Ground Water Atlas of the United States -
Segment 1 California Nevada
Geohydrologic Units
Within the Basin and Range Province, aquifers are not continuous, or regional,
because of the complex faulting in the region. Three principal aquifer types collectively
called the Basin and Range aquifers in this report are volcanic-rock aquifers,
which are primarily tuff, rhyolite, or basalt of Tertiary age; carbonate-rock
aquifers, which are primarily limestones and dolomites of Mesozoic and Paleozoic
age; and basin-fill aquifers, which are primarily unconsolidated sand and gravel
of Quaternary and Tertiary age (fig. 20). Any or all three aquifer types may be
in, or underlie, a particular basin and constitute three separate sources of water;
however, the aquifers may be hydraulically connected to form a single source.
Other rock types within the region have low permeability and act as boundaries
to the flow of fresh ground water. The aquifers in the Great Basin part of the
Basin and Range Province (fig. 16) were studied
as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA)
Program.
Back to "Introduction" - Forward
to "Volcanic-Rock Aquifer"
Back to Basin and Range aquifers "Contents"
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