Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 181 Series <[ £ j;es.criPtlve J^gy, 10R3. 

rr J & r \ 0, Underground Waters, 61

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

WILLIS T. LEE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1906
CONTENTS.

Page.

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

Geography...'............................................................. 5

Topography........................................................... 5

General relations................................................... 5

Altitudes and slopes................................................ 5

Drainage.............................................................. 6

Owens River...................................................... 6

Mono Lake drainage................................................ 6

Geology................................................................... 6

Stratigraphy........................................................... 6

Pre-Tertiary rocks.................................................. 6

Tertiary sediments................................................. 6

Quaternary sediments.............................................. 7

Volcanic features....................................................... 7

Coso district....................................................... 7

Big Pine district................................................... 8

Long Valley district................................................ 8

Hot springs....................................................... 8

Mud geysers....................................................... 9

Structural geology...................................................... 9

History of the origin and development of the valley........................ 10

General statement.................................................. 10

Post-Tertiary uplift................................................. 10

Late Quaternary movements........................................ 11

Effects of Owens Valley earthquake.................................. 12

Underground waters........................................................ 12

Artesian conditions..................................................... 12

General statement.................................................. 12

Well records....................................................... 13

Inyo Development Company.................................... 13

Olanche....................................................... 13

Dodge Brothers' well........................................... 13

Spear's well................................................... 13

Wrinkle's well................................................. 13

Roeper's well..................... , ............................ 13

Well near Black Rock Spring.................................... 13

Coe's wells.................................................... 13

Bishop..................... .^................................. 13

Longley's well................................................. 14

Minor wells.................................................... 14

Flowing area.................................................'..... 14

Nonflowing area........... 1....................................... 14

Utilization of underground waters........................................ 14

Pumping plants.....................'................-....--..-----. 14

Power plants..................,,,............---------..----.----- 15

3
4 CONTENTS.

Page.

Reservoir site.............................................................. 15

Effect of seismic disturbances............................................ 16

Structural materials.................................................... 16

Building stone..................................................... 16

Material for cement................................................ 16

Climate................................................................... 17

Rainfall............................................................... 17

Evaporation........................................................... 19

Rate at Owens Lake................................................ 19

Rate at Bishop.................................................... 20

Temperature.......................................................... x 20

Undrained lakes as registers of climate.................................... 20

Owens Lake....................................................... 20

Physical character.............................................. 20

Chemical character............................................. 21

Mono Lake........................................................ 23

Physical character.............................................. 23

Chemical character............................................. 23

Discussion......................................................... 23

Conclusion........................................................ 24

Resume................................................................... 25

Index..................................................................... 27

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE I. Map of Owens Valley region........................................

II. A, View of Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada near Big Pine; B, Eastern face of Mount Whitney.......................................

III. A, Western face of the White Mountains near Alvord station; B, Granite 

bowlders of the alluvial slope at base of High Sierra near Big Pine....

IV. View from "the Meadow " on the eastern slope of Mount Whitney.......

V. A, Panum Crater near Mono Lake; B, Crooked Creek near Long Valley 

dam site. .........................--..-.......--...--...--.-.--

VI. A, Crest of the High Sierra at Mammoth Mountain, B, Western lobe of 

Lyell Glacier...................................................

Page. 

6

10

12

16

24
GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF 

OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

By WILLIS T. LEE.

INTRODUCTION.

This report is the result of field studies made during the season of 1904 under the direction of Mr. N. H. Darton. The region considered includes Owens Valley, part of Mono Lake 

and Salt Wells valleys, and the slopes of the adjoining mountain ranges. A description of 

the geologic formations and structure is presented, with special reference to their bearing 

on the prospects for underground water. A general account of jthe surface waters also is 

given, with a discussion of the conditions likely to influence the storage of water in a region 

of recent seismic disturbances. Economic products in the nature of building materials are 

briefly described, and the effect of the present irrigation on the total water supply of Owens 

Valley is pointed out.

GEOGRAPHY. 

TOPOGRAPHY.

General relations. Owens Valley is located in east-central California, between the Sierra 

Nevada on the west and the White Mountains or Inyo Range on the east (see PI. I), and 

includes the area drained by Owens River and its tributaries. It contains two smaller 

topographic depressions, Long and Round valleys. Owens Valley is the westernmost of 

the desiccated valleys of the Great Basin region and differs from the others in that it has 

an abundant water supply, derived mainly from the melting snows on the high mountains 

to the west. It is an undrained basin, the lowest part of which is occupied by a large 

salt lake.

Altitudes and slopes. The floor to the valley has an average elevation of 3,700 feet, with a 

uniform gradient between Keeler and Bishop of 7 feet to the mile. The altitude, according to railway surveys, is 3,607 feet at Keeler, 3,661 feet at Lone Pine, 3,721 feet at Independence, and 4,107 feet at Bishop. North of Bishop the grade of the river is much steeper. 

Mono Lake is 55 miles from Bishop and the difference in elevation is 2,623 feet. The general 

altitude of the Sierra Nevada west of Owens Valley is about 12,500 feet, but several peaks 

of the range rise to elevations varying from 12,500 to nearly 15,000 feet; these are Mounts 

Whitney (see PI. II, B), Williamson, Ritter, Lyell (see PI. VI, A), and others. The rugged 

character of the range is illustrated in PL II, A. Between Owens Lake, the lowest point in 

the valley, and Mount Whitney, the highest peak of the Sierra Nevada, the difference in altitude is about 11,300 feet, but there are other places much nearer together where differences 

nearly as great occur.

The maximum elevation of the White Mountains is reached in White Mountain Peak, 

which is 11,321 feet high. To the south the average altitude is about 10,000 feet. The 

western side of the White Mountains, which faces Owens Valley, is a steep though regular 

slope, as shown in PI. Ill, B, but it is much less deeply dissected by erosion than the eastern 

face of the Sierra Nevada. The Coso Mountains comprise the southern part of the White 

Mountains, but they are separated from the Mountains on the north by a low pass east of 

Owens Lake.

5
6 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFOENIA.

DRAINAGE.

Owens River. The principal drainage in this region is into Owens River, a main stream 

with a large number of important tributaries entering mainly from the west, those from the 

east being intermittent. The waters of Owens River empty into Owens Lake, from which 

they escape only by evaporation. There is a heavy precipitation on the western side of 

Owens Valley, resulting from the great elevation of the Sierra Nevada. The moistureladen winds from the west lose much of their moisture in passing over this high range, and as 

a consequence the rainfall is very light in the main part of Owens Valley and the districts 

farther east. From the headwaters of Owens River, at Mount Lyell, southward to Mount 

Whitney, numerous streams enter the valley from the Sierra Nevada, as shown in PI. I. 

The largest of these are South Branch, Rock, Pine, Bishop, Coyote, Big Pine, Tinemaha, 

Taboose, Oak, Shepherd, and Lone Pine creeks. South of Mount Whitney the tributaries are 

smaller and intermittent, because of the small amount of snow on the summit of the range. 

Owing to the steepness of the mountain slopes on the west, the streams are torrential in 

character, flowing through deep, narrow gorges on the higher slopes and emerging lower 

down onto detrital cones which they have deposited. Some of the smaller streams sink in 

the, detrital material and the larger ones reach the river with greatly diminished volume.

The present form of the Owens River system (see PI. I) is due largely to the change of 

climate in recent geologic time. Throughout a part at least of Quaternary time Owens 

River flowed southward through Salt Wells Valley, and the portion of Owens Valley north 

of Bishop probably contained a flowing stream. During the changes toward greater aridity 

of climate wh'ich took place later, the water supply was cut off from the upper part of 

Owens River and one of its main tributaries was left as the head of the stream. At the time 

evaporation in the valley equaled or exceeded the inflow, that part of the river south of 

Owens Lake ceased to flow, and the tributaries from the White Mountains became dry from 

lack of sufficient rainfall, if, indeed, they ever had been permanent streams. The result is a 

river system of considerable size truncated at both ends and modified on the east side, with 

only its middle portion still active.

Mono Lake drainage. There are several short mountain streams in the northern part of 

the district which empty into Mono Lake. Rush Creek, the largest of these, is a stream of 

considerable size. It derives its waters principally from melting snows high on the slopes 

of the Sierra Nevada near Mount Lyell. (See PL VI, A). Mono Lake is similar to Owens 

Lake both in its physical character and in the chemical composition of its waters. 

The two lakes are nearly the same in size, Mono having an area of about 85 square miles 

and Owens about 75 square miles. Both are located at the eastern base of the Sierra 

Nevada and, although about 125 miles apart, both derive their water supply from the vicinity of Mount Lyell. Mono Lake, however, lies at an elevation about 3,000 feet higher 

than Owens Lake. Neither lake has an outlet.

GEOLOGY. 

STRATIGRAPHY.

FEE-TERTIARY ROCKS.

The older rocks appearing at the surface in the Owens Valley region consist of granite 

and more or less metamorphosed sediments, which are of Algonkian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic age. The rocks are nearly impervious and, as they outcrop in a region of practically 

no rainfall, they probably do not contain much water. They form an impervious basin, 

however, for the water-bearing sands and gravels.

TERTIARY SEDIMENTS.

Deposits of sand, gravel, and clay of supposed Tertiary age occur at two localities in the 

Owens Valley region, one south of Owens Lake, between the Coso Mountains and the Sierra 

Nevada, and the other in the Waucobi embayment east of Alvord. In the area south of
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL.

41

Mt.Whitney 

14,898 Ft/

i J-x AVSALT WELLS 

VALLEY

MAP OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.
STRATIGRAPHY. (

Owens Lake the beds consist of partly consolidated deposits of sand, gravel, and clay, 

which attain a thickness of at least 1,500 feet and possibly more. These deposits have 

. been referred to the Miocene by Fairbanks a. Near Haway Meadows, where at least 500 

feet of this formation have been removed by erosion, a boring 1,028 feet deep did not pass 

through it.

The so-called Tertiary deposits occurring in the Waucobi embayment, east of Alvord, 

extend westward into Owens Valley, passing1 beneath the late Quaternary deposits of the 

valley floor. The strata consist of fine limy, sandy, and clayey beds with layers of conglomerate, the whole series being covered by wash brought down from the mountains. 

Near the mountains the deposits consist of coarse material which changes toward the valley 

to finer sediments. This formation has been described by Walcott& as a lake deposit of 

late Pliocene or Quaternary age, and the fresh-water shells, abundant in some beds, are considered by W. H. Dalle to be of Pleistocene age.

QUATERNARY SEDIMENTS.

The Quaternary deposits in Owens Valley consist mainly of clay, volcanic ash, sand, 

and gravel laid down in successive layers which have a thickness of at least 465 feet beneath 

the lake level, as is shown by the record of the well at Keeler, near the eastern edge of 

Owens Lake. Material similar to that penetrated by the Keeler boring is found in terraces 

at an elevation of about 250 feet above the lake. These terraces, having the same elevation as the southern outlet of the valley, undoubtedly mark the level of the lake when it 

drained southward through Salt Wells Valley. At that time the lake probably extended 

northward as far as Bishop. In these terraces and in the material penetrated by the 

Keeler well fresh-water shells occur in considerable abundance. Oarinifex newberryi Lea 

and Odonta sp. are the principal forms. These were identified by W. H. Dall, who believes 

that the. species were denizens of Owens Lake and of other lakes extending over a wide 

range west of the Rockies. The desiccation of the lakes, with concentration of the alkaline 

salts in their waters, rendered them unsuitable for. molluscan life, and the species were 

left only in streams and such lakes as remained fresh, where they are found at the present 

time in greatly diminished numbers.

Along the base of the mountains on either side of Owens Valley are detrital cones, which 

were brought down in late Quaternary time and are still in process of accumulation. Those 

at the base of the Sierra Nevada have a maximum elevation of about 2,000 feet above the 

river and are connected with each other, forming a continuous slope, while along the base 

of the White Mountains they are smaller and more isolated, and their outlines are better 

preserved. The material in the cones on the White Mountain side of the valley consists 

largely of detritus from sedimentary rocks; along the Sierra Nevada it is composed of 

granitic, fragments. Many of the granite blocks are 10 to 15 feet in diameter, and some of 

them occur as far as 5 to 6 miles from the base of the mountains.

VOLCANIC FEATURES.

The volcanic features of the Owens Valley region consist of crater cones, lava flows, hot 

springs, and mud geysers. The occurrence of the hot springs and mud geysers in this connection is probably significant. The volcanic deposits are. found principally in three 

districts.

Coso district. In the Coso Mountains, southeast of Owens Lake, extensive volcanic action 

has taken place and the effects of two distinct periods of eruption are apparent. The older 

flows have been deeply dissected by erosion, while the more recent lavas are not dissected, 

but still retain their original form. These, lavas are mainly beyond the border of Owens 

Valley and no special study was made of them.

a Fairbanks, H. F., Notes on the geology of eastern California: Am. Geologist, vol. 17, 1896, p. 67. 

6 Walcott, C. D., The post-Pliocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, No. 4, 1897, pp. 

340-348.

