinking water standards include fluoride, nitrate,
and in a few instances selenium, mercury, and chromium. High (>2.0
mg/1) fluoride concentrations are common in waters of the Upper
Cretaceous-Tertiary and Paleozoic aquifer systems. High nitrate
concentrations (>10 mg/1 NO3-N) are found mainly in Quaternary aquifer
ground waters that are associated with agricultural activities.
The above aquifers are extensively utilized for drinking water
supplies.
The secondary standards for sulfate (250 mg/1 SO^ ) and TDS
(500 mg/1) are exceeded throughout much of the basin in all water-
bearing units. Waters with less than 500 mg/1 TDS are generally
restricted to the Paleozoic aquifer system near the basin flanks
and to Quaternary deposits in upstream areas. Although recommended
standards are exceeded, the highly mineralized waters of the basin
are used by many of its residents.
7. An accurate tabulation of ground-water use by economic
sector and source aquifer is impossible until more actual withdrawal
data are available. Current estimates indicate that ground water
supplies between 4 and 9 percent (30,800 to 74,900 acre-feet/year)
of the water used in the basin.
8. The petroleum industry is the largest user of ground water
within the basin, and withdraws between 13,400 and 56,000 acre-feet/year,
-------
based on various estimates from differing sources. Withdrawals
include both fresh water from sources developed specifically for
secondary recovery purposes and by-product water produced during
primary and secondary oil recovery. The Madison through Phosphoria
sequence provides most of the water used for injection. Principal
injected formations include the Amsden, Tensleep, Phosphoria, and
Frontier.
9. Agricultural activities use about 12,900 acre-feet of ground
water per year. Irrigation ground water is supplied mainly by
Quaternary aquifers in the central basin and by the Paleozoic aquifer
system along the east basin flank. Water for livestock consumption
is obtained from virtually all formations, generally from the
shallowest unit that provides a sufficient yield.
10. Human consumption of ground water is about 4,500 acre-feet/
year. Municipal systems are supplied primarily by Quaternary aquifers
and the Madison Limestone aquifer (Paleozoic aquifer system).
Quaternary aquifers and the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer
system provide the majority of non-municipal public drinking water
and private supplies. Ground waters from virtually all formations
are developed locally for domestic water use.
-------
II. GEOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC
-------
II. GEOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC
SETTING
PHYSIOGRAPHY
The Bighorn basin covers a roughly elliptical, northwest trending
area of about 12,500 square miles. The basin includes all of Big
Horn, Hot Springs, and Washakie counties, the portion of Park County
lying outside of Yellowstone National Park, and small portions of
Fremont and Sheridan counties. The basin is bounded on the east
by the Bighorn Mountains, on the south by the Owl Creek and Bridger
mountains, and on the northeast by the Beartooth Mountains. The
western extent of the basin is uncertain, because the basin margin
is covered by the volcanic Absaroka Mountains, and therefore is
arbitrarily placed at the east boundary of Yellowstone National
Park. To the north, the basin is open into Montana. East-west
distance across the basin is about 140 miles, while north-south
distance, to the state line, is roughly 100 miles (Figure II-l).
Topography
The topography within the central Bighorn basin is typified
by rolling plains broken by broad river valleys, narrow terraces,
and badlands. Elevations in the central plains are generally from
4,000 to 5,600 feet above sea level. The lowest elevation within
the basin is about 3,500 feet, where the Bighorn River crosses the
Wyoming-Montana state line. The bounding mountains rise steeply
to the east and west from the central plains and more gently to the
-------
Miles
-------
south. Elevations in the surrounding mountains commonly exceed
10,000 feet, reaching a maximum of 13,175 feet at the top of Cloud
Peak in the Bighorn Mountains. Total basin topographic relief,
therefore, is about 9,675 feet.
Climate and Surface Drainage
The climate of the Bighorn basin varies, primarily as a function
of altitude, from a cool, dry desert to a cool, humid alpine type.
Much of the central lowland receives less than about six inches
of precipitation a year, while in the surrounding mountains precip-
itation of over 70 inches a year can be expected. The mountainous
regions receive the greatest part of their precipitation during
the winter as snowfall, and the central plains receive their greatest
precipitation during occasional spring and summer thunderstorms.
Most streamflow from perennial streams is the result of snowmelt
in the high mountains. Ephemeral streams in the central part of
the basin flow only in response to thunderstorms and contribute
an insignificant amount of the basin's overall streamflow. Major
streams within the Bighorn basin are listed in Table II-l and are
shown in Figure II-l.
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Population Distribution
All large communities within the Bighorn basin are located
within a few miles of a major stream or river. Worland, Thermopolis,
Basin, and Greybull developed along the Bighorn River, and Cody,
Powell, and Lovell are centered near the Shoshone River. Only a
few settlements have been located where there is no nearby supply
-------
TABLE II-l
SURFACE DRAINAGE IN THE BIGHORN BASIN
Clarks Fork Yellowstone River
Sunlight Creek
Pat O'Hara Creek
Big Sand Coulee
Bighorn River
Owl Creek
Kirky Creek
Cottonwood Creek
Gooseberry Creek
No Water Creek
Fifteen Mile Creek
Nowood River
Tensleep Creek
Paint Rock Creek
Greybull River
Wood River
Dry Creek
Shell Creek
Shoshone River
North Fork
South Fork
-------
of surface water. These communities are usually associated with
areas of nearby mineral development.
The population of the four-county Bighorn basin area was about
40,000 in 1970, having decreased about 4,000 during the 1%0's.
It is expected that the 1980 Census will show a population increase,
and growth is expected to continue in this region beyond the end
of the century (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1974). Growth will
not be an overwhelming phenomenon, as in much of Wyoming, since
the Bighorn basin does not have the immense mineral resources found
in other parts of the state. One trend apparent in the basin, as
in much of Wyoming, is the movement of the population from rural
areas to the towns and cities. This urbanization is expected to
continue.
Population data for towns and counties of the Bighorn basin
are presented in Table II-2, and a map showing the locations of
population centers is given in Figure II-2.
Land Use and Ownership
Land use in the Bighorn basin varies primarily as a function
of precipitation. Within the high mountainous areas, the alpine
environment is presently used only for recreational purposes. At
lower elevations thick forested areas exist and silviculture is
practiced. Grasslands along the mountain fronts and streams are
used for grazing. Less than 5 percent of the basin area is crop-
land, much of which is located along the major streams where irri-
gation with surface water is possible. Most of the basin, and
essentially 100 percent of the central lowland area, is either barren
or brush-covered. Limited use of this land is made for livestock
-------
TABLE II-2
POPULATIONS OF COUNTIES AND POPULATION CENTERS
IN THE BIGHORN BASIN
County/Population Center 19701 1979 (est.)2
Big Horn 10,202 12,951
Hot Springs 4,952 6,045
Park 17,752 22,769
Washakie 7,569 10,735
Total 40,055 52,500
Basin 1,145 1,487
Burlington 100
Byron 397 521
Cody 5,281 9,310
Cowley 366 473
Deaver 112 118
Emblem 10
Frannie 139 195
Grass Creek 115
Greybull 1,953 2,629
Hamilton Dome 100
Hyattville 100
Kirby 75
Lovell 2,371 2,685
Manderson 117 131
Meeteetse 459 540
Otto 50
Powell 4,807 5,659
Ralston 100
Shell 50
Tensleep 320 504
Thermopolis 3,063 4,004
E. Thermopolis 316 312
Worland 5,055 —
Total 26,601
^U.S. Census Data summarized in U.S. Department of Agriculture,
1974.
2Wyoming Department of Economic Planning and Development, 1980.
-------
1000 to 4000
— 500 to 1000
100 to 500
10 to 100
POPULATION OF BIGHORN BASIN
(Based on 1979 estimates from Dept. of Administration and Fiscal Control)
-------
grazing. Table II-3 lists the percentages of the various land types
found within the basin.
Slightly over two-thirds of the land within the Bighorn basin
is under federal jurisdiction. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management
has control over most of the central-basin lands, while the U.S.
Forest Service manages most of the mountainous areas. Privately
owned land (about 24 percent of the land area in the basin) is con-
centrated along rivers and streams.
GEOLOGY
Stratigraphy and Depositional History
Up to 33,000 feet of stratigraphic thickness have been measured
in the Bighorn basin. A generalized stratigraphy is presented in
Figure II-3.
Paleozoic age rocks, comprising about 4,000 feet of the strati-
graphic record, reflect a marine transgressive/regressive depositional
environment. Marine limestones and dolomites are the dominant lithol-
ogy of the Paleozoic sequence. Much less profuse are sandstones and
shales, which represent beach and nearshore conditions of deposition.
The early Mesozoic era was characterized by shallow seas that
deposited the sandstones of the Chugwater, Gypsum Springs, and Sun-
dance formations. A transition to a terrestrial environment occurred
during the Jurassic, resulting in fluvial and paludal sandstones
and shales. During the Cretaceous period thousands of feet of inter-
bedded sandstones and thick shales were deposited under shallow
marine and deltaic conditions.
Late Cretaceous time marked the beginning of the Laramide orogeny.
The Lance Formation represents the retreat of the Cretaceous seas
-------
TABLE II-3
LAND COVER IN THE BIGHORN BASIN
(U.S.D.A., 1974)
Land Type
Percent of Basin
Alpine
0.57
Barren, Brush
59.65
Grassland
20.24
Forested
14.85
Cropland
4.26
Other
0.43
-------
SA'Jf'STONE
. CtA'-.l OMtR'.T f
| <.»
-------
and the beginning of the terrestrial environments characterizing
the Tertiary period. Mountains surrounding the Bighorn basin, up-
lifted by compressional forces, provided a source for the more than
10,000 feet of Tertiary sediments. These deposits are comprised
of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales that were deposited in
fan, fluvial, or lacustrine environments. During mid-Tertiary time
several thousand feet of volcanics were emplaced in the western
part of the basin. General upwarping of the basin during the late
Tertiary resulted in removal of portions of many Tertiary deposits.
The youngest units within the basin are Pliocene and Quaternary
terrace deposits and Recent alluvial deposits. Age and occurrence
of these deposits have been correlated with glacial and interglacial
conditions (Mackin, 1937). These unconsolidated deposits may be
up to several hundred feet thick locally.
Structure
The Bighorn basin is an asymmetric syncline between the Bighorn
Mountains on the east and the Absaroka and Beartooth mountains on the
west. The synclinal axis is offset west of the basin center and
trends generally northwest (Plate 1). Several cross sections are
shown in Figure II-4. The basin is rimmed by compressional uplifts of
Precambrian granite cores mantled by a cover of moderately to steeply
dipping sedimentary beds. The western margin is covered by the
Absaroka volcanics, but it is suspected that the basin structure con-
tinues under these deposits far into the Yellowstone Park region
(Thorn, 1952).
Along the margins of the basin numerous anticlinal structures
are present as shown in Figure II-5. These structures often exhibit
-------
LEGEND
pGr Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks
OGbf Bighorn, Gallatin, Gros Ventre,
and Flathead Formations
MDmj Madison, Jefferson, and Three
Forks Formations
PMta Tensleep and Amsden Formations
Pp Phosphoria Formation
TRpu-TRcd Chugwater, Dinwood-Goose
Egg Formations
Jsg Sundance and Gypsum Springs
Formations
. ot
A
KJcm Cloverly and Morrison Formations
Kft Frontier Formation
Kc Cody Shale
Mesaverde Formation
Kim Lance and Meetteetse Formations
Tfu Ft. Union Formations
Tw Willwood Formation
Tv Tertiary Volcanics
Figure II-4. Geologic cross sections through the Bighorn Basin. Vertical exageration
-------
EX PL AN A T/ON
Anticline
Syncline
Anticline Exposing Poleozoic
Rocks
5— Major Fault
Major Thrust Fault
P,.!¦ >y/,1 Precambrian Rocks Exposed
Miles
II-5. Major structural features of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming. 1 - Bighorn Mt. uplift; 2 - Owl
Creek uplift; 3 - Beartooth uplift; A - Synclinal axis of the Bighorn basin; 5 - Little
Sheep Mt. anticline; 6 - Sheep Mt. anticline; 7 - Thermopolis/Warm Springs anticline;
-------
associated faulting and fracturing, which increase the permeability
of the deformed rocks and decrease the efficiency of confining beds
to act as flow barriers, allowing for interformational fluid move-
ment (Stone, 1967). Where these structures are eroded and older
strata exposed, discharge may occur through fracture and solution
zones from deeper aquifers within the basin.
Hydrostratigraphy
Stratigraphically adjacent water-bearing units which have reason-
ably consistent areal extent, hydrologic properties, and recharge/
discharge mechanisms, and which are not separated regionally by
thick confining beds, have been defined as integrated aquifer systems.
These are the Paleozoic and Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer systems,
each comprised of several discrete member aquifers. This grouping
of hydrostratigraphic units aids in the regional analysis of ground-
water movement, quality, and other hydrologic properties.
The degree of hydrologic connection between member aquifers
may vary due to the presence or absence of local confining beds
and/or fracture zones. Therefore, differences in hydrologic properties
and water quality may exist between member aquifers, resulting in the
occasional need to discuss individual aquifer properties separately.
The Paleozoic aquifer system consists of Ordovician through
Pennsylvanian age sandstone and carbonate strata (Figure II-6).
This rock sequence is underlain by the thick, relatively impermeable
shales of the Cambrian Gallatin and Gros Ventre formations, and
is overlain by intertonguing siltstone, shale, and limestone facies
of the Permian Phosphoria Formation, which act as local confining
beds. Major water-bearing units are interbedded with less permeable
-------
GEOLOGIC AGE
UTHOLOGY
FORMATION
Quaternary
Flood plain Terrace Deposi ts- MAJOR AQUIFER
Willwood Forma lion - Confining Beds / DISCONTINUOUS AQUIFERS
Tertiary
Fori Union Formation - Confining Beds / DISCONTINUOUS AQUIFERS
Lance Formation- Confining 8«ds/DISCONTINUOUS AQUIFERS
Meeteer s e Formation- Confining Beds/ DISCONTINUOUS AQUIFERS
Mesaverde Formation - Confining Beds/DISCONTINUOUS AQUIFERS
Cretaceous
Cody Shale - REGIONAL AQUITARD
Frontier Formation- MINOR AQUIFER
Mowry Shole - AQUITARD
Thermopclis Shole- AQUITARO
Permian
Pennsylvanian
Precambrian
Cloverly Fo r mo 11 on - M I N 0 R AQUIFER
Morrison For m o 11 on - Loc a I Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
Sundance Formotion - Local Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
Gypsum Springs For mat ion - Local Confining Qed/MINOR AQUIFER
Chugwater Formation - Local Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
Djnwoody Formation - Local Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
Phosphono Formation - Local Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
Tensleep Sandstone - MAJOR AQUIFER
Amsden Formation - MINOR AQUIFER
T [ ' 1" ' T 1 1 Madison Li mes tone - M A J OR AQUIFER
Three Forks / Jefferson For motions - Local Confining Bed/MINOR AQUIFER
|[ighorn Dolomi te - MAJOR AQUIFER
Gallatin /Gros Ventre Format ions - REGIONAL AQUITARO
Flathead Sandstone - MAJOR AQUIFER
Figure II-6. Generalized hydrostratigraphy of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming.
-------
strata that act as confining beds locally, restricting hydrologic
connection between the major aquifers except in areas with extensive
structural deformation.
The Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system includes all bedrock
units lying stratigraphically above the Cretaceous Cody Shale, a
regional confining bed consisting of a thick series of relatively
impermeable shales (Figure II-6). Major water-bearing units are
lenticular, discontinuous sandstone bodies that are hydrologically
isolated to varying degrees by intervening siltstones and claystones.
The intertonguing and discontinuous nature of major water-bearing
units prevents the identification of regionally extensive productive
horizons.
In addition to the two major aquifer systems, several dispersed,
hydrologically isolated bedrock aquifers exist within the basin.
These include the basal Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, carbonate facies
of the Permian Phosphoria Formation, and sandstone units of the
Lower Cretaceous Cloverly and the Upper Cretaceous Frontier formations.
The Tertiary Absaroka volcanics also represent a potential, but
currently undeveloped, ground-water source. Where present, unconsoli-
dated Quaternary terrace and flood plain deposits constitute important
aquifers within the basin.
-------
-------
III. GROUND-WATER USE
It is impossible to quantify with precision ground-water use
within the Bighorn basin due to a lack of pertinent withdrawal data
for all economic sectors. On the basis of various estimates for
each sector, ground-water use ranges from 30,800 to 74,900 acre-
feet /year, or 4 to 9 percent of the basin's total annual water demand,
with the remainder being satisfied by surface water. The range
in estimated total ground-water use is due to uncertainties in the
amount of ground water withdrawn by the petroleum industry.
As this report is concerned with ground water, a sector by
sector breakdown of surface water use is not included. However,
as surface water supplies the majority of the basin's water needs,
a short discussion of the current magnitude and future potential
of surface water resources is included at the end of this chapter.
The Paleozoic aquifer system and Quaternary alluvial aquifers
supply most of the ground water withdrawn within the basin, although
virtually all water-bearing strata are exploited locally. The major
uses of ground water within the basin are petroleum recovery enhance-
ment, agricultural activities, and drinking water supplies (Table
III-l) .
Ground-water withdrawals by the petroleum industry range from
13,400 to 56,000 acre-feet/year, based on estimates from various
sources. Petroleum-related withdrawals include fresh water developed
solely for secondary recovery purposes and produced water withdrawn
during primary and secondary oil recovery.
-------
TABLE III-l
SUMMARY OF GROUND-WATER USE, BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
Sector
Estimated
Annual Withdrawals
(acre-feet)
Major Sources
Petroleum Industry
Agriculture
—Irrigation
--Stock Water
13,400-56,000
12,900-14,400
8,600-10,100
t4,300
Madison, Tensleep, and Phosphoria
aquifers
Quaternary aquifers, Paleozoic
aquifer system
Quaternary aquifers, Paleozoic
aquifer system
All water-bearing formations
Underground Drinking Water
--Private Domestic Supplies
— Public Supplies
±4,500
±2,600
±1,900
Quaternary aquifers
Quaternary aquifers, Upper
Cretaceous/Tertiary aquifer system
Quaternary aquifers, Madison
-------
Agriculture withdraws roughly 12,900 acre-feet of ground water
annually. Approximately two-thirds is utilized for irrigation,
with the remainder used for stock watering.
Drinking water supplied from underground sources totals about
4,500 acre-feet/year. Nine municipal water systems, five non-municipal
community water systems, and the majority of all other public and
private water supplies utilize ground water.
MAJOR GROUND-WATER USERS
Petroleum Industry
Ground-water withdrawals by the petroleum industry fall into two
major categories—fresh water, which is developed solely for use in
the secondary recovery of crude oil; and produced water, which is
withdrawn as a byproduct of primary and secondary oil recovery. An
unknown percentage of the produced water is reinjected for secondary
recovery purposes while the remainder, depending upon quality, is
injected through disposal wells, discharged into evaporation ponds and
streams, or used for agricultural purposes.
Estimates of petroleum ground-water withdrawals vary greatly. An
estimated total of 50,000 acre-feet were withdrawn in 1967, with about
half of this water reinjected for secondary recovery (Wyoming Water
Planning Program, 1972). The U.S. Geological Survey estimated total
withdrawals of 56,000 acre-feet in 1970 (Lowry et al., 1976). However,
figures for 1978 showed that produced water withdrawals were only
about 8,400 acre-feet (Donald Basko, Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission,
personal communication, 1981). Information concerning fresh-water
withdrawals is incomplete, but fields for which data are available
indicate average annual water use of about 5,000 acre-feet for the
-------
mid-1970's (Collentine et al., 1981). This value, combined with 1978
produced water withdrawals, indicates a petroleum ground-water use
of only 13,400 acre-feet/year. Incomplete data on fresh-water produc-
tion may account for some of the discrepancy between this figure
and earlier estimates.
Production of oil by injection methods is principally from
formations of Upper Paleozoic age—the Amsden, Tensleep, and Phosphoria
formations. Limited secondary oil recovery from Mesozoic formations,
including the Chugwater, Morrison-Cloverly, and Frontier, also takes
place within the basin. Water produced for injection comes primarily
from the Madison and Tensleep aquifers of the Paleozoic aquifer
system, as well as the Phosphoria aquifer. Lesser amounts are produced
from the Bighorn Dolomite, Frontier, Muddy, Mesaverde, and Jefferson-
Three Forks aquifers.
Future projections of oil production within the Bighorn basin
cannot be made reliably. Much oil remains to be produced by secondary
and tertiary recovery methods, but economics will play a major role
in whether or not this oil is produced. It seems likely that with
rising prices oil production in the basin, especially the percentage
produced by secondary recovery methods, will continue to grow, as
will petroleum industry water consumption.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the second largest ground-water user in the
Bighorn basin. The principal use of ground water is for cropland
irrigation with a secondary use for stock watering.
