A Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and 

Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography 

of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada 
A Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and

Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography

of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada

By Douglas B. Yager and Helen W. Folger

Chapter F of

Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada

Edited by Lisa L. Stillings

Bulletin 2210-F

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

Gale A. Norton, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2005

Version 1.0

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only 

and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual 

copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth,

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment:

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

This publication is available online at URL:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-f/

For information on other USGS products and ordering information:

World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

Suggested citation:

Yager, D.B., and Folger, H.W., 2005, A data viewer for stream-sediment and surface-water chemistry, geolgoy, and 

geography of the Humboldt River basin, northern Nevada, chap. F of Stillings, L.L., ed., Geoenvironmental investigations of the Humboldt River basin, northern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2210-F, 9 p., available at URL 

<http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-f/>.
Preface 

Northern Nevada is one of the world’s foremost regions of gold production. The Humboldt River 

Basin (HRB) covers 43,500 km2 in northern Nevada (Crompton, 1995), and it is home to approximately 18 active gold and silver mines (Driesner and Coyner, 2001) among at least 55 significant 

metallic mineral deposits (Long and others, 1998). Many of the gold mines are along the Carlin 

trend in the east-central portion of the HRB, and together they have produced 50 million ounces 

of gold from 1962 (when the Carlin mine first opened) through April 2002 (Nevada Mining Association, 2002). Mining is not new to the region, however. Beginning in 1849, mining has taken 

place in numerous districts that cover 39 percent of the land area in the HRB (Tingley, 1998). 

In addition to gold and silver, As, Ba, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Pb, S, Sb, V, W, Zn, and industrial 

commodities such as barite, limestone, fluorite, sand and gravel, gypsum, gemstones, pumice, 

zeolites, and building stone, have been extracted from the HRB (McFaul and others, 2000).

Due to the large amount of historical and recent mining in the HRB, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Nevada asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program 

to conduct a series of mineral-deposit-related environmental studies in the HRB. BLM required 

data and geoenvironmental interpretations regarding (1) the chemical composition of water, soil, 

sediment, and mine waste in the HRB, (2) the natural background chemistry of these materials, 

and (3) how mining activities may have altered their chemistry. The paper that follows describes 

one of the studies conducted by the USGS Minerals Program to answer these and similar questions. 

All papers within this series of investigations can be found as lettered chapters of USGS Bulletin 

2210, Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada. Each 

chapter is available separately online.

References Cited

Crompton, E.J., 1995, Potential hydrologic effects of mining in the Humboldt River Basin, 

northern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 94-4233, 

2 sheets.

Driesner, D., and Coyner, A., 2001, Major mines of Nevada 2000: Mineral industries in 

Nevada’s economy: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication P-12, 28 p.

Long, K.R., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., and Ludington, S.D., 1998, Significant deposits of gold, silver, 

copper, lead, and zinc in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-

206A, 33 p. [USGS Open-File Report 98-206B contains one 3.5-inch diskette].

McFaul, E.J., Mason G.T., Jr., Ferguson, W.B., and Lipin, B.R., 2000, U.S. Geological Survey 

mineral databases—MRDS and MAS/MILS: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series 

DDS-52, two CD-ROMs.

Nevada Mining Association, 2002, Industry to celebrate 50 millionth ounce of gold: Nevada 

Mining Association News Release, April 11, 2002.

Tingley, J.V., 1998, Mining districts of Nevada (2nd ed.): Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 47d, one CD-ROM.

iii
Contents

Preface ...........................................................................................................................................................iii

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

GIS Terminology .............................................................................................................................................1

Themes and Databases Included as Part of the Data Viewer...............................................................1

Geologic and Mining-Related Themes..............................................................................................1

Geology of Northern Nevada.....................................................................................................1

Significant Mineral Deposits in Nevada ..................................................................................1

Mineral Favorability Tracts.........................................................................................................2

Mill, Smelter, and Fluvial Tailings Locations............................................................................3

Geochemical Themes...........................................................................................................................3

Data Sets for Sediment and Soil Chemistry ............................................................................3

Surface-Water-Chemistry Theme and Database...................................................................4

Geographic Themes .............................................................................................................................4

Use of ArcExplorer to View Humboldt River Basin Data Sets................................................................4

ArcExplorer Software...........................................................................................................................4

ArcExplorer Functionality....................................................................................................................4

Open ArcExplorer Project File ...................................................................................................4

Add Theme....................................................................................................................................5

Query Tool .....................................................................................................................................5

Identify...........................................................................................................................................6

Map Tips........................................................................................................................................6

