DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OTIS SMITH. DIKECTOK

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 316

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

OF A PORTION OF

SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON

BY

GERALD A. WARING

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1913
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

WATER-SOT»PI,Y PAPER 316

OF A

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

PORTION OF

SOUTH-CENTAL WASHINGTON

BY

GERALD A. WARING

WASHINGTON

GOVEENMENT FEINTING OFFICE 

1913
CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction.............................................................. 5

Extent of area......................................................... 5

Objects of the examination............................................ 6

Earlier investigations.................................................. 6

Geography............................................................... 7

Settlements.......................................................... 7

Climate and vegetation................................................ 8

Agriculture.....................:..................................... 9

Grazing.............................................................. 9

Geographic provinces................................................. 9

Sunnyside Valley.................................................. 10

Extent........................................................ 10

Development.................................................. 10

Soils.......................................................... 10

Reservation Valley................................................ 11

Extent and character.......................................... 11

Development.,................................................. 11

Horse Heaven Plateau............ l............................... 12

Surface features.............................................. 12

Settlement................................................... 12

Agriculture................................................... 12

Soils.......................................................... 13

Columbia River Plains............................................. 13

General features............................................... 14

Area east of Columbia River................................... 14

Area west of Columbia River.................................. 14

General character......................................... 14

Rattlesnake Valley........................................ 14

Cold Creek region.......................................... 14

Physiography.............................................................. 15

Relation of surface features and structure............................... 15

Relief................................................................ 16

Drainage.............................................................. 16

Columbia River................................................... 16

Yakima River..................................................... 17

Geology.................................................................. 18

Stratigraphy.......................................................... 18

Yakima basalt.................................................... 18

Ellensburg formation.............................................. 19

Surficial deposits.................................................. 21

Water in formations............................................... 21

Geologic structure..................................................... 22

Deformation....................................................... 22

Atanum and Rattlesnake ridges..................................... 23

3
4 CONTENTS.

Geology Continued.

Geologic structure Continued. Page.

Toppenish Ridge and Snipes Mountain............................. 23

Horse Heaven Plateau.............................................. 24

Columbia River Plains............................................. 24

Geologic history. ...................... T.............................. 25

Water resources............................................................ 25

Sunnyside Valley...................................................... 25

Irrigation......................................................... 25

Sunnyside canal.............................................. 25

Reclamation project........................................... 26

Underground water................................................ 27

Shallow water................................................. 27

Artesian conditions........................................... 27

Reservation Valley.................................................... 29

Irrigation......................................................... 29

Underground water................................................ 30

Artesian water..................................................... 30

Horse Heaven Plateau................................................ 32

Irrigation......................................................... 32

Domestic water supply............................................ 32

General sources............................................... 32

Springs....................................................... 33

Wells......................................................... 33

Artesian conditions............................................. 36

Columbia River Plains................................................. 37

Area east of Columbia River....................................... 37

Irrigation..................................................... 37

Underground water............................................ 37

Wells......................................................... 38

Area west of Columbia River...................................... 38

Rattlesnake Valley............................................ 38

Wells..................................................... 38

Springs................................................... 38

Cold Creek region.............................................. 39

Irrigation................................................. 39

Underground water........................................ 40

Irrigation along lower Yakima River..................................... 41

Summary............................................................ 42

Wells and springs...................................................... 44

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

PLATE I. Reconnaissance map of a part of south-central Washington, showing 

location of wells and springs and approximate extent of geologic 

formations..................................................... 18

FIGURE 1. Index map of Washington showing location of area discussed... . . 5
GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION OF 

SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

By GERALD A. WARING.

INTRODUCTION.

EXTENT OF AREA.

The area considered in this report comprises about 5,000 square 

miles in south-central Washington, including Benton County, the 

eastern parts of Yakima and Klickitat counties, and the western

Area described in 

the present paper

Area described in 

Water-Supply Paper 118

Area described in 

Water-Supply Paper 55

FIGURE 1. Index map of Washington showing location 01 area discussed.

part of Franklin County. (See PI. I and fig. 1.) Columbia River 

flows southward through its eastern portion and then turns and 

flows westward, forming the southern boundary of its western portion.

5
6 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

OBJECTS OF THE EXAMINATION.

Until within the last few years the greater part of the region was 

sparsely settled and was used only as a stock range; recently, however, much of it has been filed upon under the homestead and desertland laws and is now being rapidly settled and cultivated. Except 

in the bottoms near the major streams, water is scarce, even for 

domestic use. In order to study the supply at present in use and the 

possibility of increasing it by sinking deep wells, the author spent several weeks in reconnaissance during the fall of 1907. The time available permitted only a hurried inquiry into the present utilization of 

surface and underground water by canals and by wells and a general 

study of rock characters and structural conditions in their relation 

to further development of the underground sources.

EARLIER INVESTIGATIONS.

In the summer of 1892 I. C. Russell made a preliminary examination of central and southern Washington with special regard to its 

water resources, and though more detailed work has led to a modification of some of his conclusions as to the structural conditions in 

certain parts of the area his deductions as to the underground supply 

are thought to be generally sound.1 In his paper Russell states that 

though shallow water is easily obtained in portions of eastern Washington the region is not a generally artesian area, and that there is little 

prospect of developing flowing wells in its valleys. In another paper 2 

Russell treats of the country to the east, in Walla Walla, Columbia, 

Garfield, and Asotin counties, describing the wheat lands and discussing the underground water.

A detailed study of the district near North Yakima has been made 

by George Otis Smith,3 who describes the main geologic features of 

tlie region, the general conditions affecting ground water, and the several streams, and discusses a number of available sites for storage reservoirs. He describes in greater detail the Atanum-Moxee basin, in 

which North Yakima is situated, and discusses the flowing artesian 

wells in its eastern portion.

The geology of the area that has been mapped as the Ellensburg 

quadrangle has also been carefully worked out by Smith.4 This 

quadrangle embraces an area of 820 square miles, extending from 

Atanum Ridge northward to Ellensburg and from North Yakima 

about 23 miles westward. In addition to treating the rock formations and their structure in detail, Smith discusses the ground waters 

and the artesian waters.

J Russell, I. C., A geological reconnaissance in central Washington: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 108,1893.

2 Russell, I. C., A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington* Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 4,1897.

e Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash.: Water-Supply Paper II. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 55,1901.

* Smith, George Otis, Ellensburg folio (No. 86), Geol. Atlas U. S., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
SETTLEMENTS. 7

A general study of the region immediately north of that covered 

by the present report has been made by Calkins,1 who gives lists of 

deep wells in the area around Moses Lake and the cost of drilling 

them and discusses the possibility of obtaining flowing wells in the 

several districts. The areas described by Smith and by Calkins are 

shown on the index map (fig. 1).

As all these publications treat of areas adjacent to that considered 

in the present report, and as all of them describe regions in which the 

climatic, geologic, and hydrologic conditions are similar, they have 

been freely drawn upon. Frequent references have also been made 

to a recent bulletin of the Department of Agriculture 2 concerning a 

number of irrigation canals along the lower Yakima River, and to an 

earlier publication of the same Department on the soils of the Sunnyside Valley.3

GEOGRAPHY.

SETTLEMENTS.

The principal towns in the south-t?entral part of Washington 

are North Yakima, the county seat of Yakima County; Sunnyside, 

about 35 miles southeast of North Yakima; Prosser, the county seat 

of Benton County; Kennewick, an agricultural settlement on the 

western side of the Columbia; and Pasco, a railroad town on the 

opposite side of the river. By the census of 1910 North Yakima had 

a population of 14,082, Prosser 1,298, Kennewick 1,219, and Pasco 

2,083.

Most portions of the region are easily accessible by rail. The Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co/s line follows the south 

bank of Columbia River from Portland to Wallula, Wash., and there 

branches eastward to Walla Walla and northeastward to Spokane. 

From Pasco one branch of the Northern Pacific Railway system 

follows Yakima River and continues westward to the Puget Sound 

cities, and another extends northeastward to Spokane. A third line, 

the "Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway, has been built along the 

north side of Columbia River into the southern part of the region. 

Small steamers ply daily along the Columbia, going as far upstream 

as Priest Rapids, but there is room for much improvement in their 

facilities.

Along the railroad line that follows Yakima River there are shipping depots every few miles and in addition numerous small towns 

that depend for trade on the grain-raising portion of the Horse

1 Calkins, F. C., Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington: Water-Supply 

Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 118, 1905.

2 Jayne, S. O., Irrigation in the Yakima Valley, Wash.: Bull. Office Exper. Sta. No. 188,.U. 8. Dept. 

Agr., 1906.

3 Jensen, C. A., and Olshausen, B. A., Soil survey of the Yakima area, Wash.: Rept. Field Operations 

Bur. Soils for 1901, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1902.
8 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTBAL WASHINGTON.

Heaven country or on the fruit-raising and dairying settlements 

farther north. The railroad towns east of Columbia River are 

mainly centers of supply and shipping points for the surrounding 

grain-producing sections; the interior towns are mail and trading 

stations for the neighboring ranches.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION.

The Cascade Range crosses the State in such a way that it shuts off 

its eastern part from the rain-bearing clouds of the Pacific Ocean and 

thus divides the State into two distinct climatic provinces. The 

western province receives abundant and in some places excessive 

rainfall and has cool summers and mild winters; the eastern province 

is arid and has hot summers and severe winters.

The precipitation in the eastern province differs greatly from place 

to place. Its record shows variation with elevation and with distance from the mountains and exhibits also the wide annual variation 

common to all arid regions. At Moxee Wells, in the Moxee Valley, 

the mean annual precipitation for the 11 years from 1893 to 1903, 

inclusive, was 8.9 inches and the mean annual temperature for the 

same period was 50° F.1 At three other stations North Yakima, 

Sunnyside, and Kennewick the precipitation in 1905 was respectively 9.06, 6.48, and 2.88 inches, showing a marked decrease of 

rain and snow southeastward from the mountains. In the western 

part of the area examined, which includes the country around Bickleton and that at the head of Reservation Valley, the precipitation 

is greater than at North Yakima, but no records of the rain and snowfall in this western region are available.

Although most of this area is north of latitude 46° the winter is not 

severe in the valley lands, for they lie at elevations below 1,200 feet 

and are to some extent protected by the ridges that separate them. 

Some snow falls on them, but it usually remains only a short time, 

so that the winter is "open" most years. Although frost may be 

expected early in the fall and late in the spring it is seldom so 

severe as to injure the hardy crops.

Pine and other native trees grow on the higher western slopes and 

scrub oaks on the lower hills at the west end of Reservation Valley, 

but sagebrush and smaller desert shrubs form the main natural 

vegetation of the plains. Along Yakima River and the streams that 

enter it from the west there are cottonwoods, willows, and alders. 

The banks of the Columbia along that portion of the river that 

flows through the area here considered are not lined with trees, 

though in places they bear clumps of willows.

i Henry, A. J., Climatology of the United States: Bull. Q, Weather Bureau, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1906, 

p. 942.
GEOQ^APHIC PEOVINGES. 9 

AGRICULTURE.

The irrigated valley lands yield bountiful crops. Forage plants* 

especially alfalfa, timothy, and clover, are extensively grown; hops 

and garden vegetables make valuable crops; and the apples, pears, 

and other fruits raised are noted for their size and quality.

The supply of stream water easily available for irrigating much of 

the valley land, and the accessibility of the fruit-growing districts 

to market by rail, eastward to Spokane and other cities and westward 

to the cities on the Puget Sound, have greatly aided in bringing the 

country rapidly to the front. Much of the land that lies above irrigation canals has proved valuable for raising wheat by dry farming.

For the last 40 or 50 years some settlement has been in progress 

along Yakima River and its tributaries, and water from these streams 

was early diverted to some extent for irrigation, but active development has taken place mainly since the completion of the Northern 

Pacific Railway through this region in 1883, and the greatest development has taken place within the last 10 years.

GRAZING.

In early days nearly all this region was used as range for cattle and 

horses. The settlement of much of the valley land has reduced the 

area available for grazing, but the higher and more rocky portions 

of the region will probably never be valuable for other purposes, and 

many head of cattle still range over them. In summer the cattle 

graze over the higher western lands, but in winter they are usually 

brought down to the plains and are fed during stormy periods. 

Considerable open range remains in the west end of Reservation 

Valley and to the north, on Selah Ridge.

Many sheep are herded in the mountains during the summer and 

fall and taken into the cultivated valleys and fed from alfalfa stacks 

in severe weather during the winter. Some farmers allow the sheep 

to graze on their alfalfa fields for a short time each day, but the 

pasturage fee received scarcely seems to compensate for the injury 

done to the fields by the sharp-hoofed animals.

GEOGRAPHIC PROVINCES.

For purposes of examination and description the area may be conveniently divided into four geographic provinces, namely, Sunnyside 

Valley, which lies between Rattlesnake Ridge and Yakima River; 1 

Reservation Valley, which lies west of Yakima River and between

i The Zfllah sheet of the Topographic Atlas of the United States, issued by the U. S. Geological Survey, 

covers parts of the Sunnyside and Reservations valleys, on a scale of about 2 miles to the inch. It maps 

an area 30 minutes in extent in each direction, most of it in Yakima County.
10 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTBAL WASHINGTON.

