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Hydrologic and Geologic Reconnaissance of Pinto Basin Joshuatree National Monument Riverside County, California

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Hydrologic and Geologic Reconnaissance of Pinto Basin Joshuatree National Monument Riverside County, California Hydrologic and Geologic Reconnaissance of Pinto Basin JoshuaTree National Monument Riverside County, California GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1475-O Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service Hydrologic and Geologic Reconnaissance of Pinto Basin Joshua Tree National Monument Riverside County, California By FRED KUNKEL HYDROLOGY OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1475-O Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service JNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. CONTENTS Pago Abstract_______________________________________.__________ 537 Introduction. _____________________________________________________ 537 Purpose and scope of the investigation_______________________--__ 537 Location of the area___________________________________________ 538 Previous investigations and acknowledgments.-___________________ 538 Physiography and geology__________________________________________ 540 General features_______________________________________________ 540 Geologic units.______________________________________________ 541 Water resources___________________________________________________ 544 Surface water.________________________________________________ 544 Ground water_________________________________________________ 545 Occurrence _-_-__-_-_____________-_________-___-__-_-__-_- 545 Source and movement.,___________________________________ 545 Chemical quality and temperature._-__-_-__-_-------_____-_- 547 Fluctuations of water level_____________-____-_--_-________- 549 Pumpage.____--_-_-_____________-_______-_-_----_--__--_- 557 Perennial yield___________-______________________--_-______ 557 Ground-water storage capacity._____________________________ 559 Relation of storage capacity to perennial yield________________ 560 References________________________________________________________ 561 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 28. Map of Pinto basin and vicinity______________________ In pocket FIGURE 64. Map of part of southern California______________________ 539 65. Hydrograph of wells 1, 2, and 9-_-__-_-_--_-_------_---_- 552 66. Hydrograph of well 2, February 12-March 13, 1956__.______ 553 67. Hydrograph of well 2, February 9-12, 1956________________ 554 68. Hydrograph of well 2, May 18-19, 1957_________._.___ 555 69. Hydrograph of well 2, May 19-June 26, 1957___________ 556 TABLES rage TABLE 1. Drillers' logs of wells_-_-____-___-______-__-_-__-__-__-._ 541 2. Summary of pumping-test data.__________________________ 543 3. Data on wells_-__________________________________________ 546 4. Chemical analyses of water._______________________________ 548 5. Water levels in wells______________________________________ 550 6. Pumpage from wells in Pinto basin by the Kaiser Steel Corp. for the calendar years 1952-59.__________________________ 558 in HYDROLOGY OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN HYDROLOGIC AND GEOLOGIC RECONNAISSANCE OF PINTO BASIN, JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL MONUMENT, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA By FBED KUNKEL ABSTRACT Pinto basin, in the north-central part of Riverside County, Calif., is a typical desert valley formed by downfaulting along several major fault zones. The valley is filled with alluvium, and ground water in the alluvium discharges as subsurface outflow through an alluvium-filled gap at the east end of the valley. Occasionally surface water from cloudburst floods also discharges in a wash through the gap at the east end of the valley. A northeastward extension of the major fault along the south side of the valley acts as a barrier to the discharge of ground water from the valley. The average ground-water gradient is less than 1 foot per mile across the main part of the valley above this barrier, but the water level drops abruptly across the fault. The ground-water storage capacity of the uppermost 100 feet of saturated alluvium beneath the central valley area is estimated to be about 230,000 acre-feet. All this water in storage occurs at depths greater than 95 feet below the land surface and cannot be reached by plants or animals. During 1959 virtually all the water pumped in the area was withdrawn from storage. However, the quantity of water pumped is small in relation to the total quantity in storage. Except for a small decline in head, no evidence indicates that the pumping will greatly impair the yield for many years or cause the water to deteriorate in quality. