• 

GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASHINGTON. 

By A. T. SoHWENNESEN and 0. E. MEINZER. 

INTRODUCTION.' 

LOCATION AND AREA. 

Quincy Valley is in Grant County, Wash., a little south and east 

of the center of the State (fig. 5). The lowland to which the term 

Quincy Valley is locally applied is not, however, a true valley in the 

usual sense of that word, for it is nearly as broad .as it is long and is 

more appropriately called a basin. This basin is bounded on the 

north by the Badger Hills, on the south by the Frenchman Hills, on 

the west by Babcock Ridge, and other low swells along the brink of 

the Columbia River gorge, and on the east by the high land east of 

Moses Lake. Its area is approximately 600 square miles. 

The northern part of the basin is crossed by the transcontinental 

line of the Great Northern Rail way; the· eastern part is reached by 

branch lines of the Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 

Paul railways; and the region south of the Frenchman Hills is 

traversed by the main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 

Railway, which can be reached without difficulty from the southern 

part of the basin by crossing the Frenchman Hills. 

The principal towns in the basin are Ephrata and Quincy, both in 

its northern part, on the Great Northern Railway. Neppel is at the 

terminus of the branch line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 

Railway. 

SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION. 

For many years stockmen along Crab Creek have used the water 

from the stream to irrigate wild grass on the adjacent bottom lands, 

but within the last few years water has been pumped for irrigation 

in certain parts of the valley. Near Moses Lake some tracts are 

irrigated 'with water pumped from the lake but in other parts of 

the basin the water is pumped from wells. Most of the irrigated 

lands are in apple orchard, but a great variety of other crops, illeluding alfalfa, corn, melons, vegetables, and small fruits, are raised 

by irrigation for home consumption and for the local market. 

131 
132 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 19'17. 

Repeated advances in the price pf fuel for internal-combustion 

engines during the last few years has greatly increased the cost pf 

irrigation. The burden has been especially heavy on irrigators who 

must pump the water from great depths and who are irrigating 

young orchards that are not yet bearing. In some orchards the 

trees have suffered through lack of water because of the inability 

of the owners to pay the fuel bills. 

· From time tp time various projects for supplying the basin with 

water for irrigation have been considered. In 1909 Mr. Joseph 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 133 

Jacobs made an investigation for the Quincy Valley Water Users' 

Association to discover the most practicable and economical source 

of water. In his report,1 which was published by the Washington 

Geological Survey, Wenatc4ee River and Wenatchee Lake were considered the most feasible sources, and plans were made for a gravity 

system thus supplied, providing for the irrigation of 435,000 acres 

in Quincy Valley and in the region to the south, between the Fren.chman Hills and Saddle Mountain. The estimated cost of the project 

was $43,700,000, or approximately $100 an acre. No means have yet 

been..found for financing the project. 

The residents of the basin have long looked to the near-by Columbia as a possible source of cheap electric power that cQuld be used 

for pumping. It is pointed out that the rapids of the river afford 

power sites, that these rapids are now serious obstacles to navigation, and that in connection with the construction of works at the 

rapids to make them navigable prov:ision could be made, at a proportionately small charge, for utilizing their power. 

· In 1909 and 1911 .Army engineers made surveys of the Columbia 

from the mouth of Snake River to Wenatchee to determine the 

feasibility of such a combined project 2 but reported adversely on 

it, for the reason that the present and prospective commerce on the 

Columbia. would not warrant the expenditure of that proportion of 

the total cost which would have to be charged against improvement of 

navigation. In view of. the small amount of commerce to be benefited, it was concluded that the development of power should be 

considered the primary object· and that the needs of navigation 

could be considered only incidentally. · 

If the project is considered solely as a means of obtaining power, 

the question at once arises whether the demand ·for power is sufficient to justify the "undertaking. Neither the Federal Government -

nor private capitalists will undertake extensive power developments 

without the assurance of an adequate and certain market for the 

power. Irrigators in Quincy Valley recognize many advantages of 

electric power over power generated by internal-combustion engines, and if electric power had the additional advantage of cheapness it would doubtless almost completely replace that furnished by 

internal-combustion engines. The number of pumping plants and 

the resulting market forl power will be determined by several · factors, including topography, soil, and depth to water, but perhaps 

chiefly by the quantity of ground water obtainable. The importance 

of an adequate supply of ground water was recognized by the r~ilLandes, Henry, Mangum, A. W.,.Benson, H. K., Saunders, E. J., and Jacobs, Joseph, 

A preliminary report on the Quincy Valley Irrigation projects: Washington Geol. Survey 

Bull. 14, 1912. 

• Kutz, C. W., 62d Cong., 2d sess., H. Doc. 693, 
134 · CONTRIBUTIONS i'O HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 191'7. 

dents of the basin and it was the fundamental reason for their request for the investigation on which this report is based. 

The material for the present report was collected by .A. T. Schwennesen, who spent about two and one-half months in the field in the 

fall of 1916. During two weeks of this time Mr. Schwennesen was 

accompanied by'O. E. Meinzer, and together they :made a reconnaissance of the region adjacent to the basin. The report was 

written chiefly by Mr. Schwennesen, but Mr. Meinzer collaborated 

in certain parts. F. F. Henshaw, also of the Geological Survey, 

furnished valuable data !).nd estimates on stream flow and evaporation in the region from 1910 to 1913, inclusive. The present preliminary report on the region will be followed by a full report containing the detailed data and maps. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The authors gratefully aclniowledge the unfailing courtesy and 

willingness with which residents of the basin complied with requests 

for information, and are under obligations to the drillers for assistance in oollecting well records. Special thanks are due Mr. Louis 

Mullerleile, of Quincy, who placed at the disposal of the Survey a 

large amount of material that he had collected relating to wells in 

the· region. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

TOPOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON. 

Quincy Valley is a part of the Walla Walla Plateau, which is the 

northern section of the Columbia Plateau province. The Walia 

! Walla Plateau extends from the Cascade Mountains eastward to the 

Coeur d'Alene and Bitterroot mountains, and from the Colville 

Mountains and Okanogan highlands southward to the Blue Mountains in Oregon and Idaho, and to the basins of the Harn,ey section in 

~outh-central Oregon. It consists essentially of great expanses of 

nearly level or gently sloping ground, interrupted by hills and by deep 

trenchlike valleys. · 

In general its surface conforms to the structure of the un,derlying · 

basalt, being nearly level where the beds of basalt lie nearly horizontal, forming ridges where these beds have been upwarped into 

anticlines, and forming broad valleys where they have been downwarped into synclines. The canyons, locally known as coulees, are 

characteristic of the region. At many place~ they extend across the 

ridges, indicating that the ~;~treams by which they were formed existed 

before the ridges and persisted in their· courses hy cutting into the 

basalt beds when those beds were uplifted. The canyons of Columbia 

and Snake rivers and the large coulees which formerly contained 

...... ···-···-··---~-···----· ··--·-· --·--···-·--·-·-··------ -·-... -- ... 
U. S. GEOLOGICAl, SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 425 PT, ATE XIII 

DJ . 

i 

/ 

Bound a ry of. upper . Crab Cree k i:Jratnage basm 

f!u~ Contours ori water table. 

Figures indicateelevation 

above s~a level • 

MAP OF QUINCY VALLEY, WASH.; AND ADJACENT AREAS, SHOWING CONTOURS OF THE WATER TABLE AND AREAS CONTRIBUTING WATER 

TO THE VALLEY • . 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 135 

rivers, such as Grand Coulee and Moses Coulee, ar13 conspicuous examples of intensive stream trenching. 

TOPOGBAPHIC FEATURES OF THE REGION AROUND QUINCY 

VALLEY. 

The form of Quincy Valley and of the principal features that 

bound it are in accord with the relations existing between structure 

and surface forms throughout the Walia Walia Plateau. Structurally Quincy Valley is a broad, shallow basin, defined on the north 

by the fold that forms the Badger Hills, on the south by the arch of 

the Frenchman Hills, on the west by the monoclinal slope projected 

eastward from Table Mountain across the gorge of Columbia .River, 

and on the ea!t by a less obvious westerly dip of the rocks. 

West of Quincy Valley is the gorge of Columbia River-a great 

trench cut into the resistant basalt to a depth of 800 feet and walled 

in many places by nearly vertical cliffs of basalt. The gorge is largely 

independent of the present structure, for it cuts squarely across such 

important east-west structural features as the Badger Hills and 

Frenchman Hills. Opposite Quincy Valley the gorge runs parallel 

to· the general trend of Table Mountain. Here its course may have 

been controlled to some extent by the structure, but-that the control 

was not complete is shown by th,e fact that the monoclinal eastward 

dip seen in' Table Mountain is continued across the gorge. 

The largest of the coulees in this region, and the one most closely 

related to the geologic history of Quincy Valley, is Grand Coulee. 

Opening from the canyon of the Columbia in t~e northeastern corner 

of Grant County, it. extends. southwestward 40 miles across the 

plateau to the northern margin of Quincy Valley. (See Pl. XIII.) 

Throughout the greater part. of this distance it is a . wide flat-bottomed canyon walled by cliffs of basalt. The bottom of the coulee 

contains a series of shallow lakes. 

There is abundant evidence that the Grand Coulee is an abandoned 

channel of Columbia River. In the glacial epoch the northern part 

of the State was occupied by the Okanogan ice sheet and a lobe of 

that glacier extended across the canyon of Columbia River upon the 

Waterville Plateau. Deflected by this great ice dam, the waters of 

the Columbia flowed along the eastern face of the glacier, cut a deep 

·gorge,. formed a cataract 400 feet high just below the site of Coulee 

City, and, continuing southward, discharged into Quincy Valley; 

In this basin during at least the early part of the glacial epoch the 

waters carried by Grand Coulee formed a large lake, from which they 

were probably returned to the valley of Columbia River over cataracts at Frenchman Springs and the "Pot Holes" southwest of 

Quincy. Later they found an outlet, now occupied ·by lower Crab 

Creek, through the Frenchman Hills. This abandoned channel of 
186 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED S~ATES~ 1917. 

the dolumhia was described by Symons 1 in 1882 and by Russell 2 

in 1893; the abandoned cataract which it contained was seen· by 

Russell, and both Symons and Russell made vague Teferences to a 

very large Pleistocene lake, which Symons called Lake Lewis. The 

abandone~ channel and cataract were also described by. Calkins 3 

in 1905. 

