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

U.S. Geological Survey

Programs in Missouri

For more than 100 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided earthscience information needed to understand 

and manage the Nation’s energy, land, mineral, and water resources. Such information 

is the basis for many decisions regarding 

management of Missouri’s natural 

resources. Information provided by the 

USGS is used to address major environmental, economic, and health issues, such as 

hazardous wastes in the environment, the 

adequacy of suitable water supplies, nutrients in streams and estuaries, the distribution of mineral resources, and the 

environmental effects of urban development 

and agriculture.

Land-Use Changes

During the last 100 years, stream channels in the Ozarks have become wider and 

shallower and deep-water fish habitat has 

been lost. Historical data indicate that channel disturbances have resulted most directly 

from clearing of vegetation along stream 

channels, which decreases bank strength. 

Because recreational fishing is important to 

the economy of the Ozarks, degradation of 

aquatic habitat is of concern to Federal, 

State, and local land managers. The USGS 

is involved in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary study to determine the cause-andeffect link between historical land-use 

changes in the Ozarks and stream instability, 

to evaluate the effects of stream instability 

on the quality and stability of physical 

aquatic habitat, and to develop a predictive 

understanding of how future land use and 

climate change will affect the aquatic ecosystem. The study results can be used by 

land managers to optimize aquatic habitat 

maintenance and improvement efforts and 

to plan for the future. Historical and stratigraphic data show that after 1830, Ozarks 

streams responded to land-use changes by 

depositing more gravel and less muddy sediment, compared to presettlement conditions. Because less muddy sediment is being 

deposited on flood plains, many streambanks now lack cohesive sediments, and, 

therefore, no longer support steep banks 

(fig. 1). Analysis of aerial photographs from 

the last 50 years indicates that once stream 

channels have been disturbed, vegetation 

has a minor role in re-establishing channel 

recovery. Land-use statistics indicate that 

the present trend in the rural Ozarks is 

toward increased populations of cattle and 

increased grazing density; this trend has the 

potential to continue the historical streamchannel disturbance by increasing stormwater runoff and sediment supply.

Geologic Mapping 

A new set of USGS maps shows geological and geophysical information that can be 

used by earth scientists and engineers to 

understand the causes and likely effects of 

earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic 

zone of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and 

Kentucky. The New Madrid seismic zone is 

the site of the largest series of earthquakes 

to strike the continental Unites States in 

recorded history. The new maps were made 

jointly by the USGS, State, university, and 

private-industry scientists. The maps show, 

for example, the location of earthquakes, the 

instruments used to study them, faults and 

other buried geological structures, earthquake-generated features that date from 

1811 to 1812, and large prehistoric shocks. 

Another new USGS map of the central 

United States shows the main roads, railroads, oil and natural gas pipelines, dams, 

nuclear facilities, and urban areas that might 

be at risk from a New Madrid-style (8.4 to 

8.7 on the Richter scale) earthquake. This 

map could be useful for planning responses 

to regional earthquake emergencies.

Index of Subjects

Land-Use Changes

Geologic Mapping

Topographic Mapping 

Biological Research

National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Contamination at Weldon Spring

Ground-Water Flow in the Missouri River 

Valley

Mapping Partnerships

Contamination at U.S. Department of 

Defense Sites

Agricultural Chemicals

Collection of Hydrologic Data

Flood Preparedness

Earth Science Information Centers

National Coal Resources Data System

Figure 1. Midchannel gravel bar and bank erosion in the Current River near Van Buren. (USGS photo)

Earth Science in the Public Service
The National Geological Mapping Program and the National Earthquake Hazards 

Reduction Program are providing a basic 

geologic data base for the area between St. 

Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, 

including Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. USGS scientists are 

conducting geologic studies in Missouri in 

the areas of the Fort Leonard Wood Military 

Reservation (FLWMR) in south-central Missouri, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 

and the Benton Hills in southeastern Missouri. Fractures found in the geologic formations that are visible at Earth surface in the 

FLWMR area have been analyzed. The study 

at the Ozark National Scenic Riverways is 

being conducted in cooperation with the 

National Park Service and it is focusing on 

hydrogeologic features and fracture analysis 

to provide a data base for future geologic 

and hydrologic investigation in the area. 

Geologic studies in cooperation with the 

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 

Division of Geology and Land Survey, in the 

Benton Hills have evaluated the earthquake 

potential of the area in relation to the New 

Madrid seismic zone, which is about 3 miles 

to the south. Trenches excavated across the 

English Hill Fault during 1995 document 

surface rupture along this fault sometime 

during the past 12,500 years. This is the first 

identification of such recent earthquakeinduced faulting in the middle Mississippi 

River Valley outside of the New Madrid seismic zone and it indicates that a large region 

probably is prone to seismic activity. 

Topographic Mapping 

Among the most popular and versatile 

products of the USGS are the 1:24,000-

scale topographic maps (1 inch on the map 

represents 2,000 feet on the ground). The 

maps depict basic natural and cultural features of the landscape, such as lakes and 

streams, highways and railroads, boundaries, and geographic names. Contour lines 

are used to depict the elevation and shape of 

terrain. Map coverage of Missouri consists 

of 1,299 maps at this scale, which is useful 

for civil engineering, land-use planning, 

natural-resource monitoring, and other technical applications. The maps are favorites 

with the general public for outdoor uses, 

including hiking, camping, exploring, and 

back-country fishing expeditions. Today, 

scientists and engineers depend increasingly 

on computerized base maps for their 

research and analyses. Therefore, the USGS 

has been producing computerized map 

products in cooperation with Federal and 

State agencies. 

The Mid-Continent Mapping Center 

(MCMC), located in Rolla, is part of the 

National Mapping Division of the USGS. It 

is a production, research, and data management facility for maps and digital cartographic products. The MCMC also houses 

an Earth Science Information Center (ESIC) 

and Visitors’ Center.

Biological Research 

The USGS Biological Resources Division 

conducts studies relating to systems 

research, including topics associated with 

large rivers and their flood plains, statewide 

biomonitoring, development of methods to 

use spatial data at the landscape scale, and 

toxicological and ecological assessment of 

acidic-mine drainage restoration efforts. 

Studies of the Missouri River include pallid 

sturgeon habitat and behavior, contaminant 

effects on riverine life forms, river channel 

and flood-plain land-cover patterns, benthic 

fish database management, and a monitoring 

plan. A monitoring program for the Upper 

Mississippi River system, including the part 

bordering Missouri, is the largest riverrelated inventory, monitoring, research, spatial analysis, and information-sharing program in the United States. Collected data are 

being used to assess the potential effects of 

natural and human-induced activities on the 

riverine ecosystem. Among individual species covered by studies conducted in the 

state are mourning doves, bobwhite quail, 

Canada geese, and various duck species. 

Other studies include habitat relations of 

stream sport fishes, effects of pesticides on 

and recovery of the endangered Indiana bat, 

recovery of the endangered Niangua darter, 

and effects of habitat degradation and leadmining activities on the Neosho madtom. 

Methods are also being developed for monitoring the biological resources of National 

Park Service units in Missouri, for documenting the effects of past climate change, 

and for developing simulations of future 

change in streams in the Ozarks.

USGS facilities conducting biological 

research in the State include the Midwest 

Science Center, the Environmental Management Technical Center, the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and 

the Northern Prairie Science Center.

National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program

The long-term goals of the National 

Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program are to describe the status and trends of 

the quality of a large representative part of 

the Nation’s surface- and ground-water 

resources and to identify the natural and 

human factors that affect their quality. The 

NAWQA Program produces water-quality 

information that can be used by policymakers and water managers at the Federal, State, 

and local levels.

