Ground Water in the 

Permafrost Regions of Alaska 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 696 

Ground Water in the 

Permafrost Regions of Alaska 

By JOHN R. WILLIAMS 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 696 

Ground water in permafrost regions 

in Alaska occurs according to the 

same geologic and hydrologic 

principles prevailing in temperate . regtons 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1970 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

WALTER J. HICKEL, Secretar:v 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

William T. Pecora, Director 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402- Price $1 (paper cover) 
CONTENTS 

1\bstract -----------------------------------------

Introduction -------------------------------------

Previous investigations -----------------------

Present investigation -------------------------

Purpose and scope ------------------------

Basic data -------------------------------

1\cknowledgments ------------------------

Permafrost -------------------------------------- Definition and terminology --------------------

Origin and history ----------------------------

Distribution and maximum thickness -----------

Regional zonation -----------------------------

Local configuration ---------------------------

Effect of local climatic differences ----------

Effect of local differences in vegetation ____ _ 

Effect of local topographic differences _____ _ 

Effect of local hydrologic differences -------

Effect of the ocean -------------------

Effect of lakes -----------------------

Effect of rivers ----------------------

Effect of ground water ----------------

Effect of glaciers ---------------------

Effect of local geologic differences ----------

Application of geophysical methods in determining local configuration of permafrost __ 

Effect of permafrost on ground water --------------

Recharge ------------------------------------

~ovement -----------------------------------

Discharge ------------------------------------ Subpermafrost water ---------------------

Suprapermafrost water -------------------

Storage -------------------------------------- Occurrence of ground water -----------------------

1\lluvium of river valleys ----------------------

.Flood-plain and terrace deposits of continuouspermafrost zone --------------------

Colville River at Umiat ---------------

Shaviovik River valley ----------------

Ogotoruk Creek near Cape Thompson __ 

Selin Creek near Cape Lisburne --------

Kobuk, Koyukuk, and Chandalar River 

valleys, southern Brooks Range ------

Northern Seward Peninsula -----------

Flood-plain and terrace deposits of major 

valleys of discontinuous-permafrost zone 

Lower and middle Koyukuk River valley 

Page 

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Occurrence of ground water-Continued 

1\lluvium of river valleys-Continued 

Flood-plain and terrace deposits of major valleys of discontinuous-permafrost zone 

-Continued 

Yukon River valley -------------------

Tanana River valley ------------------

Northway-Tetlin area, upper Tanana 

River valley -------------------

Eielson Air Force Base -----------

Fairbanks area -------------------

Nenana --------------------------

~into --------------------------- ~anley Hot Springs --------------

Kuskokwim River valley --------------

Copper River Lowland ---------------- Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay lowlands ----

1\lluvial fans of major valleys -------------

Northern Alaska ---------------------

Yukon River valley -------------------

Tanana River valley ------------------

Kuskokwim River valley --------------

Alluvium of mountain and upland valleys in 

discontinuous-permafrost zone -------

Uplands north of Yukon River --------

Southern Seward Peninsula ------------

Yukon-Tanana Upland ----------------

Circle mining district ------------- Eagle-Fortymile mining district ___ _ 

Rampart mining district ----------

Tofty-Eureka-Hot Springs mmmg 

district ------------------------

Fairbanks mining district ---------

Yukon-Kuskokwim region -------------

Long-Poorman mining district -----

Iditarod mining district -----------

Innoko mining district ------------

1\laska Range ------------------------

Kilbuck Mountains -------------------

Glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits of interior 

valleys --------------------------------

Copper River Lowland --------------------

Coastal-lowland deposits ----------------------

Bars, spits, and beaches -------------------

Barrow ------------------------------

Point Lay ---------------------------

F'age 

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III 
IV CONTENTS 

Page Page 

Occurrence of ground water-Continued 

Coastal-lowland deposits-Continued 

Occurrence of ground water-Continued 

Bedrock of uplands and mountains-Continued 

Bars, spits, and beaches-Continued 

Point Hope ---------------------------

]{otzebue ----------------------------

Teller -------------------------------

Point Spencer ------------------------

Shaktoolik ---------------------------

Tanunak ----------------------------- Gambell, St. Lawrence Island ----------

Deltas of major rivers -------------------

Arctic Coastal Plain ----------------------

Coastal plain at Nome --------------------

Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet lowlands -------

Distribution and thickness of permafrost57 Continued 

57 Continuous-permafrost zone-Continued 

59 Brooks Range --------------------

59 Discontinuous-permafrost zone ---------

59 Yukon-Tanana Upland near 

59 Fairbanks -----------------

60 Alaska Range --------------------

60 Talkeetna Mountains ----- --------

61 Chugach-]{enai Mountains ---------

66 Wrangell Mountains --------------

68 Other uplands of interior Alaska __ 

69 

72 

72 

72 

73 

73 

73 

73 

Bedrock of uplands and mountains ------------- 68 Isolated hills and uplands in the 

FIGURE 

Distribution and thickness of permafrost ___ _ 68 coastal lowland of western Alaska 73 

73 

75 

76 

1. 

2. 

3-8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

23. 

24. 

25. 

Continuous-permafrost zone ------------

Arctic Foothills ------------------

68 Quality of water ---------------------------------

68 Conclusions --------------------------------------

References ---------------------------------------

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Map showing distribution of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere -------------------------------- 3 

Geologic map showing major geohydrologic environments in the permafrost region -------------------- 4 

Maps showing distribution of basic data used in this report ----------------------------------------- 6 

Schematic diagram of ground-temperature change with depth in permafrost regions and in regions 

having no permafrost ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 

Map showing permafrost zones and selected permafrost temperatures -------------------------------- 16 

Schematic representation of the effect of bodies of water on configuration of permafrost in the continuouspermafrost zone------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 

Map showing depth to base of frozen alluvium in the flood plain and low terraces of part of the Chena 

River near Fairbanks-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 

Well-location map, Umiat area ------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 

Generalized geologic map showing distribution and thickness of permafrost in part of the Fairbanks 

mining district -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 

Well-location and geologic sketch map of the Bethel area ------------------------------------------- 40 

Geologic map and cross sections of the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield area ---------------------------- 41 

Well-location map of the Tok area, Tanana River valley------------------------------------------ 43 

Geologic map of Fort Greely area, showing slope of the potentiometric surface and location of selected 

wells -~-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45 

Geologic sections showing permafrost depth through the Happy Creek area and the Dome Creek valley, 

Fairbanks mining district --------------------------------------------------------------------- 49 

Hydrologic map of the Isabella Creek valley ------------------------------------------------------ 50 

Map showing location of test holes in the Barrow area ---------------------=---------------------- 56 

Map showing location of wells and test holes at ]{otzebue ------------------------------------------- 58 

Cross sections showing relation of permafrost table to topography and to ground-water conditions, Point 

Spencer spit, Seward Peninsula----------------------------------------------------------------- 60 

Map showing location of test wells and test holes, Cape Simpson area ----------------------------- 66 

Generalized geologic map and cross section of the coastal plain at N orne ---------------------------- 67 

TABLES 

TABLE 1. Data on permafrost and ground water in the Colville River valley at Umiat----------------------------

Page 

28 

2. Depth of frozen alluvium in Fairbanks area wells ----------------------------------------------------

3. Data on permafrost and ground water in the Arctic Coastal Plain ------------------------------------

4. Data on permafrost and ground water in the Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range ---------------------

38 

62 

70 
GROUND WATER IN PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

By JOHN R. WILLIAMS 

ABSTRACT 

Although ground water in permafrost regions in Alaska 

occurs according to the same geologic and hydrologic principles prevailing in temperate regions, subfreezing temperatures result in profound modification of ground-water flow 

systems. Frozen ground is an impermeable layer which: (1) 

Restricts recharge, discharge, and movement of ground 

water, (2) acts as a confining layer, and (3) limits the 

volume of unconsolidated deposits and bedrock in which 

liquid water may be stored. Frozen ground in many areas 

eliminates shallow aquifers and requires that wells be drilled 

deeper than in similar geologic environments having no permafrost. Although little is known about the effect of permafrost and low water temperatures on quality of ground 

water, the restricted circulation imposed by permafrost 

boundaries may increase the concentration of dissolved solids 

in ground water in some areas. Low ground temperatures 

above and below permafrost result in ground-water temperatures ranging from oo to 4.5°C (Celsi~s). At these temperatures, ground water is more viscous and moves more slowly 

than in temperate regions. 

Permafrost is defined as unconsolidated deposits or 

bedrock that continuously have had a temperature below ooc 

for 2 years to thousands of years. It formed when the balance between net heat lost to the atmosphere at the surface 

and that received from sources within the e.uth produced 

negative CC) temperatures below the depth of maximum 

summer thawing. The permafrost region in Alaska is 

divided into: (1) the continuous-permafrost zone, which 

pccupies the area draining to the Arctic Ocean and Chukchi 

Sea where permafrost is present nearly everywhere to 

recorded depths of as much as 1,330 feet and (2) the discontinuous-permafrost zone, which occupies much of the area 

draining to the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean, where permafrost is at least 600 feet thick locally, but is broken by 

unfrozen zones that become progressively more extensive 

southward. 

Local variations in the thickness, areal extent, and temperature of permafrost depend on variable thermal properties of earth materials and on local differences in the rate 

of heat flow from within the earth, climate, topography, vegetation, geology, and hydrology. In many places in the discontinuous-permafrost zone, these local variations mask the 

regional southward decrease in areal extent and thickness 

and southward increase in permafrost temperature. Knowledge of local variations in permafrost distribution is important in locating ground-water sources and in understanding 

the hydrology of specific sites. 

Ground water occurs above, below, and locally w. 'lin, permafrost. In the continuous-permafrost zone, the most economically developed sources of water are in unfrozen alluvium beneath large lakes and rivers. Water is brackish or 

saline in bedrock beneath permafrost in much of this z,one 

draining to the Arctic Ocean, although fresh water is discharged from springs along faults bounding the limestonE~ of 

the Lisburne Group in the Brooks Range. 

In the discontinuous-permafrost zone, ground water is produced locally from shallow aquifers above permafrost of 

offshore bars and spits because water within or below the 

frozen beach deposits is saline. Elsewhere, potential contamination of shallow aquifers makes desirable a source of "MI.ter 

beneath the frozen layer. In major valleys and in many 

smaller upland and mountain valleys, ground water is available in alluvium beneath permafrost or in unfrozen alluvium 

beneath or adjacent to riverbeds. The frozen layer is generally thicker and areally more extensive beneath terraces 

than beneath flood plains. The thickness of frozen ground 

beneath stabilized dunes resting on alluvium is generally 

greater than that beneath adjacent alluvial deposits not ~eovered by dunes. Limited data suggest that the base of the 

frozen layer is commonly above the water table beneath the 

apexes of alluvial and outwash fans in major valleys .. In 

coastal plains and in lowlands underlain by glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits, the complex stratigraphy is paramount in controlling the movement and storage of ground 

water. In some areas, however, water movement is controlled 

by impermeable permafrost boundaries; and where the 

frozen ground extends into bedrock, the unconsolidated 

deposits are unproductive. 

Ground water is obtained from unfrozen bedrock abov·e or 

beneath permafrost in mountains and uplands and, locally, 

in some valleys where the unconsolidated deposits are frozen 

or are too fine grained to yield water. Water is discharged 

from bedrock at springs that may be either cool or ther:mal. 

The hydrology of bedrock aquifers is unknown, but unfrozen 

zones apparently exist beneath streams, snowbanks, lakes, 

glaciers, and south-facing slopes. These zones permit water 

to enter the bedrock. Saline or brackish water is common in 

marine sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic age in the Arctic 

Foothills, in the Arctic Coastal Plain, and in the Copper 

River Lowland. These rocks are apparently the sourc~~ of 

saline water in the unconsolidated deposits of part of the 

Copper River Lowland. 

Ground-water supplies are unaffected by permafrost in the 

following population centers within the permafrost region: 

Anchorage, Palmer, King Salmon, Dillingham, and Tok. :Farther north, at Big Delta, Northway, Fairbanks, McGrath, 

Bethel, Galena, Tanana, Nenana, and Fort Yukon, the 

ground-water potential is slightly to seriously affected by 

permafrost. Ground water is of scant quantity and poor 

quality, or lacking at Glennallen, Nome, Kotzebue, and many 

coastal settlements because of a combination of permafrost 

and unfavorable geologic conditions. 

1 
2 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

INTRODUCTION 

Permafrost, in which ground temperature is perennially below 0°C, lies beneath about 24 percent of 

the earth's land area (Black, 1954, p. 842), chiefly 

in Arctic and Subarctic regions (fig. 1) and in the 

Antarctic. Permafrost also occurs at high altitudes 

in mountainous parts of the temperate regions. 

Until about 1930, the forbidding climate of the permafrost regions and their remoteness from population centers had discouraged development of anything but a primitive economy based on fishing, 

hunting, trapping, and mining. In recent years, however, under the impetus of World War II and the 

need for land and resources for an expanding world 

population and more recently the discovery of oil 

near Prudhoe Bay, the Arctic and Subarctic have 

been developing rapidly. As development has progressed, the need has increased for safe, dependable, 

year-round supplies of potable water. River and 

lake water and snow and ice, once the major 

sources of water in these regions, are inconvenient 

to develop and costly to distribute. Some surface 

water and shallow ground water have a high degree 

of color and objectionable dissolved organic and 

mineral constituents. This is not unique to permafrost areas. During the summer months many glacier-fed streams carry suspended sediment. In 

winter, some streams and lakes yield little or no 

water and intakes tend to ice over. To avoid some 

of these problems, the use of ground water has 

increased as economic growth has justified the 

expense of drilling wells. 

In permafrost regions, as in temperate regions, 

ground-water occurrence depends primarily on the 

lithology and structure of the unconsolidated deposits and bedrock and on their hydrologic properties, 

but this occurrence is subject to certain limitations 

imposed by permafrost. The major limitations are 

as follows : ( 1) Permafrost acts as an impermeable 

barrier to the movement of ground water, because 

the pore spaces are generally filled with ice within 

the zone of saturation. Recharge and discharge of 

water to and from aquifers beneath permafrost are 

therefore limited to the unfrozen zones that perforate the permafrost. ( 2) Permafrost, ranging from a 

few feet to at least 1,330 feet thick in Alaska, limits 

the number of sites from which water can be produced from shallow wells. It commonly is necessary 

to drill to greater depths in permafrost regions 

than in comparable geologic environments in temperate regions. The near-surface unconsolidated 

deposits that provide abundant water in some parts 

of the temperate regions are commonly frozen, and 

utilization of aquifers of lower yield or poorer quality beneath the permafrost may be necessary. (3) 

The ground-water temperature ranges from 0° 

to 4.5°C because of low ground temperature above 

and below permafrost. In this temperature range, 

ground water is more viscous and moves more 

slowly than in temperate regions (Brandon, 1965, p. 

176-177). 

PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS 

Although the first knowledge of permafrost 

reached centers of learning nearly 400 years ago 

(Sumgin and others, 1940; L. L. Ray, 1952), the 

first scientific investigations were those of Kotzebue 

(1821) in Alaska, Richardson (1841, 1854) in 

Canada, and Middendorf (1848, 1867) in Siberia. 

The extensive literature through 1960 on ground 

water in permafrost regions and a history of permafrost studies are summarized in an annotated 

bibliography (Williams, 1965). The present report 

summarizes most of the literature on Alaska and 

includes material published through April 1964. 

PRESENT INVESTIGATION 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE 

The present investigation was undertaken to provide information for more economical and effective 

methods of appraising and developing the groundwater resources of Alaska. This investigation was 

suggested by Cederstrom, Johnston, and Subitzky 

(1953, p. 26). This report emphasizes the occurrence of ground water in relation to the permafrost 

and the geologic environment. It cannot cover all 

aspects of the field of permafrost. Only a generalized, nonmathematical summary of the origin and 

history of permafrost and a discussion of some of 

the factors that influence the local configuration of 

permafrost are given, as an aid to understanding 

the effect of permafrost on recharge, discharge, 

movement, and storage of ground water in a given 

geologic environment. The reader desiring a more 

sophisticated treatment of permafrost as an aid in 

planning future investigations of the thermodynamic relations between permafrost and ground 

water will find some of the references cited in this 

report helpful. 

The material is presented in sections on each of 

the major geologic environments in the permafrost 

region (fig. 2). These environments were selected 

because the geologic conditions controlling the 

occurrence of ground water are broadly similar 

from one area to another and because the environments are easily identified on topographic or geo-
120°E 

INTRODUCTION 

90°W 

EXPLANATION 

Southern limit of continuous permafrost Southern limit of discontinuous permafrost 

FIGURE !.-Distribution of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere. From R. J. E. Brown (1963, fig. 3) with modifi· 

cations in Alaskan permafrost boundaries. 
4 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

0 

C'HUKCHI 

SEA 

~ .. s.· S T LAWRENCE 

'~o 

HERING 

,S' E A 

\.,ST MAT'HEW 

ISLAND 

NUNIVAK 

PRIBILOF ISLANDS 

";;> 

Alluvium of major valleys 

Sand, gravel, and silt of flood plains, low terraces, 

and alluvial fans 

Coastal-lowland deposits 

r-1 

Chi~tly .~ilt and sa.nd, and subordinate amounts of 

gra.vel; includes sand and graz•el q( barM, beaches 

and spit.~. and .~and, xilt, and gravel q( deltas. 

Within limit11 Q( Plei.~tocene glaciation, include till, 

glaciomarine, and _q/a.cioestuarine deposit.~ 

R C T I C 0 C E' A 

EXPLANATION 

D 

Bedrock of mountains and uplands 

Chiefly bedrock ma:ntled locally by weathered bedrock 

n.1bble reworked by .frost action, a.llzwium, a.nd 

eolian depo.~its, and, within lintit q( Pleistocene 

gla.cia.tion, by glacial depoRz:ts 

Limit of Pleistocene glaciation 

Unconsolidated depositR within thz:x Iindt may inrlude 

till, sand and gravel, and silt and clay of glacia.l, 

glaciolacust 1·ine, glaciomarine, or glacioeRtua.rine 

origin. (Coulter and others, 1965) 

N BE .4 [.' F 0 R T 

SEA 

pACIFIC OCEAN 

Cook Inlet and Copper River Lowlands 

Approximate upper Iindt of lacustrine silt, clay, 

sa.nd, gravel. and stony Rift and clay q( e.rtensi·ve 

glacial lakeM in Copper River Lowland and q( 

glaciolacustrine,glacioe.~flwrine, and gla.cioma rine 

depositR in the Cook Inlet lml'land 

Major glaciers and ice fields 

Contact 

FIGURE 2.-Geology and major geohydrologic environments in the permafrost region. Modified from Coulter and others 

(1965) and Karlstrom and others (1964). 
INTRODUCTION 5 

logic maps. They are: (1) Alluvium of flood plains, 

terraces, and fans in major valleys and of upland 

and mountain valleys, (2) deposits of coastal lowlands, (3) glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits of 

the interior valleys, and ( 4) bedrock of uplands and 

mountains. Glacial deposits, which are generally 

interbedded with alluvial or marine deposits, are 

discussed with those of the coastal and alluvial lowlands within the glaciated area (fig. 2). General 

principles, drawn largely from previous investigations, are summarized for each geologic environment, and examples are provided wherever data are 

available. 

Information on subsurface geology, permafrost, 

and ground water in Alaska is sparse, and in many 

areas there are no data. Therefore, it is possible to 

make only general statements on ground-water 

occurrence in each of the geologic environments. 

Extrapolation of data to different localities within 

the same environment is commonly difficult because 

local permafrost configurations and geologic conditions differ. The following summary of general 

principles, factors that influence variations in the 

configuration of permafrost, and available data at 

many localities in Alaska, nevertheless, may be 

useful in the search for additional ground-water 

supplies at these places and in undeveloped areas of 

the State. 

This investigation, a part of the research program of the Water Resources Division, was made 

between September 1960 and June 1964. It was 

divided into two phases: (1) Preparation of an 

annotated bibliography of foreign and domestic literature (Williams, 1965) and (2) preparation of a 

summary and interpretation of the data existing in 

the literature and in U.S. Geological Survey 

records. Fieldwork was limited to brief trips to 

confer with geologists engaged in field mapping, to 

observations of test drilling near Rampart and 

McKinley Park station, to visits to Cape Lisburne 

(Feulner and Williams, 1967), and other sites in 

western and northwestern Alaska. Drillers' logs 

were collected and a few well inventories were 

made in the Fairbanks area. Information was collected from private and governmental sources in 

Anchorage and Fairbanks. 

BASIC DATA 

Data on the distribution and thickness of frozen 

ground are available from drillers' logs of water 

wells, foundation borings, test pits, exploratory oil 

wells, seismic shotholes, and mine and prospect 

shafts. The scattered exposures in riverbanks, sea 

cliffs, and placer mines generally do not provide 

information on the thickness of frozen ground nor 

on its relation to ground water. In an undevelopE!d 

region such as Alaska, subsurface data are nece:ssarily limited. Most data were from the Tanana 

H.iver valley near Fairbanks, where frozen ground 

is widespread, or from the Anchorage area and 

J~atanuska Valley where permafrost poses no problem in obtaining ground water. A few groups of 

borings, wells, and shafts are concentrated at 

smaller settlements and at mineral exploration sites. 

Of an estimated 15,000 records of wells, boring·s, 

and shafts within the permafrost region, few~er 

than 1,500 provide data on the total thickness of 

frozen ground. The pertinent data are shown in 

figures 3-8 and on a larger scale (figs. 12-25) 

where data were fairly. abundant. 

Subsurface records logged by drillers may show 

the depth to which water in the ground is froze1n, 

but do not show the lower limit of below ooc 

ground temperature which, by definition, constitutes 

the base of permafrost. The base of frozen ground 

as recorded may lie above the lower limit of permafrost, because of the subzero freezing point of 

mineralized water or because of difficulties in recognizing whether unsaturated unconsolidated deposits 

or bedrock are frozen or unfrozen. The actual base 

of permafrost, defined by the ooc isogeotherm, is 

determined only by temperature measurements. 

Although these measurements are available for 

some wells in northern Alaska, they are not available for most areas in Alaska. Therefore, the term 

"permafrost" in the sections of this report describing ground-water occurrence and local configuration 

of permafrost generally refers to the reported base 

of frozen ground. 

All subsurface data available to April 1964 are 

used in this report. The writer is unfamiliar with 

the conditions under which most of the holes were 

constructed and lacks the necessary thermal data 

and supervised test drilling by which the data can 

be checked. Undoubtedly, many records are inaccurate because of difficulties such as those inherent in 

recognizing the frozen condition of unsaturated 

ground, lack of familiarity with the drilling characteristics of frozen ground, and use of excess drilling 

water, which tends to thaw the frozen ground adjacent to the hole. 

Long-term water-level measurements have been 

made in only one well in permafrost near Fairbanks 

(Cederstrom, 1963; Waller, 1963, p. 11-12) and in 

a few wells in the Anchorage area and Matanuska 

Valley. Most of the water-level observations cited in 
6 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

EXPLANATION FOR FIGURES 3-8 

Shafts, borings, and wells showing depth of frozen ground and 

occurrence of ground water 

042 

No frozen ground reported; fresh water. Number is depth 

of hole, in feet 

036 

No frozen ground reported; saline water having chloride 

content of more than 500 mg/1. Number is depth of 

hole, in feet .0.131 

No frozen ground reported; no significant yield of water. 

Number is depth of hole, in feet 

e54 

Ground frozen to depth indicated by number, in feet; 

fresh water beneath frozen ground 

.63 

Ground frozen to depth indicated by number, in feet; 

saline water having chloride content of more than 

500 mg/1 beneath frozen ground 

446 446+ 

Ground frozen to depth indicated by number, in feet; 

no significant yield of water. Numbers with ( +) symbol indicate that hole failed .to reach base of frozen 

ground; symbol without number indicates that record 

of depth of hole in frozen ~und is not available 

Springs 

oFresh to slightly mineralized water, temperature from 37°to 

100°C 

<t"-

Fresh to slightly mineralized water, temperature below 37°C 

..... Saline water having chloride content of more than 500mg/1, 

temperature below 30°C 

50 0 

---

50 100 MILES 

FIGURE 3.-Distribution of basic data used in this report. 

ALASKA 

MILES 

0 300 I I I I 
68~ 

A R 

.P 

INTRODUCTION 

C T I C 0 C E A 

ARCTIC 

50 100 MILES 

~-=~=-----~~====~ 

0 50 

FIGURE 4.-Map showing distribution of basic data used in this report. 

