My WebLink
|
Help
|
About
|
Sign Out
Home
Browse
Search
WSP06331
CWCB
>
Water Supply Protection
>
Backfile
>
6001-7000
>
WSP06331
Metadata
Thumbnails
Annotations
Entry Properties
Last modified
1/26/2010 2:22:15 PM
Creation date
10/12/2006 1:34:00 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Water Supply Protection
File Number
8170
Description
Arkansas Basin Water Quality Issues
State
CO
Basin
Arkansas
Water Division
2
Date
1/1/1991
Author
USGS
Title
Reconnaissance Investigation of Water Quality - Bottom Sediment - and Biota Associated with Irrigation Drainage in the Middle Arkansas River Basin - Colorado and Kansas - 1988-89
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
There are no annotations on this page.
Document management portal powered by Laserfiche WebLink 9 © 1998-2015
Laserfiche.
All rights reserved.
/
90
PDF
Print
Pages to print
Enter page numbers and/or page ranges separated by commas. For example, 1,3,5-12.
After downloading, print the document using a PDF reader (e.g. Adobe Reader).
Show annotations
View images
View plain text
<br />0173 <br /> <br />West of Lakin, Kans., alluvium fills a trough cut into the bedrock of <br />Cretaceous age. The alluvium consists of fairly well sorted sand and gravel <br />with minor amounts of clay. Thickness of the alluvium ranges from about 0 to <br />about 300 ft; the maximum thickness is in Colorado. Near Lakin, the alluvial <br />trough is transected by the Bear Creek fault (fig. 3). This fault may have <br />been caused by a structural collapse of the overlying rock strata when salt in <br />underlying evaporite deposits was dissolved and removed by ground water (Barker <br />and others, 1983). As a result, the trough downstream from the fault zone is <br />filled with unconsolidated material to a depth of about 200 ft. <br /> <br />South of the Arkansas River in Kansas, sand dunes of Pleistocene age have <br />been deposited. The sand is unsaturated and is stabilized by deep-rooted <br />vegetation. <br /> <br />Soils <br /> <br />Soils in the study area have originated from residual-bedrock, alluvial, <br />and eolian sources. Most soils in the study area range from clayey loams to <br />sandy loams. These soils generally have a high infiltration capacity that <br />results in rapid percolation of applied irrigation water to the shallow ground <br />water. The soils have developed under conditions of low precipitation (less <br />than 20 infyr) and high potential evapotranspiration (greater than 60 infyr), <br />which could result in accumulation of selenium and other trace elements <br />leached from the parent material. Lime (calcium carbonate) is abundant in the <br />soils; the zone of maximum accumulation usually is between depths of 18 to <br />36 in. <br /> <br />Soils on uplands in the western part of the study area, between Pueblo <br />and Las Animas, are formed from residual bedrock. On the south side of the <br />Arkansas River, upland soils are derived from a soft, sandy shale. On the <br />north side of the river, in the vicinity of Ordway and Sugar City, Colo., <br />upland soils are derived from a soft, sandy, gypsiferous shale. Soils derived <br />from old alluvial sediments on uplands and terraces are widely distributed in <br />the Colorado part of the study area. <br /> <br />Soils on flood plains and in the lowest topographic positions adjacent to <br />the Arkansas River and tributary streams are derived from recent alluvial <br />sediments. In Kansas, deposits of gypsum have been identified in flood-plain <br />soils (McBee and others, 1961), indicating that the source of the alluvium <br />might be gypsiferous formations of Cretaceous age that crop out along the <br />north edge of the valley. These soils are saline and have been affected by <br />flooding, irrigation, and a shallow water table (Gutentag and others, 1981). <br />Sand dunes of eolian origin are located south of the Arkansas River in Kansas. <br />East of Lakin, well-drained eolian soils also are present north of the river. <br /> <br />Land Use <br /> <br />Land use in the Arkansas River valley is predominantly agricultural, <br />consisting of about 50 percent rangeland and non-cropped area and about <br />50 percent cropland. Major crops are alfalfa, grain sorgum, corn, and wheat. <br />Approximately 700,000 acres were irrigated in the study area during 1980. <br />Most of the irrigated land is in the alluvial valley of the Arkansas River, <br />along the major tributary streams, and near off-channel reservoirs (fig. 4). <br /> <br />11 <br />
The URL can be used to link to this page
Your browser does not support the video tag.