SURFACE OF THE BASIN. 

ELEVATION. 

The :floor of Quincy Valley is a nearly smooth ··plain; which is 

highest along its northern and western borders and ·slopes gently 

toward the south and east. Most of the plain lies between 1,200 and 

1,300 feet above sea level. The highest points are in· Babcock Ridge, 

a smooth, gentle swell rising to an elevation of 1,600 feet, at the rim. 

of the Columbia gorge; the lowest are·in the sand-dune area south 

, of Moses Lake, where the general elevation ranges fr<:>m 950 to·1,000 

feet. 

.· DRAINAGE. 

Crab Creek, the principal stream·in Quirtcy'Valley, ri~s'in se:veral 

branches in the vicinity of Davenport, Wash., ·at an elevation'of 

about 2,500 feet. It :flows at first southwestward and then westward 

as far as Adrian, when~e it continues in a general southeasterly' direc- . t~on to the head of Parker Horn, a long, :harrow arm of ~oSes ,Lake 

(see :Pl. XIII); this 'stre~h -of the stream is known as ·upper Crab 

Qreek. . Along the. greater part' of the stretch above the mouth of 

Wilson· Creek the :flow is perennial; below Wilson Creek 'it is 'intermittent, the water siriking in some places and emerging from the 

gravel in others. During spring freshets there·is' a continuous :flow, 

which for short periods may become ~ry large. · ' .· · · 

· Moses Lake is about 13 miles long and from mie-half to threefourths mile in average width. In· 1916 the elev.atio:h of the wa~r 

.surface .was 1,046 feet above sea level. The lake is. comparatively 

shallow, the maximum depth as a rule' not exceeding' 35 f~t. . 

· From the west side of Moses Lake, about 2 miles ·north of its lower 

end, a shallow' meandering channel leads westward and then. south-. 

eastward across the sand-dune area. About 5 miles 'south ofth~ litke 

this channel enters a coulee which cuts through the Frenchinan Hi.lls, 

1 Syii\ons, T. W., Report of an examination of tile upper .Columbia ·River: .47~h Cong., 

1st sess., S. Ex. Doc. 186, 1882. · 

• Russell, I. C., A geological· reconnaissance 1n centrai Washington ; U. S. Geol. Survey 

Bull. 108, 1893. . . . · , , . , · 

• Calkins, F. C., Geology and. water resources of a portion. ot east-central Washington : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply·Paper 118, 1905. · · ,, · · 

------~ 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 137 

and, continuing. in a southerly direction to a point about 15 miles 

south of Moses Lake, it opens into a broad-bottomed, steep-walled 

canyon which· extends· westward along the north side of Saddle 

Mountain to Columbia River. This drainage course, through which 

the overflow from Moses Lake finds· its way into the Columbia, is 

known as lower Crah Creek. 

Low~rCrab Creek re~eives contributions of water from theoverflow of Moses Lake, from seepage of ground water, and in small 

amounts from sever~l coulees that discharge into it from the east. 

In its lower course the water sinks and ordinarily no surface water 

is delivered to the Columbia. · < 

. Besides the surface. water that enters Moses Lake by way of the 

channel opening into Parker Horn, considerable underflow enters the 

upper part of the lake or emerges as a large spring at the head of 

Rocky Ford Creek, which discharges into the lake. 

In the western part. of the basin a narrow belt of country contiguous to the" gorge of the Columbia drains westward toward the 

i.jver. This drainage reaches the river through a number of small 

gullies that head .a short distance out on the plain and lead. to cuts 

in the basalt rim rock .. The gullies are dry except during rapid 

thaws or periods of heavy rain. 

Large areas in the central and southern parts of the basin are 

covered • by deposits formed by the wind. In these areas the gentle 

slopes, the,porous soil, and the constant shifting of the sand prevent 

the establishment of any permanent drainage system. The precipitation on these surfaces either sinks. into the soil immediately or gathers 

in .undrained hollows which .have been scooped out by the wind and 

from which it escapes by seepage or evaporation. 

FEATURES PRODUCED BY WIND. 

The agent which at present is most active in modifying the surface 

of the basin is the wind. In the northern and western parts of the 

basin the wind has effected only slight changes in the shape of the 

, surface, but the results of wind work are abundantly shown in the 

sand drifts along the fences bordering the roads, where the soil has 

'been stirred up by traffic, and in the sand ripples in the plowed 

fields. In the sandy areas of the central and southern parts of the 

basin the effects of wind work are more proi::wun.ced, and are· most 

conspicuous in the sand-dune area south and southwest of Moses 

Lake, where the surface is thickly covered·. with sand dunes interspersed with undrained depressions. Many of the dunes are 40 to· 50 

feet high and one-fourth to one-half mile long, and in places chains 

of dunes extend for miles across the area. 

• 
• 

138 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

Where the sand for building the dunes has been excavated by the 

wind, there are shallow undrained basins, most of which are elliptical and which range in area from a few acres to more than 100 

acres. In that part of the sand-dune area locally known as the" Pot 

Holes" many of these basins contain ponds of water bordered by 

narrow strips of meadow. Because of constant evaporation from the 

ponds the water is somewhat alkaline and the surrounding meadows 

·are covered by a thick growth of salt grass and by alkali crusts. 

Tules and other water-loving plants grow in the ponds, and willows 

are common on the lee side of the dunes adjacent to the ponds. 

In the sand-dune area the drainage courses have been greatly 

changed by the shifting sands. Thus Moses Lake owes its origin to 

the damming of Crab Creek by wind-blown sand. 

FEATURES PRODUCED BY STREAMS. 

The topography of the eastern part of the basin on. both sides of 

Moses Lake, from Ephrata and· Soap Lake to the sand-dune area, 

is largely the result of stream work. During the glacial epoch a 

great mass of gravel was discharged from the mouth of Grand Coulee 

and was spread in a sheet over the eastern part of Quincy Valley, 

completely obliterating· the preexistent drainage lines and surface 

irregularities. As the glacial floods subsided the streams cut into the 

material thus laid down, and, with variations in the amount of runoff and temporary halts in the down-cutting process, produced gravel 

terraces separated by wide, flat-bottomed channels by which the present drainage is largely determined. Hiawatha Valley and Ephrata 

Valley are ancient stream valleys of this kind.. Moses Lake occupies 

a similar ancient stream channel which was modified by wind-blown 

sand. From the water's edge steep banks rise abruptly to gravel 

. terraces which occur at various heights up to 100 feet above the lake. 

CLIMATE. 

The" Big Bend country," embracing Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, and 

Adams counties, is recognized as the most arid part of the State of 

Washington. The average annual precipitation in this region, so 

far as the records show, ranges from 7 inches in the southern part to 

about 14 inches in the northern part. Temperatures exceeding 100° 

above zero in summer and .15° below zero in winter are not unusual, 

but owing to the dry1,1ess of the air the summer heat is· seldom very 

oppressive and the cold of winter causes less suffering tha:q. in a 

more humid climate. 

Summarized data regarding precipitation in Quincy· Valley and 

the surrounding region are presented in the following table: 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 139 

Mean monthly and annual precipitation, in inches, in Quincy vaney and adjacent 

region. 

Eleva-· 

tion Length An· Station. above of Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. nual. sea record. 

level. 

--- - - - - - - - - - - -- Feet. Year~. 

Waterville ••.••. 2,624 a27 1.67 1.39 0.96 o. 79 1.26 0.93 0.47 0.05 0.55 o. 77 1.63 1-92 12.84 

Wilbur ......... 2,203 b20 1. 78 1. 31 .78 • 79 1-62 '1.07 .57 .58 .62 1.10 1.86 1.67 13.75 

Ritzvllle ..•..... 1,825 c18 1.28 1.39 .so .56 .94 .69 .27 .26 .47 .64 1.61 1.62 10.53 

Ephrata ........ 1 265 . <110 .96 .68 .54 .29 .78 .86 .25 .70 .47 • 77 .75 .92 7.97 

McConihe •••••. 1:072 •5 .82 .75 .33 .38 .59 .61 .37 .44 .19 .90 1.10 .88 7.36 

Trinidad ....... 900 /8 1.63 1.15 .52 .33 .55 .66 .29 .15 .44 .52 1.39 1.32 8.95 

Wahluke: ...... 410 g13 1.17 . 75 .51 .24 .45 .54 .33 .37 .25 .69 .93 .89 7.12 

a Partial records for years 1890, 1892 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1913 1914, and 1916 included. b Partial records for years 1892, 189S, .1899, 1900, 1907, 1909, and 1916 included; No record for years 1893 to 1897. • . c Part1al records for years 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, and 1910 to 1916 included. 

d Partial records for years 1903,1905, and 1907 to 1912. No records for years 1913 to 1916. • Partial record for 1916. 

I Partial records for years 1909 and 1916. g Partial records for years 1904, 1911, 1913, and 1916. 

The mean annual precipitation in Quincy Valley, according to the 

records from Ephrata and McConihe,1 is between 7 and 8 inches. 

In the region north and east of the basin .the precipitation increases 

with increase in elevation, as is shown by the table. 

Much of the winter precipitation is snow, which usually remains 

on the ground only a few weeks after each fall, but as it generally 

comes in periods of severe cold it forms a protective blanket that prevents plants from freezing. In melting it suppFes moisture slowly 

enough to be absorbed by the fine deep soils of parts of the valley. 

Because of the lower elevation of Quincy Valley, the winters are 

somewhat milder than in most parts of the adjacent region, ·and the 

frost-free season is longer. This is an important factor in the growing of fruit. The large number of clear sunny days is also· an impor~ 

tant factor in the ripening and coloring of fruits in this region.2 

SOIL AND VEGETATION . 

. Before 1900 practically the only settlers in the ·basin were a few 

stockmen who had selected lands along Crab Creek and Moses Lake, 

chiefly because of the ready water supply, but also because of the 

good pasturage on the Crab Creek bottoms and among the sand 

dunes south of Moses Lake. 