< Ibid, p. 342.
8 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

Big Pine district. There is a volcanic region near the center of Owens Valley, between 

Independence and Big Pine. The flows of basalt are evidently of very recent origin, overlying late Quaternary deposits and giving Jittle evidence of weathering. Scoriaceous lava occurs 

in the irregular forms in which it cooled from the molten state, and numerous cinder cones 

contain craters which are more or less perfect. The lava once extended across the valley 

and for a considerable distance up the side of the White Mountains. In the floor of Owens 

Valley the lava sheet is now considerably eroded by the river and covered to some extent by 

alluvium. In the vicinity of Aberdeen the lavas occur near a group of granitic hills, which 

extend for some distance into the lower portion of the valley. (See PL I.) Flows of volcanic rock extend southward along the base of the Sierra Nevada to a point a few miles 

north of Independence. The extinct volcanic cone known as "Fish Spring Volcano" (see 

PL II, A) lies west of Aberdeen and is the largest and possibly the oldest volcanic cone 

in the region. It rises about 2,000 feet above Owens Valley and has a well-defined crater 

about 100 feet deep. At the base of the Sierra Nevada, west of Bishop, occur the northernmost cinder cones of this district.

Long Valley district. The largest district of volcanic rocks within the area described in 

this report extends from the upper end of Round Valley to Mono Lake. In the southern 

part of the district the rock is dark colored and consists mainly of andesitic tuffs and breccias, which are well exposed in the bluffs of Owens River and Rock Creek, where they form 

bold, cavernous cliffs and rugged slopes. In some places large masses of material are almost 

wholly unconsolidated, while in others the tuff is solidified into resistant rock. The canyons which are cut through the andesite by Owens River and the smaller streams, such as 

Crooked Creek (PL V, 5), are 200 to 300 feet deep, a fact indicative of considerable age. In 

that portion of the district which lies north of Long Valley the surface is more or less covered 

with volcanic products that are believed to be more recent than those farther south. They 

consist of obsidian, pumice, and unconsolidated ash, and are described in detail by Russell « in his paper on the Mono Lake region. Beds of ash and scoriaceous rock of this younger 

series were observed as far south as Casa Diablo. Panum Crater (PL V, A) is probably one 

of the best illustrations of the younger volcanic cones. Russell described this crater as follows: "The rough crags piled in the center of the bowl of lapilli are not of the nature of a 

cone of eruption, as might be supposed from our knowledge of Vesuvius and other similar 

volcanoes, but are ejections of a molten rock of the same character as the neighboring lava 

flows. They are in fact incipient coulees which were congealed before a definite flow in any 

direction had been established."

The central core of Panum Crater is completely surrounded by a sharp, V-shaped depression, the outer rim of which is a circular ridge composed of the volcanic cinders that form 

the outer part of the cone. The core rises to an elevation considerably higher than the cinder rim and is composed of scoria and black volcanic glass. The sides of the core are steep, 

craggy, and more or less broken, giving unmistakable evidence that it was thrust out en 

masse after the formation of the cinder rim and at a time when the material was in a semiplastic condition and yet resistant enough in general to hold the form given to it by the 

throat of the crater. Some of the blocks from the side of the core are elongated, some are 

warped or contorted, and many are scored and grooved on the sides, so that a differential 

motion is plainly indicated.

Hot springs. Along the zone in which extinct volcanoes occur there is a series of hot 

springs. Although the temperature of the water in these springs is not necessarily due to 

volcanic heat, their close association with the old volcanoes suggests that the heat may be 

derived from that source. Several of the springs are grouped near the west end of Long 

Valley, where they form a stream of considerable size, known as Hot Creek. One of these 

springs is said to have, been an active geyser until a few years ago, when the creek changed 

its course in such a way as to flow over the mouth of the geyser and destroy its intermittent 

action. Hot springs were observed in Owens Valley as far south as the group of volcanic 

cones between Independence and Big Pine.

aKussell, I. C., Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Kept. U.S. Geol. Survey, 

pt. 1,1889, pp. 377-389.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL.

't '' ' ' 

A. VIEW OF OWENS VALLEY AND THE SIERRA NEVADA NEAR BIG PINE.

Showing a volcanic cone (" Fish Spring" volcano) in the middle-ground and the Sierra Nevada in

the distance.

P>. EASTERN FACE OF MOUNT WHIiMti.

Cliffs in the center are about 3,000 feet high. Western slope of Sierra Nevada is seen in upper lefthand corner and a remnant of Tertiary slope at the right in the distance
STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY. 9

Mud geysers. There is a small mud geyser at Casa Diablo, near the west end of Long 

Valley, which is in continuous and violent action. At a number of places in its immediate 

vicinity the steam escapes in small quantities and for a considerable distance from the 

geyser the rock is more or less heated. This suggests either very recent volcanic activity 

or the beginning of future volcanic action. No vent showing signs of recent eruption was 

found near this place, and it is possible that the heat accompanies some initial rather than 

closing stage of volcanic activity. On the other hand, the heat may be due to friction or 

crushing caused by faulting. Casa Diablo is near the fault zone at the. base of the Sierra 

Nevada, along which in other places there has been recent movement.

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY.

Owens Valley is a V-shaped trough, extending in a nearly straight line from Salt Wells 

Valley northward into Xevada east of Mono Lake. The western side of the trough is the 

granitic escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, a general view of which is given in PI. II, A. 

The eastern side is the less steep face of the White Mountains (see PI. Ill, .4), composed 

principally of sedimentary rocks. The bottom of the trough is filled to an unknown depth 

with Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. From Owens Lake to Bishop, a distance of more 

than 70 miles, the trough, measured from crest to crest of the adjoining mountain ranges, is 

12 to 25 miles wide. North of Bishop it is much wider.

The geologic structure of the Owens Valley region has been described in part by several 

geologists, mainly in connection with discussions of certain features of the Sierra Nevada. 

Briefly stated, it is assumed that this range is a large block of the earth's crust which in 

comparatively recent geologic time has been faulted and elevated at its eastern margin, with 

westward tilting of its surface. Although no conclusive proof has been presented that the 

eastern face or escarpment of the Sierra Xevada is due to faulting, confirmatory evidence has 

been discovered in a number of places. It has been shown by Gilbert a and Diller & that the 

western slope of the Sierra Nevada is a tilted peneplain and that the escarpment on the east 

is presumably due to faulting which accompanied the uplift and tilting of the great block. 

This faulting is indicated by the displacement of gravel deposits at the north end of the 

range as described by Diller,& also by similar movements of gravels near Mono Lake, of lava 

sheets north of Honey Lake, of gravels near Genoa, and of various rocks along the base of 

the Sierra Nevada in Owens Valley, as described by Russell, c Diller/' Lindgren,^ and 

Whitney,/ respectively.

Evidence of faulting and block tilting similar to that which affected the Sierra Nevada has 

been found in the White Mountains. Walcott 0 has shown that the strata of these mountains were contorted and strongly folded in comparatively early geologic time, but later the 

range, like the Sierra Nevada, moved as a large crust block. It has also been suggested by 

Walcott 7* that the steep eastern escarpment of the White Mountains may be due to faulting, 

while the westward inclination of the lake beds in the Waucobi embayment may be due to a 

tilting of the White Mountain block.

To these indications of faulting in the Owens Valley region may be added those observed 

by the writer. In the White Mountain face east of Lone Pine strata of Triassic age pass 

beneath the floor of Owens Valley, with a dip of about .50°. In the Alabama Hills west of 

Lone Pine the same formation is found in a shattered condition and associated with granitic 

rock in a manner clearly indicating displacement by faulting. Southwest of Bishop a small

a Gilbert, G. K., Science, vol. 1, 1883, pp. 194-195.

6 Diller, J. S., Tertiary revolution in topography of Pacific coast: Fourteenth Ann: Rept. U. S. Geol. 

Survey, pt. 2, 1894, pp. 408, 432.

< Russell, I. C., Quaternary history of Moses Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 322.

d Diller, J. S., (Jejlogy of Lassen Peak district: Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 429.

eLindgren, W., Age'of the auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada: Jour. Geol., vol. 4, 1896, p.902.

/Whitney, J. D., The Owens Valley earthquake: Overland Monthly, June, 1872.

g Walcott, C. D., The Appalachian type of folding in the White Mountain Range of Inyo Countv, Cal.: 

Am. Jour. ScL, 3d ser., vol. 49, 1895, pp. 169-174.

& Walcott, C. D., The post-Pleistocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, 1897, pp. 340-
10 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

exposure of marble occurs, apparently a displaced remnant of the extensive marble and 

limestone formation in the White Mountains, which passes beneath the floor of the valley 

at Independence, with a dip of 80°. There is evidence near Little Lake not only of displacement by faulting, but also of the rate at which displacement took place. At Little 

Lake, which has an altitude of 3,000 feet, the granite extends across the valley, and at 

Haway Meadows, at an altitude of 3,782 feet, a we'll bored to a depth of 1,028 feet was still 

in Tertiary sediments. The basin formed by the older rocks is therefore at least 246 feet 

deeper than the granite which forms the lowest part of its rim. How much deeper the 

basin is remains unknown. Its ascertained depth of 246 feet is clearly due to subsidence 

and not to erosion and indicates that the subsidence was more rapid than the down cutting 

of the riyer. The Tertiary strata at Haway Meadows dip westward at an angle of about 

15° and terminate somewhat abruptly against the granite base of the Sierra Nevada, but it 

was not determined whether they were displaced there by a fault or otherwise.

HISTORY OP THE ORIGIX AXD J)EVELOPMEXT OF THE VALLEY.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

As stated in the introduction, one of the purposes of the present investigation was to determine the prospects of successful water storage in this region of recent seismic disturbances. 

If Owens Valley has resulted from the formation and movements of crust blocks, accompanied by faulting, the time at which these movements occurred and the prospects of their 

recurrence must be considered in connection with a project for water storage in this valley. 

In case the crustal disturbances occurred only in ages long past, a stable condition of the surface might reasonably be expected; but, on the other hand, if movements have taken place 

recently an unstable condition may exist and earthquakes more or less disastrous to an 

irrigation system are to be expected. For these reasons the following brief history of the 

crustal movements in the Owens Valley region is given.

Disturbances of great magnitude are known to have occurred in both the Sierra Nevada 

and the White Mountain regions in pre-Tertiary time, resulting in the formation of mountain 

ranges. These movements obviously were too ancient to affect seriously the question here 

discussed and therefore need not be treated at length. Some time during the Tertiary period, 

however, a series of events began which do affect these questions. The peneplain of the 

western slope of the Sierra Nevada, first recognized by Gilbert,« has been further described 

by Diller, b who shows that the planation was probably accomplished during Miocene time. 

Gravels deposited upon this peneplain have been elevated, faulted, and tilted. Diller found 

them showing a vertical displacement of about 3,000 feet along the eastern face of the range 

at its north end. Similar displacements were found by Russell c near Mono Lake and by 

Turner d near Tower Peak. At the latter place gravel-covered plateaus occur near the summit of the range, close to the escarpment, which Turner explains as parts of the old peneplain raised to its present position after the deposition of the gravels. Parts of the peneplain 

are, well preserved at Mammoth Mountain, and its relation to the eastern face of the Sierra 

Nevada is clearly shown in PI. VI, B.

POST-TEETIAEY UPLIFT.

Since the time of King's survey, e observers of the Sierra Nevada region, with few exceptions, have assigned the main uplift to post-Tertiary time. Le Conte,/ in a paper describing 

the geology of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada places the elevation of the mounts Gilbert, G. K., Science, vol. 1, 1883, pp. 194-195.

& Diller, J. S., Tertiary revolution in topography of Pacific coast: Fourteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. 

Survey, pt. 2, 1894, pp. 404-411.

c Russell, I. C., Quarternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 322.

d Turner, H. W., Bocks of Sierra Nevada: Fourteenth Ann. Kept. IT. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 2, 1894, p. 

442.

«Klng, Clarence, Kept. U. S. Geol. Explor. 40th Par., vol. 1, 1878, p. 744.

/ Le Conte, Joseph, A post-Tertiary elevation of the Sierra Nevada, shown by the river beds: Am. 

Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, 1886, pp. 167-181.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. Ill

A. WESTERN FACE OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS NEAR ALVORD STATION.

Level valley floor in the foreground, and transition slope in the middle-ground. Photograph by

C. D. Walcott.

B. GRANITE BOWLDERS OF THE ALLUVIAL SLOPE AT THE BASE OF THE SIERRA 

NEVADA, NEAR BIG PINE.

Photograph by C. D. Walcott.
OEIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALLEY. 11

tains at the close of the Tertiary and suggests that their rise may have been coincident with 

an increasing aridity of climate in the Basin region and with the beginning of deposition of the 

Quatenary beds which occupy so large an area east of the range, including Owens Valley.