-------
Irrigation
Irrigation of about 5,850 acres with ground water is permitted
within the basin (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1974; U.S. Soil
Conservation Service, Casper, Information Files, 1981). However,
the percentage of this acreage that is irrigated in any given year
is uncertain. Studies of specific areas within the basin have shown
that only 40 to 58 percent of the permitted irrigable acreage is
actually irrigated, while the statewide average is about 50 percent
(M. 0'Grady, Wyoming Water Development Commission, personal communica-
tion, 1981) . Comparison of total (ground water plus surface water)
permitted irrigable acreage within the basin to the amount actually
irrigated in 1978 (Wyoming Crop and Livestock Reporting Service,
1979) shows that 70 percent of the acreage received irrigation water.
Assuming annual ground-water irrigation applications are propor-
tionate to total irrigation water applications, about 4,095 acres
are irrigated with ground water in any given year. Basinwide, about
2.1 feet of irrigation water is needed to meet average crop consumptive
use demands (Trelease et al., 1970) , requiring an estimated 8,600
acre-feet/year of ground water. This compares to an estimate of
10,080 acre-feet/year, derived from irrigation well power consumption
records and production capacities, for the principal areas of ground
water irrigation along the Greybull River and in the Tensleep-
Hyattville area (Lowry et al., 1976).
Near the west flank of the Bighorn Mountains ground water from
the Paleozoic aquifer system is under artesian pressure and has
been developed for irrigation. Along stream channels (such as the
Greybull River) Quaternary alluvial or terrace aquifers are tapped
for irrigation.
-------
The amount of irrigable land in the Bighorn basin is roughly
double that presently irrigated and projections are that much of
this land will be put into production in the future (U.S. Department
of Agriculture, 1974). It is expected that most increases in irri-
gated land will be through surface-water development, with ground
water playing a less critical role (Wyoming Water Planning Program,
1972), although pending litigation concerning surface water rights
and interstate compacts make future development projects difficult.
Livestock
Stock consumptive use of ground water in the Bighorn-Wind River
drainage basin has been estimated at 6,400 acre-feet/year (Wyoming
Water Planning Program, 1972) . Based upon cattle and sheep populations
(Wyoming Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, 1979), about two-thirds
of this amount, or 4,300 acre-feet/year, is used within the Bighorn
basin. Stock wells are usually drilled until sufficient water yield
is obtained. Therefore, depending on location, almost every water-
bearing formation is used for stock watering purposes.
Underground Drinking Water Supplies
Private Domestic Use
Of the total 1970 population in the Bighorn basin, about one-
third, or about 13,000, were not living within communities. These
people are served almost entirely by ground water in the form of
family or multifamily wells. Assuming consumption of 180 gallons
per capita per day, private domestic use in the basin is estimated
at roughly 2,600 acre-feet/year. Domestic wells are usually drilled
until sufficient amounts of relatively good quality water are obtained.
-------
Therefore, almost every aquifer is used somewhere in the basin as
a domestic water source.
Records of the Wyoming State Engineer indicate that there were
3,052 permitted domestic wells completed in the Bighorn basin through
1979. The number of wells completed in each aquifer reflects both
settlement patterns and areal extent of the various aquifers within
the basin (Plate 2). Fifty-seven percent of the domestic wells
are completed in either Quaternary alluvial or terrace deposits.
The next largest grouping, 33 percent, includes wells completed
in the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system. Only 8.5 percent
of the domestic wells are completed in Upper Paleozoic and Lower
and Middle Mesozoic aquifers, and less than two percent withdraw
water from the Paleozoic aquifer system.
Public Drinking Water Supplies
Public drinking water supplies within the Bighorn basin include
both community supplies, which serve a permanent population of over
25, and non-community supplies, which serve a permanent population
of less than 25 but average over 25 transient residents daily. Com-
munity supplies include ten municipal systems and five non-municipal
supplies that support individual subdivisions or mobile home courts.
There are 61 non-community public water supplies serviced by ground
water within the basin (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver,
Information Files, 1977). These include motels, service stations,
restaurants, lodges, dude ranches, campgrounds, schools, ski resorts,
etc. Table III-2 lists the types of public water supplies within
the Bighorn basin. Figure III-l locates all these systems.
-------
TABLE III-2
NUMBER OF PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES IN THE
BIGHORN BASIN BY SERVICE CATEGORY
(Serviced by Ground Water)
Community 15
Municipal 10
Non-Municipal 5
Residence 1
Mobile homes 4
Non-Community 611
Motel 8
Marina 2
Restaurant 10
Ski resort 2
Service station 3
Campground 9
Institution 1
School 3
Lodge 14
Recreation 3
Other2 23
TOTAL 76
^ome Public Water Supplies provide more than
one service type. Therefore, the sum of the various
services will be greater than 61.
drive-in movies, country clubs, etc.
-------
EPA Public Drinking Water
System I D Number
Miles
-------
Municipal Systems
Municipal systems account for most of the ground water used for
public drinking water in the Bighorn basin. Figures for 1977 (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Water Supply Division, Denver,
Information Files, 1977) indicate municipal use of ground water
exceeded 1,600 acre-feet. This compares with an estimate of 1,100
acre-feet in 1970 by the U.S. Geological Survey (Lowry et al., 1976),
which did not include all municipalities using ground water.
Nine municipal systems in the basin are supplied entirely by
ground water, while the tenth (Thermopolis) utilizes mainly surface
water, augmented by ground water during the summer (Table III-3).
These systems are publicly owned with the exception of Grass Creek,
which has a system provided by Marathon Oil Company, and Hyattville,
which has a system owned by a private water company. In 1977, about
26,700 people in the basin were served by municipal sater systems, of
which 6,400 were served exclusively by ground water, and 3,400
(Thermopolis) by both surface and ground water (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Water Supply Division, Denver, Information Files, 1980).
Sources of municipal ground-water supplies include the Quaternary
aquifers, the Madison Limestone aquifer of the Paleozoic aquifer
system, and the Lance and Mesaverde aquifers of the Upper Cretaceous-
Tertiary aquifer system (Table III-3). Byron, Cowley, Kirby,
Powell, and Thermopolis utilize Quaternary alluvial or terrace
aquifers as ground-water sources. The town of Byron has an infil-
tration gallery for this purpose whereas Powell uses collector type
wells that are generally 30 feet or less in depth. Frannie, Hyattville,
and Tensleep derive their water supply from flowing artesian Madison
-------
TABLE III-3
MUNICIPAL
GROUND-WATER
SUPPLIES
IN THE BIGHORN BASIN
EPA PWS
State
Aquifer System
Average Production1
Municipality
ID No.
Location2
Permit No.
Depth
/Aquifer
(acre-feet/year)
Byron
5600008
56N-97W-26
P45996W
15
/Quaternary Alluvium
174.2
Cowley
5600206
47N-96W-29
Unk.
Unk.
/Quaternary Alluvium
89.6
Frannie
5600210
58N-97W-31
P406G
4500
Paleozoic
35.6
/Madison
Grass Creek
5600228
46N-98W-20
Unk.
300?
—
3.4
/Mesaverde
Hyattville
5600209
49N-89W-6
P2186W
2895
Paleozoic
22.4
/Madison-Amsden
Kirby
5600236
44N-94W-8
P1632W
15
/Quaternary Alluvium
19.0
44N-94W-8
P1633W
15
/Quaternary Alluvium
Manderson
5600204
50N-92W-32
P1343W
1215
U. Cretaceous-Tertiary
7.1
/Lance
Powell
5600042
55N-95W-15
P511C
12
/Quaternary Terrace
1126.4
55N-95W-15
P512C
20
/Quaternary Terrace
55N-95W-15
P519G
35
/Quaternary Terrace
55N-95W-15
P520G
27
/Quaternary Terrace
55N-95W-15
P518G
27
/Quaternary Terrace
Tensleep
5600203
47N-88W-16
P368G
1050
Paleozoic
141.2
/Madison-Amsden
Thermopolis
5600056
43N-95W-25
P3805W
13
/Quaternary Alluvium
—
11977, from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Supply Division, Denver.
-------
Limestone wells (Paleozoic aquifer system). The Tensleep town well
is 1,050 feet deep, the Hyattville well is 2,895 feet deep, and
the Frannie well, located toward the center of the basin, is 4,500
feet deep. Manderson derives its water from the Lance aquifer (Upper
Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system) at a depth of 1,215 feet, while
Grass Creek obtains its water from the Mesaverde Formation aquifer
at a depth of about 300 feet.
Non-Municipal Systems
Five non-municipal community public drinking water supply systems
support a population of about 600 within the Bighorn basin (U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Water Supply Division, Denver,
Information Files). These systems include a mobile home court and
subdivision in the Powell area, and three mobile home courts in
Cody which obtain water from the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer
system or Quaternary terrace and alluvial deposits. Total non-
municipal community consumption is about 110 acre-feet/year. Details
about these systems are given in Table A-l (Appendix A).
Non-Community Systems
The 61 non-community public drinking water supply systems in
the Bighorn basin provide water to a variety of businesses, schools,
and institutions. A list of these systems is provided in Table
A-2, and locations are shown on Figure III-l. Production from non-
community wells is estimated at 170 acre-feet/year, with individual
systems producing from less than 0.3 acre-feet/year to over 9.3
acre-feet/year. A variety of aquifers are used, but the most common
are Quaternary deposits bordering streams (Table A-2).
-------
Surface-Water Use
Surface-water use in the Bighorn basin was estimated at 700,000
acre-feet for 1969, with over 99 percent of the water applied to 329,500
acres of irrigated lands (Wyoming Water Planning Program, 1972). Irri-
gated lands in the basin now total about 348,000 acres (U.S. Soil Con-
servation Service, Casper, Information Files, 1981), indicating no large
change in surface-water use. Annual variations likely occur, however,
as not all irrigated lands receive irrigation water in any given year;
figures for 1977 and 1978 indicate that about 245,000 acres, or 70 per-
cent of the total irrigated lands, receive irrigation waters annually
(Wyoming Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, 1979).
Additional, presently unappropriated, surface water supplies
are available. Under the terms of the Yellowstone River Compact, 80
percent of the unappropriated flow in the Bighorn River drainage is
allocated to Wyoming. This presently amounts to an average additional
surface-water supply of 1.8 million acre-feet/year. Further, 60 per-
cent of the unappropriated flow of Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone
River, or about 430,000 acre-feet/year, is allotted to the state
(Wyoming Water Planning Program, 1972). Potential problems involved
in developing these allocations for use within the basin include:
(1) the need for greater storage reservoir capacity; (2) questions
concerning ownership of waters originating on Indian lands; and (3)
possible trans-basin diversions to areas of intensive energy development.
The magnitude of available surface-water supplies suggests rel-
atively little future development pressure on ground-water supplies, in
comparison to other basins within the state where surface waters are
more fully appropriated.
-------
-------
IV. HYDROGEOLOGY
Virtually all stratigraphic units within the Bighorn basin yield
sufficient quantities of water for local stock and domestic purposes.
Even thick shale sequences, generally considered aquitards, will yield
water from fracture zones and dispersed sandy interbeds. However,
less than a dozen formations are developed as water sources regionally.
The following section discusses the hydrologic properties of the major
aquifer systems and other water-bearing strata which occur within the
Bighorn basin sedimentary sequence (Table IV-1). A detailed description
of aquifer lithologies is contained in Appendix B.
FLATHEAD AQUIFER
The basal Cambrian Flathead Sandstone represents the stratigra-
phically lowest important water-bearing unit in the basin (Table IV-1).
The Flathead overlies Precambrian granites and metasediments, and is
isolated from younger aquifers by the thick shale and bentonite sequence
of the overlying Gros Ventre and Gallatin formations (Stone, 1967; Vietti,
1977). The Flathead is uplifted and exposed along the basin flanks, and
is locally absent parts of the northeast basin. Maximum thickness of
the unit is 170 feet.
Hydrologic Properties
Hydrologic data for the Flathead Sandstone are sparse because of the
great depth to the unit throughout much of the basin, and because of its
relative position below the highly productive Paleozoic aquifer system.
Several flowing Flathead wells exist along the eastern basin flank, with
-------
TABLE IV- 1
LITHOLOGIC AND HYDROLOC1C CHARACTERISTICS
OF ROCK UNITS IN THE BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
(Compiled from Numerous Suurics, See References Chapter)
Sys tern
and/or Series
Geologic Unit
Thickness
(fc)
Lithologic Character
llydrologic Character
Qua ternary:
Holocene &
P 1 e i stocene
Tertiary:
Eocene
-UNCONFORMITY—
Pa leocene
-UNCONFORMITY
Cre taceous:
Upper
Cretaceous
Flood-pLa 1n
a J Luv i urn and
terrace gravel
depos its.
WiLiwood Fm.
Fort Union Fm.
(Polecat Bench
Fm. )
Lance Fm.
0-100+
L, 300-2 , 3(j0
(W-E)
0-8,000
(Min.-Max.)
600-3,500
(SW-Cen L raI)
0-8,000
(Min.-Max.)
800-1,800
(SW-N)
Silt, sand, gravel and bouLders.
Present along and adjoining major
stream channels & tributaries.
Terraces 50-300* above present
s t ream 1 eveLs.
Highly variable, "red-banded" sub-
arkose sandstone interbedded with
siltstone, mudstone, and Locally
cong1omcratic discontinuous
sands tone lenses. Principally
found in the central Basin.
Basal , c1iff-forming sandstone
.Mid conglomerate, overlain by
interbedded claystone, sandstone,
siltstone and minor coal.
Massive sandstone overlain by
interbedded claysLonc, silt-
stone, shaLe and minor coal
scams. Forms resistant ledges.
Major Aqui fer . Yields --200 gpm
possibLe, especially where induied
recharge from diverted irrigation
waLer occurs. Yields generally <50
gpm throughout Basin. Terraces are
topographically liigh and often
drained by seeps and springs along
an escarpment.
Specific Capacity: 0.3-70 gpin/fL
Permeability: 2,200-4,400 gpd/fi^
Transmissivity: 200-80,000 gpd/ft
Aqu i f e r. Chief water-yielding unit
of the Upper Cretaeeous-Tertiary
Aquifer System with yields general1\
between S-20 gpm throughout the
central Basin.
Specific Capacity: 0.01-1.50 gpm/ft
Aquifer. Development not as exten-
sive as in overlying Willwood Fm.
YLeLds generally -'20 gpm throughout
Basin.
Specific Capacity: 0.016-0.17 gpm/ft
Aqu t fer. Not extensively developed.
Wells located primarily in the
west-central and east-central parLs
of the Basin. Flowing wells in the
central Basin. Depth to water may
be up to 200 feet along Basin
-------
Aqui fer
System
Era them
Sys tcm
oiid/orSe r les
Upper
Cretaceous
Geo logic Un i_t_
Meeteetse Fm.
Mesaverde Fm.
Cody Simla
-P-
ro
UNCONFORMITY-
-UNCONFORMITY-
Lower
C retaccous
Frontier Km.
Mowry Shale
Thermopolis
Sha Ic
Cloverly Fm.
TABLE IV-L (continued)
Th i ekness
(ft)
Lithologic Character
Hydroloffic Character1
650-1,200 Lenticular, poorly indurated fine-
(SE-NW) grained cLayey to silty sandstone
interbedded with siLtstone, clay-
stone, shale, bentonite, and
minor thin coal beds.
Aquifer. Minor unit of the Upper
Cretaceous-Tcr t iary Aquifer System.
Few wells completed in this unit in
the Basin. Yields less than 15 gpm.
1,300-1,800 Highly variable sequence of fine-
(NE-S,C) to (onrse-grained sandstone, silt-
900^1, 400 Et^no c.irbonncQOuc chalo nnd ',:onl.
(E-W) Tripartite division into lower,
fine-grained sandstone, middle
interbedded sandstone nnd shale,
and upper coarse-graind sandstone.
Aquifer. Mesaverde water wells
primarily located in southwest and
nouthoact parte of Bar. in yielding -'20
gpm (5-10 gpm on the average) ,
although yields up to 48 gpm have
been reported.
Specific Capacity: 0.75-1.8 gpm/ft
2,100-3,000 Lower half dominantly dark gray
(NW-SE) marine shale, glauconite sand-
stone, and thin bentonite beds
whereas upper half is mainly
interbedded gray, sandy shale and
sandstone.
Regional Aquitard. Separates the
Upper Cretaceous-Tert iary Aq u i fe r
System from underlying, isolated
lower Mesozoic aquifers. In frac-
tured areas and where encountering
confined sandstone beds, yields up
to 20 gpm may be obtained.
450-700
(W-SE)
370+
Lenticular fine- to medium-
grained sandstone and conglomer-
atic sandstone beds alternating
with shale and lesser amounts of
bentonite.
Siliceous brittle shale with thin
sandstone and bentonite beds in
the upper part.
Minor Aquifer. Sandstones produce
water under artesian conditions.
Poros i ty: 10-26%
Permeability: 0-1.4 gpd/ft
Transmissivity: 0-100 gpd/f
Aquitard. Yields wnLor local
in fracture zones.
ty
600-400
(NW-S)
Soft shale with bentonite beds and
sandy and silty zones. Muddy sand-
stone member, approximately 40 feet
thick, about 200 feet above base.
Aqui tard. Muddy Sandstone member
yields minor amounts of wnter.
85-470
(SE-NW)
Composed of three units, on upper Minor Aquifer. Produces water under
sandstone, a middle shale, and a arLesian pressure, primarily from
lower lenticular conglomeratic upper sandstone. Yield +2.0 gpm.
sandstone „ . . -
Porosity: 7-15% and up to 2.2
gpd/ft^ (120 md)
Transmissivity: 0-6 gpd/ft and up
-------
TABLK IV-1 (continued)
Aq u i fur
Sy s teni
lira Lhem
System
and/or Series
Geologic Unit
Tli i cknes?
(ft)
LiLhologic Character
Hydrologic Cha rac tor *
-UNCONFORMITY—
Jumss i c
Triassic
-UNCONFORMITY
Morrison Fm.
Sundance I'm.
Gypsum Springs Fm.
Chugwater Km.
75-300
(NW-S)
200+
215-80
(E-W)
4 50-1,000
(NE-S)
Perm ian
Dinwoody Fm.
Phosphor i Fm.
0-100
100-300
(N-SE)
Variegated sandy shale and mud-
stone with lenses of fine-grained
sandstone, conglomerate and
1imes tones.
Cray-green shaJe interbedded with
sandstone and brown fossiliferous
1imes tone.
Red siltstone and shale with grey
to brown limestone beds and
massive gypsum beds.
Interbedded red slialey siltstone
and fine-grained sandstone with
one limestone bed in the southern
part of the Basin. Contains
some gypsum.
Thin-bedded silty shale and
siltstone. Upper part contains
some limestone and gypsum.
In the eastern part of the basin,
the Phosphoria consists of a
shale and siltstone sequence with
limestone and gypsum beds. In
Llie western Basin it is a sandy
limestone and cherty dolomite.
Minor Aqui f er. Sandstone beds pro-
duce small yields where they are
extensive.
Poros icy: 15%+
Minor Aqu l fer. Sandstone layers
produce small yields.
Minor Aquifer¦ SoLution zones in
gypsum beds yield small amounts of
water.
Minor Aquifer. Sandstones and
gypsum beds produce small amounts
of artesian water locally.
Porosity: J 5-22%
Permeability: 0.4-2.2 gpd/ft^
(up to 120 md)
Transmisslvity: 5-40 gpd/ft
Not generally considered an
aqui fer.
Leaky Confining Red. Some faeies
produces ground water under
artes i an rondi tions.
Poros i ty: 2-24%
Permeability: common ly •'0.1-0.4
gpd/ft" and locally
up to J .4 gpd/f
(76 md)
Transmiss ivity: commonly '0.5-10
gpd/ft and up to
-------
Aqu lfur
Sys Lew
Kra then»
System
and/or Series
Geo 1og i c Un i t
UNC0NF0RM1TY
PennsyJvan tan
Tensieep
Sandstone
Amsden Km.
UNCONFORM1TY
Mississippian
Mad ison
Limes tone
UNCONFO RNITY
Devonian
Three Forks-
Jefferson Fm.
(undivided)
UNCONFOKM ITY
Ordovician
Bighorn
Dolomite
TABLE 1 V — I (continued)
Thickness
(Tl) hi t ho ) og i c Clurjctor Hyd ro log it. Char jc Ler 1
5 7-400
(NW-SE)
Tdn to wIijlc, massive, cross-
Major Aquif er. ArLesijn we J I fa often
J17-300
(NW-E)
bedded sandstone. Lower parL more flow ar the surface wl L11 yields
dolomite with mterbedded carbon-
ate beds. Primary intergranu1 ar
porosity and secondary fracture
porosity present.