7 
8 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

ARCTIC 

144° 

50 100 MILES 

~~~~~~--&£======~ 

0 50 

FIGURE 5.-Map showing distribution of basic data used in this report. 
INTRODUCTION 

172° 

NORTON 

SOUND 

~ St. George 1. 

50 100 MILES 

~=c~~==e=~~======~ 

0 50 

FIGURE 6.-Map showing distribution of basic data used in this report. 

9 
10 

13 R 

GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

& 

~ 

.$' 

1t 

0 1.> 

I S ']' 

f:J 

~ 

014 

• ~ 

50 0 50 100 MILES 

FIGURE 7 .-Map showing distribution of basic data used in this report. 

60° 
INTRODUCTION 11 

0 

F 0 F A L 

fJ 

p A c I c 0 c E 

FIGURE 8.-Map showing distribution of basic data used in this report. 
12 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

this report were made by the driller during completion tests and were made in various years and different seasons. Simultaneous water-level observations have been made at Tok and Fort Greely to 

determine the slope of the water table or potentiometric surface. 

Chemical analyses of ground water are available 

for most public supplies and military installations. 

A few analyses are tabulated by Lohr ( 1957, p. 

6-7, 10-11) and Moore (1949, 1950), and others 

are listed and interpreted in reports on Alaskan 

ground water among the references cited in this 

report. Water temperature has been measured in 

about 150 wells, of which 50 were drilled through 

permafrost. 

term is defined exclusively on the basis of temperature, and it does not require the water within permafrost to be in the frozen state. Permafrost is 

synonomous with "perennially frozen ground" 

except where liquid water occurs even though the 

water temperature is below 0°C due to depression 

of the freezing point by dissolved mineral matter. 

The base of permafrost (fig. 9) is determined by 

the lower limit of ground temperatures that are 

below 0°C, and not necessarily by the lower limit of 

frozen ground. The upper surface of permafrost is 

called the permafrost table (fig. 9). The active layer 

is the zone above permafrost that thaws in summer 

and freezes again in winter (Muller, 1947, p. 6). 

The depth to which seasonal temperature fluctuations extend into permafrost or into unfrozen 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ground is called the level of zero annual amplitude 

The following organizations supplied boring and (fig. 9), beneath which the ground temperature 

well records: U.S. Army Engineer District, Alaska; remains virtually stable the year round (Muller, 

Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force; Department 1947, p. 218). The depth of the level of zero annual 

of Education and Department of Highways, State amplitude varies from place to place but is generof Alaska; Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Depart- ally between 50 and 80 feet. 

ment of the Interior; Federal Aviation Administra- Permafrost may become thicker and areally more 

tion; Pan American Petroleum Corp.; and Pure Oil extensive, or it may become thinner and less extenCo. The following drillers and drilling companies sive, in response to changes in the heat balance at 

furnished records: Earl McClure, AI Shott, Hatch the earth's surface. Permafrost that is out of therDrilling Co., Thibideau Drilling Co., Maurice mal equilibrium with the present mean annual 

Butler, and A. Anderson, all of Fairbanks; Ray ground-surface temperature and that must have 

Alderton, Tok; Bayless and Roberts, Copper Center; formed when the ground-surface temperature was 

and A. L. Nicholson, Bethel. Troy L. Pewe, former lower than it is now, is termed "relict permafrost." 

department head, and other members of the Depart- In some places, notably near the southern limit of 

ment of Geology, University of Alaska furnished permafrost, relict permafrost is separated from the 

well data and unpublished reports and have dis- base of the active layer by a thickness of ground 

cussed problems with the writer. Marvin D. that has a temperature above 0°C. Elsewhere, relict 

Mangus, Atlantic Richfield Co., provided informa- permafrost either is continuous with overlying pertion on springs in the Brooks Range. Subsurface mafrost that reflects present ground-surface terndata and geologic background for areas not visited perature or is separated from the overlying permawere furnished by colleagues in the Geological , frost by a zone having temperatures above 0°C. 

Survey. Transportation to western and northwest- Bodies of permafrost separated by a zone of posiern Alaska was provided by Alaskan Air Command, tive temperature are called layered permafrost 

U.S. Air Force, as part of an agreement under (Terzaghi, 1952, p. 33-34, fig. 13). Thermal data 

which the Geological Survey supplies technical for Alaska were not available to determine whether 

assistance on problems of water supply. Jay L. any of the records of alternating frozen and 

Morgan, hydrologic engineering aid, made invento- unfrozen ground indicate actual layered permafrost. 

ries of wells in selected areas near Fairbanks. Additional terms are defined in glossaries by Muller 

PERMAFROST 

DEFINITION AND TERMINOLOGY 

Permafrost is defined as soil, unconsolidated 

deposits, and bedrock at variable depths beneath the 

surface of the earth in which temperatures below 

ooc have existed from 2 to thousands of years 

(Sumgin and others, 1940; Muller, 1947, p. 3). The 

(1947, p. 213-224), Hennion (1955), and Williams 

(1965, p. 15-37). 

ORIGIN AND HISTORY 

Permafrost is formed when the balance between 

net heat lost to the atmosphere at the surface of the 

earth and heat received at the surface from sources 

within the earth produces negative ( °C) ground 
PERMAFROST 13 

MEAN ANNUAL GROUND-SURFACE TEMPERATURE 

Minimum annual -'\- 7 _!e~eratur~ 

Level of zero annual amplitude 

Permafrost regions Regions having no permafrost 

FIGURE 9.-Ground-temperature change with depth in permafrost regions and in regions having no permafrost. 

temperature below the base of the active layer (fig. 

9). But, at a given locality, the heat received from 

sources within the earth and the thermal properties 

of earth materials are relatively constant with time. 

Therefore, changes in the thermal regimen of permafrost at one place and differences in its regimen 

from one place to another nearby are largely a 

function of temporal changes or local differences in 

the factors that affect the temperature balance at 

the ground surface. These factors are : Solar radiation received at or transmitted from the surface; 

heat lost to the air or gained by convection or conduction; heat lost or gained by evaporation or condensation of surface moisture; heat conductivity, 

shading, and transpiration effects of vegetation; 

and reflectivity or albedo of the ground surface and 

its cover of vegetation (Carlson, 1952; R. J. E. 

Brown, 1965a, p. 20-25) . The rate of change in the 

thermal regimen of permafrost at any locality 

depends on the magnitude of changes in one or 

386-698 0 - 70 - 4 

more of these factors, their net effect on mean 

annual ground-surface temperature, and the thermal 

diffusivity of the rocks. Existing permafrost is, 

therefore, a product of fluctuations in the heat balance at the ground surface over a period of a few to 

thousands of years, and the local configuration of 

permafrost is a product of local differences in mean 

annual ground-surface temperature. 

The thickness of permafrost is determined by the 

geothermal gradient and the mean annual groundsurface temperature (Terzaghi, 1952, p. 18). Where 

the depth of penetration of winter cold exceeds that 

of summer warmth, permafrost will gradually 

extend downward. If the factors controlling the 

heat balance at the ground surface remain 

unchanged, the 0°C isogeotherm, or base of permafrost, will eventually reach a depth at which equilibrium exists between the heat lost to the atmosphere 

and that gained from sources within the earth. Subsequent changes in the factors governing the heat 
14 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

balance at the surface will either raise or lower the 

ground-surface temperature, and permafrost will 

either degrade or aggrade farther. If the temperature of the ground below the maximum depth of 

seasonal thaw is raised and maintained above 0°C, 

permafrost will degrade from above and below and 

will ultimately disappear. If formation of new permafrost takes place before the older permafrost has 

completely degraded, then layered permafrost may 

form in which the new and old permafrost are separated by a zone of positive temperature (0°C). In 

other places, younger .permafrost may extend downward to the upper surface of the older, or relict, 

permafrost. 

The position of the permafrost table is primarily 

a function of the annual amplitude of temperature 

fluctuations about the mean (Lachenbruch and 

others, 1962, p. 798). Therefore, changes in the factors affecting heat gained or lost at the ground surface may affect the position of the permafrost table 

even though the mean annual ground-surface temperature is not changed. Those changes which do 

affect the mean annual ground-surface temperature 

and the thermal regimen of permafrost also will 

affect the position of the permafrost table. 

Permafrost in Alaska was probably first formed 

during the glacial climate of early Pleistocene time. 

In unglaciated areas, permafrost has had a history 

of alternating aggradation and degradation in 

response to the climatic changes that corresponded 

to periods of glaciation and deglaciation. In areas 

covered by glaciers or by large proglacial lakes, 

insulation by thick ice or by water probably prevented formation of permafrost (Nichols, 1965, p. 

174). The changing climates of Pleistocene and Holocene time have caused shifts in the position of 

isotherms of mean annual ground-surface temperature and in the southern limit of permafrost northward during interglaciations and interstages and 

southward during glaciations and stages. 

Geologic studies of truncated ice wedges in permafrost show the depth of partial thaw of permafrost at Nome (Hopkins and others, 1960, p. 55) and 

at Fairbanks (Pewe, 1952, 1953, 1958a, b) during a 

warm climatic episode that followed the Wisconsin 

Glaciation. In the Copper River Lowland, most of 

the permafrost in the glaciolacustrine and glacial 

deposits of Wisconsin age was probably formed in 

Holocene time following withdrawal of a proglacial 

lake (Nichols, 1965, p. 172-175). 

Geothermal studies along the Arctic coast have 

provided many data on present-day ground-surface 

temperatures, on temporal changes in the thermal 

regimen of permafrost, and on lateral heat flow 

caused by shifts in the position of surface-water 

bodies (Lachenbruch, 1960; Lachenbruch and 

others, 1960, 1961). For example, the mean annual 

ground-surface temperature at Barrow has 

increased 4°C since 1850 and 2°C since 1930 (Lachenbruch and Brewer, 1962). This warming at the 

surface has affected the temperature of permafrost 

to a depth of 300 feet. Analysis of geothermal data 

from Ogotoruk Creek valley near Cape Thompson 

suggests a post-Pleistocene marine transgression, a 

recent lagoon filling, and a 1 oc increase in the 

mean ground-surface temperature during the last 

50 years (Lachenbruch and others, 1960). These 

changes in ground-surface temperature may not 

necessarily be caused by warming of the air temperature, but may be caused by changes in the 

amount of distribution of precipitation, by changes 

in the vegetative cover, or by other factors. 

DISTRIBUTION AND MAXIMUM THICKNESS 

Most of the 12,500,000 square miles of the earth's 

land area that lies within the permafrost region is 

in the Northern Hemisphere (fig. 1) . About half of 

the Soviet Union and Canada, 85 percent of Alaska, 

and parts of Scandinavia, Iceland, Mongolia, and 

China are included. Permafrost occurs in areas that 

are free of thick glaciers or ice caps in the northern 

90 percent of Greenland, in Spitsbergen, in the 

Canadian and Soviet Arctic archipelagoes, and in 

Antarctica. It has been reported in subglacial till in 

a boring that penetrated more than 5,000 feet of 

the Greenland ice cap (C. C. Langway, oral 

commun., 1967). Permafrost is also found in the 

high mountains of the temperate regions (Fisher, 

1953; Streiff-Beeker, 1953; Black, 1954; Mathews, 

1955; Lliboutry, 1957; Baranov, 1958; see especially 

summary by Baranov, 1959, p. 9-28). 

The greatest known thickness of permafrost, 

2,850 feet, has been reported in the mountains of 

the East Siberian District, U.S.S.R. (Tolstikhin and 

others, 1963, p. 164). Elsewhere in the Northern 

Hemisphere, the maximum known thickness is 

beneath land bordering the Arctic Ocean. Permafrost is about 2,000 feet thick at Kozhevnikov Beach 

near Nordvik, U.S.S.R. (fig. 1) (Shvetsov, 1951; 

Pinkow, 1943); 1,330 feet near Point Barrow, 

Alaska (Brewer, 1958b, p. 19); 1,050 feet in Spitsbergen (Werenskiold, 1922); and 1,000 feet at 

Thule, Greenland (Sturgis, 1953). In the Canadian 

Arctic archipelago, it is 1,280 feet thick at Resolute 

(Misener, 1955) and about 1,500 feet at Winter 

Harbour, Melville Island (U.S. Geological Survey, 
PERMAFROST 15 

1963c). The maximum recorded thickness in Antarctica is 500 feet beneath a glacier-free area 

(Shumskii, 1959). 

REGIONAL ZONATION 

The southern limit of permafrost in Alaska was 

mapped by Nikiforoff (1928), Bratsev (1940), and 

Taber (1943). Smith (1939, pl. 14) showed localities in which permafrost was known. The first maps 

of regional zonation (Black, 1950, fig. 1; 1954, fig. 

1), based on the Russian classification, subdivided 

the permafrost region of Alaska into three zones. 

They were (Black, 1954, p. 842-843): (1) Continuous-permafrost zone in which ground temperature 

at a depth of 30-50 feet is generally lower than 

-5°C, (2) discontinuous-permafrost zone in which 

temperature ranges from -5°C to -1 °C, and (3) 

sporadic-permafrost zone in which ground temperature is higher than -1 °C. According to Black (1954, 

p. 842), the thickness of permafrost in Alaska is: 

800-1,200 feet nearly everywhere in the continuous 

zone, except beneath a few large lakes and rivers; 

as much as 200-400 feet in the discontinuous zone; 

and generally less than 100 feet in the sporadic 

zone. Black's classification was modified by Hopkins, 

Karlstrom, and others (1955, fig 5) by adding a nopermafrost zone in which only isolated areas of permafrost exist and by eliminating ground temperatures in defining the zones. Some of the more recent 

maps modify the boundaries of the earlier reports, 

for example, Holmes, Hopkins, and Foster ( 1965, p. 

88), Pewe (1965, p. 78), Williams and Waller 

(1965, p, 160), and the present report follow the 

usage of Black (1954) and Hopkins, Karlstrom and 

others (1955) in drawing the boundaries between 

the discontinuous and continuous zones (fig. 9). The 

present report eliminates the sporadic zone in order 

to conform the usage in Canada and because available records of ground temperature at or near the 

level of zero annual amplitude in Alaska (fig. 9) are 

inconsistent with its original definition and delineation on maps. Ferrians (1965) has prepared a permafrost map of Alaska using a new classification 

based on the relative proportion of unfrozen and. 

frozen ground, thickness of permafrost, and terrain 

considerations. 

The continuous-permafrost zone occupies the area 

draining to the Arctic Ocean and to the Chukchi 

Sea. According to records available for the Arctic 

drainage basin, the depth to the base of permafrost 

ranges from about 500 to 1,300 feet, and permafrost temperature at or below the level of zero 

annual amplitude ranges from -5.5° to -10.6°C. 

The permafrost table is within a few feet of the 

surface except beneath lakes and streams, where 

the permafrost table is depressed from a few feet to 

several hundred feet due to the warming effect of 

the water. The record of deepest permafrost in that 

part of the continuous zone south of the Brooks 

Range is greater than 365 feet, but deeper drill-hole 

temperature measurements are not available from 

that area. 

The discontinuous-permafrost zone occupies most 

of the area between the southern foothills of the 

Brooks Range and the Pacific coastal ranges, most 

of which drains to the Bering Sea and Pacific 

Ocean. The extent to which permafrost is perforated by unfrozen zones (having temperatures above 

0°C) depends largely on local conditions, but the 

proportion of unfrozen ground is generally greater 

in the south than in the north. Known depth to the 

base of frozen ground ranges from a few feet to 

about 600 feet. Although permafrost temperature at 

the level of zero annual amplitude is expected 

to range from 0° to -5°C when an adequate observational network becomes established, the measurements now available are between -0.3° and -2.2°C. 

The southern limit of permafrost shown in figure 

10 lies farther south than that of previous reports 

(Black, 1954, fig. 1; Hopkins and others, 1955, fig. 

5; and Ferrians, 1965), but is approximately the 

same as that of Pewe ( 1965). As drawn, the line 

represents the southernmost known permafrost in 

lowland areas, and the writer's estimate of its 

approximate position in mountainous regions where 

data are lacking. The fact that permafrost is known 

in the Coast Range of British Columbia (Mathews, 

1955) and in many mountains in temperate regions 

(Baranov, 1959) suggests that permafrost may also 

be present locally at high elevations in the 

Aleutian Range, Kodiak Island, and the Coast 

Range of southern and southeastern Alaska, far 

south of the limit shown in figures 1 and 10. 

LOCAL CONFIGURATION 

Although regional zonation is useful in classifying and mapping permafrost~ on a nationwide or 

statewide scale, local configuration is far more 

important in studies of ground-water occurrence. 

Information on local variations in thickness, areal 

extent, and thermal regimen is required to understand the effects of permafrost on ground-water 

hydrology. The variations depend on local differences in the mean annual ground-surface temperature. The data and the methods necessary for quantitative analysis of the factors that affect the mean 
16 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

annual ground-surface temperature are not available. Nevertheless, the effect of these variations on 

the temperature and on the local configuration of 

permafrost is discussed below, qualitatively, in 

terms of climatic, vegetative, topographic, hydrologic, and geologic differences between local areas. 

0 

CHUKCHI 

S E A. 

BE'RING 

8 E A 

~ST MATTHEW 

ISLAND 

PRIBILOF ISLANDS 

'1::> 

ARCTIC 

EFFECT OF LOCAL CLIMATIC DIFFERENCES 

Local differences in distribution of net radiation, 

rainfall, snowfall, and effect of wind in transmitting or removing heat from the ground surface and 

in redistributing the snow cover determine some of 

the variations in distribution, thickness, and ternCEAN BEAUFORT 

SEA 

144~ 

pACIFIC OCEAN 

MiLES 

EXPLANATION 

.- 5.5° 

Data point showing temperature of permafrost at level of zero annual amplitude, in degrees celsius 

Approximate southern limit of 

continuous permafrost 

Approximate southern limit of 

discontinuous permafrost 

FIGURE 10.-Permafrost zones and selected permafrost temperature! 
PERMAFROST 17 

perature of permafrost. Changes in regional climate 

with time or in one of the climate components, 

such as net radiation or snowfall, will affect the 

mean annual ground-surface temperature. Such 

changes in ground-surface temperature in local 

areas may be in the same direction but of different 

magnitude because they are influenced by the local 

effects of vegetation, thermal properties of soils, 

topography, geology, and hydrology. Annual fluctuations in the climatic components affect the thickness 

of the active layer. 

On a regional basis,_ analysis of mean annual air 

temperatures measured 4 feet above the ground at 

meteorological statjons and analysis of freezing and 

thawing indexes derived from these air-temperature 

measurements have been used to find a correlation 

between the southern boundary of permafrost and 

the boundary between continuous and discontinuous 

permafrost (R. J. E. Brown, 1960, p. 176, 1965b). 

Although few correlations were found, the southward increase in mean annual air temperature and 

thawing index and decrease in freezing index are 

generally parallel to southward regional changes in 

thickness, extent, and temperature of permafrost. 

For example, the southern limit of permafrost in 

Alaska (fig. 10) lies along the + 2°C isotherm of 

mean annual air temperature uncorrected for topography, and the boundary between the continuousand discontinuous-permafrost zones lies along the 

-so and -10°C isotherms as calclated by Pewe 

(1965). . 

Local differences in snow distribution and differences in the time of maximum ·accumulation of 

snow and snow drifting may cause local differences 

in ground-surface temperature as shown in the following example. Calculations of the shift in mean 

annual ground-surface temperature due to snow 

showed that the differences between mean annual 

ground-surface and air temperatures caused by 

snow cover are 4°-5°C at Barrow on the Arctic 

coast and as much as 7°C at Umiat, 80 miles inland 

(Lachenbruch, 1959, p. 28). Because both localities 

have the same mean annual air temperature the 

difference in ground temperature due to snow' may 

explain the difference of about 2°C in permafrost 

temperature between these localities (Lachenbruch 

1959, p. 28-29). Absence of permafrost in wate; 

wells drilled in cirques and protected hollows where 

snow cover is tens of feet thick has been noted in 

western Alaska at Cape Romanzof and at Northeast 

Cape, St. Lawrence Island (fig. 6). 

EFFECT OF LOCAL DIFFERENCES IN VEGETATION 

Local differences in vegetation are important in 

controlling the temperature at the ground surface. 

These differences include: (1) Type of plant cover 

and its effects on heat transfer, shading, wind, and 

precipitation, (2) insolation reaching the ground 

surface, (3) reflectivity and absorbtivity of solar 

radiation, and ( 4) amount of convection and transpiration (Benninghoff, 1965, p. 9-13; R. J. E. 

Brown, 1965a, p. 20-25). The differences affect 

both the annual range in ground-surface temperature, which regulate the thickness of the active 

layer, and the mean annual temperature of the 

ground surface, which influences the thermal regimen of permafrost. 

In the continuous-permafrost zone the effects 

of vegetation are reflected largely by differences in 

thickness of the active layer and do not appear to 

change significantly the thermal regimen of permafrost (R. J. E. Brown, 1965a). But, in the discontinuous-permafrost zone, where ground-surface temperature is near 0°C, vegetation may influence the 

thickness of the active layer and may determine 

whether permafrost is present or absent (Benninghoff, 1965). Removal of vegetation by man, or 

its alteration by natural change such as forest 

fires, can raise the ground-surface temperature 

sufficiently to thaw permafrost to depths of 35-40 

feet in some parts of the discontinuous zone, and 

can alter the thermal regimen of permafrost below 

that depth. On the other hand, the natural plant succession, by changing the character of the vegetation, may favor aggradation of permafrost (Tulina, 

1936). Lack of vegetation at high altitudes is cited 

as one of the causes of thick permafrost on summits 

and upper slopes of mountains in the discontinuous-permafrost zone of Canada (Wernecke, 1932; 

Ives, 1960; Annersten, 1963). 

EFFECT OF LOCAL TOPOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES 

Local effects related to topography are caused by 

increasingly cold microclimate with higher altitude 

and by topographic irregularities that cause differences in shading and exposure to insolation, uneven 

distribution of snow cover, and exposure to wind. 

Increasingly cold microclimate with altitude is demonstrated by the presence of permafrost at high 

altitudes in temperate regions. Mean annual groundsurface temperature is lower and permafrost is 

thicker and more extensive on shaded, northwardfacing slopes than on southward-facing slopes. 

Local differences in relief cause uneven distribution 

of snow which is blown into depressions and 

removed from ridges. 
18 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

EFFECT OF LOCAL HYDROLOGIC DIFFERENCES 

. The warming effect of the ocean, a lake, or a 

river on ground-surface temperature is responsible 

for large local differences in permafrost temperature, thickness, and areal extent. The hydrologic 

thermal effects are determined by: (1) The magnitude of the difference between the temperature of 

the ground surface adjacent to a body of water and 

the temperature of sediments immediately beneath 

the water, (2) the thermal properties of the earth 

materials, and ( 3) the geologic history of the body 

of water. These effects may extend to a depth of 

several hundred feet (Lachenbruch, 1957a). Differences between ground-surface temperature adjacent 

to and beneath glaciers and thick accumulations of 

snow cause similar local variations in permafrost 

characteristics. 

EFFECT OF THE OCEAN 

The effect of the ocean on the configuration of 

permafrost has been calculated from geothermal 

data from Barrow, Cape Simpson, and Cape 

Thompson, Alaska. Near Barrow, ground temperature at a depth of 90 feet increases from -7.33°C 

beneath the land 350 feet from shore to -0.96°C in 

ocean-bottom sediments (Brewer, 1958b, table 1). 

The indicated depth of permafrost decreases from 

1,330 feet 8 miles from the coast to 1,045 feet at a 

point 1,200 feet from the coast and to 670 feet at a 

point of land only 400 feet from the beach (MacCarthy, 1952). The latter two figures are uncorrected for the thermal effects of nearby lakes and 

possible shifts in the shoreline (Brewer, 1958b, p. 

24). Ocean temperatures near Barrow are below 

ooc, and permafrost may be expected in ocean-bottom sediments beneath ocean depths of less than 

500-1,000 feet, where the temperatures are above 

ooc (Brewer, 1958b, p. 25). However, water in the 

sediments may be unfrozen if it is saline. From theoretical considerations, Lachenbruch (1957a) does 

not expect permafrost to occur at depths greater 

than 100 feet below the ocean bottom farther than a 

few thousand feet from shore, except where shorelines are transgressing. No studies have been made 

of the thermal effect of the ocean on distribution of 

permafrost in the discontinuous zone. 

EFFECT OF LAKES 

Studies of the effect of lakes on the thermal regimen of permafrost have been made in the continuous-permafrost zone of northern Alaska (Lachenbruch, 1957b; Brewer, 1958a, b; Lachenbruch and 

others, 1962) and of Canada (Johnston and Brown, 

1961, 1963; W. G. Brown, 1963). The lakes of 

northern Alaska may be divided into: (1) Those 

less than 7 feet deep, which normally freeze to the 

bottom in winter and (2) those more than 7 feet 

deep which do not freeze to the bottom in winter 

(Lachenbruch and others, 1962, p. 797) . The permafrost table beneath the shallow lakes that are 

2-3 feet deep is generally within 2 feet of the lake 

bottom, but permafrost temperatures beneath the 

lake are as much as 3°C warmer than those beneath 

the surrounding tundra (Brewer, 1958b, p. 25). 

Beneath small lakes that do not freeze to the bottom 

in winter (fig. 11), the permafrost table is 

depressed into the shape of a saucer, and an 

upward indentation is formed in the base of permafrost. The thermal effect of large, deep lakes (fig 

11) may form an unfrozen zone that perforates the 

permafrost (Lachenbruch and others, 1962, p. 798). 

For example, thermal studies beneath Imikpuk 

Lake, one of the small, deep lakes near Barrow 

(Brewer, 1958a, p. 284) show that the ooc isogeotherm lies at a depth of 190 feet, but that the 

unfrozen zone may be even deeper because of 

depression of the freezing point of saline ground 

water in bedrock beneath the lake. · 

The history of formation of lakes is especially 

important because many are formed by the cave-in 

or thaw process. The depression occupied by cave-in 

type lakes was formed initially by collapse of the 

ground following thaw of ground ice. Many such 

lake basins have subsequently been filled by peat 

and organic-rich sediment which become frozen. 

The basins may be reopened by thawing to form a 

second-generation lake (Wallace, 1948; Hopkins, 

1949) . Lakes that occupy abandoned channels of 

rivers exert a warming effect on ground temperatures, which is complicated by the earlier thermal 

effect of the river and by the time elapsed since the 

river abandoned its channel. Proglacial lakes of 

Pleistocene age may have prevented formation of 

permafrost and perhaps degraded preexisting permafrost (Nichols, 1965, p. 172-175). 

Although geothermal studies have yet to be 

applied to lakes in the discontinuous-permafrost 

zone of Alaska, the same principles are applicable 

as in the continuous zone. In the discontinuous zone, 

where permafrost temperature is higher and the 

permafrost is thinner than in the continuous zone, a 

greater number of the small, deep lakes may be 

underlain by unfrozen zones that perforate the permafrost, and correspondingly, the unfrozen zone 

beneath large, deep lakes would be larger. 
PERMAFROST 19 

EFFECT OF RIVERS 

In the continuous-permafrost zone, only the largest rivers produce a temperature anomaly that is 

great enough to form an unfrozen zone through the 

permafrost. In northern Alaska, the Colville River 

has formed an unfrozen zone several hundred feet 

deep beneath its bed. The unfrozen zone may perforate permafrost, as suggested by Black (p. 119, in 

Hopkins and others, 1955) . Drilling beneath smaller 

streams, such as the shallow, braided Shaviovik 

River (Brewer, 1958b, p. 26, fig. 10) and Selin 

Creek near Cape Lisburne (Feulner and Williams, 

1967) showed that permafrost exists at shallow 

depths beneath the streambeds. The permafrost 

temperature beneath the Shaviovik River is g·oc 

warmer than that beneath the tundra bordering the 

stream to a depth of 135 feet (Brewer, 1958b, fig. 

10), but Brewer (1958b, p. 26) expects that the 

temperature curves of permafrost beneath the 

tundra and beneath the stream will converge below 

that depth. Shallow, sluggish streams connecting 

lakes on the Arctic coastal plain are underlain by 

shallow, linear unfrozen zones and linear indentations in the base of permafrost (fig. 10) (Lachenbruch and others, 1962, p. 798). 

In the discontinuous-permafrost zone, unfrozen 

zones that perforate permafrost lie beneath most 

large and medium-sized rivers. The minimum size of 

rivers having such unfrozen zones varies with the 

heat budget of the river and the mean annual 

ground-surface temperature in the surrounding terrain. The minimum size required for formation of 

an unfrozen zone that perforates permafrost 

becomes smaller southward, which is consistent with 

the regional zonation in which permafrost has 

higher temperature and smaller areal extent and 

thickness toward the south. Evidence for the existence of unfrozen zones that perforate the permafrost beneath rivers in Alaska is limited to data 

from borings beneath the Tanana River at Nenana 

(fig. 5) and along riverbanks or on islands in the 

Kuskokwim, Yukon, Tanana, and smaller rivers. 

These rivers are discussed in the sections describing 

ground-water occurrence. Data needed for calculating the thermal effect of rivers on permafrost 

according to the methods of Lachenbruch and W. G. 

Brown are not yet available for the discontinuouspermafrost zone of Alaska. 

Migration of a river across its valley or other 

shifts in the position of the channel cause migration 

of the unfrozen zone beneath the river. Not only 

does the thermal effect of the river influence the 

extent of the unfrozen zone, but the speed of migration influences the length of time available for the 

thermal effects to alter the thermal regimen of the 

permafrost. As a river migrates, it erodes the 

II deep lake 

Large deep lake 

FIGURE 11.-Schematic representation of the effect of bodies of water on configuration of permafrost in the continuouspermafrost zone. (Modified from Lachenbruch and others, 1962.) 
20 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

deposits along its cutbank and deposits material 

along the slip-off slope. The deposits on the cutbank 

side of a migrating river have been subjected to 

warming action of the river for a short period and 

have been exposed to cold air for a longer time than 

the deposits along the stream and on the slip-off 

slope. Studies in the Soviet Union show that permafrost on the cutbank side is commonly colder 

than on the slip-off side (Mordvinov, 1940). The 

newly formed deposits of the slip-off slope are initially unfrozen, but become frozen with passage of 

time, as the river migrates (Pewe, 1947, 1948a). 

The local configuration of permafrost and its temperature, therefore, are closely related to the history of river migration. 

EFFECT OF GROUND WATER 

Ground water in contact with permafrost may: 

( 1) Lower or raise the temperature of permafrost 

by conduction, (2) be cooled or frozen, or 

(3) establish an equilibrium in which no differential heat exchange takes place. Aggradation or degradation of permafrost may change the circulation 

pattern, temperature, and velocity of ground water. 

No quantitative data are available on the effect of 

ground water on the thermal regimen and local configuration of permafrost. 

The role of ground water in affecting local configuration of permafrost was stated by Hopkins, 

Karlstrom, and others (1955, p. 117) as follows: 

Heat is distributed through earth materials more rapidly 

by circulating water than by direct conduction. Thus, active 

circulation of water, both at the surface and at depth, promotes thawing of permafrost and retards formation of new 

permafrost. Owing to more active water movements, streams 

generally are underlain by deeper and wider unfrozen areas 

than are lakes, and coarse, permeable sand or gravel is more 

likely to be free of permafrost than is impermeable silt. 

Theis ( 1944, p. 6) made the following statement on 

this subject: 

The role of normal ground water in preventing the formation of permafrost would seem to be questionable, at least 

until more evidence is obtained. Ground water customarily 

moves at such a slow rate that it could not travel far 

between frozen beds without itself freezing. It is probable 

that some of the phenomena ascribed to movement of ground 

water can be explained as the effects of the lateral movement of heat by conduction from an abnormally warm area, 

such as a river bed. The ground water may act only as a 

supplementary agent in spreading the heat of the river bed 

laterally. 

Both Theis (1944, p. 6) and Hopkins, Karlstrom, 

and others (1955, p. 117) stated that where the 

ground is unfrozen and permeable and where the 

water table lies at depth, percolating water from 

summer rains and snowmelt is effective in carrying heat downward faster than it could be carried by conduction. Hopkins, Karlstrom, and others 