The assignment of the uplift to post-Tertiary time has recently been confirmed by certain observations of Turner. « From a study of the Tertiary gravels and lavas on the western face of the Sierra Nevada along Tuolumne River, he concludes that the Sierra block has 

been tilted to a notable extent since the close of the Tertiary period. He shows that the 

grade represented by the Neocene gravels averages 142 feet per mile, while the grade of the 

Tuolumne River is 92 feet per mile. He also points out that the Neocene stream was more 

mature than the present one and presumably flowed at a lower grade. He concludes: 

"Assuming that the Neocene Tuolumne had originally a grade as low as that of the modern 

stream, which is evidently yet a young stream, it is clear that the present grade of the Neocene channel must have been brought about by the differential uplift on the east, resulting 

in a tilting of the range westward."

It is probable that some of the phenomena observed by the present writer are to be explained by the post-Tertiary uplift. At certain places, especially in the vicinity of Mount 

Whitney, isolated and inclined table-lands terminated by nearly perpendicular cliff's, interrupt the continuity of the general slope of the mountains. Some of these table-lands have 

concave and others convex surfaces. One with a concave surface appears in the distance 

at the right in PI. II, B. They are found in considerable numbers near Mount Whitney at an 

elevation ef over 10,000 feet and they do not occur, so far as observed, below that elevation.

The rock floors of the gorges and cirques separating the table-lands give abundant evidence of glaciation. Polished and grooved surfaces and glacial lakes are numerous. PL IV 

is a view from " the meadow " on the Mount Whitney trail in one of these gorges. The cliff 

is the side of one of the table-lands. In this case the table is a concave surface of considerable extent and slopes steeply to the east.

The ancient slope represented by these table-lands is not in harmony with the general 

steep eastern face of the Sierra Nevada, and obviously it was formed before these mountains 

attained their present elevation. On the other hand, the deep gorges and wide cirques 

separating the table-lands give evidence of extensive erosion after the development of this 

ancient surface. They also indicate glaciation near the close of this period of erosion.

The succession of events, as inferred from the phenomena above described, is as follows: 

Previous to the last great uplift of the Sierra Nevada the land surface in the vicinity of 

Mount Whitney was one of low relief and gentle slopes. The uplift of the mountains, presumably at the close of the Tertiary, was followed by a period of rapid erosion of the now 

precipitous eastern face of the range. Near the close of this period the newly formed valleys (PL IV) were occupied by glaciers. How long they were thus occupied and whether 

the glaciers were major or minor factors in excavating the valleys are questions to which 

no answer is here offered.

LATE QUATERNARY MOVEMENTS.

A movement of recent date in the White Mountains (Inyo Range) has been described by 

Walcott 6, who shows that a difference in elevation of about 3,000 feet has been effected 

within the range in comparatively recent geologic time. The lake beds of the Waucobi embayment, which are of late Pliocene or Quaternary age, have been tilted until at their eastern 

border they are 3,000 feet higher than at their western border in Owens Valley. Walcott 

suggests that the movement which tilted these beds occurred in late Quaternary time. This 

opinion is based mainly on the occurrence of a recently formed fault scarp, the truncation 

of spurs, and the presence of large springs along the line of the fault, and the formation of 

pools and bogs on land formerly crossed by wagon roads. Lindgren c has described a recent 

fault at the base of the Sierra Nevada, near Genoa, where Quaternary deposits have been

a Turner, H. W., Post-Tertiary elevation of the Sierra Nevada: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 13, 

1903, pp. 540-541.

>> Walcott, C. D., The post-Pleistocene elevation of the Inyo Range: Jour. Geol., vol. 5, 189", pp. 

340-348.

c Lindgren, W., Age of the auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada: Jour. Geol., vol. 4, 1896, p. 902.
12 GEOLOGY AND WATEKS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

displaced 40 feet, and evidences of still more recent faulting are found in Owens Valley. 

During the earthquake of 1872, described by Whitney a and later by Gilbert, Russell, and 

others, faulting occurred throughout the valley along the base of the Sierra Nevada.

EFFECTS OF OWENS VALLEY EARTHQUAKE.

The more important geologic effects of the earthquake described by Whitney <* are fissures 

in the soil or rock, alterations of level of the different parts of the, valley, either temporary or 

permanent, changes in the water courses, and accumulations of water in depressions formed 

by the earthquake. The author says:

From Ha way Meadows to Big Pine Creek we met frequent cracks in the earth, areas of sunken ground, 

depressions partly filled with water, and regions where motions of the surface soil had taken place either 

in a vertical or horizontal direction. The direction of these .".ssures is almost always nearly parallel 

with that of the base of the mountains, although in a few instances they run diagonally across the valley. 

. . . Near Big Pine . . . there is a series of extensive fissures, which may be traced uninterruptedly for several miles. In one place an area of ground 200 or 300 feet wide has sunk to the depth of 20 

or 30 feet in places, leaving vertical walls on each side, and these depressions have become partly tilled 

with water, so that ponds have been formed of no inconsiderable size. One noticed was fully one-third 

of a mile in length, and would have been much larger had not the depression been so situated as to afford 

partial drainage of the area at one end, so that the basin could not be entirely i.lled. . . . There 

are several places in the valley where fissures in the ground have crossed roads, ditches, and lines of 

fences, and where evidence has been left of an actual moving of the ground horizontally as well as 

vertically. One of these instances of horizontal motion is seen on the road from Bend City to Independence, about 3 miles east of the latter place. Here, according to a careful diagram of t|je locality 

drawn by Captain Scoones, it appears that the road running east and west has been cut off by a 

fissure. 12 feet wide and the westerly portion of it carried IS feet to the south. The same thing was 

noticed by us at Lone Pine and Big Pine with regard to fences and ditches, the horizontal distance 

through which the ground had been moved varying from 3 to 12 feet.

The distribution of volcanic vents and hot springs along the supposed fault line at the 

base of the Sierra Nevada escarpment is suggestive of movement along that line in comparatively recent time. To judge from Walcott's description of the Waucobi region, Lindgren's 

description of the Genoa region, and Whitney's description of Owens Valley, it is not unlikely 

that movements may still be in progress. According to Whitney the earthquake of 1S72 

was the most severe and disastrous that had been known on the Pacific coast. The shock 

was felt over the greater part of California and Nevada and southward far into Mexico. The 

area of greatest disturbance and greatest destruction of life and property was in Owens Valley along a line parallel with the face of the Seirra Nevada.

UNDERGROUND WATERS. 

ARTESIAN CONDITIONS.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

From the descriptions of the geology and structure it is evident that Owens Valley is a 

well-defined structural basin formed by the older rocks and partly filled with younger sediments. These sediments, which were accumulated both as lake deposits and as debris from 

near-by mountain slopes, vary greatly in physical character. Lenticular deposits of sand, 

clay, and gravel occur in the valley fill, and at the sides wedge-shaped masses of coarse mountain wash are probably interbedded with the finer lake deposits. The extent and distribution of the various kinds of material composing the valley fill can only be conjectured, since 

the well data obtained are insufficient to establish definite relations between them.

The outline of the basin, together with such indications of the structure of the fill as could 

be obtained, indicates that the valley is a well-defined artesian basin; but whether the underground conditions are such as to produce flowing wells over a considerable portion of the 

basin can not be stated. A number of wells have been sunk in the valley to moderate depths

" Whitney, J. D., The Owens Valley earthquake: Overland Monthly, June, 1872.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. IV

VIEW FROM "THE MEADOW" ON THE EASTERN SLOPE OF MOUNT WHITNEY 

Showing precipitous cliffs and the glaciated character of the bottom of the gorge.
UNDERGROUND WATERS. 13

and some of them yield flows. No definite records of these wells have been preserved, and 

all the available well data are insufficient to furnish a thorough knowledge of the underground conditions.

WELL RECORDS.

Inyo Development Company. A well at Keeler owned by the Inyo Development Company 

is the only one in Owens Valley having a strong artesian flow. It was drilled in 1902, is 465 

feet deep, and penetrates 7 gravel layers, all of which contain water under strong pressure. 

For the upper 190 feet the well is eased with 6-inch pipe, inside of which there is a 4-inch pipe 

extending from the surface to the bottom. The first flow was found at a depth of 85 feet. 

The water flowing from the outer casing enters the bottom of the pipe at a depth of 190 feet 

and is under sufficient pressure to rise 20 feet above the surface. It is too saline for use, as it 

contains large quantities of "alkali," common salt, calcium carbonate, hydrogen sulphide, 

etc. The water from the 465-foot level is much better, but it is not used for domestic purposes on account of its large content of hydrogen sulphide. It seems, however, to be comparatively free from "alkali,"salt, and lime, as it has been used satisfactorily for two years in 

the boilers of the soda works. The pressure from the lower horizon lifts the water in a pipe 

35 feet above the surface. Nothing was learned regarding the five other water-bearing horizons which were encountered. The well flows about 550 gallons per minute, and since the 

casings are not perforated this amount enters only at the bottoms of the two pipes. It is 

evident that a much greater supply could be obtained by using perforated casings, so as to 

admit water from the other five artesian horizons. Both horizons furnishing water contain 

natural gas, which escapes with the water at the surface. A preliminary test indicated that 

the well yields about 1 cubic foot of gas per second. It has satisfactory illuminating properties and might be used to advantage if obtained in sufficiently large quantities.

Olancne. A well near Olanche 80 feet deep failed to obtain artesian water. The material 

penetrated in this boring was largely granite wash and sand.

Dodge Brother*' well. The Dodge Brothers have made three attempts to obtain artesian 

water near Lone Pine. The deepest boring went down 160 feet. In each case the attempt 

failed, probably in large measure on account of the use of unsuitable machinery.

Spear's irelL A well at Lone Pine, owned by Mr. R. 0. Spear, has a depth of 184 feet 

No coarse gravel or bowlders were found, and the boring was stopped by hard rock which 

the drill could not penetrate. No water was struck under pressure sufficient to yield a flow.

Wrinkle's well. About 6 miles north of Lone Pine a well on Wrinkle's ranch, 80 feet 

deep, yields a slight flow.

Roe per'a well. Mr. J. C. Roeper has a 7-inch well 250 feet deep on his farm in sec. 30, 

T. 14 S., R. 36 E. Several horizons were encountered with water under sufficient pressure 

to cause a slight flow. Since its construction the well has practically ceased to flow and 

now yields scarcely enough water for domestic use.

Well near Blaek Rock Spring. A well about 10 miles north of Independence was bored 

to a depth of 180 feet. Nothing except detrital material was encountered. Water was 

found from a depth of 5 feet downward, but it was not under hydrostatic pressure.

Coe'ft wells. Three wells have been bored by Mr. J. H. Coe. The first, in sec. 3, T. 9 S., 

R. 34 E., is a 5-inch well, 160 feet deep. Three water-bearing strata were found, separated 

by layers of blue clay, but no water was obtained under pressure sufficient to produce a 

flow. The second well, in sec. 4, T. 9 S., R. 34 E., is 175 feet deep. In this well several gravel 

strata were encountered containing water under some pressure, but yielding no flow. The 

third well, in sec. 26, T. 9 S., R. 34 E., is 180 feet deep. The material penetrated consists 

of alternating layers of gravel and clay. Water rose a short distance in this well.

Bishop. There are two small flowing wells at Bishop, but no record of them could be 

obtained. They are drilled wells and are said to be about 200 feet in depth. The yield is 

only a few gallons per minute, and the pressure is less than 3 pounds. Had the location 

been on ground a few feet higher the water would not have flowed. On the other hand, a 

well on lower ground might strike a larger flow.
14 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

Longlfy's well. Mr. A. W. Longley has a well about 6 miles west of Bishop, in Round 

Valley. It is 401 feet deep and is nonflowing, but it supplies by pumping-all the water 

desired.

Minor wells. In addition to the wells already described there are several places in the 

valley where pipes driven 20 to 30 feet yield flowing water. While the wTater in these 

wells, as well as in those at Bishop, is under more or less hydrostatic pressure, this pressure 

is so slight that the wells are of small value.

FLOWING AREA.

From a consideration of the wells just described it is evident that the only place within 

Owens Valley where conditions of flow worthy of note are now known to exist is at Keeler.a 

Considered as a whole, however, the valley is an artesian basin in the sense that underground 

water exists in it under more or less hydrostatic pressure; but the basin is small and the 

catchment area is practically limited to the space between the confining mountains. No 

considerable volume of artesian water from a catchment area outside of the valley proper 

enters Owens Valley. The outcrops of sedimentary formations to the east are of small 

extent and in a desert region, while the granite to the west precludes all possibility of any 

notable underflow from that direction. The underground supply therefore is derived 

mainly from the water entering the valley as streams from the Sierra Nevada, which finds 

its way downward through the gravels. Hence any artesian conditions which may exist 

are confined to the narrow limits of the valley floor.

The flowing wells at Bishop and Keeler, situated, as they are, near the opposite extremities 

of the valley, might suggest that the conditions are favorable for flowing wells throughout 

the valley, but several wells between these two localities have penetrated at least to the 

level of the upper horizon at Keeler without obtaining flows. It is worthy of note in this 

connection that in the Keeler well the lower flow has a greater pressure than the upper, 

the water from the 190-foot level rising 20 feet and that from the 465-foot level 35 feet 

above the surface. It is possible that wells deeper than those which have failed might find 

flowing water throughout the valley.