Red shale and dolomLte with chert
and occasional gypsum. Darwin
sandstone member at base ranges
in thickness from 0 to 90 feet.
commonly 50 Lo 200 gpm.
Porosity: 3-26% ?
Permeability: <1-15 gpd/ft~
(up to 800 md)
Transmissivity: <1-1,000 gpd/ft
Recovery Method:
TransmissiviLy: 400-3 ,000 gpd/I L
Geophys ica 1 Me t l>ods ' :
Permeability; 0.02-14 gpd/fL^
(up to 800 md)
Transmissivity: 7-1,800 gpd/ft
Minor Aqui fer. Darwin sandstone-
member yields water under pressure.
Porosity: 10%+
880-300
(NW-SE)
Massive crystalline limestone and
dolomite with siltstone and shale
zones, cherty in places. Breccia
filled paleokarst in upper part
and a second breccia zone in
middle. Secondary porosity due to
solution along joints and fractures
Major Aquifer. Artesian, yields to
3,000 tpm, but usually less.
Porosity: 10-20%
Permeability: 0.4-0.6 gpd/ft1^
Transmissivity: Usually 7-1,000
gpd/ft to 30,000
gpd/ft where highly
fracLured
300-0
(NE-SW)
Siltstone, dolomite and limestone
with green and black shales and
silty dolomite in the western
part of the Basin.
Aqu i tard. Not generally considered
an aquifer.
450-0
(NW-SE)
Massive to thin-bedded dolomite
and dolomiie limestone. Fine-
grained massive sandstone at the
base. Porosity primarily due to
fracturing and solution. Contains
cavernous zones near outcrop areas.
Aquifer. Produces artesijn water
in areas of fracturing and solution.
-------
TABLE IV-1 (continued)
Aq uifcr
SvsI cm
lira them
Sys I em
and/or Scries
-UNC0NF0RM1TY-
Cambrinn
Geologic Unit
Th ickness
(ft)
Lithologic Character
Hydro logic- Character *
-UNCONFORMITY-
Gal la t i 11/
Gros Ventre Fm.
(und ivided)
F1 a thead
Sand s tone
1,100-900
(NE-SW)
0-170
(NE-SW)
Shale, flat pebble conglomerate
and limestone sequence.
Cros Ventre contains bentonite
beds.
Arkosic and quartzitlc sandstone
with interbedded shales in the
upper part.
Granitic and meta-sedimentary
rocks.
Aquitard. Dispersed sandy nuerbeds
may yield small quantities of water.
Aquifer. Produces water under
very high artesian pressure, Little
data available on hvdrologic
characteristics. Reported yields
of over 2,000 gpm.
Locally yields small amounts of
water to wells
M'orosity, permeability, and transmissivity data for the Paleozoic Aquifer System and the Upper Paleozoic-Lower and Middle Mesozoic aquifers are
from drill-stem tests unless otherwise indicated (Tables IV-2, 1V-3, and 1V-6). Transmissivities from drill-stem tests are for limited pay
thickness only. Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary and Quaternary aquife** system data and alL specific capacity data are from water well
completion statements.
Gfophys1e.i I data consist of the geometric mean of transmissivity values estimated by core analysis, neutron log, and sonic log methods
-------
2
artesian pressures as high as 450 lb/in reported (Cooley, in press,
1980). Well 47/88-16, completed in the Madison Limestone and Bighorn
Dolomite as well as the Flathead Sandstone, is reported to flow
at 1,500 gpm with a specific capacity of 1.25 gpm/ft (Table IV-3).
Several other wells completed in both the Flathead and overlying
Paleozoic aquifer exist in the Tensleep-Hyattville area, with reported
flows of over 2,000 gpm from the Flathead aquifer itself.
Recharge to the Flathead is primarily through outcrop infiltration
of precipitation and stream water. Though information is sparse,
ground-water movement in the eastern basin is believed to be similar
to movement within the overlying Paleozoic aquifer system, from areas
of outcrop toward the Bighorn River and northward (Lowry et al., 1976).
PALEOZOIC AQUIFER SYSTEM
The Paleozoic aquifer system consists of Ordovician through
Pennsylvanian age strata, and is uplifted and exposed along the flanks
of the mountains that rim the basin. This sequence dips steeply
away from Precambrian outcrops at the basin margins and lies at depths
greater than 25,000 feet in the basin center. Several small anti-
clinal uplifts trending north and northwest near the basin margins
also expose Paleozoic aquifer member units along their crests (Zapp,
1956). The major water-bearing units (aquifers) within the system
are the Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite, the Mississippian Madison Lime-
stone, and the Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone (Dana, 1962; Lowry
et al., 1976; Cooley, in press, 1980). Cooley (in press, 1980) con-
siders the basal Darwin Sandstone member of the Pennsylvanian Amsden
Formation a minor aquifer, and the Upper Amsden shales as local
confining beds between the Madison and Tensleep aquifers. The "tight"
-------
dolomites of the Devonian Jefferson-Three Forks formations act as
a local confining bed between the Bighorn Dolomite and Madison Lime-
stone. Therefore, the extent to which major aquifers are hydraulically
interconnected or isolated by less permeable shales and dolomites
is uncertain. A report by Dana (1962) discusses the Tensleep and
Madison aquifers together but does not define them as hydraulically
interconnected. Lawson and Smith (1966) indicate there is intermingling
of reservoir fluids in many Bighorn basin oil fields as a result
of extensive vertical fracturing of the Paleozoic sequence. Stone
(1967) also discusses oil fields in the eastern basin (T. 55-58 N.,
R 97-99 W.; T 49 N., R. 102 W.; T. 50-52 N., R. 100 W.), where the
Bighorn through Phosphoria sequence is saturated with chemically
and physically similar reservoir fluids due to communication through
fractures and faults. Along the eastern flank, Cooley (in press)
reports higher heads within the Madison and Bighorn aquifers than
the Tensleep aquifer, except in areas of major faulting, where similar
potentiometric levels indicate interformational communication.
The Paleozoic aquifer system is isolated from below by the thick
sequence of impermeable shales and bentonites of the Cambrian Gallatin
and Gros Ventre formations (Stone, 1967; Vietti, 1977), as evidenced
by potentiometric heads several hundred feet higher in the basal
Cambrian Flathead aquifer than in the overlying Paleozoic aquifer
system in the eastern basin (Cooley, in press).
The upper boundary is less certain, and is dependent upon complex
intertonguing facies relationships in the overlying Permian Phosphoria
Formation. Lowry and others (1976) consider the Phosphoria to be
part of the Paleozoic hydrologic sequence. Stone (1967) presents
-------
evidence suggesting that virtually all oil found in Ordovician through
Permian strata originated within and migrated downward from Phosphoria
source beds. However, Stone (1967) also states that: (1) in the
eastern part of the basin the Phosphoria consists of red shale and
evaporite facies that are not generally considered petroleum reservoir
rocks, indicating low permeability; (2) in the west and central basin
the Phosphoria consists of carbonate, siltstone, and shale facies
of which only the carbonates are considered reservoir rocks, indi-
cating a variable permeability distribution; (3) in general, only
a part of the upper Phosphoria, averaging 20 feet in thickness, is
considered to have "attractive reservoir characteristics," with per-
meabilities usually less than 10 millidarcies (<0.2 gpd/ft ), which
puts it in the "poor" aquifer range according to Todd (1959); (4)
in the lower Phosphoria fracturing is commonly required for commercial
oil production, again suggesting low permeability; and (5) migration
of oil from Phosphoria sources to underlying strata was achieved
primarily along faults and fractures, indicating that the Phosphoria
acts as a relatively effective confining bed outside of deformed
areas. Additionally, distinct hydrochemical differences exist between
the Phosphoria and underlying formations (Chapter V, this report).
Therefore, although the carbonate facies of the Phosphoria Formation
locally produce exploitable amounts of ground water, for purposes
of this report the Phosphoria siltstone and evaporite facies are
considered leaky confining layers acting as the upper boundary of
the Paleozoic aquifer system.
Current development of the Paleozoic aquifer system is heaviest
along the basin margins, where drilling depths are generally less
-------
than 3,500 feet (Dana, 1962). Many wells, especially on the east
side of the basin, flow at the surface. Common yields range from
25 to 200 gpm; however, a yield of several thousand gpm has been
reported for one Madison well.
Hydrologic Properties
Hydrologic data from Paleozoic aquifer system water wells are
generally restricted to the developed areas along the basin margins.
Very little data are available in the basin center, where excessive
drilling depths have prevented development. Hydrologic data available
from petroleum investigations, such as drill stem test results and
core permeabilities, are generally limited to oil-producing structures
on the periphery of the basin. Drill stem test data usually exhibit
conservative transmissivity values because such estimates use limited
pay thickness. Most hydrologic data from the Paleozoic aquifer system
are for the Tensleep aquifer since it is the most significant oil-
producing formation in the basin.
Permeability
Tensleep Sandstone aquifer permeability is dependent upon the
extent of secondary cementation and recrystallization of quartz grains,
which increases with depth. Quartz cementation predominates in the
north-central part of the basin while carbonate cementation increases
toward the southeast (Todd, 1963). Petroleum data reveal a substantial
loss of porosity and permeability with increased depth of the sand-
stone (Bredehoeft, 1964; Lawson and Smith, 1966). Bredehoeft (1964),
utilizing core analysis, neutron log, and sonic log methods, noted
differences in permeability ranging from greater than 800 millidarcies
-------
(14 gpd/ft ) near outcrop to about 1 millidarcy (0.02 gpd/ft ) toward
the central basin. Permeability decreases with an increase in secondary
cementation and recrystallization, but may be enhanced in carbonate-
rich zones by fracturing and solution (Stone, 1967; Lowry et al.,
1976). Oil field data, generally from core analyses which do not
reflect fracture or solution permeability, commonly show a permeability
2
range from 0.1 to 200 millidarcies (less than 0.02 to 3.6 gpd/ft )
2
with a few values as large as 800 millidarcies (14 gpd/ft ).
Permeability in the Madison Limestone and Bighorn Dolomite
aquifers is controlled primarily by zones of fractures, joints, solu-
tion features, and bedding-plane partings. Limited data on Madison
permeabilities from oil field records (Table IV-2) show a range from
2
20 to 34 millidarcies (0.4 to 0.6 gpd/ft ). One value for the Bighorn
Dolomite at Hamilton Dome Field (T. 44 N., R. 97-98 W.) was reported
2
at 40 millidarcies (0.9 gpd/ft ).
Specific Capacity
Specific capacity data calculated from water well completion
statements (Wyoming State Engineer's Office, Information Files, 1980)
are sparse for the Paleozoic aquifer system and range from 0.2 gpm/ft
to 10.2 gpm/ft (Table IV-3). In the adjacent Powder River basin,
the presence of nonlinear head losses within Madison wells is attri-
buted to turbulent flow within fractures in the well vicinity (Kelly
et al., 1980). The Madison aquifer of the Bighorn basin possesses
similar fracture and solution permeability, as does the Bighorn Dolo-
mite, and both can be expected to exhibit decreasing specific capacity
data to estimate transmissivity within the Madison is dubious because
laminar flow criteria are not met.
-------
Field
Location T/R
Black MountnLn
Murphy Dome
Harm 1 Con Dome
l.itLle Sand Draw
Cebo
Murphy Dome
Grass Creek
Sunshine North
Gooseberry
Little Buffalo Basin
Hidden Dome
Pitch Fork
NowootJ
Spring Creek
Bonanza
Torchlight
Oregon Basin
Shoshone
Alkali Anticline:
Whistle Creek
Garland
42-43N/90-91W
44N/97-98W
44N/96W
44N/95W
4J-44N/91-92W
46N/98-99W
47N/I01W
47N/100W
4 7-48N/100W
47-48N/90-71W
48N/102W
48N/90W
49N/102W
49N/91W
51/92-93W
50-52N/100-101W
53N/101W
55N/95W
56N/98W
56N/98W
TABLE I V-2
HYDROLOCIC PROPERTIES OE PALEOZOIC AQUIFER SYSTEM,
BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
(Determined from Oil Field Data)
Average Pay Estimated
Thickness 0 O 7. Porosity Permeablll ty (rod) Transroissivi cy (upd/ft) Source
TENSLKLP SANDSTONE
20 14 - I
180 14 99 300 1
52 10-11 0.8-1.7 0.8-2 1
105 10 8 10 1
113 13 4R 100 1
90 14 110 200 1
100 15 88 200 I
50 li 28 JO J
50 12 23 20 2
28 10 74 40 2
54 16 - 1
102 3.3-22 0.4-7 1 0.8-10 I
15 1/ 120 30 I
184 16 100 3O0 1
90 24 800 1000 I
23 17 200 80 2
60 16 150 200 2
100 26 560 1000 1
18 10 - - 1
71 12 61 80 1
-------
TABLE 1V-2 (cunt J nued)
_F_i_c_ld
By ron
1*11 k Basin, South
Sage Creek, West
Big 1'ole Cat
S.igo Creek
Ueave r
hue.) lion -IVR
56N/97W
57N/99W
57N/98W
57N/98W
4 7 N / 9 7 - 9 8W
57N/97W
Average Pay
Thickness (ft)
% Porositv
Estimated ^
Permcah11 1 ty (md) TransmjssiviLy (gpd/fl)
70
140
77
152
10-55
100
20-25
10
15
J4
14
16
10-20
L5-20
15
140
120
190
100
0.1-700
50-200
no
400
200
500
20-100
0.2-1000
20-90
20
_!i°-i" i c Kemarks
1
I
Ln
ho
Crass. Creek
A 1ka Ji AnticJ ine
46N/98-99W
55N/95W
19
70
AMSDKN FORMATION
7
10
2 Ddtwin Sandstone Member
I Darwin SandsLone Member
Hamilton Dome
Walker Dome
Oregon Basin
Torchlight
Elk Basin
Sage Creek
44N/97-98W 160
46N/99W 25
40-51-52N/100-101W 200
51N/92-93W 67
47-58N/99-100W 336
57N/97-98W 20
MADISON LIMESTONE
16
15
13
21
J 2
10-20
25
34
20
20
70
40
100
7
Mami1 ton Dome
44N/97-98W
B1CHOHN DOLOMITE
13
1. Wyoming Geological Assoc LalLon, Oil and Gas Fields Symposium, 1957 (Supplemented, 1961)
2. Biggs and Koch, 1970
3. Wyoming State Oil and Gas Commission Files
4. Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook, 1975
5. Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook, 1952
6. All transmissiv11 les rounded to one significant digit.
-------
TABLE IV-3
REPORTED SPECIFIC CAPACITIES OF WELLS IN THE PALEOZOIC AQUIFER SYSTEM,
BlOliORN BASIN, WYOMING
Wo 11 No.
T/R-Sec.
Geolugic
Units*
Totd 1
Depth
Test
Dura C inn
(hrs)
Drawdown
(ft)
Yield
(spm)
Specif ic
CapacIty
(Kpm/Cc)
Test
Date
Remarks
5E/6-4
-
100
1 2
40
25
0.63
-
42/88-3
PC
400
-
75
35
0.47
8/19/52
F1owing wel1.
42/88-21
PC
595
1 2
50
20
0.40
Flowing well.
46/98-16
Mm ,0b
7,000
24
46 1
166
0.36
46/98-18
Mm ,0b
5,600
96
62
36.5
0.59
47/89-1
PL
755
-
322
250
0. 78
11/06/57
F1 owing we]1.
47/88-16
MDni.Ob ,C f
2,700
-
1 ,20 7
1,500
1.25
-
Flowing we 11.
47/88-16
Ma
-
265
52
0.20
2/02/55
Flowing well, test on each producing
MDm
1 ,050
-
311
1,100
3.50
2/02/55
interval.
47/88-16
MDm
-
24
295
3,000
10.20
9/21/78
Flowing well.
47/100-1
Ob
7 ,873
24
85
94
1.11
49/89-6
Mm
2,895
-
409
130
0.32
8/—/68
Flowing we 11.
49/89-21
PC
461
-
60
30
0.5
-
50/90-34
MDm,Ob
2,985
-
518
1,650
3.2
-
Flowing wo 11.
55/95-3
PC
560
1
5
25
5
55/94-28
Mm
1 ,125
48
66
80
1 .2
55/105-12
110
1/4
6
2
0.33
7/09/76
-------
Transmissivity
Transmissivity values were obtained from oil field reports (Table
IV-2) and various published hydrologic sources (Table IV-4). Lowry
(1962) reports values, estimated by recovery method, for the Tensleep
aquifer of 1,000 to 3,000 gpd/ft. Bredehoeft (1964) related porosities,
obtained from core analyses, neutron logs, and sonic logs, to perme-
ability and calculated Tensleep transmissivities ranging from 7 to
1,800 gpd/ft. Values calculated from oil field pay thickness and
permeability show a range from less than 1 to 1,000 gpd/ft within
the sandstone.
Lowry (1962) reported transmissivity values of 540 and 890 gpd/ft
for the Madison aquifer alone; other estimates of up to 5,000 gpd/ft
included several Paleozoic system aquifers, though a value of 30,000
gpd/ft was reported for the town of Tensleep well, which produces
primarily from the Madison aquifer. Madison transmissivity values
from oil field reports vary from 7 to 100 gpd/ft, but the few values
reported do not adequately represent the Madison aquifer. One value
of 40 gpd/ft was reported for the Bighorn aquifer.
Ground-Water Movement
The Tensleep Sandstone is the only aquifer in the Paleozoic
system for which data have been compiled into a potentiometric map
(Bredehoeft and Bennett, 1971). The map (Figure IV-1) is an approxima-
tion of the pre-developmental potentiometric surface. Although it
does not show present conditions and has little data control in many
areas, it is useful for interpreting general flow patterns in the
Tensleep aquifer. Gradients are steepest along the rim of the basin
and generally converge along the Bighorn River in the east-central
-------
TAHI.L IV-
TKANSM1SS LVIT1ES OF MliMBKKS OF PAI.FOZOlL AQU LFEK SYSTEM, BIGHORN BASLN, WYOMING
Well Location
(T/R-Suc)
4
Ceologic
11 n i L (s)
Tran.smissi vi ty
(ga 1/day/ft)
Data
Sourcu
Method(s)
Re ma rks
4JN/9I,92W-6,I
i't
2
X
io2
1
core ana Lys ls
Geometrie mean,
3 we 11s
44N/87W-8
PL
3
X
u>3
2
recovery method
44N/95W-23.24
PL
1
X
10"
1
neutron log, sonic Log
Geomelr c mcjn,
2 wi-11 s
44N/98W-12,13,15
PL
2
X
9
10"
1
core analysis, neutron
sonic log
log
Geometr c moan,
3 wt_* 1 Is
45N/92W-23
PC
2
X
I01
1
neutron log
46N/98W-19
Pt
7
X
10l
1
neutron log
47N/88W-16
Pt , Mm
3
X
io4
1
Jacob and i.ohman methoc
(1962)
City of Tensleep we) 1
47N/89U-12
PL
1
X
io3
2
recovery method
48N/102W-11.14
Pt
2
X
io2
1
Core analysis, neutron
log
Ceometric mean,
2 wel 1 s
48N/103W-20
PL
6
X
io1
1
Core analysis, neutron
log
Geometric mean.
1 Well
49N/89U-24
Pt,PMa,MDm,Ob
5
X
io3
2
recovery method
49N/89W-28
49N/89W-29
50N/90W-14
MDm
MDm
Pt,PMa,MDm
5
9
4
X
X
X
io2
102
10
2
2
2
recovery method
recovery method
recovery method
50N/90W-14
PL
1
X
io3
2
recovery method
51N/93W-12
PL
2
X
io2
1
Core analysis, neutron
log
Geometric mean,
1 wel 1
55N/95W-19
PL
5
X
io1
1
Core analysis
Geometric mean,
3 wells
56N/9 7W-14
PL
3
X
9
10"
1
Core analysis
Geometric mean,
2 wells
56N/101W-16
PL
7
X
io2
1
Core analysis, neutron
log
Geometric mean,
1 wel L
57N/97W-18
PL
4
X
1 02
1
Core analysis, neutron
log
Geometric mean,
2 wells
1) Bredhoeft, John D., 1964
2) Lowry, M.E., 1962
3) State engineers Office, Cheyenne, Wyoming
A) Pt - Tensleep Sandstone
Ma - Anisden Formation
MDm - Madison Limestone
Ob - Bighorn Dolomite
-------
L/i
On
Potentiometric Surface Contour —i
in feet above mean sea level
Miles
Figure IV-1. Potentiometric surface of the Tensleep aquifer in the Bighorn basin,
-------
basin rather than at the structural axis in the west-central basin.
Flow in areas adjacent to the Bighorn River is northward, into Montana
(Figure IV-1).