After 1900, othet settlers, favorably impressed with the soil and 

general aspect of the country and influenced by the success of wheat 

farmers on the Waterville Plateau to the north, came into Quincy 

Valley to raise wheat. Most of the early wheat growers settled in 

the northwestern part o£ the basin where"the conditions for raising 

wheat are the most favorable, and as some o£ the first crops were 

1 McConihe !1;1 a station near the l:l.ead of Moses Lake (sec. 28, T. 20 N., R. 27 E.). 2 Saunders, E. J., Soil survey of Quincy area: U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Soils F.ield Opera· 

tions, Hjll, p. 12. 
140 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 191'7. 

exceptionally good, Quincy Valley was heralded as a newly discovered wheat region. The result was a great influx of settlers into 

all parts of the basin and within a few years practically all the 

public land was taken as homesteads. · 

At present (1917) only the lands in the vicinity of Quincy, on 

Babcock Ridge west of Quincy, and in the region extending southward from Quincy, are used regularly for growing wheat. In a 

·season of average rainfall the wheat crop averages about 8 to 10 

bushels per acre/ and in exceptionally favorable seasons 25 to 30 

bushels per acre has been reported. Because of the higher elevation 

and somewhat greater precipitation the wheat lands on Babcock 

Ridge yield the best crops. 

But the lands in a large part of the basin proved unsuitable for 

raising wheat, and. many of the settlers, discouraged by repeated 

crop failures, abandoned their claims or stayed only long enough to 

obtain title. Some tracts which would not produce wheat were found, 

however, to yield fair crops of plants more· resistant to drought, such 

as rye, corn, and Sudan grass. In most seasons these crops do not 

mature sufficiently to produce marketable grain, but they make good 

winter feed, which is sometimes sold locally but is more often fed to 

the stock on the farm. Thus by feeding the farm products and utilizing the open range, or, in other words, combining farming with 

stock raising on a small scale, many of the settlers have managed to 

get along very well. 

Large tracts, including the region covered by drifting sand, chiefly 

in the southern part of the basin, and the stony areas in the northeastern part, are entirely uncultivated, for many original settlers on 

these lands soon found them worthless without irrigation and consequently abandoned most of them. The uncultivated areas are used 

for grazing by resident stockmen and by sheepmen who are forced 

to bring their flocks out of the mountains at the beginning of winter. 

Except for short periods during the winter; when deep snow is on 

the ground, cattle and sheep subsist on the native sagebrush a:rid 

bunch grass. Four or five weeks of feeding, in the aggregate, 

usually suffice to carry stock through the winter. Rye hay, corn 

fodder, alfalfa hay, Sudan grass, and straw are generally used for 

winter feeding. 

The report on Quincy Valley by Mangum, Van Duyne, and vV estover,• published by the United States Department of Agriculture, 

contains a full discussion of the various types of soil in the valley 

and their value for agriculture, and includes also a detailed map 

snowing the areas covered by the soils ofvarious types. 

• Mangum, A. -w., Van Duyne, Cornelius, and Westover, H. L., Soil survey of the 

Quincy area, Wash. ; U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Soils Field Operations, 1911 (Advance sheets), 

p. 17, 1913, 
1J . S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SU PPLY PAPER 125 PLATE XIV 

