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<br />Member of the Morrison Formation is the confining
<br />unit between the "D" and "M" aquifers. The Entrada
<br />Sandstone, sandstone members of the Morrison Fonna-
<br />tion, and the Dakota Sandstone are included in the D
<br />multiple-aquifer system of Cooley and others (1969).
<br />Whitfield and others (1983) considered the Bluff Sand-
<br />stone to be a separate formation and part of the Meso-
<br />zoic Sandstone aquifer. Because the Dakota and
<br />Morrison Fonnations crop out in the vicinity of the
<br />Greater Aneth Oil Field, the aquifers in these units are
<br />generally unconfined (water-table conditions). In the
<br />western part of the study area, where the Bluff Sand-
<br />stone Member crops out, the aquifer is unconfined, but
<br />where the unit is overlain by other shaly members of the
<br />Morrison Formation, the aquifer may be confined (arte-
<br />sian conditions).
<br />Recharge to the unconfined aquifers, including
<br />alluvial deposits; the Dakota Sandstone; and the West-
<br />water Canyon, Recapture, Salt Wash, and Bluff Sand-
<br />stone Members of the Morrison Formation, takes place
<br />primarily by direct infiltration of precipitation on out-
<br />crop areas and by infiltration of surface water along
<br />washes, such as Montezuma Creek. During 1982-83,
<br />Avery (1986, table 3, p. 70) measured a discharge of 3.1
<br />ft3/s in Montezuma Creek in T 36 S., R. 24 E., Sec. 35,
<br />just north of the study area, but no flow was present in
<br />the channel about 6 mi downstream. Discharge from
<br />rhe Morrison aquifer is from springs, outflow to
<br />streams, evapotranspiration, and from wells. Evapo-
<br />transpiration takes place where phreatophytes are
<br />present and the water table is relatively close to the sur-
<br />face, particularly along washes. On the basis of base-
<br />flow data from 1982 to 1983, Avery (1986, p. 40) esti-
<br />mated that McElmo Creek gained 1,500 acre-ftlyr (2.1
<br />ft3/s) from the Morrison aquifer between the Colo-
<br />rado/Utah State line and the mouth of the creek at the
<br />San Juan River. Regional ground-water movement in
<br />the Morrison aquifer, below the Brushy Basin Member,
<br />is toward the San Juan River. Springs that discharge
<br />from Morrison Formarion sandstones where they crop
<br />out along the San Juan River valley also indicare that
<br />the San Juan River is the primary discharge area for the
<br />unconfined Morrison aquifer. Thickness of the Morri-
<br />son aquifer is as much as 400 ft in some areas near the
<br />Utah/Arizona State line.
<br />
<br />The Entrada, Navajo, and Wingate Sandstones,
<br />along with the intervening semiconfining units, the
<br />Carmel Formation and the Kayenta Formation, are
<br />included in the Entrada-Navajo aquifer of Thomas
<br />(1989) and Howells (1990). Taylor and others (1986)
<br />included these formations along with the overlying
<br />
<br />14
<br />
<br />sandstone members of the Morrison Formation in the
<br />middle Mesozoic aquifers (fig. 3). Whitfield and others
<br />(1983) included thcse formations along with the Morri-
<br />son Formation and the Dakota Sandstone a5 part of the
<br />Mesozoic Sandstone aquifer. The Entrada-Navajo
<br />aquifer correlates with the "N" aquifer of Avery (1986).
<br />The Wanakah Formation is the confining unit between
<br />the "M" and "N" aquifers (fig. 3). Cooley and others
<br />(1969) defined the N multiple-aquifer system to include
<br />the Navajo Sandstone, sandy lithologies of the Kayenta
<br />Fonnation, and the Wingate Sandstone. In this report,
<br />the Entrada-Navajo aquifer is referred to as the Navajo
<br />aquifer. Barnes (unpub. data, 1959, p. 16) also used the
<br />term Navajo aquifer to include the Entrada, Navajo,
<br />and Wingate Sandstones. The Navajo aquifer is the
<br />principal aquifer from which water is withdrawn in the
<br />study area both north and south of the San Juan River
<br />and is discussed in more detail in the following sec-
<br />tions.
<br />
<br />The "P" aquifer of Avery (1986) includes perme-
<br />able units in the Cutler Fonnation, particularly the
<br />Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member. The Chinle and
<br />Moenkopi Fonnations are the thick confining units
<br />between the "N" and "P" aquifers (fig. 3). Whitfield
<br />and others (1983) defined the Cutler Formation as the
<br />Cutler aquifer. Howells (1990) also included the Rico
<br />Formation and part of the Honaker Trail Formation as
<br />part of the Cutler aquifer. The "C" aquifer of Avery
<br />(1986) is the saturated part of the DeChelly Sandstone
<br />Member of the Cutler Formarion and is equivalent to
<br />the DeChelly aquifer of Howells (1990). The C multi-
<br />ple-aquifer system of Cooley and others (1969)
<br />includes the White Rim and DeChelly Sandstone Mem-
<br />bers, and the overlying Shinarump Member of the
<br />Chinle Formation. In this report, the permeable sand-
<br />stones of the Cutler Formation, particularly the DeCh-
<br />elly Sandstone, are included in the upper Paleozoic
<br />aquifer, partly following the usage of Taylor and others
<br />(1986) (fig. 3), along with the lower Mesozoic Shi-
<br />narump Member of the Chinle Formation.
<br />
<br />The Navajo Aquifer
<br />
<br />The physical boundaries of the Navajo aquifer
<br />correspond to the physical limits of the Entrada,
<br />Navajo, and Wingate Sandstones in mosr of the study
<br />area because the formations that contain the aquifers
<br />are generally fully saturated where overlain by the
<br />Morrison Formation. Where these formations crop out
<br />in the southwestern part of the study area or are at shal-
<br />low depths beneath the land surface, the formations are
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