Ground-water movement within the other Paleozoic aquifers is
assumed similar to flow in* the Tensleep (Stone, 1967; Lowry et al.,
1972). Stone (1967) stated that the presence of hydrodynamically
tilted oil-water contacts in Tensleep petroleum reservoirs and the
horizontal nature of oil-water contacts in Madison reservoirs indicate
a higher, more uniform transmissivity and therefore a lower regional
gradient in the Madison relative to the Tensleep. However, little
other hydrologic data are available to support this relationship.
Wells penetrating the Paleozoic aquifer system characteristically
are under high artesian pressure and often flow at the surface.
2
Cooley (in press) reports shut-in pressures as high as 150 lb/in
2
from the Tensleep aquifer and from 150 to 250 lb/in for the Madison
and Bighorn aquifers; the relatively higher levels in the Madison
and Bighorn aquifers indicate the potential for regional ground-
water movement from these aquifers into the overlying Tensleep aquifer
Recharge to the Paleozoic aquifer system is primarily by direct
infiltration of precipitation through the basin margin outcrop area
(Lowry et al., 1976). Additionally, Vietti (1977) reports several
creeks which sink into solution-modified fault and fracture zones in
the Bighorn and Madison aquifers along the Bighorn Mountain flank (T.
51-52 N., R. 88 W.). Although many of these sinking streams resurge
a short distance from where they sink, several do not resurge, indi-
cating the streams provide recharge to the deeper parts of the basin.
Natural discharge from the Paleozoic system occurs where the
-------
strata. Egemeier (1973) notes thermal Madison and/or Tensleep springs
discharging from the Sheep Mountain, Little Sheep Mountain, and
Thermopolis/Warm Springs anticlines (Figure II-5), with flows as great
as 13,000 gpm issuing from the Madison aquifer along the latter struc-
ture. Spring flows from Paleozoic outcrops also occur along the
Rattlesnake Mountain anticline, west of Cody. Additional Paleozoic
discharge occurs in the Nowood River area (Cooley and Head, 1979b),
where artesian Tensleep water rises along solution-collapse features
in the Phosphoria evaporite facies, and discharges either as seeps and
springs or as recharge to alluvial deposits overlying the Phosphoria.
UPPER PALEOZOIC AND LOWER AND MIDDLE
MESOZOIC AQUIFERS
The Upper Paleozoic through Middle Mesozoic stratigraphic sequence
consists of impermeable shales that isolate discrete water-bearing
sandstone and carbonate units (Figure IV-2). The principal aquifers
are carbonate facies of the Permian Phosphoria Formation, two sandstone
members of the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Group, and sandstone beds
within the Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation (Dana, 1962; Lowry et al.,
1976). Intervening shales, though generally considered confining
layers, may have enhanced permeabilities in fractured zones, along
bedding planes, and within coarser clastic beds (Berry and Littleton,
1961, Lowry et al., 1976). Minor yields have been reported from the
Chugwater Formation, shaley sands within the Morrison Formation, the
Mowry Shale, and the Muddy Sandstone Member of the Thermopolis Shale
(Berry and Littleton, 1961; Dana, 1962; Lowry et al., 1976).
Wells penetrating the Upper Paleozoic and Lower and Middle Meso-
zoic aquifers are primarily located in outcrop areas around the basin
-------
SYSTEM LITHOLO
gy[
FORMATION
D
O
Q)
CJ
D
•*»
CD
o
o
c
—
CJ
o
N
E
O
LU
Q>
1
tx.
<
CL
I 11 I I I I 11
mrrnifmri
111111111
Frontier Formation
Mowry Shale
Thermopolis Shale
Muddy Sandstone Member
Cloverly Formation
Morrison Formation
Sundance Formation
Gypsum Springs Formation
Chugwater Formation
Dinwoody Formation
Phosphor ia Formation
Figure IV-2. Generalized Upper Paleozoic-Lower Mesozoic stratigraphy
of the Bighorn basin.
-------
periphery where drilling depths are not great (Dana, 1962). Wells
are commonly artesian, producing about 10 to 100 gpm.
Hydrologic Properties
Most of the hydrologic data for the Upper Paleozoic and Lower and
Middle Mesozoic aquifers are from investigations by the petroleum
industry. Available water well data on these aquifers are restricted
to the flanks of the basin and along the axes of anticlinal structures.
Permeability
Permeability within the upper Phosphoria Formation is attributed
to secondary intercrystalline and fracture porosity (Stone, 1967).
McCaleb and Willingham (1967) indicate that in areas where extensive
vertical fracturing of Phosphoria dolomites has occurred, permeabilities
are increased significantly. However, relatively low values for Phos-
phoria permeabilities were reported at oil fields, from less than 0.1
2
to 20 millidarcies and locally as high as 76 millidarcies (1.4 gpd/ft )
(Table IV-5).
Sparse permeability values for the Cloverly Group sandstones
(Table IV-5) range from 4 to 120 millidarcies (0.1 to 2.2 gpd/ft^).
Air permeability tests on the Frontier Formation range up to 420
2
millidarcies (7.6 gpd/ft ). However, permeability to fluids is con-
siderably lower, and dependent upon fluid salinity, formation clay
content, and the absorption and floculating properties of the clays
(Baptist et al., 1952). Laboratory tests indicate that Frontier perme-
ability to solutions containing 16,500 mg/1 sodium chloride is 1/3 to
1/25 that of air permeability, while permeability to fresh water solu-
tions (<200 mg/1 TDS) is essentially nonexistent (Baptist et al., 1952).
-------
TABLE IV-5
IIYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES OF UPPER PALEOZOIC AND LOWER AND MIDDLE MESOZOIC AQUIFERS,
BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
(Determined from Oil Field Data)
Average Pay Estimated
Thickness % Permeability Transmias 1vity
F le 1 d 1 ocaLJon (T/R) ( f t) Porosity ( rnd ) (^pd /ft)1 Source ? Rem.i rks
FRONTIER FORMATION
Zimmerman
44N/93W
1 2
10
-
-
1
Walker Dome
25
15
-
-
1
26
1 7
4
2
2
Crass Creek
46N/98-99W
65
21
81
100
1
55
22
35
40
2
7
23
55
7
5
10
24
4 20
80
5
4
26
240
20
5
2
13
0
0
5
3
22
50
3
5
6
16
0
0
5
9
1 7
1 .0
0.2
Sand Creek
46N/91W
55
22
40
40
1
20
17
14
5
2
30
1 7
41
20
2
15
16
1 .6
0.4
5
4
16
2. 1
0.2
5
10
12
0. 2
0.04
5
Hidden Dome
47-48N/90-91W
18
19
80
30
2
Wor1 and
48N/92W
47
1 7
16
10
1
51
J 4
1 3
10
1
1 7
1 3
1 1
3
1
4
18
94
7
5
5
19
130
10
5
4
1 7
9.6
1
5
4
12
0.4
0.03
5
4
11
3.5
0.3
5
31
19
16
9
5
4
18
20
2
5
4
11
0.3
0.02
5
Torchlight
51N/92-93W
10
] 7
2.5
0.5
5
11
17
8.1
2
5
5
22
7. 1
0.6
5
6
22
4.1
0.6
5
4
16
0.4
0.4
5
6
19
1 . 5
0.03
-------
TABLE 1V-5 (continued)
I'le 1 d
Location (T/K)
Average I'ay
'I'll ickness
(ft)
%
i'ii ros i L v
l'e rinciib i 1 i ty
(nid)
Whist le Creek
Badger Basin
Elk Basin, South
Elk Basin
Silver T j p
Creybu11» West
Bearcat
Badger Basin
EIk Basin, South
Silver Tip, South
Car 1 and
Hamilton Dome
Crass Creek
Water Creek
Little Sand Draw
Hani]ton Dome
Gebo
Zimmerman
Walker Dome
Grass Creek
56N/98W
57N/101W
57N/99W
57-58N/99-100W
47-58N/100W
52N/94W
56N/99W
57N/101W
57N/99W
57-58N/100W
56N/98W
44N/97-98W
46N/98-99W
43-44N/90-91W
44N/96W
44N/97-98W
44N/95U
44N/93W
46N/99W
46N/98-99W
5
7
8
6
32
40
40
1 7
35
25
22
25
35
1 5
14
20
20
40
76
31
104
12
60
55
14
I 4
10
12
21
15
26
13
9
1 5
9
15
15
7-10
10-1 2
15
15
15
17
22
17
17
5
2.1-22
24
13
10
16
] 7
0.3
1 .6
0.5
0
CLOVERLY FORMATION
4.5
6
4.2
120
9
MORRISON FORMATION
64
CHUGWATER FORMATION
40
20
120
105
120
110
PHOSPHOR1A FORMATION
0.61-3.1
76
20
Es t" imaLed
Transmissivi Ly
(Rpd/ft)'
Source ^
Remarks
0.03 5
0.2 5
0.07 5
0 5
1
4 1
0 2
2
3 1
4 1 Upper sandstone member
2 I Upper sandstone member
30 1 Upper sandstone member
6 1 Lower sandstone member
0 4 Upper sandstone member
4 Lower sandstone member
3
10 L
5 2 Curtis Sandstone member
40 2 Curtis Sandstone member
3 Curtis Sandstone member
3 Curtis Sandstone member
40 1
L
0.9-4 X
40 1
I
]
1
-------
TABU- LV-5 (continued)
On
LO
Field
IxHMtidfl (T/K)
Average I'ay
Th ickness
(CO
X
Porosity
1'u rracjb Lilly
(md)
Est imated
Transmissivj Ly
(^I'd/ft) 1
Source*
Remarks
Four Leon Mile
46N/94W
55
2.9-15
0.05-1 .1
0.05-0.9
I
S! ick Creek
46-4 7N/92W
20
9
6
2
2
Sunshine , Nort li
4 7N/10 1W
22
18
5.8
2
1
Gooseberry
47N/100W
30
8
39
20
I
South Friday
47N/92W
20
8
2
3
I
Meyer Gulch
47N/90W
32
7.7
19
10
1
Col tonwood Creek
4 7N/90W
20
7.2
10
18
16
6
3
2
Wor1 and
48N/92W
70
6.5
7
9
1
Spring Creek
49N/102W
34
11.9
2.9
2
1
Mee tee tse
49N/99W
35
6
2
1
1
Nerber Dome
A9N/92W
35-70
2-5
0.4
0.3-0.5
1
Mcinderson
49-50N/92-93W
25
5
L
0.4
J
Oregon Basin
50-51-52N/100-
101W 38
14
10
7
2
A1ka1i Antic 1ine
55N/95W
] 5
14
-
-
1
Car 1 and
56N/98W
60
24
-
_
2
!AlJ Lransmiss 1 vities rounded to one significant figure.
Transmissivity (gpd/ft) = Average Permeability (gpd/ft ) x Average Pay Thickness (ft).
"Sources are:
1 = Wyoming Geological Association, Oil and Gas Fields Symposium, 1957 (Supplemented, 1961)
2 = Biggs and Koch, 1968
3 = Wyoming State Oil and Gas Commission Files
4 = Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook, 1975
-------
Specific Capacity
Available specific capacity data for the Upper Paleozoic and
Lower arid Middle Mesozoic aquifers were obtained from domestic well
pump test data. The values for the interval from the Phosphoria
through the Frontier are commonly from about 0.1 to 4 gpm/ft of draw-
down (Table IV-6). A few values as high as 30 gpm/ft also were
reported.
Transmissivity
Transmissivity data available for the Upper Paleozoic and Lower
and Middle Mesozoic aquifers are calculated from oil field perme-
abilities and reservoir pay thickness (Table IV-5). Values tabulated
for Phosphoria transmissivity are low, varying from less than 0.1
to 4 gpd/ft. Values from drill stem test data will generally be
low because only limited pay thickness is considered rather than
total saturated thickness. Four Chugwater (Curtis Sandstone Member)
transmissivity values, reported from oil fields in the southern end
of the basin, range from 5 to 40 gpd/ft. Limited Cloverly trans-
missivity data for the upper sandstone member range from about 0
to 6 gpd/ft, with one value of 50 gpd/ft. Petroleum-producing sand-
stones within the Frontier aquifer exhibit a variation of transmissivity
from 0 to 20 gpd/ft and locally as high as 100 gpd/ft. As discussed
earlier, Frontier permeabilities are dependent on the salinity of
the water; therefore transmissivity values calculated from air perme-
ability test results should not be considered truly representative.
-------
TAB Ml lV-fa
REPORTED SPECIFIC CAPACITY l'OR WELI.S IN THE UPPER PA1.EOZOTC AND 1.0WER AND
MIDDLE MESOZOIC AQUTFERS, BICHORN BASIN, WYOMING1
Ln
We 1 L
hocjli on
(T/R-Sec.)
4 3N/93W-3
43N/94W-5
43N/96W-24
44N/94W-35
46N/99W-24
49N/91W-4
49N/91W-4
49N/91W-4
49N/9IW-20
51N/93W-J 6
51N/93W-27
51N/103W-10
52N/93W-9
52N/102W-2
52N/102U-15
52N/102W-J5
52N/102W-2J
52N/102W-22
52N/102W-30
52N/I02W-33
52N/102W-32
C,uo logic
Forma t J on
Kf
Kef
Kcv
Kc I
Kef
Kef
Kef
Kc f
Kc f
Kef
Kc f
Kc f
Kef
Kcv
'IR c
1R c
KCt
Kf C
Kef
Kf t
Kf t
Test
DuruLion
(li r.s)
20
i
'u
1
1
24
20
168
2
72
!2
4
21s
Drawdown
(ft)
500
6
70
17
237
22
30
30
80
25
LO
20
58
8
16
]0
4
40
5
250
25
Yield
(Kpm)
50
44
20
20
64
5
20
20
20
20
20
15
200
12
200
25
25
50
30
15
7
Spec i f i c
Capacily
(gpm/f t)
Tes t
Date
(month/year)
Remarks
0.10
7. 30
0.29
1 . 2
0.27
0.23
0.67
0.67
0.25
0.80
2.00
0.75
3.40
1.50
17.00
2.50
6. 20
1. 20
6.00
0.06
0.28
8-16-76
2-60
7-19-75
7-8-73
10-31-55
5-20-53
4-30-45
10-7-52
4-4-74
9-23-76
4-25-78
4-12-65
8- -57
4-8-78
3-15-78
3-10-78
6-26-74
11-11-7 4
6-16-73
2-15-71
11-30-78
f Low i ng we 11
f1 owing we 11
flowing well
production from sand
production from sand
production from sand
production from sand
production from sandstone
flowing well, production from
sands tone
production from sandstone
production from sandstone and
shale
production from sand
-------
TAB1.L IV-6 (conL inued)
Well
Location
(r/K-Scc.)
Geo 1 oyi c
Format ion
Test
Dura 11 on
(lira)
Drawdown
(El)
Yield
(kP"0
Specif ic
Capacity
(upm/ft)
Test
Date
(monl li/yenr)
52N/J 0 JW-34
Kf L
2
2
20
1 0. 00
8-1-76
53N/92W-3J
Kit
1 / 6
90
LO
0. 11
6-22-77
53N/101W-27
Kf
2
J 8
25
1 . AO
2-24-71
53N/J01W-27
Kf
2
9
20
2.20
4-2 2-7 1
53N/101W-27
Kf
1
65
20
0.31
10/72
54N/94W-1
Jsg
1
1
20
20.00
4/64
54N/94W-1
.Isy
J
2
20
10.00
4/64
56N/96W-15
Kef
2
2
60
30.00
5/73
Rema rks
production from shale
production front shale
production from shale
production from shale
1Wo11 ddta obtained from State Engineers Office Cheyenne, Wyoming
Specific capacity (gpm/ft) = Yield (gpm) i Drawdown (ft)
?WclIs are completed in Lhe indicated formation
Kef - Cody Shale and Frontier Formation undivided
Kf - Frontier Formation
Kft - Frontier Formation, Mowry Shale and Thermopolis Shale undivided
Kcv - Cloverly Formation
Jsg - Sundance and Gypsum Springs Formations undivided
-------
Ground-Water Movement
No potentiometric map has yet been compiled for any of the Upper
Paleozoic and Lower and Middle Mesozoic aquifers. The shape of the
potentiometric surface is complicated by the intertonguing of permeable
and impermeable zones. Ground-water movement within these water-
bearing units is generally assumed to be from the area of outcrop
recharge basinward, often under artesian conditions (Berry and Little-
ton, 1961; Lowry et al., 1976).
Recharge of these aquifers is by infiltration of precipitation
and streamflow in outcrop areas (Lowry et al., 1976). The aquifers
may be recharged locally by interformational flow in fractured zones
along anticlinal structures, and by infiltration of water from overlying
saturated alluvium (Berry and Littleton, 1961; Lowry et al., 1976).
Ground water discharges from the aquifers through springs, seeps, inter-
formational movement, and gaining streams (Lowry et al., 1976). No
recharge or discharge rate estimates are available for these aquifers.
UPPER CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY AQUIFER SYSTEM
The Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system is comprised of
the Cretaceous Mesaverde, Meeteetse, and Lance formations and the
Tertiary Fort Union and Willwood formations. The Tertiary units
are found primarily in the central part of the basin and are nearly
horizontal while the Lance, Meeteetse, and Mesaverde formations dip
more steeply basinward and crop out progressively toward the basin
margins.
Generally, the formations comprising the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary
aquifer system consist of lenticular, interfingering beds of sandstone,
shale, siltstone, and claystone with occasional coal layers.
-------
Interbedded sandstones are the major water-bearing units, and are
isolated in varying degrees by interlayered finer clastic rocks.
The Cody Shale, because of its thickness (over 2,000 feet through-
out the basin) and small permeability, is considered the lower boundary
of this system, hydraulically separating it from more deeply buried
Mesozoic aquifers. Unconsolidated Quaternary aquifers overlie this,
system in places.
Hydrologic Properties
Most hydrologic data for the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer
system are from shallow wells completed in the areally extensive
Willwood aquifer and consist solely of specific capacity data obtained
from limited yield/drawdown tests. Throughout the basin the Willwood,
and to a lesser extent the Fort Union and Upper Cretaceous aquifers,
are capable of yielding small quantities of water, generally less
than 25 gpm. Several larger yields, ranging from 50 to 100 gpm,
have been reported.
Specific Capacity
Specific capacity for the Willwood aquifer throughout the basin
has a mean value of about 0.4 gpm/ft with the most common range being
between 0.01 and 1.5 gpm/ft (Table IV-7). Values as high as 6.0
to 20.0 gpm/ft have been reported in parts of Park County. Pump
test data for wells in the southeast part of the basin (Washakie
County) indicate a mean value for specific capacity of 0.2 gpm/ft,
whereas in the northwest (Park County) the mean value for specific
capacity is an order of magnitude larger, or about 3.0 gpm/ft. A
conglomeratic facies present in the Willwood in the northwest basin
-------
TABLE 1V-7
REPORTED SPECIFIC CAPACITY OF WELLS IN THE W1LLWOOD AQUIFER,
UPI'EU CHhTACKOUS-TKRTLAKY AQUIFER SYS'ltM, UlfillORN 11AS1N, WYOMING1
Wei 1
Location
(l/K-rSec. )
Yield
(gpm)
Drawdown
(ft)
Speci f ic
Capdc lty
(fipm/ f L)
Total Depth
(ft)
Depth to
Water
(ft)
45N/94W-11
7
188
0.04
230
22
45N/94W- 19
5
60
0.08
160
90
45N/94W-20
10
30
0.33
130
50
45N/94W-20
J
10
0 30
130
50
45N/96W-15
11
66
0.17
100
24
46N/92W-1
10
70
0. 14
1 20
30
46N/92W-1
4
65
0.06
65
25
46N/92W-1
10
10
1.00
25
11
46N/92W-13
10
50
0.20
130
20
46N/92W-13
10
50
©
o
115
20
4 6N/92U-13
10
50
0. 20
30
20
46N/92W-18
6
75
0.08
225
140
46N/92W-18
8
262
0.03
478
188
46N/92W-30
6
140
0.04
260
110
4 6N/93W-1
10
52
0.19
85
18
46N/93W-1
5
90
0.06
93
17
46N/93W-1
4
85
0.05
90
15
46N/93W-1
4
85
0.04
90
20
46N/93W-1
10
50
0. 20
90
75
46N/93W-1
5
45
0.1 1
60
40
46N/93W-2
4
60
0.07
75
20
46N/93W-9
6
132
0.04
165
-------
Well
Location Yield Drawdown
(T/K-StiC.) (jj.pni) (Jil
46N/93W-15 10 125
46N/9JW-L6 11.J 11
46N/93W-16 8.2 1(18
46N/93W-16 12 24 2
46N/9JW-I6 2) 290
46N/93W-16 10 320
46N/93W-20 5 II-'.