f'EE.T 

2,000 

1,000 

500 

~~~m~-=~======================================~==~~~==~ ~w~w~~~ FE~T FEET 

2,o0o .f E 2,ooo 

o a J: I A WATH A VALt..E c 'Y 

1,500 .~ 1,500 

Jv.fi:JsesLa7ce 

1,000 1,00 0 

I I 

soo 500 

Sea leYel S ea level 

~==~~------------------------~~----------------------------------~------------------------------~------------~----------------------------------------------~0 

Wind- blown. 

deposits 

0 

LE<:;.ENO 

QUATERNARY 

Pleistocene 

Glacial outwash 

·depo5i't5 

t&-¥t~~ Lake bed5 

r!orizo'ntal scale 

3 4-

~ 

"(ERTIARY 

~ 

I 

Yakima basalt 

GEOLOGIC SECTION ACROSS QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 141 

GEOLOGY. 

GENERAL FEATURES. 

Quincy Valley lies within the vast area which in Miocene time was 

inundated by great floods o£ basaltic lava. Though covered in most 

places by sedimentary deposits, the basalt nowhere in the basin is 

very far beneath the surface. The great thickness of the basalt 

series is well shown in the gorge of the Columbia, which has been cut 

into the basalt to a depth. exceeding 800 feet without exposing the 

underlying rocks. 

The sedimentary deposits overlying the basalt consist of unconsolidated beds of clay, sand, and gravel derived from the Okanogan 

glacier, which occupied the Waterville Plateau in the Pleistocene 

epoch and discharged its debris-laden floods into Quincy Valley 

through the Grand Coulee. (See Pl. XIII.} Some of these deposits 

were laid down in the quiet waters of a. lake ; others were laid down 

by streams. Overlying the basalt, the lake beds, and, in some places, 

.the stream deposits is a mantle of wind1blown sand and silt. (See 

fig. 6 and geologic section, Pl. XIV.) 

System. Series. Formation. 

----

Recent. Wind- blown 

deposits. 

---UnconformityGlacial-out-

· wash depos- its. · 

-UnconformityQuaternary. 

Pleistocene. 

Lake beds. 

--·-----UnconformityTertiary. :;;~: Yakima basalt. 

ThickSection. ness in 

feet. 

50 

90 

300 

1,300± 

Character of forma- Character of to:\)og- tion. raphy and soil. 

Wind-blown silt and 

Level plains !Uld sand 

dunes. Soil rang- sand. ing from silty loam to dune sand. 

Stratified s a n d , Terraces and broad, gravel, and boul- shallow channelS. 

ders. Gravelly soil. 

No natural exposures except in a few 

Stratified clay and places on the faces 

sand with local of terraces and in 

beds of gravel and small areas where 

boulders. soil has been re- moved by winds. 

Basalt with a few Rough, broken areas thin beds of tuff. and precipitous cliffs .. 

FIGURE 6.-Generalized columnar section of geologic formations in· Quincy Valley, Wash. 

74351 °-19-WSP 425--10 
r 

I I 

142 CONTRJ:BUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 191'7. 

YAXIMA BASALT.' 

The basalt of Quincy Valley, in its typical development, is a hard, 

dense, fine-grained rock, varying in color from dark gray to black, 

except on weathered surfaces, where it is usually brownish.. The lava 

that formed the- basalt was not all poured out at one time but, was a 

series of flows, and each bed represents a distinct extrusion. The 

texture of the basalt show~;~ considerable variation. At the upper surface_ of a bed the rock is usually scoriaceous, or " honeycombed," because of the expansion and escape of the dissolved ga8es in the lava, 

but the rock· becomes increasingly dense toward the interior of the 

flow. 

By the characteristic "honeycombed" structure the individual 

lava flows can be identifjed, and different flows can be distinguished 

from one another. In the gorge of the Columbia, wh~re the basalt 

underlying Quincy Valley is ~posed, six or eight different flows can 

be identified. The individual beds are usually not more than 50 to 

150 feet thick, but their lateral extent is great, for their edges may 

be traced for miles along the canyon walls without any evidence of 

thinning out. Af a few places thin beds of tuff, or volcanic ash, are 

interbedded with the massive basalt, but their volume is insignificant 

in comparison with the great volume of the basalt. . 

A-characteristic and almost universal feature of the basalt is the 

system of joints perpendicular to the bedding planes, by which the 

sheets are broken into prismatic columns as a result of contraction in 

the process of cooling. This columnar jointing is splendidly displayed in the palisades of the Columbia gorge and the great coulees. 

Structurally Quincy Valley is a shallow basin. At the rim of the 

Columbia gorge the beds of basalt dip eastward at an angle of 1° or 

2°. Farther east the beds gradually flatten out and then rise again 

with a gentle inclination east of the valley. To the north the beds 

rise rather steeply to the Badger Hills, and to the south they are upturned to form the Frenchman Hills. The dips do not represent the 

original position of the beds but are due chiefly to gentle warping at 

some time since the deposition of the basalt. 

Normally the basalt is compact and containS' almost no pores 

capaqle of transmitting water. The ability of the basalt to absorb 

and store large quantities of water is due to the zones of porous rock 

between the successive beds and to the joints by which the beds are 

broken. Although the porous contact zones are generally thin and 

irregular, in many places they are thick, and, in connection with 

communicating passages produced by vertical and_ horizontal joints, 

1 This name was first used by Geo. Otis Smith in. Water-Supply Paper 55 to differen-

. tiate the basalt of Miocene age from the· older and younger l!asalt formations. ).Deluded 

in the general term Columbia River lava as used by I. C. Russell. F. C. Calkins, in 

Water-Supply Paper 118, mapped the basalt of Quincy Valley as Yakima basalt, and 

later maps correlate the basalt of this area with the typical Yakima basalt. 
GROUND WATER I QUINOY VALLEY, WASH. 143 

' they form a circulating syste through which water may travel for 

long distances. 

L 

CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION •. 

Lying upon the. surface of the basalt are sedimentary deposits consisting of a series of stratified clay, sand, and gravel, which there is 

good reason to believe were laid down in impounded waters. The 

deposits are rarely exposed at tlie slirface but are shown by well 

· records to be widely distributed and continuous over nearly all parts 

of Quincy Valley. ln the western, central, and southern parts of the 

basin the formation is covered by wind-deposited soils and drifting 

sands, and in the eastern part by glacial gravel. (See geologic section, Pl. XIV.) . . . 

Along the l-im of the Columbia gorge the 'lake beds are absent and 

the basalt outcrops at the surface. In most :of the western and north~ 

western parts of the valley they are not more than 30 to 40 feet thick, 

but they thicken eastward, and wells on Morrison Flat penetrate 

nearly 300 feet without reaching the basalt. In the eastern part of 

the basin the upper 150 to 200 feet of the series has been removed by 

stream erosion and replaced by a thick covering of glacial stream 

deposits. . 

No complete section of the lake beds is·.exposed anywhere in the 

area, ,but as encoun~ered in wells the beds consist of a series of alternating beds of clay, silt, and sand, and occasionally a layer of gravel. 

The clays are light gray, greenish gray, blue, or black, and are generally heavy and compact, but are in places c;>f light weight and open 

texture because of a:p. admixture of volcanic ash. Some of the darkcolored clays contain large amounts of organic .matter, a fact· that 

probably accoun,ts for th~ foul odor a:Qd gas reported from some wells 

that penetrate· the clays. Pet!'ified wood ~nd bones .and fossil shells 

are found in the .clays. The coarser materials of the lake, deposits are 

of all grades, ranging from light-colored silt and very . fine sand to 

beds of coarse boulders. 

ORIGIN AND AGE. 

The, topography of the basin, the regular stratification of the sedi-. 

ments, the presence of fossils, and the widespread o~urrence of 

erratic boulders are evidences that the. valley was at one time ·occupied by a lake. 'rhis subject will be more fully discussed in the final 

report. To create a lake in the valley at the. present time all that 

would be necessary, providing the run-off were sufficient, would be 

to block the gap where lower Crab Creek passes throu!gh th~ Frenchman Hills. 
144 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

W. H. Dall states that the fossils collected from the lake beds are 

fresh-water species, all of which are still living and are not older 

than the Quaternary period. They are of the boreal type and could 

have lived in the cold water of a glacial lake. 

GLACIAL OUTWASH. 

DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTER. 

Deposits of glacial outwash cover a large area extending from the 

· mouth of Grand Coulee,' past Ephrata, and southward into the 

Moses Lake region and Hiawatha Valley. They consist mostly of 

fragments of basalt, but other rocks, chiefly granite, are sparsely represented. The materials are fairly well assorted, ranging in coarseness from sand to large boulders. 

Near Soap Lake and Ephrata these deposits lie directly on the 

basalt, but farther south, in the vicinity of Moses Lake and in 

Hiawatha Valley, they lie on the lake beds. Having been deposited 

on an uneven surface, the formation varies in thickness from place 

to place; its greatest known thickness, as shown by well records, is 

about 90 feet. 

ORIGIN AND AGE. 

The outwash deposits . were derived from the same source as the 

lake beds-that is, they were laid down by the debris-laden floods that 

were discharged through Grand Coulee from the Okanogan glacier 

in the Pleistocene epoch. Most of the material forming the higher 

terraces near the mouth of Grand Coulee was probably deposited nt 

the same time that the fine sediments were beil}.g laid down in the 

glacial lake. The sudden lessening of the velocity ofthe flood waters 

as they emerged . from Grand Coulee and spread out over the plain 

and the consequent decrease in their carrying power caused the coarse 

material to be deposited near the mouth of the canyon while the finer 

sediments were carr~ed into the lake. 

The lowering of the lake outlet did not cease with the draining of 

the lake but continued below the floor of the lake, the result being 

that in the eastern part of the basin the upper part of the lake beds 

and much of the previously deposited outwash material was removed, and the general level of this part of the valley was reduced. 

Later more outwash material was. deposited on the eroded surface 

and the region was built up to its present general level. Neither 

deposition nor erosion, however, was continuous, for the glacial 

streams alternately cut channels and then refilled them with gravel, 

and these successive episodes are recorded in the terraces of the 

region. 
GROUND WATER IN QUINOY VALLEY, WASH. 145 

WIND-BLOWN DEPOSITS. 

Overlying the basalt, the lake beds, and, in some places, the glacial 

outwash deposits, is a thi:ri mantle of wind-blown material consisting 

of fragments· ranging in size from very fine silt to coarse sand. 

Except for the gravelly soils of the eastern part of the basin and 

the residual soils in the areas of outcropping basalt along the edge 

of the Columbia gorge, practically all the soils of the basin arA 

composed of wind-blown materials, which also extend beyond the 

boundaries of the basin and cover the Frenchman Hills and the plain 

south of the hills. North of the basin wind-blown soils are found 

on the Badger Hills and the Waterville plateau. The wind-blown 

deposits of Quincy Valley are derived from the fine sediments deposited in the glacial lake. Under the prevailing arid climate these dry, 

loose-textured materials, only slightly protected by the meager vegetation, are easily moved about by the high winds, which at certain 

times of the year occur with great frequency. In the western part. 

of the basin, where the soils are of very fine texture, the winds have 

produced only minor irregularities of the surface, but farther east, 

where the sands are coarser, the effect of the wind is much more 

conspicuous, and sand dunes are familiar features. 

WATER TABLE. 

DEPTH TO WATER. 

The depth to water in Quincy Valley was ascertained at about 

250 widely distributed points, at most of wpich it was accurately 

measured in wells. Where measurement was not possible, reports 

were obtained from well owners, drillers, and other reliable persons. 

In general the depth to water varies with the elevation of .the land 

surface, the water being nearest the surface in· the Iow areas and the 

depth increasing progressively with increase in altitude. 

In a part of the sand-dune area southwest of Moses Lake the 

ground water comes to the surface in many springs and collects in 

depressions among the dunes, forming small ponds and marshy tracts. 

