Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Yakama Nation Hydrogeologic Framework of Sedimentary Deposits in Six Structural Basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5116 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photograph of Clark Well No. 1, located on the north side of the Moxee Valley in North Yakima, Washington. The well is located in township 12 north, range 20 east, section 6. The well was drilled to a depth of 940 feet into an artesian zone of the Ellensburg Formation, and completed in 1897 at a cost of $2,000. The original flow from the well was estimated at about 600 gallons per minute, and was used to irrigate 250 acres in 1900 and supplied water to 8 small ranches with an additional 47 acres of irrigation. (Photograph was taken by E.E. James in 1897, and was printed in 1901 in the U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper 55.) Hydrogeologic Framework of Sedimentary Deposits in Six Structural Basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington By M.A. Jones, J.J. Vaccaro, and A.M. Watkins Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Yakama Nation Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5116 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Dirk A. Kempthorne, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2006 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 For more information about the USGS and its products: Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/ 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. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Jones, M.A., Vaccaro, J.J., and Watkins, A.M., 2006, Hydrogeologic framework of sedimentary deposits in six structural basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5116, 24 p. iii Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Purpose and Scope …………………………………………………………………………… 2 Description of Study Area …………………………………………………………………… 2 Location and Setting …………………………………………………………………… 3 Development of Water Resources ……………………………………………………… 3 Overview of the Geology ………………………………………………………………… 6 Well-Numbering System ……………………………………………………………………… 8 Methods of Investigation ……………………………………………………………………… 9 Hydrogeologic Framework …………………………………………………………………… 12 Roslyn Basin …………………………………………………………………………… 12 Kittitas Basin …………………………………………………………………………… 13 Selah Basin ……………………………………………………………………………… 13 Yakima Basin …………………………………………………………………………… 14 Toppenish Basin ………………………………………………………………………… 14 Benton Basin …………………………………………………………………………… 15 Summary and Conclusions …………………………………………………………………… 22 Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………………… 22 Selected References ………………………………………………………………………… 22 Plates Plate 1. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology, extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells in the Roslyn Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. Plate 2. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology, extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells in the Kittitas Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. Plate 3. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology, extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells in the Selah Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. Plate 4. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology, extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells in the Yakima Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. Plate 5. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology, extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells in the Toppenish Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. Plate 6. Maps and hydrogeologic sections showing surficial geology (sheet 1), extent and thickness of basin-fill deposits, hydrogeologic units, and locations of selected wells (sheet 2) in the Benton Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington. iv Figures Figure 1. Map showing the Yakima River Basin, Washington ……………………………… 2 Figure 2. Map showing land use and land cover, Yakima River Basin, Washington, 1999 … 4 Figure 3. Schematic diagram showing selected tributaries, diversion canals, return flows, and streamflow-gaging stations, Yakima River Basin, Washington ……… 5 Figure 4. Map showing simplified surficial geology, Yakima River Basin, Washington …… 7 Figure 5. Diagram showing well-numbering systems used in the State of Washington …… 8 Figure 6. Map showing location of six sedimentary basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington ……………………………………………………………………… 10 Figure 7. Map showing structure delineating six sedimentary basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington ……………………………………………………………… 11 Figure 8. Maps showing thickness of subunits 1-6 in northeastern Benton Basin, Yakima River Basin, Washington ………………………………………………… 16 Conversion Factors, Datums, and Abbreviations Inch/Pound to SI Multiply By To obtain length acre 4,047 square meter acre-foot (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter acre-foot (acre-ft) 0.001233 cubic hectometer acre-foot per year (acre-ft/yr) 1,233 cubic meter per year cubic foot (ft3) 0.02832 cubic meter cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second foot (ft) 0.3048 meter gallon (gal) 3.785 liter gallon (gal) 0.003785 cubic meter gallon (gal) 3.785 cubic decimeter gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic meter million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second section (640 acres or 1 square mile) 259.0 square hectometer square foot (ft2) 0.09290 square meter square inch (in2) 6.452 square centimeter square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: °F=(1.8×°C)+32 Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows: °C=(°F-32)/1.8 Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum. v Conversion Factors, Datums, and Abbreviatons—Continued Datums Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1929 (NAVD 29). Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). Abbreviations Abbreviation Definition CRBG Columbia River Basalt Group DEM digital elevation model DGER Division of Geology and Earth Resources DNR Washington State Department of Natural Resources GIS Geographic Informaton System GPS global positioning system NWIS National Water Information System SOAC System Operations Advisory Committee TWSA current available storage in the reservoirs, estimates of unregulated flow, and other sources that are principally return flow USGS U.S. Geological Survey WaDOE Washington State Department of Ecology WRIA Washington State Water Resources Inventory Area YN Yakama Nation vi This page intentionally left blank. Hydrogeologic Framework of Sedimentary Deposits in Six Structural Basins, Yakima River Basin, Washington By M.A. Jones, J.J. Vaccaro, and A.M. Watkins Abstract study is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), the Yakama The hydrogeologic framework was delineated for the Nation (YN), and the Washington State Department of ground-water flow system of the sedimentary deposits in six Ecology (WaDOE). structural basins in the Yakima River Basin, Washington. The The objectives of the study as a whole are to fully six basins delineated, from north to south are: Roslyn, Kittitas, describe the ground-water flow system and its interaction Selah, Yakima, Toppenish, and Benton. Extent and thicknesses with and relation to surface water, and to integrate this of the hydrogeologic units and total basin sediment thickness information into a management tool—a numerical model. were mapped for each basin. Interpretations were based on The conceptual model of the flow system and the results of information from about 4,700 well records using geochemical, the study will be used to guide and support actions taken geophysical, geologist’s or driller’s logs, and from the by management agencies with respect to ground-water surficial geology and previously constructed maps and well availability and to provide information to other stakeholders interpretations. The sedimentary deposits were thickest in and interested parties. The numerical model will be developed the Kittitas Basin reaching a depth of greater than 2,000 ft, as an integrated tool for short-term to long-term management followed by successively thinner sedimentary deposits in the activities, including the testing of potential management Selah basin with about 1,900 ft, Yakima Basin with about strategies. 1,800 ft, Toppenish Basin with about 1,200 ft, Benton basin The study includes three phases. The first phase