Use of MapSheetsExpress to View Humboldt Basin Data Sets.............................................................6

MapSheetsExpress Software.............................................................................................................6

MapSheetsExpress Functionality ......................................................................................................6

Swiper ...........................................................................................................................................6

Transparency................................................................................................................................6

Pop-Up Label ................................................................................................................................7

Legend ...........................................................................................................................................7

Layer and Map Views..................................................................................................................7

Example of Using MapSheetsExpress to View Humboldt River Basin Data Sets......................7

Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................................7

References......................................................................................................................................................8

Appendix A—System Requirements..........................................................................................................9

Figure

1. Organization of data ...................................................................................................................5

iv
Tables

1. Names and descriptions of vector data sets included with the 

Humboldt River basin data viewer...........................................................................................2

2. Raster digital terrain coverage, NURE geochemical contour maps, 

and mineral favorability tracts for the Humboldt River basin and vicinity ........................3

3. Compilation of surface-water chemistry for the Humboldt River basin, northern 

Nevada, for samples collected from June 28, 1989, through August 1, 2000

 [Excel file table_3.xls downloadable from DATA\WATER_DATA\Spreadsheet directory]

Note Regarding Downloading Files

 A user may install the entire contents of this report on their personal computer 

including the text, GIS data viewing software, GIS vector and image data, readme file, 

and metadata by downloading the “viewer.zip” file from the “B2210-F Downloads” 

link on the front page of this Web site. Note that, once the entire contents of the 

B2210_F.zip file are extracted, the directory structure should not change, as some 

files are dependent on established directory paths in order to function properly.

 Additional information on the mineral and environmental assessments done by the 

U.S. Geological Survey may be found at the following URLs.

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/mf/2003/mf-2407/#MF2407M

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-a/

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-c/

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-d/

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-e/

 http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1245/plu-FAQ.htm

v
Introduction

Data viewers that employ geographic-information-system 

(GIS) software are useful for displaying and analyzing geographic relationships between diverse data sets. This product 

utilizes two GIS software packages (ArcExplorer by Environmental Systems Research Inc., and MapSheetsExpress by 

Leica Geosystems Inc.) for the analysis of data compiled for 

the Humboldt River basin, northern Nevada. The primary goal 

of the data viewer is to provide interactive GIS capabilities 

for visualization and querying of geologic and geochemical 

data. This method of display enables data collected over large 

geographic areas to be viewed in the context of land ownership 

and management.

GIS Terminology

Users of this product should be familiar with some of the 

commonly used GIS terms that relate to the data sets that are 

presented here. The ArcExplorer terms “theme” and “coverage,” and the MapSheetsExpress term “layer” are defined as 

digital versions of maps that relate to a geographic element or 

feature of interest. A few examples of themes, coverages, and 

layers include the map of roads, county boundaries, or geochemical-element grids. A layer is essentially all digital maps 

that are included in each raster and vector data subdirectory.

Vector and raster data sets are the two fundamental data 

types that are used to represent various geographic feature 

types. Vector data consists of discrete points, lines, and (or) 

polygons that have associated attribute information describing each feature. Raster data consists of grid cells that have a 

consistent x and y dimension, unique geographic location, and 

an associated cell value. Raster data are commonly used to 

represent continuous surface data, such as geochemically gridded data or terrain elevation data. 

Themes and Databases Included as 

Part of the Data Viewer

Geologic and Mining-Related Themes

Geology of Northern Nevada

A digital geologic map and fault theme (Stewart and 

Carlson, 1978; Raines and others, 1996) are found in the 

nvgeo.shp and faults.shp coverages, respectively (table 1). 

The geologic coverage may be used to explore the relationships between bedrock geology, geologic structures, and other 

coverages included in the data viewer. 

Significant Mineral Deposits in Nevada

Two mineral-deposit themes are included (table 1): (1) 

a combined MAS (minerals availability system) and MILS 

(minerals industry location system) past-producing-mines 

coverage (pprod.shp) derived from McFaul (2000), and (2) 

mineral-deposit-district coverage (tracts.shp), as identified by 

the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (Tingley, 1992). 

Note that these and all other vector files are located in the 

directory DATA\VECTOR.

The past-producing-mines coverage (McFaul, 2000) 

is provided as an estimate of the density of past-producing 

mining activity in the Humboldt River basin region. The past 

producing mines coverage was culled from the MAS/MILS 

database3, which was created by the former U.S. Bureau of 

Mines and is now maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) (McFaul, 2000). 