Extending northward from this area to the vicinity of Mae and westward along the foot of the Frenchman Hills to a. point nearly 20 miles 

west of Crab Creek, and including a large part of the dune area, 

is an extensive region in which water is less than 50 feet below the 

surface. ·smaller areas outside of the dune area in which the ground 

water is within 50 feet of the surface include a part of Hiawatha 

Valley, the lowest terraces bordering Moses Lake, the bottom lands 

along Rocky Ford Creek, and strips of land on both sides of upper 

Crab Creek in its lower course, where it is locally known as Willow 

Creek. 
146 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNIT'ED STATES, 1917, 

. . . 

The depth to water :ranges from 50 to 100 feet throughout much 

of the sandy country in the south-central part of the basin, including the district near Bailey and that south of Morrison Flat. Other 

areas where the depth to water ranges between 50 and 100 feet include most of Hiawatha Valley, terraces of intermediate height in 

the vicinity of Moses Lake, and the lower terraces around Ephrata, 

Soap Lake, and Adriart. 

The depth to water ranges from 100 to 150 feet in a large area in 

the west-central part of the basin extending westward from Morrison Flat and northward from Low Gap almost to ·winchester. 

Other areas where water is found at these depths include the highest 

terraces in the Moses Lake region, the highest parts of the interstream areas extending from Ephrata to the vicinity of Moses Lake, 

and large parts of the upland surface east of Moses Lake and upper 

Crab Creek . .' 

The depth to water is 150 to 200 feet throughout Morrison Flat, 

south of the Great Northern Railway, in the immediate vicinity of 

Winchester, and in a belt about 4 miles wide extending from Winchester to Burke. 

FORM OF THE WATER TABLE. 

Near Quincy, in most of the area south and west of Quincy, and 

in a belt north of the railroad near Winchester the depth to water 

ranges from 150 -to 300 feet. 

The position of the water ta.ble, or upper surface of the zone of 

saturation, is sho~n with respect to sea. level by contours on Plate 

XIII. West of the steep slope that extends along the east side of 

Morrison Flat from within 4 or 5 miles of Ephrata almost to the 

Frenchman Hills the water table is nearly level or only slightly inclined, except along the north edge of the baSin, where it rises toward 

the Badger Hills, and along the west edge,'where it drops abruptly in 

the direction of the Columb~a gorge. The· elevation of the water 

table throughout this area, according to accurate determinations 

made at a large number of points, is about 1,080 feet above sea level. 

East of this steep slope the water table descends rapidly to a minimum level of about 1,000 feet above the sea. 

In the eastern province the water table descends at a fairly uniform· rate from the north to Moses Lake (altitude, 1,046 feet) with 

the surface of which it e'oincides. On the west side of the south 

part of Moses Lake the water table descends abruptly from the 

lake level to an elevation of only 1,030 feet above sea level in Hiawatha Valley and the vicinity of Mae. Thence, it declines more 

gradually southward to a level of about 1,000 feet in the sand-dune 

area, where it comes to the surface in many places and coincides 

with the surfaces of the ponds. 
GROUND WATER IN QUI,NOY VALLEY, WASH. . 147 

WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS. 

WATER IN BASALT. 

The basalt underlying Quincy Valley consists of a series of beds, 

each of which ·represents a separate flow. The upper crust of a lava 

sheet generally has a vesicular or "honeycombed " structure, caused 

by the escape of steam and other gases from the molten lava, and its 

upper surface is generally rough and broken, owing to sudden chilling of the lava: Consequently many openings, some of which are extensive, occur between the successive beds, and these are capable of 

holding much water. In some places the successive beds are .separated 

by beds of tuff and other volcanic fragmental material, but these 

interbedded deposits are of small volume and almost impervious, and 

consequently furnish little storage space for· water. The interior 

of a bed, formed of a lava that cooled gradually, is usually fine 

grained and compact, but in theprocess of coolingthere was·much 

contraction, so that joints and fissures which provide for the storage 

and circulation of water were formed throughout the mass. The 

total capacity of the basalt formation for water is therefore rather 

large. 

In the western part of the basin, including the region around' 

Quincy, Burke, and Winchester, and north of the railroad between 

Winchester and Ephrata, almost all the wells obtain their water from 

the basalt. Near Quincy and "Winchester large supplies are obtained 

for irrigation. A number of wells yield between 250 and 500 gallons 

per minute and one well near Quincy produces between 900 and 1,000 

gallons per minute under continuous pumping. Near the rim of the 

Columbia gorge some wells have failed, to obtain adequate supplies, 

but throughout the rest of the region failures are rare. Most of the 

large yields of water are obtained from beds of the " honeycombed " 

texture found between layers. of compact material. A few of them 

come from the massive basalt. 

The water in the basalt is derived from that which falls on the 

basin and percolates downward and from that which has been absorbed by the basalt outside of the basin and has traveled laterally 

underground perhaps for a long distance. In the western part of ,the 

basin, where the materials overlying the basalt are dry, most of the 

water that falls as rain or snow does not get far below the surface. 

This statement in especially true of the precipitation in the areas 

overlain by fine silty soils. · Where the basalt is at or near the surface 

or where the sediments above the basalt cpnsist or gravel or coarse 

sand the precipitated water sinks more rapidly below the reach of 

evaporation and transpiration, and a larger proportion reaches the 

water table. The numerous undrained basins are also favorable to 
-- - -- -- ----- ~--- -------~----~701 

148 CONT·RIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

intake of water. If the average annual precipitation over an area of 

300 square miles in the western and central parts of the basin west 

of the sag in the water table shown in Plate XIII is 7! inches, and 

10 per cent·of this precipitation reaches the water table, the average 

annual underground supply from this source is about 12,000 acre-feet. 

The structure of Quincy Valley, determined by the lava beds that 

dip toward it from all directions, is favorable for the accumulation 

of ground water under the basin, but, on the other hand, the gorge 

of 'the Columbia, and, to a less extent, Moses Coulee· and other deep 

coulees, are very unfavorable. 

The map (Pl. XIII) ·shows that the water table is highest along 

the northern border of the basin. .As water underground, like water 

at the surface, is highest near its source, this map indicates that one 

of the main sources of supply is the plateau north of the basin. The 

basalt beds out of which the plateau is built dip southward, and 

water which falls on the plateau may be led down the dipping strata 

beneath Quincy Valley. 'l'he plateau lies considerably higher than 

the basin and receives more abundant precipitation. .As it is a surface of extensive erosion in which porous beds of.the basalt formation 

are exposed, much of the rain and snow which it receives may be 

absorbed by the rocks. 

Some parts of the plateau are, however, so deeply dissected as to 

diminish its efficacy as an intake area. Lynch, Moses, and Grand 

coulees (see Pl. XIII) are cut many hundreds of feet into the basalt, 

and the porous beds are exposed to leakage along the walls of the 

coulees. Where the coulees cut the water-bearing beds that underlie 

Quincy valley and extend down to the level of the water table be-

' neath the basin they effectively bar the movement of ground water 

into the basin and constitute definite outer limits for the areas contributing ground water. The contributory area on the north is 

· therefore limited by Lynch, Moses, and Grand coulee8, but between 

Moses Coulee and Grand Coulee there is no impassable barrier to 

the migration of ground water. (See Pl. XIII.) 

That there is not very·ready movement through the basalt laterally 

is indicated by the nearly level position of the water table over the 

greater part of the basin and by its abrupt downward slope, especially 

on the west side of this level area. The contributory area on the 

north probably does not include more than 300 square miles. The 

average annual precipitation on this area is about 15 inches. If 5 

per cent of this precipitation is absorbed and migrates to Quincy 

Valley, the annual contribution is about 12,000 acre-feet. 

West of Quincy Valley the gorge of Columbia River extends far 

- below the level of the water table. of the deepest water-bearing bed 

that has been reached by wells in the basin. There is therefore no 

contribution from the west. The loss of water from the basalt beds 

-~------~-- .. 
-------- --- -- -l 

GROUND WATER I~ QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 149 

at the outcrops is, however, ~ot so great as might be expected, as is 

shown by the form of the water table (Pl. XIII), by the large yields 

of wells situated within a few miles of the gorge of Columbia River, 

a:Q.d by the scarcity of large springs along the gorge. The retention 

of the water in the reservoirs of basalt is probably due both to the 

eastward dip of the beds and to a general lack of lateral communication between the cavities in the basart. 

There ·is an erroneous belief among some of the. inhabitants of 

Quincy Valley that the water in the basalt comes :from Lake Chelan, 

because the water table throughout most of the western and central 

parts of the basin stands at practically the same level as the lake-- _ 

about 1,080 feet above sea. level. It is obvious that no water can be 

derived from this source because of the existence of the intervening 

Columbia gorge, which is cut several hundred :feet below the level 

of the Iake, and below the water table of Quincy Valley, and is also 

cut through the water-bearing beds tapped by the wells in the basin. 

That no large supply is received from the region south of Quincy 

Valley is shown by the water levels in the southern part of the basin 

and by the structure and topography of the region to the south. The 

northern limb of the anticline that forms the Frenchman . Hills is 

· narrow and the area south of these hills is deeply dissected. 

East of Quincy Valley is an :extensive area that slopes toward 

the basin and is underlain by beds of basalt that dip toward and 

extend beneath the basin. These beds no doubt deliver water in 

the general -direction of the basl.n. On account of the sag in the 

surface and in the water table in .the eastern part of the basin (Pl. 

XIII) this water probably does not reach the central and western 

parts of the basin but leaks into the sediments that overlie the basalt 

in the eastern part. If the more impervious beds of the basalt 

formation are sufficiently competent as confiiiing beds, some of the 

water in the underlying porous beds may be carried by artesian 

pressure to the central and western parts of the basin, but there is 

considerable evidence that such artesian movement is absent or 

unimportant. 

It appears, therefore, that most of the water in the basalt in the 

western and central parts of the basin is derived from rain and 

snow that fall there or on the upland farther north. 

In the western part of the basin artesian pressure that will lift 

the water in deep wells much above the water table is not to be expected because of the depressing influence of the gorge of Columbia 

River. In the low area adjacent to Crab Creek and Moses1Lake, 

where the water table sags (see Pl. XIII), the water from deep 

basalt beds would probably rise farther above the level of the water 

table, and it is possible that the artesian pressure would be sufficient 

to bring the water to the surface in the lowest places. 
150 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY 6F UNITED STATES, 19i7. 

That the quantity of water stored in the basalt beneath the basin 

is large and that there is considerable underground circulation is 

shown by the fact that single wells yield 250 to 1,000 gallons a minute 

without diminution in the supply great enough to have been detected. 

The amount of water stored beneath the basin is, however, not a 

safe criterion by which to gage possible development of irrigation, 

for it may have taklm centuries for this water to accumulate and the 

rate of inflow may be very slow. In considering the amount of water 

available for irrigation the quantity now stored in the rocks is not 

so important as tlui annual increment to the supply. It is evident 