The extensive karst features of the 

Ozarks create a complex hydrologic system 

that results in rapid interactions between 

surface and ground water. The Ozark Plateaus NAWQA study, initiated in 1991, 

determined that the factors that affect water 

quality are climate, physiography, soils, 

water use, land use, population, and geology. Poultry, cattle, and swine production, 

in addition to septic tanks and sewagetreatment plants, have affected water quality 

by increasing concentrations of nutrients 

and bacteria in water. Surface- and groundwater quality has been significantly 

degraded by drainage from abandoned lead 

and zinc mines in the Tri-State District of 

Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma and the 

Old Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri. 

Recent lead mining in the New Lead Belt in 

southeastern Missouri has caused concerns 

about water quality in the area. Increased 

concentrations of radionuclides have been 

detected in water from many wells throughout the study area, and highly saline ground 

water along the western boundary has 

caused some wells to be abandoned.

Contamination at Weldon Spring

Trinitrotoluene (TNT) and other munitions compounds were produced at the 

17,232-acre Weldon Spring Ordnance 

Works (WSOW) in St. Charles County in 

eastern Missouri from 1941 to 1945. The 

WSOW produced more than 700 million 

pounds of TNT and smaller quantities of 

dinitrotoluene (DNT) during its operation. 

The 1,665-acre U.S. Army Weldon Spring 

Training Area is within the former ordnance 

works. Fifteen of 18 TNT production lines, 

both DNT production lines, and almost all 

of the major production-support facilities 

were located within the Training Area 

boundary. The remaining three TNT production lines were on a 217-acre tract east of the 

Training Area that is currently (1997) owned 

by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 

and which is known as the Weldon Spring 

Chemical Plant (WSCP). The three TNT 

production lines at the WSCP were demolished in 1955 during construction of a U.S. 

Atomic Energy Commission Uranium Feed 

Materials Plant that was operated from 1957 

to 1966. Operations at the WSOW and the 

WSCP have resulted in localized soil and 

ground-water contamination.
In 1990, the USGS began a water-quality 

study in cooperation with the U.S. Army, 

Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the Weldon 

Spring Training Area. Large concentrations 

of TNT and lead have been detected in soils 

and near WSOW buildings. Widespread contamination of the shallow ground water at 

the Training Area with low-level (less than a 

few micrograms per liter) concentrations of 

TNT and other munitions-related compounds was also detected. Munition compounds also have been detected in water 

samples from nearby springs. 

From 1994 through 1996, the USGS, in 

cooperation with the DOE, measured 

ground-water levels in 56 piezometers and 

monitoring wells in the St. Charles County 

well field, which is 3 miles southwest of the 

WSCP and 0.75-mile south of Weldon 

Spring Quarry where low-level radioactive 

wastes from the WSCP were placed from 

1957 to 1966. The water-level measurements 

were used to assess ground-water flow from 

the abandoned quarry to the St. Charles 

County well field.

Ground-Water Flow in the Missouri 

River Valley

The Missouri River alluvial aquifer in the 

Kansas City metropolitan area supplies all or 

part of the drinking water for more than 

900,000 people in 90 municipalities and 

public-water-supply districts. The Missouri 

River alluvial aquifer is the only aquifer in 

the area that can supply large quantities of 

ground water for public and industrial use. 

The Mid-America Regional Council, which 

is a planning association comprised of city 

and county governments in the metropolitan 

area, is developing a regional protection plan 

for the Missouri River aquifer. In 1991, the 

USGS, in cooperation with the Mid-America 

Regional Council, initiated a study to provide hydrogeologic information to aid in 

development of an aquifer-protection plan.

The USGS has developed a regional geographic information system for the Missouri 

River valley. Ground-water levels have been 

measured during different seasons and 

stages of the Missouri River to help delineate 

ground-water-recharge areas around municipal well fields in the Kansas City area. Areas 

of the alluvial aquifer that are the most susceptible to contamination from the land surface have been identified. A ground-water 

flow model has been used to evaluate the 

response of ground-water levels, groundwater travel times, contributing recharge 

areas of well fields, and directions of 

ground-water flow to changes in pumping 

and river stage. 