Atamim and Toppenish ridges; Horse Heaven Plateau,which is in the 

southern part of the area; and Columbia Kiver Plains, which is in 

the northeastern part of the area.

SUNNYSIDE VALLEY.

Extent. On the northeast side of Yakima River, below Union Gap, 

a wide area of cultivable land, known as the Sunnyside Valley, stretches 

northward, to Rattlesnake Ridge and southeastward from Zillah 

nearly to Prosser. From the river the land rises toward the crest of 

Rattlesnake Ridge, its grade increasing near the ridge. Although 

some portions of the otherwise even surface are hummocky or are cut 

by small drainage channels, the only important feature of relief is 

Snipes Mountain, a low ridge on the west-central border of the area.

Development. The greatest development has taken place in the 

central part of the valley. In the early nineties nearly all of this land 

"was unsettled and covered with sagebrush, but since that time a great 

part of it has been brought under irrigation and is now in a high state 

of cultivation. In 1910 Sunnyside, the largest town in the valley, 

had a population of 1,379; Outlook, Granger, and Grandview are 

newer and smaller. A branch line of the Northern Pacific Railway 

extends from Toppenish to Grandview, furnishing a ready outlet for 

produce.

This section has been developed very rapidly since water from 

Yakima River was made available for its irrigation by the construction 

of the Sunnyside Canal. One who enters the cultivated fields and 

orchards around Sunnyside after riding from Mabton northward 

across desert land, covered with sagebrush and sandy hummocks, is 

strikingly impressed with the results of irrigation.

Soils. Most of the valley is bottomed by the Ellensburg formation, 

consisting of gravel, sand, and silt, which is overlain in part by alluvium washed from the higher slopes. From the Ellensburg formation 

and this latter alluvium a fertile soil has been formed.

In 1909 the gullied slopes north of Sunnyside, above the irrigating 

canal, were but little cultivated, but the slopes of Rattlesnake Ridge, 

farther east, had been extensively cleared and devoted to wheat raising. 

Between Sunnyside and Mabton the land, though cultivable, is more 

uneven and in places more sandy; most of it, however, will probably 

be brought under cultivation when ditch laterals have been extended 

through it. On the south side of the river, between Mabton and 

Prosser, the soil is thinner than it is in the Sunnyside region and is in 

places absent, basalt forming the surface, so that not all of the lowland in this locality is suitable for tillage.

In 1901 a soil survey of the Yakima and Sunnyside areas was made 

by the United States Department of Agriculture, and the classes of
GEOGRAPHIC PROVINCES. 11

soils and their alkaline contents were determined and mapped. 1 The 

determination showed that alkali was present in objectionable 

amount at the surface in only a few places. Beneath the low lands, 

however, alkalies were found in considerable amount, but as they 

consisted mainly of sulphates they would probably not become 

troublesome if proper drainage were provided. Since this examination was made, however, alkaline and swampy tracts have been 

developed in some of the lower parts of the area through saturation 

of the ground by overirrigation and by seepage from canals, for 

nearly all the main canals and laterals are unlined. It is manifest 

that this rise of alkali can be overcome by drainage canals, and in 

1907 work was accordingly begun on the construction of a canal 

extending from a point near Sunnyside southward to Yakima River. 

In this region much alfalfa, clover, and timothy hay is grown, which 

finds a ready market in the cities of Puget Sound. Hops and garden 

vegetables are also extensively cultivated, and apples, peaches, and 

other orchard fruits raised in this section are becoming well known 

throughout the country.

EESEEVATION VALLEY.

Extent and cTiaracter. West of the Sunnyside Valley, across Yakima 

River, the wide, nearly level valley land continues in an area between 

Atanum and Toppenish ridges known as the Reservation Valley. Its 

western border is marked by hilly slopes cut by ravines hi to nearly 

parallel ridges that rise to form higher portions of the Cascade Range. 

The valley floor is more nearly flat and is less diversified than that of 

the Sunnyside region, and the ridges on each side rise more abruptly, 

so that the boundary between valley and slope is more sharply defined. 

Like the Sumlyside area, it is floored with deposits of the Ellensburg 

formation, but these do not extend far up the sidehills. Several 

branches of Toppenish Creek, which drain the slopes west of the 

valley, unite at its west end and flow along its southern border, joining 

Yakima River near Alfalfa. As the branches of this creek rise on 

wooded mountains its flow is fairly constant, but during the summer 

much of its water is diverted for irrigation in the southern portion of 

the valley.

Deposits of coarse gravel hi different parts of the valley, especially 

a gravel terrace that extends from north to south through its central 

part, indicate that Toppenish Creek has shifted its course over the 

lowland and hi places has left deposits of stream wash on the 

Ellensburg formation.

Development. Most of the land of the Reservation Valley lies 

within the Yakima Indian Reservation and has been allotted to the

1 Jensen, C. A., and Olshausen, B. A., Soil survey of the Yakima area, Wash.; Kept. Field Operations 

Bur. Soils for 1901, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1902.
12 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

Indians in 80-acre tracts. Prior to about 1905 they were not allowed 

to sell their holdings; many of them, however, leased their land to 

whites who cared only to get as much as possible from the soil with a 

TniniTrnjim expenditure, and who made few improvements, such as 

fences and buildings. In 1907, however, a ruling permitted each 

Indian to sell three-quarters of his land in order to obtain funds with 

which to improve the remainder, so that within a few years the valley 

will probably become largely settled by whites.

Farming has been carried on mainly along the south side of the 

valley and in its eastern portion, near Toppenish. Within the drainage basin of the Reservation Valley, but in its northwestern part, 

above the valley lands, several orchards and hop yards lie along the 

upper branches of creeks. The soil here is thin, however, being 

mainly a dark-red residual material derived from the decay of the 

basalt, and large parts of it are too rocky to be cultivated.

HOESE HEAVEN PLATEAU.

Surface features. In the southern part of the area examined, 

between Yakima and Columbia rivers, lies a region known as the 

Horse Heaven Plateau, from the luxuriant growth of bunch grass that 

covered its eastern part in early days, before excessive grazing had 

made the term inappropriate. From the sagebrush slopes of its 

eastern portion the surface gradually rises northward to the wooded 

mountains of the Cascade Range. A few mam drainage channels 

trend southward across it to Columbia River, but it contains no 

perennial streams. The upper courses of Alder and Cottonwood 

creeks, however, usually carry water throughout the year.

Settlement. The higher, western portion of the Horse Heaven 

Plateau, known as the Bickleton region, has been settled longest, the 

town of Bickleton having been established over 30 years ago. The 

more hilly slopes back of this town, which stands at an elevation of 

nearly 3,000 feet, are timbered. The land south and east of Bickleton has for a number of years yielded crops of grain, but it is only 

since about 1900 that the lower eastern parts of the plateau have 

been cultivated, and only since 1905 that homesteading has gone on 

with much rapidity.

Agriculture. Wheat is the staple crop of the Horse Heaven 

Plateau. Hardy winter wheats, chiefly the varieties known as Jones's 

Five and Fortyfold, are those most raised; though Turkey Red and 

other spring wheats yield well under favorable conditions.

On account of the deficiency in rainfall it is customary to summer 

fallow half of the land each year, sowing it only in alternate seasons, 

for by this means a greater amount of moisture is obtained for the 

crop. In years of plentiful rainfall, however, some farmers plant all 

their land.
GEOGEAPHIC PBOVINCES. 13

A number of roads lead from the plateau down to the railroad 

stations at Mabton, Prosser, Kiona, and Badger. During the summer and fall these roads are marked by trailing clouds of dust raised 

by teams hauling the wheat for 15 miles or more to the railroad for 

shipment. This long haul adds considerably to the cost of production.

Soils. The origin of the soil of the Columbia Plains has been the 

subject of more or less discussion. Some writers have claimed that 

it is essentially a residual formation; l others have held that it is a 

wind-borne deposit.2 It seems probable that the soil of some parts 

of southern Washington is of one origin and that of other parts is of 

the other or both. The evidence that has been advanced by writers 

in favor of each mode of formation seems to apply well to the two 

classes of soil observed in the Horse Heaven region. The soil of the 

lower lands is a loose, light-brown, sandy loam, seemingly brought by 

the winds from the Columbia River lowlands and resting on comparatively unaltered basalt; whereas the soil of the higher slopes 

seems to be residual in origin and to be a product of decay of the 

immediately underlying rock.

The thickness of the transported soil on the Horse Heaven Plateau 

is shown in several places were wells have penetrated it, notably in 

sec. 29, T. 7. N., R. 30 E., where a well drilled by A. H. Richards 

passed through 117 feet of the materiel before reaching solid rock. 

In areas farther west the soil is much thinner, and in many fields near 

Bickleton it is only a foot or two dee). It also changes from the

light-brown loam to a dark-red heavier soil, having in many places a

hummocky, 

basalt.

hog wallow" surface, and lies on partly decomposed

Granitic bowlders scattered over a :>and of quartz pebbles that 

crosses the region from northeast to soi ithwest, near Bickleton, suggest either that at one time the Elleiisburg formation may have 

covered portions of the now uplifted region or that glacial action has 

extended this far east from the summit of the Cascades. The Ellensburg formation outcrops in a comparatively large area on the lower 

bluffs near Mabton, where it is the source of the light soil that in 

summer renders the road so dusty.

COLUMBIA BIVER PLAINS. 

GENERAL FEATURES

The wide expanse of country known 

lies north of Snake River, extending in 

but lying mainly east of that stream.

as the Columbia River Plains 

part west of Columbia River 

On the west low plains He but

i Russell, I. C., A reconnaissance in southeastern Washing! 

No. 4,1897, pp. 57-64.

Paper U. S. Geol. Surrey No. 118,1905, pp. 45-49.

Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central

on: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey 

Washington: Water-Supply
14 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTEAL WASHINGTON.

little above the level of the river, but on the east bluffs appear along 

the stream and the land rises to form a plateau. In the main the 

surface of both the higher and the lower plains is only gently undulating, though a few prominent hills and ridges rise above the general 

level and wide coulees mark the courses of flood-water channels. 

Perennial streams do not flow in these channels, but the larger ones 

in the northeastern part of the plains contain a number of lakes.

The greater portion of these plains is used only as a cattle range, 

but many homesteaders have come into the region since about 1905 

and have cleared the land for grain raising.

AREA EAST OF COLUMBIA RIVER.

East of Columbia River parts of the Columbia River Plains are 

rocky and untillable, but most of the portion lying within a few miles 

of the river is covered with the Ellensburg formation, which has 

decomposed to a soil that is fine grained, light, and easily tilled and 

that yields well when the rainfall is sufficient. Though no analysis 

of it is at hand it is known to be a limy soil, as calcareous nodules are 

scattered over its surface.

On the portion of the plateau covered with soil derived from the 

Ellensburg formation much work has been done in clearing and fencing 

the land and in raising grain. The season of 1907 was a favorable 

one in this section as well as in the Horse Heaven country, and the 

large crop of wheat and the good price received for it gave impetus 

to the settlement of these more arid plains.

AREA WEST OF COLUMBIA RIVER. 

GENERAL CHARACTER.

The eastern portion of the part of the plains region lying between 

Rattlesnake Ridge and Columbia River is a nearly level sagebrushcovered plain, much of which is susceptible of irrigation by water 

pumped less than 200 feet from the Columbia. Near the river a part 

of the land is covered with cobbles and river gravel and is too stony 

to be cultivable, though a great part of the river wash is overlain by 

a loose sandy soil. Farther west this soil is finer in texture and grades 

into the soil along the base of Rattlesnake Ridge and into that derived 

from the Ellensburg formation near the mouth of the canyon of Cold 

Creek.

RATTLESNAKE VALLEY.

A narrow east-west valley, lying west of Columbia River on the 

western edge of the plains region, is known as the Rattlesnake Valley. 

On the south it is limited by Rattlesnake Ridge and on the north 

gentler slopes rise to Selah Ridge. A low divide separates it from
PHYSIOGBAPHY

the Moxee Valley, but to the east it 

Columbia River. The west end of this 

a few settlers for a number of years, 

region, lack of water has kept it mainly 

ing 1907 the land in the eastern, wider 

known as Spring Valley, was filed on and

15

opens on the plains bordering 

valley has been occupied by 

but, as in most of the plains 

a wheat-raising section. Durpart of the valley, which is 

much of it was sown to grain.

COLD CREEK

During the two or three years prior tc 1907 many settlers took up 

claims along the lower course of Cold Croek, a few miles north of the 

Rattlesnake Valley, being apparently inc uced to do so chiefly by the 

fact that similar land in the Yakima and Sunnyside areas had become 

very valuable when brought under irrigation. In this area, which is 

covered mainly by fine-grained deposits of the Ellensburg formation,

there is much tillable but arid land, am

intended to rely on grain raising for several years at least.

PHYSIOGRAPHY. 