There are two possible structures of the valley fill to be considered in connection with the 

subject of artesian conditions. On the one hand it may consist of comparatively uniform 

and continuous layers of alternating pervious and impervious material with moderately 

regular successions throughout the valley. In this case a flowing well at one point, as at 

Keeler, would indicate a reasonable possibility of procuring flowing water at other localities 

similarly situated. On the other hand, the distribution of the pervious and impervious 

material may be irregular, in which case isolated bodies of water-bearing sands may occur, 

yielding flowing wells, while a few miles distant very different conditions may prevail.

NONFLOWING AEEA.

A large amount of water under no hydrostatic pressure occurs throughout Owens Valley. 

All the shallow wells encounter it within a few feet of the surface, and the bored wells, with 

the exception of the few just described, show water without hydrostatic pressure to a depth 

of nearly 200 feet. These wells penetrate layers of sand and gravel separated by layers of 

clay. The absence of hydrostatic pressure, however, indicates that the porous beds may 

be so intimately connected that they virtually form one body of sediment through which 

the water has free communication.

UTILIZATION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS.

PUMPING PLANTS.

Pumping water for irrigation has received but little attention thus far in Owens Valley, 

No pump, so far as could be learned, has ever been given a trial in the valley, and as there

o It is possible that the strong flow at Keeler is due in some measure to the pressure of the natural 

gas. The gas escaping with the water lightens the column in the well and helps to raise the water, a 

principle utilized in wells using the "air lift."
UNDERGROUND WATERS. 15

are no experiments from which inference may be drawn the subject must be considered 

entirely from surface indications.

Since the valley fill is composed largely of loose detrital material, it has a large capacity 

for holding water, and since the valley is an inclosed basin, with the granite extending 

continuously across it south of Owens Lake, there is little opportunity for water to escape 

through underground passages. As there is a continuous inflow, amounting to about 

395,000 acre-feet per year, and as this inflow passes over loose detrital matter, there is 

large opportunity for water to pass underground. All things considered, Owens Valley 

presents ideal conditions for the accumulation of underground water. Some of the observed 

facts bearing on this subject are as follows:

There are many places throughout the bottom lands where small swamps and lowlands 

producing swamp vegetation indicate that water is near the surface. The wells throughout the valley contain water within a few feet of the surface. The water table on the 

Sierra Nevada side is somewhat steeply inclined, owing to the numerous streams entering the 

valley from those mountains. Cellars were observed with water a foot or more in depth 

and having a distinct current toward the lowlands, which indicates a somewhat rapid rate 

of underflow. There are wells into which water flows in streams from the sides near the 

top and from which it escapes at a lower level. Streams from the mountains diminish in 

volume to a notable extent as they flow over the detrital matter, the smaller ones passing completely beneath the surface. In the lava fields north of Independence water 

becomes confined beneath the sheets of lava and issues as large springs. Black Rock 

spring is a good example and is said to yield about 3,500 gallons per minute. Soldier 

spring, a few miles farther north, yields about 2,500 gallons per minute.

A comparison of the coarse detritus, large water supply, and closed condition of the 

basin of Owens Valley with the conditions in other regions where the underground waters 

have been developed indicates that the pumping of water for irrigation in this valley 

might be made very successful. At present much land is being injured by the misuse of 

water. Small swamps are being developed in many places, especially in the vicinity of 

Bishop, by the diversion of too much water. Lands which were formerly part of the 

unproductive desert have been changed into unhealthy swamps. A system of pumps 

might be so arranged as not only to utilize the underground waters, but to drain the land 

wherever necessary.

POWER PLANTS.

Many of the streams entering Owens Valley from the higher portions of the Sierra 

Nevada are of sufficient volume and gradient to produce a large amount of power. These 

streams are all mountain torrents, and numerous places are available for the establishment 

of power plants at no great distance from the lowlands of the valley. There is no Jack 

of available power and no obvious reason why it should not be employed in raising the 

underground waters of the valley for irrigation or used in any other manner desired,

RESERVOIR SITE.

Preliminary surveys of Long Valley have been made by the Reclamation Service to 

determine the practicability of converting this depression into a storage reservoir. The 

dam site for this project is at the lower end of Long Valley, where Owens River cuts a 

narrow gorge in the recent volcanic rocks. The surplus water of Owens River impounded 

in this reservoir would be used in reclaiming the desert lands of the lower part of Owens 

Valley.

Long Valley is a shallow depression about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide nearly surrounded by volcanic rocks. It may be due in some measure to local subsidence, but is 

more probably due to the deposition of volcanic material as a dam across a portion of an 

older valley. This created a lake in Long Valley, in which were deposited the Quaternary sediments shown on a geologic map of this region by Spurr.a This lake was evict Spurr, J. E., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 208, 1903.
16 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

dently of short duration, for the beach lines are not continuous and are nowhere projninent, 

and the delta deposits formed by the streams which entered the lake are comparatively 

small.

There was at first some doubt concerning the ability of the tuff to hold the water of 

the reservoir, for it is of a soft, spongy nature, easily crushed, though not easily fractured. 

Subsequent tests have shown, however, that the rock is very resistant and sufficiently 

impervious for all required purposes.

EFFECT OF SEISMIC DISTURBANCES.

In the west end of Long Valley the largest hot springs of the region are found. The 

mud geyser described on page 9 is also in this vicinity. The most recent volcanic 

craters of the region, of which Panum Crater (PI. V, A) is an example, occur a few miles 

to the north nf the springs, and the zone of faulting believed to be at the foot of the Sierra 

Nevada passes near if not actually through Long Valley. It is believed by many geologists that a slipping in this fault zone caused the earthquake of 1872, described by Whitney in the article previously quoted (p 12). There is no reason to suppose that disturbances of this kind are at an end and that an earthquake similar to the one of 1872, which 

has been recognized as one of the most severe shocks ever experienced in America, should 

not be repeated at any time a A consideration of the surface movements, both temporary 

and permanent, which caused that shock and of the tact that the proposed reservoir location is near the line of faulting, indicates the possibility that future earthquakes may 

bring serious consequences to any system of water storage in Owens Valley. On the 

other hand, more than a quarter of a century has passed without notable disturbance of 

the region.

STRUCTURAL MATERIALS.

BUILDING STONE.

Granite of excellent quality for building purposes is found throughout the Sierra Nevada 

west of Owens Valley- An exposure ot this rock occurs within a few miles of the site of 

the proposed dam The andesitic tuff is also used to some extent in this region as a building stone. It is so soft that it may be hewn with an ax, but it is surprisingly resistant to 

strain and to the influence of the weather Exposed cliffs 50 to 150 feet high maintain 

rugged and sharp outlines. The material often changes within short distances from a soft 

ash to a well-consolidated tuff

MATERIAL FOR CEMENT.

When the investigation of the Owens River project was undertaken by the United States 

Reclamation Service, it was suggested by .1. B. Lippincott, engineer in charge, that the volcanic ash known to exist in the vicinity of the reservoir site might be mixed with Portland 

cement for use in the construction of the proposed dam and that this might greatly reduce 

the cost of construction During the course of the investigation, however, it was discovered that limestone, clay, and a natural cement material also occur in abundance in Owens 

Valley.

It was found that the volcanic rocks in the vicinity of Long Valley (see p. 8) are, so 

far as observed, fairly uniform in character. Samples were taken, therefore, at the site 

of the proposed dam, in order that tests might be made to gain some, knowledge of the 

strength of the abutments and of the cement-making qualities of the tuff. At the dam 

site the rock is more resistant and more uniformly consolidated than in some other localities, but does not differ in other respects from the less consolidated portions. The tuff has 

not, yet been tested for cement making, but some of its physical properties, as ascertained 

by the division of physical and chemical research of the United States Geological Survey, 

are as follows: &

»The. San Francisco earthquake occurred after the above paragraph was written. 

6 Data turnisJied by J. C. Clausen, engineer o| the United States Keclamation Service.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. V

A. PANUM CRATER, NEAR MONO LAKE.

The rim of the crater is composed of loose volcanic cinders and the central core of somewhat 

scoriaceous obsidian.

11. CROOKED CREEK NEAR LONG VALLEY DAM SITE. 

A gorge carved in \he volcanic tuffs south of Long Valley.
BESERVOIB SITE. 17

Physical properties of tuff from Long Valley, California.

Specific gravity, dry ............................................................................. 1.53

Specific gravity, saturated with water............................................................ 1.91

Gain in weight after saturating with water...........................................percent.. 24

Weight per cubic foot dry..............................................................pounds.. 95.62

Weight per cubic foot, saturated with water..............................................do.... 119.37

The Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy, reports on the crushing strength of 

this rock as follows: Test No. 1 crushed at 2,056 pounds per square inch; test No. 2 crushed 

at 1,725 pounds per square inch. Edward Duryee, of the United States Reclamation Service, reports the specific gravity of the same kind of rock as 2.19.

Limestones and marble are abundant in Owens Valley, especially on the flanks of the 

White Mountains. Clay is found in the, valley floor and in the form of shale and slate on 

the mountain slopes. It is thought that these materials may be found suitable for the 

manufacture of cement.

In the western bluff of Owens Lake, near the mouth of Cottonwood Creek, occurs a 

stratum of fine material about 8 feet thick, which seems to be composed of a mixture of 

fine volcanic ash and clay. J. F. Holloway, who owns a ranch near this point, has taken 

some interest in this deposit in the hope that it may prove of value in the construction of 

canals. At his request the material was examined by Mr. Cooper, formerly'State mineralogist of California, who states that "with the addition of lime the material would make 

a good Portland cement." The material was also examined for fineness byE. C. Preble of 

Chicago. Of two samples tested by him, 11.9 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, were 

left on a 100-mesh sieve. He suggests that with the addition of proper quantities of lime 

a good cement could be manufactured. A deposit of this material is shown in PI. V, A. 

Where the blocks fallen from the cliff have been acted on by the lake water, the material 

has been distinctly hardened, owing to the deposition of carbonate of lime, and is notably 

changed in chemical composition. Samples of both the original and the altered material 

were collected, and have been analyzed by Edward Duryee, of the United States Reclamation Service, as follows:

Analysis of cement rock from Owens Lake.

Silica ............................................................................

Unaltered 

material.

71.50

22.02

2

2.40

Altered 

material.

14

5.64

74.98

4.37

Commenting on these analyses, Mr. Duryee says: "The analysis of No. 2 [the altered 

material] indicates that the material is suitable for making Portland cement by burning it 

at the proper temperature. If further examination shows the deposit to be extensive and 

uniform in composition and free from insoluble sand, it is a Portland cement rock."

CLIMATE. 

RAINFALL.

Owens Valley is cut off from the supply of moisture on the east and south by a long stretch 

of desert and on the west by high mountains. As previously stated the moisture-laden 

winds from the Pacific Ocean lose much of their moisture in passing over the Sierra Nevada 

before reaching the Owens Valley region. The result of these conditions is the heavy precipitation near the top of the range, while desert conditions prevail in the valley only a 

few"miles to the east. The available information regarding the rainfall in the valley is contained in the following tables: 

IRR 181 06 2
18 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

Record of precipitation at Bifthop Creek, Inyo County, Cal.'T- 

[Lat., 37° 21'; long., 118° 22'; elevation, 4,450 feet. Authority, Southern Pacific Railroad.]

Year.

1883-84.........

1884-85.........

1885-86.........

1886-87 .........

1887-88.........

1888-89.........

1889-90.........

1890-91 .........

1891-92.........

1892-93 .........

1893-94.........

1894-95.........

1895-96.........

1896-97.........

1897-98.........

1898-99.........

1899-1900..... ..

Sept.

0.12

0

0

0

.15

.69

.19

0

.19

T.

T.

.05

.09

.41

0

39

0

Oct.

0.11

0

.02

°

.15

.03

0

.20

.16

T.

.39

.14

03

.81

Nov.

0

0.35

0

.05

1.72

.35

0

0

1.42

.10

.15

T.

T.

.21

.05

2.69

.61

Dec.

0.38

1

0

.20

1.10

1.20

3.52

2 °7

.49

1.18

T.

.16

.49

.11

1.05

.12

Jan.

0.02

1.03

.65

1.37

.10

4.75

0

.10

1.22

.30

1.10

1.07

.32

.05

1.65

.49

4 89

Feb.

0.64

0

0

1.58

.47

.50

.30

3.70

.70

1.12

.50

0

1.67

.13

0

.01

1.01

.55

Mar.

0.94

.67

.50

0

.05

1.46

0

.28

1.10

.15

.09

.22

.60

1.75

T.

T.

.54

T.

1.53

Apr.

0.05

.14

.38

.35

0

.12

0

0

 0

0

.05

.29

.05

0

.21

.64

.60

.61

 

May.

0

0

0

0.55

0

.30

0

2.90

.25

0

T.

.15

.03

.12

.02

.34

1.29

.06

 

June.

0

0

0

0.35

.35

0

0

0

T.

0

.35

.11

0

T.

T.

0

.12

T.

0

July.