Mapping Partnerships

The USGS continues to fund and produce 

both maps and computerized cartographic 

data in cooperation with Federal and State 

agencies in Missouri. The resulting products 

can be used by Federal, State, and local 

agencies to address natural resources planning and conservation, waste disposal, emergency, hazards, and other environmental and 

societal issues confronting the State. Aerial 

photographs are being acquired for Missouri 

as part of the National Aerial Photography 

Program (NAPP). The NAPP was established to coordinate the acquisition of standard format aerial photographs for the 

United States between Federal and State 

agencies. The NAPP photographs are used to 

support map revision, computerized image 

production, natural resource planning, land 

management, and agricultural monitoring.

Contamination at U.S. Department 

of Defense Sites

The USGS conducted a geohydrologic 

assessment of the FLWMR to describe the 

geologic controls on ground-water flow and 

contaminant transport. Ground-water levels 

and flow directions beneath the FLWMR are 

similar during conditions of high and low 

base flow and have been modified in the central and northeastern parts of the FLWMR 

by substantial karst features such as subterranean drainage conduits, caves, and sinkholes. Fractures commonly do not extend 

through the full thickness of bedrock formations and there is little evidence of chemical 

weathering of the bedrock. Natural chemical 

weathering of some dolostone formations in 

southern Missouri has caused the overlying 

sandstone-rich rocks to collapse and has provided pathways for ground-water flow. 

Water samples collected from regional 

ground- and surface-water sources indicate 

that there is little difference in water quality 

during high and low base-flow conditions, 

but that the shallow ground water is susceptible to contamination from surficial sources. 

In 1992, the U.S. Air Force began deactivating the Minuteman II missile system at 

the Whiteman Air Force Base in west-central 

Missouri. The deactivation process at the 

launch facilities could contaminate ground 

water, and water-quality and ground-water 

data are necessary to determine the water 

quality in the area before deactivation and to 

determine the water quality after deactivation. To provide the data, the USGS has 

completed an on-site reconnaissance and 

well inventory within a 1-mile radius of each 

of the 150 missile silos. The general geology 

of the area has been defined using existing 

geologic information. The potential for 

ground-water flow between regional geohydrologic units was determined and groundwater quality data have been summarized.

Agricultural Chemicals

Ground water is used throughout Missouri as a source of drinking water. The 

USGS, in cooperation with the Missouri 

Department of Health, collected and analyzed water samples from 1986 to 1994 from 

854 domestic wells and 36 springs to determine the occurrence and distribution of 

nitrate and selected pesticides in ground 

water (fig. 2). The data from the study can be 

used by State and local officials and citizens 

to make decisions about how to mitigate the 

effects of agricultural chemicals on water 

supplies.

Nitrate concentrations were detected in 

ground water much more frequently and at 

much higher concentrations than were pesticide concentrations. Based on the results of 

the study, as many as 84,000 domestic wells 

(24 percent) in the State may have nitrate 

concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 

drinking-water criterion or may have detectable concentrations of one or more pesticides. However, elevated nitrate and 

pesticide concentrations in ground water 

were significantly related to the source of the 

water, well depth, and water level below 

land surface. 

Water samples from wells that were less 

than 75 feet deep and where the groundwater level was within 50 feet of the land 

surface had significantly higher nitrate concentrations and were more prone to pesticide occurrence than other samples. Water 

samples from wells that were less than 0.25 

mile from a feedlot and from wells where 

chemicals were mixed within 100 feet of the 

Northeastern

Southeastern

West-central

Northwestern

Missouri

River

alluvium

Missouri River

Figure 2. Agricultural chemical study 

areas.
For More

Information

well had significantly higher nitrate concentrations. Water samples from wells where 

chemicals were mixed less than 100 feet 

from the well were 3.4 times as likely to 

have a pesticide occurrence than water from 

wells where pesticides were mixed at distances greater than 0.25 mile from the well. 

