USGS

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey

Element Concentrations in Bed Sediment of the Yellowstone River Basin, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming--A Retrospective Analysis

By David A. Peterson and Ronald B. Zelt

Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4185

This report is also available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, 977 kb.
(If you don't already have this free viewing software, download it here)

Prepared as part of the
NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Cheyenne, Wyoming 1999

U.S. Department of the Interior
Bruce Babbitt, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey
Charles G. Groat, Director

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

For additional information write to:

District Chief
U.S. Geological Survey, WRD
2617 E. Lincolnway, Suite B
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001-5662

Copies of this report can be purchased from:

U.S. Geological Survey
Branch of Information Services
Box 25286, Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colorado 80225

Information regarding the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. You may connect to the NAWQA Home Page using the Universal Resource Locator (URL):
http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/nawqa_home.html


CONTENTS

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose and scope

Description of the study unit

Methods

Sample collection

Laboratory analysis

Data analysis

Acknowledgments

Element concentrations

Spatial distribution based on factor analysis

Factor 1 (basaltic rocks)

Factor 2 (granitic rocks)

Factor 3 (carbonate rocks)

Baseline concentrations

Sediment-quality assessment values

Summary

References cited

photo1

photo2

photo3

PLATES

1. Map showing geologic settings and ecoregions, Yellowstone River Basin
(available only as a PDF file; plate measures 26" wide by 36" high; 5.07mb)

2. Map showing factor 1 scores for bed-sediment samples, Yellowstone River Basin
(available only as a PDF file; plate measures 26" wide by 32" high; 3.47mb)

3. Map showing concentrations of copper in bed-sediment samples, Yellowstone River Basin
(available only as a PDF file; plate measures 26" wide by 34" high; 3.75mb)

FIGURES

1. Map showing location of the Yellowstone River Basin study unit, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming

2. Map showing location by quadrangle of bed-sediment samples analyzed by Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Yellowstone River Basin

TABLES

1. Descriptive statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected during the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE), Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR), Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

2. Percentage of variance explained by first four unrotated factors, and comparison with percentages
computed from a set of random data

3. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of volcanic rocks of Quaternary age (Yellowstone Plateau), Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

4. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of volcanic rocks of Tertiary and Cretaceous age (Absaroka volcanic field), Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

5. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age, in Wyoming Basin portion, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

6. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age, outside of Wyoming Basin portion, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

7. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous age, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

8. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

9. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of crystalline rocks of Precambrian age in Beartooth Mountains, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

10. Summary statistics for element concentrations in bed-sediment samples collected from streams in areas of crystalline rocks of Precambrian age outside Beartooth Mountains, Yellowstone River Basin, 1974-79

11. Sediment-quality assessment values for selected elements, Yellowstone River Basin


CONVERSION FACTORS

Multiply  By To obtain
square kilometer (km2) 0.3861 square mile
cubic meter per second (m3/s) 35.31 cubic foot per second
millimeter 0.03937 inch
cubic centimeter (cm3) 0.06102 cubic inch
kilometer 0.6214 mile
 

Temperature can be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) by using the following equation:
°F = 9/5 (°C) + 32





FirstGov button  Take Pride in America button