National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Groundwater Geology and Hydrology of Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRSS/WRD/NRTR—2012/652 ON THE COVER The Amargosa River in the southeast part of Death Valley National Park during a flash flood in February 2005 Photography by: A. Van Luik Groundwater Geology and Hydrology of Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRSS/WRD/NRTR—2012/652 M. S. Bedinger Hydrologist U.S. Geological Survey, Retired Carlsborg, WA J. R. Harrill Hydrologist U.S. Geological Survey, Retired Carson City, NV December 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and envi- ronmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scien- tifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and pub- lished in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from Water Resources Division (www.nature.nps.gov/water) and the Natural Resource Publications Management Web site (www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/) on the Internet. Please cite this publication as: Bedinger, M. S., and J. R. Harrill. 2012. Groundwater geology and hydrology of Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRSS/WRD/NRTR—2012/652. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 143/118339, December 2012 ii Groundwater Geology and Hydrology of Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada Contents Figures ............................................................................................................................................................................ vii Plates .............................................................................................................................................................................. vii Tables ............................................................................................................................................................................... ix Photographs .................................................................................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................. xi Conversions ..................................................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background and Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................... 3 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Hydrologic Environment of Death Valley ..................................................................................................................... 5 Geologic and Structural Setting of Death Valley ......................................................................................................... 9 Depositional and Tectonic History................................................................................................................................... 9 Structural Features and Hydrogeologic Significance ................................................................................................. 10 Thrust Faults ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Regional Transverse Fault Zones ............................................................................................................................. 10 Normal Faults ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 Detachment Faults ................................................................................................................................................ 11 Chaos Faulting ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 Geologic Units and their Hydrologic Characteristics...................................................................................................... 14 Metamorphic and Igneous Basement Rocks (Xmi) .................................................................................................... 14 Clastic and Carbonate Rocks (ZPcc) .......................................................................................................................... 18 Carbonate Rocks (PMc) ............................................................................................................................................ 20 Intrusive Igneous Rocks (MTi) ................................................................................................................................... 21 Volcanic and Older Basin Fill (Cvb) ............................................................................................................................ 21 Volcanic Rocks ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Older Basin Fill ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Younger Basin Fill and Alluvium (Qb) ........................................................................................................................ 22 Climatic Setting of the Death Valley Region .............................................................................................................. 23 Vegetation ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Soils ................................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Hydrogeologic Setting ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Death Valley Groundwater Flow System ....................................................................................................................... 31 Regional Flow .......................................................................................................................................................... 31 Local Flow ............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Surface Water Flow of the Death Valley Region ............................................................................................................ 33 National Park Service iii Contents (continued) Present-Day Surface Water ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Pleistocene Streams, Lakes, and Marshes ................................................................................................................. 34 Inferred Groundwater Conditions under Pluvial Conditions .......................................................................................... 35 Groundwater Inflow, Recharge, and Discharge 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