These types of data are useful to determine an estimate 

for the number of past-producing mines in a management unit 

such as a BLM tract or hydrologic unit area. Land-manageA Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and 

Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography 

of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada

By Douglas B. Yager1 and Helen W. Folger2

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo.

2 U.S. Geolgical Survey, Reston, Va.

3 Although the MAS/MILS data were derived from a past-producing-mines 

database, mine sites that were once inactive properties may now or in the 

future be actively mined.
ment agencies may use this information in establishing landuse-decision priorities for specific management units.

A mineral-deposit-district coverage of northern Nevada 

was culled from work accomplished by the Nevada Bureau of 

Mines and Geology (Tingley, 1992). Mineral-deposit-district 

coverage attributes consist of deposit commodity, name, and 

type (metallic versus non-metallic).

Mineral Favorability Tracts

Also included in the data viewer are maps (georectified raster images with separate explanations, table 2; 

DATA/RASTER/TRACTS downloadable directory) that show 

possible locations of undiscovered deposits of gold, silver, 

platinum, and palladium. The explanations for each tract map 

Table 1. Names and descriptions of vector data sets included with the Humboldt River basin data viewer. 

[Coverage attributes for all data are described in the metadata.txt file in the METADATA folder] 

Vector data category Coverage name Data description Applicable scale Data source 

Base data nvcntys County boundaries 1:100,000 BLM

nvcties Major city locations 1:1,000,000 BLM

nvrds Major roads/highways BLM

nvstbnd State boundary 1:500,000 BLM

nvtopo Topographic contours Raines and others (1996) 

ownlcc Land ownership 1:100,000 BLM

Geology nvgeo Bedrock geology 1:500,000 Raines and others (1996) 

faults Structural features 1:500,000 Raines and others (1996) 

NURE hrbsc, hrbco, hrbag, 

hrbba, hrbtl, logfec, 

logni, logcu, logzn, 

logas, logse, logsb, 

logba, logau, logpb, 

logce

Geochemical analyses for Sc, 

Co, and Ag for the 

Humboldt River basin data 

set and Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, 

Se, Sb, Ba, Au, Tl, Pb, Ce in 

soils and sediments for the 

combined Humboldt River 

basin and WinnemuccaSurprise data sets 

1:500,000 Folger (2000) 

wssc, wsco, wsag, wsba, 

wstl

Geochemical analyses for Sc, 

Co, and Ag in soils and 

sediments for WinnemuccaSurprise data set 

1:500,000 Folger (2000) 

King and others (1962) 

Significant deposits pprod Past producing mines N.A. McFaul and others (2000) 

tracts Tingley mineral deposit 

districts

1:1,000,000 Tingley (1992) 

tails Mill, mine, and fluvial tailings N.A. Nash (2003) 

Water data pstrm Perennial streams 1:100,000 BLM

water1 Perennial streams 1:1,000,000 BLM

hbh2o Water quality geochemical 

analyses from USGS, NWIS 

and EPA STORET database

N.A. USGS National Water Quality 

System (NWIS), Environmental 

Protection Agency storage and 

retrieval repository (STORET), 

and USGS Humboldt River basin 

assessment project data sets 

wsbnd Humboldt River basin 

watershed boundary 

1:2,000,000 U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic 

units in the conterminous United 

States 

hucs Preliminary 10-digit

hydrologic-unit-code 

boundaries

1:24,000 D. Pickel, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Natural Resources 

Conservation Service, Nev.— 

GIS Coordinator 

 Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada
are located in the DATA/RASTER/ TRACTS /explanations 

directory and are stored as JPEG images (plu_expl.jpg, 

sed_expl.jpg, and vol_expl.jpg). The explanations are opened 

with any image viewer that supports the JPEG format.

These maps were developed as part of the USGS assessment of metallic mineral resources, Humboldt River basin, 

northern Nevada (Wallace and others, 2004). The assessment 

focused on mineral deposits and geologic environments that 

were known to contain these elements—they are economically 

important commodities in the Humboldt River basin at present 

and may be important commodities in the near future.