46N/93W-20 8 80
46N/93W-22 2 200
46N/93W-2'. 10 70
46N/93W-26 2 140
""¦J
o 46N/93W-28 1.5 70
46N/93W-28 L 115
46N/93W-30 7 90
46N/94W-9 6 100
46N/102W-I5 100 5
46N/92W-6 2 63
47N/92W-18 5 56
47N/92W-18 5 85
47N/92W-19 2 170
47N/92W-19 10 65
4 7N/92W-19 7 4
4 7N/92W-19 15 13
47N/92W-23 5 60
47N/93W-1 10 175
TABU' I V— 7 (u»ni imied)
Specific Depth to
Capacity Total Depth Water
(Kpm/f t) (T l) (ft)
0.08 175 K5
1.03 65 37
0.04 300 62
0 05 375 12
0 08 J85 15
0.03 430 100
0.04 HO 16
0.10 110 10
0.01 225 20
0.14 240 160
0.01 230 85
0.02 75 18
0.01 125 10
0.08 240 140
0 06 320 10
20.00 70 40
0 03 75 12
0.09 70 9
0 06 110 15
0.01 225 45
0.15 122 35
1.75 71 50
1.15 29 9
0.08 200 50
-------
TAHI.i: IV- 7 (i-niiLiiuii'd)
WelT
Local ion
(T/K-Suc.)
Yiuld
(HP"')
Urawilown
(U)
1
j
^ r. s.
a —
-3 -3 r>
47N/9JW-21
5
60
0.08
47N/93W -24
4
160
0. 02
47N/93W-24
5. 5
60
0.09
47N/93W-24
8
5
1.60
47N/93W-24
1 . 5
120
0.01
4 7N/93W-J 5
2
1 10
0. 02
4 7N/93W-)6
6
120
0.05
48N/92W-10
4
260
0.02
48N/93W-36
13
100
0. 13
47N/97W-33
2
140
0.01
47N/97W-33
60
33
1.82
49N/92W-7
1
190
0.01
49N/92W-9
3
275
0 01
49N/100W-13
3
50
0.06
49N/100W-13
50
0
-
491.7 100W-20
10
10
1.00
49N/1OOW-34
20
80
0. 25
55N/101W-10
10
20
o
o
55N/101W—13
10
0
-
55N/101W-13
25
1 1
2. 27
55N/101W-L4
10
8
1 .25
55N/101W-21
60
10
6.00
55N/101W-23
13. 3
30
0.44
55N/I01W-23
1 1. 1
40
0 33
5 5 N/101W-24
1 1. 1
20
0 66
55N/10IW-25
10
3
i. 33
^We 11 dntn obLdined
from SLdLe Engineers
Office, Cheyenne,
Wyoming.
Total Depth
m
2no
165
165
170
160
1 58
160
390
350
150
70
200
280
70
80
83
1 20
150
110
135
87
1 30
140
105
100
110
Depth
Wjtcr
(fc)
50
15
16
15
] 2
-',0
30
80
60
18
1 2
20
100
13
10
20
65
20
15
80
30
30
50
40
40
-------
(Neasham and Vondra, 1972) is likely the reason for the higher specific
capacities reported in that area. Limited data for other members of
the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system indicate specific capa-
cities ranging from 0.1 to 1.8 gpm/ft drawdown.
Ground-Water Movement
No potentiometric data for this aquifer system or its members have
been published, and due to the lenticular nature of the sandstone
bodies, which are interbedded with clays and silts, any potentiometric
map would be difficult to interpret.
Recharge to the Cretaceous members of the Upper Cretaceous-
Tertiary aquifer system occurs chiefly by the direct infiltration of
precipitation at the outcrop, especially where large dip slope expo-
sures of sandstone bodies are present along the flanks of the surround-
ing mountains (Berry and Littleton, 1961). Where these sandstone
bodies are confined by interbedded shaley units of markedly lower
permeability, artesian conditions develop as the water moves further
downgradient. In some instances these confined aquifers are inter-
connected by fractures which allow for upward movement of water.
Where fractures are not present, further aquifer interconnection
may be accomplished due to the pressure head alone depending on the
permeability, position, thickness, and areal extent of the intervening
confining beds (Berry and Littleton, 1961).
Recharge of the Tertiary Willwood and Fort Union aquifers occurs
by infiltration from precipitation at the outcrop and locally from
outflow and seepage from juxtaposed and overlying saturated terrace
gravels or flood plain alluvium deposits of Quaternary age (Swenson
and Swenson, 1957; Berry and Littleton, 1961).
-------
QUATERNARY AQUIFERS
Quaternary aquifers consist of Pliocene to Recent unconsolidated
terrace gravels, flood plain alluvium, and to a minor extent alluvial
fan, glacial outwash, and landslide deposits. These deposits are
primarily found in, along, and adjoining the major drainage systems
of the basin (Plate 5). Scattered terrace remnants are distributed
throughout the south-central basin. Thicknesses of these deposits
vary depending on stream valley and location within the particular
stream course. Terrace deposits are generally 15 to 50 feet thick
with a maximum reported thickness of 62 feet, whereas flood plain
alluvial deposits may vary from 20 to 90 feet in thickness. The
combined thickness of these units is generally less than 100 feet,
although they are not necessarily found as a stratified group.
Hydrologic Properties
Specific Capacity
Specific capacities for the two main types of Quaternary aquifers,
terrace gravel and flood plain alluvium deposits, were not identified
separately. Throughout the basin specific capacity generally ranges
from about 0.5 to 25 gpm/ft, although values of over 50 gpm/ft are
recorded in Park and Washakie counties (Table IV-8). Berry and Littleton
(1961) report an anomalous value of 70 gpm/ft in the Owl Creek Valley
from a terrace gravel deposit. Specific capacities for irrigation
wells completed in the Sunshine Terrace range from 25 to 55 gpm/ft
(Robinove and Langford, 1963).
Transmissivities
Table IV-8 lists estimated transmissivites for Quaternary aquifer
wells throughout the basin as well as well data collected from the
-------
TABl.E I V-8
REPORTED SPECIFIC CAPACITY1 AND ESTIMATE!) TKANSM1SSIVITY FOR WELI.S
completed in rui-: quaternary aquifers,
B LCHORN BASIN, WYOMINC
4>*
Wei 1
Local ion
(T/K-Sei.)_
4 2N/95W-1
42N/95W-L
42N/95-1
4 2N/95W-1L
42N/95W- 1 1
42N/95W-13
4 2N/95W-24
4 1N/94W-4
4 3N/95W-18
43N/95W-24
43N/95W-24
43N/95W-24
43N/95W-24
43N/95W-24
4 3N/96W-8
44N/94W-31
44N/94W-32
44N/9BW-17
44N/98W-L7
46N/93W-1
46N/93W-1
46N/93W-1
46N/93W-1
Yield
(Bpm)
Drawdown
(ft)
15
14
13
20
20
16
I 5
40
8
AO
10
18
25
6
20
20
20
100
10
15
15
20
L5
6
4
2
11
0
0
20
0
10
9
5
17
14
1
0
4
15
40
10
20
8.
25
14
3.5
Spec l f l c.
Cnpnclcy
. ItCDl/iJiL
2. 50
3. 50
6 50
1 .82
0. 75
0.80
4. 40
2.0
1.06
1. 78
6.00
5.00
1. 33
2. 50
1.00
0. 75
1. 76
0.80
1.07
Tol.il Depth
Depth to
Wn l e r
go
I'es L
Length
(hr)
26
20
23
28
30
20
45
28
45
35
45
51
52
47
30
45
65
40
25
25
30
25
I 2
10
to
9
15
10
8
6
17
10
12
17
9
10
15
25
12
L2
6
6
L2
6
. 25
. 16
Estimated
Transmisstvity
(ftpd/ft)
1 .9 x 103
3.0 x 103
7.0 x 10
7.5 x 10'
2.4 x 10
9.5 x 10
].5 x 10
7.0 x 10
6.0 x 10
1.9 x 10
7.0 x 10
2.1 x 10J
-------
TAI3L1- LV
Wei 1
Locat i on
(1/K-Sec.)
Yield
(£]™!2
Drawdown
(ft)
Spec: i fie
Capac I ly
(upm/fi.)
46N/9JW-1
25
J 6
1.75
46N/93W-]
10
18
0.55
46N/93W-3
5
20
0. 25
46N/93W-10
6
11
0.55
46N/93W-11
JO
4
7.50
46N/93W-28
25
1 J
1 .92
47N/87W-6
20
1.5
13. JO
47N/87W-6
20
.5
40.00
47N/87W-6
20
12
1.67
47N/87W-6
40
0
-
4 7N/87W-6
10
5
2.00
47N/92W-5
20
] 1
1.82
4 7N/92W-30
15
18
0.83
47N/92W-30
25
0
-
47N/92W-JO
10
0
-
47N/92W-JO
12
5
2.40
47N/92W-30
6
1
6.00
47N/93W-2J
10
4
2.50
47N/93W-24
25
12
2. 10
47N/93W-2 4
1 5
22
0. 68
47N/93W-24
14
5
2.80
47N/93W-24
15
10
1. 50
47N/93W-25
25
5
5.00
47N/9JW-25
25
6
4.17
47N/93W-25
25
0
-
47N/93W-25
10
0
_
(com Lnued)
Depth to
Total Depth Water
(ft) (ft)
28 10
35 12
60 15
25 7
26 4
JO 12
35 25
JO 21
28 6
28 9
21 10
27.5 10.5
35 6
44 12
44.5 42
38 12
17 12
45 6
21 6
35 8
35 10
38 1 1
24 12
28 12
18 9
21 16
Test Estimated
Length Transmissl v i t_y
(hr) (KPtl/ft)
2 1.7 x 103
.5 4.5 x 102
.5 2.0 x 102
2 5.5 x 102
2 9.5 x I03
2 1.9 x 10J
.5 1 . 1 x 104
.5 4.1 x 104
2 1 .8 x I03
.75
3 1 . 9 x 103
2.5 2.0 x 103
2 1.2 x 103
2
.25
2 2.0 x 103
4 7.5 x )03
.25 2.6 x 103
2 2.5 x 103
2 7.0 x 102
.5 2.7 x 103
2 1.6 j III'
2 6.5 J I03
2 5.5 x 103
4
-------
TAB1X IV-8 (cunt litued)
Wei 1
1 .oca t i on
(T/K-Seij. )
Yield
...
Drawdown
(ft)
Sped f ic
Capaelty
(ttlWfc)
Total Depth
CfL)
Depth lo
Water
(ft)
Test
Length
-------
Wei 1
i.uca L i on
(T/K-Sec. )
- i
Drawdown
(TO
55N/99W-15
5
1
55N/99W-15
10
1
55N/99W-16
40
JO
55N/99W-16
750
18
55N/99W-16
25
0
55N/99W-17
420
8
55N/99W-22
12.5
1
55N/99W-23
15
20
55N/99W-23
15
10
55N/100W-25
10
5
55N/100W-25
8
10
55N/IOOW-2 5
25
-
55N/1OOW-25
25
15
55N/100W-25
25
15
55N/100U-25
20
10
55N/1OOW-25
25
0
55N/100U-25
5
-
55N/100W-26
25
35
55N/LOOW-31
10
0
56N/95W-7
25
0
56N/95W-17
20
8
56N/96W-14
8.3
2
56N/96W-14
20
3
56N/96W-14
20
0
57N/95W-33
25
1
RAB1X 1V-8 (continued)
Spec i f Ic Depth to
Capacity l\> l a I Depth Water
(spm/f t) ___ ( ft) (ft)
5.00 25 12
10.00 20 8
4.00 30 6
41.70 29 8
26 10
52.50 40 9
12.50 U 10
0.75 50 25
1.50 50 10
2.00 4 2 12
0.80 60 40
45 10
1.67 40 8
1.67 35 8
2.00 45 20
52 25
40 20
0.71 50 25
35 15
36 10
2.50 20 10
4.15 36 10
6.70 21 8
19 11
25.00 33 27
Test Katlmatcd
I.engLh Transini ssi vi ty
_ (hr) (Kpd/ft)
2 6.5 x JO3
24 1.4 x 104
2 5.0 x I03
138 7.9 x 10A
1 2
9 S.ll J 105
4 1.7 x 10*
6 1.0 \ 103
3 2.0 x 103
2 2.5 x ]03
1 9.5 x LO2
2
2 1 .9 x 103
2 1,9 x II)3
1 2.0 x 103
1/6
24
2 9.5 x 102
24
60 2.0 x 103
.5 1.9 x 103
.1 2.7 x 103
2
-------
TABLE LV-8 (continued)
We 1 f
Location
(T/R-Sec.)
;C- a. |
i
Drawdown
(ft)
Spec i f i c
Capac l ty
(KlWf t)
Total Depth
(ft)
Depth to
Water
(ft)
Test
LengLh
(Iir)
Ks L1 tun ted
Transmi ss ivity
(Kpd/Cc)
57N/95W-35
25
2
12. 50
30
11
168
6.0 x 10J
57N/97W-32
25
25
1 .00
30
11
. 5
9.0 x 102
57N/97W-33
200
0
-
45
20
240
-
57N/98W-24
6
1
6.00
35
10
12
8.0 x 103
5 7 N/L01W-30
25
0
-
40
18
2
-
57N/102W-11
100
0
-
8
5
2
-
57N/102W-21
20
10
2.00
60
45
1
2.2 x 103
57N/106W-34
25
0
-
12
6
48
-
57N/106W-35
1 L
25
0.44
52
20
1
5.0 x 102
58N/97W-19
50
2
25.00
15
6
2
3.3 x 104
58N/97W-19
40
3
13.30
18
8
3
1.6 x 1 o'1
58N/]01W-29
10
0
-
40
30
J 2
-
lWell data obtained from the State Engineer's Office, Cheyenne.
-------
Wyoming State Engineer's files. The estimated transmissivities, calcu-
lated from specific capacity through a method by Walton (1962),
throughout the basin ranges from about 200 to 81,000 gpd/ft, with
a mean value of roughly 8,000 gpd/ft. Berry and Littleton (1961)
determined permeabilities and transmissivities for three wells in
Own Creek terrace deposits using the recovery method. Transmissivities
averaged about 53,000 gpd/ft while permeabilities ranged from 2,200
?
to 4,400 gpd/ft .
Ground-Water Movement
Little potentiometric data are available for the Quaternary
aquifers. In general, flow within these aquifers is in the downstream
direction. Berry and Littleton (1961) determined that in the Owl
Creek drainage the general direction of ground-water flow was toward
the Bighorn River at very nearly the same slope as the stream channel
(75 feet per mile in the western part and about 30 feet per mile
in the eastern part). The main stem of Owl Creek is generally "gaining"
or effluent but is "losing" or influent near its confluence with
the Bighorn River. Robinove and Langford (1963) state that the general
direction of ground-water movement in the Greybull River Valley is
also towards the Bighorn River. The Greybull River is effluent
throughout most of its length.
Recharge of the Quaternary aquifers primarily occurs from the
direct infiltration of precipitation, discharge from underlying aqui-
fers, and seepage that occurs from irrigation canals, ephemeral
streams, and laterals (Swenson and Swenson, 1957; Berry and Littleton,
1961; Robinove and Langford, 1963; Cooley and Head, 1979b). The
water table rises with the application of irrigation water, derived
-------
mainly from the diversion of surface water, and declines after irriga-
tion ceases (Swenson and Swenson, 1957 ; Robinove and Langford, 1963).
Discharge from the Quaternary aquifers occurs chiefly by evapo-
transpiration, stream gains, and discharge from wells, seeps, and
springs. Evapotranspiration occurs most extensively in the cultivated
areas underlain by terrace gravel and flood plain alluvium. The
yield from wells, used primarily for domestic and stock use, is
generally less than 25 gpm, but occasionally, where greater saturated
thicknesses are encountered or gallery-type wells constructed, much
larger yields are obtained for irrigation and municipal use. The
average total depth of wells completed in this system is less than
about 30 feet with the average depth to water rarely exceeding 15
feet (Table IV-8).
-------
-------
V. WATER QUALITY
Roughly 600 water quality analyses were reviewed for this report.
Data sources included: the U.S. Geological Survey WATSTOR data system,
the Wyoming Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) data system
(WRDS), compilations of oil field water analyses by Crawford (1940)
and Crawford and Davis (1962), and analyses conducted by the WRRI
staff. All analyses used, except the latter, are published or avail-
able elsewhere and therefore are not reproduced in this report. The
analyses collected by WRRI are tabulated in Appendix C.
The first part of this chapter discusses the general water quality
of major aquifers and systems in terms of dissolved solids content
and major ion composition. Where possible, trends in these constitu-
ents and the mechanism causing them have been identified. The latter
portion of the chapter addresses water quality related to U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards.
GENERAL WATER QUALITY
Flathead Aquifer
Data on Flathead aquifer water are sparse due to the current
lack of development of the aquifer. Two relatively deep wells in
the northeast basin (well 49/88-29, 2,205 feet deep; well 55/92-33,
4,900 feet deep) contained dissolved solids concentrations of 136
and 440 mg/1, respectively. The former sample consisted primarily
of dissolved calcium-bicarbonate while the latter was predominantly
sodium-sulfate-bicarbonate. While data are too sparse to allow for
-------
interpretation, good quality water is available from the Flathead,
even at considerable depths.
Paleozoic Aquifer System
Existing chemical analyses from the Paleozoic aquifer system
are mainly for well and spring waters from the Madison and Tensleep
aquifers. Few analyses are available for waters from the underlying
aquifers.
Available data indicate that little interformational difference
exists in either total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration or in
the major ion composition of Paleozoic system waters (Figure V-l).
Near-outcrop Paleozoic system wells and springs generally yield waters
with less than 500 mg/1 TDS (Plate 3), with dissolved calcium and
bicarbonate being the dominant ionic species (Figure V-l). Basin-
ward, TDS concentrations increase to over 3,000 mg/1, and sulfate
replaces bicarbonate as the major anion in solution. Several samples
with TDS exceeding 3,000 mg/1 show sodium and chloride enrichment
(Figure V-l).
Chemical data for the central basin are sparse. Based on
analyses from the east basin flank, TDS levels show a variable rate
of basinward increase (Plate 3). Comparison of Plate 3 with Figure
V-l shows a limited correlation between high TDS zones and areas
of tightly spaced potentiometric contours, suggesting that at least
some of the observed increase in dissolved solids content is related
to low permeabilities and the resulting restriction of ground-water
circulation.
-------
Total Dissolved Solids
Figure V-l. Major ion composition of waters from the Paleozoic aquifer
system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted are
percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
Upper Paleozoic and Lower and Middle
Mesozoic Aquifers
Hydrochemical data for the major water-bearing units of the
Upper Paleozoic through Middle Mesozoic sequence are mainly for oil
field waters, due to the general lack of development of these
aquifers as water sources. Available data, though sparse and poorly
distributed geographically, indicate several basic similarities in
waters from these aquifers. All produce water with dissolved solids
concentrations ranging from less than 1,000 to over 10,000 mg/1.
All ground waters also show a relationship between TDS concentrations
and major ion composition; however, the relationship between TDS
levels and major ions varies from aquifer to aquifer.
Within the Phosphoria aquifer, ground waters with TDS concentra-
tions below 3,000 mg/1 characteristically are predominantly dissolved
calcium-sulfate-bicarbonate (Figure V-2). Within this concentration
range, dissolved calcium sulfate concentrations correlate directly
with TDS concentrations, probably due to gypsum/anhydrite dissolution.
Increasingly saline waters are predominantly sodium-chloride-sulfate
rich.
Cloverly aquifer waters have a similar relationship between
dissolved solids and major ion composition, although there is a
higher proportion of dissolved sodium in low TDS (<3,000 mg/1) waters,
and greater chloride enrichment in more saline (>5,000 mg/1 TDS)
waters (Figure V-3).
Frontier aquifer waters are predominantly sodium bicarbonate
at TDS levels below 1,000 mg/1. Figure V-4 indicates a trend toward
either sulfate or chloride enrichment with increasing TDS.
-------
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS
o 500-1000
@ 1000-5000
Figure V-2. Major ion composition of waters from the Phosphoria
Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted
are percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS
O 500 - 1000
Figure V-3. Major ion composition of waters from the Cloverly
Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted
are percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS
O 500-1000
Figure V-4. Major ion composition of waters from the Frontier
Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted
are percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary Aquifer System
Water quality data are more generally available for the Upper
Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system because of its broad areal extent
in the central part of the Bighorn basin and its extensive use for
stock and domestic purposes. The discontinuous lenticular nature
of water-bearing zones results in highly variable water quality both
locally and regionally. However, there is little formation-dependent
variation in waters from this aquifer system.
Dissolved solids content of Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary waters
varies from 250 to about 5,000 mg/1 (Plate 4). Low TDS waters (<1,000
mg/1) are found in a band in the south-central part of the basin.