that even though much water is stored beneath the basin, continual 

withdrawals in excess of replenishment will result in a gradual 

lowering of the water table. 

Before any water was pumped there was probably a natural hal-

# ance between loss and gain, the leakage out of the 1basalt in Quincy 

Valley being about equal to the intake, and leakage will continue 

in spite of recoveries by pumping. Therefore, even if the average 

annual intake is as much as 24,000 acre-feet, the supply that will be 

available year by year is less than this amount, although by pumping 

out the water now in storage a much larger quantity could be obtained 

for a few years. 

Whether the water table has been lowered by the pumping that 

has already been done is not precisely known. The numerous exact 

measurements of depths to water that have been made in connection 

with the present investigation, will, however, make it possible to de- . 

termine very closely-the e·ffects of future pumping operations. 

The conclusions regarding the water in the basalt und~rlying 

Quincy V a!ley may be briefly stated as follows: The quantity of 

water stored in the basalt is large. The conditions are such that it 

is impossible to estimate closely the annual· intake or the amount 

"that can be recovered annually by pumping, without drawing seriously on the reserve, but the authors believe that the annual intake 

of water is not more than 24,000 acre-feet, and that the quantity 

which can safely be pumped annually within the area in which the 

well.s end in basalt is less than this amount. The available supply 

is doubtless adequate to serve indefinitely the land :n.ow under irrigation, and experience may prove that considerably more lana can be 

broug~t under irrigation. The geologic and topographic conditions make it certain, however, that it will be impossible to irrigate 

the entire basin with water obtained from this so1frce, or even a 

large proportion of the area in which the wells end in basalt, and 

they also indicate that it would be unwise at present to increase the 

area to be irrigated with the water from the basalt by more than a 

few thousand acres. · 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 151 

WATER IN LAXE BEDS. 

Throughout the central part of the basin-on Morrison Flat and 

adjacent areas to the north and west and in the s~tndy country extending southward from Morrison Flat to · the Frenchman Hills 

and southwestward to Bailey and Low Gap-most of the wells 

obtain water from the unconsolidated, fine-grained, lake beds that 

overlie the basalt .. The material penetrated in wells in this part of 

the basin consists of day and sand in alternating beds, and a few 

thin layers described as "lime rock" or "hardpan." Beneath these 

deposits basalt is found at depths ranging from less than 100 to 

more than 350 feet in different localities. Beds of quicksand, coarse 

basaltic sand, and occasionally of fine gravel that yield good supplies of water are found at intervals below the water table. 

Many wells have been sunk into the lake beds, and, in so far as information was obtained, none of them have failed to get water, • 

although a number of owners of comparatively shallow stock or 

domestic wells have reported" small" or" insufficient" yields. Wells 

that ar.e properly constructed and are sunk deep enough to penetrate 

several water-bearing beds generally fulfill all requirements. Pumping plants supplying water for irrigation have been installed on 

Morrison Flat and in a number of other places, and single wells 

have been reported to yield 300 gallons per minute. 

In the lake-beds area the water table is at about the same elevation 

as in the basalt area to the west and distinctly higher than in the 

area of glacial outwash to the east. n appears, therefore, that the 

water in the lake beds is derived from the same sources as that in 

the basalt and is not supplied to any important extent by Crab Creek 

or the glacial-outwash deposits. 

f 

WATER IN GLACIAL-OUTWASH DEPOSITS. 

. In the eastern part of the basin, in an area: extending from 

· Ephrata, Soap Lake, and Adrian, to the vicinity of Moses Lake and 

beyond, the principal water-bearing formation consists of rudely 

stratified deposits of waterworn and water-sorted sand, gravel, and 

boulders. In some places this formation lies on the lake beds, and 

in others it lies directly on the basalt. Owing to irregularities in 

the sur:face on which it rests and in its own upper surface its thickness is variable, ranging from only a few feet to 90 feet or more. 

Being unconsolidated and containing a large proportion of coarse 

material, the glacial-outwash deposits allow very free circulation of 

water. Wells in this material yield large quantities with very little 

lowering of water level. In the Moses Lake region large supplies for 

irrigation are obtained . from wells that are sunk only 2 or 3 feet 

below the water level. One such well was tested in connection with 

the present investigation-a well on the farm of George C. Hill at 
--, -~-~. ~----, 

152 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 19'17. 

Mae. This well is 3fr feet square and 78 feet deep and is equipped 

with a 12-horsepower gasoline engine and a 3-inch horizontal ceiitrifugal pump. At the beginning of the test, before the pump was 

started, the .water stood 74.6 feet below the surface of the' ground. 

When the pump was started the water level was rapidly drawn down 

· to 7 4.9 feet, but was not further lowered during a 20-minute test. 

The drawdown was, therefore, only 0.3 foot. The discharge as 

measured was 270 gallons per minute. When the pump was stopped 

the water level rose immediately to its normal position of 7 4.6 feet 

below the surface. Owners of many other wells in this region report 

equally good results. 

The glacial-outwash dep<;~sits receive (1) water that falls as rain 

or snow on that part of Quincy Valley underlain by the outwash deposits and sinks directly into them; ( 2) water that falls oil the extensive drainage basin of Crab Creek and is poured into Quincy Valley 

either as surface water or as underflow of Crab Creek; (3} water 

that falls on the elevated region east of Quincy Valley and south 

of the drainage basin of Crab Creek and is carried in freshets to the 

valley, where part of it sinks into the outwash deposits; (4) similar 

storm waters from the eastern part of the Badger Hills and the central 

part of Quincy Valley; (5) water from the basalt under the plateau 

north of the basin and from the basalt and overlying lake beds in the 

western and central parts of the basin, which enters the outwash 

deposits from the northwest or west; (6) water that falls on the 

region east of Quincy Valley, percolates into the underlying basalt, 

and moves westward toward the basin. (See Pl. XIV.) It will be 

seen, therefore, that the Moses Lake region of Quincy Valley forms 

a sort of huge trap for the water that falls on it and on a large adjacent region. The only outletsare (1) the gap of lower Crab Creek, 

'(2) the, cavities in tP.e basalt of the Frenchman Hills, and (3} the atmosphere, which removes large quantities of water that is at or near 

the surface. No water is contributed from the Grand Coulee, for Soap · 

Lake, which lies at the mouth of the coulee, never overflows, and it is 

separated more or less effectively from the outwash deposits of 

Quincy Valley by a ledge of basalt. The alkaline character of its 

water shows that it does not discharge by underflow. 

The most important sources of water in the outwash deposits are 

the first two mentioned. The underflow :from the west must necessarily be small. The basalt :formation beneath the region east of the 

basin apparently dips ;very gently toward the basin, but it is deeply 

trenched by coulees that interrupt the migration of water through it. 

Some ground water no doubt reaches the Moses Lake region from the 

east through porous lava beds that are continuou's beneath the coulees, 

but the contributions from this source are probably not large. 

The movements and disposal of water :from the drainage basin of 

upper Crab Creek is for convenience shown diagrammatically in 

! 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 153 

figure 7. This water enters the basin partly as surface flow and 

partly as underflow. 

The surface flow divides a short distance below Adrian, a part 

going southward through a channel locally known as Willow Creek 

into Parker Horn of Moses Lake, and the other part going westward 

a short distance on the north 

side of the .Great Northern 

Railway into a large, shallow 

basin known as the Adrian 

Sink. In the earlier part of a 

flood most of the water takes 

the latter course, and it· continues to flow in this direction until the sink .is filled, 

after which the water goes 

down the channel 'leading 

into Moses Lake. 

Both from Adrian Sink and 

·from the channel leading to 

Moses Lake water percolates 

into the glacial gravels and 

slowly moves underground in 

a general southward direction. Part of this water reappears in large springs at 

the head of Rocky Ford 

Creek, and thence flows into 

Moses Lake. The rest moves 

southward through the gravels, a part seeping into Moses 

Lake and a part eventually 

reaching the surface in the 

springs, . ponds, and swampy 

tracts of_ the sand-dune area 

south of the lake. 

Moses Lake receives water 

from streams, precipitation 

on its surface and under- FIGURE 7.-D!agram showing movements and disd ' . . d a· posal of surface and ground water in the 

groun seepage, an IS- Moses Lake res-Jon of Quincy Valley, Wash. 

charges water by surface 

flow through its outlet, by evaporation from its surface, and by 

seepage through its sides and bottom. As shown by the slope of 

the water table toward the lake (Pl. XIV), ground water enters the 

lake along almost· its entire length on the east side and along the 

northern part of its west side. Similarly a slope of the water table 

away from the lake indicates a loss of water along the west side as 
r 

! 

i • 

154 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDROLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 1917. 

:far north as the big bend 4 miles north o:f Mae. In the sandy country 

near the south end o:f the lake the loss by seepage is considerable .. 

Farther north, however, loss by seepage appears to be small in spite 

o:f the decided slope o:f the water table away :from the lake, :for water 

levels in wells very close to the lake are considera~ly below the lake 

level, a condition that obviously could not exist i:f there were any 

considerable seepage :from the lake. The sides o:f the lake along this 

stretch are :formed o:f gravels that differ little in texture an& composition :from the water-bearing gravels :found in wells throughout 

the region. Through these gravels the water generally moves with 

the greatest :freedom, and the comparative imperviousness o:f the 

gravels :forming the lake shore must be ascribed to an extraneous 

cause, such as natural puddling or a sealing o:f the pores by silt or 

vegetal growth, or possibly to some extent by the precipitation 

o:f chemical substances. Much o:f the water that seeps out o:f the 

lake returns to the surface :farther south. 

The amount o:f water annually available :from the outwash deposits is to some extent indicated by the amount tha.t enters the 

area and by the amount that is discharged. Concerning the part 

that is added through stream flow and precipitation, approximate 

information is available, but the amounts entering as underflow are 

unknown. 

The :following table; compiled chiefly :from measurements and estimates made by F. F. Henshaw, o:f the United States Geological Survey, ba2ed on stream-flow records collected by the Geological Survey 

and on precipitation records by the Weather Bureau, both in cooperation with the Grant Realty Co., summarizes the available data: 

A.dditions to and losses from water supply of Moses La'ke reg~'on, Quincy Valley, 

1910 to 1913, inclusive. 

1910 1911 1912 1913 

-------------------11---1---------

Acre-feet, Acre-feet. Acre-feet. Acre-feet. FlowofCrabCreekatAdriana................................ 27,800 10,900 3,760 ......... . FlowofCrabCreekatNeppela................................ 19,000 5,000 0 34,700 

Loss between Adrian and Neppel, chiefly by percolation into the glacial-outwash deposits-...................... 8, 800 5, 900 a, 760 ......... -. Flow of Rocky Ford Creek representing ground water that re- turns to the surface north of Moses Lake. . . • .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 000 35, 100 38, 500 42, 000 

===== Evaporation from Moses Lake................................. 24,200 26,400 27,800 30,200 

Precipitation on Moses Lake................................... 3, 790 3,120 4,000 3, 780 

Net loss from Moses Lake by excess of evaporation over -.--.---------- precipitation ............ ·............................... 20,410 23,280

