The Effect of River Valleys and the Upper Cretaceous Aquitard on Regional Flow in the Dakota Aquifer in the Central Great Plains of Kansas and Southeastern Colorado
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/cres.v0i238.11814Abstract
In his reports on the regional hydrogeology of the central Great Plains, in particular southeastern Colorado and southwestern and central Kansas, Darton considered the Dakota aquifer to be a classic example of an artesian system. Computer simulations of the flow system in this study, however, suggest that the Dakota is not a regional artesian aquifer in the classic sense. Sensitivity analysis of a steady-state vertical profile flow model demonstrates that the flow system in the upper Dakota in western Kansas is heavily influenced by the Upper Cretaceous aquitard, the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado, and rivers in central Kansas, such as the Saline, that have eroded through the aquitard and into the Dakota to the west of the main outcrop area of the aquifer. The model shows that local flow systems and the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the Upper Cretaceous aquitard heavily influence the water budget and the flow patterns. The aquitard restricts recharge from the overlying water table to underlying aquifers in western Kansas because of its considerable thickness and low vertical hydraulic conductivity. The Arkansas River intercepts ground-water flow moving toward western Kansas from recharge areas south of the river and further isolates the upper Dakota from sources of freshwater recharge. In central Kansas, the Saline River has reduced the distance between confined portions of the aquifer and its discharge area. In essence, this has improved the hydraulic connection between the confined aquifer and its discharge area, thus helping to generate subhydrostatic conditions in the upper Dakota upgradient of the river.
References
Anderson, M. P., and Woessner, W. W., 1992, Applied groundwater modeling simulation of flow and transport: San Diego, Academic Press, 381 p
Belitz, K., 1985, Hydrodynamics of the Denver basin—an explanation of subnormal fluid pressures: Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 194 p
Belitz, K., and Bredehoeft, J. D., 1988, Hydrodynamics of the Denver basin—explanation of fluid subnormal pressures: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v 72, no. 11, p. 1334–1359
Chamberlin, T. C., 1885, Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells: U.S. Geological Survey, 5th Annual Report, p 125–173
Darton, N. H., 1905, Preliminary report on the geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains: U.S Geological Survey, Professional Paper 32, 433 p
______, 1906, Geology and underground water resources of the Arkansas valley in eastern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 52, 90 p
Dugan, J. T., and Peckanpaugh, J. M., 1985, Effects of climate, vegetation, and soils on consumptive water use and groundwater recharge to the Central Midwest Regional Aquifer System, mid-continent United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4236, 78 p
Fenneman, N. M., 1946, Physical subdivisions of the United States (map): U.S. Geological Survey, 1:700,000, 1 sheet
Fogg, G. E., and Prouty, D. A., 1986, Ground-water hydraulics of the Wilcox-Carrizo aquifer system, Sabine uplift area; in, Geology and Ground-Water Hydrology of Deep-basin Lignite in the Wilcox Group of East Texas, W. R. Kaiser, ed.: Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, 186 p
Franks, P. C., 1966, Petrology and stratigraphy of the Kiowa and Dakota Formations (basal Cretaceous) north-central Kansas: Ph.D. thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 312 p
______, 1975, The transgressive-regressive sequence of the Cretaceous Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Dakota Formations in Kansas; in, The Cretaceous System in the Western Interior of North America, W. G. E. Caldwell, ed.: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 13, p. 469–521
Freeze, R. A., and Witherspoon, P. A., 1967, Theoretical analysis of regional ground-water flow—2, Effect of water-table configuration and subsurface permeability variation: Water Resources Research, v. 3, p. 623–634
Gable, D. J., and Hatton, T., 1983, Maps of vertical crustal movements in the conterminous United States over the last 10 million years: U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map I-1315, 2 sheets
Hamilton, V. J., 1989, Stratigraphic sequences and hydrostratigraphic units in Lower Cretaceous strata in Kansas: M.S. thesis, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, 165 p
Harbaugh, A. W., 1990, A computer program for calculating subregional water budgets using results from the U.S Geological Survey modular three-dimensional finitedifference ground-water flow model: U.S. Geological Survey, 46 p
Hattin, D. E., 1962, Stratigraphy of the Carlile Shale (Upper Cretaceous) in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 156, 155 p