Several widely scattered zones produce waters with greater than 3,000
mg/1 TDS. On a regional basis, most analyses range between 1,000
and 3,000 mg/1 TDS.
Major ion composition shows a relationship to TDS. The few
available analyses with less than 500 mg/1 dissolved solids are calcium-
sodium-bicarbonate rich, while waters containing 500 to 1,000 mg/1
TDS are sodium-bicarbonate-sulfate rich (Figure V-5). In general,
increased salinity correlates with enrichment in sodium and sulfate.
Whether the observed correlative changes in TDS and major ion compo-
sition are related to local downgradient processes or regional
lithologic variability cannot be confidently determined. However,
the regional distribution of TDS content (Plate 4) suggests the
presence of some large-scale lithologic control of water quality,
such as soluble mineral content.
-------
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS
O 0 - 500
G 500" 1000
Figure V-5. Major ion composition of waters from the Upper Cretaceous-
Tertiary aquifer system, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers
plotted are percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
Quaternary Aquifers
Numerous chemical analyses of Quaternary aquifer ground waters
exist due to extensive development for irrigation and drinking water
supplies. Existing data indicate that the quality of alluvial ground
water often varies greatly over short distances, though a generally
basinward, or downstream, increase in dissolved solids is present
along many drainages.
Flood plain deposits along the Bighorn River produce waters
with TDS concentrations ranging from 1,700 to 6,400 mg/1; adjacent
terrace deposits yield waters with TDS concentrations from 880 to
3,310 mg/1 (Plate 5). There is no apparent trend in the spatial
distribution of dissolved solids content in these terrace and flood
plain deposits.
Analyses of water from flood plain deposits of the Nowood River
drainage basin indicate a general downstream increase in dissolved
solids (Cooley and Head, 1979b). TDS increases from 126 mg/1 in
the upper reaches of the basin to over 2,370 mg/1 along the lower
reaches of the Nowood River. Water upwelling from the Tensleep Form-
ation through the gypsiferous deposits of the Goose Egg Formation
and into the alluvial aquifer is considered the primary cause of
this increase (Cooley and Head, 1979b).
Waters from Greybull River alluvium contain from 404 to 3,210
mg/1 of dissolved solids. As in the Nowood River basin, there is
an apparent downstream increase in TDS. Upstream from T. 52 N.,
R. 96 W., TDS concentrations are less than 1,000 mg/1, while down-
stream from this area concentrations increase to over 3,000 mg/1.
Saturated terrace deposits along the Greybull River have TDS
-------
concentrations that range from 385 to 2,160 mg/1 but are generally
less than 1,000 mg/1. There is no apparent trend in the distribution
of dissolved solids in terrace waters, as exists in the adjacent
flood plain deposits. A similar distribution of dissolved solids
in Greybull River alluvial and terrace waters was noted by Cooley
and Head (1979a). No mechanism was suggested for causing the observed
conditions.
Flood plain deposits along the Shoshone River produce water
with TDS ranging from less than 100 mg/1, in the mountainous area
west of Cody, to 1,210 mg/1 in downstream areas of the central basin.
Terrace waters contain TDS concentrations ranging from 346 to 6,360
mg/1. All wells sampled prior to 1960, however, showed TDS concentra-
tions in excess of 1,000 mg/1, while all wells sampled after 1960,
with the exception of one, had TDS concentrations less than 1,000
mg/1. As explained below, irrigation has played a major role in
determining the water quality of these deposits during the past several
decades.
Prior to irrigation, many terraces along the Shoshone River
were dry or had relatively low water levels. The initiation of irri-
gation raised both water and TDS levels, with dissolved solids
increasing to several thousand milligrams per liter. Swenson and
Swenson (1957) stated that irrigation-related recharge increased the
leaching of soluble minerals within the terrace deposits, resulting in
increased TDS. They further suggested that as irrigation continued
and soluble salts were largely removed from the terraces, TDS levels
would decrease. Existing data support this conclusion. Waters which
contained high TDS (>2,000 mg/1) concentrations during the initial
years of irrigation have since fallen well below 1,000 mg/1 TDS.
-------
Saturated alluvial and terrace deposits throughout the basin
have relatively similar major ion compositions (Figures V-6 and V-7).
Cation composition is generally mixed, and anion composition changes
with TDS levels. At low TDS levels (less than 500 mg/1) bicarbonate
is the predominant anion, but with increasing TDS concentrations
sulfate becomes dominant.
Absaroka Volcanics
Data on the chemistry of waters from the Absaroka volcanics
are virtually nonexistent. Two recent samples analyzed (Appendix C)
by WRRI are characterized by low dissolved solids (<200 mg/1) with
sodium bicarbonate enrichment. This ionic composition indicates
that the action of carbonic acid (H^CO^) on sodium silicate minerals
contained within the rhyolitic volcanic flows controls the evolution
of Absaroka water quality. These two analyses also indicate that
the saturated volcanics can produce excellent quality water.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
Primary Standards
Of the ten inorganic species for which primary drinking water
standards exist, available data indicate that the concentration
of two species of concern, fluoride and nitrate, often exceed standard
levels in Bighorn basin ground waters. Data on the concentrations
of the remaining eight species, however, are sparse and generally
inconclusive.
Fluoride
The primary standard for fluoride is based upon the annual maximum
daily air temperature at a given sampling site. Within the Bighorn
-------
Total Dissolved Solids
Figure V-6. Major ion composition of waters from Quaternary flood
plain aquifers, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted
are percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
Total Dissolved Solids
Figure V-7. Major ion composition of waters from Quaternary terrace
aquifers, Bighorn basin, Wyoming. Numbers plotted are
percent of total milliequivalents per liter.
-------
basin the standard varies from 2.0 to 2.4 mg/1 (as F). Approximately
one-fourth of the ground waters analyzed for fluoride contained greater
than 2.0 mg/l-F. These concentrations occur in waters from all major
aquifer systems, as well as many other water-bearing units (Figure V-8).
Waters from the Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system show
the highest frequency of fluoride levels above 2.0 mg/1 (about 45
percent). Waters from the Willwood and Lance aquifers generally
contain higher fluoride concentrations than do waters from other
members of this aquifer system.
Roughly ten percent of the available analyses of Quaternary
aquifer waters show fluoride levels greater than 2.0 mg/l-F. High
fluoride levels in Quaternary waters are concentrated in the Dry
Creek drainage basin. Alluvium in the Dry Creek drainage is underlain
by the Willwood aquifer, which contains high fluoride waters in this
area, suggesting bedrock-alluvial water interaction at this locale.
Six of the 26 wells sampled for fluoride from Upper Paleozoic
and Lower and Middle Mesozoic aquifers produce waters with fluoride
concentrations exceeding 2.0 mg/1; the highest concentration (5.0
mg/1) was from a well completed in the Mowry Shale. The six wells
with high fluoride concentrations were located in the southern and
eastern parts of the basin.
About one-third of the sampled wells completed in the Paleozoic
aquifer system produce water with fluoride concentrations exceeding
2.0 mg/1. Some spatial distribution of fluoride concentration exists,
as evidenced by the low fluoride levels in Washakie County Paleozoic
system waters (average 0.3 mg/l-F). The highest concentration (5.4
mg/1) was reported from a Madison oil well within Park County.
-------
45"
44°
© Quaternary Aquifer System
© Upper Cretaceous/Tertiary Aquifer System
SS Upper Paleozoic, Lower and Middle
Mesozoic Aquifers
A Paleozoic Aquifer System
Miles
-------
Temporal variations in fluoride levels occur within Bighorn
basin ground waters. A Lance aquifer well that supplies the community
of Manderson (T. 50 N., R. 92 W., Sec. 32) was tested for fluoride
intermittently during the period 1970-1980. Fluoride levels have
varied between 0.75 and 4.5 mg/l-F (Figure V-9) , though concentrations
of other dissolved constituents remained relatively constant. The
cause of the observed variations cannot be explained at present.
Nitrate
Nitrate concentrations from nine sites have exceeded the nitrate
primary standard (10 mg/l-N), though temporal variations exist and
the tested waters may be below the standard at times. All concentra-
tions above the standard have been from Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary
or Quaternary waters (Figure V-10) and are related to livestock or
irrigation activities.
Other Primary Standards
Little or no data exist for the other species> both inorganic and
organic, that come under primary drinking water standards within
the Bighorn basin. Less than 40 wells or systems have been sampled
for constituents other than fluoride or nitrate. Where sampling has
occurred, it is usually a one-time grab sample, and unless some standard
was exceeded no follow-up sample was taken. These problems, coupled
with analytical errors, make interpretations concerning the distribu-
tion of these constituents suspect.
Of the approximately 40 wells sampled for primary standard con-
stituents, only selenium, mercury, and chromium have exceeded standards.
The mercury standard (0.002 mg/1) was exceeded in an alluvial (?)
-------
A
I \
0 0 •
A I 'N.'l I \ 1
\ i i \
o
\ 1
I 1 I I I I I ¦ I ¦ I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
1970 1972 1973 1979
YEAR
Figure V-9. Variations in fluoride concentrations in Lance Formation
waters, Manderson, Wyoming.
-------
110° 109® 108° 107°
Miles
-------
well near Cody, but resampling produced a value below the standard.
The one high (0.12 mg/1) chromium value was from an alluvial aquifer
near Kirby. Sampling of this same well at other times has shown
chromium levels below the standard. Two analyses indicate selenium
concentrations above the standard (0.01 mg/1); one sample was Cloverly
aquifer water (well 43/89-23 add) , and the other Quaternary aquifer
water (well 53/1.0.1. — 1 dc) . Both analyses report 0.02 mg/1 selenium.
Secondary Standards
Several chemical constituents such as sulfate, chloride, and
iron, though not considered toxic, may be aesthetically undesirable
in excessive quantities in drinking water. In many localities, however,
since no better drinking water is available, the population has adjusted
to drinking highly mineralized waters. Chemical constituents of
secondary concern in drinking water supplies are summarized in Table
V-l.
Total Dissolved Solids
The TDS content of Bighorn basin ground waters is shown in Plates
3 through 5. In general, waters containing less than 500 mg/1 TDS
are limited to the Paleozoic aquifer system near outcrop and to Quaternary
aquifer waters in upstream areas. Dissolved solids in the Paleozoic
and Quaternary waters from other areas generally exceed 1,000 mg/1,
as do most other ground waters within the basin.
Sulfate
High sulfate concentrations (-'250 mg/].) essentially coincide
with high (J-500 mg/1) TDS Levels. In generaL, only near-outcrop
-------
TABLE V-l
CONCENTRATION RANGES FOR SULFATE, CHLORIDE, AND TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS IN GROUND WATERS
FROM THE BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
Source
County
Sulfate
(mg/1)
Chloride
(mg/1)
TDS
(mg/1)
Quaternary Aquifer System
Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary
Aquifer System
Upper Paleozoic through
Middle Mesozoic Aquifers
-Frontier Aquifer
-Cloverly Aquifer
-Phosphoria Aquifer
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
32-3000
578-7250
10-4350
430-3610
8-1780
104-1830
11-2730
3-1740
0-214
0-541
0-293
0-819
0-1550
58-2025
0-3560
1390-1800
1560-1869
1350-5757
971-3805
20-1420
0-31
16-186
0-145
27-65
9-282
11-36
2-171
21-354
18-10300
4-2240
24-10130
188-7800
10-8300
35-708
30-6300
17-38
48-305
173-3925
86-1700
0.5-19
244-4780
1740-11600
77-6360
880-6080
621-3120
1320-2880
220-4920
640-3020
951-18070
736-5933
1412-17107
1726-13871
1570-14825
554-13213
2804-9072
254-2400
2690-3556
261-3840
2804-9072
-------
TABLE V-l
(continued)
Sulfate
(mg/1)
Chloride
(mg/1)
TDS
(mg/1)
2-2420
21-1480
1370-2303
2-60
0-1071
3.1-1480
10-378
0.4-3.0
136-4270
261-3840
2494-3800
202-208
12-140
15-24
136-440
Source
County
Paleozoic Aquifer System
Flathead Aquifer
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Bighorn
Hot Springs
Park
Washakie
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, WATSTOR data system, 1980; Wyoming Water Resources Research Institute
-------
Paleozoic system waters and upstream Quaternary system waters meet
the 250 mg/1 secondary sulfate standard.
Chloride
Available data indicate that high chloride concentrations (>250
mg/1) are rarely associated with TDS levels below 3,000 mg/1, and
are stratigraphically limited to Upper Paleozoic through Middle Mesozoic
waters, along with some deep basin Paleozoic system waters.
Radionuclear Species
Existing analyses of radionuclear species in Bighorn basin ground
waters generally include determinations for gross alpha and gross
beta radiation, dissolved uranium, and radium-226 (Ra-226), a decay
product of uranium-238. Primary drinking water standards have been
established for radium-226 (5.0 pCi/1) and gross alpha (15.0 pCi/1).
Analysis for radium-226, gross alpha, and gross beta contain
an error limit that generally indicates the 95 percent confidence
interval of the analysis. Large error limits are usually due to
either (1) a lack of instrument sensitivity at low concentrations,
or (2) particle absorption in samples containing high dissolved solids.
Where the confidence interval is large relative to the given absolute
value, interpretation of results is difficult.
Based on available data, concentrations of radionuclear species
in Bighorn basin ground waters are generally low (Table V-2). No
values above the Ra-226 standard are reported, and only one high
gross alpha concentration (16±8 pCi/1) has been detected, in water
from a Willwood aquifer well (56/96-18 dd). Gross beta levels
-------
TABLE V-2
CONCENTRATIONS OF RADIONUCLEAR SPECIES IN GROUND WATERS
FROM THE BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING
Location
(T/R-Sec-i-4-^)
U Ra-226 Gross Alpha Gross Beta
Aquifer (mg/1) (pCi/1) (pCi/1) (pCi/1)
Remarks *
46/93-1 aa
49-100-13 be
52/97-24 aa
53/101-1 dc
55/99
55/99
52/105-19 cc
52/107-21 db
49/100-34
51/96-18 be
54/100-21 ad
55/49-26 cd
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Quaternary
/Alluvium
Absaroka
Volcanics
Absaroka
Volcanics
Willwood
/Ft. Union
Willwood
/Ft. Union
Willwood
/Ft. Union
Willwood
/Ft. Union
0.011
0.006
0.002
N.D. 2
N.D.
N.D.
0.003
N.D.
N.D.
0.004
0 .88±0.48
1.18±0.45
1.09±1.24
0.91±0.44
1.27±0.42
0.66±0.30
0.98±0.49
1.91±0.56
0.15±40
1.0710.37
1217
614
4 + 3
2110
4.512. 7
9.913.9
114
012
015
015
1115
015
1319
5 + 6
0+5
0120
015
0+5
717
518
14126
8+6
City of Powell water supply,
old tower pump
City of Powell water supply,
-------
TABLE V-2
(continued)
Locat ion
(T/R-Sec-Js-Js)
Aquifer
U
(mg/1)
Ra-226
(pCi/1)
Gross Alpha
(pCi/1)
Gross Beta
(pCi/1)
Remarks1
56/96-18 dd
Willwood
/Ft. Union
0.010
0.19±0.44
16±8
21±12
Exceeds gross alpha standard
57/102-21 ba
Willwood
/Ft. Union
0.003
0.03±0.20
3±3
4±5
43/89-23 add
Cloverly
N.D.
0.00+0.33
0+17
0 + 35
Water used for stock
watering
56/46-12 ca
Cloverly
0.006
0.61±0.38
4±6
0±11
44/87-8 ac
Tensleep
0.003
2.4±0.59
7 ±4
5 + 5
Water used for irrigation
47/88-16 cc
Tensleep
N.D.
3.2+1.1
1±3
0±4
50/89-33 bd
Tensleep
0.004
2.5 7±6.7
7±5
8±6
47/88-12 be
Madison
0.002
2.96±0.69
2 + 3
1±5
1A11 wells are used for domestic purposes except where noted.
-------
are generally less than 10 pCi/1 and dissolved uranium levels rarely
exceed 0.010 mg/1, in the range considered average for ground water
(Hem, 1970).
-------
-------
VI. REFERENCES
Agatston, R. S., 1954, Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian of northern
and eastern Wyoming: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 38,
p. 508-583.
Baptist, 0. C., Smith, W. R., Condra, F. S., and Sweeney, S. A.,
1952, Physical properties of sands in the Frontier Formation:
Wyoming Geol. Association Guidebook, 7th Annual Field Conference,
Southern Bighorn Basin, p. 67-73.
Berry, D. W. , and Littleton, R. T. , 1961, Geology and ground-water
resources of the Owl Creek area, Hot Springs County, Wyoming:
U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1579, 58 p.
Biggs, P., and Koch, C. A., 1970, Water flooding of oil fields in
Wyoming to 1968: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations
No. 7469, 147 p.
Bredehoeft, J. D., 1964, Variation of the permeability in the Tensleep
Sandstone in the Bighorn basin, as interpreted from core analyses
and geophysical logs: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 501-D,
p. D166-D170.
Bredehoeft, J. D., and Bennett, R. B., 1971, Potentiometric surface
of the Tensleep Sandstone in the Bighorn basin, west-central
Wyoming, 1:250,000: U.S. Geol. Survey, Washington, D. C.
Burk, C. A., and Thomas, H. D., 1956, The Goose Egg Formation of
eastern Wyoming: Geol. Survey of Wyoming Report of Investiga-
tions No. 6, 11 p.
Collentine, M. , Libra, R., and Boyd, L. , 1981, Injection well inven-
tory of Wyoming: Water Resources Research Institute, University
of Wyoming, Vols. 1 and 2.
Cooley, M. E., in press, Paleozoic artesian aquifers, Tensleep area
of the Bighorn basin: U.S. Geol. Survey Open File Report.
Cooley, M. E., and Head, W. J., 1979a, Hydrogeologic features of the
alluvial deposits in the Greybull River Valley, Bighorn basin,
Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey Water Resources Investigations
Report 79-6, 38 p.
Cooley, M. E., and Head, W. J., 1979b, Hydrogeologic features of the
alluvial deposits in the Nowood River drainage area, Bighorn
basin, Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey Open-File Report 79-1291,
58 p.
-------
Crawford, J. C., 1940, Oil field waters of Wyoming and their relation
to geological formation: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 27,
p. 1214-1329.
Crawford, J. C., and DavLs, C. E., 1962, Some Cretaceous waters of
Wyoming: Wyoming Geological Assoc. Guidebook, .17th Annual Field
Conference, Early Cretaceous Rocks of Wyoming, p. 257-317.
Dana, G. F., 1962, Groundwater reconnaissance of the State of Wyoming:
Wyoming Natural Resources Board.
Darton, N. H., 1906, Geology of the Bighorn Mountains: U.S. Geol.
Survey Prof. Paper 51, 129 p.
Egemeier, S. J., 1.973, Cavern development by thermal waters with
possible bearing on ore deposits: Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford
University.
Hem, J. D., 1970, Study and interpretation of the chemical character-
istics of natural water: U.S. Geol. Survey Water Supply Paper
1473, 363 p.
Hewett, D. F., 1914, The Shoshone River section, Wyoming: U.S. Geol.
Survey Bull. 541-C, p. 89-113.
Hewett, D. F., 1926, Geology and oil coal resources of the Oregon
basin, Meeteetse, and Grass Creek basin Quadrangles, Wyoming:
U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 145, 111 p.
Hoxie, D. T., 1976, Post-Laramide karst development in the Bighorn
Mountains, Wyoming: Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstr. Programs, v. 8,
931 p.
Hunter, L. D., 1952, Frontier Formation along the eastern margin of
the Bighorn basin: Wyoming Geol. Assoc. Guidebook, 7th Annual
Field Conference, Southern Bighorn Basin, p. 63-66.
Jepsen, G. L., .1940, Paleocene faunas of the Polecat Bench Formation,
Park County, Wyoming: Proc. Amer. Phili.sophica Society, v. 83.
Jepsen, G., and Van Houten, F., 1947, Early Tertiary stratigraphy
and correlations: Wyoming Geol. Assoc. Guidebook, 7th Annual
Field Conference, Southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, p. 142-149.
Keefer, W. R., 1972, Frontier, Cody, and Mesaverde formations of the
Wind River and southern Bighorn basins,Wyoming: U.S. Geol.
Survey Prof. Paper 495-E, 23 p.
Kelly, J. E., Anderson, K. E. , Burnham, W. L., 1980, The "Cheat
Sheet": A new tool for the field evaluation of wells by step-
testing: Ground Water, v. 13, p. 294-298.
Lawson, D., and Smith, J., 1966, Pennsylvanian and Permian influence
on Tensleep oil accumulation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming: Am. Assoc.
Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 50, p. 2197-2220.