(1955) speculated that percolation of water through 

talus, coarse alluvium, and shattered bedrock on 

southward-facing mountain slopes aids in thawing 

seasonal frost and in maintaining permafrost-free 

areas. They and most other authors agree that 

ascending waters of hot springs maintain unfrozen 

zones through the permafrost. 

EFFECT OF GLACIERS 

The distribution and temperature of permafrost 

beneath glaciers depend on the magnitude of temperature differences at the ground surface and that 

adjacent to the ice. This magnitude depends on the 

thickness of the ice and the thermal gradient within 

the ice. Mathematical treatment of the problems of 

heat flow beneath glaciers in Spitsbergen (Werenskiold, 1922, 1953) showed that beneath an active 

glacier, the ground-surface temperature is practically at the melting point of ice and that water 

flows from the glacier even in winter. If the glacier 

is more than 1,300 feet wide, permafrost, which is 

formed by lateral heat flow beneath ground adjacent to the glacier, cannot exist beneath the central 

part of the glacier. 

Quantitative studies in Antarctica by Zubov 

(1959) have shown that if the ice thickness is less 

than a certain limiting value, the ooc isotherm will 

extend into the ground, and permafrost will exist 

beneath the glacier. If ice thickness exceeds this 

value, the ooc isotherm will lie within the glacier, 

and a mixture of water and ice will be found near 

the base of the glacier. Tien (1960) has shown that 

if the ice cap has constant physical properties, 

grows at a constant rate from an initial zero thickness, is internally static, and is subject to linear chmatic change and a constant geothermal heat flux, 

then the temperature at the bottom of the glacier 

will increase with time and will eventually reach 

the melting point of ice. These studies show that 

permafrost may be absent under large glaciers, but 

that it may lie under small glaciers and beneath the 

margins of large glaciers. However, C. C. Langway 

(oral commun., 1967) reported that a test boring 

through about 5,300 feet of ice in the Greenland ice 

cap near Thule terminated in frozen glacial till. 

Permafrost was observed by Mathews (1955) 

beneath the margin of a small glacier in the Coast 

Range of British Columbia, Canada, and by Roethlisberger (1961) beneath the edge of the Greenland 

ice cap. 
PERMAFROST 21 

No studies have been made of the thermal regimen of the ground beneath Alaskan glaciers. However, winter floods of subglacial water from Kennicott Glacier, near McCarthy (fig. 8) (Moffit and 

Capps, 1911), show that water is contained in 

reservoirs either within the ice or at the ice-ground 

interface, and that the ground is probably unfrozen 

beneath a part of the glacier. At the present state 

of knowledge, then, it appears that behavior of permafrost in relation to glaciers is variable and 

unpredictable. 

EFFECT OF LOCAL GEOLOGIC DIFFERENCES 

Differences in physical properties of unconsolidated deposits and of bedrock affect the rate at 

which changes in ground-surface temperature are 

transmitted downward. Geologic history of landforms determines the length of time during which 

the ground surface has been exposed to fluctuating 

climates favoring aggradation or degradation of 

permafrost and the depth to which the temperature 

fluctuations have penetrated. Geologic conditions 

influence local and regional differences in the quantity of heat reaching the surface from sources 

within the earth. 

The rate of downward transmittal of heat resulting from changes in the mean annual ground-surface temperature is affected by local differences in 

the thermal diffusivity of the rocks. Equal changes 

in the ground-surface temperature, therefore, may 

affect the thermal regimen of permafrost at different rates in areas having different geologic conditions. 

The geologic history of landforms and_ deposits of 

Quaternary age is important to local configuration 

of permafrost. Ground-surface temperature is influenced by: Changes in erosion or deposition of sediments; lateral migration of rivers; formation and 

drainage of lakes; advance and retreat of glaciers; 

and changes in climate, vegetation, and snow cover. 

Although the thermal regimen of permafrost is 

largely a product of changes in the ground-surface 

temperature that have taken place over the last 

hundreds or few thousands of years, ground temperature at depth in many parts of Alaska has not 

yet warmed sufficiently to thaw relict permafrost 

that was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation 

(Hopkins and others, 1955). At Nome, for example, 

the post-Wisconsin climatic warming 9,000 to 

10,000 years ago had degraded only the upper 10 

feet of the permafrost formed in Wisconsin time, 

and subsequent climatic cooling has formed new 

permafrost (Hopkins and others, 1960). Similarly, 

386-698 0 - 70 - 3 

at Fairbanks, permafrost of Illinoian age was 

largely degraded during the Sangamon Interglaciation (Pewe, 1958a) but permafrost was formed 

again under the rigorous climate of Wisconsin time. 

Preservation of flesh and hide of large mammals in 

frozen deposits of Wisconsin age, and degradation 

of permafrost to a depth of only 3-10 feet during 

the post-Wisconsin climatic warming 3,500-6,000 

years ago show that much of the existing permafrost was formed in Wisconsin time. 

Local configuration of permafrost seems to follow 

geomorphic boundaries in some deposits of Holocene 

age that were laid down after degradation of permafrost by a warming influence, such as a river 

(Pewe, 1947, 1948a). For example, records of borings in the flood-plain and low-terrace alluvium 

near Fairbanks (fig. 12) show that permafrost 

thickness increases with increasing age of alluvial 

surfaces. The correlation is not perfect because of 

irregularities caused by: ( 1) Bodies of relict permafrost left undegraded by the migrating river 

which deposited the alluvium, (2) the thermal 

effect of forest fires or clearing of vegetation by 

man, (3) local differences in climate, (4) differences 

in time since abandonment by the river and removal 

of its warming effect within the same alluvial surfaces, and ( 5) the thermal effect of lakes. 

Differences in the quantity of heat received from 

sources within the earth affect the geothermal gradient and the depth to which permafrost will form. 

Major sources of anomalously high near-surface 

geothermal heat are from cooling masses of igneous 

rock and active or dormant volcanoes. Anomalously 

large regional geothermal gradients are present 

beneath belts of recently uplifted or folded mountains. Although most of the differences in geothermal heat sources are probably more regional than 

local in nature, local features, such as thermal 

springs, provide enough heat to form a zone of 

unfrozen ground through permafrost and to warm 

the adjacent permafrost. 

APPLICATION OF GEOPHYSICAL METHODS IN 

DETERMINING LOCAL CONFIGURATION OF 

PERMAFROST 

The application of geophysical methods to permafrost investigations in Alaska and to problems of 

lateral variations in the thickness of permafrost has 

been reported by Joesting (1941, 1954), Barnes and 

MacCarthy (1956, 1964), Crowley and Hanson 

(1956), Barnes (1965, p. 349-355), and in unpub-
22 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

Garden Island 

F EXPLANATION 

~ ·Flood-plain alluvium bordering 

Chena River and Clear Creek 

Younger low-terrace alluvium bordering'the flood plain 

Subdivided into older (Qtyl) and 

younger (Qty2) groups of low 

terraces west of Clear Creek 

Alluvium of oldest of low terraces between Chena and Tanana 

Rivers 

>-

0:: 

< 

z 

0:: 

ILl 

1-

< 

:;) 

0 

.... 

.... 

Alluvial deposits of both flood-plain and low terraces chiefly sandy gravel, but 

also include sand and silt, and, in abandoned stre11m channels, marshes or filled ponds, include peat and transported woody material 

Abandoned stream channel overgrown 

with grass or willow 

~ 

Marsh or intermittent pond in former 

stream channel or in interchannel area 

Boundary of successively higher low terraces having a 5-10-ft topographic 

break where solid; bounded by outer 

edge of meander-scroll systems where 

dashed. Sketched diagrammatically 

from aerial photographs. Only most 

prominent boundaries are plotted 

along· Chena River west of .Clear 

Creek. Hachures point downslope 

Outer boundary of flood plain, including 

bed, bars, and slipoff slope along Chena 

River and Clear Creek, permafrost 

generally absent or present to depths down to 30 feet 

0~ 

Well or boring in which no frozen ground 

was logged by driller; number is depth 

of hole, in feet 

Well or boring that was drilled through 

frozen ground into unfrozen waterbearing alluvium. Number is depth to· 

base of frozen ground, in feet 

Base modified from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 1947. and 

City of Fairbanks. 1946; abandoned channels. marshes. and 

intermittent ponds from map by T.L Pewe. 1947 

500' 

500' 

400' 

400' 400' 

300' 

300' 300' 

.... att+ ·-

611+ 

611+ 

Well or boring that failed to reach base 

of permafrost. Depth to base of frozen 

ground greater than depth, in feet, of 

hole, shown by number 

Well or boring in which layered frozen 

ground was logged by dnller; holea 

terminated in unfrozen alluvium. 

Numbers in brackets indicate depth 

of frozen layers, in feet 

0 

6"+ 

. 

" 

Well or boring in which layered frozen 

ground was logged by driller; holes 

terminated in frozen ground. Numbers in brackets indicate depth of 

frozen layers, in feet 

147° 40' 

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 FEET 

FIGURE 12.-Map showing depth to base of frozen alluvium in the flood 
PERMAFROST 

Fort Wainwright 

l c·~-o ' ';~ C' D D' 500' i:!! ·500' 500' 500' 

Q 

400' 400' 400' 400' 

Unfrozen alluvium 

300' 300' 300' 300' 

plain and low terraces of part of the Chena River near Fairbanks, Alaska. 

23 

Data from drilling by U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers. 1g40-53; and from Feulner. 

1960; Cederstrom and Pewe. 1961; 

and Cederstrom. 1963 

EXPLANATION FOR SECTIONS 

Well or boring on or within 100 feet 

of line of cross section 

Boundary of frozen alluvium, 

inferred from subsurface data 

HORIZONTAL SCALE IS SAME AS MAP 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION x 8 

DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL 
24 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

lished papers by MacCarthy and others 1 and by 

Swartz and Shepard 2 • These studies showed that 

the electrical-resistivity and seismic-refraction 

methods have the greatest potential. The resistivity 

method indicates the approximate thickness of permafrost, but only if the physical properties of the 

rock materials are known and subsurface records 

are available to check the interpretation. The accuracy of this method is limited by inadequate interpretation curves and by the effects of severe lateral 

variations in surface resistivity (Barnes and MacCarthy, 1956). The method is useful to supplement 

a drilling program. The seismic-refraction method 

gives excellent results in delineating the permafrost 

table, but does not provide information on the base 

(Barnes and MacCarthy, 1956; Crowley and 

Hanson, 1956). This method is particularly useful 

in determining the depth to the permafrost table 

beneath lakes and rivers and has been used in 

Canada for such purposes (R. J. E. Brown, oral 

commun., 1963). 

Other methods, not yet tested in Alaska, are the 

electromagnetic methods used in the Soviet Union 

(Petrovskii and Dostovalov, 1947) and the gravity 

methods used to detect differences in density of 

frozen ground, such as those caused by large bodies 

of ground ice (Bulmasov, 1957). Heat-sensing techniques using ultrared and ultraviolet photography 

(Frost and others, 1965) are not yet fully developed 

for application to permafrost problems. 

EFFECT OF PERMAFROST ON 

GROUND WATER 

Ground water in unfrozen unconsolidated deposits and bedrock above, within, and beneath permafrost is called, respectively, suprapermafrost, intrapermafrost, and subpermafrost water (Tolstikhin, 

1941; Cederstom and others, 1953, p. 6-10). 

Although the ice content of permafrost is considered ground water in some Russian classifications 

( Tolstikhin, 1941 ; Tolstikhin in Sumgin and others, 

1940), it is excluded by others (Meister, 1955). In 

North America, ground ice has been excluded from 

the field of ground water (Meinzer, 1923, p. 22). The 

effects of permafrost on the ground-water regimen 

are discussed below. 

f 1 MacCarthy, G •. R., and others, 1~52, Geophysical methods of prospecting or grou!ld water 1n permafrost reg~ons, v. 3, Ground-water development in 

the Arct~c: Unpub. rept. prepared by Geophysics Branch, U.S. Geol. Survey 

fVor E

1

n

8

g

6

meer Research and Development Lab., U.S. Army, Fort Belvoir, a., p. 

2 ~wa:tz, J. E., and. Shepar~. E: R., 1946, Report on a preliminary investigatiOn of the possible apphcabons of geophysical methods to studies of 

permbafrost problems in Alaska: U.S. Bur. Mines, Div. Geophysical Explor., unpu • rept., 67 p. 

RECHARGE 

Recharge of ground water is principally from 

infiltration of rainfall or snowmelt, or from bodies 

of surface water. As water percolates downward, it 

is blocked at the permafrost table. A shallow permafrost table holds perched water near the surface, 

and this accelerates evaporation and transpiration 

during the summer. The high water table in the 

area of a shallow permafrost table is favorable for 

growth of muskeg and marsh vegetation. Numerous 

small lakes are formed in lowlands where drainage 

is impeded by fine-grained soils, low hydraulic gra-

.dient, and luxuriant growth of muskeg and marsh 

vegetation. Poor drainage caused by near-surface 

permafrost is not limited to lowlands, but is also 

characteristic of many_ slopes, particularly in the 

tundra region of northern and western Alaska. 

Water reaches aquifers at depth only through 

unfrozen areas that perforate the permafrost, such 

as those beneath streams, lakes, and summits and 

slopes of low hills. Suprapermafrost water migrates 

laterally on the slope of the permafrost table until 

it discharges at the surface or reaches an unfrozen 

zone. If the suprapermafrost water reaches the 

unfrozen zone at a level that is above the level of 

the water beneath permafrost, it moves downward 

as intrapermafrost water until it reaches the water 

level of the subpermafrost aquifer. 

Precipitation falls as snow on the frozen ground 

surface in winter; therefore, at that time precipitation does not usually recharge the ground water 

above the permafrost. However, water may continue to move from the suprapermafrost zone downward to recharge subpermafrost aquifers until seasonal frost reaches the permafrost table or some 

other impermeable layer. In winter, water levels 

normally decline as the flow of surface water 

ceases. The late-winter base flow of rivers is discharge of ground water stored in permeable material along riverbanks or from perennial springs. 

Streams that are fed in whiter by ground-water discharge in their upper reaches may continue to 

recharge ground water in their lower reaches at a 

reduced rate. 

MOVEMENT 

Permafrost acts as a barrier to the downward 

percolation of water that would normally recharge 

aquifers; it also blocks lateral movement of water, 

and acts as an impermeable confining layer to subpermafrost water. Confined subpermafrost water 

generally has an equipotential surface within the 

permafrost zone, but in some places, its static level 

is above land surface. 
EFFECT OF PERMAFROST ON GROUND WATER 25 

Because the velocity is inversely proportional to 

viscosity, the rate of ground-water flow tends to be 

lower in permafrost regions than in comparable 

material in temperate regions. The viscosity of 

water at 0°C-4.5°C is 20--50 percent higher than 

at the prevailing temperatures in temperate 

regions. 

DISCHARGE 

Natural discharge of ground water in permafrost 

regions takes place, as in temperate regions, where 

the water table intersects the land surface; it is 

usually discharged in valleys, along coasts, and in 

other topographically low places. In winter, sites of 

ground-water discharge are readily identified by 

icings, also called aufeis fields. Icings are masses of 

surface ice as much as 20 feet thick that are formed 

by freezing of successive thin sheets of water seeping from the ground, rivers, and springs (Chekotillo, 1940). Persistent activity of icings throughout 

the winter indicates perennial discharge of ground 

water (Hopkins and others, 1955). Springs in permafrost regions are fed by discharge of either 

suprapermafrost or subpermafrost water. Discharge of subpermafrost water is generally perennial, but that of suprapermafrost water is intermittent and is limited in some places to the summer 

months and in others to the winter months. 

Large, conical, ice-cored hills called pingos are a 

special structural feature related to ground-water 

discharge and hydrostatic pressure in permafrost 

regions (Leffingwell, 1919; Porsild, 1938; F. MUller, 

1959; Holmes and others, 1965; Mackay, 1965). 

Pingos are formed by arching of the ground surface 

caused by hydrostatic pressure of ground water 

confined by permafrost. The pressure ruptures the 

summit of some pingos and the cracks thus formed 

either are occupied by small ponds or are the sites 

of springs. The presence of springs indicates continued relief of hydrostatic pressure by discharge of 

confined water. Many pingos are relict features that 

indicate hydrostatic pressure and ground-water 

discharge in the recent geologic past; others, 

actively forming, indicate the existence of confined 

ground water. Two types of pingos are : (1) The 

open-system pingos produced by confined subpermafrost water in the discontinuous zone discussed 

by Holmes, Hopkins, and Foster (1965) and (2) the 

closed-system pingos produced by confined intrapermafrost water in the continuous-permafrost zone 

described by MUller (1959) and Mackay (1965). 

SUBPERMAFROST WATER 

An unfroz~n conduit is required for surface discharge of water from beneath permafrost. Once 

established, the perennial flow of water at a temperature above freezing keeps the conduit open. 

Subpermafrost water is discharged at the surface 

through fractures and faults in bedrock, cavernous 

zones in limestone, large openings in volcanic rocks, 

and permeable unconsolidated deposits. Some subpermafrost water may be discharged into alluvial 

deposits along streams where the water maintains 

an ice-free reach during the winter, or water may 

be discharged along the banks and may flow over 

the river ice to form extensive flood-plain icings. 

Some of the largest icings in Siberia and in North 

America are formed downstream from perennial 

springs of subpermafrost water. 

Subpermafrost water is generally fresh, indicating that it is recharged from the surface and that it 

circulates. However, brackish and saline water 

beneath the permafrost has been found in the 

coastal regions of western Alaska, the Arctic 

Coastal Plain, the foothills of the Brooks Range, and 

the Copper River Lowland. 

SUPRAPERMAFROST WATER 

Springs that discharge suprapermafrost water in 

summer commonly cease flowing in winter when the 

source of water becomes frozen, when water in 

storage is depleted, or when freezing blocks or 

diverts the flow. Flow of these springs may continue into early winter, and their discharge freezes 

at or downstream from the spring orifices to form 

icings. Icings of intermittent springs no longer 

form during early winter, but those of perennial 

springs remain active throughout the winter. 

Winter discharge of suprapermafrost water in 

places that do not have springs in summer is caused 

by downward extension of seasonal frost into the 

suprapermafrost aquifer. As freezing extends 

downward toward the permafrost table or an 

impermeable layer, suprapermafrost water becomes 

confined if there is no permeable unfrozen zone 

available for relief of hydrostatic pressure downward or laterally. The water may be subjected to 

such great hydrostatic pressure that it ruptures the 

seasonally frozen layer and seeps out at the surface 

to form icings. The water may arch the ground as 

it freezes to form ice-cored frost mounds, which are 

similar to, but much smaller than, pingos. 

Icings in riverbeds or flood plains and icing 

mounds (an arching of the ice cover) are formed at 

constrictions in the channel or in the alluvium 
26 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

through which ground water moves as underflow. 

The reduction of the cross-sectional area available for flow forces water to the surface. This 

reduction can be caused either by deep freezing of 

the upper surface of the steam or by accumulations 

of anchor ice or frazil ice beneath the ice cover. 

Constrictions in underflow are caused by thinning 

of the alluvium at places where an impermeable 

barrier, such as a clay or silt lens or bedrock ledge, 

is near the surface and by freezing of the upper 

part of the riverbed alluvium. Explosive relief of 

pressure has been noted in some icings in the Soviet 

Union ( Petrov, 1930, 1934; Chekotillo, 1940). 

Suprapermafrost water moving as underflow in a 

tributary bed or issuing from a riverbank may 

form local ice-free reaches where the water is above 

the freezing point. The Tanana River at Big Delta 

(fig. 5), for example, is kept ice free in winter by 

discharge of water stored in alluvium along its 

banks and by discharge of underflow of the Delta 

River, a large tributary. 

STORAGE 

In many areas, permafrost renders useless the 

near-surface aquifers which are major sources of 

ground water in temperate regions. In areas where 

permafrost is absent, storage of ground water may 

be limited by deep penetration of winter frost. 

Changes in the local configuration of permafrost 

that are induced by natural or artificial means may 

increase or decrease the volume of unconsolidated 

deposits or bedrock in which water may be stored. 

For example, at Selin Creek near Cape Lisburne, 

induced thawing of frozen alluvium has increased 

the volume of ground water in storage by several 

hundred thousand gallons over a period of 10 years 

(Feulner and Williams, 1967, p. B201). 

The extent of permafrost in alluvium has an 

important effect on the volume of ground-water 

storage that is the source of winter streamflow. 

Although streamflow data are meager for the northern part of the discontinuous-permafrost zone and 

absent for the continuous zone, the extent of permafrost in a basin is probably one of the most 

important factors in determining the base flow of 

streams and whether the stream is perennial or 

intermittent. 

OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

The following summary describes the occurrence 

of ground water in relation to permafrost at localities in Alaska that are grouped by similar geologic 

environments. The several environments (fig. 2) 

are: ( 1) Alluvium of river valleys, including the 

flood plains, terraces, and alluvial fans of both 

major valleys and smaller mountain and upland valleys, (2) glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits of the 

interior valleys, (3) coastal-lowland deposits of 

northern and western Alaska, including bars, spits, 

and beach and delta deposits, and ( 4) bedrock of 

uplands and mountains. Eolian deposits, chiefly 

dune sand, are shown in figure 2 in the major valleys and are discussed with alluvial deposits. wherever pertinent. The discussions include virtually 

every area for which ground-water-permafrost relations in Alaska are known. 

ALLUVIUM OF RIVER VALLEYS 

Alluvial deposits in river valleys are the sources 

of the largest and most economically developed supplies of ground water in Alaska. The deposits, consisting of permeable sand and gravel, range in 

thickness from a few feet in small mountain valleys 

to an estimated 820 feet in the Tanana valley near 

Fairbanks (Barnes, 1961). 

The volume of water stored in alluvial deposits 

depends on the porosity of the deposit and on the 

relation between its thickness and extent, the thickness and extent of perennially frozen ground, and 

the depth of winter freezing. If the lower limit of 

frozen ground is below the base of the alluvium, as 

in the continuous-permafrost zone, ground water is 

limited to shallow unfrozen alluvium in depressions 

in the permafrost table beneath lakes and rivers. If 

the frozen zone does not extend to the base of the 

alluvium, or if the unfrozen zones are extensive and 

deep, as in much of the discontinuous zone, groundwater storage is generally large in the thick alluvium of major valleys, but much smaller in the 

thinner alluvium of mountain and upland valleys. 

Winter freezing of the upper part of the thin 

alluvial aquifers of small river valleys has a proportionately greater effect on ground-water storage 

than freezing of the upper part of thick aquifers of 

large valleys. 

The volume of water in alluvium available for 

discharge to rivers to maintain winter flow depends, 

in part, on the extent to which the alluvium is 

frozen. In the continuous-permafrost zone, where 

unfrozen alluvium is limited to riverbeds and to 

local unfrozen zones along the bank, ground-water 

discharge is insufficient to maintain winter flow, in 

even the largest rivers. Winter flow from storage in 

lakes and from perennial springs is maintained by 

some of the rivers of the continuous-permafrost 

zone. In the discontinuous zone, where the extent of 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 27 

frozen alluvium is less and the volume available for 

storage in unfrozen alluvium is much larger, most 

rivers maintain flow throughout the winter. The 

winter flow from ground-water discharge seems to 

increase southward, consistent with the regional 

zonation of permafrost. 

FLOOD-PLAIN AND TERRACE DEPOSITS OF 

CONTINUOUS-PERMAFROST ZONE 

Shallow perennial or seasonal aquifers in 

unfrozen alluvial deposits beneath rivers and lakes 

are the only known sources of potable ground 

water, other than springs, in that part of the continuous-permafrost zone draining to the Arctic 

Ocean. In that region, ground water in bedrock 

beneath 500 to at least 1,330 feet of permafrost is 

commonly brackish or saline. In that part of the 

continuous zone south of the Brooks Range, the 

shallow alluvial aquifers beneath streams and lakes 

provide the most economically developed sources of 

water, although fresh subpermafrost water has 

been reported in terrace alluvium of some of the 

larger valleys. The aquifers beneath rivers provide 

larger supplies of better quality water than those 

beneath lakes. 

Icings that form each winter in river flood plains 

indicate the streamflow or underflow through 

unfrozen riverbed alluvium continues long after 

freezeup. The largest icings, active all winter, are 

formed downstream from perennial springs in the 

eastern Brooks Range (fig. 5). No information is 

available on the hydrology of the icings, nor on the 

depth of perennially unfrozen alluvium beneath the 

rivers where they form. 

Although there are no water wells in the continuous-permafrost zone north of the Brooks Range, 

available data show that ground water is present in 

unfrozen alluvium beneath the Colville River, but is 

less abundant and only seasonal beneath Ogotoruk 

Creek, Shaviovik River, and Selin Creek. Methods 

used to increase winter ground-water storage in the 

alluvium beneath Selin Creek may be applicable 

in developing water supplies in alluvium beneath 

other streams. Perennial water supplies from alluvium are probably more common, and the volume of 

unfrozen alluvium available for storage is probably 

greater, in the valleys south of the Brooks Range 

than in those north of the range. 

COLVILLE RIVER AT UMIAT 

The Colville River flows in a braided channel on a 

bed of gravel through the Arctic Foothills (fig. 2) 

and on a bed of fine gravel, sand, and silt across the 

Arctic Coastal Plain. Discharge measurements in 

1953 at Umiat, in the foothills, showed that the 

river had no flow in April and a flow of 13,000 cfs 

(cubic feet per second) in September (U.S. Geological Survey, 1958, p. 208). 

Umiat is on a low terrace north of the river (fig. 

13). Records of seven seismic shotholes (Black and 

Barksdale, 1948) and five test wells drilled for oil 

(Collins, 1958a) within 1,750 feet of the river 

showed that the thickness of terrace alluvium in 

these holes ranges from 23 to 71 feet and that permafrost extended into bedrock to a depth of as 

much as 800 feet (table 1) . Water-bearing unfrozen 

sandy gravel was found within the terrace deposits 

(table 1, well 5, holes 5 and 6). Winter thermal 

studies made beneath a deep lake on the terrace and 

beneath the Colville River near Umiat (Brewer, 

1958b, figs. 8 and 9) indicated that the terrace alluvium beneath the lake and alluvium beneath the 

river had a temperature above 0°C. Large supplies 

of ground water are available from the unfrozen 

alluvium beneath the river; smaller quantities are 

available from alluvium beneath the lakes that do 

not freeze to the bottom in winter and from local 

unfrozen zones in the terrace alluvium near the 

river (Black and Barksdale, 1948; Williams, 1970). 

Ground water may occur in similar alluvial deposits 

elsewhere in the Colville River valley and beneath 

other large rivers draining to the Arctic Ocean. 

SHAVIOVIK RIVER VALLEY 

Thermal measurements were made in 1953 in a 

135-foot boring made on a sandbar in the middle of 

West Fork Shaviovik River (fig. 5, approx lat 69°30' 

N., long 146°40' W.) and in borings beneath the 

tundra on opposite sides of the river a quarter of a 

mile from the bar (Brewer, 1958b, p. 26, fig. 10). 

Results showed that permafrost is more than 135 

feet thick and seasonal frost extended to the permafrost table beneath this intermittent river. 

Because of the warming effect of the river during 

its period of summer flow, the permafrost beneath 

the bar was 3°C warmer than that in the borings 

on both sides of the river. The studies showed that 

unfrozen alluvium is thin, but that it contains water 

in summer. Ground water is not available from the 

alluvium beneath the bar throughout the winter. 

0GOTORUK CREEK NEAR CAPE THOMPSON 

Ogotoruk Creek is a small intermittent stream 

that empties into the Chukchi Sea 6 miles southeast 

of Cape Thompson. The creek has little or no flow 

from October to May (Slaughter, 1961, p. 94; U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1963a, p. 123-124; 1963b, p. 

133) . It flows through a narrow flood plain in a 
28 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

Name and type 

of well or 

hole 

(feet) 

(fig. 13) 

Umiat test 

well 2 

(dry hole). 

Umiat test 

well 3 

(shut-in 

oil well). 

Umiat test 

well 5 

(shut-in 

oil well). 

Umiat test 

well 6 

(shut-in 

oil well). 

Umiat test 

well 7 

(shut-in 

oil well). 

Seismic shothole 1. 

Seismic shot 

hole 2. 

Seismic shothole 3. 

Seismic shothole 4. 

Seismic shothole 5. 

Seismic shothole 6. 

Seismic shothole 7. 

Total 

depth 

(feet) 

6,212 

572 

1,077 

825 

1,384 

Depth to 

base of 

permafrost 

(feet) 

750 

800(?) 

770 

45 45+ 

45 45+ 

45 45+ 

45 45+ 

42 Above 13 

18-42+. 

44 Above 11 

22-44+. 

48 48+ 

1

Analyses by U.S. Bur. Mines. 

TABLE 1.-Data on permafrost and ground 

Thickness of Ground-water occurrence 

alluvium and yield; results of 

(feet) formation tests 

71 

28 

28 

Formation test 103-345 

ft when hole was 

cased to 100 ft. 

Formation test after 

reaching total depth; 

water level 730 ft. 

No water---------------

Fresh water in upper 28 

ft of alluvium sealed 

off by casing. Salt 

water at probable 

base of permafrost; 

composition shown by 

formation tests 32-

837 ft. 

Water first noted at 

825 ft; sample taken 

from tank during 

pumping test. 

35+(?) Above 485 ft small 

amount of fresh 

water; below 485 ft 

salinity values affected by brine 

drilling fluid. 

23 

31 

23 

29 

24 

25 

41 

Formation test at 827 

ft. 

Water bailed at 6.7 

gpm, for 45 min without lowering level in 

formation test 1,195-

1,213. 

Rate of entry of water 

2 gpm in formation 

test at 1,235. 

Formation test at total 

depth. 

Unfrozen, water-bearing 

sand and gravel between 13 and 18 ft. 

Unfrozen alluvium between 11 and 22 ft. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

water in the Colville valley at Umiat 

Quality of water constituents in milligrams per liter 

Ca Mg Na Hco 3 so4 Cl Other 

243 l 244 0 5 173 142 co 223 OH 

64 13 1,022 865 21 1,176 21 co 3 0 OH 

--- ---

15 20 2,450 3,350 685 1,400 

386-698 0 - 70 - 5 

Total 

solids 

1,031 

3,188 

7,928 

Salinity Sources of information for 

quality of 

water 1 

Collins (l958a, 

p. 9 9-116). 

Reed (l958a, 

p. 78). 

Collins (l958a, 

p. 116-125). 

62,900 after --------------- 1 l/2 hr 

pumping 

19,400 after 4 l/2 

hr pumping. 

3,300 

NaCl. 

3,300 

NaCl. 

4,125 

NaCl. 

4,000 

NaCl. 

Brewer, p. 142, 

in Collins 

(l958a); Collins (l958a, 

p. 132-142). 

Collins (l958a, 

p. 143-148). 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole l, p. 14. 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole 2, p. 14. 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole 3, p. 14. 

Black and Barksdale (19 4 8) , 

hole 4, p. 20. 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole 5, p. 12, 

20, and fig.2. 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole 6, p. 2 0. 

Black and Barksdale (1948), 

hole 7, p. 2 0 

29 
30 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

152°20' 10' 

EXPLANATION .7 

Umiat test well 

and number 

01 

Seismic shot hole 

and number 

Bluffs bordering 

Colville Valley 

FIGURE 13.-Location of wells, Umiat area. 

broad valley that is underlain by nearly impermeable siltstone. The flood-plain alluvium is locally 

more than 8 feet thick and consists of sand, gravel, 

and boulders (Waller, 1960a). Permafrost in 

bedrock beneath the valley has been measured to 

depths as great as 1,170 feet (Lachenbruch and 

others, 1961, p. 66, fig. 11). The depth of the permafrost table beneath the creek was not recorded, 

but locally it lies below the depth to which winter 

freezing penetrates (Waller, 1962). In other parts 

of the flood plain, seasonal freezing extends to the 

permafrost table, and the alluvium is frozen from 

the surface to its contact with the underlying siltstone. 

Availability of a year-round supply of water from 

the alluvium beneath Ogotoruk Creek depends on 

thickness of the alluvium in relation to the depth of 

winter freezing, the depth to siltstone, and to the 

position of the permafrost table. When the creek is 

at a high summer stage, unfrozen alluvium beside 

and beneath the creek is recharged by the creek 

(Waller, 1962). At the onset of the freezing season, 

the stage of the creek falls, and flow is maintained 

by discharge of ground water stored in unfrozen 

alluvium. If the winter is mild and the snow cover 