Water from wells susceptible to elevated 

pesticide concentrations also had significantly higher nitrate concentrations.

Collection of Hydrologic Data

Several major rivers, including the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Osage, the Current, the Meramec, the Spring, the Grand, 

and the Salt, supply water not only to users 

within Missouri, but to several downstream 

States. The USGS, in cooperation with more 

than 20 Federal, State, and local agencies, 

collects streamflow or water-quality data or 

both at sites throughout the State (fig. 3). 

These data are critical for day-to-day administration and management of water 

resources, for determining the extent and 

severity of droughts, for characterizing and 

predicting conditions during floods, and for 

monitoring the effects of human activities on 

streamflow and water quality. The data also 

are essential to interpretive studies that provide information for making decisions about 

water issues that affect millions of people.

Flood Preparedness

After the floods that devastated the Midwest in 1993, scientists from the USGS, the 

USEPA, the USACE, the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration joined 

in the Scientific Assessment and Strategy 

Team High Resolution Digital Elevation 

Model (DEM) project. This project is developing high-density DEM’s for about 2 million acres (3,400 square miles) along the 

Missouri and the Mississippi Rivers. About 

85 to 90 percent of the project area is within 

Missouri. Improved hydraulic models can 

more accurately predict water flow at river 

junctions, such as the Missouri, the Illinois, 

and the Ohio, where flows and distributions 

are complex. The models can then be used 

for simulating levee breaches and overtoppings, flood management and recovery decisions, flow predictions, and flood prevention. 

Earth Science Information Centers

The USGS ESIC provides information 

about the USGS, its programs, products, and 

technological developments to users who are 

concerned with earth science topics. The 

USGS Rolla-ESIC, located at the USGS 

office in Rolla, offers nationwide information and sales service for USGS map products and earth science publications and can 

fill orders for custom products, such as aerial 

photographs, orthophotoquads, and map 

separates. The State ESIC, also located in 

Rolla at the Missouri Department of Natural 

Resources, Division of Geology and Land 

Survey (DGLS) office, was established 

under a cooperative agreement between the 

USGS and the DGLS and has USGS map 

products available for purchase for the entire 

State. As part of the national ESIC network, 

these offices provide information on such 

topics as cartography, geography, digital 

data, remote sensing, geology, geophysics, 

geochemistry, hydrology, geohydrology, 

aerial photography, and land use. The USGS 

provides each ESIC with reference materials, technical assistance, training and outreach activities, and access to data bases.

National Coal Resources Data 

System

The USGS National Coal Resources Data 

System (NCRDS) provides data points for 

compiling geologic maps of coal beds, 

determining the quality of coal, and calculating coal resources and reserves. The USGS 

and the DGLS have cooperated since 1979 

to enter into the NCRDS about 6,500 data 

points from drill holes and have measured 

stratigraphic sections to include in the 

NCRDS. These data points consist of coal 

thickness, stratigraphic information, and 

coal quality. In addition, coal croplines and 

mined areas have been delineated. This program has included all major, active coalmining areas in Missouri.

USGS state representative

1400 Independence Road

MS 100

Rolla, MO 65401

(573) 308-3667

Fax: (573) 308-3645

Email: dc_mo@usgs.gov

Additional earth science

information can be found by

accessing the USGS Home Page

on the World Wide Web at

http://www.usgs.gov/

For more information on

all USGS reports and products

(including maps, images,

and computerized data), call

1-800-USA-MAPS

The USGS provides maps,

reports, and information to help

others meet their needs to manage,

 develop, and protect America’s water,

energy, mineral, biological, and land

resources. We help find the natural

resources needed to build tomorrow,

and supply the scientific understanding needed to help minimize or mitigate the effects of natural hazards

and environmental damage caused

by natural and human activities. The

results of our efforts touch the daily

 life of almost every American.

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS-027-96

MISSOURI

Figure 3. Streamflow and water-quality 

data-collection sites.