-------
Lowry, M. E., Lowham, H. W., and Lines, G. C., 1976, Water resources
of the Bighorn basin, northeastern Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey,
Hydrol. Invest. Atlas HA-512, 2 sheets.
Love, J. D., 1957, Stratigraphy and correlation of Triassic rocks of
central Wyoming: Wyoming Geol. Assoc. Guidebook, 75h Annual
Field Conference, Southern Bighorn Basin, p. 39-46.
Love, J. D., 1960, Cenozoic sedimentation and crustal movement in
Wyoming: Am. Jour. Science, Bradley Volume, v. 258A, p. 204-214.
Love, J. D., Christiansen, A. C., and Bown, T. M., 1979, Preliminary
geologic map of the Thermopolis I* by 2* quadrangle, central
Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey Open File Report 79-962, 7 p.
Mackin, J. H., 1937, Erosional history of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming:
Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., v. 48, p. 813-894.
Mallory, William, 1967, Pennsylvanian and associated rocks in Wyoming:
U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 554-G, 32 p.
Mankiewicz, D., and Steidtmann, J. R., 1979, Depositional environments
and diagnosis of the Tensleep Sandstone, eastern Bighorn basin,
Wyoming, in Scholle, P. A., et al. (ed.), Aspects of Diagenesis:
Soc. Econ. Paleont. Mineral. Spec. Publ. No. 26, p. 319-336.
Masters, J. A., 1952, The Frontier Formation of Wyoming: Wyoming Geol.
Assoc. Guidebook, 7th Annual Field Conference, Southern Bighorn
Basin, p. 58-62.
Maughan, E. D., 1972, Geologic map of the Wedding of the Waters quad-
rangle, Hot Springs County, Wyoming: U.S. Geol Survey Geol.
Quadrangle Map GQ1042.
McCaleb, J., and Willingham, R., 1967, Influence of geologic hetero-
geneities on secondary recovery from Permian Phosphoria reservoir,
Cottonwood Creek field, Wyoming: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull.,
v. 51, p. 2122-2132.
McKelvey, V. E., Williams, J. S., Sheldon, R. P., Cressman, E. R.,
Cheney, T. M., and Swanson, R. W., 1956, Summary description of
Phosphoria, Park City, and Shedhorn formations in western phos-
phate field: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 40, p. 2826-2863.
Mills, N. K. , 1956, Subsurface stratigraphy of the Pre-Niobrara forma-
tions in the Bighorn basin, Wyoming: Wyoming Stratigraphy, Wyo.
Geol. Assoc., Part 1, p. 9-22.
Neasham, J. W., 1967, The stratigraphy of the Willwood Formation in
the vicinity of Sheep Mountain, southwestern Big Horn County,
Wyoming: M.S. Thesis, Iowa State University, 74 p.
-------
Neasham, J. W., and Vondra, C. F., 1972, Stratigraphy and petrology of
the lower Eocene Willwood Formation, Bighorn basin, Wyoming:
Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., v. 83, p. 2167-2180.
Pedry, John J., 1975, Tensleep Fault trap, Cottonwood Creek Field
Washakie County, Wyoming: Wyoming Geol. Assoc. Guidebook, 27th
Annual Field Conference, Geology and Mineral Resources of the
Bighorn Basin, p. 211-220.
Pierce, W. G., and Andrews, D. A., 1941. Geology and oil and coal
resources of the region south of Cody, Park County, Wyoming:
U.S. Geol. Survey Bulletin 921-B, p. 99-180.
Richards, P. W., and Nieschmidt, C. L., 1961, The Bighorn Dolomite and
correlative formation in southern Montana and northern Wyoming:
U.S. Geol. Survey Oil and Gas Invest. Map OM-202.
Robinove, C. V., and Langford, R. H., 1963, Geology and groundwater
resources of the Greybull River-Dry Creek area, Wyoming: U.S.
Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1596, 88 p.
Rohrer, Willis L., 1966, Geology of the Adam Weiss Peak quadrangle,
Hot Springs and Park counties, Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey
Bull. 1241-A, 35 p.
Sando, William J., 1974, Ancient solution phenomena in the Madison
Limestone (Mississippian) of north-central Wyoming: U.S. Geol.
Survey Jour. Research, v. 2, p. 133-141.
Sando, W. J., Mackenzie, G., Jr., and Dutro, J. T., 1975, Stratigraphy
and geologic history of the Amsden Formation (Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian) of Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 848-A,
83 p.
Stone, D. S., 1967, Theory of Paleozoic oil and gas accumulation in
Bighorn basin, Wyoming: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 51,
p. 2056-2114.
Swent-on, F. A., and Swenson, H. A., 1957, Geology and groundwater,
Heart Mountain and Chapman Bench Divisions, Shoshone Irrigation
Project, Wyoming: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1418,
55 p.
Theis, C. V., 1963, Chart for the computation of drawdowns in the
vicinity of a discharging well: in Bentall, Ray, ed., Short-
cuts and special problems in aquifer tests: U.S. Geol. Survey
Water-Supply Paper 1545-C, p. C10-C15.
-------
Thorn, C. E., 1952, Structural features of the Bighorn basin rim:
Wyoming Geol. Assoc. Guidebook, 7th Annual Field Conference,
Southern Bighorn Basin, p. 15-17.
Todd, T. W., 1959, Ground water hydrology; John Wiley and Sons,
New York, 333 p.
Todd, T. W., 1963, Post-depositional history of Tensleep Sandstone,
Bighorn basin, Wyoming: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 47,
p. 599-616.
Todd, T. W., 1964, Petrology of Pennsylvanian rocks, Bighorn basin,
Wyoming: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 48, p. 1063-1090.
Trelease, F. J., Swartz, T. J., Rechard, P. A., and Burman, R. D.,
1970, Consumptive use of irrigation water in Wyoming: Wyoming
Water Planning Program, 83 p.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1974, Wind-Bighorn-Clarks Fork River
Type IV Survey, Wyoming Supplement.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Information Files, 1977.
U.S. Soil Conservation Service, Casper, Information Files, 1981.
Vietti, Barbara T., 1977, The geohydrology of the Black Butte and
Canyon Creek areas, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming: M.S. Thesis,
University of Wyoming, 45 p.
Walton, W. C., 1962, Selected analytical methods for well and aquifer
evaluation: Illinois State Water Survey, Bull. 49, 81 p.
Wyoming Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, 1979, Wyoming agricul-
tural statistics, 1979: 106 p.
Wyoming Geological Association, 1957 (supplemented 1961), Wyoming oil
and gas fields symposium: 579 p.
Wyoming State Engineer's Office, Cheyenne, Information Files, 1981.
Wyoming Water Planning Program, 1972, Water and related land resources
of the Bighorn River basin, Wyoming: Wyo. Water Planning Prog.
Report No. 11, 231 p.
Zapp, A. D., 1956, Structural contour map of the Tensleep Sandstone
in the Bighorn basin, Wyoming and Montana: U.S. Geol. Survey
Oil and Gas Invest. Map 0M-182.
-------
APPENDIX A
NON-MUNICIPAL AND NON-COMMUNITY
-------
TABLE A-l
NON-MUNICIPAL COMMUNITY PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES IN THE BIGHORN BASIN
(SUPPLIED BY GROUND WATER)
EPA PWS
ID No.
Location
(T-R-S)
Aquifer
Service
Applicant
5600043
5600212
5600238
5600280
5600283
55N-99W-5
53N-101W-?
53N-101W-?
53N-101W-?
55N-99W-15
Quat
Quat?
Unk.
Unk.
Quat
Resid.
Mobile Homes
Mobile Homes
Mobile Homes
Mobile Homes
North End Water Users Assoc.
Rivers Bend Trailer Court
Green Acres Village
Mountain View Mobile Home Park
-------
TABLE A-2
NON-COMMUNITY PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES IN THE
BIGHORN BASIN (SUPPLIED BY GROUND WATER)
Location Aquifer System
EPA PWS ID No. (T-R-Sec) or Aquifer
5600211
46N-93W-16
CT-Q
5600318
53N-91W-19
Q
5600353
52N-96W-30
Q
5600363
53N-90W-17
Q?
5600364
53N-90W-20
Q
5600366
52N-96W-30
Q
5600419
44N-94W-6
Q
5600439
44°30'N
109°58'W
Q
5600441
52N-105W-21
Q
5600443
44°27'N
109°52'W
Q
5600444
51N-104W-24
Q
5600445
32N-104W-16
Q
5600446
57N-106W-34
Q
5600447
57N-106W-35
Q?
5600448
52N-105W-22
Q?
5600457
44°27'N
109°43'W
Q
5600458
Unk.
Unk.
5600459
Unk.
Unk.
5600460
52N-104W-19
Q
5600461
44°27'W
109°48'W
Q?
5600464
52N-105W-22
Q
5600465
44°27'N
109°45'W
Q?
5600466
Unk.
Unk.
5600467
44°27'N
109°471W
Q?
5600468
44°27'N
109°50'W
Q?
5600471
52N-105W-22
Q?
-------
TABLE A-2
(continued)
Location AquiEer System
EPA PWS ID No . (T-R-Sec) or Aquifer
5600473
Unk.
Unk.
5600476
Unk.
Unk.
5600477
52N-105W-20
Q
5600478
44°30'N
109°56'W
Q?
5600508
Unk.
Unk.
5600511
47N-87W-24
46N-86W-5
P
5600512
Unk.
Unk.
5600513
47N-93W-24
CT
5600516
Unk.
Unk.
5600531
47N-87W-6
Q(P?)
5600550
53N-99W-22
Q
5600565
48N-86W-6
Q(P?)
5600566
55N-106W-25
Q?
5600567
55N-105W-12
Q?
5600570
52N-105W-20
Q
5600571
52N-105W-24
Q
5600572
52N-105W-24
Q
5600573
55N-100W-26
Q
5600574
55N-100W-26
Q
5600591
55N-100W-26
Q
5600599
52N-105W-29
Q?
5600627
52N-101W-4
Unk.
5600666
52N-103W-7
Q?
5600667
52N-104W-12
CT
5600668
52N-103W-7
Q?
5600669
52N-103W-11
CT
5600670
52N-103W-24
CT
5600688
48N-86W-5
P?
5600703
44°29'N
109°57'W
-------
TABLE A-2
(continued)
EPA PWS ID No
Location
(T-R-Sec)
Aquifer System
or Aquifer
5600706
5600714
5600717
Unk.
46N-102W-15
Unk.
CT
Unk.
Unk.
Q
5600722
57N-102W-26
5600738
47N-92W-18
Unk
CT?
5600744
52N-103W-10
Q = Quaternary aquifer
CT = Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary aquifer system
M = Upper Paleozoic and Lower and Middle Mesozoic aquifers
P = Paleozoic aquifer system
Unk. = Unknown
-------
APPENDIX B
GEOLOGIC PROPERTIES OF
-------
APPENDIX B
GEOLOGIC PROPERTIES OF MAJOR
WATER-BEARING STRATA
Flathead Aquifer
The Cambrian Flathead Sandstone lies at the base of the Paleozoic
section above crystalline Precambrian rocks (see Figure II-3). Stone
(1967) describes the Flathead as a sandstone composed of "coarse
angular grains in a finer sand matrix" becoming conglomeratic near the
base. Toward the top of the formation the sandstone is interbedded
with shales especially in the eastern part of the basin. The Flathead
is thickest in the western part of the basin where it attains a thick-
ness of 170 feet, and is absent in parts of the northeastern basin.
No quantitative data are available on the porosity of the Flathead.
However, several authors consider it to have good reservoir and aquifer
capabilities (Mills, 1956; Stone, 1967; Cooley, in press, 1980).
Paleozoic Aquifer System
Bighorn Dolomite
The Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite is represented by two units in the
Bighorn basin, a lower dolomite and sandstone unit, and an upper massive
and thin-bedded dolomite unit (Richards and Nieschmidt, 1961). The
massive cliff-forming dolomites within the formation characteristically
weather to a pitted, sharp-edged surface (Mills, 1956). They are well
jointed throughout, with spacings as large as 10 feet (Vietti, 1977).
The development of recent karst features, such as sinkholes, solution
caves, and sinking and rising streams, is generally controlled by faults
-------
and associated fracture zones (Hoxie, 1976; Vietti, 1977). Bighorn
porosity is principally associated with fracture zones, joints, and
partings along bedding planes which have been enlarged by solution
(Vietti, 1977). One porosity estimate for the Bighorn Dolomite at
the Hamilton Dome oil field was reported at 13 percent (Table IV-2).
The Jefferson Formation overlies the Bighorn Dolomite in the
western and northeastern part of the basin, but is missing in the
southeast, where the Madison Limestone unconformably overlies the
Bighorn Dolomite. The Bighorn, absent in the extreme southeastern
corner of the basin, thickens to 450 feet in the northwest (Stone,
1967). Darton (1906) suggests that this southeastward thinning is
due to pre-Mississippian erosion. The dolomite is underlain by the
800-foot sequence of shales, limestones, conglomerates, and bentonites
of the Gallatin and Gros Ventre formations.
Madison Limestone
The Mississippian Madison Limestone consists predominantly of
limestone and dolomite in the Bighorn basin. The upper part, known
as the Bull Ridge Member, contains fossiliferous limestone and dolo-
mite beds, with silty dolomite and shale at the base. Pre-Laramide
solution features present in the silty zone are filled with a dolomite
and limestone breccia (Sando, 1974). The middle part of the Madison
Limestone is a cherty limestone and dolomite that contains an exten-
sively brecciated zone. The breccia is 10 to 50 feet thick and composed
of angular carbonate fragments in a siltstone and shale matrix (Sando,
1975). The basal part of the formation varies locally from a finely
crystalline dolomite and limestone to a silty shale and quartz siltstone.
-------
Porosity in the Madison carbonates is both intercrystalline and
fracture related. Modern solution enlargement of faults and fractures
has been noted in Madison outcrop areas (Hoxie, 1976; Vietti, 1977).
Paleokarst features within the formation are filled with fine-grained,
well-cemented breccias and are not considered hydrologically significant
(Vietti, 1977). Limited data from oil and gas records show a range in
Madison porosity from 10 percent to 21 percent (Table IV-2).
In the northern Bighorn basin the Madison section is about 880
feet thick and thins southeastwardly to about 300 feet (Stone, 1967;
Egemeier, 1973). The lower contact of the Madison Limestone is
unconformable with rocks of Devonian and Ordovician age. In the
southern part of the basin the Madison rests on the Bighorn Formation
and to the north it overlies the Jefferson Formation.
Amsden Formation
In most of the Bighorn basin, the Amsden Formation consists of
three members ranging from Late Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian
age (Sando et al., 1975). The upper limestone and dolomite member is
microcrystalline to finely crystalline in texture with abundant chert.
The limestone is locally interbedded with shales, and in the northern
part of the basin the upper limestone is sandy with numerous inter-
bedded sandstones. The middle shale member is interbedded with sand-
stones and becomes sandier toward the bottom.
The basal Darwin Sandstone is the most significant water-bearing
unit within this formation. The sand is primarily quartz, well sorted,
fine to coarse in size, and has a porosity of about 8 percent based on
very sparse data. Thickness of the basal sandstone varies widely over
-------
the basin from a maximum of 90 feet to zero in places (Mills, 1956),
due to unconformable deposition onto the Madison Limestone (Stone,
1967; Sando, 1974). Thickness of the entire formation varies from 117
feet in the northwestern part of the basin (Sando et al., 1975) to a
maximum of about 300 feet to the east.
Tensleep Sandstone
The Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone is a massive to cross-bedded,
well sorted, fine- to very fine-grained sandstone with subangular to
subrounded grains (Todd, 1964). The sandstone is composed of 82 to
92 percent quartz grains cemented with quartz and carbonate (Mankiewicz
and Steidtmann, 1979). Finely crystalline limestone and dolomitic
limestone beds within the sandstone unit range from 2 to 18 feet in
thickness, grade laterally into sandstone, and are most numerous in the
southwestern part of the basin (Agatston, 1954).
Formation porosity is a function of the degree of cementation and
recrystallization, which increases with the depth of burial of the sand-
stone (Todd, 1963; Bredehoeft, 1964). Lawson and Smith (1966) report
an average porosity of 15 percent for the Tensleep at depths less than
5,000 feet, but only a 4 percent average porosity where the sandstone
is buried greater than 10,000 feet (Figure B-l). Data compiled from
oil and gas field records indicate a range of porosity from 3 to 26
percent for the sandstone (Table IV-2). Areas of prominent folding and
faulting and associated fracture zones display increased secondary
porosity (Lawson and Smith, 1966; Lowry et al., 1976).
The Tensleep Sandstone is thinnest in the northern Bighorn basin
where it ranges from 57 to 125 feet and is thickest in the southern
-------
0
2000
«S 4000
V
H-
X 6000
I—
^ 8000
UJ
° 10000
12000
14000
,Bonanza
I I I I I I L
.
kFourbear
©
^Sf/verf/p
' • ©Worlond^
s © •
v®
SondvCou/ee
a »
_i i i i i
J I—1 I I I I I L_L
e Blue Mesa
24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
POROSITY
Figure B-l. Variation of porosity with depth in the Tensleep
Sandstone in the Bighorn basin. Values represent
average porosities for the sandstone section.
Named values are for specific oil fields. (After
Lawson and Smith, 1966) .
-------
basin where it reaches 400 feet (Zapp, 1956). North of the Wyoming-
Montana border, the formation thickens again. The variation in thick-
ness is probably due to post-Tensleep uplift and subsequent erosion
(Agatston, 1954; Pedry, 1975). The overlying Phosphoria Formation is
thick in areas of thin Tensleep and thin where the Tensleep is thickest
(Agatston, 1954). The formation lies as deep as 14,000 feet below the
land surface along the axis of the basin in the northwestern area
(Zapp, 1956).
Upper Paleozoic and Lower and
Middle Mesozoic Aquifers
Phosphoria Formation
Nomenclature of the Permian rocks in the Bighorn basin is compli-
cated due to variable lithologies and facies changes within the unit.
The sequence can be divided into two distinct facies in the Bighorn
basin: a carbonate facies known as the Park City Formation (McKelvey
et al., 1956) and a red shale and evaporite facies named the Goose Egg
Formation (Burk and Thomas, 1956). Because the name Phosphoria is so
widely used in the literature to include both of these facies, it will
also be used in this report.
In the western and central part of the basin, the Phosphoria
carbonate facies is composed mostly of cherty dolomite and sandy lime-
stone interbedded with dark phosphatic shale and dolomite (Stone, 1967).
Limestones and dolomites are finely crystalline to finely granular in
texture. A second facies of red shale and siltstone with gypsum and
limestone intertongue with the carbonates and dominate the eastern side
of the basin (Mills, 1956). Solution within thick gypsum beds has
-------
formed collapse features which are present along the west flank of
the Bighorn Mountains (Cooley and Head, 1979b).
Porosities within the carbonate facies are intergranular,
modified by dolomitization of limestones, solution, and fracturing
(Stone, 1967). Stone (1967) reports average porosities for the upper
dolomite unit at less than ]0 percent. Available data, compiled
from oil field reports, indicate a range in Phosphoria porosity from
2 to 24 percent (Table IV-5). McCaleb and Willingham (1967) discuss
the importance of fracture-related permeability in the Phosphoria
carbonates at Cottonwood Creek field in the east-central part of
the basin. The shales and evaporites in the eastern basin have little
or no porosity except in areas of fracturing and solution.
Sediments of the Phosphoria Formation fill the irregular ero-
sional surface of the Tens.leep Sandstone (Agatston, 1954). The thick-
ness of the sequence varies from about 100 feet in the northern area
to about 300 feet in the southeastern end of the basin (Lowry et
al., 1976).
The thin Dinwoody sequence, conformably overlying the Phosphoria,
possesses little permeability (Stone, 1967) and therefore generally
acts as a confining bed where present.
Cloverly Formation
The Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation is divided into three
distinct units: a basal sandstone, a middle shale, and an upper
sandstone. The lower member is composed of fine to coarse sandstones,
conglomeratic sandstone, conglomerate, and siltstones, with thin
layers of shale. Most of the middle Cloverly is composed of massive
-------
shales and claystones, with occasional sandstone lenses. The upper
sandstone of the formation consists of fine to medium, subangular
to subrounded quartz grains grading upward into interbedded silty
sandstones and shales. This upper sandstone interval is most developed
in the southern end of the basin and is regarded as conformable with
the overlying Thermopolis Shale.
Intergranular porosities within the sandstones of this formation
vary with the degree of cementation, sorting, and grain size. Stone
(1967) reports that the sandstones of the Cloverly are apparently
tight over much of the northern Bighorn basin. Porosity values from
oil field data in the northern and northeastern part of the basin
range from 7 to 15 percent (Table IV-5).