is thick, flow and underflow are not interrupted. 

However, if freezing is rapid, streamflow and 

underflow are constricted, causing icings and icing 

mounds along the creek. A small amount of ground 

water may be available locally throughout all or 

part of some winters but not others. Thus, the alluvium is a small aquifer which varies in storage 

capacity with the depth of winter freezing. 

SELIN CREEK NEAR CAPE LISBURNE 

Selin Creek is a 2112 -mile-long intermittent 

stream that empties into the Chukchi Sea 3 miles 

east of Cape Lisburne. Under natural conditions, 

the permafrost table in the alluvium is 6-8 feet 

below the streambed and less than 2 feet below the 

tundra-covered flood plain bordering the stream. 

Freezing probably extends to the permafrost table 

by late winter, and water is available from the 

creekbed alluvium only in summer and early winter. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 31 

Several unsuccessful attempts were made to 

obtain a reliable water supply in this area over a 

10-year period. Finally a ground-water reservoir 

that contained water in late winter was developed 

by lowering the permafrost table in the alluvium 

and reducing the depth of penetration of winter 

freezing (Feulner and Williams, 1967, p. B199-

201) . The methods used to lower the permafrost 

table were: (1) Stripping the tundra vegetation 

and upper few feet of the creekbed alluvium to 

increase the amplitude of seasonal temperature 

changes, (2) constructing a dam and reservoir to 

recharge warm surface water in summer by leakage 

into the alluvium, and (3) installing infiltration galleries downstream from the dam to increase water 

circulation through the alluvium. To retard the 

penetration of winter freezing, snow fences were 

erected to provide an insulating snow cover over the 

gallery. Pumping the gallery after cessation of 

streamflow to dewater the upper part of the alluvium provided an unsaturated, seasonally frozen, 

permeable zone through which the early spring melt 

water could percolate to the aquifer. The success of 

these methods depended upon the presence of an 

impermeable silt lens above which a snow-free road 

fill was constructed across the creek below the gallery. The silt lens and deep freezing in winter 

beneath the road fill prevented downvalley flow of 

ground water stored in the alluvium between the 

seasonal frost and the permafrost table. The methods used at Selin Creek may be applicable to other 

rivers and small streams in the continuous-permafrost zone. 

KOBUK, KOYUKUK, AND CHANDALAR RIVER VALLEYS, 

SOUTHERN BROOKS RANGE 

The Kobuk, Koyukuk, and Chandalar Rivers and 

some of their large tributaries in the southern part 

of the continuous-permafrost zone are underlain by 

unfrozen, water-bearing alluvium. The unfrozen 

zones are apparently much thicker and more extensive areally than those in valleys north of the 

Brooks Range. The terrace and alluvial-fan deposits, remote from large rivers, are generally frozen. 

Unfrozen alluvial aquifers have been reported in 

the Kobuk drainage basin beneath the beds of California, Lynx, and Dahl Creeks near Kobuk and 

beneath the Shungnak River (fig. 4) (Smith and 

Eakin, 1911; Smith, 1913; Moffit, 1927). However, 

Cathcart (1920) reported that the alluvium beneath 

California Creek is locally frozen. Unfrozen ground 

is common near the large sulfide ore body along 

Ruby Creek, 14 miles north of Kobuk (Chadwick, 

1960). Although unfrozen in some places, the thick 

alluvium beneath Squirrel River, north of Kiana, is 

generally frozen (Smith, 1913). 

Records of prospect shafts on lower Hammond 

River, a west tributary of Middle Fork Koyukuk 

River near Wiseman, show that the terrace deposits 

bordering the flood plain were frozen to bedrock at 

a depth of 90 feet. Shafts dug at mining claims in 

the flood plain of lower Hammond River entered 

unfrozen, water-bearing gravel at a depth of 80 feet 

(Maddren, 1910b; Engineering and Mining Journal, 

1915). 

In the Chandalar drainage basin, prospect holes 

in the valleys of Big Creek and Little Squaw Creek 

near Chandalar (fig. 5) show that the distribution 

of frozen creek alluvium and subjacent glacial 

deposits is very irregular (J. B. Mertie, Jr., U.S. 

Geol. Survey, unpub. data, 1923). Shafts exposed 

both unfrozen and frozen ground on Big Creek. On 

Little Squaw Creek, where frozen ground in one 

shaft extended to a depth greater than 110 feet, a 

drift dug from the shaft along the paystreak 

reached unfrozen alluvium. In other shafts on this 

creek, the ground is frozen to a depth of about 20 

feet, and unfrozen below that depth. In one shaft, 

located on a bench, water stood 20 feet above the 

bottom of the shaft in summer but drained in 

winter. In another shaft near the creek, the alluvium contained water throughout the winter. Prospecting for ground water in valleys such as these is 

complicated by the stratigraphy of permeable alluvium and relatively impermeable glacial deposits as 

well as by the irregular distribution of frozen zones. 

In many of the hanging valleys tributary to glaciated sections of the Chandalar and Koyukuk River 

valleys, till or glaciolacustrine deposits are underlain by alluvium that fills narrow preglacial bedrock 

valleys. Prospect shafts that had been dug in search 

of placer gold in the alluvium of some of these 

buried channels passed through the base of frozen 

ground into unfrozen water-bearing alluvium just 

above the bedrock (Maddren, 1913). Such shafts 

were dug: ( 1) Through 200 feet of frozen ground 

on Dictator Creek, tributary to Middle Fork Chandalar River, ( 2) on Marion Creek, tributary to 

Middle Fork Koyukuk River, and (3) at a site 4 

miles above Coldfoot (fig. 5) (Maddren, 1913; Engineering and Mining Journal, 1915). In other valleys, the glacial, glaciolacustrine, and underlying 

alluvial deposits are frozen to bedrock, or the frozen 

glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits rest directly on 

the bedrock surface. These deposits, for example, 

are frozen 113 feet to bedrock on Minnie Creek, 
32 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

across the Middle Fork Koyukuk River from Wiseman, and to a depth of more than 365 feet on lower 

Nolan Creek at Nolan (fig. 5) (Maddren, 1913). 

Shafts have also been dug 150 and 230 feet in the 

Wild River drainage basin (fig. 4) (Engineering 

and Mining Journal, 1915) and to depths of 172 and 

286 feet in the Chandalar River basin (Maddren, 

1913), apparently without reaching the base of 

frozen ground. 

It seems impossible to make meaningful generalizations from such records, because it would be necessary to explore each site individually where water 

is wanted. The significance of the data, however, is 

that ground-water supplies can indeed be obtained 

in some places, and, considering the wide variations 

reported from small areas, that unsuccessful exploration for perennial ground water at one site does 

not necessarily indicate that nearby sites are also 

barren of a year-round water supply. Development 

of quick and inexpensive methods of prospecting is 

needed. 

NORTHERN SEWARD PENINSULA 

The northern Seward Peninsula, like the southern 

Brooks Range, lies along the southern margin of the 

continuous-permafrost zone. Records of mine shafts 

from this area show that the maximum known 

thickness of frozen ground is 260 feet (fig. 3); however, no temperature data are available. The 

alluvial deposits are perennially frozen nearly 

everywhere except beneath and near lakes and 

channels of perennial and some intermittent 

streams (Hopkins, Karlstrom, and others, 1955, p. 

121). Flood-plain icings associated with springs at 

the margins of valleys or icings located at places 

where the shallow bedrock forces underflow to the 

surface are useful guides for locating ground water 

(Hopkins, Karlstrom, and others, 1955, p. 121). 

Limited supplies of ground water are available 

from unfrozen alluvium beneath lakes. 

FLOOD-PLAIN AND TERRACE DEPOSITS OF MAJOR 

VALLEYS OF DISCONTINUOUS-PERMAFROST ZONE 

Abundant supplies of ground water are available · 

from permeable sand and gravel above and below 

frozen alluvium and in unfrozen zones in valleys of 

the discontinuous-permafrost zone. Because of 

higher ground-surface temperatures, permafrost in 

the discontinuous zone is thinner, less extensive, 

and more readily affected by the heat transmitted 

by bodies of surface water than permafrost in the 

continuous zone. In addition, the known thickness 

of alluvium in the discontinuous zone is generally 

greater than in valleys of the continuous zone; in 

fact, in many valleys it is thicker than the permafrost. Therefore, the volume of unfrozen alluvium 

available for ground-water storage is greater, and 

the unfrozen zones through which water moves 

between the surface and the alluvium at depth are 

more numerous in the discontinuous zone than in 

the continuous zone. 

Local zonation of permafrost, which is strongly 

influenced by the thermal effect of rivers and lakes, 

caused recorded differences in permafrost thickness 

of as much as 400 feet over a horizontal distance of 

only a few hundred feet. The configuration of permafrost is so variable that it cannot be shown with 

confidence on maps, even if the subsurface data are 

closely spaced, such as at Fairbanks (fig. 12). 

LOWER AND MIDDLE KOYUKUK RIVER VALLEY 

Ground water is available from both flood-plain 

and terrace alluvium at settlements in the middle 

and lower Koyukuk River valley. At Bettles airfield 

(fig. 4), near the northern border of the discontinuous-permafrost zone, six wells, 34-44 feet deep, 

produce water from coarse unfrozen terrace gravel. 

At Hughes, farther downstream, on a terrace 15--20 

feet above the river, a well 13 feet deep produced 

water from unfrozen gravel, and a 92-foot well 

drilled through the unfrozen terrace deposits into 

bedrock produced 35 gpm (gallons per minute). At 

Huslia, twenty-nine 2-inch domestic wells, 50-60 

feet deep, produce water from unfrozen alluvium. 

However, at Allakaket, a well was drilled through 

90 feet of terrace gravel and into clay without 

obtaining water; the deposits were frozen from 

near the surface to a depth of more than 202 feet, 

at which point the well was abandoned. 

YUKON RIVER VALLEY 

Alluvium is probably unfrozen beneath the bed of 

the Yukon River throughout its course in Alaska. 

The frozen alluvium is thin in the flood plain adjacent to the river, but the alluvium is probably 

frozen to greater depths beneath sections of the 

flood plain and low terraces away from present 

rivers and lakes. Scattered records show that, 

locally at least, the frozen ground beneath stabilized 

sand dunes on low terraces of late Pleistocene or 

Holocene age is thicker than that beneath adjacent 

sections of the modern flood plain and that frozen 

ground is thicker beneath the high terraces than 

beneath the flood plain. Most of the wells in the 

Yukon River villages from Canada to the Bering 

Sea (figs. 4-6) are along the riverbank where the 

warming effect of the river affects the thickness of 

frozen ground. Water levels, where observed in 

these wells, fluctuate with the stage of the river. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 33 

In Eagle, near the Canadian border (fig. 5), water 

is produced from unfrozen terrace alluvium in a 

60-foot dug well. However, ground water was confined beneath 40 feet of frozen alluvium in a prospect shaft on an island in the river near the village 

(Purington, 1905, p. 158). Downstream, at Circle in 

the Yukon Flats, frozen ground is thin or absent in 

alluvium beneath the village which is on a low terrace that has been cleared of vegetation for many 

years. 

Early attempts to obtain water at Fort Yukon 

from a hole driven to 237 feet beneath the low terrace south of the airstrip (Mertie, 1937) and from 

holes drilled to depths of 75-440 feet beneath the 

dunes east of the village were unsuccessful. The 

440-foot hole penetrated 48 feet of dune sand, 100 

feet of alluvium, and 292 feet of lacustrine ( ?) silt 

and silty sand; these deposits were frozen from 

near the surface to a depth of at least 320 feet and 

possibly deeper than 393 feet (Williams, 1960, 

1962). Shallow wells dug in unfrozen gravel along 

the riverbank provided the only source of ground 

water until 1963, when six producing wells were 

drilled in low terrace alluvium. Five of these wells 

were reportedly drilled into unfrozen alluvium 

through frozen alluvium, the base of which ranged 

from 29 to 130 feet below land surface. The other 

well, 66 feet deep, was drilled entirely in unfrozen 

alluvium. 

Downstream at Beaver, on a low gravel terrace 

on the north bank of the river, the alluvium is 

unfrozen for a distance as much as 100 feet back 

from the bank (Waller, 1957c). About 150 feet 

north of the bank, a shaft 25 feet deep failed to 

reach the base of frozen gravel. In the low-lying 

area west of the village, a 16-foot shaft dug in 

unfrozen alluvium of an abandoned flood-plain 

channel entered water-bearing gravel at a depth of 

12 feet. 

A well was dug through 54 feet of frozen alluvium to bedrock in the village of Rampart in the 

canyon of the Yukon. A 225-foot deep prospect 

shaft near the village (Hess, 1906, p. 152) and several holes of unknown depth at the abandoned agricultural experiment station across the river reportedly failed to reach the base of frozen ground. 

Wells, drilled or dug in alluvium to a depth of as 

much as 70 feet at Tanana, produced water from 

unfrozen sand and gravel. Downstream, prospect 

shafts dug in alluvial deposits along lower Illinois 

Creek near Kallands and along lower Grant Creek 

passed through as much as 135 feet of frozen 

ground, beneath which water was confined in 

unfrozen alluvium (Eakin, 1912). 

Galena and Galena Air Force station are on a 

low-lying slip-off slope on the flood plain north of 

the Yukon River. Frozen alluvium forms a wedgeshaped mass that is thin near the river, but thickens to 110 feet in the northern part of the station 

(Pewe, 1947, 1948a). Ground water confined 

beneath the frozen ground rises to a static level 

that is approximately that of water-table wells in 

unfrozen alluvium. Campion Air Force station, on a 

high terrace 14 miles east of Galena, is supplied by 

wells drilled through frozen silt, clay, and sand to a 

depth of 402-423 feet where they reached unfrozen 

water-bearing gravel. Water confined beneath the 

frozen ground rose approximately 150 feet above 

the base of the permafrost in these wells. 

Wells at Kaltag, on a low terrace north of the 

river, were drilled through frozen silt, sand, and 

fine gravel to a depth of 70-91 feet where they 

reached unfrozen gravel in which the water was 

confined under artesian pressure. 

TAN AN A RIVER VALLEY 

Flood-plain and low-terrace alluvium consists of 

sand containing beds and lenses of silt and gravel in 

the upper part of the Tanana River valley, and fine 

to coarse sandy gravel containing beds and lenses of 

silt and sand in the middle and lower parts of the 

valley. These alluvial deposits may be unfrozen 

beneath the channels and bars of the Tanana and 

its major tributaries, but beneath the low terraces 

a way from the thermal influence of the rivers and 

lakes, the alluvium is frozen to a known depth of as 

much as 265 feet. In most areas of the valley, the 

frozen zone is thin compared to the total thickness 

of the alluvium. Therefore, the ground-water 

resources of this valley have been characterized as 

enormous (Cederstrom, 1952, 1961b, 1963) because 

of the large storage capacity and high transmissibility of the unfrozen alluvium. 

NORTHWAY-TETLIN AREA, UPPER TANANA 

RIVER VALLEY 

Frozen ground in wells at Northway airport extends to a depth as great as 90 feet, but in two 

wells at the northern margin of the valley, near 

the junction of the airport road and Alaska Highway, the base of frozen ground is 147 and 161 feet 

below land surface (Waller and Tolen, 1962a). 

Water i.n the sand, silt, and gravel, which are 

more than 246 feet thick at the airport, is confined beneath the base of frozen ground and rises in 

well casings to a static level approximating that of 
34 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

the adjacent rivers. Although frozen ground is 

absent adjacent to the rivers and is uncommon in 

alluvium beneath recently abandoned channels, it is 

common beneath silt-filled channels that have been 

abandoned for a long time (Wallace, 1946, 1948). 

Test borings beneath stabilized dunes on a low terrace bordering the flood plain east of the airport 

penetrated frozen dune sand and alluvium to a 

depth of 140 feet, a somewhat greater thickness of 

frozen ground than was penetrated in the airport 

wells on the flood plain nearby. 

At Tetlin, which lies on the banks of Tetlin River 

between Tetlin Lake and the Tanana River (fig. 8), 

three wells were drilled through 53-63 feet of silt 

and clay into sand and gravel. The base of frozen 

ground is 58-63 feet deep, and water confined in 

the gravel beneath the frozen ground has a static 

level that is 15-17 feet below land surface, the 

approximate level of Tetlin River. 

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE 

The base, 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks by 

road, is on a low terrace northeast of the Tanana 

River. The surface of the terrace consists of 

braided channel scrolls and low interchannel ridges 

marking the position of former bars. The terracet 

deposits consist of beds and lenses of gravel, sand, 

and silt. About 3,500 foundation borings and 34 

water wells have been drilled on the base by U.S. 

Army Engineer District Alaska and its contractors. 

Most of the borings were less than 20 feet deep and 

did not provide records that enabled distinction 

between seasonal frost and permafrost. Of the 260 

borings and 34 wells that were deeper than 20 feet, 

only 77 holes were drilled in frozen alluvium; of 

these, only 32 passed through it into unfrozen alluvium. These records show that the base of permafrost ranges from 17 to 124 feet below land surface. 

Although the thickest permafrost is in wells in the 

southeastern part of the cantonment area, apparently no relation exists between the landforms and 

history of river migration, and the thickness of per· 

mafrost. 

Foundation studies beneath a new hangar at the 

Air Force base (Terzaghi, 1952, p. 36) delineated a 

belt of frozen ground 1,200 feet wide. Beneath one 

of the abandoned channel scrolls the permafrost 

table was close to the surface and coincided with the 

base of seasonal frost, but at the margins of the 

body of permafrost, the depth to permafrost table 

declined to 35 feet below land surface. The depth to 

the base of frozen alluvium over the entire area explored was 60 feet. 

Ground water is found under water-table conditions in wells drilled in unfrozen sand and gravel, 

and is confined beneath the base of frozen alluvium 

in other wells. The water level and the potentiometric surface coincide about 8-15 feet below land 

surface and slope northwestward, parallel to the 

slope of the low terrace on which the Air Force 

base is situated. 

FAIRBANKS AREA 

Alluvial deposits of the Chena and Tanana Rivers 

in the Fairbanks area consist of beds and lenses of 

gravel, sand, and silt. These deposits range from a 

few feet thick near the hills that bound the valley 

north of the city to an estimated 820 feet thick 2 

miles south of the city (Barnes, 1961, p. D257) 

where the base of the alluvium lies about 350 feet 

below present sea level. The near-surface alluvium 

forming the flood plain and the adjacent low terraces is probably of Holocene age. The deeper alluvium which extends to bedrock is probably of Pleistocene age, but its basal part may be of late 

Tertiary age. The Pleistocene or older deposits were 

formed during aggradation of the Tanana valley by 

the Tanana River and its southern glacier-fed tributaries (Mertie, 1937; Capps, 1940; Pewe, 1958a) in 

a basin that was subsiding in regard to the Alaska 

Range. North of the Chena River the alluvium is 

overlapped and interbedded with silt and organicrich silt which were deposited in coalescent alluvial 

fans by small streams draining the uplands to the 

north (fig. 14). 

The map (fig. 12) of the alluvial deposits of the 

Chena River valley between Fairbanks and Fort 

Wainwright shows the location of the flood plain 

and the distribution of successively older and higher 

terraces south of the river. The terraces, ranging 

from a few to about 25 feet above the Chena River, 

were included in the flood-plain deposits mapped by 

Pewe (1958a). Most of the terraces shown on the 

map are composed of numerous alluvial surfaces 

resulting from cutoff of oxbow bends of the river. 

Records of permafrost in the flood-plain and lowterrace deposits at Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright are from about 5,100 wells and borings, of 

which only 550 reached the base of permafrost. 

Selected wells and borings, including the deeper 

holes and all those that penetrated permafrost, were 

plotted for the 15,000-acre Fairbanks-Fort Wainwright area (fig. 12), and other wells and borings 

from nearby areas are summarized in table 2. These 

records are from drillers' logs, some of which are 

tabulated by Pewe (1958a), Feulner (1960), Ceder-
148°00' 

65°00' 

OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

0 2 3 MILES ~----~------~------~ 

( 

35 

EXPLANATION 

0 

Alluvium 

Chiefly gravel, sand, and silt of flood plain and low 

terraces ofChena and Tanana River valleys; frozen 

and unfrozen 

Perennially frozen silt 

Perennially frozen alluvial silt, including some eolian 

silt, peat, lenses and thin beds of sand and gravel, 

and tabular and polygonal masses of clear ground 

ice; occurs chiefly in creek valleys of the YukonTanana Upland and along lower courses of streams 

draining from the upland to Chena River 

Placer-mine tailings 

Creek gravel and blocky fragments of bedrock deposited by dredges during placer-mining operations; 

reportedly locally frozen 

w 

Unfrozen loess-mantled bedrock, 

undifferentiated 

Dominantly Birch Creek Schist, but includes stocks 

and dikes of granitic rock and basaltic lava jfffws. 

Overlain by Fairbanks Loess, unfrozen eolian silt 

on most summits and slopes in central and southern part of upland within map area 

• Site of perennial icing 

'\ 

Spring 

100 0 58·22 

Prospect boring in unfrozen ground 

Number on upper line total depth of boring, in feet; 

left-hand figure ... lower line is thickness of silt, 

right-hand figure ... is thickness of gravel penetrated before reaching bedrock in feet. Plus sign 

( +) beside figure for thickness of silt or gravel 

indicates hole failed to reach base of silt or gravel 

113 

• so-so+ 

Prospect boring in frozen ground 

Number on upper line is depth to base of frozen 

ground, in feet. Plus sign indicates hole failed to reach base of frozen ground. Left-hand number on 

lower line is thickness of silt penetrated; righthand number is thickness of gravel, in feet. Plus 

sign used with numbers on lower line indicates 

hole failed to reach bedrock and terminated in 

unconsolidated deposits at depth indicated 

113G • 8().5()+ • woo 

40·C 

Wells 

Water well producing from gravel (G) or rock (R) 

below the base of frozen ground, which is depth 

shown, in feet, on upper line. Left-hand number on 

lower line is thickness of frozen and/or unfrozen 

silt; right-hand number is thU:kness of frozen and/ 

or unfrozen gravel above bedrock, in feet. Plus sign 

used with thickness of gravel or silt indicates hole 

failed to penetrate unit at depth indicated 

Contact 

Dashed where approximately 

located 

FIGURE 14.-Generalized geology and distribution and thickness of permafrost in part of the Fairbanks mining district. 

Section A-A' shown in figure 19. 
36 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

strom and Pewe (1961), and Cederstrom (1963); 

others are unpublished data supplied by U.S. Army 

Engineer District Alaska. The records show the 

depth of the base of frozen ground as logged during 

drilling. The subsurface data at Fairbanks and 

Fort Wainright (fig. 12) are insufficient to allow 

drawing of meaningful contours depicting the configuration of the top, or base, of permafrost. Where 

the wells are closely spaced, they show extreme variations in permafrost thickness over short horizontal distances. Despite these limitations, some general observations on the range of permafrost 

thickness within each of the groups of terraces and 

in the flood plain can be established from the data 

(fig. 12). 

The flood plain at Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright consists of the channel, bars, and small 

islands of the Chena River and sections of the slipoff slopes on the inside of river meanders. Although 

subsurface records are not available for the alluvium beneath the river channel, records of holes 

drilled on the small islands and along the slip-off 

slope of the river indicate that permafrost is probably absent in the alluvium beneath the channel. 

Locally, beneath the older part of the slip-off slope 

and some islands, near-surface permafrost has 

developed to a depth less than 30 feet. This thin 

permafrost in recently deposited alluvium suggests 

that climatic conditions are now or have been 

recently favorable for the formation and preservation of permafrost in this part of the valley, despite 

the fact that permafrost in older alluvium is being 

degraded following the clearing of the natural vegetation. 

Shallow borings in the narrow flood plain bordering Clear Creek, on Fort Wainwright, show that 

permafrost is generally absent to depths as great as 

60 feet in places along the stream. Permafrost is 

apparently absent on the slip-off side of the large 

southwesterly bend of the creek at the southern 

edge of the area, but gradually thickens away from 

the newly deposited alluvium, just as it does in similar benlls of the Chena River. 

The lowest and youngest of the Chena River terraces border the flood plain, and form the cutbanks 

of the river (Qty, fig. 12). The low terraces at Fairbanks (fig. 12, A-A' and B-B') are underlain by 

much unfrozen alluvium containing isolated bodies 

of frozen ground, the base of which is as deep as 80 

feet. Across the Chena River from Bentley's Island 

frozen terrace alluvium reportedly extends to a 

depth of 104 feet. Between the Chena River and 

Clear Creek on Fort Wainwright the frozen alluvium reaches a depth of as much as 85 feet, but 

fewer holes were drilled here than at Fairbanks. In 

general, the frozen ground adjacent to the slip-off 

slopes is thin, but it is relatively thick along past 

and present cutbanks and at sites away from the 

river and lakes. Some of the abandoned channel 

scrolls are underlain by permafrost, but those that 

mark the last position of the river before cutoff of 

the meander are generally underlain by unfrozen 

alluvium (fig. 12, A-A'). 

A slightly higher and older group of terraces (fig. 

12) is remote from the river in the eastern part of 

Fairbanks, but borders the south bank of the Chena 

River from a point south of Bentley's Island eastward to the mouth of Clear Creek. Permafrost is 

apparently more continuous there than in the 

younger terrace alluvium and reaches maximum 

measured depths of about 200 feet in southern Fairbanks (fig. 12, B-B') and 153 feet in western Fort 

Wainwright. In Fairbanks, where numerous water 

wells penetrate the frozen alluvium, the base of 

frozen ground becomes progressively deeper southward. 

Beneath the oldest of the low terraces at Fairbanks frozen ground is nearly continuous and 

extends to depths as great as 242 feet. The terrace 

extends eastward into Fort Wainwright, but the 

thickness of frozen alluvium there is unknown. An 

eastward extension of the terrace beyond Fort 

Wainright to mile 11 on the Richardson Highway, 

beyond the area shown in figures 12 and 14, is 

underlain by frozen alluvium to a depth greater 

than 265 feet (Williams and others, 1959). 

Alluvial deposits similar to those in the Fairbanks-Fort Wainwright area lie beneath suburban 

areas to the north and west of Fairbanks and to the 

east and southeast of Fort Wainwright. Records of 

229 wells in the following areas were collected in 

1947-54 (Cederstrom and Pewe, 1961; Cederstrom, 1963): Graehl, Hamilton Acres, Lemeta, 

College, settlements on Garden Island and along 

Badger Road, International Airport Way, Steese 

Highway, and Richardson Highway (fig. 12). The 

records include only a few wells drilled during the 

suburban expansion that began in 1950. Many wells 

are shallow and obtain water from unfrozen alluvium or from unfrozen alluvium above the permafrost table. About 95 wells obtain water from 

unfrozen alluvium beneath the permafrost. The 

wells are too widely scattered to delineate the configuration of permafrost, but the information available seems consistent with the general principles of 

local zonation of permafrost at Fairbanks and Fort 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 37 

Wainwright. Generally, wells in the flood plain did 

not reach frozen ground or penetrated only 20 or 30 

feet of frozen alluvium near the surface. About half 

the wells on the low terraces penetrated 20 to 200 

feet of frozen alluvium; the rest were drilled in 

unfrozen ground (table 2). Depth to the base of 

frozen ground ranges from 30 to 80 feet, comparable to that of similar terraces at Fairbanks and 

Fort Wainwright. 

The progressive increase in maximum thickness 

of permafrost and in its areal continuity from the 

flood plain to successively older low terraces suggests that permafrost thickness and continuity are 

partly a function of the time elapsed since removal 

of the warming influence of the river that deposited 

the alluvium. It does not follow, however, that permafrost thickness would increase indefinitely if 

there were even higher and older terraces than the 

oldest one south of Fairbanks and Fort Wainwright. Undoubtedly climatic and other factors 

affecting ground-surface temperature and the 

regional geothermal gradient impose conditions that 

limit the maximum depth of permafrost. The maximum depth of permafrost in alluvium of the 

Tanana River valley is greater than 265 feet, and 

that in the creek-valley alluvium of the upland to 

the north is greater than 360 feet. 

Forest fires, timber cutting, clearing the land for 

agriculture, and erection of buildings in the Fairbanks area since founding of the city in 1902 have 

locally raised the mean annual ground-surface temperature and have increased the amplitude of seasonal ground-temperature changes. In turn, the 

depth of the active layer has been increased and 

permafrost has been degraded. In some of the older 

cleared areas, the permafrost table has receded 

from an initial position near the surface to depths 

as great as 35 feet. The depth to which the thermal 

disturbance due to removal of vegetation has 

extended into the permafrost has not been measured. The permafrost will probably continue to 

thaw at its upper, marginal, and even its lower 

boundaries, whereas it will undergo little change or 

may be aggrading where the land retains its natural vegetation. 

Layered permafrost is reported in several wells 

in the Fairbanks area (fig. 13) . It may be accounted 

for by several hypotheses: (1) Lenses and beds of 

frozen sand and gravel that are undersaturated 

with ice have been observed in shafts or have been 

indicated by loss of drilling water. Under certain 

conditions these undersaturated, yet frozen, deposits 

may respond to the drill in the same way as 

386-698 0- 70 - 6 

unfrozen sediments and may be logged as unfrozen. 

( 2) Drilling the irregular edge of a mass of frozen 

ground may produce a record of alternating frozen 

and unfrozen alluvium (Cederstrom, 1963). (3) 

Alternations of the mean annual ground-surface 

temperature about the freezing point may produce 

layered permafrost (Jenness, 1949; Terzaghi, 1952). 

Local disturbance of the vegetative cover, or especially rapid meandering of the river that last moved 

across the land, could account for layered permafrost. For example, if the warming effect of the 

river failed to thaw pre-existing permafrost completely, a deep remnant of the permafrost would be 

overlain by unfrozen ground. After migration of 

the river elsewhere, permafrost formed near the 

surface in the newly deposited alluvium would be 

separated from the old layer of permafrost by a 

layer of unfrozen alluvium. ( 4) During aggradation 

of permafrost, ground water becoming slightly 

more mineralized by fractionation and moving 

through permeable beds maintains thawed layers in 

the permafrost (Waller, 1961a; oral commun., 1962; 

written commun., December 1964). This hypothesis 

should be considered the least likely one because the 

unfrozen zone in the layered permafrost is not 

always the most permeable one and because slowmoving ground water flowing through frozen 

permeable beds may freeze itself (Theis, 1944, p. 

6) . Solution of the problems of layered permafrost 

still awaits application of geothermal techniques. 

In the Fairbanks area, ground water occurs in 

permeable sand and gravel of the flood plain and 

low terraces below, within, and above the permafrost, where the permafrost table is lower than the 

water table (Cederstrom, 1952, 1963; Pewe in 

Hopkins and others, 1955). Ground water in wells 

drilled through frozen alluvium rises to a static 

level that is approximately that of nearby watertable wells drilled in unfrozen alluvium. The westward slope of the water table and potentiometric 

surface, normally 5-15 feet below land surface, is 

approximately the same as that of the land surface. 

Storage of water is enormous in the unfrozen alluvium beneath permafrost and in unfrozen zones 

that perforate the permafrost ( Cederstrom, 1952; 

1961b; 1963, p. 37-38). Any withdrawal from storage by pumping can be replaced readily by infiltration from surface streams through unfrozen zones 

and by lateral movement of water within the 

unfrozen alluvium to the pumping well. Cederstrom 

(1963, p. 44) attributed uneven drawdown curves in 

pumping tests in the alluvium to the lenticularity of 

beds. However, these curves may also have been 
TABLE 2.-Depth of frozen alluvium in Fairbanks area wells 

Suburb 

(fig. 12) 

Aurora Subdivision, 

Garden Island--------

Badger Road------------

College----------------

Garden Island 

(Fairbanks-Slaterville)-------------

Graehl-----------------

Hamilton Acres---------

International Airport 

Road-----------------

Lameta Subdivision-----

South Fairbanks and 

Richardson Highway---

Steese Highway---------

Total 

wells 

2 

ll 

38 

45 

37 

20 

11 

18 

27 

20 

Total-------------- 229 

Wells no 

frozen 

alluvium 

logged 

0 

6 

13 

30 

21 

6 

2 

4 

16 

l 

99 

Wells in 

frozen 

alluvium 

2 

5 

25 

15 

16 

14 

9 

14 

ll 

19 

130 

Wells 

drilled 

through 

base of 

frozen 

alluvium 

2 

5 

15 

14 

ll 

14 

6 

12 

7 

9 

95 

Range of 

depths 

