The Wyoming Geological Survey

Geological, Geophysics, Environmental & Geotechical Engineering

Geologists at the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) are collecting data for the next set of maps to be released under its "StateMap" program. All five maps are at 1:24,000 scale:

• Firehole Canyon project, Sweetwater County, three bedrock geology maps: This project involves mapping the Earnest Butte, Lion Bluffs, and South Baxter 7.5' quadrangles. The purpose of this project is to provide significant infill mapping with the overall goal of producing the Firehole Canyon 1:100,000-scale map in the next few years. The area contains one of Wyoming's largest water reservoirs and has potential for oil and gas, coal, and trona among other mineral resources. The mapping area also may provide key information on timing of uplift of several Laramide structure and basin response to deformation.
  
  
• Little Greys River project, Lincoln County, two surficial geology maps: This project will produce maps of the Blind Bull Creek and Pickle Pass 7.5' quadrangles. The work will update existing landslide inventories for the area, which is prone to landslide activities, including events that have closed roads. This mapping will assist in identifying landslide-prone areas and could be helpful in mitigating landslide risk. The maps will also refine the location of the northern extent of the Greys River fault, a Holocene normal fault that is potentially capable of large earthquakes. The mapping projects will be published in spring 2020. More information about the StateMap program can be found on the Geologic Mapping Page.
  
  
• Greater Green River Basin Salinity Study, WSGS geologists in recent years have carried out salinity investigations in the Denver-Julesburg Basin of southeastern Wyoming and most recently the Powder River Basin in the northeastern corner of the state. A study is now underway to determine the salinity in the Greater Green River Basin in southwestern Wyoming. Salinity is one way to measure water quality, and is part of determining whether it is suited for human and livestock consumption, agricultural usage, and other types of applications. Also referred to as total dissolved solids, salinity is an estimate of the amount of dissolved material remaining in groundwater as residue after the liquid portion of a water sample evaporates. The study involves investigating the salinity of groundwater occurring at depths to 7,000 feet below ground level in the basin where there has been oil and gas activity. Hundreds of water quality analyses from the U.S. Geological Survey and geophysical well logs from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are being examined for this study.

NURE Re-Analysis
This project is focused on re-analyzing legacy sediment samples collected as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) in the late 1970s. The goal of this project is to re-analyze the samples using modern analytical methods in search of new areas containing critical and strategic minerals, including uranium, vanadium, titanium, cobalt, and rare earth elements. The new geochemical dataset will contain results for 60 elements with better accuracy than the original data, which only contained analysis for 48 elements.

Digital Depth to Precambrian Basement Map of Wyoming
The WSGS is creating a basement map that will provide valuable information about the Precambrian geology of Wyoming. The map will serve as the framework for related WSGS projects focused on constraining Precambrian lithology and geochronologic relationships, as well as identify potential areas of economically viable critical mineral deposits.

Critical minerals are important to U.S. national security and economy. Wyoming hosts significant occurrences of many of these minerals, in part due to the wide variety of geologic environments present throughout the state. Many critical minerals in Wyoming are either found in, or originate from, Precambrian igneous and metamorphic basement rocks. These rocks are exposed at the surface in many of the basement-cored mountain ranges in the state, but can be buried below Phanerozoic strata in the nearby basins.

The WSGS is compiling and preserving depth-to-basement and structure data from seismic interpretations, cross sections, and well logs. The data will be incorporated into a Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)-compliant geodatabase and utilized to generate a digital, publicly available depth to the Precambrian basement map.

The project is funded by the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program.

State Park Geology
Wyoming state parks may be a traveler’s final destination or a stop along the way. Nonetheless, a major draw to the parks is the geology. WSGS geologists are gathering information about the geology of each of Wyoming’s state parks for new public information circulars to be available for park visitors. Public information circulars will be published in pamphlet form as they are completed. To date, Keyhole, Guernsey, Curt Gowdy, and Seminoe state parks have been completed. Pamphlets are in the works for state parks Bear River, Edness K. Wilkins, Glendo, Buffalo Bill, Boysen, and Hot Springs.

Subsurface Energy Database
This will be a spatial database for organization, future entry, and dissemination of Wyoming well, reservoir, and formation attributes and associated log interpretation. The searchable database will incorporate legacy as well as new data, and will be used as a repository for subsurface interpretation data to be accessible online to other agencies, private industry, and the public. This project fulfills the WSGS mission to provide geologic resource information to impact sound economic development and overall improvement in the quality of life for Wyoming’s residents.

WSGS oil and gas geologist Rachel Toner has published reports on the Codell Sandstone and Turner/Wall Creek sands. She is currently working with WSGS geologist Ranie Lynds to publish Upper Cretaceous reservoir subsurface interpretations from geophysical well logs in the Powder River Basin. The final publication will include a series of isopach and structure contour maps of each reservoir, along with specific top and thickness data from each well.

Publications: https://www.wsgs.wyo.gov/pubs-maps/publication-search