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION This report presents the findings of a brief geologic and ground- water reconnaissance made by the U.S. Geological Survey in Pinto basin, Riverside Count}^, Calif. The investigation was made at the request of the National Park Service to determine if the existing pattern of ground-water pumping from Pinto basin will reduce the yield of wells or impair the quality of the ground water in Pinto basin, which lies almost wholly within the Joshua Tree National Monument. Specifically, this report presents: (1) a brief geologic reconnaissance of Pinto basin, with particular emphasis on the unconsolidated de­ posits and the geologic structure in the area of subsurface outflow at 537 538 HYDROLOGY OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN the southeast end of the basin; (2) information on the occurrence and movement of ground water; (3) an approximation of the ground- water storage capacity of the water-bearing deposits in the east- central part of Pinto basin and the relation of the storage capacity to pumpage; and (4) data on wells, water-level records, drillers' logs of wells, pumpage from wells, and chemical analyses of ground water. Fieldwork was done intermittently between June 1955 and Decem­ ber 1959. This work has been carried on by the Long Beach, Calif., subdistrict office of the U.S. Geological Survey under the general supervision of J. F. Poland, G. F. Worts, Jr., and H. D. Wilson, Jr., successive district supervisors, Sarcamento, Calif. LOCATION OF THE AREA Pinto basin is in the Mojave Desert in the north-central part of Riverside County, Calif, (fig. 64). As usually applied, the term "Pinto basin" refers to the alluviated or valley-floor part of a drainage system that discharges to the south along a dry wash between the Eagle and Coxcomb Mountains. However, this investigation is concerned chiefly with the downstream part of the drainage area. Therefore, where the term "Pinto basin" is used in this report, it refers to the main valley area between 115°20/ and 115°42'30" west longitude. The area studied (pi. 28) is shown on the Pinkham Well, Eagle Tank, and Coxcomb Mountains quadrangles (scale 1:62,500) of the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers. The area north of lat 34° N. is shown on the Amboy quadrangle (scale 1:250,000). However, this area is not critical to the present study and has not been included as part of plate 28. PBEVIOTJS INVESTIGATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The mountainous region south of Pinto basin was examined by E. C. Harder (1912) during the summer of 1909 in connection with a study of the iron-ore deposits of the Eagle Mountains. The report of that study contains a reconnaissance geologic map of the Eagle Mountains showing the types and extent of the consolidated rocks, but it does not show Pinto basin. As part of an anthropologic study, the major geologic units of the lower part of Pinto basin are briefly described in a report by Scharf (1935). That report contains several excellent panoramic photographs but no geologic map. As part of a general hydrologic study by the National Park Service, J. V. Lewis prepared a map, showing the extent of alluvial deposits and the locations of wells and springs (written communication, 1941), and a report discussing the water resources of Joshua Tree National Monument and vicinity (written communication, 1942). 116° Base map and fault pattern largely after geologic map of California (Jenkins, 1938) FIGUBE 64. Map of part of southern California, showing area covered by this report. Ot CO CO 540 HYDROLOGY OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN Pertinent information from these maps and reports was used in the preparation of this report. Special thanks are due M. J. Hughes, general manager of the Eagle Mountain mine, and his staff in furnishing well logs, water-level records, chemical analyses of water, and pumpage and other data from wells in Pinto basin. These data were vital in the preparation of this report. PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY GENERAL FEATURES Pinto basin is a large alluvium-filled desert valley, about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide, bordered by the Pinto Mountains on the west and north, by the Coxcomb Mountains on the east, and by the Eagle Mountains on the south. In the central and major part of the valley floor is a large almost flat area, which is traversed by an eastward- draining sandy wash. The wash discharges through a gap between the Eagle and Coxcomb Mountains into Chuckwalla Valley to the south. This flat area is bordered on the south by the steep north face of the Eagle Mountains. To the west, north, and east, the flat area grades into the extensive alluvial fans and pediment cover that border the Pinto and Coxcomb Mountains. The altitude of the central part of the flat valley area ranges from about 1,000 feet at the downstream (east) end to about 1,250 feet at the west end. Locally the alluvial fans and pediment cover extend to altitudes of about 1,800 feet. The altitudes of crests of the sur­ rounding mountains are generally
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