RELATION OF SURFACE FEATURES AND STRUCTURE.

the 

and

to

Two distinct types of surface features 

ington; in one the surface conforms to 

it is independent. The broad ridges 

valleys constitute the first type, Benea 

lie nearly horizontal, conforming closely 

that in the valleys the surface has been 

deposits of alluvium. On the ridges th 

determined by the attitude of the rock layers 

slopes conforming closely to the dip of t

The gorges that have been cut by the st 

of the ridges constitute the second ph 

striking example being the gorge cut 

Atanum Ridge at Union Gap. Farthe 

of the area (PL I), the Yakima crosses 

in a similar manner. Another great g

basaltic layers by Columbia River at 

smaller one near the mouth of Alder Crock 

of the Horse Heaven Plateau. The cutting 

satisfactorily explained on the assumpt 

streams were determined before the uplift 

were maintained as the ridges rose. This 

roborated by the fact that in a number 

lines cross the major topographic depr 

them, as would be expected.

the newcomers apparently

xist in south-central Washstructure and in the other 

the wide, flat plains and 

the plains the rock beds 

the present surface except 

made more nearly level by 

steepness of the slopes is 

composing them, many 

e underlying rocks, 

 earns directly across several 

ysiographic type, the most 

Yakima River through 

north, beyond the limits 

elah and Umptanum ridges 

>rge has been cut through 

ntinel Bluffs, and a much 

on the southern border 

of these gorges is most 

on that the courses of the 

of the ridges began, and 

assumption is further cor- 

)f places the main drainage 

essions, instead of following
16 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN SOUTH-CENTBAL WASHINGTON.

BELIEF.

The northeastern part of the area shown on the reconnaissance 

map (PI. I) lies within the wide, rolling, sagebrush-covered region 

known as the Great Plains of the Columbia. These plains extend 

northward and eastward to the Okanogan Highlands, a hilly region 

in the northeastern part of the State, and westward, as an area of 

gradually rising ridges and valleys, to the Cascade Range. This 

range extends from north to south through the State somewhat west 

of its center, rising in the main to elevations of 4,000 to 7,000 feet, 

though several volcanic peaks attain heights exceeding 10,000 feet. 

The two most prominent summits, Mounts Rainier and Adams, are 

visible from nearly all parts of the plains region. In the southern 

part of the country between Yakima and Columbia rivers lies the 

higher region known as the Horse Heaven Plateau. This plateau is 

bounded on the north by a prominent bluff from which the surface 

slopes gently southward to lower bluffs along Columbia River, on its 

southern border. On the west its altitude, like that of the lower 

plains, gradually increases to the timbered slopes of the Cascades. 

On the south, across Columbia River, the country also rises to a greater 

height than the plains and it continues as a rolling plateau dissected 

by deep canyons far southward to the base of the Blue Mountains.

In the western portion of the area two ridges extend from the slopes 

of the Cascades eastward into the plains. Atanum Ridge, the 

northern ridge, rises 1,000 or 1,500 feet above the valley land on each 

side. Its continuity .is interrupted by Union Gap, through which 

Yakima River passes southward, and about 5 miles to the east by a 

depression that leaves it only about 100 feet above the valley land 

on the north. Farther east, however, it rises to join a higher and 

broader ridge, over 3,000 feet high, known as Rattlesnake Ridge.

About 15 miles south of Atanum Ridge a similar long elevation, 

known as Toppenish Ridge, terminates before it reaches Yakima 

River, but it apparently reappears on the east side of the stream as a 

lower ridge known as Snipes Mountain."

DRAINAGE.

COLUMBIA KIVEK.

Columbia River, the master stream of the State, flows through the 

eastern and southern parts of the area. Although its grade in some 

parts of its course is only 8 inches to the mile, the great volume of 

water that it carries gives it a considerable current. At Coyote 

Rapids and at Priest Rapids outcropping basalt beds give it a much 

steeper grade and a swifter flow, though not enough to prevent river
DEAINAGE.

steamers from ascending Coyote Rapids 

of Priest Rapids. The annual change in 

to be about 17 feet at White Bluffs. Ga^e 

1906 showed a change in level of 13.8 feet 

being highest in the middle of June and 

January.1 Its principal tributaries are 

it from the east, and Yakima River, which 

few miles above the mouth of the Snake 

receives Walla Walla, Umatilla, and 

streams that drain portions of the country 

area considered in this paper.

17

and proceeding to the foot 

the level of the river is said 

readings at Pasco during 

at that station, the river 

lowest about the middle of 

Snake River, which joins 

enters it from the west, a 

Along its south side it 

s rivers, three smaller 

south and southeast of the

C treys

YAKIMA EIVEB

The most useful stream in this region for irrigation is Yakima River, 

which flows in a general southeasterly couree along the western border 

of the plains. Unlike many streams of arid regions, the Yakima is not 

subject to many serious floods, for its flow is to a large extent regulated by lakes near its source and by the

Cascade Mountains. Its flow varies between wide limits, however,

the maximum discharge at Union Gap

second-feet in June, 1903, and 14,700 second-feet in June, 1905; and 

the minimum 820 and 795 second-feet in August to September of 

the same two years, which were years 

stages. Highest water occurs usually during May and June and lowest during September. Much of the summer flow is utilized in irrigation, and during the irrigation season the normal discharge is 

greatly diminished below the intakes of the ditches.

The principal tributaries along the lower course of Yakima River 

are Toppenish Creek, which enters it from the Reservation Valley,

and Satus Creek, which flows from the

south of Toppenish Ridge. Toppenish Creek has its source in the 

wooded slopes west of Fort Simcoe and flows for most of its course in 

a gravelly channel through the flat valley eastward to the Yakima. 

Satus Creek also rises in the higher western area, but its several 

branches flow for the greater part of their courses in rocky gorges in 

the basaltic slope that rises southwestward toward the Cascades.

Nearly all the other streams shown on the

well-timbered slopes of the

having been about 26,250

gently rising rocky slopes

reconnaissance map (PL I)

are intermittent and even in winter carry little water. Several of 

these watercourses are in wide canyons known as coulees, which are

considered to be channels that were cut

size during an earlier period of greater stream flow.

by streams of considerable

i Stevens, J. C., Follansbee, Robert, and La Eue, E. C., 

drainage for 1906: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No.

71588° WSP 316 13 2

Surface water supply of the north Pacific coast 

214,1908, p. 19.
18 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOTJTH-CENTBAL WASHINGTON.

GEOLOGY.

STRATIGRAPHY.

The stratigraphy of the region is simple, the entire area being 

underlain by the Yakima basalt, more than 2,500 feet thick, overlying which in places is the Ellensburg formation. Except for surficial alluvium, wind-borne soil, etc., all the deposits of the region 

belong to one or the other of these two formations.

YAKIMA BASALT.

All the country traversed during the field work for this report is 

underlain by basalt that forms a part of the vast series of effusive 

materials known as the Columbia River basalt. These lavas cover a 

great part of southern Washington, eastern Oregon, and adjacent 

parts of Idaho, Nevada, and California. Basalt that belongs to this 

series underlies nearly all of the southern part of Washington and 

constitutes the surface material over much of it. In the area covered 

by the present report it is known as the Yakima basalt, this name 

having been adopted l in preference to the more general name 

Columbia River basalt,2 which includes rhyolites, andesites, and 

basalts of earlier and also of later periods of effusion than the main 

flows to which the Yakima basalt belongs. The latter has been 

determined to be of early and middle Miocene age by fossils that 

have been found in sedimentary beds interbedded with the lavas and 

exposed along the canyons of Columbia and Snake rivers and in a few 

other localities. Of the character of this rock, Smith 3 says:

As seen in Yakima County, the basalt is a black rock, compact and heavy. On the 

weathered surface it is often of a brownish color, but wherever exposed it is dark, and 

the appearance of the ridges is dull and somber, unrelieved by even the desert vegetation. In a few places, where the residual soil can be found unmixed with alluvial 

or other foreign'matter, it is of a bright-red color.

The most noticeable feature of the black rock is the columnar parting by which 

the black sheets of lava are broken up into long colonnades. In some localities these 

columns are prismatic, with sharp edges and even sides, the prisms being often so 

regular as to suggest the work of human hands. This parting is the result of contraction or shrinkage of the solidified lava as the rock mass gradually cooled. The presence 

of these joint cracks is important, because they afford passages for water in a rock 

relatively impervious. It therefore is interesting to note the presence or absence of 

the jointing of the basalt where it is exposed, and such observations have their bearing 

upon the discussion of the course of the underground waters.

The basalt of certain flows has extremely rough and scoriaceous surfaces due to 

small cellular cavities which were formed by the steam in the molten rock and which 

greatly alter its appearance. These varieties, which tell so graphically the story of the 

lava eruptions, are less common than the compact basalt. Fine and coarse tuffs, 

or so-called ash beds, are found at a few horizons in the basalt series, but such beds 

are insignificant when compared with the thicker and more common lava sheets.

i Smith, George Otis, Ellensburg folio (No. 86), Geol. Atlas U. S., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 3.

* Smith, George Otis, Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash.: Water-Supply 

Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 55,1901, p. 15.

* Idem, p. 16.
WATER-SI

30 19

03o' 19

MAP OF SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON

SHOWING LOCATIONS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS AND APPROXIMATE EXTENT OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 316 PLATE I

Base from reconnaissance map, Northern 

Transcontinental Survey, by R.W.Gordon 

Detail maps by U. S. Geological Survey 

and U. S. Reclamation Service

MAr OF SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON

SHOWING LOCATIONS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS AND APPROXIMATE EXTENT OF GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGY. 19 

ELLENSBTJRG FORMATION.

Over a considerable part of the area sedimentary beds of Miocene 

age were deposited directly upon the basalt in formerly existing lakes. 

These beds consist of soft shales, sandstones, and conglomerates, 

together with unconsolidated sand and gravel. The material formerly covered a greater area than it now does, but it has been washed 

away from much of the higher lands so that on many slopes only thin 

patches or scattered pebbles remain. On the lower lands this formation is mostly hidden by stream wash, beneath which it is exposed in 

a few places along streams and irrigation canals. One of its most 

extensive exposures is in White Bluffs, along the east side of Columbia 

River, where nearly 600 feet of sediments is to be seen. At the north 

end of these bluffs Calkins 1 measured a section 225 feet in thickness, 

consisting of alternating sandstones, sands, and clays. Another 

extensive exposure of this material along Naches River, measured by 

Calkins, 3 shows a thickness of 1,569.5 feet. The deposits are of 

coarser texture than those at White Bluffs, layers of conglomerate 

being common and a greater amount of tuffaceous material being 

present. This difference is doubtless due to the fact that the Naches 

River locality is much nearer to the original source of the material 

than the White Bluffs locality.

In many localities outside of the main areas now covered by these 

bedded materials remnants of them persist, and in some places within 

those areas the sediments are very thin or are in large part obscured 

by alluvium. Near Kiona River gravel and wind-blown sand conceal 

the Ellenstmrg sediments, if any are present. Farther east, in the 

vicinity of Kennewick and Pasco, the margin of the formation is 

obscured by the gravel wash of Columbia River. The extent of 

territory now covered by the Ellensburg formation is therefore 

indefinite and can be shown only approximately on the map (PI. I).

The only definite exposure of the Ellensburg seen in the southeastern part of the region is about 2 miles east of Prosser, where a 

quarry has been opened in a thick-bedded gray pumiceous sandstone. 

The record of a well at Pasco, given by Russell,3 shows 72 feet of 

sand, 200 feet of Ellensburg formation, and 330 feet of lava to the 

bottom of the well.

The following section of the rocks exposed in sec. 1, T. 9 N., R. 

19 E., was measured by Max A. Pishel, who gathered some additional data on the stratigraphy and structure of the rocks in the

i Calkins, F. C., Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington: Water-Supply 

Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 118,1905, pp. 35-36.

* Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 55,1901, pp. 17-21; Ellensburg folio (No. 86), Geol. Atlas 

U. S., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.

3 Russell, I. C., A geological reconnaissance in central Washington: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 108, 

1893, p. 39.
20 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTKAL WASHINGTON.

Yakima Indian Reservation in 1912 and made some observations 

that are incorporated in this report:

Section of rocks exposed in sec, 1, T. 9 N., R. 19 E.

Conglomerate; the upper half consists of an equal amount of 

coarse sand and gravel, the pebbles of which are largely andesites, porphyries, and quartzites; the lower half is largely con- Feet, 

glomerate.................................................... 86

Volcanic ash, in appearance resembling chalk................... 5

Shale......................................................... 45±

Basalt......................................................... 10-15

Shale, sandy near top, with fossil bones; lower part has the appearance of fuller's earth......................................... 200

Basalt......................................................... 2,000+

In a general way this columnar section resembles the one measured 

in the Naches Valley by F. C. Calkins/ but it exhibits marked differences in detail. On the whole, that part of the formation below 

the basalt sheet and the conglomerate above it appear to increase in 

thickness toward the south.

The beds of volcanic ash and shale, 200 feet thick, just above the 

heavy body of basalt compose the lower member of the Ellensburg 

formation. This member was measured by Mr. Pishel in sec. 26, 

T. 8 N., R. 20 E., where he found it to be about 175 feet thick, 

although the contact above and below was somewhat obscured. 

Good exposures were found in sec. 22, T. 12 N., R. 18 E., and along 

the Toppenish Ridge from sec. 1, T. 9 N.", R. 19 E., eastward, where 

it almost completely overlaps the ridge and forms its highest points. 