0

0

0

0

0.20

0

0

0

0

1.05

T.

.21

.57

.01

T.

0

T.

0

T.

Aug.

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.50

.03

0

T.

.23

.07

.06

.05

.06

.05

0

.93

.12

 

2.86 

1.81 

2.28 

3.6S 

3.89 

4.60 

7.13 

8.60 

5.86 

7.43 

2.55 

3.83 

2.69 

4.13 

1.69 

3.09 

3.34 

H.90 

4.48

4.52

a Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 426.

Record of precipitation at Keeler, Inyo County, Cal. a 

[Lat., 36° 35'; long., 117° 50'; elevation, 3,622 feet. Authority, Southern Pacific Railroad.]

Year.

1883-84.........

1884-85.........

1885-86.........

1886-87.........

1887-88.........

1888-89.........

1890-91.........

1891-92.........

1892-93.........

1893-94.........

1894-95......... 

1895-96......... 

1896-97.........

1897-98 . .

1898-99.........

1899-1900.......

1900-1901 .......

1901-2..........

18-year mean.

Sept.

0 

0 

0 

1.08 

.06 

.08

.93 

.19 

T. 

T. 

0 

T. 

.50 

.14 

T. 

0 

.35 

0

Oct.

0 

0. 25 

.01 

.84 

0 

.56

.03 

.04 

.81 

T. 

0 

0 

T. 

.15 

0 

T. 

.09 

.50

Nov.

0 

0.65 

.08 

.01 

1.68 

.05 

.12 

0 

.11 

.03 

0 

0 

0 

T. 

T. 

1.75 

.45 

0

Pec.

0.70 

.36 

0 

.48 

.82 

.56 

.22 

.31 

.54 

1.48 

1.05 

T. 

.25 

T. 

.30 

T. 

0 

0

Jan.

0 

0.49 

T. 

.70 

.04 

.42 

0 

.26 

.71 

T. 

.35 

.45 

.10 

0 

.40 

T. 

.75 

T.

Feb.

0 

0.14 

.93 

1.21 

T 

.01 

1 

.19 

.75 

.29 

1.15 

0 

.27 

0 

.45 

0

. *-O

. 25

Mar.

0.12 

.60 

0 

.30 

.52 

T. 

2.01 

.32 

1.50 

.01 

T. 

T. 

.13 

0 

0 

.16 

0 

1.25

Apr.

0.20 

.82 

.40 

1.14

.12 

.10 

0 

0 

0 

T. 

.25 

T. 

0 

.05 

.01 

1.25 

T 

0

May.

1.60 

0 

0 

.04 

.30 

.06 

.20 

.37 

.56 

T. 

T. 

T. 

.15 

T. 

0 

T. 

.23 

.40 

0

June

0.80 

.08 

0 

T. 

.20 

.01 

0 

.30 

T. 

0 

T.

T. 

0 

0

.50 

T. 

0 

0

July.

0 

0 

.14 

.52 

.17 

0 

. T. 

.06 

0 

1.41 

.11 

T. 

.25 

0 

0 

T. 

.10 

0 

T.

Aug.

0.20 

.11 

.08 

0 

.10 

T. 

1.71 

.02 

0 

T. 

0 

T. 

1.42 

.19 

0 

T. 

T. 

.90 

T.

Total.

*>2.80 

1.83 

3.11 

2.72 

5.51 

3.31 

3.69 

5.06 

1.87 

5.83 

1.92 

2.80 

2.27 

1.44 

.34 

1.66 

3.49 

3.19 

2

2.89

a Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 427. 

i> Year incomplete,
CLIMATE.

Record of precipitation at Camp Independence, Inyo County, Cal. a

19

[Lat., 36° 50'; long., 118° 10'; elevation, 4,598 feet. Authority, United States War Department.]

Year.

1866-67.........

1867-68.........

1868-69.........

1871-72.........

1872-73......... 

1873-74.........

1874-75.........

1876 77.........

1891-92.........

1892-93 .........

1893-94.........

1895-96.........

1897-98

1S9S-99.........

1899 1900.......

1900-1901 .......

Sept.

0.07

0

0

0 

.10

.40

.01

.16

T.

T.

T.

.20

T.

......

Oct.

.32

1.10

0 

0

80

.26

.35

.83

Nov.

0

0

0.21

.44

.14

0

.65

0 

0

.JO

.66

0

.23

10

.67

.10

1.34

09

Dec.

12. 19

1.17

1

4.70

1.18 

3.40

0

1.61

.OS

OA

.56

.13

Jan.

2 42

0

5.46

.16

.20

0

0

0 

2.40

1.73

1.51

.76

1.51

.12

1.24

.54

01

2.81

Feb.

0

1.63

0

0

1.36

1.28

.30

.40 

1

0

0

2.91

.42

T.

.64

Mar.

0

4.76

0

.32

0

0

.28

0 

0

0

.87

0

.62

.98

.09

.12

0

.01

.67

.05

Apr.

0.16

.53

.40

.11

.21

0

.55

0 

0

0

0

.59

.02

.02

T.

.16

.02

.62

T.

.17

May.

0.76

.71

.36

97

0

.18

0 

0

0

.69

.96

T.

.10

.01

.23

.03

.36

.lime.

0

0

0

0

.30

0

0 

.01

0

.15

0

.07

0

.11

T.

T.

.37

.04

0

July.

0.01

.10

.03

.35

0

.28

0 

.15

.19

0

T.

! >

T.

T.

.01

.08

.10

.17

Aug.

1.15

0

0

.10

0

.12

.05 

0

0

.56

0

T.

T.

.51

.11

.06

T.

.32

.13

Total.

f>3.23

11.43

19. 4tv

3.33

2.63

3.68

7.0o

1.63

7.06

3.33

-, 97

2.46

Si. 65

8.38

2.34

4.48

l>1.58

\50

1.54

3.70

6.51

4.23

5.47

_ __ ______I______________I___________ ___ _ _

a Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. SI, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 427. 

b Year incomplete

These tables show that the precipitation is not only slight but exceedingly variable, the 

yearly totals ranging from a maximum of 19.46 inches to a minimum of 0.34 inch, while the 

average is 4.14 inches.

No records are available for the Sierra Nevada region, but the annual precipitation is 

about .50 inches/* The amount of rainfall in the mountainous district is much greater 

than in the valley. This fact is indicated by the condition of the vegetation in the two 

districts. The mountains are covered with a luxuriant forest, characteristic of a wellwatered region, while in the valley outside of the immediate influence of the streams there 

is only a scant and stunted growth of plants characteristic of the desert region of the Great 

Basin.

EVAPORATION.

Rate at Owens Lake. The waters entering Owens Lake have no means of escape except 

by evaporation, but these waters have been disappearing for several years and the lake 

itself has greatly decreased in volume. During the last ten years the surface of the lake 

has lowered 16 feet and in 1904 it lowered 2.5 feet. According to measurements furnished 

by J. C. Clausen, of the United States Reclamation Service, the volume of water entering 

the valley during one year, August, 1903, to July, 1904, was about 395,000 acre-feet, of 

which 297,000 were diverted for irrigation and 64,000 entered Owens Lake, leaving 34,000 

which presumably joined the underflow. b Furthermore, a large though unknown p'opora See map, Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 81, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903, p. 12.

b The total includes the waters of 18 of the tributary streams, of which occasional measurements were 

made and the discharge estimated. The error is not great, as the discharge of these streairs is small 

compared with that of Owens River. The measurements so far as they are available are to be] found in 

the reports of progress of stream measurements, Water-Sup, and Irr. Papers Nos. 100, '.34, and 177, 

U. S. Geol. Survey.
20 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFOENIA.

tion of the water diverted for irrigation must have found its way beneath the surface. This 

water moves slowly toward the lowest part of the basin, where it is eventually lost by 

evaporation either from the land surface to which it is brought by capillary action or from 

the lake.

Based on the loss from the lake in 1904, the annual rate of evaporation is 30 inches more 

than the total inflow. The 64,000 acre-feet of water entering the lake and lost from its 75 

square miles of evaporating surface add about 16 inches to the annual rate of evaporation. 

Several small streams whose waters were not measured enter the lake and the volume entering as underflow, although unknown, must be large. A rate of evaporation sufficient to 

dispose of these unmeasured waters must be added, which makes an annual evaporation of 

considerably more than 46 inches from the surface of the lake.

Rate at Bishop. During 1904 evaporation measurements were carried on at Bishop, Cal., 

by the engineers of the United States Reclamation Service, with the following result:

Evaporation at Bishop, Cal. 

[Data furnished by R. J. Taylor.J

Inches. 

January 5-31, 1904.......................... 4.09

February................................... 2 21

March...................................... 4.48

April....................................... 6.41

May........................................ 11.02

June.......................................

July.......................................

August....................................

Inches. 

September.................................. 3.83

October..................................... 2.82

November.................................. 1.73

Decem ber................................... 3.21

January 1-4, 1905a.......................... .26

0.13

TEMPERATURE.

The temperature of Owens Valley is subject to great and sudden changes, owing to the 

wide differences of altitude within the region. The average temperature is moderate, as is 

shown by the accompanying table of mean temperatures. It is not uncommon for killing 

frosts to occur late in the spring, nor is it unusual, on the other hand, for the temperature to 

reach 100° or more during the summer months.

Monthly mean temperature at Independence, Cal. 

[ Data by J. J. McLean, observer, U. S. Weather Bureau.]

Years

1894. ..........

1897 a

1900...........

Jan.

37.8

43.2

40.2

46.6

42

Feb.

45 5

47.2

46.5

48/1

46.8

Mar.

49.2

44

50.5

54.9

49.0

Apr.

57.3

62

59. 4

52

57.7

May.

65.6

62.1

60

65.8

63.4

J une.

71.6

74.2

74.2

75.4

73.8

July.

78

80.4

80 4

79.4

79.6

Aug.

76

80.1

72.6

72.4

75.3

Sept.

68.3

72

74.6

63.5

69.6

Oct.

60

60

55.4

58.8

58.6

Nov.

48.3

48.2

49.4

50. 4

49.1

Dec.

38.4

37.8

39.7

43.1

43.4

40.5

Annual.

58

58.8

59.2

58.7

a Station closed.

UNDRAINED LAKES AS REGISTERS OF CLIMATE.

OWENS LAKE.

Physical character. Owens Lake was originally described & as having an area of about 

110 square miles, with an average depth of 9 feet 10 inches and a density of 1.051. The only

a The total for January, 1905, is 2.05; in order to make the table cover a complete year four thirty-firsts 

of that amount is included with the 1904 measurements.

& Loew, Oscar, Ann. Kept. U. S. Geog. Surv. W. lOOthMer., 1876, p. 189. Goodyear, W. A., Eighth Ann. 

Kept. State Mineralogist California, 1888, p. 227.
CLIMATE. 21

known forms of animal life inhabiting the water were infusoria, alkali shrimps (Artemia 

salina), and the larva? of the alkali flies (Ephydra). which developed in great numbers. 

Some of the conditions described by former writers have materially changed in recent 

years. AtKeeler, on the eastern shore of Owens Lake, the Inyo Development Company has 

an extensive plant for the extraction of soda from the waters of the lake. This plant has 

been in operation for about twenty years and the lake has been observed from a commercial 

standpoint during that time. Mr. N. Wrinkle, the superintendent of the soda works, has 

kindly furnished the following information^

The density of the water has increased to a point where bicarbonate of soda precipitates during the 

winter months without concentration by evaporation. During the past three years 1902 to 1904 

the surface of the lake has lowered at the rate of 2.5 feet per year, and it has lowered 16 feet since 1894. 

Throughout the ten years previous to this date the lake surface remained practically stationary. Formerly alkali flies developed in myriads, us described by various writers, but during the present season 

(1904), although the larvse are as numerous as usual, the flies have failed to appear.

It has been assumed that the failure of the larva? to develop is due to the increasing 

density of the water. This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that at Mono Lake these 

flies appeared in as great numbers as usual, and were seen by the writer literally blackening 

the sands at the water's edge. The water of Mono Lake is much less saline than that of 

Owens Lake, although it is otherwise similar, as a comparison of the analyses will show.

It is evident from Goodyear's description b that the decrease in volume of Owens Lake had 

a comparatively recent beginning. He writes concerning his visit in 1870: "It is certain 

that the water at the time of our visit was higher by at least several feet than it had been 

for some time previously, for at one or two points along the margin of the lake I saw in the 

shallow water near the shore the dead sagebrush still standing where it grew, but entirely 

covered by water."

Chemical character. The water of Owens Lake is strongly charged with common salt, 

sodium carbonate, borax, and minor quantities of other salts. Several analyses of the 

water have been made.c

The earliest analysis, so far as known, was by Professor Phillips, of England, the exact 

date, however, being unknown. It is as follows;d

Analysis of the water of Owens Lake, California.

Parts per million. 

Sodium (Na)............................. 43,395

Potassium (K)........................... 3,378

Parts per million. 