to base 

of frozen 

alluvium 

(feet) 

40-57 

38-123 

32-39, 

80-101, 

110-175+ 

26-70 

40-73 

32-77 

41-55, 

120-172+ 

23-79, 

100-154+ 

32-87 

45-98 

Maximum 

depth to 

base of 

permafrost 

(feet) 

57 

123 

175+ 

180 

73 

77 

172+ 

154+ 

265+ 

114 

eo 

00 

c;':l 

g 

z 

t::J 

~ 

~ tzj 

pj 

z ""'"' 

1-3 

1:1:: 

tzj 

~ 

~ > 

00 

~ 1-3 

~ c;':l 

1-1 

0 

z 

00 

0 

l'%j 

> &: 

00 

~ 

> 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 39 

related to impermeable boundaries imposed by permafrost or by other phenomena not considered by 

the methods used for analyzing the data. Tests at 

Fort Wainwright showed that transmissivity of the 

alluvium is several hundred thousand gallons per 

day per foot ( Cederstrom, 1963, p. 45). 

NENANA 

The village of Nenana lies along the south bank 

of the Tanana River upstream from its confluence 

with the Nenana River (fig. 5). Wells less than 60 

feet deep supply water to the village and to the airport (Cederstrom, 1952). The airport well was 

drilled through frozen alluvium from a depth of 15 

to 40 feet. The frozen alluvium is apparently thin 

and sporadically distributed (Kachadoorian, 1960). 

Foundation borings for the Fairbanks-Anchorage 

highway bridge across the Tanana River at Nenana 

showed that frozen ground is absent in alluvium 

beneath the river to depths as great as 178 feet 

(Alaska Department of Highways, unpub. data). 

MINTO 

Minto is on a low terrace north of the Tanana 

River (fig. 5). An early attempt to obtain a 

ground-water supply was abandoned when the 60-

foot test well failed to reach the lower limit of 

frozen alluvium (Cederstrom, 1952, p. 26). Three 

wells drilled in 1961 and 1962 produce water from 

sand and fine gravel beneath 22 to 52 feet of frozen 

alluvium. The water is confined beneath the base of 

the frozen layer and rises to within 12 feet of the 

land surface. 

MANLEY HOT SPRINGS 

Two wells, 40 and 75 feet deep, are reported 

(Cederstrom, 1952, p. 26) at Manley Hot Springs, 

on the Tanana River flood plain. The deeper well 

produces hard water from gravel and sand beneath 

a frozen zone which is reported from 42 to 54 feet 

below land surface. The hot springs are across a 

channel of the river from the village. The distribution of permafrost in the alluvium probably is 

affected more by proximity of the river channel 

than by the heat from the springs. The ground near 

the thermal springs is undoubtedly unfrozen. 

KUSKOKWIM RIVER VALLEY 

Water from wells drilled in flood-plain and lowterrace alluvium of the Kuskokwim River valley 

supplies the villages of McGrath, Crooked Creek, 

Aniak, Akiachak, Akiak, and part of Bethel (fig. 7). 

In the wells in which observations of water level 

have been made, fluctuations were noted that corresponded with change in stage of the nearby river. 

McGrath, located on recently deposited alluvium 

along the slip-off slope of a meander of the Kuskokwim River, is supplied by about 25 wells that obtain 

water from unfrozen sand and gravel. The wells 

nearest the river, on the youngest alluvial deposits, 

were drilled in unfrozen alluvium, but those on 

slightly higher, older alluvial surfaces away from 

the river, penetrated as much as 52 feet of frozen 

alluvium before reaching water-bearing unfrozen 

sand and gravel ( Cederstrom, 1952, p. 29; Fernald 

in Hopkins and others, 1955, p. 131; Fernald, 1959, 

p. 204). Construction activities and clearing of the 

natural vegetation in some parts of the village have 

caused degradation of the thin permafrost. 

Alluvium is unfrozen in four wells, 30-105 feet 

deep, at Aniak and in three wells, 18-30 feet deep, 

at Akiak. A 17 -foot well at Crooked Creek and two 

wells, 38 and 43 feet deep, at Akiachak obtain 

water from alluvium beneath permafrost. 

In the Bethel area, wells on the flood plain and 

low terraces produce water from shallow alluvium 

in permafrost-free areas close to the river and the 

nearby large flood-plain lakes and from deep sand 

beneath the permafrost (fig. 15) (Waller, 1957a). 

The flood plain and low terraces are bounded on the 

west by a terrace escarpment that separates them 

from an older part of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, a 

part of the coastal lowlands. Frozen ground in wells 

is less than 20 feet thick in flood-plain and low-terrace alluvium in the old airport area, on an island 

in the river, and near Hangar Lake (fig. 15). But in 

the village, between the creek and the terrace 

escarpment, the deposits are frozen to depths as 

great as 377 feet. The thin permafrost in the old airport area and near Hangar Lake has been formed 

in alluvium deposited during migration of the river 

across those localities. The thick permafrost at the 

village may be accounted for by postulating that the 

river has been in its present position too short a 

time to thaw the permafrost at depth. Partial degradation of permafrost by a rapidly migrating river 

is suggested by the layering of the frozen ground in 

the 149-foot well at Bethel (fig. 15). In that well, 

the upper layer of frozen alluvium extending from 

4 to 52 feet below land surface is separated by 

unfrozen ground from the lower frozen layer that 

extends from 148 feet to an unknown depth. However, as shown earlier, little is known about the 

origin of layered permafrost, and as thermal data 

are lacking, its origin remains speculative. 
40 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

161°45' 

EXPLANATION 

• ~ i {Flood-plain .J~!Lce alluvium 

·~ 

.£~{ ~ Delta ~ deposits -~ c.:; Chiefly sand, silt, and some gravel }I 

Contact 

075 

Well reported drilled in unfrozen sediment; 

number is depth 

• 412 

Well or test hole in which water was obtained beheath frozen sediment at depth indicated or between layers of frozen ground which was logged 

at depths shown in brackets 

.&39 

Well or test hole which failed to reach base of frozen 

ground at depth indicated; some wells produced 

water from unfrozen sediment between frozen 

zones, indicated by numbers in brackets 

ALL DEPTHS .. IN FEET BELOW LAND SURFACE 

FIGURE 15.-Well-locations and geology of the Bethel area. 

COPPER RIVER LOWLAND 

The Copper River and its major tributaries have 

formed narrow valleys incised into glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits. The valleys contain flood 

plains and low terraces (fig. 8); the alluvium is 

thin, and some wells have been drilled into the 

underlying glaciolacustrine clay, silt, and sand and 

glacial deposits. Fresh and saline or brackish water 

in permeable beds in the glacial and glaciolacustrine 

deposits seeps locally into the alluvium from the 

bluffs bordering the valley or leaks upward into the 

overlying alluvium. 

Wells, generally less than 40 feet deep, produce 

water from unfrozen flood-plain and low-terrace 

alluvium along the Copper River near the mouths of 

its larger tributaries (fig. 8) (Nichols, 1956; , 

Waller and Selkregg, 1962; Waller and Tolen, 

1962b). Potable water is produced at shallow depths 

from alluvium at various places in the lowland. The 

locations and approximate well depths are as follows: Slana, 20 feet; Christochina, 30 feet; Tolsona 

Creek 15 miles west of Glennallen, 20 feet; and 

Gulkana, 20 feet. Wells 14--61 feet deep at Copper 

Center produce slightly saline water or hard fresh 

water. Near the mouth of Tazlina River some wells 

15-65 feet deep in terrace alluvium and subjacent 

sediments yield brackish or saline water; others 

produce hard water. At Gulkana an 89-foot well, 

presumably drilled through the alluvium, produced 

saline water from underlying glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits. Permafrost was not reported in 

any of the wells cited, but has been reported in a 

22-foot well on a terrace of Tonsina River near 

Richardson Highway (Waller and Tolen, 1962b). 

Alluvium beneath a high terrace that extends 8 

miles west of Glennallen along the north bank of 

the Tazlina River (fig. 16) consists of coarse gravel 

10-20 feet thick. The gravel lies upon glaciolacus-
EXPLANATION 

~ Alluvium of flood plain of 

Moose Creek. and Dry Creek 

-~ 

Alluvium fan deposits and colluvium at base 

of bluffs along Moose Creek 

High terrace deposits of 

Tazlina River 

Sand and gravel 

Lacustrine deposits, chiefly 

silt and clay 

Marsh or muskeg 

Contact c·.:::) 

Gravel pit 

0....... 

>-

0:: 

.c 

z 

a: 

11.1 

1-

c( 

:I 

0 

OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

146° 

Saline 

Spring 

r:l 0 

R.l W. 

----""t I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I _____ _, I 

Gulkana 

Airfield 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I ________ ..J I 

cO==:::JE===='E::V2==:::JE==a========:::::i2 MILES A' 1700' 

-~North bank otT.,Un• R;~, ------ ~~~vel saline --- Water 

ProtileotTazlina . ---------

Rtver Projected to 

Plane of section 

Qls 

1400' 

1300' 

Moose Creek 

Valley 

--

Saline Spring on 

bank of Copper River 

16oo' B' 

1500' 

1400' 

1300' 

1200' 

1100' L....--------------------------------11100' 

1500' 

1400' 

EXPLANATION 

DEPTH OF WELL, IN FEET 321 REFERENCE TO LOCATION ON MAP 

Frozen ground reported 

by driller 

Impermeable silt, clay 

and till 

Permeable sand and gravel 

WL Water level 

F Fresh water aquifer 

S Saline water aqu_ifer 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION X 26.4 

DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL 

FIGURE 16.-Geology of the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield area. 

41 
42 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

trine silt or clay. Shallow wells in unfrozen gravel 

yield water to domestic wells and to some publicsupply wells. The water apparently enters the alluvium from muskegs in summer (Nichols, 1956) and 

moves eastward through the terrace gravel. In 

winter, when drainage of surface water from the 

muskegs ceases, the upper part of the thin alluvium 

freezes, and the wells either faH to produce or yield 

only scant supplies (Nichols, 1956). Similar highterrace deposits south of the Tazlina River and 

along the Klutina River and some of the eastern 

tributaries of the Copper River have not been tested 

for their ground-water potential. 

Permafrost, which is of rather small extent in 

the alluvium of the Copper River and its tributaries 

(Nichols, 1956), is relatively unimportant in relation to development of ground water, compared to 

similar areas farther north. Instead, the major 

problems are: (1) Locating a thick section of alluvium and (2) avoiding that alluvium into which 

hard and saline waters have seeped from glacial 

and glaciolacustrine deposits beneath the alluvium 

or from bluffs along the valley margins. 

COOK INLET AND BRISTOL BAY LOWLANDS 

No permafrost is known in alluvial deposits in 

the major valleys of the Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay 

lowlands of southern Alaska (figs. 7 and 8). Ground 

water is probably available in shallow wells in these 

deposits. 

ALLUVIAL FANS OF MAJOR VALLEYS 

Large alluvial fans border many of the major 

mountain ranges. Especially extensive areas of 

alluvial fans (shown in fig. 2) border the northern 

Alaska Range in the Tanana and Kuskokwim River 

valleys, the southern Brooks Range in the Yukon 

River valley, and some of the mountain ranges of 

Seward Peninsula. Many other fans are too small to 

be shown at the scale of the map. The alluvial fans 

are partly glacial-outwash deposits. In some major 

valleys an outwash fan borders Pleistocene glacial 

moraines deposited at the edge of the major valley 

by ice from one or more tributary valleys. In other 

tributary valleys, valley-train terraces can be traced 

from the moraine within the mountains to an 

alluvial fan formed by the tributary at the margin 

of the major valley. The fans consist of coarse 

gravel and sand near the apex and finer gravel, 

sand, and silt near the toe. Within the limits of 

Pleistocene glaciation (fig. 2) the deposits are 

interbedded with till. 

Little is known about the distribution of permafrost in alluvial-fan deposits. Although no subsurface data are available, permafrost is probably continuous and thick in the Arctic drainage basin. 

Frozen ground is sporadic and rather thin in the 

areas of the discontinuous-permafrost zone for 

which subsurface records are available. 

The alluvial-fan deposits are highly permeable 

and porous, especially near their apexes, and they 

are excellent aquifers along the rivers. Data available for alluvial-fan deposits show that the base of 

frozen alluvium generally lies above the water table 

or, in areas within the limits of Pleistocene glaciation, above the potentiometric surface of water that 

is confined by relatively impermeable till. At such 

places permafrost seems to have little effect on the 

occurrence of ground water other than restricting 

local infiltration of snowmelt and precipitation from 

the surface. However, near the toes of the fans, 

where the water level is close to the land surface, 

ground water may be confined beneath the base of 

the frozen alluvium. 

NORTHERN ALASKA 

The alluvial-fan deposits that form terraces bordering the rivers of the Brooks Range and the 

Arctic Foothills in the continuous-permafrost zone 

have not been tested for water by drilling. However, the thick, areally continuous permafrost elsewhere in this region indicates that water supplies in 

the alluvial deposits may be obtained only where 

lakes and large streams on the fans have formed an 

unfrozen zone that is deeper than the depth of 

winter frost penetration. 

Springs along the shore of Lake Tulugak near 

Anaktuvuk Pass of the central Brooks Range (fig. 

4) issue from the toe of an alluvial fan (Spetzman, 

1959, p. 37, fig. 8). The source of water discharged 

from these springs may prove to be fault zones 

within or bounding the limestone of the Lisburne 

Group, which is exposed in the hills near the fan 

apex. Water in similar springs from limestone in 

the eastern Brooks Range is well above the freezing 

point. Water emerging from bedrock at Lake Tulugak may keep alluvial-fan deposits unfrozen as it 

percolates through the alluvium to emerge at the 

toe of the fan. 

On Seward Peninsula, near the boundary between 

discontinuous and continuous permafrost, the 

streams on some alluvial fans reportedly lose much 

of their summer flow by percolation into coarse fan 

gravel, and the water emerges again at springs at 

the toe of the fan (Hopkins and others, 1955, p. 

121). 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 43 

YUKON RIVER VALLEY 

Alluvial fans of the Sheenjek, Christian, Chandalar, and Yukon Rivers occupy much of the northern 

Yukon Flats (fig. 2). No wells have been drilled on 

the fans; however, some of the small streams crossing the fans of the Christian and Sheenjek Rivers 

disappear into the alluvium, suggesting that the fan 

may be lo~ally permeable and unfrozen (Williams in 

Hopkins and others, 1955, p. 126). 

TANANA RIVER VALLEY 

Large alluvial fans occupy much of the southern 

'ranana River valley from the Canadian border 

westward to the Kantishna River (fig. 5). Many of 

the fans are formed by glacial outwash. Among the 

rivers crossing the fans, the Tok River, Moose 

River (tributary to Kantishna River), Dry Creek 

(Capps, 1911, 1912; Waring, 1917), and Gerstle 

River (H. R. Schmoll, written commun., November 

1964) are known to be influent and to recharge the 

ground water in the alluvium. Subsurface data are 

available from wells on the fan of Tok River at Tok 

and Tanacross, on the fan of Gerstle River, on the 

fan of Nenana River near Clear, and on outwash 

deposits fronting moraines east of Delta River near 

Fort Greely (Waller and Selkregg, 1962; Waller and 

Tolen, 1962a, b; Pewe and Holmes, 1964). 

The large alluvial fan of Tok River extends 

northward from its apex in the Alaska Range to the 

south bank of the Tanana River between the Alaska 

Highway bridge and Tanacross (fig. 8). The Tok 

River flows perennially at the Glenn Highway 

bridge near the apex of the fan, but flows only in 

summer at the Alaska Highway bridge near the toe. 

In February 1950, the entire flow, estimated at 50 

cfs, at the apex of the fan was seeping into the fan 

deposits because the river was dry at the toe of the 

fan at that time. Water is discharged from springs 

at the toe of the fan which forms the south bank of 

Tanana River. 

Alluvial deposits of the Tok fan supply ground 

water to the settlements of Tok and Tanacross. The 

deposits are coarse to fine sandy gravel containing 

beds and lenses of silt and sand. The alluvium is 

more than 120 feet thick at Tok. Records of wells 

(fig. 17) show that the water table in all but one 

well is between 53 and 70 feet below land surface. 

Frozen ground was reported in four of 16 wells 

near Tok and in two of seven near Tanacross, but 

its maximum depth in these wells was only 35 feet. 

The thin, isolated masses of permafrost lying above 

the water table have no effect in confining the 

ground water or in limiting its movement. 

+- TO TANACROSS 10 MILES . 

EXf)LANATION 

0~ 50 

Well in which 1rozen ground 

was not recorded 

HIGHWAy 

lh lMILE 

Upper number is total depth; lower number is 

depth to water table if krwwn, in feet 

40 

·-50 

Well in which water occurs below the frozen layer 

Upper number is depth of base of frozen ground; 

lower number is depth to water table if known, in 

feet 

FIGURE 17.-Well-locations in the Tok area, Tanana River 

valley. 

Steeply sloping fans formed by small creeks 

border the northern front of the Alaska Range in 

the Tanana River valley between Tanacross and 

Cathedral Rapids (fig. 2). Water was obtained from 

coarse fan gravel in two wells at Cathedral Bluffs. 

In one well, frozen ground was reported from 3 to 

12 feet and from 30 to 33 feet below land surface; 

in the other well the base of frozen alluvium was 

penetrated at a depth of 17 feet. The water table in 

both wells was below the base of the frozen ground. 

A well in the fan deposits along Gerstle River 

about 3 miles south of the Alaska Highway bridge 

(fig. 5) was drilled by U.S. Army Engineers. The 

upp.er 80 feet was in frozen fan gravel, and the 

base of frozen ground was at 122 feet in the underlying sand and till. Although a small amount of 

water was obtained in the till at the base of the 

frozen layer, it was inadequate to supply the 

demand, and the well was deepened to 549 feet. 

Water was obtained from sand and gravel at a 
44 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

depth between 468 and 4 72 feet, and rose to a static 

level that was 457 feet below land surface, or 355 

feet below the base of the frozen ground. 

Outwash fans border the Donnelly (Wisconsin) 

and Delta (Illinoian) moraines in the Fort Greely 

area (P.ewe, 1953; Pewe and Holmes, 1964). Fort 

Greely lies on the outwash apron fronting the Donnelly moraine within the area covered by ice during 

the Delta Glaciation. The surficial Donnelly outwash, consisting of fine to coarse sandy gravel containing beds and lenses of sand and silt, is 

underlain by till of the Delta Glaciation, which, in 

turn, lies above an older gravel. At Fort Greely the 

Donnelly outwash is above the water table, but the 

gravel beneath the Delta till contains water that is 

confined by the relatively impermeable till. According to Waller, Feulner, and Tisdel (1962), water is 

apparently recharged by the Delta River southwest 

of Fort Greely into the alluvium beneath the till. 

The water moves northeastward, passes about 200 

feet beneath the bed of Jarvis Creek at right angles 

to the direction of creek flow, and emerges as 

springs near Clearwater Lake (fig. 18). Here the 

toe of the Delta outwash fan forms a low gravel 

escarpment along the south side of the Tanana 

River flood plain. 

Frozen ground at Fort Greely extends to a maximum recorded depth of 217 feet, but it is recorded 

in only one-third of the wells (Cederstrom, 1952, p. 

27; Waller and Tolen, 1962a, b; Pewe and Holmes, 

1964). The altitude of the recorded base of frozen 

ground (fig. 16) is plotted for comparison with the 

altitude of the potentiometric surface of ground 

water confined beneath the till. In all but one well 

the base of permafrost is above the potentiometric 

surface, and in that well till is the confining layer, 

not permafrost. At Fort Greely, therefore, the 

hydrology of the ground water is dependent on the 

stratigraphy of the Quaternary deposits, and is 

independent of permafrost. 

Wells less than 65 feet deep along the Richardson 

Highway at Big Delta, near the confluence of 

Tanana and Delta Rivers (fig. 5), produce water 

from outwash of Donnelly age. The water table in 

these wells is 20-30 feet below land surface. Few of 

the wells have been drilled in frozen ground. 

At Donnelly flat, between the Richardson Highway and Jarvis Creek 12 miles south of Fort 

Greely, outwash of the Donnelly Glaciation (Pewe 

and Holmes, 1964) is underlain by till that lies 

above a lower gravel unit. Permafrost was logged 

in four of 15 borings and wells. The permafrost 

table in the four holes is 33-42 feet below land surface and the maximum depth of the base of frozen 

ground is 51 feet. Ground watet in the Donnelly 

outwash is perched on the perma~rost table, but the 

major aquifer is the gravel beneath the till. Water 

in this aquifer is confined by the relatively 

impermeable till and its potentiometric surface is 

below the deepest frozen ground recorded. The 

frozen ground, as at Fort Greely, is thin and sporadic and has little effect on the ground-water 

hydrology. 

Wells near Clear (fig. 5) on the Alaska Railroad 

have been drilled in unfrozen coarse gravel and 

sand near the apex of the alluvial fan of Nenana 

River. However, permafrost has also been reported 

in alluvial deposits of this fan along the route of 

the Fairbanks-Anchorage highway between Nenana 

and Rex (fig. 5). The water table in wells at Clear 

Air Force station is 40-70 feet below land surface, 

but is 15-20 feet below land surface in the shallow 

wells and pits closer to the railroad (Kachadoorian, 

1960). The water is apparently recharged by the 

Nenana River into the fan gravel, but no measurements of loss of flow of the river have been made 

yet. 

KUSKOKWIM RIVER VALLEY 

Broad outwash fans border the glacial moraines 

that extend into the Kuskokwim River valley along 

the front of the Alaska Range. The only well in this 

large region was drilled at Farewell Landing within 

the belt of the moraines, but near the deeply 

entrenched valley of South Fork Kuskokwim River. 

The depth to the base of frozen ground in the well 

is reported as either 12 or 125 feet ( Cederstrom, 

1952, p. 29; Fernald in Hopkins and others, 1955, 

p. 131; Fernald, 1959, p. 204). Water is produced 

from an aquifer beneath the glacial drift that lies 

beneath the surficial outwash deposits. Water level 

was reported 338 feet below land surface. At this 

location, at least, permafrost seems to have little 

relation to the hydrology. 

ALLUVIUM OF MOUNTAIN AND UPLAND VALLEYS 

IN DISCONTINUOUS-PERMAFROST ZONE 

Ground water in the alluvium of smaller valleys 

in the mountains and uplands is stored in, and 

moves through, unfrozen, permeable sand and 

gravel beneath streambeds and locally beneath flood 

plains and terraces. Thin, unfrozen alluvial aquifers 

in many valleys are localized beneath rivers and 

lakes, but in other valleys, where the alluvium is 

thick, alluvial aquifers may exist beneath permafrost. 
Qal 

Qal 

OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

Clearwater ·Lake 

Geology by Pewe and Holmes (1964} 

Contours of potentiometric surface 

by Waller. Feulner. and Tisdel (1962} 

1 MILE 

I 

J< Flood-plain and low terrace alluvium >-

~~ ~"{ ] Qm2l I Qo2! a: 

c( i{ a·~ Morainal deposits, Outwash sand z 0 «! 0:: t:lC5 till and gravel and gravel Ill 

J Qm1l ~ ..... 

.§ { c( 

iS:; ::J 

~.~ Morainal deposits, Outwash sand 0 

0~ till and gravel and gravel 0 

o Well in which frozen ground is not recorded Contact 

1234 • Well developed in aquifer beneath base of frozen ground. 

Number gives elevation of base, in feet above mean sea level 

·1104 Elevation of potentiometric surface. Contour interval! foot. 

Datum is mean sea level 

FIGURE 18.-Geology, slope of the potentiometric surface, and location of selected wells in the Fort 

Greely area. 

45 
46 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

Examples of the occurrence of ground water and 

distribution of permafrost, given below, have been 

selected to illustrate the variety of permafrost conditions in alluvium. They also show that many 

small valleys in the mountains and uplands contain 

productive alluvial aquifers despite the widespread 

occurrence of permafrost. 

UPLANDS NORTH OF YUKON RIVER 

Prospecting for placer gold has. been carried out 

in the Gold Hill district between Tanana and 

Birches and in the Marshall district (fig. 4) near 

62° N., 162° W., on the lower Yukon River. In the 

Gold Hill district, some shafts were dug through 

10-12 feet of unfrozen creekbed and terrace alluvium to bedrock on the upper tributaries of Illinois 

and Grant Creeks (Eakin, 1912; Martin, 1919), but 

many other shafts were dug in frozen ground 

(Maddren, 1909). 

Alluvial deposits in the headwater reaches of 

creeks draining the uplands east of Marshall (fig. 7) 

are thin, coarse-grained, and generally unfrozen, 

but the thicker alluvium in the middle and lower 

segments of these valleys is frozen and consists of 

silt that lies above a thin basal gravel unit just 

above bedrock (Brooks, 1915). Shafts dug in 

unfrozen alluvium were flooded by ground water. 

SOUTHERN SEWARD PENINSULA 

Alluvial sand and gravel in upland valleys of 

southern Seward Peninsula are interbedded locally 

with glacial deposits. According to Hopkins (in 

Hopkins and others, 1955, p. 123), permafrost is 

generally 100-200 feet thick, but unfrozen zones 

are more extensive along perennial streams and are 

found beneath streams smaller than those in the 

northern Seward Peninsula. Unfrozen zones lie 

beneath most of the flood plain, and are common in 

alluvial fans. 

Ground water is available from the unfrozen alluvium of flood plains. Springs emerge at the lower 

edges of the alluvial fans and water in these alluvial-fan deposits is more abundant in summer than in 

winter (Hopkins, in Hopkins and others, 1955, p. 

124). 

YUKON-TANANA UPLAND 

The upland between the Yukon and Tanana 

Rivers (fig. 5) is an area of even-topped ridges and 

narrow valleys broken by higher, more rugged 

mountains and valleys of the principal streams. The 

alluvium of the principal valleys is generally thick 

in the middle to lower reaches. Immediately north 

of the Tanana River the lower hills are mantled 

with loess. Streams have washed the loess and silt 

derived from weathered schist to valley bottoms 

where the silt forms an important component of the 

alluvium. The distribution of permafrost and its 

relation to ground-water occurrence is similar to 

that of the major valleys. Placer mining in the 

Circle, Eagle-Fortymile, Fairbanks, Rampart, and 

Tofty-Eureka-Hot Springs districts, discussed below, provides subsurface data on permafrost and 

ground water in the alluvium of the smaller valleys 

in the Yukon-Tanana Upland. 

CIRCLE MINING DISTRICT 

Unfrozen water-bearing sandy gravel in the 

flood-plain alluvium, particularly beneath creekbeds, 

is common to several small valleys of the Circle 

mining district (fig. 5, 65° N., 145° W.). Among 

them are: Crooked Creek, where wells near Central 

penetrate as much as 45 feet of unfrozen gravel; 

Harrison Creek (Brooks, 1909; Prindle, 1913a); and 

Mammoth Creek, where shafts have been dug 

through 10-16 feet of locally unfrozen alluvium to 

bedrock (Brooks, 1907, 1915; Ellsworth and Parker, 

1911). The thickness of the alluvium on Deadwood 

Creek increases from a few feet at its headwaters 

to about 100 feet in its lower reaches in the Birch 

Creek flats. Much of the gravel along the creek is 

unfrozen. At one mine near the head of the creek, 

winter frost did not reach bedrock until February, 

and the underflow continued to that time (Brooks, 

1907, 1909). Only part of the alluvium along Mastodon Creek is frozen (Brooks, 1907; Ellsworth and 

Davenport, 1913). Gravel on Eagle Creek, mantled 

with 5-15 feet of silt, remained unfrozen and 

water bearing throughout at least one winter 

(Brooks, 1907) . Many of the shafts in the Circle 

district penetrate 15-25 feet of frozen alluvium 

before entering unfrozen, water-bearing gravel 

above the bedrock (Purington, 1905). 

EAGLE-FORTYMILE MINING DISTRICT 

The Eagle-Fortymile district (fig. 5, approx 65° 

N., 141 9 W.) consists of several small mining camps 

along the Fortymile River and its tributaries and 

along Poker Creek near the Canadian boundary. 

Many mine shafts dug through 15-25 feet of frozen 

alluvium have been flooded by water in unfrozen 

gravel just above bedrock (Purington, 1905). Other 

shafts and wells have been dug through 35 to more 

than 360 feet of frozen ground. Icings, indicating 

underflow through unfrozen creekbed alluvium, 

form on many of the creeks, but much of the gold-
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 47 

bearing alluvium bordering the smaller streams is 

frozen. The Fortymile River, the largest one in the 

area, has much unfrozen alluvium (Prindle, 1908a). 

On upper Chicken Creek, alluvial deposits 40-50 

feet thick are partly unfrozen, as indicated by 

reports that the deposits were too wet for prospecting by shafts ( Mertie, 1930). A 360-foot test well 

on Chicken Creek near the Taylor Highway was 

drilled through creek alluvium and sedimentary 

rocks of Tertiary age without reaching the base of 

frozen ground. 

RAMPART MINING DISTRICT 

The Rampart mining district (fig. 5, 65'0 30' N., 

150° W.) occupies the narrow tributary and main 

valleys of Minook Creek, a tributary of the Yukon 

River. The alluvial deposits of these valleys are generally about 20 feet thick, but are known to be as 

much as 100 feet thick locally (Prindle and Hess, 

1906). In the larger valleys, the alluvial deposits, 

which are chiefly sand and gravel, are interbedded 

with and, along valley margins, overlapped by silt 

of coalescent alluvial fans formed by smaller 

streams. In general, the silt and gravel deposits bordering the stream are frozen, but local channels in 

these gravel deposits are unfrozen (Prindle and 

Hess, 1906). 

Ground water occurs in unfrozen, coarse alluvium 

beneath the larger streams and in unfrozen channels beneath the valley bottom bordering some of 

the streams. Water circulates freely through these 

unfrozen zones during all seasons. Eakin (1913c) 

stated that the unfrozen zones are most numerous 

where the gravel is especially permeable. Icings on 

Minook Creek indicate the persistence of streamflow 

or underflow throughout much of the winter 

(Mertie, 1934). Both the surficial silt and underlying gravel on upper Hunter Creek are frozen; similar deposits, as much as 40 feet thick, in the Little 

Minook Creek valley are generally also frozen 

(Mertie, 1934), but reportedly contain local zones of 

water-bearing gravel (Ellsworth, 1910). Unfrozen 

water-bearing gravel is found locally beneath frozen 

silt bordering Little Minook Junior Creek, but the 

alluvium along Hoosier Creek and in the bed of 

Slate Creek generally is frozen (Mertie, 1934). 

However, ground water in local unfrozen zones in 

the alluvium along Hoosier and Ruby Creeks has 

hindered placer-mining operations. Underground 

mine workings on some creeks were flooded when 

abandoned water-filled shafts were intercepted by 

drifting. The water in those shafts had become partially frozen from the sides inward and from the 

top downward, but the water in the center had 

remained unfrozen for several years (Prindle and 

Hess, 1906) . 

TOFTY-EUREKA-HOT SPRINGS MINING DISTRICT 

The Tofty-Eureka-Hot Springs district (fig. 5, 

65·o N., 151 °30' W.) has been mined and prospected 

for placer gold and tin, but most of the older subsurface records are no longer available (Ellsworth, 

1910; Eakin, 1913c, 1915b; Mertie, 1934; Thomas, 

1957). Alluvial deposits, 50-170 feet thick, consist 

of thick surficial silt that covers basal gravel ranging in thickness from a few feet to 35 feet. In the 

upper parts of upland valleys, gravel is unfrozen to 

bedrock, but downstream the gravel is covered by a 

thick mantle of silt and depths to bedrock increase 

on the lower reaches of these streams. Almost all 

records of boreholes and shafts show that the 

frozen conditions extend into bedrock (Thomas, 

1957). Maximum thickness of frozen ground is 

more than 130 feet. Only a few records are available of flooding of underground workings by 

ground water beneath the frozen layer; for example, a 50- to 60-foot shaft a quarter of a mile west 

of Tofty (fig. 2) was flooded by ground water 

(Eakin, 1915b). The only record of a deep water 

well is that of one drilled 200 feet in search of artesian water, apparently without success, because the 

attempt was suspended for lack of casing (Rickard, 

1909). 

Although the available information suggests that 

most of the ·alluvium is frozen, water may be available in unfrozen alluvium beneath upper courses of 

the creeks and in deep alluvium beneath the larger 

creeks, such as Omega Creek and Hutlinana Creek 

(Prindle and Hess, 1906) , where unfrozen zones are 

common. 

FAIRBANKS MINING DISTRICT 

The upland north of the Chena and Tanana 

Rivers in the Fairbanks mining district ranges in 

altitude from about 800 to 3,000 feet above sea level 

(fig. 12). Hilltops and lower slopes near the Tanana 

River are largely mantled by the Fairbanks Loess, 

and the lower slopes of higher hills farther north 

are locally covered by loess (Pewe, 1948b, 1958a; 

Williams, 1959; Williams and others, 1959; Pewe 

and Riyard, 1961). In their headwater reaches, 

most small streams flow on beds of gravelly alluvium that is generally less than 50 feet thick. 

Downstream, where the gradient of the stream is 

lower, the gravelly alluvium is buried by, or intercalated with, thick deposits of silt in places contain-
48 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

ing organic material. There, alluvium ranges from a 

few feet thick near the margins to a recorded maximum of 360 feet in the center. The streams flow in 

meandering courses across narrow flood plains composed of silt, sand, and, locally, fine gravel. The 

flood plains are bordered by coalescent alluvial fans 

of silt deposited by tributaries. along the valley margins. In most valleys the thickness of the alluvium 

increases downstream, but in a few valleys, where 

stream capture or faulting has taken place, broad 

valley segments filled by thick alluvium are terminated downstream by narrow segments underlain 

by thin alluvium. The complex stratigraphy of the 

alluvial fills reflects a long history of erosion, deposition, and stream capture (Mertie, 1937; Tuck, 

1940;Taber,1943;Pewe,1952,1953,1958a,b). 

The distribution of frozen creek-valley alluvium 

is known from records of early-day prospect and 