Thick beds were traced westward from the last-named locality for 

about 10 miles along the north flank of the ridge, where they outcrop 

about 700 feet above the valley floor. To the south they can be 

traced across the Satus Valley to the north flank of Horse Heaven 

Ridge. The road running from the mouth of Logy Creek south to 

Bickleton forms practically the western boundary of this lower 

member of the EUensburg formation. The sheet of basalt at the 

top of this member, the outcrops of which have just been discussed, 

can not be traced into nor connected with the Wenas basalt described 

in the Ellensburg folio. Nevertheless the conviction remains strong 

that it is one and the same sheet and is as persistent in its continuity 

as the shale and volcanic-ash member underneath. In fact, it is this 

layer which protects these softer sediments from erosion, and wherever one is found the other as a rule is also present. The conglomerate bed above this basalt is fairly persistent, but was measured 

only in sec. 1, T. 9 N., R. 19 E., where it attains a thickness of 86 

feet, inclusive of the irregularly bedded layers of sand and seams of 

tuff. Good exposures, 20 feet or more in thickness, were noted in

i Op. cit, pp. 35-36.
WATER IN FORMATION'S. 21

sec. 30, T. 12 N., R. 18 E.; sec. 6, T. 9 N., R. 21 E.; and sec. 18, T. 8 

N., R. 22 E. At these outcrops the bed had not the appearance of a 

local deposit but rather that of an extended bed. Scattered pebbles 

of the conglomerate were found in a number of places over the east 

half of the Yakima Indian Reservation. It is Mr. Pishel's opinion 

that the red quartzite pebbles, so numerous in the neighborhood of 

Bickleton and 4 miles to the east and west of that place, are remnants 

of this conglomerate bed, and that this member originally extended 

over the ridge a few miles to the north. The exposures in this particular field do not reveal the type of rock that lies immediately above 

the conglomerate, as the outcrops of that part of the Ellensburg 

formation are rare in the Reservation Valley, but according to the 

log of a well sunk very near the middle of the valley the beds above 

this conglomerate consist largely of shale and sandstone. There is 

very little doubt, therefore, that the rocks discussed above underlie 

that part of the Reservation Valley extending from White Swan eastward and also the western part of Sunnyside Valley.

SUEFICIAL DEPOSITS.

Besides the wide areas of alluvial valley land belts of gravelly land 

and of fine-grained alluvial deposits lie along the streams. Yakima 

River for much of its course between Union Gap and Prosser and also 

near its mouth flows in a wide gravelly channel that in summer is 

mainly a cobble-covered waste. Along Columbia River similar wide 

gravelly lowlands are overflowed during high water but are dry and 

barren for much of the year. On the west side of the Columbia, 

above the town of White Bluffs, this gravelly flat has a width of a mile 

or more. Terraces of similar coarse gravel lie farther southwest 

toward the Gable Hills.

A few bowlders of granitic rock are scattered over the valley 

alluvium and also over some parts of the higher lands. These bowlders 

appear to be erratics brought down during the glacial epoch from the 

mountains that lie to the northwest.

WATER IN FORMATIONS.

The basalt of this region will not yield much water except where 

it is jointed or porous. Its principal alkali constituents, such as 

sodium, potassium, and magnesium, are so combined with silicates 

as to make them almost insoluble. Therefore water encountered 

in this rock, unless it has percolated through strata from which it 

derived soluble minerals before it entered the basalt, will probably 

be comparatively free from alkali. In general, it can be said that 

neither basalt nor any other igneous rock is a good water carrier.
22 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

Shale and similar sediments found at several horizons in the 

Ellensburg formation consist of more or less consolidated mud. 

Such shale is very impervious and does not permit the ready passage 

of water. Sand, on the other hand, will absorb water readily and 

permit its free percolation and is therefore an excellent water carrier. When a flowing well with heavy pressure ends in fine loose 

sand, however, much of it will be carried through the pipe and is 

likely to cut oat the well casing in a comparatively short time. 

The shale and sandstone in the Ellensburg formation consist largely 

of volcanic material which is easily disintegrated and attacked by 

solutions, so that water seeping through a sandy shale or fine sandy 

volcanic ash will leach out the soluble potassium, sodium, and magnesium compounds and thus become alkaline. For that reason the 

water obtained from wells, especially shallow dug wells, in the Ellensburg formation is more or less alkaline.

Conglomerate or gravel will transmit water freely and consists 

largely of almost insoluble material which will not contribute much 

mineral matter to the water.

GEOLOGIC STBTTCTTTBE. 

DEFORMATION.

The sheets of lava that cover southern Washington and thousands 

of square miles to the east and south originally flowed out as nearly 

horizontal layers. Upon them were deposited the sediments of the 

Ellensburg formation also in nearly horizontal layers. Since the 

deposition of the sediments geologic forces have deformed the whole 

series of rocks, so that they now constitute mountain ridges separated by wide, flat valleys. In southern Washington these ridges for 

the most part extend eastward from the higher slopes of the Cascade 

Range.

There are two such long ridges in the area examined Atanum 

Ridge and its eastern continuation Rattlesnake Ridge and Toppenish 

Ridge and its prolongation Snipes Mountain. Southeast of Toppenish Ridge a third and wider uplifted mass forms the Horse 

Heaven Plateau.

Russell made several trips through southern Oregon, where the 

rocks are also of effusive origin, belonging to the Columbia River 

basalt. In that region they have been broken and tilted to form great 

blocklike ridges with a steep slope on one side and a gentle slope on 

the other, having what is known as basin-range structure. In his 

reconnaissance through central Washington, Russell 1 considered that 

the ridges of that area also had been produced in large part by the 

faulting and tilting of great blocks. Detailed study in the Ellensburg

i Russell, I. C., A reconnaissance in central Washington: Bull. TJ. S. Geol. Survey No. 108,1893, pp. 28, 

38,40, 43.
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 23

quadrangle, 1 however, has led to the belief that sharp folding into 

unsymmetrical anticlines, rather than faulting, has produced the 

form of structure common in southern Washington.

ATANUM AND RATTLESNAKE RIDGES.

The structure of Atanum Ridge has been described by Smith,2 who 

speaks of it as a broad arch with a gentle southern slope and a steep 

northern front. On its north side the dip is nearly vertical, and near 

Yakima River the beds are overturned for short distances. About 5 

miles east of the river the ridge pitches downward to an elevation only 

about 100 feet above the floor of the Moxee Valley; but farther east 

it rises again and forms Rattlesnake Ridge. This mountain was considered by Russell to be an uplifted block, faulted along its north side. 

It seems, however, like the other ridges of this region, to be more 

probably an unsymmetrical anticline that has a much steeper dip on 

its north side than on its south side. Its east end swings farther to 

the southeast, descends to the level of the plains, and affords a low 

place for the passage of Yakima River a few miles above its mouth; 

but on the other side of the river the structural feature continues 

southeastward in low hills that parallel the lower course of the Yakima 

at the distance of a few miles. North of Rattlesnake Ridge four low 

isolated ridges, known as the Gable Hills, rise from the level plain. 

The basalt layers that compose these ridges dip northward at an angle 

of about 10°. These ridges appear to be the eastern extension of 

those which form the bluffs near Priest Rapids and to be remnants of 

a minor fold between Rattlesnake Ridge and Saddle Mountain, which 

lies north of Columbia River.

TOPPENISH RIDGE AND SNIPES MOUNTAIN.

Toppenish Ridge, called Satas Ridge by Russell,3 seems also to be 

an unsymmetrical anticline or, as he terms it, a monoclinal fold. On 

its north side the steep attitude of the rocks has aided in causing great 

landslides. Two of these, named by Russell the Simcoe and Toppenish slides, are conspicuous. At the base of the former, which is about 

25 miles west of Alfalfa, the debris has been piled up on the plain 

below and forms typical hummocky landslide topography, in which 

there are three small lakes. The Toppenish slide, which is near the 

east end of Toppenish Ridge and is plainly visible from the railroad, 

has left a great scar on the hillside, but the material has not been 

piled up at the foot of the slope so conspicuously as at the larger slide.

Snipes Mountain lies on the east side of Yakima River, in line with 

Toppenish Ridge, and is very probably a continuation of that struc-

> Smith, George Otis, Ellensburg folio (No. 86), Geol. Atlas U. S., U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.

«Idem, p. 5.

'Russell, I. C., A reconnaissance in central Washington: Bull. U. S. Geol, Survey No. 108,1893, p. 45.
£4 GEOLOGY AND WATE& IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

tural feature. It is almost entirely covered with gravel of the Ellensburg formation, which in a quarry near its southeast side dips about 

10° S. In places along its crest basalt bowlders indicate the composition of the core of the mountain, and near its west end a slight 

depression exposes the basaltic core.

HOUSE HEAVEN PLATEAU.

The Horse Heaven Plateau, which lies south of Yakima River, 

between the Columbia and the Yakima, and extends westward to 

the Cascade Mountains, has the characteristics of a great unsymmetrical anticline, with gentle south and steep northern slope. Along 

its northern border its edge is in some places slightly upturned, like 

the edge of a saucer, and in its northwestern part the bluffs on its 

north face are so steep as to suggest faulting. However, although no 

reliable northward dips were seen, owing largely perhaps to the covering of soil and talus, the structure as a whole appears to be due to 

sharp folding rather than to faulting. Still, in hard, much-fractured 

rock like the basalt of this region, it is often difficult to distinguish 

between these two types of deformation, and it may be that actual 

breaking and slipping has taken place along the steeper portions of 

the scarp in the vicinity of Prosser. The structure as interpreted is 

shown in the geologic cross section through this plateau and the plains 

to the north. (See PL I.)

Within the Horse Heaven Plateau there are several minor folds, 

of which perhaps the most important is the shallow syncline that 

probably determined the course of Glade Creek, a wide coulee-like 

drainage channel that is dry during the summer throughout most of 

its length. Cove Creek, in the southwestern part of the plateau, is a 

similar wide drainage channel that also probably occupies a shallow 

structural trough. Other dry channels join these two major drainage lines, but most of them seem to be of erosional and not of structural origin and to be the work of streams during an earlier period 

of greater precipitation and run-off.

Along the right bank of Columbia River, for several miles west of 

Carley, on the south edge of the plateau, an anticlinal ridge has been 

uplifted, across which Alder Creek has cut a gorge to the river. A 

few other minor irregularities mark the surface of the Horse Heaven 

region, but in the main it is a plateau surface that forms the southern 

slope of a great unsymmetrical anticline.

COLUMBIA RIVER PLAINS.

West of Columbia River, between the mouth of Yakima River and 

Priest Rapids, the basalt layers are in general deeply buried beneath 

the EUensburg formation, so that the surface presents few features
SUNNYSIBE VALLEY. 25

of relief. The only notable feature of structural origin is the line of 

ridges west of White Bluffs known as the Gable Hills, which are 

probably remnants of a minor fold between the anticlinal Rattlesnake Ridge and Saddle Mountain. East of the Columbia the surface rises to a plateau 600 or 800 feet higher than the plains west of 

the river, but the attitude of the basalts, where they lie beneath the 

EUensburg sediments, indicates only slight folding.

GEOLOGIC HISTORY.

During the Tertiary period great outpourings of lava spread over 

many thousands of square miles in eastern Oregon and Washington 

and adjacent areas in Idaho and California. These lava flows 

changed the pre-existing surface, which was probably one of much 

irregularity, into a great undulating plain. Upon this plain, in 

undrained depressions, lakes came into existence into which thick 

deposits of sand and mud, together with volcanic dust and fragmental material, were washed by streams or blown by wind from 

the surrounding area and were laid down directly upon the lava 

surface. A period of deformation followed, during which the rocks 

were more or less folded along lines running in general from east to 

west by forces that were subsidiary to those which uplifted the 

Cascade Range. Later the early lakes were drained and the present 

major features of relief were given to the country. Still later, 

during the glacial epoch, ice lobes or perhaps drift ice floating in the 

glacial lakes strewed the region with bowlders of foreign material 

brought down from the lands to the northwest. That the glacial 

lakes were not of great extent nor of long duration seems to be shown 

by the fact that little lacustrine material of later date was deposited 

upon the earlier lake beds, the glacial bowlders lying directly upon 

the earlier deposits. Since glacial time, however, the streams have 

brought down alluvium from the higher lands and have covered 

much of the earlier sediment in the valleys.

WATER RESOURCES.

STTNNYSIDE VALLEY. 

IRRIGATION.

Sunnyside canal. The Sunnyside canal, by which the Sunnyside 

Valley is irrigated, is the largest in the State, having a capacity of 

over 600 second-feet. Under it lie about 64,000 acres of land, about 

40,000 of which were irrigated in 1907. The intake of the canal is on 

the east bank of Yakima River, just below Union Gap. In 1907 

the total length of the main trunk canal was about 63 miles and of 

the Snipes Mountain, Rocky Ford, and other main laterals 210 miles.
26 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOTJTH-CENTKAL WASHINGTON.

The construction of the canal was undertaken in the early nineties 

by the Northern Pacific, Yakima & Kittitas Irrigation Co. Owing 

to financial difficulties the canal was purchased by the Washington 

Irrigation Co., which operated it until it was taken over by the 

Reclamation Service in 1906. The Government land under the 

canal is subject to entry under the terms of the homestead act, 

modified by the reclamation law. Some lands under the canal were 

in 1907 still controlled by the Washington Irrigation Co. Of the 

cost of this deeded land S. O. Jayne,1 of the Department of Agriculture, says:

The Washington Irrigation Co. formerly owned the odd sections of land under the 

canal. The land has been sold with water rights for from $35 to $90 per acre. For 

a number of years, however, the price of most of the land has been $60, while only 

that near Prosser was held at $90.