The mineral resource assessment used a combination of 

expert (knowledge-based) and geographic-information-system 

data-analysis methods to potentially identify three types of 

mineral deposits: (1) multielement deposits related to plutonic 

rocks, (2) gold-silver deposits in sedimentary rocks, and (3) 

gold-silver deposits that formed in near-surface, epithermal 

environments. U.S. Geological Survey geologists used their 

knowledge and expertise to compile and develop geological, geophysical, geochemical, and mineral-deposit data that 

was pertinent to the assessment. The data were then analyzed 

and modeled in a geographic information system (GIS) using 

weights-of-evidence and weighted logistic regression techniques 

to produce maps showing areas of varying degrees of favorability for the occurrence of the three types of undiscovered 

deposits (plu.jpg, vol.jpg, and sed.jpg). The areas with the 

highest likelihood of containing undiscovered deposits were 

classified as “prospective,” (colored red) and those with the next 

highest likelihood were classified as “favorable” (colored yellow). “Permissive” (colored purple) areas are the broadest and 

most general category, and all undiscovered deposits are likely 

to occur in these areas. The dark-gray areas represent tracts that 

have an overburden thickness of greater than 1 km and are thus 

“nonpermissive.” White areas are nonpermissive because they 

do not meet any minimum criteria for hosting a deposit type.

Mill, Smelter, and Fluvial Tailings Locations

The coverage tails (table 1) includes point locations for 

mine-related sites such as smelters, mills, and fluvial tailings. Data were compiled during the U.S. Geological Survey 

Humboldt River watershed environmental assessment (Nash, 

2003).

Geochemical Themes

Data Sets for Sediment and Soil Chemistry

Geochemical analyses of stream-sediment and soil 

samples collected by the NURE (National Uranium Resource 

Evaluation) program and the U.S. Geological Survey are 

integrated both as point coverages of log-transformed data 

(vector data sets, table 1) and as images of gridded and normalized data (raster data sets, table 2). The data sets contain 

updated and new chemical analyses of the original NURE 

samples and analysis of additional stream sediments collected by the USGS (King and others, 1996; Folger, 2000). 

These new analyses were completed during the period 1995 

to 2000 specifically to provide a regional and analytically 

consistent geochemical data set for the mineral and environmental assessment on public lands. The sample coverage 

for the Humboldt River basin is generally spatially uniform 

with a sample density of one sample site per 17 km2 . Sample 

density is greatest along range fronts and sparsest along 

mountain ridges and valley bottoms.

These NURE data sets are useful for evaluating relationships between water and sediment chemistry, as well as 

identifying areas that may warrant further mineral exploration 

(Folger, 2000, Yager and Folger; 2003).

Table 2. Raster digital terrain coverage, NURE geochemical contour maps, and mineral favorability tracts for the Humboldt River basin and

vicinity.

[Data-set attributes for all data are described in the metadata.txt file in the METADATA folder] 

Raster data category Data set name Data description Applicable scale Data source 

Elevation nev_dem Digital elevation model 30-m resolution USGS

Geochemistry Sc, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, 

Se, Ag, Sb, Ba, Au, Tl, 

Pb, Ce 

Geochemical contour maps for Sc, 

Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, 

Sb, Ba, Au, Tl, Pb, Ce 

1:500,000 (Folger and others, 2000) 

Mineral tracts plu

sed

vol

Mineral favorability tracts hosted 

in plutonic (plu), sedimentary 

(sed), and volcanic (vol) rocks 

1:500,000 (Wallace and others, 2004) 

Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography, Humboldt R. Basin, N. Nev. 
Surface-Water-Chemistry Theme and Database

The water-chemistry data set contains chemical analyses 

from samples of surface water collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in and near the Humboldt River basin between 

1997 and 2000, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources 

National Water Information System (NWIS), and the Environmental Protection Agency’s STORET database. More than 60 

analytical parameters are reported for 2,133 records, including 

pH, alkalinity, and conductivity. Also included are surfacewater analyses of dissolved and total recoverable major- and 

trace-elements for locations in and near the Humboldt River 

basin.4 These data were combined into a single database 

(hbh2o.shp) (table 1). 

A difference in sample density from one area to another 

is the result of sparse sampling, and the lack of surface flow. 

Hydrologic coverages include rivers and streams 

(pstrm.shp, water1.shp) and the Humboldt River watershed 

boundary (wsbnd.shp). The user should note that small-scale 

(coarse resolution) 1:100,000- and 1:500,000-scale streamdrainage coverages provided with this data viewer do not 

include all of the first-order streams, or intermittent, and 

ephemeral drainages that have been sampled by USGS personnel. Thus, locations of some sample sites do not correspond 

with stream locations. In addition, 10-digit hydrologic-unitcode boundaries (hucs.shp) provided by the Natural Resource 

Conservation Service are also included for the purpose of 

helping to delineate watershed-management areas (D. Pickel, 

2003, written commun.). 

An Excel spreadsheet of the water data is included as part 

of this report (table_3.xls that is downloadable from directory DATA\WATER_DATA\Spreadsheet). The spreadsheet is 

included as a reference for significant-figure and detectionlimit analytical issues as they relate to (1) a specific element 

analyzed and (2) a specific agency that originally acquired and 

analyzed the data—these agencies may have employed several 

different laboratories and analytical methods.