mine shafts, from records of later prospect drilling, 

and from water wells. These records show that permafrost occurs from near the surface to depths of 

at least 360 feet in the middle and lower parts of 

the creek valleys (fig. 14), but that its thickness 

varies from place to place. Although the side of the 

valley having the greater insolation would be 

expected to have the thinnest permafrost (Muller, 

1947), this relationship is not demonstrated consistently by the data. Generally the thickness of permafrost increases downvalley, but exceptions are 

common. 

Ground water is abundant in unfrozen coarse 

sand and gravel. However, the overlying silt is relatively impermeable and does not yield significant 

quantities of water. The occurrence of water in the 

permeable alluvium depends on whether permafrost 

extends to the underlying bedrock. Where permafrost extends into bedrock, as in the Dome Creek 

valley (figs. 14 and 19), no water is obtained from 

the alluvium. But where alluvium lies below the 

base of permafrost, as in the Happy Creek area 

(figs. 14 and 19), the alluvium will yield water. 

Water is recharged to the alluvial aquifers and to 

subjacent bedrock aquifers through unfrozen zones 

on the upper slopes and on summits of the hills and 

through unfrozen alluvium beneath the upper 

reaches of the creeks ( Cederstrom and Tibbitts, 

1961; Cederstrom, 196·3, p. 77, fig. 6). 

From records of about 75 wells in the Isabella 

Creek valley, between the Steese Highway, McGrath 

Road, and Farmers Loop Road north of Fairbanks 

(Cederstrom and Tibbitts, 1961; Cederstrom, 1963), 

form lines have been sketched to show the approximate shape of the bedrock surface and the potentiometric surface (fig. 20). The data show that most 

of the bedrock valley is filled with silt, but that 

locally the silt is separated from the bedrock surface by gravel deposited in old stream courses. The 

maximum known thickness of the gravel is more 

than 72 feet, but few wells have been drilled in the 

central part of the valley where the thickest gravel 

is to be expected, and none have been drilled 

through the gravel. The gravel probably thickens 

downvalley to merge with lower units of the alluvial 

sand and gravel fill of the Tanana River valley, and 

the silt merges downvalley into alluvial-fan deposits 

of Isabella Creek that overlie and interfinger with 

sand and gravel in the Tanana River valley. 

Ground water in the coarse alluvium beneath the 

Isabella Creek valley is confined by the base of permafrost and by overlying beds of relatively 

impermeable silt. The form lines (fig. 20) show that 

confined ground water moves from the hills toward 

the Isabella Creek valley and southward to the 

Tanana River valley. Flowing artesian wells are 

common in the lower parts of the valley along Isabella Creek. Difficulties in capping a flowing well 

(fig. 20, well A) (Jaillite, 1947) were caused by 

thawing of ground ice in the frozen silt surrounding the casing. Thawing by flowing ground water 

enlarged the opening surrounding the casing and 

formed cavernous zones in the silt at depth. Elsewhere, the confined water does not reach land 

surface but rises in wells into the permafrost zone 

where it becomes frozen, unless the wells are heated 

or pumped regularly. A search for suitable observation wells in the valley bottom showed that most of 

the abandoned wells are filled with ice. Records 

from December 1949 to April 1955 (Cederstrom 

and Tibbitts, 1961; Waller, 1963, p. 11-12) show 

that the potentiometric surface had declined 5.7 feet 

in the U.S. Geological Survey observation well 

located along the line between sections 13 and 24 

south of McGrath Road. From April 1955 to April 

1956 water level had recovered 2.5 feet of this 

decline, but the water in the well had become frozen 

at a depth of 11 feet by 1962 (R. M. Waller, written 

commun., 1964). 

In other parts of the Fairbanks mining district, 

water wells and records of water level are sparse. 

The data available, however, show that conditions 

in many valleys are similar to those in the Isabella 

Creek valley. For example, ground water is found 

in unfrozen alluvium below permafrost in parts of 

Engineer Creek valley (fig. 14) (Ellsworth and 

Parker, 1911); the water flows at the surface in a 

shaft near Steese Highway (Taber, 1943). Most of 
A 

SW 1200' 

1100' 

1000' 

900' 

800' 

700' 

600' 

500' 

~ Water well 

OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

OC:::::=:::::e;;;;;;;;;;;;;l;;;;OEO=O =:::::::E;;;;;;;;;E2E!l000 FEET 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION X 3 

DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL 

Section A-A' Happy Creek area 

z z 

- 0 0-

z 1-

lll~ m !Jl 

A' 

Data from Pewe (19 58 a) 

NE 

OE_ :;;;;;;;c=:::::eeea==ac=:::::J*¥3e5a00 FEET L. Burbank. Un1v of Alaska (1958) 

NO VERTICAL EXAGGERATION 

DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL 

Cross section through Dome Creek Valley 

EXPLANATION 

Note: Trace of section A-A' shown in figure 14 

1 

~ ~ . 

Silt and Gravel and sand 

organic-rich silt 

Placer test 

boring 

fa 

Bedrock, 

chiefly schist 

FIGURE 19.-Permafrost depth through the Happy Creek area and the Dome Creek valley, Fairbanks mining district. 

49 
50 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 147°40' 

64° 52'30" 

EXPLANATION 

I I I I I I 

Upslop~ boundary of areas underlain by permafrost. 

Ground surface elevation contour 

Contour interval 250 feeti datum is mean sea level 

Contour showing approximate elevation of bedrock surface 

Contourinterval100fe!Jt, datum is mean sea level 

Contour showing approximate elevation of potentiometric 

surface of water confined beneath silt and permafrost, 

. and water table in wells' drilled in unfrozen ground 

Contour interval100feet; datum is mean sea level 

•f 

well 

Number is depth to base of frozen ground, in feet; log of hol~ not available · c 

o-sa 

W~ll 

Number is depth of well in unfrozen ground, in feet; log of hole 

not available 

··~ 40-12 

Well drilled in frozen ground 

Upper number indicates depth of base of frozen ground, in feet; 

, lower numbers indicate log oj"lhole, first number is thickness 

of silt, seoond number is thickp,ess of gravel penetrated before 

reaching bedrock, in feet. Plus sign beside figurf.. for permafrost, silt, or gravel indicates· failure to reach base of that 

particular unit 

~ 

l4f0 .. 

Well drilled in ~frozen groundUpper number is total depth' of hole, ·in feet below land surface, 

lower numbM"s indicq.te lO!J. 'of hole, ]ir.,s{ number is ·thickness 

of silt, seoond number js ~hickness of gravel penetrated before 

well entered bedrock, in feet. Plus sign beside figure indicates 

failure to reach base of that particular unit at total depth 

FIGURE 20.-Hydrology of the Isabella Creek valley. 
OCCURRENCE. OF GROUND WATER 51 

the alluvium on Fairbanks Creek is frozen (Prindle, 

1905), but on Cleary Creek (fig. 14) several shafts 

were dug through permafrost into water-bearing 

alluvium or bedrock (Prindle, 1905, 1908b, 1913b; 

Eakin, 1915a). On Wolf Creek, tributary to Cleary 

Creek, large flows of ground water were noted in 

shafts dug below an altitude of 1,500 feet. Water is 

confined in gravel below the frozen layer on Treasure 

Creek (Ellsworth, 1910). The alluvium on Goldstream Creek is frozen except in two places near 

the creek downstream from Happy station (fig. 14) 

where warming by the creek has kept the alluvium 

unfrozen (Pewe, 1958a; Pewe and Rivard, 1961). 

The exceptionally thick silt and gravel extending 

below the base of permafrost in the Happy area 

(figs. 14 and 19) can be traced southwestward into 

the valleys of Ester and Cripple Creeks (fig. 14). 

Although the permafrost has a maximum recorded 

depth of 170 feet on lower Ester and Cripple 

Creeks, in only a few of 32 placer test holes does it 

extend to the base of the gravel (Pewe, 1958a; 

Pewe and Rivard, 1961). Ground water pumped to 

drain mine workings in this unfrozen gravel 

beneath permafrost was used for sluicing the placer 

gold (Prindle, 1913a; Prindle and Katz, 1909). 

YUKON-KUSKOKWIM REGION 

Placer mines in the Long-Poorman, Iditarod, and 

Innoko mining district between the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers (fig. 7) provide meager subsurface 

information on the distribution and thickness of 

permafrost and on the occurrence of ground water. 

The extent and thickness of permafrost in the Iditarod and Innoko districts, according to Maddren 

(1909, p. 240-241), depend on local variations in 

the texture of the alluvium, the drainage, and the 

quantity of ground and surface water. He found no 

uniformity in the distribution and thickness of permafrost, even within small areas, and stated that 

there is no way to predict where ground water in 

unfrozen alluvium may be intercepted by wells and 

shafts. 

LONG-POORMAN MINING DISTRICT 

The Long-Poorman district (fig. 7, 64°15' N., 

155°30' W.) (Maddren, 1910a; Eakin, 1913a, 1914a, 

b; Mertie and Harrington, 1916, 1924; Brooks, 

1922; Mertie, 1936) includes parts of the valleys of 

Long Creek, Sulatna River, and Poorman Creek. 

Unconsolidated deposits are generally composed of 

sand and gravel interbedded with silt, and, in many 

valleys, the coarse alluvium is covered by many feet 

of silt. These deposits are generally frozen to 

bedrock which is less than 75 feet deep on upper 

Long Creek, at least 125 feet deep on lower Long 

Creek, and at least 80 feet deep on upper Poorman 

Creek. Unfrozen, water-bearing gravel is found 

locally beneath permafrost under the flood plain and 

terraces bordering Long Creek, south of Long 

Creek (Mertie, 1936, p, 160-161), and in the valleys of upper Poorman Creek, upper Trail Creek, 

and a western tributary of Flint Creek. On Midnight and Greenstone Creeks, small eastern tributaries of Sulatna River, the alluvium becomes 

thicker downstream, but is frozen to bedrock; the 

unconsolidated deposits in the uppermost reaches of 

these and other small creeks are reported to be 

unfrozen. The thickest frozen ground known in the 

district is on Trail Creek, a western tributary of 

Sulatna River, where a shaft 185 feet deep failed to 

reach the base of the frozen alluvium. 

Ground water, therefore, is found only in the thin 

unfrozen alluvial deposits of the uppermost reaches 

of small creeks, and in local areas beneath the 

middle and lower reaches of the larger creeks, 

where the alluvium is thicker than the permafrost. 

The water in the deep alluvial aquifers is probably 

confined by the base of frozen ground in these 

areas. Available data do not suggest a means of 

predicting the location of these local unfrozen zones. 

IDITAROD MINING DISTRICT 

Narrow gulches and valleys of small creeks tributary to the upper Iditarod River (fig. 7, near 62°30' 

N., 158° W.) are underlain by gravelly alluvium 

that is overlain by silt in many places. The silt and 

gravel are generally frozen, although unfrozen 

gravel is found beneath some creeks and in local 

areas bordering the creeks (Maddren, 1909). On 

Otter Creek the alluvium is about 12 feet thick and 

is unfrozen beneath the creek; the alluvium bordering the creek is mantled by frozen silt and is locally 

unfrozen (Maddren, 1910a, 1911; Brooks, 1915; 

Mertie, 1936). In summer the water seeps downslope through granite boulders near Flat to form 

Flat Creek, and downstream the gravelly alluvium 

of this creek is covered by frozen silt that thickens 

downvalley (Maddren, 1911). Alluvium on Willow 

Creek consists of 10-25 feet of silt that contains 

beds and lenses of gravel; much of this alluvium is 

unfrozen, and the gravel beds and lenses contain 

water (Maddren, 1911; Mertie and Harrington, 

1916). Near the confluence of Chicken and Bonanza 

Creeks a 90-foot shaft dug to bedrock reportedly 

failed to pass through the base of frozen ground. 
52 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

INNOKO MINING DISTRICT 

The small creeks of the upper Innoko River 

valley (fig. 7, near 63° N., 156° W.) are underlain 

by as much as 30 feet of alluvium. Although the 

alluvium of many of the narrow valleys and gulches 

bordering these creeks is generally frozen, the alluvium of the wider valleys and of the Innoko River 

is locally unfrozen (Maddren, 1909). Alluvium in 

the valley of Little Creek is 10-30 feet thick and 

has unfrozen water-bearing zones in both floodplain and terrace deposits (Maddren, 1911; Eakin, 

1913b; Mertie, 1936). Spruce Creek flows on alluvium that contains much silt, and the deposits are 

frozen (Maddren, 1911). An unfrozen zone in the 

middle of the gravel paystreak in placer mines on 

Ophir Creek contains water (Mertie, 1936). The 

unfrozen, water-bearing gravel beneath Yankee 

Creek is less than 10 feet thick (Maddren, 1911), 

and on Ganes Creek the unfrozen gravel, 15 to 20 

feet thick, contains water (Brooks, 1908; Eakin, 

1913b; Mertie, 1936). 

ALASKA RANGE 

Alluvium of river valleys within the Alaska 

Range has been used as a source of ground water in 

the railbelt between Healy and Windy (fig. 8) and 

along the Richardson and Glenn Highways. Along 

the railroad, frozen ground reaches a recorded maximum thickness of 215 feet in the mountains, but 

large supplies of water are obtained from an SOfoot well in unfrozen alluvium of Nenana River 7 

miles south of McKinley Park station and from galleries in the alluvium of Healy Creek (fig. 8). In 

contrast to these large streams, the alluvium 

beneath a small mountain creek having a steep gradient half a mile west of McKinley Park station 

was found to be dry in one hole drilled to the top of 

bedrock in February 1963. At that time the creek 

was flowing across the top of a thick icing in the 

streambed, and the ground water that was apparently stored in the creek alluvium had been diverted 

to the stream flowing on top of the icing or had 

drained downvalley. Water was found in terrace 

alluvium beneath 100 feet of frozen ground in a test 

boring 3 miles north of McKinley Park station 

(Wahrhaftig, 1958). Springs issuing from terrace 

gravel near Healy, Garner, Ferry, and Lignite show 

that those deposits are locally unfrozen and are 

potential aquifers (Cederstrom and others, 1950). 

Two wells, 14 and 65 feet deep, in Paxson, at the 

junction of Denali and Richardson Highways, produce water from alluvium of the Gulkana River. No 

frozen ground was reported in these wells. Northward on the Richardson Highway most wells at 

Camp Terry, 2 miles south of Rapids, failed to produce water from boulder till containing permeable 

gravel beds, but a well drilled at the edge of the 

Delta River penetrated till and produced water 

from subjacent alluvium. Static level of the water 

in this well is 56 feet below the surface of Delta 

River. 

A 284-foot well on the alluvial fan of Porcupine 

Creek, tributary to the Slana River along the Glenn 

Highway, was drilled through 54 feet of alluvial-fan 

deposits into underlying glaciolacustrine ( ?) deposits. The ground is frozen to a depth of 73 feet, and 

water is pump~d from gravel and sand in the interval 120-141 feet below surface. 

Ground water has been noted in mine shafts dug 

in unfrozen alluvium beneath creeks in the Kantishna mining district (fig. 8, near 63°30' N., 151° 

W.), but alluvium of the terraces bordering the 

streams is reported as generally frozen (Capps, 

1919) . Prospect shafts in the Chisana area, between 

the Wrangell Mountains and the eastern extension 

of the Alaska Range (fig. 8, near 62° N., 142° W.), 

were dug in unfrozen alluvium beneath several 

creeks. In many of the creek valleys the alluvium is 

thin and is probably subject to winter freezing, but 

the deep, unfrozen alluvium beneath Chavolda, 

Chathenda, Notch, and other large creeks near 

Chisana is a potential source of year-round supplies 

of ground water (Brooks, 1914; Martin, 1919). 

KILBUCK MOUNTAINS 

In the Nyac mining district (fig. 7, 61° N., 160° 

W.), the gravel beneath some of the small streams 

is unfrozen. Ground water has been noted in these 

unfrozen deposits on Bear Creek, near N yac, and 

Marvel Creek (Maddren, 1915; Smith, 1942). 

In the Goodnews Bay mining district (fig. 7, 59 ° 

N., 162° W.) northeast of Platinum, permafrost is 

absent in alluvium in the valleys of Kowkow, Wattamuse, and Bear Creeks (Harrington, 1921) and in 

the deep alluvium of the Arolik River valley 

(Smith, 1939). Recent platinum dredging in the district showed that permafrost occurs as occasional 

lenses in gravel that is 15-60 feet thick (Mining 

Engineering, 1961, p. 1336). 

GLACIAL AND GLACIOLACUSTRINE DEPOSITS OF 

INTERIOR VALLEYS 

Glacial deposits, consisting largely of till, were 

laid down as the glaciers advanced from major 

mountain ranges into the lowlands within the limits 

shown in figure 2. During the retreat of the glaciers 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 53 

relatively permeable water-worked deposits were 

laid down as kames, eskers, and ice-channel deposits. Permeable beds and lenses of sand and gravel 

within the till and the recessional deposits are 

potential aquifers, but the finer grained water-laid 

deposits and unsorted till are barriers to the movement of ground water. In places where the glaciers 

advanced into proglacial lakes or into the sea, beds 

and lenses of clay, silt, gravel, sand, and stony clay 

or silt are associated with the till. The complex 

stratigraphy of glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits 

and the wide range in their porosity and permeability make difficult the evaluation of the role of permafrost as a barrier to ground-water movement in 

such terranes. 

Because it is difficult to discuss glacial and glaciolacustrine deposits separately from alluvial deposits 

of the coastal lowlands, the glacial deposits in valleys of the southern Brooks Range and in the 

Tanana River valley have been discussed above 

under alluvial deposits. Glacial deposits in the 

coastal lowland near Nome and Kotzebue are discussed briefly in the section on coastal lowlands. 

The following section is restricted to ground water 

and permafrost in the glacial and glaciolacustrine 

deposits of the Copper River Lowland. 

COPPER RIVER LOWLAND 

The Copper River Lowland is bounded by the 

Alaska and Chugach Ranges and the Talkeetna and 

Wrangell Mountains (fig. 2). It is drained by the 

Susitna River that flows westward through the Talkeetna Mountains to Cook Inlet and by the Copper 

River which flows southward to the Gulf of Alaska 

through a glacier-bordered canyon in the Chugach 

Range. The peripheral areas of the lowland are 

underlain by till, ice-contact deposits, and outwash 

deposited during several episodes of glacial advance 

from the surrounding mountains into the lowland 

and during the subsequent glacial retreat. The 

deposits are locally interbedded with and overlapped 

by deposits of the series of proglacial lakes that 

occupied the central part of the lowland in Pleistocene time. The glaciolacustrine deposits are predominantly impermeable silt, clay, and stony silt and 

clay, but include beds and lenses of permeable, 

water-laid sand and gravel. After drainage of the 

last large proglacial lake through the Copper River 

canyon, the Copper River and its major tributaries 

cut canyons 200-550 feet deep into the glacial and 

glaciolacustrine deposits. The stratigraphy and geomorphology of these deposits have been studied by 

the U.S. Geological Survey since 1952 (Nichols, 

1956, 1965; Ferrians and Schmoll, 1957; Ferrians 

and others, 1958; Ferrians, 1963). The writer's 

unpublished maps and notes based on geologic mapping 1952-57 also provide much information that is 

used freely in sections of this report on the Copper 

River Lowland. 

Permafrost is widespread in the unconsolidated 

deposits of the central part of the lowland and is 

probably absent only under flood plains and low terraces of the major rivers and beneath large lakes. 

The ground is frozen from a few feet beneath the 

surface to a depth of 120-250 feet beneath the 

former lake bottom into which the rivers are 

incised (Nichols and Yehle, 1961a, p. 1065). 

Potable water occurs in permeable unconsolidated 

deposits interbedded with impermeable glaciolacustrine and glacial deposits at several places in the 

Copper River Lowland. The aquifers are below the 

base of permafrost at Kenney Lake, Chitina, and 

Junction Inn at the northern junction of Glenn and 

Richardson Highways (D. R. Nichols, written 

commun., November 1964). The 205-foot well at 

Junction Inn was drilled through 155 feet of permafrost. 

In the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield area (fig. 16), 

potable water, produced from permeable sand and 

gravel in wells 60-218 feet deep, is limited to the 

valleys of Moose and Dry Creeks (Nichols, 1956). 

Logs and water-level information are not available 

for the two fresh-water wells reportedly (Nichols, 

1956; written commun., November 1964) drilled 

through permafrost in the valley of Dry Creek (fig. 

19, B-B'). Permeable beds in wells 303, 321, 330, 

and 443 at Gulkana airfield (fig. 16, B-B'), 

between the reported base of frozen ground and the 

static level of saline water, are dry, probably 

because the potentiometric surface of the saline 

water has dropped in response to canyon cutting by 

the Copper River and the beds have not been 

recharged by fresh water. The static level of potable water confined beneath impermeable beds in 

wells along Moose Creek at Glennallen (fig. 16, 

A-A') has been measured during completion tests 

made at different seasons of the year. The one well 

that was measured at irregular intervals is pumped 

heavily. The different static levels of fresh water in 

each of these wells, therefore, reflect either seasonal 

or year-to-year changes in the position of the water 

level, or in the static level of several different aquifers. According to available drillers' logs, the base 

of frozen ground confines water in only two wells at 

Glennallen (fig. 16, A-A', well 75 and 218), and it 
54 GROUND WATER IN TH:E PERMAFROST .REGIONS OF ALASKA 

is unknown whether permafrost or an impermeable 

bed of clay or silt acts as the confining layer in the 

wells. 

The potable water in the valleys of Moose and 

Dry Creeks in the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield area 

is thought by Nichols (1956, p. 11) to be the result 

of downward seepage from the creeks to aquifers 

beneath the valleys. Alternative sources of recharge 

along the Moose Creek valley are the small intermittent streams that form alluvial fans north of the 

Glenn Highway at the edge of the valley (fig. 16). 

The stratigraphy of the glacial and glaciolacustrine 

deposits seems to be dominant in controlling the 

recharge, discharge, movement, and storage of 

ground water in the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield 

area. Permafrost apparently has little effect on 

hydrology near the Copper and Tazlina River. However, it may have a greater effect in sections of the 

lowland away from the incised stream valleys. 

Potable water is discharged from springs along 

Mendeltna Creek about 15 miles southwest of Lake 

Louise in the western part of the lowland. The 

water probably originates in abandoned eastwardtrending outwash channels of the glacial prototype 

of Little N elchina River. These channels drain 

snowmelt, precipitation, and many lakes. The water 

probably enters the ground through permeable, 

unfrozen outwash gravel and discharges along the 

banks and in the bed of Mendeltna Creek. Other 

known springs of fresh water are east of the 

Copper River (Nichols, written commun., November 

1964) . No detailed investigations of the springs 

have been made, and their relation to permafrost is 

unknown. 

Saline ground water is discharged from springs 

artesian wells, and boreholes in an area generall; 

below an altitude of about 2,000 feet southeast, 

southwest, west, and north of Glennallen (fig. 8), 

and below 3,200 feet east of the Copper River (Cederstrom, 1952; Moffit, 1954; Nichols, 1956; Nichols 

and Yehle, 1961a, b; Grantz and others, 1962). The 

area of greatest salinity lies largely within the area 

covered by the last proglaciallake. 

In the Glennallen-Gulkana airfield area (fig. 16) 

saline water occurs in wells at depths of about 

180-310 feet below land surface (fig. 16, A-A', 

B-B'), seeps from springs in bluffs bordering the 

Copper River, and discharges locally into flood-plain 

and low-terrace alluvium. The water apparently 

confined by impermeable glaciolacustrine sediments, 

has a potentiometric surface that slopes toward the 

Tazlina and Copper Rivers. A way from the canyons 

of Tazlina and Copper Rivers, the potentiometric 

surface is probably much nearer or above the land 

surface, as shown by the borehole 8 miles northwest 

of Glennallen from which saline water flowed (fig. 

16, index map). The water away from the canyons 

may be partly confined by the base of the frozen 

layer. But, in the area near the rivers (fig. 16, 

A-A', B-B') the potentiometric surface of the 

saline water lies below the base of frozen ground as 

recorded by drillers, and the saline water is apparently confined by beds of till or glaciolacustrine 

deposits that lie between the saline aquifers and 

overlying potable-water aquifers (fig. 16, A-A', 

wells 175, 182, 192, 205, and 218). Separation of 

saline and potable-water aquifers by impermeable 

beds is also suggested by lack of noticeable mixing 

of saline and fresh water in pumping wells at Glennallen (fig. 16, A-A', wells 175, 182, 192, 205, and 

218), even though the potable-water aquifers lie 

below the projected static level of the saline water. 

Slight upward leakage of saline water through the 

relatively impermeable beds separating the aquifers, 

or lateral leakage may account for the slightly 

higher mineral content of some of the fresh water 

and, therefore, the salinity may increase with more 

intensive pumping of the fresh-water aquifers. 

The origin, distribution, and chemistry of the 

saline ground water and associated gas in the 

Copper River Lowland and the unusually high 

chloride content of some surface waters in the lowland have been discussed in detail by Nichols 

(1956), Nichols and Yehle (1961a, b), and Grantz 

and others (1962). Nichols and Yehle (1961a, p. 

1080-1081) considered three possible sources of 

saline water, or combinations thereof: (1) Connate 

water associated with marine sediments, (2) water 

fed by volcanic emanations, and (3) meteoric water 

mixed with saline ground water formed by evaporation from glacial lakes and reconcentrated after 

drainage of the lakes by the growth of permafrost. 

They concluded that evidence is insufficient to demonstrate the origin of saline water, and stated 

( 1961a, p. 1085-1086) that saline spring water and 

ground water are related chemically and that they 

could be derived, in part, from the three possible 

sources considered. The gas of springs east of the 

Copper River probably has a volcanic component 

and that west of the Copper River "probably originates from buried Cenozoic marsh or coal deposits, 

or from porous, non-petroliferous beds of preTertiary (Cretaceous?) age" (Nichols and Yehle, 

1961a, p. 1086). 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 55 

Grantz, White, Whitehead, and Tagg (1962, p. 

1990) concluded that the saline water originates in 

Upper Cretaceous or older marine sedimentary 

rocks inferred to lie beneath part of the lowland. 

Two exploratory oil wells drilled in the lowland 

(after publication of those papers) showed that this 

thesis is correct. One well, halfway between the 

southern end of Lake Louise and Ewan Lake, about 

28 miles northwest of Glennallen, reportedly 

reached saline water in bedrock; the other well, 

south of the Glenn Highway 9 miles west of Glennallen, reached saline water in rocks of Cretaceous 

age (Arthur Grantz, oral commun., January 1965). 

Further, as much as 50 p-pm (parts per million) of 

chloride are present in streams draining fresh landslides in the Matanuska Formation of Early and 

Late Cretaceous age. This chloride concentration is 

much higher than that of surface streams draining 

crystalline rocks, and suggests that a small amount 

of saline ground water from the Cretaceous rocks 

contributes to the runoff of these creeks. 

COASTAL-LOWLAND DEPOSITS 

Coastal lowlands bordering the Arctic Ocean and 

the Chukchi and Bering Seas range in altitude from 

sea level at the coast to about 200 or 250 feet above 

sea level at their landward margin. Underlying the 

lowlands are marine, fluviatile, deltaic, and lacustrine deposits of Pleistocene and Holocene age. Glacial and glaciomarine sediments are present within 

the limits of Pleistocene glaciation (fig. 2). Most 

settlements in the coastal lowland are along rivers 

or on lakes, bars, spits, beaches, or deltas. The 

coastal lowlands are divided, for the purpose of 

describing ground water and permafrost, into the 

following: (1) Bars, spits, and beaches, (2) deltas 

of major rivers, (3) the Arctic Coastal Plain, (4) 

the N orne coastal plain, and ( 5) Bristol Bay and 

Cook Inlet lowlands. 

BARS, SPITS, AND BEACHES 

Much of the coastal plain bordering the Arctic 

Ocean is fringed with offshore bars and islands 

from the Alaska-Yukon boundary westward to 

Point Lay, from Point Hope southward to Cape 

Krusenstern, and westward from Cape Espenberg 

to Cape Prince of Wales (figs. 3-5). South of Cape 

Prince of Wales, the bars, spits, and beaches along 

the Bering Sea coastline are separated by rocky 

headlands. Bars and spits border the outer margin 

of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, but are less common along the shores of Bristol Bay. 

BARROW 

A beach extends northward along the shore of the 

Chukchi Sea past Barrow Village and Barrow to a 

spit that extends 5 miles into the Arctic Ocean to 

Point Barrow and recurves southeastward from the 

point (fig. 21). Nuwuk Lake near Point Barrow is 

18 feet deep and occupies a depression between the 

beach ridges. The upper 6 feet of the lake contains 

fresh water derived from precipitation and snowmelt, but the fresh layer is frozen for all but a few 

months of the year. The lower layers of the lake are 

more saline than sea water (Mohr and others, 1961, 

p. 215), perhaps from concentration of salts by 

repeated freezing of the surface layers. A shaft 

about 100 feet from the ocean beach near Point 

Barrow was dug through frozen clay, gravel, and 

sand (Ray, 1885; Stefansson, 1910) (table 3). Salt 

water at a temperature of -9.4°C seeped into the 

hole from the lower sand and fine gravel. 

The base of permafrost near the beach at Barrow 

(fig. 21) is 667 feet below the land surface (Collins, 

1961) (table 3). Permafrost temperature below the 

level of zero annual amplitude was about -8°C in a 

hole 350 feet from the shore and was about -4°C 

in a hole at the edge of the ocean (Brewer, 'l958b, 

fig. 6). A hole was drilled 390 feet offshore to a 

depth of 120 feet through about 6 feet of sea ice 

and 12 feet of water. The temperature of the 

ocean-bottom sediments ranged from -1° to -2°C 

(Brewer, 1958b, fig. 6). The driller's log of this hole 

indicated: no frozen material to a depth of 100 feet 

below the sea bottom; some possibility of frozen 

ground from 100 to 205 feet; and the possible existence of unfrozen layers from 205 to 326 feet, the 

bottom of the hole. Although the upper 120 feet has 

temperature below ooc and is permafrost by definition, Brewer (1958b, p. 25) stated that the materials are not frozen if they contain sea water and 

that they would be frozen if they contained fresh 

water. 

Test borings and exploratory wells near the shore 

at Barrow showed that the beach gravel and underlying materials have a temperature below 0°C to a 

depth of several hundred feet, and that concentrated brine occurs at depths from 10 to 160 feet 

(Brewer, 1958b, p. 25). The brine, although below 

0°C, remains liquid because its freezing point is 

lower than that of the permafrost; by definition, the 

brine is part of the permafrost. The presence of 

brine within permafrost, the likelihood of saline 

water below permafrost, and the high permafrost 

table and deep penetration of winter frost seem to 
56 

71° 15' 

0 

0 

GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

156°30' 

CHUKCHI 

SEA 

OCEAN 

~(Y) 

2 

~::~500 \)~ 

~ \) SBW-2, 565+ 

0 gal)~ 

\}~~ ~ 

3 

0 ~ 0 SBW-3.0 \P 1330 

4 MILES D\j G 

EXPLANATION 

.37 

Hole in which saline water occurs within or below permafrost 

Number is depth to base of permafrost, in feet 

41000 

Hole in permafrost in which no water occurs 

Number is depth to base of permafrost, in feet 

ABC-1:--Identification number: 

ABC, Arcon Barrow Core Test 

BBR, Barrow Big Rig Test 

BCR, Barrow Core Rig 

BSH, Barrow Special Hole 

SBW, South Barrow Test Well 

FIGURE 21.-Location of test holes in the Barrow area. 

~0 

~ 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 57 

eliminate any possibility of finding. a reliable, yearround source of fresh water beneath the beach and 

spit in the Barrow area. Water is obtained from 

nearby lakes and from a desalination plant. 

POINT LAY 

A few shallow wells in sand and gravel at Point 

Lay (fig. 4) formerly provided fresh water in 

summer, but by 1947 the wells had become brackish. 

Water is hauled from lakes or from the Kokolik 

River on the mainland (Chapman and Sable, 1960, 

p. 60). No information is available on the thickness 

and extent of permafrost nor on the occurrence of 

subpermafrost ground water. 

POINT HOPE 

The Point Hope spit (fig. 3) consists of wellsorted, frozen sand and gravel. A well dug 4 feet to 

the top of permafrost southeast of the village provides a basin or sump in which snowmelt and precipitation filtering through the active layer can collect. The source of supply freezes in winter 

(Cederstrom, 1952; Waller, 1957b). No information 

is available on the thickness of permafrost nor on 

the possibilities for subpermafrost water. 

KOTZEBUE 

Kotzebue is on a recurved spit, separated from 

the northern end of Baldwin Peninsula by a shallow 

brackish-water lagoon (figs. 4 and 22). The lagoon, 

fed by small intermittent streams and connected to 

the sea at one end, freezes nearly to the bottom 

each winter. The largest of the streams, June 

Creek, supplies water in summer for use in the village and in Government installations. 

Sand and gravel of the spit is from 4 to 20 feet 

thick, and lies on silt, sand, fine gravel, and black 

organic-rich silt and sand. These deposits are probably part of the sequence of marine and glacial 

deposits exposed in sea cliffs along Baldwin Peninsula (Hershey, 1909; Hopkins and others, 1962) and 

those penetrated between 19 and 325 feet in the 

U.S. Geological Survey test well on the spit (Cederstrom, 1952, 1961a). This well (fig. 22) was drilled 

through the following materials : 

Materials 

Beach deposits, chiefly gravel ------------------------------- Blue clay, frozen -----------------------------------------= Gravel, unfrozen, salt water -------------------------------- Blue silty clay, frozen --------------------------------------