0 23,8000 26,420 

Surface outflow from Moses Lake •................... -'·........ 26,000 22, 700 Increaseinlakes~orage......................................... 

==== 

8,510 12,000 10,970 17,740 

Discharge from Drumheller Springs............................ 13,430 12,090 b 12,000 b 12,000 

Discharge from springs above Drqmheller Springs............. 2, 800 3, 090 1, 740 2, 300 

Evaporation from ponds in the sand-dune area c............... 9,200 9,200 9, 200 9,200 

Total ground-water discharge south of Moses Lake, exclu- ---~ ---~--- sive of evaporation and transpiration from swampy areas. 25, 430 24, 380 22, 940 23, 500 

a Stream-flow records incomplete. . b Estimate based on run-off for previous years. c Estimates based on assumption that the open-water surface of the ponds aggregate 2.000 acres and that 

the average annual evaporation is equivalent to a depth of water of 4.6 feet, the same as for Moses Lake. 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 155 

In the northern section of the Moses Lake region the ground-water 

discharge is r{)presented by the flow of Rocky Ford Creek, the evaporation in the swampy tracts north of the lake, and the seepage into 

the lake. In the southern section it is represented by the flow of 

Drumheller and other springs and the evaporation from the ponds 

and swampy tracts south of the lake. Some of the ground water 

discharged from the northern section no doubt passes underground 

a second time and is again returned to the surface in the area south 

of the lake. (See fig. 7, p. 153.) The total discharge amounts to some 

tens of thousands of acre-feet a year. Not all this water can be recovered for irrigation, for much is lost by evaporation from the surface of Moses Lake or becomes unavailable by passing into the lake 

at its north end and discharging at the south end into the sand-dune 

area, where it can not be used for irrigation. If it were not for the 

existence of Moses Lake the loss from the underground reservoir 

would be much less and the available supply would be much greater. 

The supply is, however, certainly adequate for much more irrigation than is at present practiced. In view of the large contributory 

area and the excellent intake facilities afforded by the deposits of 

sand and gravel it is not pmbable that the demands for irrigation in 

the Moses Lake region will exceed the supply. It is believed that the 

above data show that an additional 5,000 acres can be irrigated in 

this region. 

QUALITY OF WATER. 

. Analyses of samples of 13 ground waters and 6 surface waters, 

which were made in order to determine the quality of water in this 

basin, will be published in a later report. In general, these analyses 

indicate a very favorable condition of the ground waters. The waters 

represented by 11 of the samples are classed as good and 2 as fair 

for irrigation. Most of t:qem are calcium-carbonate in character, 

only 1 containing in ·predominating amounts sodium and carbonate, 

the constituents of black alkali. Even this water, however, is good 

for irrigation and would not damage even the most sensitive crops, 

unless used in a grossly careless manner. Most of the waters are 

good or fair for domestic use, but two have been classed as b!lid, one 

bceause of its high mineral content, especially of calcium and magnesium, ~hich cause hardness and excessive consumption of soap in 

washing, and the other because of its high content of bicarbonate. 

The surface waters analyzed vary more widely in their value for 

irrigation and domestic use. Two samples from different points in 

Moses Lake show this water to be sodium-carbonate in character but 

sufficiently low in these and other mineral constituents to be entirely 

satisfactory for irrigation and for domestic use. 

The water from a pothole in the NvV. ! sec. 22, T. 19 N., R. 25 E., 

was found to be fair only :for domestic use and for irrigation. Soap· 
I 

I 

156 CONTRIBUTIONS TO HYDBOLOGY OF UNITED STATES, 191'7. 

Lake, Grimes Lake, and a lake in Grand Coulee, 5 miles above Coulee 

City, all furnish water which is too highly mineralized to be useful 

as domestic supplies: The waters from Soap and Grimes lakes are 

classed as bad for irrigation and could not. be economically used for 

this purpose. The water from the lake in Grand Coulee might be 

used in irrigating some of the crops less sensitive to alkali if liberal 

quantities of land plaster were applied to the land, but even then such 

special precautions as artificial drainage or washing down the alkali 

by :flooding 1 would probably be necessary to insure success. 

PUMPING PLANTS AND IRRIGATION. 

PUMPING FROM WELLS. 

Most of the water used for irrigation in Quincy Valley is pumped 

from wells, but a part is pumped from Moses Lake. 

Power for pumping is supplied by internal-combustion engines 

burning distillate or crude oil. The power plants range in size from 

5 to 80 horsepower, but 15 to 30 horsepower is the size of most plants 

designed primarily for irrigation. The pumps are either centrifugal 

or reciprocating, the type selected depending on the lift. The lifts 

range from 10 to 300 feet, and the yields from 25 to 1,000 gallons per 

minute. Centrifugal pumps (ordinary centrifugal or turbine) are 

generally used for lifts of less than 100 feet; for the greater lifts 

reciprocating (plunger or piston) pumps are used. 

In 1916 wells were used to irrigate approximate!~· 2,800 acres in 

the basin, exclusive of lands in the vicinity of Ephrata and of Soap 

Lake-2,300 acres being in orchard, mostly apples, and 500 acres, in 

alfalfa and miscellaneous crops. In the Ephrata and Soap Lake 

regions perhaps 500 acres additional were irrigated from wells, 

making a total of 3,300 acres for the whole basin. Several factors, 

among which may be mentioned character of soil, accessibility of 

water supply, and nearness to transpo,rtation lines, have restricted 

irrigation to certain fairly well defined districts. Thus the Quincy 

and Winchester districts were selected for development chiefly because of the good quality of the soil and nearness to the railroad; 

Hiawatha Valley·and the Moses Lake region because water could be 

obtained near the surface. All attempts to irrigate large tract~ in 

the south-central and southern parts of the basin by pumping have 

resulted in failure because the soil is so porous and absorbs the water 

so rapidly that the land can not be covered by the ordinary irrigating stream. 

1 See Dele, R. B., Ground water in San Joaquin Valley, Cal.: U. S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 398, pp. 58-61, 1916. 

l 
GROUND WATER IN QUINCY VALLEY, WASH. 157 

PUMPING FROM MOSES LAKE. 

In 1916 approximately 700 acres were irrigated by pumping from 

Moses Lake. The Grant Realty Co. has six pmhping plants that 

draw from the lake, fourof which were in operation in 1916. The 

plants range in size from 11 to 90 horsepower and are ~esigned for 

capacities of 1,400 to 2,600 gallons per minute with heads of 45 to 95 

feet. 

COST OF PUMPING. 

In calculating the cost of pumping, not only the actual expenses 

of operation should be considered but also all fixed charges, such 

as interest on the investment, depreciation, taxes, and repairs. Annual charges for depreciation and repairs on the average plant will 

range from 12 to 15 per cent of the cost of the equipment and interest 

and taxes from 7 to 9 per cent. 

The cost of fuel is probably the largest item of the operating expense. With distillate costing 14 cents a gallon, the expense for 

fuel at 30 plants in Quincy Valley in 1916, as reported by the owners, 

ranged from $1.50 to $18 per acre-foot of water pumped. The average cost was about $2 for an acre-foot of water lifted 50 feet. At 

a few plants a lower grade of distillate, known as " stove oil" or 

"stove distillate," costing about 6 cents a gallon, was used and the 

cost of pumping at these plants was materially less. The principal 

reason given for using the more expensive fuel is that the use of 

the cheaper fuel necessitates a special carbureter for the engine, 

but as the carbureter can be purchased at a comparatively small 

expense it seems poor economy to avoid an immediate outlay by 

continuously meeting a fuel bill that is higher than necessary. 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 

Water for irrigation can be obtained in Quincy Valley only by 

pumping. In 1916 lands aggregating about 3,300 acres were irrigated by pumping from wells and about 700 acres by pumping from 

Moses Lake. 

Power for pumping is supplied entirely by internal-combustion 

engines. Because of the high cost of fuel the cost of water for irrigation is high, especially throughout the central and western parts 

of the 'basin, where water must he lifted from great depths. 

. On the basis of the acreage now under irrigation and the probable 

annual contributions of water to the basalt, lake beds, and glacialoutwash deposits and to Moses Lake, it is estimated that a total of 

as much as 15,000 acres can be irrigated in the basin each year from 

these sources, the most dependable of which are the glacial-outwash 

deposits and Moses Lake. Irrigation projects planned to serve more 

than 15,000 acres are not justified by the facts at present available. 

74351°-19-WSP 425-ll 

INDEX. 

Pag&.; 

Acknowledgments foraid ••••• ····-'······· 4,95,134 

Adrian sink, Wash.1, movement of water to 

andfrom ••... ·., ........ · •. ·........ 153' 

Agriculture, Department or; cooperation by.. 38 

Agriculture in Quincy Valley, Wash. ; .... 139-140 

in Reese River basin, Nev............... 122 

in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N. Mex •..... 29-35 

Alfalfa, water needed for •• · •••••••.•..•. ·• . . • . 66 

Alluvial fans, occurrence of, in Reese River 

basin, Nev ............ ·.·.......•• 98 

Alluvial slopes near mouth of Big Creek, Nev., 

plate showing................... 102 

Analyses of ground waters ............. 17, 21,54-55 

Antelope Spring, Nev., spring southwest of, 

plate showing .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 104 

Arikaree formation, nature and occurrence·of. 41 

water in ................ ~ ................ 61-62 

Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station! 

cooperation by·.................. 3 

ArtesiaValiey, Ariz., flowing wells in ..•.•.. 26-27 

Augusta Mountains, Nev., rocks composing. 100 

Austin, Nev., .Big Creek near .... , ......... ,. 108 

industries of. . . . . . . . • . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . 96 

precipitation at ......... , ............. 102-103 

water supply of.......... . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 

Averill,J. D., acknowledgmentto ......... ,. 4 

Basalt, waterin,iiiQuincyVallEiy, Wa.Sh .. 147-150 

Battle Mountain, Nev., iiidustriesoL....... 97 

precipitation: at .................... 102,103-104 

Rock Creek near •.. .,. • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 

water supplieS in .•.................... 118, 119 

Bell's ditch; discliarge of.. . .. • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 

Berlin, Nev., Reese River near.............. 107 

Big Creek near Austin, Nev................. 108 

Boone Creek, Nev., discharge of.............. 110 

valley of, plate showing.. • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 

Bowie, Ariz:, precipitation at................ 10 

B<ilwie area, Ariz., groundwater in .......... 11-18 

map of, showing locations of wells....... 14 

Brule clay, natute and distribution of, in 

Lodgepole Creek valley. . . . . . . . . . 4!1-41 

waterin .............................. 47,62-63 

Bufl'alo Valley, Nev., Pleistocene lake in..... 100 

BUshn:ell, Nebr., pilmping plant near ........ 65-66 

wells at and near· ........................ 57, 58 

Chadron sandstone, stratigraphie place of.... 40 

water in, in Lodgepole Valley, Wyo. and 

Nebr............................ 63 

Chappell, Nebr;, wells at, yield of. .......... 60-61 

Cheyenne County, Nebr., wells in, descrip· 

tions of .......... , . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 58-60 

Chriricahua ·Mountains, Ariz., desCription of. 4 

Clear Creek, Nev., discharge' of.............. 110 

Cochise Head, Ariz., altitude·of;.............. 4 

Columbia River, proposed improvement ot:;, 133 

Page. 

Crab Creek, Wash., basin of, movement of 

surface and ground water in .•• wi-154 

description of .......................... 136-137 

Cretaceous formations in Lodgepole Valley, 

Wyo.-Nebr., ground water in.: .. 63-64 

Dartori, N.H., cited........................ 39 

Desatoya Mountains, Nev., rocks· composing. 100 

Deuel County, Nebr., Wllllsin, descriptions of. 60-61 

Diesem, H. C., Cost of pulliping for irrigation 

in western Nebraska ............. 67-69 

Dinsmore~ S. C., analyses of ground water by. 54-55 

Dos Cabezas Mountains, Ariz., description of. 4 

Ebsen, G. E., acknowledgment to........... 4 

Egbert, Wyo., well at....................... 56 

Equivalents, convenient .•••••••••••••..••.• 92-94 