Geographic Themes

Several coverages are provided as a geographic frame 

of reference for the other databases (table 1). These coverages include land ownership (ownlcc.shp), county and State 

boundaries (nvcntys.sh and nvstbnd.shp, respectively), cities 

(nvcties.shp), and major roads (nvrds.shp). A hill-shadedrelief, digital elevation model (nev_dem.tif) and a vector 

topographic coverage (nvtopo.shp) provide digital terrain 

information for the study area. Other applicable geographic 

data that are not included may easily be integrated such as 

those coverages currently located on the U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management Reno, Nev., office GIS Web site at URL <http:

//www.nv.blm.gov/gis/default.htm>. An organization diagram 

(fig. 1) is included as an aid in navigating the downloadable 

directory structure.

Use of ArcExplorer to View Humboldt 

River Basin Data Sets

ArcExplorer Software

ArcExplorer is a GIS data viewer developed by ESRI, Inc. 

ArcExplorer permits the viewing and data query of multiple, 

georeferenced data sets. ArcExplorer is also well suited for 

displaying and constructing basic data queries of vector coverages. Supported data-format types include ESRI shapefiles 

(.shp, .shx, .dbf), ArcExplorer project files, ArcInfo coverages, 

compatible image formats such as TIFF and JPEG, CAD drawings, VPF layers, and ArcSDE layers. An ArcExplorer project 

file (.aep) file has been preconstructed for the Nevada geologic 

map (Stewart and Carlson, 1978; Raines and others, 1996) in 

addition to the Bureau of Land Management land-ownership 

coverage ownlcc.shp. The .aep files permit preconstructed and 

symbolized views of a coverage to be displayed. This allows the 

user to display the land-ownership coverage (i.e., ownlcc.shp) 

in a standard color scheme used by the Bureau of Land Management. The file nv_geol.aep allows the user to display the 

geology with color symbology that is similar to the Stewart and 

Carlson (1978) geologic map. Permission to use this product 

was granted by ESRI, Inc. Click here to view permission for 

use. System requirements are discussed in Appendix A.

ArcExplorer Functionality

ArcExplorer has a similar look and feel as ArcView 

but has much less robust functionality when compared 

with ArcView. For example, pan, zoom, identify, and query 

functionality are both a part of ArcExplorer and ArcView. 

There are several ArcExplorer functions that are useful when 

evaluating geographic relationships in Humboldt River basin 

data. Some of these functions, which are accessed in the main 

toolbar of the ArcExplorer user interface, include the following.

Open ArcExplorer Project File

The user can open a preconstructed view of both the 

Bureau of Land Management ownership coverage and the 

Nevada geology coverage. To open an ArcExplorer project, 

click the “File” followed by the “Open Project” buttons and 

open either the land_own.aep or nv_geol.aep files in the root 

directory.

4 Note that cells that are blank when viewed with either ArcExplorer or 

MapSheetsExpress indicate a value is not determined. These blank cells are 

represented as –999999 in the water database Excel spreadsheet.

 Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada
Add Theme

The add theme button icon is accessed from the toolbar and permits multiple georeferenced data sets to be loaded 

into the view window. Geographic data formats that a user can 

load with the add theme button include shapefiles, coverages, 

images, CAD drawings, VPF layers, and ArcSDE layers. Follow these instructions to add a theme:

1. Press the “Add Theme” button (a new pop-up window 

is displayed).

2. Navigate to the VECTOR or RASTER folder.

3. Double-click the coverage or image of interest or 

single-click the desired coverage and press the “Add 

Theme” button in the new pop-up window.

4. Click the white box adjacent to the added theme name (a 

check appears in the box and the theme is drawn in the 

display area). In order to use other tools on a theme, or 

to query the data in a coverage, single-click the legend 

theme name to activate the coverage (clicking the white 

legend box only to display the data does not make the 

coverage active). If the theme is active, then a box outline will appear in raised relief. Double-clicking a layer 

name in the ArcExplorer window legend and selecting 

such classification options such as “Unique Values” permits modification of feature symbology.

Query Tool

The query function button icon is accessed from the 

toolbar and permits a geographic query of a vector data set. 