~~~ cl;E:!r~~~~=::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Brown silt, unfrozen, brackish water ------------------------

Depth 

(feet) 

0-19 

19-79 

79-86 

86-190 

190-218 

218-226 

226-238 

238-325 

Brine in the liquid state, but probably below ooc, 

occurs in gravel from 79 to 86 feet. Brackish water 

beneath the base of frozen ground at 238 feet 

increases in salinity with depth ( Cederstrom, 

1961a). Because of the depressed freezing point of 

the brine and the brackish water, evaluation of the 

extent of permafrost in the test well is impossible 

without temperature measurements. Permafrost 

probably is continuous from a depth of 19-238 feet, 

and temperature below ooc may extend below 238 

feet. A well at the Federal Aviation Administration 

station (fig. 22) was drilled through similar materials, including unfrozen (but probably below 0°C) 

sand and silt from 67 to 83 feet, and gravel containing brine from 83 to 85 feet. The well failed to 

reach the base of frozen ground at a depth of 95 

feet. The failure of these two wells to produce potable water from permeable beds beneath the spit 

gravel and the indicated increase in salinity of 

water beneath the frozen layer seem to eliminate 

the possibility of obtaining potable water below the 

lower limit of frozen ground. 

Potable suprapermafrost water in the spit gravel, 

4-20 feet thick, and in underlying sand has been 

developed in several domestic and public-supply 

wells and has been reached in test borings (Cederstrom, 1952, p. 34; Lamphere and Page, 1956). The 

permafrost table which forms the lower limit of the 

aquifer generally parallels undulations in the land 

surface (A-A', fig. 17). The high permafrost table 

beneath ridges in the surface of the spit prevents 

seaward flow of water in the aquifer and helps prevent contamination of the aquifer by sea water 

during high storm tides (Broadwell, 1945). Water 

is recharged into these deposits in summer from 

precipitation and snowmelt but in winter, when the 

ground is frozen and air temperature is continually 

below 0°C, no recharge from the surface takes 

place. 

Storage and movement of ground water within 

the suprapermafrost aquifer are affected by thickness of the aquifer, by depth and configuration of 

the permafrost table, and by rate and depth of penetration of winter freezing. Where the aquifer is 

thin, the ground water is wholly or partly subject 

to freezing in winter, and water is available only in 

summer. Where the gravel is thick, only the upper 

part of the aquifer freezes in winter. That part of 

the aquifer which lies between the base of seasonal 

frost and the permafrost table provides a small 

volume of unfrozen gravel in which water may be 

stored. Pumping causes persistent declines in water 

level during the winter and failure of many wells. 

Especially rapid decline in water level may be experienced locally when seasonal frost reaches the per-
58 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

A 

25,_ U.S.G.S. 

Test wei\ /Test holes\ 

A' 

25' 

L~~~r ~:.::~::t: :·· · :.:.;.~J:-~..:..,..._-:::~:­ -...c \ Permafrost 

50'-

100'-

150'-

200'-

table 

Beach gravel, fresh-water 

aquifer where unfrozen 

below water table 

: •.• ? ' 

\Unfro~en gravel 

saline water 

Silt, Clay 

SEA 

LEVEL 

50' 

100' 

i-150' 

f- 200' 

- 88Se 01 TrOzen groond- -- 250'- r-450' 

300'-

Silt, Clay 

Brackish water 

(increasing salinity 

with depth) 

-300' 

350' ~----------------------~350' 

DIAGRAMMATIC CROSS SECTION 

HORIZONTAL SCALE SAME AS MAP · 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION X 8.3 

162° 35'05" 

I 

KOTZEBUE 

SOUND 

66° 53'25" 

LAGOON 

(Brackish) 

Oe:==:==::=50s:O::. ===10:J050:=:=:=1550:t:0====2::1000 FEET 

EXPLANATION 

8 

... 18-30 

Shallow well or test hole that did not penetrate to 

base of frozen ground 

7bp number is thickness of beach gravel, in feet. Bottom numbers indicate depth of frozen ground and total depth, in feet 

18 

• J9-,7and 

85-95+ 

Water well penetrating frozen ground 

7bp number is thickness of beach gravel, in feet. Bottom numbers indicate depth to top and bottom of frozen layers, in 

feet. Plus sign indicates hole did not reach base of frozen 

ground 

013.5 * 

Well or test hole in unfrozen ground 

Single number indicates total depth, in feet. Where double 

numbers: top number is thickness of beach gravel, bottom 

number is total depth, in feet 

,. 

FIGURE 22.-Location of wells and test holes at Kotzebue. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 59 

mafrost table and blocks lateral movement of water 

in the unfrozen aquifer. Equally sudden rise in 

water level in spring is apparently caused by snowmelt percolating through the unsaturated frozen 

gravel within the cone of depression of a well that 

was being pumped heavily in the fall. On the other 

hand, Cederstrom (1952, p. 35) attributed the rapid 

rise to a sudden release of water trapped between 

seasonal frost and permafrost as a permeable zone 

becomes unfrozen. Year-to-year differences in the 

rate of formation of seasonal frost, in the depth to 

which it penetrates, in snow cover and precipitation, and in long-term changes in the thermal regimen of permafrost affect the hydrology of the 

suprapermafrost aquifer at Kotzebue. 

Experimental recharge of the shallow aquifer in 

a well near the beach in the Federal Aviation 

Administration area (fig. 17) failed to provide a 

perennial supply of ground water (Lamphere and 

Page, 1956). Water, recharged into the aquifer at a 

rate of 20 gpm during the summer, apparently 

spread laterally in the thin aquifer. The water 

either became frozen the following winter or was 

prevented from moving to the pumping well by 

merging of the seasonal frost and permafrost. Most 

of the water recharged into the aquifer may have 

been discharged to the sea. 

Test holes were drilled beneath shallow lakes on 

the spit (fig. 22, A-A') by U.S. Public Health Service (Lamphere and Page, 1956) in an unsuccessful 

attempt to obtain a satisfactory source of water 

from the spit deposits. As much as 20 feet of 

unfrozen sand and silt was found between the base 

of seasonal frost and the permafrost table beneath 

the lakes (fig. 22, A-A'). However, the silt and 

sand within the unfrozen zone yielded little water. 

TELLER 

Teller lies on a narrow spit on the Bering Sea 

coast of Seward Peninsula (fig. 3). It is sepa.rated 

from Grantley Harbor by a fresh-water lagoon that 

is kept at an altitude of 4 feet above sea level by a 

dam (Cederstrom, 1952, p. 34). Wells on the spit are 

about 20 feet deep, and water level is about 12 feet 

below land surface. Ground water apparently moves 

from the lagoon seaward through the spit gravel 

(Cederstrom, 1952, p. 34), and when the lagoon and 

village are flooded by high storm tides, saline water 

contaminates the wells. 

POINT SPENCER 

Point Spencer spit separates Port Clarence from 

the Bering Sea near the west end of Seward Peninsula (figs. 3 and 23) . Two wells were drilled 

through 34 and 36 feet of beach or spit gravel and 

sand. Beneath these deposits, the wells penetrated 

black muck and alternating beds of black clay, black 

silt, sand, and gravel, which extended to a depth 

greater than 298 feet (Black, 1958). The base of 

frozen gravel in the wells was 12 and 17 feet, and 

salt water in the underlying unfrozen deposits confined by the base of permafrost rose to within 5 and 

9 feet of land surface. 

In an investigation of the suprapermafrost water, 

Black (1958) found that the permafrost table was 

higher beneath beach ridges than beneath depressions and ponds. Ground water above permafrost 

was found in deposits of spit gravel that were subject to winter freezing. Development of year-round 

supplies of water required erection of snow fences 

to insulate the ground against penetration of seasonal frost and to increase the recharge from snowmelt in summer. The high permafrost table beneath 

beach ridges facing the sea and Port Clarence (fig. 

23) acts as a barrier to contamination of the suprapermafrost water by salt water during high storm 

tides and retards the flow of suprapermafrost water 

to the sea. The frozen ground forms an impermeable boundary that separates the fresh water from 

underlying salt water beneath the spit. 

SHAKTOOLIK 

The village of Shaktoolik lies on a bar between 

the Bering Sea and a point on the Shaktoolik River 

4 miles above its mouth (fig. ·6). The bar gravel 

extends to a depth greater than 10 feet, and permafrost probably lies at a depth greater than 10 

feet, if present (Waller, 1959b). Fresh water moves 

from the river through the bar gravel to the sea, 

but the role of permafrost in creating a barrier to 

ground-water flow is unknown. The school well, 19 

feet deep, was abandoned when it produced salt 

water, but recently it has yielded fresh water 

(Waller, 1959b). Excessive pumping of the well or 

high storm tides probably made the well water 

saline. 

TANUNAK 

Tanunak village lies on a narrow spit across the 

mouth of the Tanunak River on the west coast of 

Nelson Island, along the outer fringe of the YukonKuskokwim delta (fig. 6). The spit is 10 feet above 

sea level and is composed of gravel. A 14-foot well 

on the river side of the spit produces fresh water, 

evidently recharged into the gravel from the river 
60 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

(Waller, 1958). That well and another, 36 feet deep, 

failed to reach permafrost. 

GAMBELL, ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND 

Gambell, on northwestern St. Lawrence Island 

(fig. 3) is on a gravel spit that separates a large 

fresh-water lake from the sea. The lake, about 10 

feet deep, is 4 feet above sea level, and water apparently moves from the lake through permeable gravel 

of the spit to the sea. According to Waller (1959a), 

permafrost found locally in the spit gravel may act 

as a barrier that separates the lake water and the 

sea water. 

DELTAS OF MAJOR RIVERS 

Deltas of the Colville, Noatak, Kobuk, and Selawik Rivers and the compound delta of the Yukon 

and Kuskokwim Rivers form a large part of the 

coastal lowlands of northern and western Alaska 

(figs. 3-6). Subsurface data are available only from 

the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta. 

BERING 

SEA 

PORT 

...._ _____ --J..I'---.......__ ___ ___. 65° 15' 

0 2000 4000 FEET 166° 50' 

i:::::::::::::J!!5i!!!!!i!!!!i!t::::==:c~ 

Location of cross sections 

and water wells 

A 15' 

10' 

5' 

SEA 

10' 

Sediments of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta consist 

of sand, silt, and thin beds of gravel. Organic material is common in the silt and sand. These deposits, 

of Quaternary age and perhaps older, are nearly 

1,000 feet thick in an exploratory oil well drilled 

about 30 miles west-southwest of Bethel (T. L. 

Pewe, written commun., March 1963) and near 

Bethel the deposits are more than 650 feet thick. 

Organic material from a depth of about 600 feet in 

the well near Bethel has been dated (W-1287, Ives 

and others, 1964, p. 60) as older than 34,000 years 

by the radiometric method (Feulner and Schupp, 

1964). 

Permafrost is widespread in the upper part of 

the deltaic deposits. It extends from near the surface to a maximum known depth of 603 feet in the 

dissected terrace that forms the older part of the 

delta west of Bethel, in contrast to the absence of 

permafrost beneath the nearby Kuskokwim River 

(fig. 15). Westward, in the outer fringe of the delta, 

permafrost is thinner because of the more recent 

0 500 

HORIZONTAL SCALE 

1000 1500 

VERTICAL SCALE GREATLY EXAGGERATED 

2000 FEET 

==~~~~~~------~-/\-

Fresh water / \ 't 

-- / \~ ............ _______ ...._., \ 

,~ 

A' 15' 

10' 

5' 

SEA 

LEVEL 

5' 

10' 

15'------------------------------------------15' 

FIGURE 23.-Relation of permafrost table to topography and to ground-water conditions, Point Spencer spit, Seward 

Peninsula. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 61 

age of the outer part of the delta or because of the 

greater thermal effect of numerous large lakes and 

sluggish rivers near the sea. The few records from 

the outer fringe of the delta (fig. 7) show that permafrost is generally less than 250 feet thick. However, a 159-foot well at Kotlik was reportedly 

drilled in unfrozen ground, but the salinity of the 

ground water may have depressed the freezing 

point of the water in the sediments sufficiently to 

keep them unfrozen, even though below 0°C. 

Ground water in deltaic sand and in thin beds of 

gravel is confined beneath permafrost. It rises in 

wells near Bethel (fig. 15) to a static level that is 

approximately that of the Kuskokwim River, and 

its level apparently fluctuates with tides and 

changes in stage of the river (Waller, 1957a). The 

absence of permafrost beneath the river and the 

similarity between fluctuations in water levels in 

wells drilled through permafrost and changes in 

river level suggest that the subpermafrost water in 

the deltaic deposits near Bethel is connected hydraulically to the Kuskokwim River (Waller, 1957a). The 

water below permafrost is potable at Bethel, 

Nunapitchuk, Kasigluk, and Sheldon Point, but is 

saline at Kotlik. Due to scarcity of well data, it is 

not yet possible to locate the fresh water-saline 

water interface in the deltaic deposits beneath the 

permafrost. 

ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN 

The broad, lake-dotted, tundra-covered Arctic 

Coastal Plain extends along the south shore of the 

Arctic Ocean from the western end of the Brooks 

Range near Cape Lisburne to the Alaska-Yukon 

boundary (figs. 3-5) . It is underlain by as much as 

150 feet of unconsolidated silt, sand, and gravel of 

the Gubik Formation of Pleistocene age (Payne and 

others, 1952; Black, 1957, 1964; Coulter and others, 

1960). The Gubik Formation includes deposits of 

interglacial marine transgressions, alluvium, and 

lake sediments. The sediments are covered locally 

by sand dunes (Black, 1951) and lie unconformably 

on siltstone and. sandstone chiefly of Mesozoic age 

(Payne and others, 1952). The subsurface geology 

was investigated during exploration of Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 by a number of test wells and 

core tests (table 3) . Geothermal studies of permafrost were made in some of these test holes and have 

been continued in selected holes (Lachenbruch, 

1957a, b; Lachenbruch and Brewer, 1959, 1962; 

Lachenbruch and others, 1962). Geothermal data on 

individual wells have been summarized by Brewer 

(in Collins, 1961; in Robinson, 1964). 

Permafrost in the Arctic Coastal Plain ranges in 

thickness from 500 to 1,330 feet (table 3), and its 

minimum temperature as measured in wells below 

the level of zero annual amplitude ranges from -5.5° 

to -10.6°C (Brewer, 1958b, fig. 10) (fig. 9). 

Although the permafrost is continuous and thick, 

the large number of lakes and rivers and the proximity to the sea affect its thermal regimen and 

thickness, as shown in the earlier discussion of permafrost. Because of the prevalence of brackish or 

saline ground water in the Arctic Coastal Plain, the 

only reliable record of the lower limit of permafrost 

is that of temperature measurements (table 3), 

such as, for example, the measurement of the 0°C 

isogeotherm at a depth of 190 feet beneath Imikpuk 

Lake (Brewer, 1958a, p. 284). Drilling and seismic 

studies beneath saline Sinclair Lake (Lake Minga) 

near Cape Simpson (fig. 24) indicated little, if any, 

frozen ground. Theoretically, this lake, 6¥2 miles 

long and 21/2 miles wide, should be large enough to 

generate a zone temperature above ooc that would 

perforate the permafrost. Data 3 obtained before 

the hole had reached thermal equilibrium showed 

that if the ground water in bedrock were fresh, it 

would be frozen to a depth of at least 800 feet, 

where the temperature was -0.7°C. If the water in 

the bedrock were saline, like that of the lake, the 

minimum temperature of -2.7° at a depth of 480 

feet would not have been low enough to freeze the 

ground water, and the bedrock would have been 

within the permafrost zone, by definition, although 

not cemented by ice. 

Ground water beneath frozen ground in rocks of 

Mesozoic age is brackish to saline in most of the 

deep exploratory wells and core tests drilled in the 

coastal plain (table 3) . Water in Square Lake test 

well 1 (30 miles northwest of Umiat) (fig. 4; table 

3) is relatively fresh in comparison with ground 

water sampled in other wells. The origin of the 

brackish and saline water in bedrock is unknown, 

but it is probably either connate or inherited from 

one or more marine transgressions of the Pleistocene E·poch. The role of permafrost is to prevent 

downward migration of fresh water into bedrock, 

and in at least one well, Arcon core test 1 (fig. 21; 

table 3) to confine the saline water at the base of 

frozen ground. The temperature of the intrapermafrost brine in Barrow special hole 3 (table 3) was 

reported to be -10°C, and the brine occurred in several lenses at depths from 10 to 160 feet at Barrow 

(Brewer, 1958b, p. 25). 

a MacCarthy, G. R., undated, Minga velocity test well No. 1, U.S. Geol. 

Survey unpub. report. 
62 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

TABLE 3.-Data on permafrost and ground 

Name, type, 

and location of 

well 

Barrow 

area3 

fig 21: 

Shaft 

near 

Point 

Barrow. 

Barrow 

Special 

hole 3. 

Well, 

Barrow 

water 

system 

(not 

located 

on map. 

Boring, 

Imikpuk 

Lake. 

Arc on 

core 

test 1. 

Big Rig 

test 1. 

South 

Barrow 

test 

well 1. 

South 

Barrow 

test 

well 2. 

South 

Barrow 

test 

well 3. 

South 

Barrow 

test 

well 4. 

South 

Barrow 

test 

well 5. 

Cape Simp- son area3 

fig 24: 

Total 

depth 

(feet) 

37 1/2+ 

125+ 

101 

200 

1,442 

685 

3,553 

2,505 

2,900 

2,538 

2,456 

Simpson 7,002 

test 

well 1. 

Depth to 

base of 

permafrost 

(feet) 

37 1/2+ 

125+ 

Top at 190 

1,000? 

667? 

670 

565+ 

1,330 

500? 

1,000 

1Analyses by U.S. Bur. Mines. 

Temperature 

of permafrost °C 

at depth 

(feet) 

-7.5 90 

-9.0 60 

Ground-water occurrence and yield; 

results of formation tests 

Brine within permafrost at -9.4 c. 

Brine within permafrost at -10 c. 

Brackish or saline 

water in mud under 

fresh-water lake. 

Brackish or saline 

water in sediments 

under lake. 

Water below permafrost rose to 125 

ft; could not be 

lowered by bailing. 

---------------------

Salt water entered 

hole after it 

reached total 

depth. 

---------------------

---------------------

Salt spray occurring 

with gas from 

2,472-2,538 ft. 

---------------------

Water content of 

frozen cores from 

218-405 ft unusually low for connate water. Water 

from 6,153-7,002 

ft. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

water in the Arctic coastal plain 

Quality of water constituents in milligrams per liter 

Ca Mg Na Cl 

357 1,078 8,478 260 1,244 15,778 

101 62 6,978 155 21 11,000 

241 42 7,571 1,135 53 11,524 

Other Total Salin- Sources of insolids ity formation for 

quality of 

water 1 

18,362 

Ray, P. H. 

(1885). 

U.S. Geol. Survey unpub. 

data. 

Do. 

Brewer (l958a, 

p. 252). 

Collins (1961, 

p. 585). 

Collins (19 61, 

p. 575). 

Brewer, p. 59 6 , 

in Collins 

(1961); Collins (1961, 

p . 58 6-5 9 6 ) . 

Collins (1961, 

p. 596-610). 

Brewer (l958b, 

p. 19 andfig. 

3); Collins 

1961, p. 596, 

611-620). 

Collins (1961, 

p . 6 2 0-6 2 9 ) . 

Collins (1961, 

p. 640-641). 

Robinson 

(l959b, 

p • 5 3 2- 5 6 0 ) • 

63 
64 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

TABLE 3.-Data on permafrost and ground 

Name, type, Total Depth to Temperature Ground-water occur- and loca- depth base of of perma- renee and yield; 

tion of (feet) perma- frost oc results of formawell frost at depth tion tests 

(feet) (feet) 

Camp Simp- son area, 

fig 24--

Continued 

North 3,774 500+ -------------------- Simpson 

test 

well 1. 

Simpson 1,438 1,050 -9.87 120 -------------------- core 

test 

13. 

Simpson 1,500 820 -9.90 100 -------------------- core 

test 

21. 

Simpson 2,505 910 -9.84 90 -------------------- core 

test 

28. 

Simpson 700 950 -9.82 90 -------------------- core (calculated) 

test 

29. 

Other 

areas, 

fig 4: 

Fish 7,020 600 Saline water having 

Creek temperature below 

test 0°C may occur bewell 1. low 600 ft, the 

lower limit of 

frozen ground, ac- cording to driller's log. 

Kaolak 6,952 850-980 The few sandstone 

test beds penetrated 

well 1. are relatively impermeable, but 

water bearing. 

Skull 779 779+ -9.6 100- -------------------- Cliff 200 core 

test 1. 

Square 3,987 713+ Formation tests. 

Lake Drilling mud cut 

test by water: 

well 1. 1,847-1,879. 

Water recovered: 

1,646-1,675-------

3,033-3,067-------

East 3,589 Brackish water cut 

Topa- by gas at 2,216-

goruk 2,256. 

test 

welll. 

Topago- 10,503 1,100 -------------------- ruk 

test 

well 1. 

1Analyses by u.s. Bur. Mines. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

water in the Arctic coastal plain-Continued 

Quality of water constituents in milligrams per liter 

Ca 

34 

12 

Mg Na 

4,286 

36 2,960 1,260 

6 1,020 2,400 

29 

23 

Cl Other Total Salin- Sources of in6,596 

1,600 

3', 900 64 co 3 140 51 co 3 

solids ity formation for 

quality of 

water 1 

11,231 

Robinson 

(l959b, 

p. 560-566). 

Brewer, p. 7 2 5 , 

in Robinson 

(1964). 

Do. 

Brewer , p . 7 2 6 , 

in Robinson 

(1964). 

Do. 

Robinson and 

Collins (1959, 

p. 501-520). 

Collins (l958c, 

p. 353-371); 

Reed (1958, 

p. 146). 

Collins (19 61, 

p. 575-582); 

MacCarthy 

(1962). 

Collins (1959, 

p. 424-446). 

8,283 ----------------

3,652 ---------------- 9,000 Collins (l958b, 

approx p. 307). 

Brewer, p. 301, 

in Collins 

(l958b). 

65 
66 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

DEASE 

INLET 

EXPLANATION 

• .1 Test well and number 

0 28 Core or velocity test hole and number 

BEAUFORT 

SEA 

Cape 

Simpson 

FIGURE 24.-Location of test wells and test holes, Cape Simpson area. 

Supra permafrost ground water in unfrozen coastal 

plain deposits and bedrock beneath surface water 

is available throughout the year if the permafrost 

table is below the maximum depth of winter freezing and the deposits have sufficient volume and 

permeability. Suprapermafrost ground water 

beneath lakes within 5 miles of the Arctic coast 

may be recharged from brackish or saline lakes, but 

lakes more than 5 miles from the coast are generally fresh (Brewer, 1958b, p. 26). Ground water in 

the sediments directly beneath fresh-water lakes is 

probably potable; the fresh ground water may be 

underlain by saline or brackish water. Whether 

fresh or saline, supplies are limited by the scarcity 

of unfrozen permeable unconsolidated deposits and 

bedrock and by the small volume available for storage beneath all but the largest lakes and rivers. 

COASTAL PLAIN AT NOME 

The stratigraphy of the coastal plain at Nome is 

complex (fig. 25) (Hopkins and others, 1960). The 

surficial deposits of the coastal plain are largely till 

of the Nome River Glaciation. This till overlies: (1) 

Beach and associated marine sediments of the Third 

and Intermediate Beaches, (2) till of the Iron Creek 

Glaciation, (3) marine sediments of the Fourth 

Beach, and ( 4) marine sediments of the Submarine 

Beach. The Nome River till is mantled locally by: 

(1) Marine sand and gravel and associated estuarine sandy silt of the Second Beach, (2) outwash 

and alluvial-fan gravel of the Salmon Lake Glaciation (Wisconsin), (3) peat, loess, and colluvium of 

Pleistocene and Holocene age, and (4) alluvium and 

beach deposits of Holocene age (fig. 25). 

The ground is generally frozen from the surface 

into bedrock that lies at a depth of 40 to 80 feet 

(fig. 25, A-A'). The maximum thickness of frozen 

ground observed in prospect and mine shafts is 

given as 90 feet (Moffit, 1905), greater than 100 

feet (Hess, 1906), and greater than 120 feet 

(Brooks, 1906, p. 45) . No relation was noted by 

Smith (1909, p. 271) between the occurrence of 

unfrozen zones and the topography in the areas 

being mined then by underground methods. Taber 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 67 

(1943, p. 1510) and Hopkins (in Hopkins and 

others, 1955) reported that unfrozen zones are 

found along the base of the bedrock hills that 

border the coastal plain on the north (fig. 25) ; these 

unfrozen zones are places where water percolates 

from the hills into the coastal-plain deposits. 

Unfrozen ground in some of the buried beach deposits resting on bedrock is attributed to circulation of 

ground water and the unfrozen ground may lie 

BERING SEA 

BURIED GOLD PAY STREAKS 

T, Third beach 

M, Monroeville Beach 

I, Intermediate beach 

Is, Inner submarine beach 

Os, Outer submarine beach 

between layers of frozen ground (Moffit, 1907, p. 

136). However, Gibson (1914) noted that where 

deposits of the buried Third Beach were undis~ 

turbed, the ground was frozen from near the surface to bedrock; where the beach deposits had been 

reworked by streams before the Nome River Glaciation, the ground was unfrozen. Deposits beneath 

Snake River are unfrozen to a depth of at least 30 

feet, well below the depth of seasonal freezing (SteCape Nome 

EXPLANATION 

~ 

~ 

.j\lluvium 

.S { PMt, I~ rollurium !· ~·~~~ Outwash anki alluvial fan gravel 

rn

.. _i. 

;:: '{ Marine [§i~fl sand and 

grave. second beach 

-~ { a . 

~Q~J~ Till and outwash of 

Nome River Glaciation 

~{ 5 Marine ~nd ~ and gravel of 

>< third and intermediate beaches Jc{ :[Qil:1 

Till of Iron Creek Glaciation 

P...: 

.... ~~ ., { rTQfuTI ~ 

~ _ Marine sediments of fourth beach 

m Marine sand and clay of 

submarine beach 

~ 

~ 

Beach 

gravel 

[~e] 

Estuarine 

;sandy silt 

> 

a: 

< 

z 

a: 

Ill 

1-

< ;:)_ 

a 

Geologic contact, dashed 

where inferred 

~ Schist _}1.1 

A 

300' 

200' 

100' 

SEA 

LEVEL 

E=:;==:::r::::===:20E00~3::==4:::JOOO FEET 

VERTICAL EXAGGERATION X 10 

FIGURE 25.-Generalized geology of the coastal plain at Nom e. 

300' 

200' 

100' 

SEA 

LEVEL 
68 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

fansson, 1910). Permafrost is still forming in the 

Nome area, because, since 1942, mine tailings have 

become frozen to bedrock 60 feet below land surface 

(Kellogg and Nygard, 1951; Sigafoos, 1951). 

Water for Nome is obtained from wells and 

springs (Cederstrom, 1952, p. 33-34; Lohr, 1957; 

Waller and Mathur, 1962). Wells on the seaward 

edge of the coastal plain have produced brackish 

water, but springs along the hills north of the city 

and shafts in some of the buried beach deposits 

have yielded potable water. Wells in the city, which 

is built on deposits of the Second Beach (fig. 25), 

are from 8 to 70 feet deep (Waller and Mathur, 

1962). The deepest well reached brackish water at 

an altitude of 5.5 feet above sea level. At the airport, constructed on placer tailings, wells 35-45 

feet deep yield potable water, but at least one yields 

water having 3,600 mg/1 chloride ( Cederstrom, 

1952, p. 33). The main source of water is Moonlight 

Springs, near the base of the hills at the northern 

edge of the coastal plain; the flow from these 

springs is about 300 gpm of water having a temperature of 2.7°C. Subpermafrost artesian water is 

available from local unfrozen zones in the deposits 

of buried beaches. During drift mining of the beach 

deposits, a shaft on Bourbon Creek in the coastal 

plain north of Nome intercepted unfrozen gravel. 