Fans, alluvial; occurrence of, in Reese River 

basin, Nev...................... 98 

Farming, dry, in San Simon Valley, Ariz... 33 

Feet per second,· conversion of velocity in, 

into velocity in milesper hour... 75 

Fish Creek, Nev., discharge of............... 110 

Fish Creek Mountains, Nev,,·rocks composing 100 

Forage, raising of, in dry area.............. 34 

Forbes, R. R, Agriculture in. ohe San Simon 

Valley ........................... 29-35 

Forsling, Gus., pumping plant of. ........... 65-66 

Fox Hills sandstone, ground water in, in 

Lodgepole Valley, Wyo.-Nebr~ •• 63-64 

Gallons per minute, conversion 'or discharge 

in, into discharge in second-feet.. 7 4 

Garland, J. B., acknowledgment to.......... 4 

Grain, raising of, in a dry area............... 34 

Grand Coulee, Wash., quality oflake water in 156 

Great Plains, escarpments in ................ 38-39 

Grimes Lake, Wash., quality of water in.... 156 

Ground water, analyses of. ............ 17,21,54-55 

quality of ...... , ..................... 16-18,20 

tern perature of ..................... ·. • • • • 18 

waste of. .......................... , ..... 16,27 

Havallah Range, Nev., rocks composing ... 100,101 

·Henshaw, F. F., acknowledgment to........ 134 

Hibler, J. H., acknoWledgment to........... 4 

Hill, J. L., acknowledgment to.............. 4 

Humboldt River, Nev., flow of. ........... 109,110 

Humboldt River baSin, Nev., artesian con-

. ditionsin ......... : ............ 112-114 

irrigation in •..... , .................... 119-122 

reconnaissance map of parts of............ , 98 

springs in, data on ...... , ......... , .... 122-129 

wells in, construction of. · ............ , . 119-122 

dataon., .......... , ............... 122-129 

See also Reese River basin. 

Hydraulic conversion tables and convenient 

e·quivalents ............. " ....... 71-94 

159 
160 INDEX. 

Page. 

Dlinois Creek, Reese River above ...•...... 105-107 

Indian Valley, Nev., origin of............... 97 

plate showing........................... 102 

Irrigation in Lodgepole Valley, Wyo.-Nebr ... 5!-

52,64-67 

in Quincy Valley, Wash ....... 131-133, 151H1i7 

in Reese River basin, Nev~ ............ 119-122 

in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N.Mex ... 27,31-32 

Julesburg, Colo., wells at, yield of........... 61 

Kimball County, Nebr., wells in ............. 57-58 

Lake beds in Quincy Valley, Wash., water 

in............................... 151 

in Reese River basin, Nev., nature of..·.. 101 

in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N. Mex., 

nature of........................ 8-9 

Laramie County, Wyo., wells in, descriptions 

of ............................... 56-57 

Lavas, Tertiary, in Reese and Humboldt 

river basins, Nev................ 101 

Lodgepole, Nebr., wells at, yield of .......... 59-60 

Lodgepole Creek, Wyo.-Nebr., course of..... 37 

flow measurements of .................... 43-46 

irrigation from ........................... 51-52 

terraces on............................... 38 

Lodgepole Creek valley, Wyo.-Nebr., description of •......•.............. 37-38 

geology of ............................... 39-42 

ground water in, quality of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-55 

source and disposal of.... .. .. .. .. .. .. 50-52 

irrigation in ............................. 64-67 

map of .................. , ............ 40, 64, 66 

physiography of ......................... q8-39 

precipitation in .......................... 42-43 

surface waters of.. ....................... 43-46 

water in gravels of....................... 47 

water in Tertiary formations in .•.......• 61-6!3 

water table in ........................... 47-50 

McCrory, J. S., acknowledgment to.......... 4 

Map scales, miles to linch by............... 94 

Meinzer, Oscar E., Ground water for irrigation in Lodgepole Valley, Wyo. 

and Nebr ........................ 37-67 

Schwennesen, A. T., and, Ground watet 

in Quincy Valley, Wash ....... 131-157 

Mill Creek, discharge of..:................... 110 

Moore, P. W., analyses by .......... , ........ 17,21 

Moore's Spur area, Ariz., ground water in... 19 

Moses Lake, Wash., description of........... 136 · 

movement of surface and ground water 

near ........................... 152-155 

water for irrigation pumped from. . . . . . . . 157 

Muddy Creek, flow of........................ 44 

Mullerleile, Louis, acknowledgment to........ · 134 

Neill, 'Ernest L., field work by................ 95 

Nevada, ground water resources of.. .. .. .. .. 95 

map of, showing areas covered by groundwater papers.. . .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. 96 

Ogalalla formation, nature and occurrence of, 

in the Lodgepole Creek valley • . • • 41-42 

waterin................................. 61 

Page. 

Paradise, Ariz., precipitation at ............. 10,11 

Pelonc!Jlo Mountains, description of •.••.•.•.• 4, 5, 6 

Pierce, A. G., acknowledgment to........... 4 

Pierre shale, ground water in, in Lodgepole 

Valley, Wyo., Nebr .............. 63,64 

Pinaleno Mountains, Ariz., description of..... 4, 5 

Pinebluff, Wyo., wells at and near;.. . . • . . . . . • 56-57 

Playas, occurrence of, in the Reese Rh·er 

basin ............................ 98-99 

Potter, Nebr., wells at, yield of ....... :...... 58 

Poultry raising in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-

N.Mex.......................... 35 

Pumping for irrigation, cost of ........... ; 67-69, 157 

plants for ................................ 65-67 

Quincy Valley, Wash., climate of..; ........ 138-139 

· field work in............................ 134 

geologic section across, plate showing . .. • 140 

geology of. ............................ 141-145 

glacial outwash in, natureandoriginof... 144 

water in ........................... 151-155 

irrigation in ................... 131-133,156-157 

lake bedsin ........................... 143-144 

location of. ........ ·.... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 131 

soil and vegetationin ...... : ........... 139-140 

water in, quality of .................... 155-156 

water-bearing formations in .. .-.· ........ 147-155 

watertablein ......... · .. : ............. 145-146 

_wind-blown deposits in.................. 145 

Quincy Valley, Wash., and adjaCent areas, 

mapof.......................... 134 

topography of ......................... 134-138 

Reese River above Illinois Creek .......... 105-107 

chief tributaries of....................... 108 

excavation by........................... 100 

flow of ............................. 104-105,107 

Reese River basin, Nev., artesian conditions 

in ............................. 112-114 

field work in............................ 95 

geography of. ........................... 96-97 

geology of. ............................. 99-102 

ground water in, quality of.. ........... 114-118 

quantity of.......................... 112 

source and discharge of. .........•.. 110-111 

irrigationin ........................... 119-122 

physiography of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9i -99 

reconnaissance map of:. . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 98 

springsin,data<in ..................... 122-129 

water supplies utilized in .............. 118-119 

watertablein ......................... 111-112 

wells in, construction of ...............• 119-121 

wells in, data on ....................... 122-129 

Reese River canyon, Nev., head of, plate 

showing......................... 106 

Reese River valley, Nev., low bluffs along, 

plate showing. . . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. .. 100 

view looking westward across, plate 

showing......................... 100 

view from James Litster's ranch, plate 

showing......................... 106 

Rock Creek_ near Battle Mountain, Nev. 109 

' near its canyon.................. 110 

Rocky Ford Creek, Wash., movement of 

water-to and from .......... : ... 1&3-154 

Rodeo, N. Mex., precipitation at ............. 10, 11 
INDEX. 161 

Page. 

Rodeo area, N. :Mex.-Ariz., ground water in .. 18-21 

map of, showing locations of wells and 

springs ...................... :... 20 

Roundtree, James, acknowledgment to....... 4 

Run-off in millions of gallons, conversion of, 

into run-off in acre-feet........... 74 

Run-off in millions of gallons per day, conversion of, into discharge in second-feet. 73 

San Simon, Ariz., precipitation at........... 10 

San Simon area, Ariz., ground water in.. .. . .. 11-18 

map of, showing location of wells .. .. .. .. 14 

San Simon Cienaga, Ariz.-N. Mex., description of. ....................... 6,12,18 

San Simon Creek, description of .......... ,.. 5, 6 

San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N. Mex., agriculture in .......................... 29-35 

artesian water in .................... 2-3,12-18 

cattle raising in ..................... 1-3,34-35 

geology of. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6-9 

location of............................... 1 

mapoi.................................. 4 

physiography of. .............. _......... 4-6 

precipitation in. . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . 9-11 

scope of report on....................... 3 

soils of. . . .. .. .. • .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . • .. .. .. .. 30 

summary of ground-water data on ....... 27-28 

vegetation in ............................ 30-31 

wells in, records of. ..................... 22-26 

San Jose, Ariz., settlement of................ 29 

Schwennesen, A. T., Ground water in San 

Simon Valley, Ariz. and N.Mex.. 1-28 

and Meinzer, 0. ·E., Ground water in 

Quincy Valley, Wash ......... 131-157 

Second-feet, conversion of discharge in, into 

run-off in acre-feet . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 72 

conversion of discharge in, into run-off in 

acre-feet for a year of 365 days... 74 

into run-off in acre-feet per month of • 

28 days ........................ 84-85 

per month of29 days ........ _ .. • 86-87 

per month of 30 days ............ 88-89 

per month of 31 days ............ 90-91 

into run-otl' in millions of cubic feet.. 73 

into run-off in millions of gallons..... 73 

into theoretical horsepower per foot 

offall ................... ;....... 92 

Second-feet per square mile, conversion of 

discharge in, into run-off in 

depth in inches .... ,............ 72 

conversion of discharge in, into run-off 

in depth in inches per month of 28 

days ............................ 76-77 

Second-feet per square mile, conversion of 

discharge in, into run-off in 

depth in inches per month of 29 

Page. 

days ............................. 78-79 

into run-off in depth in inches per 

month of 30 days .............. 80-81 

per month of,31 days .... ---· .... 82-83 

per year of365 days............. 75 

Shoshone Range, Nev., description of.. ...... 97-98 

rocks composing. -•- ..................• 100,101 

Sidney, Nebr., wellsatandnear, yield of.. 58-59,60 

Siebenthal, C. E., cited .. ;................... 39 

S'Ilver Creek, Nev., discharge of............. 110 

Soap Lake, Wash., quality of water in ..... 155-156 

Spring Creek, Wyo., flow of................. 44 

Springs, occurrence of, in San Simon Valley, 

Ariz.-N. :Mex.... . .. • .. .. • • .. .. . 19 

Stewart Creek, Nev., discharge oL.......... 110 

Stock raising in San Siinon Valley, Ariz.-

N.Mex ..................... 1-3,34-35 

Stream deposits in San Simon Valley, nature 

of. ................ !............. 8,9 

Sumrell, Frank, acknowledgment to......... 4 

Terms, definition of. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 71 

Toyabe Range, Nev., description of.......... 97 

rocks composing ...................... 100, 101 

Truckee group, occurrence of. . • . . . . . . . . . • • . • ·101 

U. S. Weather Bureau, cited ...... , .... 9, 10,42--43 

Vegetables, growing of, in a dry area......... 34 

Velocity in feet per second, conversion of, 

into velocity in miles per hour... 75 

VInson, A. E., analyses by ...... __ .. __ .. __ .. 17,21 

Waring, Gerald A., Ground water in Reese 

Rive.r basin and adjacent parts 

of Humboldt River basin,Nev .. 95-129 

Washburn, E. A., acknowledgment to....... 4 

Wells, artesian, in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-

N.Mex., yield of .......... 12,14-15,26 

construction of ................ __ ..... 15-16,26 

in Lodgepole Creek valley, Wyo.-Nebr., 

yield of. .................... __ .. 56-61 

in San Simon Valley, Ariz.-N.Mex., loss 

ofheadin ....................... 14,15 

maps showing locations of. ... ----· 4,14,20 

·records of. ... ______ ..... ______ .. ____ 22-26 

Wharton, Gordon, acknowledgment to ..... . 

Wind-blown deposits in Quincy Valley, Wash 

4 

145 

Yakima basalt, nature of. .... · ............. 142-143 

ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF Tms PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 

THE BUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

AT 

25 CENTS PER COPY 

v