This tool is useful for identifying such coverage attributes as 

land ownership, chemical concentrations in surface water and 

Vector Data Raster

GIS data viewer 

applications

enabled

ArcExplorer2.0 MapSheetsExpress

ae2setup.exe MapSheetsExpress.exe

Executable file Installation

executable

Install/Load 

Applications

View, manipulate

 query, analyze

Geographic base and land 

ownership data

Geologic map including

structure

Stream-sediment and soilgeochemical data

Selected mine tailings locations

Surface-water geochemistry 

Base_Data

Geology

NURE

Tailings

Water_data

Base_data

NURE

Mineral_tracts

Hill-shaded-relief 

image

Minimum-curvature 

grids of NURE streamsediment and soilgeochemical data

Mineral-favorability 

tracts for sedimentary,

plutonic, and volcanic

rocks

Aep

ArcExplorer project files 

that load preconstructed 

views of geology and landownership data

Geology

Land 

ownership

Figure 1. Organization of data.

Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography, Humboldt R. Basin, N. Nev. 
sediments, and specific mineral districts and deposits. Once a 

coverage or data theme is selected, the following procedure is 

used to construct a query:

1. Press the query icon.

2. Select the field name for the query (the name will be 

displayed below the selected item).

3. Select an arithmetic operator, such as “=” (nested queries are possible by using “and” and “or” between two 

attributes of an item). 

4. Select a sample value.

5. Select the “display field” name to be the same as the 

initial query field name.

6. Press execute.

7. Press highlight results (the selected set will be highlighted).

Identify

The identify function button icon is accessed from the 

toolbar and permits data attributes to be viewed for an active 

coverage. To use this function,

1. Activate the coverage of interest, then press the identify

button.

2. Place the arrow tool point at the feature of interest on 

the coverage and double- click. A pop-up window will 

display the attributes of the selected feature.

Vector data available for display and query in ArcExplorer are listed in table 1; raster data sets (table 2) may be displayed only as a backdrop in ArcExplorer; MapSheetsExpress 

provides for additional raster-data-query functionality.

Map Tips

The map tips function button icon is accessed from 

the toolbar and allows a user to hold the cursor over an item 

and reveal its associated attributes. To use this function,

1. Activate the coverage of interest, then press the Map 

Tips button.

2. Choose the attribute display field from the coverage 

attribute drop-down list.

3. Hold the cursor over a feature in the active coverage—

the associated feature attribute will be displayed.

Note that ArcExplorer has a limit in its ability to display 

long text strings when the identify function is used. The Map 

Tips function does not have as severe a limitation in displaying long text strings, thus, Map Tips could be useful when 

an entire attribute value needs to be determined. The user is 

referred to the program help for functionality of other parts of 

ArcExplorer. The installation executable for ArcExplorer is 

located in the downloadable ArcExplorer2.0 folder as is the 

ArcExplorer PDF file “Using ArcExplorer.”

Use of MapSheetsExpress to 

View Humboldt Basin Data Sets

MapSheetsExpress Software

MapSheetsExpress is a GIS data viewer developed by Leica 

Geosystems, Inc. MapSheetsExpress permits simultaneous viewing of multiple, georeferenced raster and vector data. Supported 

file types include MapSheetsExpress, ERDAS Imagine (.img), 

ESRI shapefile (.shp), Tagged Image File Format (.tiff), MrSID 

(.sid), and JPEG (.jpg). Permission to use this product was granted 

by Leica Geosystems, Inc. Click here to view permission for use. 

MapSheetsExpress Functionality

There are several MapSheetsExpress functions that are 

useful when evaluating geographic relationships between 

Humboldt River basin data. Some of these functions, which 

are accessed in the main toolbar of the MapSheetsExpress user 

interface, include:

Swiper

The purpose of the swiper function is to allow comparison of two geochemical contour maps or a combination of a 

contour map and a hill-shaded-relief image. Upon activating 

the swiper function icon (on the toolbar), the overlaying 

map may be “slid” away to reveal the underlying map. Once 

two maps are opened in a view window and the swiper icon is 

clicked, a “Swipe” window opens, 

allowing the user to slide away the upper map either from left 

to right (horizontal) or top to bottom (vertical). The current 

coverages in the view window are indicated as tabs on the bottom of the view screen. Those coverages, which have tabs that 

are situated to the left of the coverage selected in the “Swipe 

layers to left of” drop-down menu, will be removed from view 

when the “Swipe” function is used. 

Transparency

The transparency function icon is accessed from 

the toolbar and allows a geochemical contour map that is 

overlain on another map to be rendered transparent. Once 

two maps are opened in a view window and the transparency 

function icon is clicked, a “Set Layer Transparency” window 

 opens, allowing the user to adjust 

the transparency of the upper map from 

opaque to transparent. This function is particularly useful 

when comparing two geochemical contour maps or comparing 

a contour map with a hill-shaded rendering of a digital elevation model.

 Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada
Pop-Up Label

The “Pop-up Label” function is accessed from the pulldown menu “Layer” option on the main toolbar. When the 

“Pop-Up Labels” option is toggled on and the cursor is initially placed over a feature in a coverage, the “Pop-Up Label” 

window will open, prompting the user to 

ing step-by-step example indicates how a user may visually 

compare geochemical contour maps for arsenic and selenium 

in sediments, the coverage for geologic faults in northern 

Nevada, and the Humboldt River basin water-chemistry database using MapSheetsExpress. 

1. Launch MapSheetsExpress by double-clicking the 

MapSheetsExpress executable file in the downloadable MapSheetsExpress folder. Alternatively, the entire 

MapSheetsExpress folder should be copied to a users 

computer hard drive to run the application locally. A 

readme.txt file is also accessible in this folder that discusses such issues as known incompatibilities, system 

requirements, and product notes and tips.

2. Open the following files in the same MapSheetsExpress view window.

 as.tif

 se.tif

 faults.shp

 hbh2o.shp

3. Click the “Swipe” function and select as.tif from the 

“Swipe layers to left of” drop-down list.

4. Use the Swipe function slider to remove the overlying 

raster and vector databases to reveal the underlying 

arsenic geochemical contour map.

5. Click the “Transparency” function and select the selenium map as the “Layer” in the drop-down list and use 

the “Transparency” slider to render the se.tif map transparent.

6. Click the hbh2o tab at the bottom of the view window 

to make the hbh2o coverage the active layer.

7. Select “Layer” from the main toolbar followed by 

“Pop-Up Label.” Select the attribute of the water database of interest, i.e., pH. 

8. Place the cursor over a point to determine pH at a specific site.

9. Select “View” from the main toolbar followed by 

“Legend” and select the “Category” of interest from 

the drop-down list. 

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Marguerite McKee, Bureau of Land 

Management, Reno, Nev., and Tracy Sole, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Denver, Colo., for their reviews of this report. We 

thank editor Richard Scott for his critique of an earlier version 

of this chapter. Dave Pickel, Natural Resources Conservation 

Service, Reno, Nev., provided a hydrologic unit coverage for 

the project area. Special thanks are in order for Marguerite 

McKee who facilitated integration of coverages that were 

created and maintained by the Bureau of Land Management 

office in Reno, Nev.

select an attribute field that will 

be displayed when the cursor is placed over the next feature. 

This function is particularly useful for examining the chemistry of water, soil or sediment samples at a specific location. 

The value of grid cells may also be displayed; however, the 

grid-cell data for the contoured sediment-chemistry maps are 

not provided with these data sets (table 2) but are included in 

Folger and others (2000). The maps referenced in table 2 use 

color-coded legends to indicate ranges of chemical concentration. 

Legend

The legend function is accessed from the “View” pulldown menu option on the main toolbar. When the “Legend” option is toggled on, the “Legend Category” window 

 opens, prompting the user to select a legend

 category from the attribute-field list. The 

legend is displayed on the right side of the view window 

immediately after selecting a category. When a coverage feature is selected by double-clicking in the active coverage, the 

row of the legend corresponding to the feature is highlighted. 

Geochemical contour maps and a hill-shaded terrain map 

available for display in MapSheetsExpress are listed in table 2. 

All vector data (table 1) may also be displayed combined with 

other raster data sets. 

Layer and Map Views

MapSheetsExpress permits switching between the 

standard “Layer View” window and a page-size map-composition view referred to as “Map View.” Map View allows 

the additional functionality of adding geographic images 

or drawings to a view window. MapSheetsExpress does not 

support printing of Map View compositions, although it is 

possible to print page-size map compositions with the use of 

other software. The user is referred to the program help for 

functionality of this and other parts of the MapSheetsExpress 

application.

Example of Using MapSheetsExpress to 

View Humboldt River Basin Data Sets

Geospatial comparisons may be made between the data 

sets for water chemistry, sediment and soil chemistry, and 

geology that were compiled for this product. The followData Viewer for Stream-Sediment and Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography, Humboldt R. Basin, N. Nev. 
References

Baedecker, P.A., Grossman, J.N., and Buttleman, K.P., 1998, 

National geochemical database, PLUTO geochemical database for the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Digital 

Data Series, DDS-47, 1 CD-ROM.

Cox, D.P., and Singer, D.A., 1986, Mineral deposit models: 

U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1693, 379 p.

du Bray, E.A., ed., 1995, Preliminary compilation of descriptive geoenvironmental mineral deposit models: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-831, 268 p.