Water rights for several years past have sold for $30 per acre, and considerable 

water has been rented for nonwater-right land at $2.50 per acre per year. There has 

been a uniform maintenance fee of $1 per acre on nearly all water-right lands, but a 

few sales were made in the early days of the company with a 50-cent maintenance fee.

Regarding the distribution of water 2 the same author states:

One hundred and fifty to two hundred diversions are made from the canal. These 

diversions range in amount from 1 cubic foot per second or less up to 15 or 20 cubic 

feet per second and supply laterals from a quarter of a mile to 10 or 12 miles long. 

These laterals in general follow crests or ridges or elevations, roughly at right angles 

to the main canal. The farms average about 20 acres, and in most instances each 

farm receives from the laterals an individual delivery of water, for the measurement 

of which in most cases weir boxes with adjustable gates have been supplied at the 

company's expense. Many of the laterals in this way supply water to from fi\*e to 

thirty different farms. The Snipes Mountain lateral, over 12 miles in length, with a 

number of large sublaterals, constitutes a system larger than that of many independent 

canals of the valley.

Reclamation project. In the irrigation of the cultivable land in 

this part of southern Washington the Sunnyside district is a unit in 

the general plan of the United States Reclamation Service known 

as the Yakima project. Ample water supply is assured by storage 

reservoirs on the headwaters of Yakima River and its tributaries, 

and the Sunnyside canal and its laterals are being improved and 

extended so as to supply a total area of about 100,000 acres in 

this subproject. The irrigation of some 10,000 acres of land that 

lies on the south side of Yakima River, in the neighborhood of Mabton 

and Prosser, involves the use of an inverted siphon across this stream.

A higher canal has been considered, which would be able to supply 

much land that lies along the base of Rattlesnake Ridge above the 

level of the present canal. Later plans, however, have contemplated the establishment of pumping stations that will lift water 

from the main canal to these higher lands.

1 Jayne, S. O., Irrigation in the Yakima Valley, Wash.: Bull. Office Exper. Sta. No. 188, U. S. Dept. 

Agr., 1907, p. 32.

2 Idem, p. 45.
SUNNYSIDE VALLEY. 27

UNDEBGBOUND WATEB.

Shallow wells. Water for domestic use is obtained throughout the 

Sunnyside district from wells sunk in the Ellensburg formation to a 

depth usually of only 50 to 60 feet. Water is found at shallower 

depths, but as it is alkaline the upper water-bearing strata are cased 

off in the better wells and the deeper water of better quality is tapped. 

As irrigating water is supplied by the canal, these wells are drawn 

on only for domestic use.

The remarkable rise in the ground-water level caused by irrigation 

is shown by the following table showing the level in wells near 

Sunnyside:

Water level in wells near Sunnyside, Wash.a

Well.

No. 1.......................................................................

No. 2.......................................................................

No. 3. .......................................................................

No. 4.......................................................................

No. 5.......................................................................

No. 6.......................................................................

No. 7.......................................................................

No. 8.......................................................................

No. 9.......................................................................

Date 

of digging1890

1900

1899

1892

1894

1893

1900

1899

1898

Depth to 

water 

when 

dug.

Feet. 

80

90

42

54

50

53

15

40

53

Depth to 

water in 

1902.

Feet. 

5.0

20.0

0.0

4.0

3.5

0.0

1.0

6.0

15.0

« Jayne, S. O., op. cit., p. 86.

It is said that between 1900 and 1908 the water plane rose in general about 25 feet throughout the Sunnyside Valley.

Artesian conditions. The possibility of obtaining flowing wells in 

Sunnyside Valley in lands above the Sunnyside canal has been much 

discussed locally, and a few attempts have been made to raise funds 

to sink a test well. In its general features the Sunnyside region 

resembles the Moxee Valley, which lies about 25 miles northwest of 

Sunnyside, beyond Rattlesnake Ridge. In the Moxee Valley a 

number of flowing wells have been obtained in the sedimentary beds 

of the EUensburg formation, and have proved of great value for irrigating high lands, and it is argued that flows should also be obtainable 

in the Sunnyside Valley.

There are, however, a number of important differences between the 

Moxee and Sunnyside valleys. The Moxee basin has been shown by 

Smith * to have the trough shape essential, to artesian structure,2 and 

along its sides the beds of the EUensburg formation seem to have

1 Smith, George Otis, Geology and water resources of a portion of YaMma County, Wash.: Water-Supply 

Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 55,1901, pp. 40-42.

2 Many years ago the term "artesian" was applied only to water under sufficient pressure to yield 

flowing wells when properly tapped; but of late the word has come to be applied to wells in which flie 

water rises appreciably, whether it flows or not, the term "flowing" being used to designate those wells in 

which water rises to the surface and overflows.
28 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

been so compressed by the uplift of the bordering ridges as to have 

become nearly impervious to leakage, and hence to prevent the drainage of the underground basin where the edges of the beds are cut by 

Yakima River. The Ellensburg formation is 1,000 feet or more 

thick in the locality in which the successful wells have been obtained, 

but to the east it thins out rapidly. The flowing wells have been 

obtained wnere the surface is at an elevation of less than 1,200 feet, 

and deep borings on the higher slopes of the Moxee basin have not 

been successful in obtaining artesian flows. The Sunnyside Valley, 

on the other hand, although a structural basin, is comparatively 

shallow, and the lower part of the Ellensburg formation, containing 

the best water-carrying strata, is probably not buried deeply enough 

to confine the water effectually over the largest part of this valley. 

Structurally, the portions of the Yakima Valley between Rattlesnake 

Ridge and the northern border of Horse Heaven Plateau form a great 

unsymmetrical syncline with a cross fold Snipes Mountain a continuation of the Toppenish Ridge anticline, crossing it from east to 

west just south of Sunnyside. The Toppenish Ridge anticline pitches 

eastward until it reaches Yakima River, then rises again .in the 

neighborhood of Snipes Mountain. Eastward from that locality it 

flattens and is lost in the broad bottom of this great unsymmetrical 

syncline. The rise of this subordinate anticlinal axis in the neighborhood of Snipes Mountain probably means a corresponding rise of the 

synclinal fold to the north of it. If this is true, a structural basin 

forming favorable artesian conditions exists from Granger westward. 

Thus it may be that small flows of artesian water will be obtained in 

the neighborhood of Outlook. Farther west these conditions apparently become more favorable, so that the part of the Sunnyside 

Valley in which wells that may possibly flow can be obtained is 

roughly bounded by straight lines joining the towns of Granger, 

Zillah, and Outlook. Flowing wells would be of value as a source of 

pure domestic water in this locality, and as the cost of a test well 

would be comparatively small, the attempt to obtain better drinking 

water by such means is thought to be well worth trying.

The Ellensburg formation in the area lying north of the Sunnyside 

canal is very shallow and dips gently southward, so that it is highly 

improbable that flowing wells will ever be obtained here. As the 

water-bearing strata are comparatively thin from Outlook eastward 

and the rock basin is probably not closed in that direction, it is not 

to be expected that artesian flows can be obtained there.

South of Snipes Mountain lies the southernmost of the two troughs 

into which that mountain and Toppenish Ridge divide the main 

syncline which extends from Rattlesnake Mountain to the Horse 

Heaven rim. The axis of this fold extends southeastward from the 

vicinity of Satus, practically paralleling Yakima River. It is not
BESEBVATION" VALLEY. 29

closed toward the east, but the bottom of the basin rises until above 

Prosser the basalt emerges from beneath the Ellensburg sediments. 

Although these conditions are not favorable to the confinement of the 

deep waters under the pressure necessary to maintain artesian flows, 

the basin is worth prospecting, as in some parts of the United States 

local conditions are such that flowing wells are obtained even in open 

synclinal basins of this character, and it is possible that similar conditions exist here. The possibility of obtaining artesian water is 

greatest along the bottom of the basin and decreases toward the sides. 

It is therefore more probable that flowing wells will be struck in a 

strip of land a mile wide just north of Satus and running southeastward along the north side of Yakima River than elsewhere in this 

basin.

Thus far flowing water has been found in south-central Washington 

only in the sands and gravels of the Ellensburg formation; but the 

question has been raised whether flowing wells might not be obtained 

from the basaltic rock that underlies these unconsolidated deposits. 

Few tuffaceous layers that might act as water-bearing beds seem to 

be interbedded with the basalts, and though it is probably true that 

water exists in the more porous "honeycombed" portions of the 

basalt, these more porous beds are believed to be irregular and of 

uncertain occurrence. Even if water-bearing beds were known to be 

associated with the basalts that underlie the Sunnyside basin, it is 

doubtful if flowing wells could be obtained from them, for the syncline 

is open toward the east, and so probably permits the escape of the 

deep-seated water in this direction.

Several springs break forth along the slopes of Rattlesnake Ridge 

and these have led to a popular belief that an abundant supply of 

water underlies the upper lands. Some of these springs are of surface 

origin and rise in ravines where seepage water from the surface soil 

collects. Others are probably supplied by water that collects in 

local structural folds or in remnants of the Ellensburg formation and 

breaks out farther down the slopes, wherever escape is possible. A 

spring that was opened by Mr. Nicolai in November, 1907, near the 

summit of the ridge, about 10 miles north of Sunnyside, is believed to 

be of such character. This spring was said to have discharged threefourths of a second-foot of water at a temperature of 66° F. during 

the first few weeks after «it was opened.

RESERVATION VALLEY.

IRRIGATION.

Toppenish Creek furnished water for some irrigation along its lower 

course, and three Government canals, constructed by the Indian 

Office, divert water from Yakima River below Union Gap and irrigated about 40,000 acres on the Yakima Indian Reservation in 1911.
30 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

The adequate irrigation of the Reservation Valley, like that of the 

Sunnyside region, is provided for by a unit in the reclamation project 

that covers this part of southern Washington, the unit watering the 

Reservation Valley being known as the Wapato subproject.

UNDERGROUND WATER.

Good water can be obtained at shallow depths throughout Reservation Valley, though as the present settlement lies almost wholly along 

Toppenish Creek, the domestic supply is obtained directly from this 

stream. At the only well (No. 18) noted in the valley the water 

stood 16 feet below the surface in November, 1907.

ARTESIAN WATER.

Water derived from the collecting grounds in the mountains to the 

west saturates to a large extent the deposits of the EJlensburg formation in the Reservation Valley. This fact is recognized clearly by the 

ranchers in the western part of the basin, who have attempted to 

irrigate the area lying along the outcrop of the gravels of the lower 

part of the Ellensburg formation with water taken out of Toppenish 

Creek. Here they find it almost impossible to keep water on the 

land, as it drains away as fast as it is applied.

The Reservation Valley occupies an unsymmetrical synclinal basin 

whose steep side lies along the Toppenish Ridge. The axis or deepest 

part of the trough extends from Granger westward and runs about 

1J miles north of and almost parallel with the south edge of the valley. 

About 15 miles west of Granger it gradually swings northwestward 

and passes White Swan about a mile to the north. Dips and strikes 

of the Ellensburg strata observed along the south side of the basin 

that is, along the north flank of Toppenish Ridge vary from 40° to 

90°, whereas the steepest dip noted along the south side of Atanum 

Ridge is 35°. The dips decrease toward the center of the basin and 

the bottom of the syncline is comparatively flat but has a slight 

inclination toward the south, so that the water-bearing gravels in 

the lowest part of the Ellensburg formation are possibly a thousand 

feet or more below the surface along the south branch of Toppenish 

Creek in the lower 19 miles of its course.

The area that is most favorable for flowing wells is bounded about 

as follows: From Granger northwestward almost parallel to Yakima 

River to the township line 2 miles north of Wapato, thence westward 

about 5 miles, thence gradually swinging southwestward to a point 

about 2 miles north of White Swan, thence curving south and southeast toward the center of T. 10 N., R. 17 E., thence east along the 

south branch of Toppenish Creek past Alfalfa to Yakima River. 

The limits in the western part of the basin are more uncertain.
KESEBVATIOlSr VALLEY. 31

In drilling within the area thus described it would be well to drill 

down to the Yakima basalt. The only way to be sure of reaching the 

basalt is to continue drilling until 50 feet or more of the igneous 

rock has been penetrated. This operation may not necessarily be 

without compensation, as it is possible to obtain flowing water even 

in basalt. So far as the writer knows, none of the wells heretofore 

drilled in this area have reached the gravels at the base of the Ellensburg formation, and it would be well for those who obtain only a 

small flow in the upper part of the Ellensburg to drill deeper, at least 

far enough to penetrate these coarse basal beds.

The region lying outside of the area above outlined must probably 

obtain its water supply from nonflowing wells or from irrigation 

ditches. Water can be reached in shallow wells at less depth along 

the stream courses than at a distance from them. As the shale of the 

Ellensburg formation lies very near the surface along the south side 

of Atanum Ridge north of the basin described, and as recent stream 

gravels are entirely absent, it is necessary for those who are attempting to develop local supplies in that area to sink wells deep enough to 

reach the water-carrying stratum of the Ellensburg formation. Some 

who have tried in vain to get water along this belt and have abandoned 

the attempt might well resume work with the expectation of striking 

such a stratum. At any rate, there is a probability of finding water 

in the gravel immediately above the Yakima basalt.