Mills (1956) reports the thickness of the Cloverly sequence
as generally 400 to 470 feet along the west side of the basin, and
thinning to about 85 feet at the southeast end. The contact of the
lower conglomeratic unit with the Morrison Formation is difficult
to distinguish because of similar lithologies; therefore thicknesses
reported in the literature often vary.
Frontier Formation
The Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation is a sequence of sand-
stones and conglomeratic sandstone alternating with shale and lesser
amounts of bentonite (Reefer, 1972). Sandstones are described as
"salt and pepper," gray, fine- to medium-grained, friable to well
cemented, argillaceous, and locally glauconitic. Most sandstone
units are thin-bedded and lenticular; however, several distinct units
are persistent in most of the basin. Conglomeratic and coarse-grained
sandstones with chert locally occur near the top of the formation
-------
(Masters, 1952). Shales are generally gray, silty to sandy, fissile,
and carbonaceous in places. Sandstones are most abundant in the
southwestern part of the basin, while shales predominate in the eastern
part. Upper Frontier sandstone units intertongue with the overlying
Cody Shale, and the Lower Frontier shale beds are gradational with
the Mowry Shale.
Porosity in the Frontier sandstone units, in general, is lowest
in the northern part of the basin (Baptist et al., 1952). The
properties and content of clay minerals within the sandstone have
a major effect upon the porosity and hydrologic characteristics of
the sandstone units. Fresh water saturating some argillaceous sand-
stones in the formations causes dispersal of clays and extreme
decreases in porosity (Baptist et al., 1952). Porosities determined
at numerous oil fields range from 10 percent to 26 percent for various
sandstones within the Frontier (Table IV-5).
The Frontier Formation maintains a fairly constant thickness
of 450 feet on the western side of the basin, and thickens eastward
to about 650 to 700 feet (Hunter, 1952; Lowry et al., 1976). The
Frontier Formation is exposed along with the Paleozoic and Lower
Mesozoic sequence on the basin margins (Pierce et al., 1947).
Minor Water-Bearing Units
The Chugwater Formation of Triassic age consists of a lower
shaley siltstone and shale, a thin middle limestone unit, a middle
fine- to medium-grained sandstone with occasional shales (Curtis
Member), and a thick upper shaLe and siltstone unit (Love, 1957).
Sandstones within the formation reportedly yield water to wells at
some locations (Lowry et al., 1976). Limited porosity data for the
-------
Curtis Sandstone Member range from 15 to 22 percent in oil fields
of the south-central basin (Tabic IV-5). This sandstone unit is
between 45 and 75 feet thick in the Bighorn basin (Mills, 1956).
The Muddy Sandstone Member of the Thermopolis Shale is known
to yield small amounts of water to wells (Lowry et al., 1976). It
is composed of sandstones and siltstones. Shales are commonly inter-
bedded with sandstones, especially in the northern basin where the
Muddy grades into silts and sandy shales (Mills, 1956). No data
are available on porosity of the Muddy Sandstone. Thickness varies
from less than 10 feet at the north end of the basin to about 55
feet in the southeast (Mills, 1956).
Brittle, siliceous shales of the Mowry Formation develop fracture
porosity in areas of folding and faulting and yield water to wells
in some of these areas (Lowry et al., 1976). The Mowry is generally
370 feet thick throughout the basin.
Upper Cretaceous-Tertiary Aquifer System
Mesaverde Formation
The Mesaverde Formation is comprised of a highly variable sequence
of sandstone, shale, carbonaceous shale, and coal. The formation
ranges in thickness from about 1,800 feet in the south-central part
of the basin (Rohrer, 1966) to approximately 1,350 feet thick in
the northern part (Pierce and Andrews, 1941). The contact between
the underlying Cody Shale and the Mesaverde is gradational, defined
at the base of the lowest massive sandstone below the lowest coal
zone (Pierce and Andrews, 1941). The Mesaverde Formation is overlain
conformably by the Meeteetse Formation, and the contact is placed
at the change from resistant massive sandstone to nonresistant
-------
bentonite, claystone, shale, siltstone, or clayey sandstone of the
Meeteetse (Rohrer, 1966).
Generally, the Mesaverde Formation can be divided into three parts
that include a lower sandstone, a middle interbedded sandstone and
shale unit, and an upper sandstone. Most individual beds are lenti-
cular and can be traced laterally for only short distances. Sandstones
in the lower and middle parts of the formation are characteristically
tan, gray to yellowish-gray, very fine- to medium-grained, irregularly
bedded to massive and cross-bedded, and friable to well-cemented. The
sandstones constituting the upper members are white to light gray,
very fine- to coarse-grained, massive to cross-bedded, moderately
porous and friable, and ledge-forming. Individual sandstone beds range
in thickness from a few feet to tens of feet, although Pierce and
Andrews (1941) measured one in excess of 350 feet in the upper part
of the formation south of Cody.
Meeteetse Formation
The Upper Cretaceous Meeteetse Formation is comprised of slope
forming, poorly indurated clayey to silty sandstone interbedded with
siltstone, claystone, shale, bentonite, and thin coal beds. The
formation is 650 to 710 feet thick in the southeast part of the basin
(Rohrer, 1966) increasing to a maximum thickness of 1,200 feet toward
the northwest (Pierce and Andrews, 1941). The contact with the over-
lying Lance Formation is sharp and marked by slope-forming Meeteetse
strata overlain by the relatively resistant massive sandstones of the
Lance (Rohrer, 1966).
-------
Most of the beds in the Meeteetse Formation are lenticular and
discontinuous, commonly pinching out within a Eew hundred feet along
strike. Sandstone beds grade laterally into siltstone and claystone.
The sandstone, most dominant in the lower part of the formation,
is generally light gray to buff, fine-grained, thin-bedded to massive,
and often concretionary. Individual beds are commonly less than
20 feet thick and attain a maximum thickness of about 50 feet near
the base of the formation.
Lance Formation
The Lance Formation is comprised principally of massive sandstone
overlain by interbedded claystone, siltstone, and sandstone. In
the southwest part of the basin the unit is approximately 800 feet
thick (Rohrer, 1966) and increases in thickness toward the north.
A section of the Lance Formation on the Shoshone River measured by
Hewett (1914) is about 1,800 feet thick, of which over 1,500 feet
consist of buff to olive green, friable sandstone. The contact with
the overlying Fort Union (Polecat Bench) Formation, according to
Hewett (1926), is marked by an unconformity.
The Lance is characterized by the dominance of poorly indurated
sandstone over claystone and shale. Rohrer (1966) informally sub-
divides the formation into a mainly massive sandstone, a lower member
about 500 feet thick, and a 210-foot-thick upper member consisting
of interbedded claystone, siltstone, and sandstone. The sandstone
in the lower member is light buff to gray, fine- to medium-grained,
massive to thin-bedded, and generally cliff-forming. The upper member
is primarily claystone and siltstone with two principal buff-gray,
fine-grained sandstone beds, each about 10 feet thick.
-------
Fort Union Formation
The Paleocene Fort Union Formation (Polecat Bench Formation
of Jepsen, 1940, and Jepsen and Van Houten, 1947) consists of a basal,
cliff-forming sandstone and conglomerate overlain by alternating
claystone, sandstone, and siltstone beds with minor amounts of coal.
Absent along the basin flanks, in the center basin the formation
ranges in thickness from over 600 feet in the southwest part of the
basin (Rohrer, 1966) to more than 3,500 feet. Reworked Fort Union
accumulations from marginal, uplifted parts of the basin could account
for the abnormally large thickness in the center of the basin (Rohrer,
1966). Over much of the central basin the contact with the overlying
Willwood Formation is conformable, although this relationship grades
laterally toward the basin margins into an angular unconformity
(Neasham, 1967). In areas of conformity the most suitable contact
between the Fort Union and Willwood formations is determined by the
sudden appearance of hornblende in Willwood strata or the first occur-
rence of Willwood "red-banding" (Neasham, 1967).
Sandstone members of the formation are commonly fine- to coarse-
grained, irregularly bedded, and ledge-forming. Cross-bedded and
channel sandstones are also commonly observed. Individual strata
are rarely traceable for more than a few hundred yards.
Willwood Formation
The Willwood Formation crops out mainly in the central part
of the basin and is composed of variegated mudstone, sandstone, and
locally abundant conglomerate. Near Basin, Wyoming, the Willwood is
approximately 2,300 feet thick but it thins to the west, where near
-------
Meeteetse a section was measured at 1,320 feet. The Willwood Formation
is overlain conformably by the Tatman Formation of Middle Eocene age.
Neasham (1967) determined, for an "idealized" Willwood section,
that particular lithologic and stratigraphic features were repeated in
the depositional history. The dominant member of a depositional
sequence is a basal sandstone consisting of a main channel sandstone
and laterally extending "sheet" sandstones. "Sheet" sandstones are
characterized by thin units of relatively uniform thickness and lithology
that extend up to half a mile from the main channel and consist of a
more fine-grained material than the channel sandstones. The channel
sandstones, generally 5 to 50 feet wide and 1 to 2 feet thick, reach as
much as 35 feet in thickness. The basal sandstone grades vertically
upward into progressively finer-grained, red or maroon sandstone, or
siltstone. Overlying these units are predominantly yellowish-brown,
grayish-green siltstones and claystones, which are capped by red or
maroon silty claystone, grading upward into a lavender silty claystone.
From these alternating horizons the name "red-banded" Willwood is
derived. These two units are overlain in turn by channel sandstones
which mark the initiation of a new depositional sequence (Neasham,
1967). The upper maroon and lavender beds are often truncated by
channel sandstones of the next sequence, with the cut-and-fill rela-
tionships extending several feet into the underlying strata.
Quaternary Aquifers
Owl Creek Area
Owl Creek is located in the south-central part of the basin along
the northward dipping flanks of the Owl Creek Mountains. Generally the
-------
terrace deposits are located to the north of and 30 to 50 feet above
Owl Creek and consist of gravel, sand, and silt, but pebbles and
cobbles are locally present (Berry and Littleton, 1961). Most of
the deposits are relatively thin (less than 15 feet thick) but
locally they may be as much as 40 feet thick.
Alluvial deposits underlying the flood plains of the principal
streams consist of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. Quaternary alluvium
at the upper end of the Owl Creek drainage consists primarily of
pebbles, cobbles, and boulders but becomes progressively finer down-
stream. Thickness of the alluvium ranges from a featheredge to as
much as 38 feet, with an average of about 20 feet (Berry and Littleton,
1961).
Greybull River-Dry Creek Area
The Greybull River and Dry Creek flow eastward across the
central part of the basin before their respective confluences with
the Bighorn River near Greybull. Principal terrace deposits in this
area include the Rim Terrace (YU Terrace of Mackin, 1937), Sunshine
Terrace (Emblem Surface of Mackin, 1937), and the Greybull Terrace.
These deposits are found principally north of the Greybull River
and south of Dry Creek throughout the main reaches of both streams
(Plate 5) and consist predominantly of rounded to well-rounded pebbles
and small cobbles which vary in composition from basalt and andesite
to quartzite, chert, granite, and other rock types (Robinove and
Langford, 1963).
Deposits of the Rim Terrace are composed of poorly sorted rock
debris that range in size from silt to small boulders. The deposits
-------
are predominantly subangular Co rounded volcanic fragments derived from
the Absaroka volcanic plateau to the west (Robinove and Langford, 1963).
The Rim Terrace deposits have a maximum width of 3-1/2 miles near the
eastern edge of the YU Bench (Robinove and Langford, 1963).
Sediments comprising the Sunshine Terrace deposits are rounded,
poorly sorted gravel, sand, and silt. Sunshine Terrace deposits are
about 1 to 2 miles wide throughout most of their length and are exposed
along Dry Creek where the terrace surface is roughly 110 to 225 feet
above present-day flood plain.
The deposits underlying the Greybull Terrace are of the same type,
size, and provenance as the other terrace deposits in the Greybull
River Valley. The deposits are about 15 feet thick throughout the
Greybull River area with a maximum thickness of 47 feet (Robinove and
Langford, 1963). Deposits are 10 to 40 feet above the present valley
bottom and are as much as 2 miles wide in the area around Burlington.
Elsewhere, the deposits are generally less than 1 mile wide.
The flood plain alluvium in the Greybull River Valley is similar
in composition to the higher terrace deposits and is as much as two
miles wide in the area south of Burlington. These deposits are chiefly
pebbles and small cobbles overlain by a thin veneer of sand and silt.
Robinove and Langford (1963) report that the thickness of the alluvium
throughout the Greybull River Valley is generally less than 30 feet.
The alluvium of the Dry Creek Valley is composed primarily of sand and
has much less gravel than the Greybull River Valley. The Dry Creek
Valley alluvium is probably not greater than 15 feet thick (Robinove
and Langford, 1963). Cooley and Head (1979a) report that coarse
volcanic debris from the Absaroka Range is present along the entire
-------
length of the Greybull River and, due to widespread distribution of
the gravel, water is easily exchanged between the river and adjacent
deposits.
Shoshone River Area
Ralston Terrace, Powell Terrace, and Cody Terrace are the three
main terraces in the Shoshone River area. The deposits of these
terraces are as much as 100 feet thick in places and consist mainly
of well-rounded stream gravels with little fine material. Locally
the cobbles are in a sandy matrix and in some instances are firmly
cemented. Ralston Terrace deposits are composed largely of subangular
to well-rounded cobbles of limestone and dolomite derived from Paleozoic
formations and range in thickness from about four feet to more than
100 feet (Swenson and Swenson, 1957). Powell Terrace deposits consist
mainly of rounded to sub-rounded cobbles of volcanic rocks mixed
with very well-rounded quartzite and chert pebbles derived from
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and the destruction of older terrace
deposits (Swenson and Swenson, 1957). These gravel deposits are more
than 50 feet thick at places near Cody and more than eight miles
wide in the vicinity of Powell. The Cody Terrace lies 80 to 100
feet below Powell Terrace, is about two miles wide, and consists
of 2 to 15 feet of gravel. Near Cody the deposits are very firmly
cemented by calcareous material believed to be derived, in part,
from springs (Swenson and Swenson, 1957). Surficial fine sand
mantles the gravel deposits of the Cody Terrace and is more than 20
feet thick in places (Swenson and Swenson, 1957).
-------
Nowood River Area
Surficial deposits of the Quaternary aquifer in the Nowood River
area consist of flood plain alluvium, terrace gravel, alluvial fan,
pediment and landslide deposits. The flood plain alluvium and alluvial
fan deposits are hydraulically connected (Cooley and Head, 1979b).
The flood plain alluvium, which is best developed along the Nowood
River and its main tributaries, including Paint Rock, Tensleep, Spring,
Otter, and Little Canyon creeks (Cooley and Head, 1979b), occurs
in narrow bands adjoining the channel and ranges in width from about
500 feet along the Nowood River to as much as 3/4 mile along Tensleep
Creek (Cooley and Head, 1979b). Flood plain alluvium along the Nowood
River consists of thin layers of silty sand and clay containing con-
siderable amounts of organic material. Rounded pebbles and cobbles
consisting mainly of chert, quartzite, and other siliceous rocks
occur as basal lenses, 5 to 11 feet thick, in the otherwise fine-
grained deposits (Cooley and Head, 1979b). In general, the alluvium
along Tensleep, Paint, and Medicine Lodge creeks consists mainly
of pebbles and cobbles which occur as broad, multiple fill terraces
that are commonly 3 to 8 feet above stream level.
The coarsest part of the alluvial aquifer in the Nowood River
area is boulder-fan deposits which consist of large (up to 4 feet in
diameter) granite and gneiss boulders. These deposits occur chiefly
in the broad confluent valleys of Paint Rock and Medicine Lodge creeks
about 4 miles northwest of Hyattville. Pediment deposits consisting
of thin, discontinuous, fine-grained mixtures of sand and silt, with
local lenticular beds of gravel, also occur in the Nowood River area,
but are considered only a minor part of the alluvial aquifer.
-------
APPENDIX C
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF BIGHORN BASIN
-------
13
1 100
0.8
820
5
3
288
5
378
T
30 2
1 2
N.D.
N.L).
N.D.
N.D.
3.] 6
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
TABLE C-l
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OE BIGHORN BASLN GROUND WATERS SAMPLED BY WRRI, JULY 1980
46/93-1 aa 49/100-13 be 52/97-24 a.i 53/101-1 dc 52/105-19 cc 52/ 107-21 db 49/100-34
Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Quaternary Tertiary Tertiary Will wood/
Alluvium Alluvium Alluvium Alluvium Volcanics Volcanics Fort Union
10
7.5
890
0.4
11.5
7.2
750
0.8
17
7.0
455
0.8
15.5
8.4
2800
N.D.
] 1.5
7.1
200
0.4
12
6.5
195
0.4
13.5
7.1
825
0.4
7 36
544
442
2308
154
140
544
95
29
98
7
30 7
0
264
16
N.D. '•
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.84
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.01 1
100
37
39
6
451
0
124
2
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N .D.
0.50
N.D.
N.D.
N.I).
N.D.
N.D.
0.006
55
23
51
2
239
0
96
19
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.61.
N.D.
N.D.
N.I).
N.D.
N.D.
0.002
43
11
775
11
112
0
1580
192
N.D.
N .D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.40
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
6
3
44
1
127
0
14
4
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.55
N .D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.I).
N.D.
1 2
8
29
2
129
0
9
4
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
0.44
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
84
44
59
10
464
0
121
6
N.I).
N.D.
N .D.
N.D.
0. 54
N.D.
N.D.
N.I).
N.D.
N.D.
-------
TABLE C-l (continued)
hocat ion:
54/100-2 ad
55/99-26 cd
56/96-L9 dd
57/102-21 ba
44/87-8 ac
47/88-L7 ac
50/89-33 bd
47/88-12 dc
Aquifer:
Wil lwood/
Fort Union
Willwood/
Fort Union
Willwood/
Fort Union
Wil lwood /
Fort Union
Tens 1eep
Tens!eep
Tens 1eep
Mad i son
Fic I d 1 ompera cure1
15
1 3.6
12.1
13.4
15
11
13
1 1
field pM
8.1
7.6
7.4
7.6
7.3
7.3
7.5
7.2
Conduc t ivi ty'
690
670
1250
525
330
370
6 70
310
1'ota ! Suspended
So I id s 1
0.4
0.8
N.D.
N.D.
0.4
2.0
1 .2
0.4
To ta 1 1) i sso 1 ved
Sol ids
510
464
1094
366
202
232
532
192
Ca1c ium
80
38
172
34
35
47
100
34
Magnesium
21
20
49
11
20
25
31
21
Sod ium
58
102
94
91
L
5
1 3
5
Potass ium
5
8
9
6
1
4
5
2
Bicarbonate
288
283
347
268
168
244
244
205
Carbonate
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
S u1 fate
164
1 74
516
80
34
30
185
4
Cli 1 or ide
8
10
20
6
4
5
10
4
Arsenic
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Bar ium
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Cadmium
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Chromium
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Fluoride
0.59
0.83
0.62
0.48
0.45
0. 39
0.92
0.21
Lead
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N . D.
N.D.
N.D.
Mercury
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Nitrate-N
N.D.
0.86
N.D.
0.46
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Se 1 en ium
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
S i I ve r
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
N.D.
Uranium-U_0o
J o
N.D.
0.004
0.010
0.003
0.003
N.D.
N.D.
0.002
temperature in degrees Celsius. UN.D. indicates not detected. DetectLon
| , .. „ ,0cr. . ^ i limits Cor affected species are:
Conductivity at 68 F, in micromhos.
in .. . Tota I suspended so 1 ids: 0.4 /1
Remaining parameters in mil i lgrains/ 1 i ter . ^
Arsen ic: 0.01 mg/1
Barium: 0.05 mg/1
Cadmium: 0.01 mg/1
Chromium: 0.05 mg/1
l.ead : 0.05 mg/ L
Mercury: 0.001 mg/]
Nitrate-N: 0.01 mg/1
Se 1 en ium : 0 .0 1 mg / 1
Silver: 0.02 mg/I
Uranium-U^0g: 0.001 mg/]
-------
APPENDIX D
-------
Location-Numbering System
The location sites of the wells are designated by a numbering
system based on the federal system of land subdivision.
The first number denotes the township, the second number denotes
the range, and the third number denotes the section. One or more
letters follow the section number and denote the location within
the section. The section is divided into four quarters (160 acres)
and lettered a, b, c, and d in a counterclockwise direction, beginning
in the northeast quarter. Similarly, each quarter may be further
divided into quarters (40 acres) and again into 10-acre tracts and
lettered as before. The first letter following the section number
denotes the quarter section; the second letter, if shown, denotes
the quarter-quarter section; and the third letter denotes the quarter-
quarter-quarter section, or 10-acre tract (Figure D-l).
R66WR.65WR 64WR63WR62W
Figure D-l. Well identification system based on township-range
subdivisions.
------- |