Folger, H.W., 2000, Analytical results and sample locations of 

reanalyzed NURE stream-sediment and soil samples for the 

Humboldt River basin mineral-environmental assessment, 

northern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

00-421, 1 CD-ROM.

Gray, J.E., Adams, M.G., Crock, J.G., and Theodorakos, P.M., 

1999, Geochemical data for environmental studies of mercury mines in Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 99-576, 47 p.

Grimes, D.J., McHugh, J.B., and Meir, A.L., 1995, Chemical 

analyses of major, minor, and trace elements including gold 

and arsenic species, As(III), and As(V), in water samples 

collected along the Getchall trend, Humboldt County, 

Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-636, 

26 p.

Grimes, D.J., McHugh, J.B., and Meir, A.L., 1994, Chemical 

analyses of major, minor, and trace elements including gold 

and arsenic species, As(III), and As(V), in water samples 

from Kelly Creek Valley, Humboldt County, Nevada: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 1994-135, 14 p.

King, H.D., Fey, D.L., Mootooka, J.M., Knight, R.J., Roushey, 

B.H., and McGuire, D.J., 1996, Analytical data and sample 

locality map of stream-sediment and soil samples from the 

Winnemucca-Surprise Resource Assessment Area, northwest Nevada and northeast California: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 96-062-A [paper] and 96-062-B 

[diskette], 341 p.

McFaul, E.J., Mason, G.T., Jr., Ferguson, W.B., and Lipin, 

B.R., 2000, U.S. Geological Survey mineral databases; 

MRDS and MAS/MILS: U.S. Geological Survey Digital 

Data Series, DDS-52, 2 CD-ROMs.

Miller, W.R., 2000, Geochemical baselines of stream and 

spring waters and rankings of the potential release of total 

dissolved solids and resistance to introduced acidity from 

watersheds underlain by four rock compositional types from 

the Humboldt River basin, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 00-161, 50 p.

Nash, J.T., 2000, Hydrogeochemical data for historic mining 

areas, Humboldt watershed and adjacent areas, northern 

Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-459, 

49 p., available online at URL <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/

2000/ofr-00-0459/>.

Nash, J.T., 2003, Historic mills and mill tailings as potential sources of contamination in and near the Humboldt 

River basin, northern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2210-D, 36 p., available online at URL 

<http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/b2210-d/>.

Raines, G.L., Sawatzky, D.L., Connors, K.A., 1996, Great 

Basin geoscience data base: U.S. Geological Survey Digital 

Data Series DDS-41, 2 CD-ROMs.

Stewart J.H., and Carlson, J.E., 1978, Geologic map of 

Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey and Nevada Bureau of 

Mines and Geology, scale, 1:500,000. 

Tingley, J.V., 1992, Mining districts of Nevada: Nevada 

Bureau of Mines and Geology, Mackay School of Mines, 

Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Map 43, scale 1:

1,000,000.

Wallace, A.R., Ludington, S., Mihalasky, M.J., Peters, S.G., 

Theodore, T.G., Ponce, D.A., and Berger, B.R., 2004, 

Assessment of metallic mineral resources in the Humboldt 

River basin, northern Nevada, with a section on platinumgroup-element (PGE) potential of the Humboldt mafic complex by M.L. Zientek, G.B. Sidder, and R.A. Zierenberg: 

U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2218, 1 CD-ROM.

Yager, D.B., and Folger, H.W., 2003, NURE geochemical 

maps for the Humboldt River watershed and surrounding 

areas, northern Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2407-A–M.

 Geoenvironmental Investigations of the Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada
Your system must meet the following requirements for 

ArcExplorer and MapSheetsExpress to install and function 

properly on your PC:

· Windows 95 and 98, Windows NT version 4.0, Windows 2000

· IBM/PC or compatible system with 486-class processor or better

· 16 MB RAM

· 40 MB hard-disk space for a typical installation (10 

MB for minimum installation)

· Video card capable of 256-color (8-bit) display or 

better

The following items are recommended for best performance:

· Pentium-class processor or better.

· 32 MB RAM.

· 2 MB accelerated video card, capable of high-color 

(16-bit) display at 1024×768 resolution.

Appendix A—System Requirements

Published in the Central Region, Denver, Colorado

Manuscript approved for publication October 13, 2005

Editing, page layout, photocomposition—Richard W. Scott, Jr.

Graphics by the authors

Data Viewer for Stream-Sediment and Surface-Water Chemistry, Geology, and Geography, Humboldt R. Basin, N. Nev.