It may be argued that as Yakima River crosses the rim of the 

basin just west of Snipes Mountain at points approximating 670 

feet above sea level, the artesian basin should be drained at about 

this level, and that therefore no flowing wells will be possible in the 

Reservation Valley. However, as the rocks along the side of the 

fold are very highly inclined, it is not impossible that here, as in 

the Atanum-Moxee basin, they are so compressed as to be relatively 

impervious along the south rim of the basin and thus prevent leakage. 

Another element that may favorably affect the chances of procuring 

artesian flows in the Reservation Valley is the probability that the 

porous beds of the Ellensburg formation become finer and less 

pervious toward the east away from their source in the mountains, 

so that water which enters freely along upper Toppenish Creek can 

escape eastward only with difficulty. Under these conditions of 

decreasing porosity of the aquifers and resulting increasing frictional 

resistance to percolation, pressures sufficient to give rise to artesian 

flows will exist, even though the artesian basin is not closed.

According to a report made by J. W. Martin, superintendent of 

irrigation at the Yakima Indian Reservation, two 4-inch wells sunk 

during the winter of 1911-12, in sees. 9 and 16, T. 11 N., R. 18 E., to a 

depth of about 200 feet struck a water stratum which produced small 

flows under very slight pressure, and an 8-inch well sunk in June,
32 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON".

1912, in sec. 34 of the same township, to a depth of 512 feet, struck 

a strong flow. The water from the well in sec. 34 is reported to 

have a slight taste of sulphur and to have a temperature of 68° F. 

The log of this well is as follows:

Log of flowing well in sec. 34, T. 11 N.,R. 18 E.

Feet.

Top soil........................................................ 3

Coarse gravel..................................................... 123

Bowlders........................................................ 6

Clay............................................................. 4

Sandstone...................................................... 15

Bowlders and clay................................................ 14

Sandstone...................................................... 90

Sand........................................................... 4

Clay............................................................. 50

Clay and sand.................................................... 43

Sand........................................................... 5

Loose shale (soft)................................................. 50

Yellow clay..................................................... 15

Blue shale....................................................... 40

Hard sandstone................................................. 6

Gravel........................................................... 9

Shale........................................................... 15

Sand; first small flow............................................ 5

Sand rock....................................................... 6

Sand; second flow, heavier than first.............................. 4

Sand rock; gusher................................... 1............ 5

512 

HORSE HEAVEN PLATEAU.

IRRIGATION.

Some years ago preliminary surveys were made for a canal that 

would take water from the upper part of Klickitat River and bring 

it to the Horse Heaven Plateau. In 1910 the construction of this 

canal was again being considered, but its excessive cost, owing to the 

distance which water would have to be brought and to the difficult 

character of the country to be traversed, and the lack of knowledge 

concerning the available water supply combine to render it improbable that it will be built. Many settlers who have anticipated the 

advent of irrigation by filing on land under the proposed canal hope to 

make a living by grain farming until water is brought in and orchards 

can be planted. If water can be obtained and applied to the Horse 

Heaven lands, the climate and soil will make this an excellent 

fruit-growing region.

DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY.

General sources. In the country near Bickleton water is obtained 

from dug wells, most of which are less than 50 feet in depth, and from 

deeper drilled wells. Along the ravines and canyons a few springs
HOESE HEAVEN PLATEAU. 33

issue and in the coulees water is found within a few feet of the surface. 

Farther east water is much scarcer and less accessible. A few wells 

that have been drilled in the eastern portion of the plateau obtain a 

good supply at depths of 300 or 400 feet, but the cost of such a well, 

with pumping plant and storage tank, is so great that few ranchers 

can afford the expense.

A few springs rise along the course of Glade Creek and in other main 

drainage channels, from which many of the new settlers obtain water, 

but a number of them are obliged to go 15 miles or more to Yakima 

or Columbia Eiver for their supply. Tank wagons holding 500 or 600 

gallons are used almost exclusively in hauling the water. On a few 

ranches cisterns have been built, in which rain and snow are collected 

during the winter and stored to help out on the summer requirements. 

If a rancher has no cistern or other reservoir, he must either buy 

water from some neighbor who has one, the rate charged being about 

75 cents for 1,000 gallons, or must usually go after a tankful every 

few days. During the harvest season, when many horses must be 

watered, the hauling of water is a large item of expense.

Springs. The following springs (see PL I) in the Horse Heaven 

region are deserving of special mention:

At the house of Mr. B. Beckner, about 4 miles northeast of Bickleton, 

a spring of clear cold water (No. 8, PL I), which is essentially of surface 

origin, yields perhaps 9 or 10 gallons a minute. Its surplus flow forms 

a duck pond about 25 yards square. It has been bricked around and 

inclosed in a small spring house.

Cold Spring (No. 12), west of Dot post office, issues from the steep 

southern bank of the main drainage channel of the locality and flows 

between 50 and 100 gallons a minute. It has been used mainly as a 

watering place for cattle and sheep. Like the Beckner spring it 

seems to be of surface origin and it issues where a water-bearing bed is 

intersected by the side of the ravine.

McKinley Spring (No. 10) is an important source of supply to a 

number of the surrounding ranches. It consists of a pit dug and 

boarded in against a low bank in the wide drainage course of Glade 

Creek close to the channel. In the fall of 1907 no water was flowing 

from the reservoir or well thus formed, though a few pools stood in 

the stream channel near by. The amount collected from the underflow, however, is sufficient to furnish several barrels a day.

Badger Spring (No. 7), on the northeastern edge of the Horse. 

Heaven Plateau, is similar to McKinley Spring in being a place where 

the underground flow in a ravine is reached. The water is collected 

in a rock-walled pit about 10 feet deep. The amount supplied during 

the summer is small.

Wetts. Most of the wells put down in this area are drilled with 

portable rigs. Although these outfits are not as powerful as the

71588° WSP 316 13 3
84 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN" SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

heavy standard drilling rigs and although they work very slowly in 

the hard basaltic rock, they are capable of drilling to depths of 1,500 

feet or more. The usual diameter of the wells drilled is 6 inches. 

One or two feet a day is the best progress that can be made in some 

of the harder portions of the rock.

The following wells, which were the best known at the time of 

examination, are worthy of special mention:

The Hayden well (No. 31, PI. I) is one of the wells of largest yield 

on the plateau. From it a 14-horsepower gasoline engine has pumped 

between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons a day during the summer, supplying water to most of the surrounding settlers. The well is 6 inches in 

diameter and was drilled to a depth of 496 feet. Water was struck at 

about 200 feet, but the main supply is found near the bottom of the 

well. This lower supply is said to have risen 200 feet above the depth 

at which it was struck, so that the pumping lift is about 300 feet. 

Basalt of different degrees of hardness was encountered below the 

surface layer of soil, the water coming from a honeycombed phase of 

the rock.

About 1£ miles southeast of the Hayden well there is a well (No. 30) 

that was drilled at the joint expense of Yakima County and the State 

to a depth of 630 feet. The water in it stands about 300 feet below 

the surface. During the summer a 12-horsepower gasoline engine has 

lifted an average of about 5,000 gallons a day from it.

A third important well (No. 43), which has supplied several ranchers, 

is that of Louis Anderson, at Horse Heaven post office. The first 

water was struck at 225 feet in this well, but the yield amounted to 

only about a barrel an hour. The main supply comes from a depth of 

335 feet, and drilling was stopped 15 feet below this depth. During 

the harvest season fifteen to twenty 500-gallon tanks have been filled 

from it each day. The water has been pumped by a 5-horsepower 

engine and by a large windmill.

The Frances well (No. 32), which is 150 feet deep, struck water at 

about 100 feet. Its yield is greater than a 2-horsepower gasoline 

engine can exhaust, and it has supplied a few neighbors in addition to the ranch on which it is located, filling seven or eight 500-gallon 

tanks a day during the summer.

At the east end of the plateau A. H. Richards has drilled a 6-inch 

well (No. 50) to a depth of 1,100 feet. At 700 feet a small amount of 

water, estimated at 125 gallons an hour, was struck, but this was lost 

at 1,100 feet in shell rock (probably laminated basalt). Below the 

soil layer, which is 117 feet deep at this place, the material penetrated 

consisted of alternate layers of basalt 40 to 50 feet thick and softer 

material, possibly tuff.

In F. W. Sanderson's well (No. 54), about 6 miles east of Bickleton, 

a number of water-bearing layers or seams were encountered in drilling
HOKSE HEAVEN PLATEATJ. 85

to a depth of 309 feet. Water was first struck at 45 feet, but a strong 

supply was not obtained, as a windmill has been able to pump it out. 

The red honeycombed rock from which the main water supply of this 

well is thought to come is exposed along the eastern wall of Spring 

Canyon, about a mile to the west. Water that was struck at a depth 

of 65 feet in this well is said to have risen within 15 feet of the surface. 

The well is situated a short distance south of a swale that seems to lie 

along the axis of a small syncline, and this structural feature possibly 

accounts for the pressure of the water in the underlying rocks and its 

consequent rise in the Sanderson well.

None of these wells are cased, as they penetrate solid rock for 

most of their depth, though in each one layers of ' 'blue clay," probably 

tuffaceous beds, are said to have been penetrated. In nearly every 

well water was found in honeycombed basalt.

About 2 miles north of Bluelight a small flowing well (No. 37) is 

situated on the slope of a small drainage course on the ranch of 

L. Spencer, some distance above the bottom of Glade Creek coulee. 

Its depth is 96 feet; between 12 and 93 feet hard rock was penetrated, 

but the last 3 feet, from which the water comes, is softer. This well 

has a fountain head of nearly 6 feet, but yields only about 1J gallons 

a minute. Little seasonal variation has been noted in its flow. The 

anomaly of this flowing artesian well on an upland slope seems best 

accounted for by the facts that to the south the surface rises 200 feet 

and that the underlying rocks dip toward the well, so that the pressure 

developed is sufficient to bring the water to the surface at this point. 

The small flow in comparison to the head of the well suggests that the 

supply is small or, what is more probable, that most of the water of 

the rock layer that has been tapped finds its way on downward to the 

underground drainage of Glade Creek.

Two flowing artesian wells near Carley, close to the border of the 

Horse Heaven Plateau, perhaps owe their existence to its structure. 

These wells are situated north of Columbia River, in Artesian Coulee 

(Carley's coulee), which seems at one time to have been a channel of 

the Columbia but is apparently silted up, so that the river now flows in 

a channel just south of a rocky hill. The eastern well (No. 65) was 

drilled 162 feet deep and 6 inches in diameter and is said to have a 

fountain, head of 90 feet. In 1907 its water was conducted 45 yards 

through a galvanized pipe to a ditch 6 feet higher than the well. Into 

this ditch is discharged nearly a cubic foot of water each second, at a 

temperature of 74° F. This flow was led eastward and irrigated 

several fields of alfalfa in the coulee.

M. E. Carley has a similar well (No. 66) on his ranch. In it the 

main flow comes from a depth of 142 feet, though a smaller flow was 

struck at 128 feet. This well yielded 1| second-feet during the first 

four weeks after it was sunk, but the flow lessened to about 1 secoadfoot. Its fountain head is said to be only about 5 feet.
36 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN SOUTH-CENTEAL WASHINGTON.

Both of these flowing wells penetrate only loose gravel, sand, and 

clay. About halfway between thejn a well was drilled to a depth of 

more than 300 feet without striking an artesian flow. Bedrock was 

not reached even at this depth, but at about 200 feet mud was encountered of so fluid a character that it produced sufficient pressure to 

crush heavy casing.

About 3 miles east of Mr. Carley's well another unsuccessful well 

was drilled 420 feet, mainly through rock. Two other wells of less 

depth have been drilled on the northeastern edge of the coulee; but 

up to 1907 artesian flows had been obtained in Artesian Coulee only 

from the two wells first named.

The slopes of the Horse Heaven Plateau are the most evident source 

for the pressure of the water in Artesian Coulee. It is possible that 

water seeping down from this region collects in the silted-up river 

channel under the head requisite to yield the flowing wells. That 

only two wells have been successful in tapping such a supply indicates 

that the water-bearing beds are not continuous, but probably exist 

as lens-shaped masses of sand and gravel, interbedded with mud and 

clay.

Of the shallow wells in the Horse Heaven region two (Nos. 27 and 

48) may be mentioned as typical. The former, the Amond well, dug 

in a small ravine, supplies only about 400 gallons a day in summer, at 

which season the water stands about 15 feet below the surface; in 

winter, however, it rises nearly to the surface. The other well, that 

of Don Creswell (No. 48), is also in a drainage channel, at a place 

formerly known as Cottonwood Spring. The group of trees from 

which the spring received its name still remains, but the well, 35 feet 

in depth, has seemingly appropriated the water supply. In 1906 this 

well went dry, but in the fall of 1907 it contained 15 feet of water and 

supplied* 30 horses. Other shallow wells yielding small supplies of 

seepage ground water have been dug along the same drainage line, 

both above and below Cottonwood Spring.

Artesian conditions. The conditions under which flowing artesian 

water is usually found have been fully discussed in several publications of the Geological Survey,1 so the subject is not taken up here. 