Silicate radicle (SiO3)..................... 908

Organic matter........................... 242

Chlorine (Cl)............................. 25,478

Sulphate radicle (SO<).................... 12,929 103,605

Carbonate radicle (CO8).................. 17,275

The following analysis was made by Osear Loew for the Wheeler Survey, e 

Analysis of the water of Owens Lake, California (1876). 

[Specific gravity 1.051.]

Parts per million, i Parts per million. 

Sodium (Na).............................. 21,550 Magnesium (Mg).......................... Trace.

Potassium (K)............................ 2,753

Chlorine (Cl).............................. 13,496

Sulphate radicle (SO4 )..................... 9,363

Carbonate radicle (CO3)................... 13,240

Silica (SiO 2)............................... 163

Lithium (Li).............................. Trace.

Calcium (Ca).............................. Trace.

Aluminum (Al)............................ Trace.

Borate radicle (B4 O?)..................... Trace.

Phosphate radicle (PO^).................. Trace.

Nitrate radicle (NO3)...................... Trace.

Organic matter............................ Trace.

60,565

a Personal communication.

6 Goodyear, W. A., Eighth Ann. Kept. State Mineralogist California, 1888, p. 241.

cThe values are given in various units in the original reports, but have been reduced to parts per 

million and to round numbers in order that comparison may be made more readily. Correction is also 

made for specific gravity.

dBailey, Gilbert E., Saline deposits of California: Bull. California State Mining Bureau No. 24,1902, 

p 95.

'Ann. Kept. TT. S. Geog. Survey W. 100th Mer., 1876, p. 190. See also Eighth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. 

Survey, pt. 1, 1889, p. 295.
22 GEOLOGY AND WATERS OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

Ten years later another analysis was made by T. M. Chatard, of the United States Geological Survey. The sample was taken September 17, 1886.«

Analysis of the wafer of Owens Lake, California (1886). 

[Specific gravity. 1.062 at 2.3°.]

Silica (SiOa) ..................

Sodium (Na) .................

Iron (Fe)............. ........

Percent.

0.28

2.13

30.% 

.02

* .02

.03

Parts 

per million.

208

1,551

26,8X7 

13

9

12

Sulphate radicle (SO<) .......

Carbonate radicle (COj) ..... 

Chlorine ft 1) .................

Percent.

9.73

4q

25.16 

25.09

100.01

Parts 

per million.

7, OSO

34e

18,300 

18, 250

72, 721

Recently a partial analysis of the water of Owens Lake was made by N. Wrinkle, manager 

of the Inyo Development Company's soda works at Keeler. The sample was taken in July, 

1904. Mr. Wrinkle found the specific gravity to be 1.186 and the percentage of contained 

salts correspondingly great.

In August, 1905, at the writer's request a complete analysis was made by C. H. Stone, 

of the United States Reclamation Service, as follows:

Analysis of water from Owens Lake, California (1905}. 

[Sample taken August 21. i> Specific gravity, 1.195.]

Parts per

million 

by weight. 

Phosphate radicle (PO4)................. 238

Borate radicle (B4 O 7 )..................... 296

II (in HCO3 , Na2IIPO4 , and CaH4 (PO^s). 130 

As2O 3 ..................................... Ill

NO3 ....................................... 948

Rb........................................ Trace.

Cs........................................ Trace.

Parts per

million 

by weight. 

Silica (SiO2).............................. 298

Iron and aluminum (FeAl calculated as

Al)..................................... 48

Calcium (Ca)............................. 34

Magnesium (Mg)......................... 15

Potassium (K)........................... 3,448

Sodium (Na)............................. 81,176

Lithium (Li)............................. 57

Sulphate radicle (SO4 ).................... 21,174

Chlorine (CI)............................. 52,898

Carbonate radicle (CO3).................. 52,326 j

For convenience of comparison the total solids and densities given in the foregoing 

analyses are tabulated below. The first analysis, that of Phillips, does not accord with 

the later ones. The increase in density shown by the others is largely, if not wholly, due 

to the decrease, in the volume of the lake caused by rapid evaporation.

Increase, in salinity of Owens Lake, California.

Total solids (by addition)............ 213,197

Total solids determined.................. 213,661

Date of

analysis.

(?)

1876......

1886......

1904......

1905......

Authority.

Phillips............ .........

Wrinkle....................

Total solids 

(parts per 

million).

103, 605

60,565

72, 721

213, 660

Specific 

gravity.

1.051

1.062

1.186

1.195

Remarks.

Volume of lake constant for 1 year previous to sampling.

o Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 60, 1890, p. 58.

<> For about one year previous to this date the surface of the lake had remained stationary.
CLIMATE. 23

MONO LAKE. ^

Physical character. Mono Lake and its environs have been described by Russell,« who 

shows that the lake had been increasing in volume for twenty-five years previous to the 

time of his examination, the surface having risen from 1.5 to 20 feet during that time. 

To aid in future determinations of changes of level a permanent bench mark wras placed 

at the water's edge on one of the islands in the lake, the water level at that time (November .5, 1883) being 6,380 feet above sea level, as determined by vertical angles from Mount 

Conness.

During the writer's visit to the lake in the summer of 1904 abundant evidence was 

found of a recent rise of the water surface. Dead trees and shrubs of varieties that grow 

only on dry land were seen standing in several feet of water, and a road at the west end of 

the lake, said to have been used only a few years ago, was covered with water about 4 feet 

deep. The island on which the bench mark described by Russell was established was not 

visited by the writer, but at his request William Farrington, a young man living near 

the lake, later visited this island and found that the bench mark had been submerged, 

and no measurement was taken.

According to determinations of altitude by the United States Geological Survey & the 

surface of Mono Lake had an altitude of 6,412 feet on July 27, 1898. In making these 

determinations it was found that the altitude as previously determined was 13 feet too high. 

According to the later determinations, therefore, the lake surface was 19 feet higher in 

1898 than it was in 1883.

Chemical character. The water of Mono Lake is similar in composition to that of Owens 

Lake, as is indicated by the following analysis:

Analysis of the water of Mono Lake (1882). c 

[Specific gravity, 1.0456 at 15.5°.]

Per cent 

of total 

solids.

0.130

.037

.103

1 79 r>

36. 810

] .005

Parts per 

million.

67

20

53

904

19, 312

3

Chlorine (ClJ .................

Per cent 

of total 

solids.

12. 480

22. 6.30

.300

.360

98

Parts per 

million.

11,638

154

4

51,657

DISCUSSION.

The statement is sometimes made that a decrease in volume of an undrained lake indicates a change of climate toward aridity and vice versa. In discussing the fluctuations 

of level of the basin lakes, Mono and Owens lakes among others, Kingd states that the 

influence of irrigation is too slight to be considered. This opinion seems to have been 

too generally accepted, and in the case of Owens Lake it will certainly not hold good. 

According to the measurements previously given (p. 19), 297,000 acre-feet of water were 

spread over about 40,000 acres of land during one year (1903-4), or enough to make an 

average depth of nearly 7.5 feet. Since the annual evaporation from a free water surface is about 60 inches, it follows that about one-third of the water sinks into the ground. 

The rate of evaporation from irrigated land is not known. Were this rate the same as

a Russell, I. C., Quaternary history of Mono Valley, California: Eighth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889, pp. 269-394.

b Gannett, Henry, Dictionary of altitudes: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 274, 1906, p. 110.

cChatard, T. M. Bull. U. S". Geol. Survey No. 0(1, 1890, p. 53; Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 36, 1888, 

p. 149. Russell. I C , Eighth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 1889. p. 293.

d King, Clarence, Rept. U. S. Geol, Explor. 40th Par., vol. 1, 1878, p. 625.
24 GEOLOGY AND WATEES OF OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.

from a water surface, about 200,000 acre-feet of water would have been lost by evaporation from the irrigated land. Of the total quantity of water entering the valley during 

the year 1904 (395,000 acre-feet), 75 per cent was diverted for irrigation and 16 per cent 

entered Owens Lake as surface flow, leaving 9 per cent unaccounted for. If the rate of 

evaporation from irrigated land were the same as that from a water surface, 200,000 acrefeet, or 50 per cent of the total inflow, would have been lost from the land, leaving 50 

per cent to be divided between surface flow and underflow, of which 16 per cent is known 

to have been surface flow.

The misuse of water in Owens Valley makes the loss by evaporation much greater than 

it would be from properly irrigated land. Not all the water diverted for irrigation purposes is used, but a portion is allowed to spread over uncultivated land. For this reason 

evaporation from the irrigated district is greater than it would otherwise be. The area 

of irrigated land, about 40,000 acres, is comparable in size to that of the lake, about 48,000 

acres. It is evident from the facts stated that the rate of evaporation from the land is 

high and may be little, if any, less than that from a water surface, and that the volume 

lost from the land is comparable to that lost from the lake.

During 1903-4, when careful measurements were made of all the water entering Owens 

Valley, as described on page 19, there was a loss by evaporation of not only all this water 

(395,000 acre-feet), but an additional amount from the lake represented by a depth of 2.5 

feet over 75 square miles, or 48,000 acres that is, 120,000-acre-feet. Since the valley is an 

undrained basin and water can escape only by evaporation, it is evident that this loss 

during the year was 515,000 acre-feet. Had the natural flow of the streams entered the 

lake the rate of evaporation (disregarding evaporation along the stream courses) in order to 

lower the surface of the lake 2.5 feet would have been about 128 inches, for in that case the 

loss would have been from the lake surface alone. Since the actual rate of evaporation has 

been found to be only 60.13 inches at Bishop, the rate of 128 inches from the surface of 

Owens Lake is improbable.

Again, if only the measured volume of water, 395,000 acre-feet, which would naturally have 

entered the lake be considered, a rate of evaporation of about 98 inches from the lake surface 

would be required in order that the surface might remain stationary. Even this rate is 

greater than can reasonably be assumed, and it follows that the undisturbed flow of the 

streams entering Owens Valley would probably increase the present volume of the lake and 

restore it to its original size, if it would not actually increase that size.

CONCLUSION.

Since Mono and Owens lakes are comparable in size, location, and chemical composition, 

and deri\7 e their water supply from the same mountain range, it is natural to suppose that a 

change of climate would affect both alike, yet Mono Lake is increasing in volume, while 

Owens Lake is decreasing. The drainage into Mono Lake has never been disturbed to any 

appreciable extent by artificial means, such as irrigation. If a rise or fall of the water level 

of an undrained lake is an adequate indication of climatic change, Mono Lake might show 

such a change, for natural conditions are there practically undisturbed. In this case, however, the rise of the water level apparently indicates that the climate has become more humid 

during the last few years.

The glacier at the summit of Mount Lyell (PL VI, A) gives confirmatory evidence that 

an increase rather than a decrease in humidity has occurred in recent years in this vicinity. 

This glacier is the largest of the numerous bodies of snow and ice near the headwaters of 

Owens River and Rush Creek. It drains westward away from Owers Valley, but is at the 

summit of the main drainage area of the Owens Valley region. Its form and size have been 

definitely known for about twenty-two years.a The writer b has previously shown thf j

oSee Russell, I.e., Existing glaciers of the United States: Fifth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1885, 

p. 315; Quaternary history of Mono Vallev, California: Eighth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 1, 

1889, Pis. XXVII, XXVIII.

6Lee, W. T., Note on the glacier of Mount Lyell, California: Jour. Geol., vol. 13, 1905, pp. 358-363.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 181 PL. VI

A. WESTERN LOBE OF LYELL GLACIER. 

This glacier is the largest of the numerous bodies of snow and ico near the headwaters of Owens River.

B. CREST OF THE HIGH SIERRA AT MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN.

Showing the precipitous eastern face at the left and parts of the gentler western slope at the right. 

Photograph by J. B. Lippincott.
CONCLUSION. 25

during this time no permanent diminution in the volume of the ice has occurred and that the 

large amounts of snow on the glacier, shown in PI. VI, A, indicate a possible increase in 

humidity.

From the preceding discussion it is evident that the evaporation from irrigated lands in 

Owens Valley is very large and that the decrease in volume of water of Owens Lake is due 

mainly to this cause. The measurements given indicate that if the waters of Owens Valley were allowed to flow naturally into Owens Lake that lake would probably be increasing 

instead of diminishing in volume, just as Mono Lake is increasing. To judge from present 

knowledge of the two lakes and of Mount Lyell Glacier, it is evident that the popular belief 

in a diminution of rainfall in the vicinity of Owens Valley for the last ten years is not supported by the facts, and that if any change of climate is in progress it is toward a more 

humid rather than a more arid climate.

RESUME.

Owens Valley is a long, narrow, -shaped trough formed mainly by the deformation of preTertiary rocks and partly rilled with unconsolidated Tertiary and Quaternary sediments 

originating as lake deposits, river deposits, and mountain wash. The deformation is 

assumed to have occurred in the form of crust-block tilting, Owens Valley representing the 

V-shaped depression between the Sierra Nevada and White Mountain blocks. This assumption is based on the following facts: A succession of lava flows and volcanic craters of recent 

origin occur along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada throughout the length of Owens 

Valley. Hot springs occur in the same zone from the midst of Owens Valley to Mono Lake, 

and a mud geyser is found at Casa Diablo. Faulting and associated phenomena have been 

observed in many places along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada and also east of the 

White Mountains. Confirmatory evidence is found in such topographic forms as the inclined 

peneplain of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the cliff-like eastern face, the steep 

escarpment east of the White Mountains, and the less steep western face.