Water under pressure flooded the shaft and adjacent workings (Gibson, 1914). The initial height of 

the column of water issuing from the headframe 

of the shaft was reported to be 70 feet above land 

surface (Mining and Scientific Press, 1909, p. 315). 

Permafrost reportedly deters the development of 

wells near the waterfront in the city. Available data 

on permafrost in city and inland wells are insufficient to map the distribution and thickness of permafrost and the brackish water-fresh water boundary. However Cederstrom (1952, p. 34) suggested 

that potable water may be available from permeable, unfrozen alluvium beneath the bed of Dry 

Creek. 

BRISTOL BAY AND COOK INLET LOWLANDS 

Unconsolidated deposits in the coastal lowland 

bordering Bristol Bay consist of till interbedded 

with sand, silt, and gravel of fluvial and marine 

origin. Away from the rivers, the deposits are 

frozen to a maximum reported depth of 175 feet, 

but permafrost occurs in only a quarter of about 

600 wells and borings, most of which were drilled 

along the north shore of Kvichak Bay east of Nushagak (fig. 7). Most producing wells drilled through 

perm~frost obtain water from sand and gravel that 

is interbedded with the glacial deposits. 

The stratigraphy of the Cook Inlet lowland is 

similar to that of the Bristol Bay lowland, but includes glaciolacustrine deposits (Miller and Dobrovolny, 1959; Karl strom, 1954). The deepest known 

permafrost in the lowland extends 33 feet below 

land surface near Anchorage. The permafrost is 

localized beneath muskegs, on shaded slopes, and in 

valleys; it is of such limited extent and thickness 

that it is rather insignificant, even locally, in controlling recharge, discharge, movement, and storage 

of ground water. 

BEDROCK OF UPLANDS AND MOUNTAINS 

DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS OF PERMAFROST 

Distribution of permafrost in mountain and 

upland bedrock is subject not only to the regional 

zonation of permafrost (fig. 1), but also to local 

variations caused by topographic, climatic, vegetative, hydrologic, and geologic differences. In the 

continuous-permafrost zone, the few wells drilled in 

the Arctic Foothills and near Cape Thompson show 

that permafrost is generally between 700 and 1,170 

feet thick. In the discontinuous-permafrost zone, 

using data from both Canada and Alaska, two general categories of permafrost distribution are 

apparent: (1) High mountains and hills, generally 

more than 3,000 feet above sea level, in which permafrost decreases in thickness downslope and (2) 

lowerhills, generally below 3,000 feet in altitude, in 

which permafrost is thin or absent near the summit 

but increases in thickness downslope. The meager 

data on ground water in bedrock is summarized 

below for the continuous-and discontinuous-permafrost zones. 

CONTINUOUS-PERMAFROST ZONE 

ARTIC FOOTNOTES 

The Arctic Foothills, between the Brooks Range 

and the Arctic Coastal Plain (fig. 2), are composed 

of sandstone, shale, and siltstone of Mesozoic age 

(Payne, and others, 1952). The rocks are folded in 

a series of echelon east-west trending anticlines 

and synclines which are cut locally by faults. Some 

test wells were drilled through 750 to 1,055 feet of 

permafrost during exploration for oil in Naval 

Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (table 4 ; figs. 2 and 11) . In 

other test wells, the depth to the base of permafrost 

was not determined. Recharge from the surface to 

the subpermafrost aquifers and discharge from the 

aquifers to the surface is prevented by permafrost 

and by impermeable boundaries within the bedrock. 

The data (table 4) show that only small quantities 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 69 

of brackish or saline water are available below the 

permafrost. 

BROOKS RANGE 

The Brooks Range is composed of rock units that 

trend east west. These units consist of: (1) Metasedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age in the southern 

part of the range, (2) sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age in the central part, and (3) a belt of sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age that thrust over sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic age in the northern part 

of the range (Payne and others, 1952). 

Permafrost in the Brooks Range is known only 

from placer-mine shafts in unconsolidated deposits 

where it is more than 365 feet thick near the southern boundary of the continuous-permafrost zone 

and from test holes in the Cape Thompson area 

where it is 945-1,170 feet thick in siltstone of 

Mesozoic age (Lachenbruch and others, 1961, fig. 

11). No records are available of the distribution of 

permafrost in bedrock nor of the existence of 

unfrozen zones that perforate permafrost. 

Ground water in the eastern Brooks Range is 

known only from springs (fig. 5) that are associated with faults in limestone of the Lisburne Group 

of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age or with 

faults that separate the limestone from other kinds 

of rocks (Waring, 1917, p. 95; Leffingwell, 1919, p. 

58-59; Hopkins and others, 1955 p. 119; Spetzman, 

1959, p. 23; C. R. Lewis, 1962, and written 

commun., March 1963; M. D. Mangus, oral 

commun., 1964). The springs are perennial and 

form large icings that occupy segments of some 

major valleys of the Brooks Range east of 149° 

west longitude. Large icings in valleys in which 

springs have not yet been reported show that 

springs may exist, especially if faults involving the 

limestone are near the upper end of the icings. 

The largest known springs in the eastern Brooks 

Range (fig. 5) are the Shublik Springs which have 

a perennial flow of about 1,000 gpm at a temperature reported as 6°C by Leffingwell (1919) and 

11 oc by Mangus (oral commun., 1964). The flow 

downstream from the springs was reported to be so 

great that the creek could not be crossed on foot 

(Leffingwell, 1919, p. 59). The Sadlerochit Springs 

have an estimated discharge of about 500 gpm (C. 

R. Lewis, written commun., 1963) and a temperature of 11 °C (M.D. Mangus, oral commun., 1964). 

Both springs are on reverse faults along which the 

limestone of the Lisburne Group is brought into 

contact with the Sadlerochit Formation of Permian 

and Triassic age ( M. D. Mangus, oral commun., 

1964). Springs on the divide between Ignek and 

Tamayariak Creeks, along the north flank of the 

Shublik Mountains (fig. 5), issue from a highangle reverse fault in which the limestone is brought 

into contact with rocks of Cretaceous age (M. D. 

Mangus, oral commun., 1964). Springs on the Ivishak, Echooka, Sheenjek, and Canning Rivers (fig. 

5) , according to Mangus, also issue from faults 

involving the limestone. Although located at the toe 

of an alluvial fan, Tulugak Springs in Anaktuvuk 

Pass (central Brooks Range) (Spetzman, 1959, fig. 

8), may originate in limestone exposed in the valley 

wall to the east or at its contact with other rocks. 

Springs in the western Brooks Range issue from 

sea cliffs between Cape Thompson and the Igichuk 

Hills, 100 miles southeast (Waller, 1960a, b), and 

at Cape Lisburne (fig. 3). The principal spring is 

Kavrorak Spring, near Cape Seppings, which issues 

from the base of a thick, high limestone cliff of the 

Lisburne Group that is several tens of feet above 

sea level (Piper, 1961, p. 21). Other springs issue 

from limestone talus at the base of cliffs along 

lower Nasorak Creek near Cape Thompson (Piper, 

1961, p. 23). Springs in the lgichuk Hills have been 

sampled (Waller, 1960b), but those in the limestone 

cliffs at Cape Lisburne have not. 

The discharge of Kavrorak Spring varies from 4 

cfs (1,800 gpm) in winter to 53 cfs (24,000 gpm) 

in summer; the temperature varies from 4 o to 5°C; 

and the concentration of dissolved solids, unlike 

most springs, varies directly with discharge 

(Waller, 1960a, b; 1961b). According to Waller, 

part of the water discharged from Kavrorak Spring 

and from those along N asorak Creek may enter 

fractures and faults in the bedrock beneath 

unfrozen alluvium under the Kukpuk River and 

may be mixed with local water as it emerges from 

springs, after passing through or under permafrost 

for a distance of at least 3 miles. Piper (1961, p. 

22) said that the variations in flow suggest a local, 

:rather than distant, source and that if the conduit 

through which the water moved were a cavernous 

zone in the limestone that extended to such a 

remote area, the springs would have more uniform 

discharge. The variable content of dissolved solids 

is explained by mixing of the spring water with sea 

water, since the samples were taken from creeks 

crossing beach deposits, and not from the spring 

orifices in bedrock (Piper, 1961, p. 22). 

Central Seward Peninsula, near the boundary 

between the discontinuous- and continuous-permafrost zones, is an area of mountains, uplands, lava 

plateaus, and alluvial valleys. Schist, gneiss, and 
70 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

Name, type 

and location 

of well 

Umiat area, 

fig 13: 

Umiat test 

well l. 

Umiat test 

well 4. 

Umiat test 

well 8. 

Umiat test 

well 9. 

Umiat test 

well 11. 

Other areas, 

fig 4: 

Total 

depth 

(feet) 

6,005 

840 

1,327 

1,257 

3,303 

Grandstand 3,939 

test 

well 1. 

Gubik test 4,620 

well 2. 

Knifeblade 1,805 

test 

well 1. 

Knifeblade 1,805 

test 

well 2A. 

East Ouma- 6,035 

lik test well 1. 

Titaluk test 4,020 

well 1. 

Wolf Creek 1,618 

test 

well 2. 

TABLE 4.-Data on permafrost and ground water 

Depth to 

base of 

permafrost 

(feet) 

920 

897 

535+ 

1,055 

770 

approx 

882 

758 

750+ 

800+ 

Temperature 

of permafrost °C at depth 

(feet) 

-6.20 100 

-7.2 70 

Ground-water occurrence 

and yield; results of 

formation tests 

Drilling mud cut with 

fresh water; yield 

approx 9 gpm at 1,693-1,816 ft. 

Brackish water recovered 

in formation tests. 

950 ft water in test 

at 2,094.5-2,145 ft. 

1,027 ft recovered in 

test at 2,375-2,411 

ft. 

1,304 ft recovered in 

test at 2,447-2,461 

ft. 

1,944 ft recovered in 

test at 2,814-2,830 

ft. 

2,285 ft recovered in 

test at 2,832-2,850 

ft. 

(Drilling mud salinity 

was 225 to 450 mg/1 

in all tests.) 

Sample largely drilling 

mud from 865-899. 

Formation test 1,928-

1,984. 

Test of gas sand 3,781-

3,903 (Salinity drilling mud, 400 mg/1.) 

Water at base of permafrost; water rose to 

375 ft. 

At 1,250 ft (rate of 

entry 15-l/2 gpm). 

At 1,373 ft (rate of 

entry l gpm). 

Water at base of permafrost. 

Water at 1,805 ft------

For~ation test 940-960 ft; 

ft; yield 20 gph. 

1Analyses by U.S. Bur. Mines. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 

in the Arctic Foothills of the Brooks Range 

Quality of water constituents in milligrams per liter 

ta Mg Na HC0 3 so4 Cl Other Total Salinity 

42 5 42 4,290 

30 9 2,190 2,960 21 1,600 ~6 6,906 1,550 

co 3 

8 3 2,030 3,120 28 865 390 6,434 2,723 

co 3 

--- --- 3,340 

14 4 2,190 2,240 19 1,950 126 6,543 3,300 

. co3 

56 35 244 17 446 ----

2,475 

7,755 

--- --- 5,000 

4,000 

6,380 

4,500 

4,000-

5,000 

9,405 

Sources of information for 

quality of 

water 1 

Collins (l958a, 

p . 9 5 and 9 9 ) . 

Brewer, p. 131-

132 in Collins 

(l958a). 

Collins (l958a, 

p. 149-153). 

Brewer, p. 170-

171 in Collins 

Cl958a). Brewer, p. 197, 

in Collins 

(l958a); 

Collins (l958a, 

p. 193-194). 

Robinson (l958a, 

P· 317-336). 

Robinson (l958b' 

P· 253-254). 

Robinson (l959b, 

P· 397-416). 

Robinson (l959b, 

P· 397-416). 

Robinson (1956' 

P· 51-63). 

Robinson (l959b, 

P· 381-397). 

Collins (1959, 

P· 453-457). 

71 
72 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

metalimestone of Paleozoic age are intruded by 

stocks and smaller masses of granitic rocks of 

Mesozoic age (Hopkins, 1963, p. C1). The older 

rocks are overlain by the Kougarok Gravel of late 

Tertiary and Pleistocene ( ?) age and by volcanic 

rocks of late Cenozoic age (Hopkins, 1963). Glacial 

drift and eolian, lacustrine, and alluvial deposits of 

Pleistocene age mantle the older rocks. 

Permafrost is present nearly everywhere in the 

central Seward Peninsula and reaches a maximum 

recorded thickness of 200 feet (Hopkins, in Hopkins 

and others, 1955, p. 121). Irregular local configuration of permafrost is shown by subterranean drainage of surface streams into the lava flows and 

metalimestone, and by springs that emerge from 

those rocks. 

Ground-water hydrology in these deposits is complex and poorly understood. Hopkins (1963, p. 

C90-C93) summarized existing information on 

ground water in bedrock as follows. Springs issue 

from solution-enlarged joints in the metalimestone, 

especially at the downstream end of valleys crossing 

the metalimestone belt. At low flow some streams 

lose their entire discharge into the metalimestone, 

but regain surface flow at the point where the 

stream leaves the metalimestone and re-enters the 

schist belt. Surface water is recharged directly into 

large openings in the lava, or into blocky rubble in 

the surface of the younger volcanic flows and is discharged as springs. Some of the older flows, mantled by silt, have surface streams that terminate in 

thaw sinks (Hopkins, 1949), through which water 

percolates into the volcanic rocks. Ground water is 

discharged from the lava flows to the alluvial deposits in the valleys or by springs. 

DISCONTINUOUS-PERMAFROST ZONE 

Few data are available to show the relation 

between permafrost and ground water in upland 

and mountain bedrock of the discontinuous-permafrost zone. However, Cederstrom (1963) mentioned 

bedrock aquifers in the Fairbanks area. Elsewhere, 

isolated wells, groups of wells, and springs show 

that ground water is probably available in small 

quantities from bedrock aquifers beneath permafrost in most uplands and mountains. 

YUKON-TANANA UPLAND NEAR FAIRBANKS 

Bedrock of the upland near Fairbanks consists of 

schist and local beds of metamorphosed limestone 

that has been cut by stocks of granitic rocks. These 

rocks are overlain locally by continental sedimentary rocks and lava flows of Cenozoic age (Mertie, 

1937). The bedrock is covered with unfrozen loess 

and weathered rock on the summits and upper 

slopes, and with frozen silt containing or overlying 

local channel deposits of sand and gravel on the 

lower slopes. Permafrost ranges in thickness from a 

few feet near its upper limit on the upper slopes to 

as much as 360 feet in some valleys. In many places 

permafrost extends into the bedrock. 

Wells drilled in schist produce water from individual fractures and fracture zones containing 

abundant vein quartz and from quartzite members 

(Cederstrom, 1963, p. 32). Water is recharged to 

bedrock aquifers through unfrozen loess and weathered rock on hilltops and upper slopes, and from 

alluvial aquifers in the valleys and on lower slopes. 

The water table in bedrock near the summits of 

narrow ridges is as much as 490 feet deep, but 

flowing wells on some lower slopes are drilled 

through unfrozen silt, frozen silt and gravel, or 

frozen bedrock into confined bedrock aquifers. 

Water levels in wells in bedrock are determined 

largely by the rock structure and the geometry of 

the fracture systems. Cederstrom (1963, p. 28, fig. 

6) noted that the potentiometric surface of the confined aquifers in bedrock apparently flattens above 

the upper limit of permafrost on hillsides and that 

the water level in water-table wells in bedrock 

above the upper limit of permafrost is apparently 

related to the height to which permafrost extends 

upslope. However, flowing and nonflowing artesian 

wells in bedrock occur above the upper limit of permafrost. 

ALASKA RANGE 

Permafrost wa8 not logged in four wells in schist 

at McKinley Par'k station (figs. 7, 8), but was present to a depth of about 190 feet in a well in schist 

at Wonder Lake in Mount McKinley National Park. 

Near Windy (fig. 8), south of McKinley Park station, large springs issue from a major fault separating graywacke and shale of Paleozoic age from 

rocks of Mesozoic age (Rutledge and others, 1953). 

Near the head of Soda Creek in the Mentasta 

Mountains (fig. 8), in the eastern part of the 

Alaska Range, springs are found along a fault 

between lava flows and limestone of Permian age 

and shale of Mesozoic age (Moffit, 1941, p. 131. pl. 

6A). Springs from limestone have been used as 

source of water for mining operations at White 

Mountain, near N abesna. Scattered data show that 

permafrost occurs in the Alaska Range, but that 

numerous unfrozen zones are available for recharge 

and discharge of ground water. 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 73 

TALKEETNA MOUNTAINS 

Scattered occurrences of permafrost have been 

noted (Capps, 1940) above an altitude of 3,000 feet 

in the western Talkeetna Mountains, particularly in 

the lode gold mines of the Willow district (Capps, 

1914; Ray, 1954). Test borings recorded permafrost 

at the V -damsite on Susitna River in the northeastern Talkeetna Mountains (fig. 8). However, no data 

are available on the effect of permafrost on 

ground-water occurrence in this largely unpopulated region. 

CHUGACH-KENAI MOUNTAINS 

Frozen ground has not yet been reported in 

bedrock of the Chugach Range, but has been noted 

at high elevations in unconsolidated deposits near 

Girdwood (Smith, 1934) and at low elevations on 

slopes near Anchorage (Karlstrom, 1964). The only 

large construction project in bedrock of the Chugach Range has been the Eklutna dam and tunnel 

near Anchorage. The tunnel, driven from Glenn 

Highway 4 miles south to Eklutna Lake, produced 

very large flows of water from fractures and faults 

and reportedly did not pass through frozen rock. 

Frozen ground has not been reported in drill 

holes and mining excavations in the Kenai Mountain valleys, but, as in the Chugach Range to the 

north, practically nothing is known about conditions 

in bedrock at the higher elevations. Mountain 

ranges in western Canada have isolated bodies of 

permafrost at high elevations; thus, similar bodies 

of permafrost may eventually be found in the Kenai 

Mountains, and perhaps also in the mountain 

ranges of Kodiak Island and southeastern Alaska. 

WRANGELL MOUNTAINS 

Frozen ground is reported to depths of 500-600 

feet (Bateman and McLaughlin, 1920) in workings 

of the Bonanza copper mine near Kennicott, where 

underground air temperatures ranged from ooc to 

-1.1 °C. The mine is high on the steep slopes of a 

serrated 5,500-foot ridge. Elsewhere in the Kennicott mining district, frozen talus was reported at an 

elevation of 1,400 feet in the Kotsina River draingage (Moffit and Maddren, 1908), and frozen gravel 

was noted by Moffit (1912) in placer mine workings 

in the Chititu Creek basin. 

OTHER UPLANDS OF INTERIOR ALASKA 

Wells in the Yukon-Tanana Upland near Northway (fig. 8) either have been drilled in unfrozen 

unconsolidated deposits and bedrock or have developed water, chiefly from granitic rocks beneath permafrost. In the wells drilled through permafrost 

into bedrock, water was confined beneath the permafrost or had a static level or water table that 

was below the recorded base of frozen ground. 

At Ruby (fig. 4) on the Yukon River, three wells 

about 70 feet deep produce water from unfrozen 

metamorphosed limestone, and, to the north at 

Indian Mountain, a deep hole drilled in unfrozen 

metavolcanic rocks produced copious supplies of 

water from a fracture zone. 

ISOLATED HILLS AND UPLANDS IN THE COASTAL LOWLAND OF WESTERN ALASKA 

Scattered subsurface data available from hills 

within and bordering the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta 

show that water circulates locally through the bedrock and may be found beneath permafrost. A well 

at Cape Romanzof was reportedly drilled 162 feet 

in unfrozen blocky talus and bedrock beneath a 

cirque floor. In the St. Michael area, large freshwater springs issue from openings in volcanic flows 

on the mainland about 2 miles northeast of the town 

(fig. 6) (Dall, 1870; Cederstrom, 1952, p. 32). A 

well drilled in the village of St. Michael passed 

through 203 feet of frozen interbedded clay and lava 

and reached a saline aquifer in unfrozen sand between 203 and 247 feet. 

QUALITY OF WATER 

Ground water in the permafrost regions of 

Alaska is generally either of the calcium bicarbonate or of the sodium chloride type. Although no special study of the chemical quality of ground water 

has been undertaken in the present investigation, 

the quality in permafrost regions apparently 

depends on the same reactions between ground 

water and enclosing rocks that take place in temperate regions. The general restriction of groundwater circulation and recharge by permafrost may 

provide a longer time for chemical reactions to take 

place. 

Calcium bicarbonate water and its local variant, 

sodium bicarbonate water, is common in alluvium 

and other unconsolidated deposits and in metamorphic rocks. In unconsolidated deposits that 

include lenses and beds of organic material or finely 

disseminated organic particles, the water may have 

objectionable concentrations of iron and manganese, 

high hardness, and a high degree of color. Flammable gas, chiefly methane, confined beneath the permafrost or within the sediments, is associated with 

ground water in unconsolidated deposits and with 
74 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks that have a 

high organic content in some interior valleys and 

coastal lowlands. 

Saline water, principally sodium chloride, is 

common in unconsolidated deposits near the coast 

and in marine sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic age 

beneath the Arctic Coastal Plain and the Arctic 

Foothills. Two types of water are recognized in the 

Copper River Lowland (Grantz and others, 1962, p. 

1992): the Na-Ca-Cl waters chiefly west of the 

Copper River, and the Na-Cl-HC03 waters of 

springs on the west slopes of Mount Drum, a late 

Cenozoic volcano. The N a-Cl-HC03 water was probably formed by modification of the N a-Ca-Cl water 

by adding volcanic water, metamorphic water, or 

C02 from volcanic or sedimentary rocks. 

Seasonal changes occur in the concentration of 

the dissolved solids of ground water in shallow 

aquifers within and below the zone of seasonal 

freezing. These changes have been attributed to the 

lack of dilution by less mineralized surface water 

during winter and to the concentration of this 

water by freezing of the upper part of the aquifers 

during winter (Waller, 1962; Feulner and Schupp, 

1963). The quality of subpermafrost water is normally stable throughout the year. 

Bacterial pollution and contamination by fuel oil 

and animal wastes are most common in shallow 

wells that obtain water from aquifers above the 

permafrost, such as those at Kotzebue and Fairbanks. The few known cases of contamination of 

subpermafrost water were caused by carelessness in 

disposal of sewage and petroleum products near 

wells, or by improper well construction. 

Temperature of ground water is an especially 

important factor in designing water systems. Temperature data are needed to determine whether regular pumping or artificial heating of wells is 

required to prevent freezing of the water rising 

under static head in the casing within the permafrost zone. Data are also needed to determine 

whether heating well water is necessary before distributing the water through mains buried in permafrost, through mains within the zone of seasonal 

freezing, or in surface lines exposed to cold air. 

In the permafrost regions of Alaska, the temperature of potable well water ranges from 0 o to 

4.5oC. It averages 1.7°C at Fairbanks and 2.8°C at 

Anchorage, near the southern limit of permafrost. 

These figures are based on fewer than 150 measurements made without knowledge of: (1) The effect of 

pumping on the thermal regimen of the ground surrounding the casing, (2) the presence or absence of 

permafrost, (3) the duration of pumping before 

temperature measurement, ( 4) the variations in 

seasonal temperature in the upper 50 feet of the 

ground, (5) artificial heating of wells, and (6) 

errors in instruments. Despite the potential for 

error, the results seem consistent with the few controlled experiments to determine ground-water temperature. 

Temperature measurements were made in 1945 by 

Black and Veatch, Consulting Engineers, Kansas 

City, in two tests wells south of Fairbanks (fig. 14). 

In well 1, the casing was perforated, the well was 

pumped at 1,000 gpm, and the temperature was 

measured opposite each of four successively lower 

zones in the unfrozen alluvium below 70 feet, the 

base of permafrost. The results are as follows: 

Depth of aquifer Depth below base of 

tested permafrost Temperature 

(feet) (feet) •c 

76-86 6-16 0.6 

118-125 48-55 1.1 

218-228 148-158 1.7 

290 220 2.8 

In nearby test well 2, drilled entirely in unfrozen 

alluvium, ground-water temperature increased from 

1.1 oc at 65 feet to 2.2°C at 202-206 feet. Similar 

tests at Fort Wainwright, by U.S. Army Engineer 

District Alaska, showed that at the base of permafrost, 82 feet below land surface, the water temperature in unfrozen alluvium was 0.3°C, but that it 

was 1.3 oc in the aquifer 170 to 205 feet deep. These 

tests show that ground-water temperature increases 

with depth, as would be expected, and that it is 

probably consistent with the geothermal gradient of 

the enclosing alluvium until the temperature field is 

disturbed by pumping. 

The temperature tests near Fairbanks show that 

the difficulties caused by water freezing in well casings in permafrost can often be avoided by drilling 

wells deep enough below the base of permafrost to 

obtain warmer ground water from the lower part of 

the aquifer. Thus, the expense of heating wells artificially may be eliminated. In addition, the costs of 

predistribution heating of the water may be eliminated or reduced. 

The temperature of ground water in aquifers, 

less than 50 feet below land surface, has a seasonal 

range that varies with proximity to sources of 

summer recharge by warm surface water and with 

the thickness of the zone of winter freezing. The 

amplitude of seasonal temperature variations diminishes with depth, and the variations are out of 

phase in time with air temperatures; for example, 
OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER 75 

at Barrow the maximum ground temperature at a 

depth of 30 feet lags behind maximum air temperature by 5 months (Brewer, 1958b, p. 20-22, fig. 3). 

Springs are classified as: hot springs 

(37°-100°C), warm and cool springs (0°-37°C), 

and saline springs (generally less than 30°C). The 

hot springs are of local economic importance in 

supplying heat for buildings and in providing warm 

water for irrigation of gardens. Hot springs are 

limited to the area south of the Brooks Range. 

Known springs of the continuous-permafrost zone 

north of the Brooks Range range in temperature 

from 0° to 11 °C. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The presence of permafrost creates impermeable 

barriers to the recharge, movement, and discharge 

of ground water and to the mingling of waters of 

different chemical characteristics. Its presence also 

limits the volume of unconsolidated deposits and 

bedrock in which water can be stored. In some 

coastal environments, however, permafrost barriers 

protect suprapermafrost aquifers from sea-water 

intrusion. 

The effect of permafrost upon ground-water 

occurrence depends on its local configuration. Its 

configuration depends largely on local differences in 

mean annual ground-surface temperature caused by 

topographic, vegetative, climatic, geologic, and 

hydrologic conditions and their variation over the 

last hundreds or thousands of years. The relation 

between configuration of permafrost and present 

ground-surface temperature is further complicated 

by the existence of relict permafrost that is out of 

thermal equilibrium with present ground-surface 

temperature. Much of the relict permafrost may 

have been inherited from the colder climate of Wisconsin time. The local configuration of permafrost, 

therefore, is largely dependent on the present, and 

to some extent on past thermal regimens, rather 

than on geologic environment, and generally does 

not coincide with geologic or landform boundaries. 

However, permafrost is commonly thicker beneath 

alluvial landforms of Wisconsin or older Pleistocene 

age than beneath those of Holocene age. An imperfect correspondence of local permafrost zones to 

landforms is noted in flood plains and low terraces 

of major valleys where landform development followed thaw of preexisting permafrost by a migrating river. 

Application of the general principles stated above 

to geologic and hydrologic studies of ground-water 

resources may be an aid in locating sites where 

water may be present in unfrozen zones above permafrost, where permafrost may be thin, or where 

water may be recharged or discharged through 

unfrozen zones that perforate the permafrost. These 

principles have further application to problems 

involving creation of aquifers by thawing the 

frozen ground, such as was done in the alluvium of 

Selin Creek near Cape Lisburne. 

The present study of ground water in permafrost 

regions, lacking quantitative hydrologic and geothermal data, has been based on the geologic 

approach, with emphasis on the qualitative effect of 

local differences in topography, vegetation, climate, 

geology, and hydrology on the distribution of permafrost. This study shows that the traditional geologic approach, although basic to understanding the 

distribution, lithology, and structure of rocks and 

their hydrologic characteristics, does not provide 

detailed information on the local configuration of 

permafrost which depends to such a large extent on 

the thermal regimen. Outlined below are some additional investigations that will increase the amount 

of basic data and will perhaps increase knowledge 

of the principles of ground-water occurrence in permafrost regions. 

Basic data.-In order to further knowledge of the 

resri.Qnal zonation and local configuration of perma1frost and occurrence of ground water, an intense 

effort is required: ( 1) To collect records of subsurface materials the extent to which they are frozen, 

and their hydrologic properties, (2) to obtain chemical analyses of ground water, and (3) to measure 

ground and ground-water temperature and waterlevel fluctuations at significant wells and springs. 

Hydrogeologic mapping.-Studies are needed of 

selected areas in which surface and subsurface geologic mapping, hydrologic methods, and geophysical 

techniques are combined to describe the lithology, 

structure, and hydrologic properties of unconsolidated deposits and bedrock, and the configuration of 

permafrost. The resistivity method may be 

employed to supplement existing subsurface data, 

and the seismic-refraction method may be used to 

determine the configuration of permafrost, particularly beneath bodies of surface water. Results of 

quantitative aquifer tests should be considered in 

terms of impermeable boundaries imposed by permafrost as well as those related to lithology and 

structure of the rocks. Studies should include temperature and chemistry of the water. Special attention should be given to hydrology of springs, icings, 

and pingos, and to the hydrology of suprapermafrost water and the avenues of recharge and dis-
76 GROUND WATER IN THE PERMAFROST REGIONS OF ALASKA 

charge of subpermafrost water through unfrozen 

zones that perforate the permafrost. The chemistry 

of ground ice that cements perennially frozen 

ground and the study of unfrozen brines within 

permafrost are important. The effect of permafrost 

on the base flow of rivers should also be considered 

in analysis of streamflow records. 

Geothermal investigations.-Quantitative aspects 

of the thermal regimen that influences the configuration of permafrost and basic thermal relations 

between moving ground water and permafrost can 

be resolved only by geothermal investigations. The 

studies already begun in the continuous-permafrost 

zone of northern Alaska have contributed immeasurably to knowledge of the basic principles of heat 

flow in the ground and to an understanding of the 

formation, stability, and degradation of permafrost 

and its relation to the environment. Geothermal 

studies need to be expanded into the discontinuouspermafrost zone, preferably in areas where detailed 

hydrogeologic mapping has been done or is in progress. Quantitative data are needed to calculate the 

thermal effect of rivers, lakes, glaciers, the ocean, 

and vegetation on ground-surface temperature. The 

graphical methods developed by Lachenbruch 

(1957b) and W. G. Brown (1963) can be extended 

to studying the thermal effects of surface-water 

bodies in creating an unfrozen zone above or 

through the permafrost. Measurements of ground 

temperature at the surface and to depth and measurements of thermal conductivity of earth materials 

are needed to determine the history of permafrost 

and the degree to which its thickness reflects present ground-surface temperature. 

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u. s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1970 0- 386-698