The existence of water under sufficient pressure to yield flowing wells 

in areas that do not contain typical structural artesian basins nor 

alluvial artesian slopes has been discussed by Fuller,2 who has cited 

examples of flowing wells in areas that do not have the usual structure 

of artesian basins. It is therefore evident that, although the Horse 

Heaven Plateau is not similar in character to areas in which the best 

flowing wells are obtained, the existence beneath it of water under

1 Fuller, M. L.5 Water-Supply Papers No. 54, pp. 101-104; No. 78, pp. 10-14; No. 118, pp. 61-67; and 

Bull. No. 319.

2 Fuller, M. L., Summary of the controlling factors of artesian flows: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 319, 

1908.
COLUMBIA ETVEE PLAINS. 37

sufficient artesian pressure to flow is not impossible; in fact, in nearly 

all the deep wells drilled in this region the water rose notably above 

the level at which it was struck. The question has therefore often 

been raised whether flowing artesian wells can not be obtained by 

drilling to greater depths. In partial answer to this question it may 

be said that although water in the underlying vesicular and tuffaceous 

phases of the basalt is under considerable pressure and rises in deep 

wells so as to reduce the cost of pumping very materially, in none of 

the wells does it rise close to the surface. Moreover, a sufficient 

number of wells have been drilled to show that it is very probable that 

flowing wells can not be obtained on the plateau. Any that may be 

developed, like that of Mr. Spencer (No. 37), will be due to an unusual 

combination of favorable conditions.

COLUMBIA BIVEB PLAINS. 

AREA EAST OF COLUMBIA RIVER.

The water conditions in the eastern part of the Columbia River 

Plains are similar to those in the Horse Heaven country. A few 

springs furnish small supplies, a few deep wells have been drilled in 

the higher lands, and shallow wells have been successful in obtaining 

water along the coulees, but a number of settlers haul their supply

from Columbia River. IRRIGATION.

During the fall of 1903 and the spring of 1904 a careful reconnaissance of the southern and eastern parts of Franklin County was made 

by the United States Reclamation Service in order to determine the 

feasibility of irrigating the area by water taken from Palouse River. 

This project contemplated the irrigation of lands between Columbia 

and Snake rivers and between Connell and Pasco. In 1910 no work 

beyond the reconnaissance had been done on this project, because of 

the doubtful feasibility of the construction of the main storage reservoir and the probable high cost per acre of the project, even if it could 

be successfully completed.

Only one small pumping plant along the Columbia was noticed. 

This was on a farm on the east bank of the stream a few miles below 

the mouth of the Yakima, where an engine and centrifugal pump 

lifted water to irrigate a few acres of alfalfa and garden.

UNDERGROUND WATERSl

On the plateau surrounding Eltopia a number of drilled wells draw 

domestic water supplies from seams or froni honeycombed portions 

of the underlying basalt. Little ground water is found in the unconsolidated deposits of the Ellensburg formation.

In H. Wysong's well (No. 5) water was struck at a depth of about 

340 feet and rose within 100 feet of the surface. About a mile farther
38 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

east, in the well belonging to H. Meentz (No. 4), water was struck 

at 375 feet and rose about 50 feet. About a mile to the west, in Mrs. 

M. P. Jordan's well (No. 7), the water level is nearly 400 feet below 

the surface. Near the eastern base of the portion of the plateau 

which terminates in White Bluffs Joe Alien obtained an abundant 

supply of water in a well (No. 3) 42 feet deep, sunk into the basalt 

underlying the gravel of a flood-water channel. In the fall of 1907 

Mr. Alien had a 3-horsepower gasoline engine and 3,000-gallon storage 

tank and supplied several neighbors.

In the lower lands north of Snake River wells dug in the deep gravel 

of coulees find a small supply of water. The porous character of the 

dry gravel in these old stream channels tends to produce breathing or 

blowing wells such as are found in a number of other places in the 

United States.1 One such well that was visited (No. 26) is about 4 

feet in diameter and 100 feet deep, in the bed of a shallow coulee. 

Nearly all the material passed through appeared to consist of rather 

loosely packed subangular pebbles, ranging from 1 to 3 inches in 

diameter. At the time the well was visited the barometer was falling 

and a strong current of air was rushing outward through the cracks 

of the board cover; this outrush continued with apparently undiminished force during the half hour spent at the place.

AREA WEST OF COLUMBIA RIVER. 

RATTLESNAKE VALLEY.

Wetts. Several of the earlier settlers in the western part of Rattlesnake Valley put down drilled wells from which they pump water 

by windmills for irrigating small gardens as well as for domestic use. 

Information concerning the principal wells is given in the table on 

pages 44-45. Over most of the valley the soil is thin, as only remnants of the Ellensburg formation are left, and in drilling most of the 

material passed through is basalt.

Springs. In the Rattlesnake Valley, as elsewhere through the 

plains region, the water supply is still derived largely from springs. 

The principal source of supply is Trough Spring (No. 3), which is 

situated in a small ravine where apparently an outcropping basalt 

layer brings ground water to the surface. A covered reservoir has 

been built in the ravine in which the flow of perhaps 8 or 10 gallons a 

minute is collected. From this reservoir water is hauled by the 

settlers in the usual tank wagons.

Several other surface springs issue along the higher slopes on the 

north side of the valley. In connection with their occurrence it is

i Condra, G. E., Geology and water resources of a portion of the Missouri River valley in northeastern 

Nebraska: Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. Survey No. 215,1908, pp. 31-32.
COLUMBIA RIVER PLAINS. 39

interesting to note a dug well (No. 10), also on the north side, hi 

which water was reached at a depth of 17 feet. The slope was sufficient to permit the owner to tunnel in from a point 40 or 50 yards 

down hill from the curb and lay a pipe to the bottom of the well. 

Thus he obtained flowing water, virtually a surface spring, in his barnyard. Water for the house-has been obtained from the same well by 

wheel and bucket.

Barrel Spring (No. 2), on the northwest edge of Spring Valley, was 

the main source of supply for the settlers in the locality in the fall of 

1907. At this spring, which issues at the base of a low bluff, a barrel 

had been sunk and the flow of about 5 gallons a minute was piped into 

two troughs. The overflow filled a small earthen reservoir that was 

used as a watering place for sheep. During the early part of 1908 

O. G. Steward ran a tunnel into the hillside about 200 yards east of this 

spring and developed a small but constant flow of water. It is probable that in several other places along the sides of the valley water 

may be obtained from similar tunnels, but it is not likely that springs 

that wiU yield enough water jfor irrigation can be developed.

In the middle part of the course of Rattlesnake Creek, at the edge

of the plains, Rattlesnake Spring (No. 1) issues along a steep-sided 

gully in the alluvium that floors the valley. It forms a stream having a fairly constant flow of 500 or 600 gallons a minute. The spring 

water is led through a ditch for about 2 miles southeastward to 

the ranch of E. F. Benson, where it is used to irrigate about 75 acres 

of alfalfa and 25 acres of potatoes and other garden vegetables. It 

also supplies domestic and stock needs, for a well is said to have been 

sunk to a depth of 105 feet at the ranch without striking water.

Two or three other springs that issue along the northern slope of 

Rattlesnake Ridge are used for irrigating small areas of alfalfa and 

vegetables.

The existence of these springs has been considered by the residents 

to indicate artesian conditions. They seem, however, to be more 

probably of surface origin and to be supplied by the rain and snow 

that collects on the slopes above. This water seeps down the hillsides 

and issues at places where fissures in the rocks and the attitude of 

the beds and their relation to the soil covering furnish favorable 

conditions. The rocks on the sides of Rattlesnake Valley have been 

folded and also probably much fractured in the process of uplift, 

so that many opportunities are given for ground water to reappear 

along the lower slopes.

COLD CREEK REGION.

Irrigation. Among the recent settlers in the lands west of the 

Columbia there has been much talk of the projected Government 

high-line canal, which is expected to water nearly all of the land 

lying above the present irrigation works. It is possible to bring
40 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

water to most of this arable land by a gravity canal, and in connection 

with the Yakima project of the Reclamation Service surveys for 

canals to supply this area have been made. Chiefly on account of the 

fact that a sufficient water supply is not available from the proposed 

source, however, the irrigation of these higher and more remote lands 

has been, at least for the present, abandoned, and attention has been 

given to the lower areas in Atanum, Reservation, and Sunnyside 

valleys, along Yakima River, and below Kiona, all of which can be 

more easily supplied.

The Benton subproject of the Reclamation Service originally contemplated the irrigation of about 210,000 acres in Benton County, 

of which 180,000 acres lies north of lower Yakima River and 30,000 

acres south of that stream. The land south of the river can be 

reached by siphon. Water is to be diverted from Yakima River 

near Prosser and conducted by canal around the south end of Rattlesnake Ridge and along its eastern base.

During 1907 two private irrigation companies began the construction of works to irrigate land in the northwestern part of the plains 

along the Columbia by water pumped from the river into canals. 

These systems were intended to irrigate about 33,000 acres, cutting 

down by that amount the original area that was to be covered by the 

Benton subproject.

It is the intention to make this land along the Columbia mainly a 

fruit-growing district, as its mild climate and long frostless season 

are well adapted to this branch of f arming.

Underground waters. Few tests have yet been made for underground water in the plains area west of the Columbia. It is probable, 

however, that ground water can be obtained at relatively slight 

depths beneath most of it. In the gravelly land within a few mUes 

of the river abundant water is reported near the surface. At the 

Hanford Hotel a dug well (No. 2, PL I) reached water at 43 feet. 

The depth of water in this well changes with the height of the river, 

at about whose level water was reached, and it is probable that 

seepage from the river supplies the well. About 2 miles south of 

White Bluffs two dug wells obtained water at a depth of about 90 

feet. Near them a drilled well (No. 1) was sunk a few years ago, in 

search of flowing artesian water, to a depth reported to be about 

400 feet. Water was reached at 67 feet, at about the level of the 

river, but no strata carrying water under pressure were found. The 

material penetrated below the river gravel was probably the Ellensburg formation, as hard rock was not encountered.

The Ellensburg formation probably underlies much of the gravel 

that covers the low-lying land west of the river, but there is little 

chance of finding flowing water in it; for although Rattlesnake 

Valley and the valley of upper Cold Creek are of synclinal structure
IEEIGATION ALONG LOWEK YAKIMA EIVEE. 41

and contain deposits of the EUensburg formation, they are not so 

deeply nor so completely filled with this material as is the Moxee 

basin, in which flowing wells have been obtained. These valleys also 

open eastward to the broad plains region, beneath which the Ellensburg strata lie nearly horizontal, so that the collection of water in 

these beds under sufficient pressure to rise to the surface is rendered 

very improbable.

IRRIGATION ALONG LOWER YAKIMA RIVER.

Besides a number of small canals in the Moxee Valley, the canals 

of Reservation Valley, and the Sunnyside canal, a number of canals 

take water from the lower course of Yakima River. The following 

statements concerning these canals are condensed from a publication 

of the United States Department of Agriculture.1

The uppermost canal receives its supply from the river at Prosser, 

where the Prosser Falls Land & Irrigation Co. has built a concrete 

dam across the stream, raising the water level about 10 feet and 

giving a power head of nearly 12 feet. By means of turbines and 

cylinder pumps, water is lifted into a canal with two branches, 

one of which extends 8 miles southwestward along the bench land 

bordering the river; the other extends 3 miles in the opposite direction; together they supply about 1,300 acres. Water and electric 

light are also furnished to the town by this plant.

About 4 miles above Kiona, on the north bank of the river, is the 

intake of a canal that was formerly owned by the Northern Pacific 

Irrigation Co. In 1907 ownership was transferred to the Kiona 

Development Co. The canal is 9 or 10 miles long, and between April 

1 and November 1 the amount of water carried by it is about 25 

second-feet. It irrigates from 1,400 to 1,800 acres, but if it were 

extended it could be made to supply about 26,000 acres.

A smaller canal, only about 2 miles long, irrigates a few acres across 

the river from Kiona. This canal is several feet below the level of 

the fields it irrigates, and water is lifted from it by current wheels. 

In summer it carries 15 to 20 second-feet, but only a fraction of this 

amount is available for irrigation.

The Grosscup canal, about 5^ miles in length, takes water from the 

north bank of Yakima River about 10 miles below Kiona and irrigates a small area on the Grosscup farm.

Just across the river from the heading of the Grosscup canal is the 

intake of the Kennewick canal, which was constructed in 1894 with 

a length of over 20 miles. After two years' use it was abandoned, 

owing to financial difficulties, but later the property was acquired by 

the present company, the canal was enlarged and reconstructed, and

i Jayne, S. O., Irrigation in the Yakima Valley, Wash.: Bull. Office Exper. Sta. No. 188, II. S. Dept. 

Agr., 1907.
42 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

in 1907 it had been in use for five seasons. The main canal is about 35 

miles long and carries during the irrigation season between 125 and 

150 second-feet. Under it there is about 12,400 acres, about a third 

of which was irrigated in 1906.

The lowest canal to take water from Yakima River is the Amon 

canal, owned by the Benton Water Co., which has its intake on the 

north bank of the river, about 5 miles below the Kennewick and 

Grosscup canals. It irrigates land near the town of Richland, 

between Yakima and Columbia rivers. About 2,500 acres of land 

under the canal and its branches was originally owned by the 

company.

SUMMARY.