Owens Valley is a barren desert except where it is reclaimed by the use of water entering 

as mountain streams. Abundant rainfall occurs in the Sierra Nevada, yielding for this valley an annual water supply of about 400,000 acre-feet. As the streams enter the valley they 

pass over unconsolidated detritus, into which much of the water sinks.

Flowing wells occur in Owens Valley, but the limits of the district in which such wells are 

obtainable are undetermined.

A large amount of underground water exists without hydrostatic pressure sufficient to produce flowing wells, but power for pumping this water can be produced from the mountain 

streams and transmitted to the valley at moderate cost.

Owens Lake has been decreasing in volume for several years, with a corresponding increase 

in the density of its water. The salinity has reached a point at which the more insoluble 

salts precipitate. The change is probably due to the loss by evaporation of water diverted 

for irrigation and not to an increase in the aridity of the climate, as originally supposed.

Faulting and crustal movements of considerable magnitude, accompanied by earthquake 

shocks, have taken place in Owens Valley within historic time, and there is no evidence that 

disturbances of this kind are at an end

The proposed Owens Valley reservoir, being located in the fault zone at the base of the 

Sierra Nevada, would be especially liable to injury from crustal movements.
INDEX.

Aberdeen, lavas near.......................

Artemia salina, occurrence of...............

Artesian water. See Waters, underground. 

Big Pine, bowlders near, view of ...........

Big Pine district, volcanic features of......

Bishop, altitude at.........................

evaporation at.........................

wells at.................................

Bishop Creek, rainfall at...................

Black Rock Spring, well near...............

Building stone, character and distribution 

of...............................

Camp Independence, rainfall at............

Caririfex newberryi, occurrence of .........

Casa Diablo, mud geysers at ...............

Cement materials, character and distribution of..........................

Cement rock, analyses of...................

Chatard, T. M., analysis by................

Clausen, J. C., water measurements by.....

Clay, character and distribution of.........

Climate, description of.....................

Coe, J. H., wehs of..........................

Cones, cinder, occurrence of................

Cones, detrital, occurrence and description 

of...............................

Cooper, , 011 cement rock ...............

Coso district, volcanic features of..........

Coso Mountains, altitude of................

Crooked Creek, rocks on....................

view of.................................

Darton, N. H., work in charge of...........

Dall, W. II., fossils determined by . ........

Diller, J. 8., on structure of Owens Valley.. 

Dodge Brothers, well of.....................

Drainage, description of....................

Duryee, Edward, on cement rock . .........

Earthquake, effects of......................

Ephydra, occurrence of ....................

Evaporation, irrigation and, relations of...

rate of...................................

Fairbanks, H. F., on Tertiary rocks.......

Fish Spring Volcano, description of........

Flowing wells, distribution of..............

Geography, description of..................

Geologic history, outline of.................

Geology, description of.....................

Geysers, mud, description of...............

Gilbert, G. K., on structure of Owens Valley. 

Goodyear, W. A., on Owens Lake..........

Granite bowlders, view of..................

Haway Meadows, well at, rocks in.........

High Sierra, views of.......................

Page.

8

21

20,24

13,14

18

13

16

19

7

9,10 

13

6,25 

17

12,16 

21

23-25 

19-20

7

8

13-14

5-6

10-12

6-12

9

9,10

21

10

7,10

10,24

Page.

Historical geology, outline of............... 10-12

Holloway, J. F., ranch of, cement rock near. 17

Hot Creek, origin of........................ 8

Hot Springs, description of................. 8

Independence, altitude at.................. 5

lavas near.............................. 8

temperature at......................... 20

Inyo Development Company, soda plant of . 21

wells of................................. 13

Irrigation, evaporation and, relations of... 23-25

Keeler, altitude at.......................... 5

rainfall at.............................. ' 18

soda-recovery plant at................. 21

well at.................................. 13,14

well at, record of....................... 7

Lakes, variations in, evidence from . ....... 20-25

See also Owens Lake, Mono Lake.

Lava flows, occurrence and description of.. 7-8

Le Conte, Joseph, on Sierra Nevada........ 10-11

Limestone, character and distribution of... 17 

Lindgren, W., on movements in Sierra

Nevada......................... 11-12

on structure of Owens Valley.......... 1), 12

............. 10

............. 10

............. 21

Little Lake, elevation of.

rocks at.............

Loew, Oscar, analysis by. 

Lone Pine, altitude at...

wells at..............

Long Valley, reservoir site in............... 15-16

Long Valley district, volcanic features of.. 8 

Longley, A. W., well of..................... 14

Lyell, Mount, altitude of................... 5

glacier on............................... 24

view of............................. 24

McLean, J. J., temperature records by..... 20

Mammoth Mountain, peneplain at......... 10

view of................................. 24

Map of Owens Valley....................... 6

Marble, occurrence of....................... 10,17

Materials, structural, description of....... 16-17

Mono Lake, drainage to.................... 6,24

chemical character of................... 23

increase of........................... 23,24-25

physical character of................... 23

water of, analysis of.................... 23

Mud geysers, description of................ 9

Odonta sp., occurrence of.................. 7

Olanche, w ell at............................ 13

Owens Lake, cement rocK near............. 17

chemical character ol................... 21-22

drainage to............................. 6

evaporation at...................... 19,23-25

physical character ol................... 20-21

27
28 INDEX.

Page. 

Owens Lake, rocks near.................... 6

shrinkage of, cause of................... 23-25

water of, analyses of................... 21,22

Owens River, description of................ 6

rocks on................................ 8

tributaries of........................... 6

Owens Valley, development of............. 10-12

location of.............................. 5

origin of................................ 10

structure of........................... 9-10,12

vicinity of, map of...................... 6

view of................................. S,12

Panum Crater, description of.............. 8

view of................................. 16

Peneplain, character of..................... 10

Phillips, Professor, analysis by............. 21

Power plants, development of.............. 15

Preble, E. C., on cement rock .............. 17

Precipitation, amount of................. 6,17-19

Pumping plants, character and distribution

of............................... 14-15

Quaternary sediments, character and distribution of........................ 7

Quaternary time, movements in........... 11-12

Rainfall, amount of ...................... <>, 17-19

Reservoir, possible damage to, by earthquakes.. ........................ 16,25

site of, description of................... 15-16

Ritter, Mount, altitude of.... I............. 5

Rock Creek, rocks on....................... S

Rocks, descriptions of...................... 6-7

Roeper, J. C., well of........................ 13

Rush Creek, description of.................. 6

Russell, I. C., on Mono Lake region........ S, 10

on Owens Valley region................. 9

Sierra Nevada, view of..................... 8

Soda, extraction of......................... 21

Spear, R. C., well of........................ 13

Stone, building, character and distribution

of............................... 16

Page.

Stone, C. H., analysis by................... 22

Stratigraphy, description of................ 6-7

Structural materials, description of........ 16-17

Structure, description of.................. 9-10,25

Swamps, development of................... 15

Taylor, R. J., evaporation records by....... 20

Temperature, records of.................... 20

Tertiary rocks, character and distribution

of............................... 6-7

Topography, description of................ 5

Tuff, cement-making qualities of.......:... 16-17

Turner, H. W., on Sierra Nevada geolog^ . 11 

Underground waters. See Waters, underground. 

Uplift, occurrence of........................ 10-11

Volcanic ash, occurrence of................. 7

use of................................... 16,17

Volcanic features, description of........... 7-9

Walcott, C. D., on Inyo Range............. 11

on Tertiary rocks....................... 7

on structure of White Mountains...... 9

Water table, depth to...................... 15

Waters, underground, conditions of........ 12-13

development of...................... 13-14,25

utilizations of........................... 14-15

Waucobi embayment, rocks in............. 6-7

Wells, descriptions of....................... 13-14

Wells, flowing, area of................ .'..... 14

White Mountains, altitude of.............. 5

structure of............................. 9

view of................................. 10

Whitney, J. D., on Owens Valley earthquake 12 

on structure of Owens Valley............ 9

Whitney, Mount, altitude of................ 5

table-lands near........................ 11

view of................................. 8

Williamson, Mount, altitude of............. 5

Wrinkle, N,, analysis by................... 22

on soda-recovery plant................. 21

well of.................................. 13
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY.

[Water-Supply Paper No. 181.]

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 

Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 

Resources, (6) \Vater-Supply and Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of United 

States folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic'Atlas of the United States 

folios thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publication; the 

others are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists may be had on application.

Most of the above publications may be obtained or consulted in the following ways:

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 

may be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application.

2. A certain number are delivered to Senators and Representatives in Congress for 

distribution.

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 

D. C., from whom they may be had at practically cost.

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 

libraries in the large cities throughout the United States, where they may be consulted by those interested.

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety of 

subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified 

into the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, Systematic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and 

physics; F, Geography,- G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, Water storage; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investigations; N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. 

This paper is the hundred and third in Series B and the sixty-first in Series O, the 

complete lists of which follow (PP=Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; "WS=WaterSupply Paper):

SERIES B, DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY.

B 23. Observations on the junction between the Eastern sandstone and the Keweenaw series on

Keweenaw Point, Lake Superior, by R. L). Irving and T. C. Chamberlin. 1S85. 124 pp., 17

pis. (Out of stock.)

B 33. Notes on geology of northern California, by J. S. Diller. 18X6. 23 pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 39. The upper beaches and deltas of Glacial Lake Agassiz, by Warren Upham. 1887. X4 pp., 1 pi.

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B 40. Changes in river courses in Washington Territory due to glaciation, by Bailey Willis. 1887. 10

pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 45. The present condition of knowledge of the geology of Texas, by R. T. Hill. 1887. 94 pp. (Out

of stock.)

B 53. The geology of Nantucket, by N. S. Shaler. 1SS9. 55 pp., 10 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 57. A geological reconnaissance in southwestern Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1890. 49 pp., 2 pis. 

B 58. The glacial boundary in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by G. P.

Wright, with introduction by T. C. Ohamberliii. 1890. 112 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 67. The relations of the traps of the Newark system in the New Jersey region, by N. H. Carton.

1X90. 82pp. (Out of stock.) 

B 104. Glaciation of the Yellowstone Valley north of the Park, by W. H. Weed. 1893. 41 pp., 4 pis.
II SERIES LIST.

B 10S. A geological reconnaissance in central Washing-ton, by I. C. Russell. 1893. 108 pp., 12 pis.

(Out of stock.)

B 119. A geological reconnaissance in northwest Wyoming, by G. H. Eldridge. 1894. 72 pp., 4 pis. 

B 137. The geology of the Fort Riley Military Reservation and vicinity, Kansas, by Robert Hay. 1896.

35pp., 8 pis. 

B 144. The moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1896. 71

pp., 21 pis. 

B 158. The moraines of southeastern South Dakota and their attendant deposits, by J. E. Todd. 1899.

171pp., 27 pis. 

B 159. The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, by B. K. Emerson. 1899. 139pp.,

9 pis. 

B 165. Contributions to the geology of Maine, by H. S. Williams and H. E. Gregory. 1900. 212pp.,

14 pis. 

WS 70. Geology and water resources of the Patrick and Goshen Hole quadrangles in eastern Wyoming

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B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192pp.,

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PP 1. Preliminary report on the Ketchikan mining district, Alaska, with an introductory sketch of

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PP 2. Reconnaissance of the northwestern portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by A. ,1. Collier. 1902.

70pp., 11 pis. 

PP 3. Geology and petrography of Crater Lake National Park, by J. S. Diller and H. B. Patton. 1902.

167 pp., 19 pis. 

PP 10. Reconnaissance from Port Hamlin to Kotzebne Sound, Alaska, by way of Dall, Kanuti, Alien,

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PP 11. Clays of the United States east of the Mississippi River, by Heinrich Ries. 1903. 298 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 12. Geology of the Globe copper district, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1903. 168 pp., 27 pis. 

PP 13. Drainage modifications in southeastern Ohio and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Kentucky, by W. G. Tight. 1903. Ill pp., 17 pis. 

B 208. Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the fortieth parallel and adjacent portions of California,

by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 229 pp., 8 pis.

B 209. Geology of Ascutiiey Mountain, Vermont, by R. A. Daly. 1903. 122 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basins in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by

I.C.Russell. 1903. 51pp., 2 pis. 

PP 15. Mineral resources of the Mount Wrangcll district, Alaska, by W. C. Mendenhall and F. C.

Schrader. 1903. 71 pp., 10 pis. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

B 217. Notes on the geology of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C. Russell. 1903.

83 pp., IS pis.

B 219. The ore deposits of Tonopah, Nevada (preliminary report), by J. E. Spurr. 1903. 31 pp., 1 pi. 

Pl> 20. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska in 1901, by F. C. Schrader. 1904. 139 pp., 16 pis. 

PP 21. The geology and ore deposits of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, by F. L. Ransome. 1904. 168

pp., 29 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by J. E.

Todd and C. M. Hall. 190-1. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

PP 25. The copper deposits of the Encampment district, Wyoming, by A. C. Spencer. 1904. 107 pp.,

2 pis. 

PP 26. Economic resources of the northern Black Hills, by J. I). Irving, with contributions by S. F.

Emmons and T. A. Jaggar, jr. 1904. 222 pp., 20 pis.

PP 27. A geological reconnaissance across the Bitterroot Range and Clearwater Mountains in Montana and Idaho, by Waldemnr Lindgren. 1904. 122 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 31. Preliminary report on the geology of the Arbucklc and Wichita mountains in Indian Territory

and Oklahoma, by J. A. Taff, with an appendix on reported ore deposits in the Wichita

Mountains, by H. F. Bain. 1904. 97 pp., 8 pis. 

B 235. A geological reconnaissance across the Cascade Range near the forty-ninth parallel, by G. O.

Smith and F. C. Calkins. 1904. 103 pp., 4 pis.

B 236. The Porcupine, placer district, Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1904. 35 pp., 10 pis. 

B 237. Igneous rocks of the Highwood Mountains, Montana, by L. V. Pirsson. 1904. 208 pp., 7 pis. 

B 238. Economic geology of the lola quadrangle, Kansas, by G. I. Adams, Erasmus Haworth, and

W. R. Crane. 1904. 83 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1905.

433pp., 72 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge.

1905. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

B 242. Geology of the Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook, by T. Nelson Dale.

1904. 63 pp., 3 pis.
SERIES LIST. Ill

PP 34. The Delavan lobe of the Lake Michigan glacier of the Wisconsin stage of glaciation and

associated phenomena, by \V. 0. Alden. 1904. 106 pp., 15 pis. 

PP 35. Geology of the Perry Basin in southeastern Maine, by G. O. Smith and David White. 1905.

107 pp., 6 pis.

B 24-3. Cement materials and industry of the United States, by E. C. Eckel. 1905. 395 pp., 15 pis. 

B 246. Zinc and lead deposits of northeastern Illinois, by II. F. Bain. 1904. 56 pp., 5 pis. 

B 247. The Fairhnven gold placers of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, by F. H. Moflit. 1905. ,S5 pp., 14 pis. 

B 249. Limestones of southwestern Pennsylvania, by F. G. Clapp. 1905. 52 pp., 7 pis. 

B 250. The petroleum fields of the Pacific coast of Alaska, with an account of the Bering River coal

deposit, by G. C. Martin. 1905. 65 pp., 7 pis. 

B 251. The gold placers of the Fortymile, Birch Creek, and Fairbanks regions, Alaska, by L. M.

Prindle. 1905. 1C pp., 16 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources of a portion of east-central Washington, by F. 0. Calkins. 1905.

9(i pp., 4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell.

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 36. The lead, zinc, and fluorspar deposits of western Kentucky, by E. O. Ulrich and W. S. Tangier

Smith. 1905. 218 pp., 15 pis.

PP 38. Economic geology of the Bingham mining district of Utah, by J. M. Boutwell. with a chapter 

on areal geology, by Arthur Keith, and an introduction on general geology, by S. F. Emmons. 

1905. 413pp., 49 pis. 

PP 41. The geology of the central Copper River region, Alaska, by \V. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 133 pp.,

20 pis. 

B 254. Report of progress in the geological resurvey of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by

Waldemar Lindgren and F. L. Ransome. 1904. 36pp.

B 255. The fluorspar deposits of southern Illinois, by H. Foster Bain. 1905. 75 pp., 6 pis. 

B 256. Mineral resources of the Elders Ridge quadrangle, Pennsylvania, by R. \V. Stone. 1905.

85 pp., 12 pis. 

B 257. Geology and paleontology of the Judith River beds, by T. W. Stanton and J. B. Hatcher, with

a chapter on the fossil plants, by F. H. Knowlton. 1905. 174 pp., 19 pis.

PP 42. Geology of the Tonopah mining district, Nevada, by .1. E. Spurr. 1905. 295 pp., 24 pis. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by

C. R. Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

WS 136. Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

PP 43. The copper deposits of Clifton-Morenci, Aiizona, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1905. 375 pp., 25 pis. 

B265. Geology of the Boulder district, Colorado, by N. M. Fenneman. 1905. 101 pp., 5 pis. 

B 267. The copper deposits of Missouri, by H. F. Bain and E. O. Ulrich. 1905. 52 pp., 1 pi. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch, and other<. 19'Jx

394 pp., 34 pis.

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

B 270. The configuration of the rock floor ot Greater New York by W. H. Hobbs. 1905. 9ii pp., 5 pis, 

B 272. Taconic physiography, by 1. M Dale 1905, 52 pp., 14 pis. 

PP 45. The geography and geology ot Alaska, a summary of existing knowledge, by A. II Brooks,

with a section on climate, by Cleveland Abbe, jr., and a topographic map and description

thereof, by R. M. Goode. 1905. 327 pp., 34 pis. 

B 273. The drumlins of southeastern Wisconsin (preliminary paper), by W. C. Alden. 1905 40pp.,

9 pis 

PP 16. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by

A. C,. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis. 

PP 49 Geology and mineral resources of part of the Cumberland Gap coal field, Kentucky, by G. II.

Ashley and L. C. Glenn, in cooperation with the State Geological Department of Kentucky,

C I. Norwood, curator. 1906. 239 pp., 40 pis.

PP 50. The Montana lobe ot the Keewatin ice sheet, by F. H. H Calhoun. 1906. 02 pp., 7 pis. 

B 277. Mineral resources of Kcnai Peninsula, Alaska: Gold fields ot the Turnagain Arm region, by

F. II Mofflt, and the coal fields of the Kachemak Bay legion, by R. W. Stone. 1906 80 pp.,

18 pis. 

WS 154 The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N.

Gould 1900. 64 pp.,15 pis. 

B 278. Geology and coal resources of the Cape Lisburne region, Alaska, by A. L Collier. 1906. 54

pp., 9 pis. 

B 279. Mineral resources of the Kittanning and Rural Valley quadrangles, Pennsylvania, by Charles

Butts. 1906. pp., 11 pis.

B 280. The Rampart gold placer region, Alaska, by L. M. Prindle and F. L. Hess. 1906. 54 pp., 7 pis. 

B 282. Oil fields ot the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coastal Plain, by IS. M. Fenneman. 1906. 140 pp., 11 pis. 

WS 157. Underground -\\ater m the vallcysoi Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson.

1906. 81 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 51. Geology ol the Bighorn Mountains, by N. H. Darton. 1906. 129 pp., 47 pis.
IV SERIES LIST.

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area,

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H.

Barton. 1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. 

WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. P. Crider and L. C. Johnson.

190G. 86 pp., 6 pis. 

PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by Cassius A. Fisher. 1906.

72 pp., 16 pis.

B 283. Geology and mineral resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider. 1906. 99 pp., 4 pis. 

B 286. Economic geology of the Beaver quadrangle, Pennsylvania (southern Beaver and northwestern Allegheny counties), by L. H. Woolsey. 1906. pp.,8 pis. 

B 287. The Juneau gold belt, Alaska, by A. C. Spencer, and a reconnaissance of Admiralty Island,

Alaska, by C. W. Wright. 1906. 161 pp.,37 pis. 

PP 54. The geology and gold deposits of the Cripple Creek district, Colorado, by W. Lindgren and

F. L. Ransome. 1906. pp., 29 pis.

PP 55. Ore deposits of the Silver Peak quadrangle, Nevada, by J. E. Spurr. 1906. pp., 24 pis. 

B 289. A reconnaissance of the Matanuska coal field, Alaska, in 1905, by G. C. Martin. 1906. 36 pp.,

5 pis. 

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent

area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. pp., 7 pis. 

B 293. A reconnaissance of some gold and tin deposits of the southern Appalachians, by L. C. Graton,

with notes on the Dahlonega mines, by W. Lindgren. 1906. pp.,9 pis.

B 294. Zinc and lead deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley, by H. Foster Bain. 1906. pp., 16 pis. 

B 295. The Yukon-Tanana region, Alaska, description of Circle quadrangle, by L. M. Prindle. 1906.

27pp.,l pi. 

B 296. Economic geology of the Independence quadrangle, Kansas, by Frank C. Schrader and

Erasmus Haworth 1906. pp.,6 pis.

WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp., 

6 pis.

SERIES O, UNDERGROUND WATERS.

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis. (Out of

stock.) 

WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1897. 65 pp., 12 pis.

(Out of stock.)

WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1897. 50 pp.,3 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56 pp., 21 pis. (Out

of stock.)

WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Leverett. 1899. 64 pp. (Out

of stock.) 

WS 30. Water resources of the lower peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis. (Out

of stock )

WS31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. r Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 84. Geology and water resources of a portion of southeastern South Dakota, by J. E. Todd. 1900.

34pp., 19 pis. 

WS 53. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. I, by I. C. Russell. 1901. 86

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WS 54. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. II, by I. C. Russell. 1901.

87-141 pp. (Out of stock.) 

WS 55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smith. 1901.

68 pp., 7 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 60 pp.

(Out of stock.) 

WS 59. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. I, by J. B. Lippincott. 1902.

95 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 60. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. II, by J. B. Lippincott.

1902. 96-140 pp. (Out of stock.) 

WS 61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. II, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 67 pp.

(Out of stock.)

WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 190f 106 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192

pp., 25 pis.

WS 77. Water resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, by Waldemar Lindgren. 1903. 62 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basin in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C.

Russell. 1903. 53 pp., 2 pis.
SERIES LIST. V

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred

and third meridian, by N. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of a part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by

J. E. Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

WS 101. Underground waters of southern Louisiana, by G. D. Harris, with discussions of their uses for

water supplies and for rice irrigation, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 98 pp., 11 pis.

WS 102. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1903, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 522 pp. 

WS 104. Underground water-) of Gila Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1904. 71 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 100. Water resources of the Philadelphia district, by Florence Bascorn. 1904. 75 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in

charge. 1904. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

PP 32. Geology and undergnmild water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1904.

433 pp., 72 pK (Out of stock.) 

WS 111. Preliminary report on underground \\aters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 85 pp.,

1 pi. 

WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, by Homer Hamlin. 1904.

55 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 114. Underground waters of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1904.

285 pp., 18 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources of east-central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905. 96 pp.,

4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell.

1905. 138 pp., 24 pis. 

WS 120. Bibliographic review and index of papers relating to underground waters, published by the

United States Geological Survey, 1879-1904, by M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pp. 

WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson. 1905. 55 pp. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, by C. R.

Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

WS 136. Underground waters of the Salt River Valley, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

B 264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904. by M. L. Fuller, E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1905.

loti pp. 

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. ('. Veatch and others. 1905.

394 pp., 34 pis. 

WS 137. Development of underground waters in the eastern coastal plain region of south erii California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 140 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 138. Development of underground waters in the central coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendeiihall. 1905. 162 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 139. Development of underground watersin the western coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 105 pp., 7 pis. 

W7S 140. Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground waters, tayC. S. Slichter. 1905.

122 pp., 15 pis. 

WS 141. Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 83 pp.,

5 pis.

WS 142. Hydrology of San Bernardino Valley, California, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 124 pp., 13pls. 

WS 145. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge.

1905. 220 pp., C pl.v.

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

WS 149. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, second edition, with additions, by

N. H. Darton. 1905. 175 pp. 

PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by

A. C. Veatch. 1900. 422 pp., 51 pK

WS 153. The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas, by C. S. Slichter. 1906. 90 pp., 3 pis. 

WS 154. The geology and water resources of the eastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N.

Gould. 1906. 64 pp., 15 pis. 

WS 155. Fluctuations of the viater level in wells, with special reference to Long Island, New York,

by A. C. Veatch. 1906. 83 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 157. Underground water in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson.

1900. 81 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area,

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1900. 29 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 52. Geology and underground waters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H. Darton.

1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. ._ WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson.

1900. 86 pp., 6 pis. 

PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 72pp.,

16 pis. 

WS 160. Underground-water papers, 1906, by M. L. Fuller. 1906. 104 pp., 1 pi.

IKK 1ST 06 3
VI SERIES LIST.

WS 163. Bibliographic review and index of underground-water literature published in the United

States in 1905, by M. L. Fuller, F. G. Clapp, and B. L. Johnson. 1906. 130 pp. 

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent

area in Illinois, by L. C. Glenn. 1906. pp., 7 pis. 

WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by Willis T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp.,

6 pis.

The following papers also relate to this subject: Underground waters of Arkansas Valley in eastern 

Colorado, by G. K. Gilbert, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Preliminary report on artesian waters of a 

portion of the Dakotas, by N. H. Barton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water re^oux'es of Illinois, 

by Frank Leverett, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 

Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 

South Dakota, by N. H. Barton, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Rock waters of Ohio, by Edward 

Orton, in Nineteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic coastal plain region, by 

N. H. Darton, Bulletin No. 138.

Correspondence should be addressed to

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

SEPTEMBER, 1906.