In Sunnyside Valley water for domestic purposes is obtained in 

part from wells dug to the ground-water level and in part, of a better 

quality, from bored wells cased to the deeper water-bearing strata. 

There is a possibility that artesian flows will be obtained north of 

Snipe Mountain in a triangular area bounded approximately by 

straight lines joining the towns of Outlook, Granger, and Zillah, this 

area being a part of the favorable belt that extends westward across 

the Yakima and occupies a part of the Reservation Valley. Throughout most of the area the Ellensburg formation is so thick that few 

wells penetrate below it. On the eastern border, where the formation is thinner or entirely lacking, wells must be drilled to considerable 

depths into the basalt, but they obtain water of good quality. A 

notable rise of the ground-water level in the lower areas has taken 

place since the introduction of irrigation.

For irrigation the Sunnyside canal furnishes ample water to the 

land below it, but there is need of water to irrigate the land above 

this supply. The possibility of obtaining artesian flows for this purpose is remote. It is probable, however, that before many years a 

higher canal or pumping stations will be constructed that will bring 

under irrigation a great part of this cultivable but as yet unwatered 

land.

In the Reservation Valley the conditions are similar to those in 

the Sunnyside Valley. Ground water for domestic use is in most 

places easily obtained from shallow wells, and as it comes from the 

near-by slopes of the Cascade Mountains it is generally of good 

quality. The rock structure underlying this valley is such as to form 

a partly inclosed basin, and it is probable that flowing wells can be 

obtained in that part of the valley which lies within the following 

boundaries: From Granger northwestward almost parallel to Yakima 

River to the township line, 2 miles north of Wapato; thence westward 

about 5 miles; thence gradually swinging southwestward to a point
SUMMARY. 43

about 2 miles north of White Swan; thence swerving south and 

southeastward toward the center of T. 10 N., R. 17 E.; thence eastward along the south branch of Toppenish Creek past Alfalfa to 

Yakima River.

Irrigation has not been developed in this valley to the extent that 

it has across Yakima River, chiefly because the land has been owned 

by the Indians. The ruling that allows the Indians to dispose of 

three-quarters of their holdings will probably cause rapid settlement 

by whites. As most of the land is low-lying, it will nearly all be 

brought under easy irrigation by the construction of the Reservation 

canal.

In the southern part of the Columbia River Plains, in the region 

that lies between Snake and Columbia rivers, the underground water 

supply has been but slightly developed. In the settled portions near 

the Columbia this stream is the main source of domestic supply; in 

sections more remote water is obtained from small springs or wells 

dug in coulees, and in the higher plateau portion it has been necessary 

to drill wells to considerable depths.

Irrigation is practiced in a number of areas along lower Yakima 

and Columbia rivers, but much of the land, though fertile, will 

probably remain unwatered and be used mainly for raisjng grain 

for a number of years to come. Gravity canals from the Columbia 

seem impracticable, and pumping plants are expensive and are most 

economically installed in large units. This means that irrigation of 

these portions of the plains region can not be efficiently undertaken 

by each farmer for himself but must be undertaken by the State or 

National Government or by development companies.

The region is, however, endowed with a great supply of water in 

Yakima and Columbia rivers. Development has already taxed the 

supply of the Yakima, but proposed storage reservoirs on its headwaters will render available for irrigation much of the winter as well 

as the summer flow and enable it to supply much more land than it 

can at present. Along the master stream, the Columbia, development has hardly begun. The river carries an almost limitless supply 

of water, but its utilization presents serious engineering and economic 

difficulties. The grade of the river is so slight that long and expensive canals will be required in order to obtain gravity supplies from 

it, and pumping projects involve expensive machinery and heavy 

lifts.

Although some of the higher lands will remain grain-raising districts for many years to come, it seems probable that before long the 

greater part of the lower-lying areas will be brought under canal 

lines and rendered as productive as similar lands in the Yakima and 

other highly developed districts.
44 GEOLOGY AND WATER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. 

WELLS AND SPRINGS.

The wells and springs listed in the following tables were visited in 

the course of the examination of the region. Reference has been 

made to many of them in the text, but the" data are here assembled, 

together with those on others not previously mentioned, for more 

convenient use with the map (PL I), on which the wells and springs 

are shown by symbols whose numbering corresponds with that in

the lists.

Wells in south-central Washington.

 

1

2 

3

4

5

6 

7

8 

9

10

11

12 

13

14 

15 

16

17

18 

19

20 

21

22 

23

24

25 

26

27 

28

29 

30

Owner.

Mrs. M. P.Jordan...

Peter Kalkwauf . .... 

W. B. Chamberlain.

Abram van der 

Linde.

Northern Pacific Ry.

Mr. Hillard.........

Grand view school 

district. 

Town of Grandview. 

George Houghmaster. 

Northern Pacific Ry.

B. B. Swearingen... 

A. E. Burroughs. . . .

Adolph Perrault .... 

Yakkna County. ....

Location.

Sec.

4 

25 

28

25 

26

.23 

22

3

17 

24

24 

29

11 

4

2

23 

33

30

12 

24

30

16

33

16

T.N.

13 

13 

13

12 

12

12 

12

12 

12

12

12

12 

12

10 

11 

10

10

10

9

9 

9

9 

9 

9

9 

9

8 

8

8 

8

R.E.

27 

27 

29

29 

29

29 

29

29 

24

23 

22

22 

22

30 

30 

31

23

18 

24

24 

24

27 

27 

27

30 

30 

29 

27

26 

26

Class of 

well.

Drilled.. 

Dug..... 

...do....

Drilled.. 

...do....

...do.... 

...do....

...do.... 

Dug and 

drilled.

Dug.... 

Drilled..

...do.... 

Drilled..

Drilled.. 

Dug..... 

Dug.....

Drilled.. 

Dug.....

Drilled..

Drilled.. 

Drilled..

Drilled.. 

Drilled..

Dug..... 

Dug..... 

Dug..... 

Drilled,.

Drilled.. 

Drilled..

Depth.

Feet. 

6400 

45 

42

407 

473

456 

450

395 

140

620 

204

96 

186

151 

650

75

62

132 

113

650 

233 

300

50 

110 

16 

800

132

832

Depth 

to 

water.

Feet. 

67 

43 

40

325

100

100 

400

6300 

100

17 

172

55

-U6-

16

660 

8

80 

135

48 

106

14

30 

300

Remarks (depth in feet).

Through soft materials. 

Water at river level. 

In basalt underlying gravel of 

coulee. 

Water at 375. 

Water at about 340. Strata 

passed through: Sand, 0-20; 

clay, 20-150; sand 150-160; 

shale, 160-325; porous rock, 

harder at bottom. 325-403; 

clay, 403-413; mud, 413-420; 

basalt, 420-473. Well not 

completed in November/ 

1907. 

Water at 450; basalt at 370. 

Water at 430. Strata passed 

through: Soil, 0-130; quicksand, 130-170; blue clay, 170- 

425; basalt, 425-451).

Soil, 0-8; loose gravel, 8-16; 

cement gravel, 16-70; clay, 

70-105; quicksand, 105-140. 

Completed June, 1910.

Water at 187. Strata passed 

through: Gravel, 0-65; basalt, 65-204. 

Water at 72.

No water; through decomposed basalt to fresh basalt. 

Water at about 180. 

In gravel of Eltopia Coulee. 

No water; through basaltic 

gravel to solid basalt. 

No water at 75; drilling in December, 1907. 

In valley filling. 

Ellensburg formation, 0-35; basalt, 35-62. 

Water at 60 and at 130. 

Water at 57; 100 feet of basalt; 

white sandstone at bottom. 

Water at about river level. 

Water under artesian head. 

Drilling in June, 1908. Water 

at 165. 200, and 250. Tested 

100 gallons a minute. 

In gravel of coulee. 

In gravel of coulee. 

In ravine. 

A little water; not completed 

in November, 1907. 

Supplies neighbors; 3-horsepower engine. 

Supplies neighbors; 12-hoi-sepower engine; yields 5,000 

gallons a day during summer

B Numbers correspond to numbers on the map (PI. I). 

6 Approximate, 

c Reported.
WELLS AND 

Wells in south-central Was)

PEINGS.

ington Continued.

45

No.

31

32

33

34

35

36

37 

38 

39

40 

41 

42 

43

44

45 

46

47

48 

49

50

51 

52 

53 

54

55 

56 

57

58

59 

60 

61

62 

63 

64 

65

66

Owner.

W.H.Hayden......

I.W.Carter.........

Town of Mabton .^ . . 

A. F. Wattenberger.

WillYeckel... ......

J. V. Rhydholm. ....

Willia.rn MarVham .

Louis Anderson. ....

Will Richards.......

S.E.Walker........

F. W. Sanderson. . . .

Town of Bickleton. . 

J. G. Gateburg. .....

Samuel Sinclair. ....

W.F. Crow.. ........

Location.

Sec.

8

35 

21

1

28 

27

14

29

2 

24 

14

16

30

31 

3 

10

14

7

T.N.

8

8

8

8 

8

7 

7

7 

7

7 

7 

7

7

7 

7 

7

7

7 

7

7

6 

6 

6 

6

6 

6 

5 

5

5 

5 

5

5 

5 

5 

4

4

R.E.

26

25

25

23 

22

21 

21 

22 

22

24

' 24 

25 

26

27 

28 

29

29

29 

29

30

28 

23 

21 

21

21 

20 

20 

20

20 

23

23

23 

23 

24 

24

24

Class of 

well.

Drilled..

Drilled..

Drilled.. 

Dug.....

Drilled..

Drilled. 

Drilled. 

Drilled. 

Drilled.

Drilled. 

Drilled. 

Drilled. 

Drilled.

Drilled.. 

Dug.....

Dug.....

Dug.....

Dug..... 

Dug.....

Drilled..

Dug..... 

Drilled.. 

Drilled.. 

Drilled..

Drilled.. 

Dug.....

Drilled.. 

Dug.....

Dug..... 

Dug..... 

Drffled..

Drffled.. 

Dug..... 

Drffled.. 

Drffled..

Drffled..

Depth.

Feet. 

496

« 150 

423

1,161

202 

96 

239

225

110 

404 

504 

350

250 

20 

66

20

35 

615

1,100

14 

124 

146 

309

131

170 

20

40 

30 

112

130

17 

185 

162

176

Depth 

to 

water.

Feet. 

300

100

200

45

. 166 

Flows. 

200

&100

225

18 

60

15

20 

12

700

12 

50 

100 

45

70 

20 

124 

15

35 

30

128 

14 

120 

Flows.

Flows.

Remarks (depths in feet).

Supplies neighbors; 14-horsepower engine; yields 20,000 

to 30,000 gallons a day during 

summer. A little water at 

200; main supply at 496. 

Supplies neighbors; 2-horsepower engine; yields 4,000 to 

6,000 gallons a day during 

summer. 

Soil. 0-12; basalt (?), 12-100; 

white clay, 100-200. 

Through basaltic gravel. 

Not used. Wood at 850 and 

1;090. Below 850 a succession of water-bearing strata. 

V'ater at 196. 

Water at 94£.

Drilling in November, 1907. A 

little water at 187 and 206. «

Windmill pumps out in 8 hours. 

Engine and windmill. 

Supplies neighbors; 5-horsepower engine and windmill; 

yields 10,000 gallons a day 

during summer; a little water 

at 225, main flow at 335. 

Engine. 

Small seepage in canyon. 

Water at 60; soil 0-26, basalt 

26-66. 

Seepage supply, about 1,000 

gallons a day. 

Formerly Cottonwood Spring. 

Seepage supply, about 500 gallons a day. 

Small supply, not used; about 

125 gallons an hour at 700, 

lost on drilling deeper. 

Small seepage. 

Water at about 90.

Small supply; water at 65 

rose within 15 feet of surface. 

Water at 131.

In swale; water at 8 in well 50

yards west.

In dry drainage channel. 

No water; not completed in 

October, 1907; soil, 0-20; basalt, 20-100. 

Water at 111. 

Seepage in canyon. 

SoiL 0-100; basalt, 100-185. 

Yields about 1 second-foot; 

through unconsolidated material. 

Yields about f second-foot; 

small flow at 128, main flow 

from 142.

Reported. & Approximate.
46 GEOLOGY AND WATEE IN SOTJTH-CENTBAL WASHINGTON.

Springs in south-central Washington.

No. a

1

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12

Name.

Rattlesnake...

Unnamed ..... 

Cliff.. .........

Badger........

Tlnna 1 ""

Cold.. .........

Location.

Sec.

21

13 

15 

15

8

36

21

7

T.N.

12 

12 

12 

11 

11 

9 

8 

7 

7 

6 

5 

4

E.E.

25 

23 

22 

23 

25 

25 

28 

20 

22 

24 

25 

20

Flow.

Miner's 

inches.^ 

60-70

30-40

cl

5-10

Date.

1907. 

Nov. 29 

Nov. 29 

Nov. 18 

Nov. 29

Oct. 3 

Oct. 4 

Oct. 12

Oct. 9 

Oct. 8 

Oct. 11

Remarks.

Yield said to be a barrel an hour. 

Yields less than a barrel an hour.

Small yield; in coulee. 

Yields several barrels a day. 

Small seepage.

o Numbers correspond to numbers on the map (PL I). 

6 A miner's iribh is equivalent to about 9 gallons a minute. 

c Approximate.

O