______, 1965, The stratigraphy of the Graneros Shale (Upper Cretaceous) in central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 178, 83 p
______, 1975, Stratigraphy and depositional environment of the Greenhorn Limestone (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 209, 128 p
______, 1982, Stratigraphy and depositional environment of Smoky Hill Chalk Member, Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the type area, western Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 225, 108 p
Hattin, D. E., and Siemers, C. T., 1987, Guidebook—Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy and depositional environments of western Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Guidebook Series 3 (reprint, with modifications, of 1978 version), 55 p
Haworth, E., 1913, Special report on well waters in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 1, 110 p
Helgeson, J. O., Jorgensen, D. G., Leonard, R. B., and Signor, D. C., 1982, Regional study of the Dakota aquifer (Darton’s Dakota revisited): Ground Water, v. 20, no. 4, p. 410–414
Helgeson, J. O., Leonard, R. B., and Wolf, R. J., 1994, Aquifer systems underlying Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming—hydrology of the Great Plains aquifer system in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1414-E, 161 p
Jorgensen, D. G., Helgeson, J. O., and Imes, J. L., 1993, Aquifer systems underlying Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming—geohydrologic framework: U.S Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1414-B, 72 p
Keene, K. M., and Bayne, C. K., 1977, Ground water in Cretaceous rocks in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Chemical Quality Series 5, 18 p
Kume, J., and Spinazola, J. M., 1982, Geohydrologic data from sandstone aquifers in southwestern Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 82-868, 112 p
______, 1985, Geohydrology of sandstone aquifers in southwestern Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Irrigation Series 8, 49 p
Leonard, R. B., Signor, D. C., Jorgensen, D. G., and Helgeson, J. O., 1983, Geohydrology and hydrochemistry of the Dakota aquifer, central United States: Water Resources Bulletin, v 19, no. 6, p. 903–911
Macfarlane, P. A., 1993, The effect of topographic relief and hydrostratigraphy on the upper part of the regional groundwater flow system in southeastern Colorado and western and central Kansas, with emphasis on the Dakota aquifer: Ph.D dissertation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 197 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Townsend, M. A., Whittemore, D. O., Doveton, J. H., and Staton, M., 1988, Hydrogeology and water chemistry of the Great Plains (Dakota, Kiowa, and Cheyenne) and Cedar Hills aquifers in central Kansas—end of contract report: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 88-39, 184 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Wade, A., Doveton, J. H., and Hamilton, V. J., 1991, Revised stratigraphic interpretation and implications for pre-Graneros paleogeography from test-hole drilling in central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 91-1A, 73 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Whittemore, D. O., Chu, T., Butler, Jr., J. J., Wade, A., Coleman, J., Doveton, J. H., Mitchell, J., and Kay, S., 1992, The Dakota Aquifer Program—annual report, FY91: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 92-1, 93 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Whittemore, D. O., Townsend, M. A., Doveton, J. H., Hamilton, V. J., Coyle, III, W. G., Wade, A., Macpherson, G. L., and Black, R. D., 1990, The Dakota Aquifer Program—annual report, FY89: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 90-1, 301 p
McDonald, M. G., and Harbaugh, A. W., 1988, A modular threedimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model: U.S Geological Survey, Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, Book 6, Chapter A1, 576 p
McLaughlin, T. G., 1954, Geology and groundwater resources of Baca County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 1256, 232 p
Osterkamp, W. R., Fenton, M. M., Gustavson, T. C., Hadley, R. F., Holliday, V., Morrison, R. B., and Toy, T. J., 1987, Great Plains; in, Geomorphic Systems of North America, W. L Graf, ed.: Geological Society of America, Centennial Special Volume 2, p. 163–210
Robson, S. G., and Banta, E. R., 1987, Geology and hydrology of deep bedrock aquifers in eastern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4240, 6 sheets
Toth, J., 1962, A theory of groundwater motion in small drainage basins in central Alberta, Canada: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 67, no. 11, p. 4375–4387
______, 1963, A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins: Journal of Geophysical Research, v 68, p. 4795–4812
Trimble, D. E., 1980, Cenozoic tectonic history of the Great Plains contrasted with that of the southern Rocky Mountains— a synthesis: The Mountain Geologist, v. 17, no. 3, p 59–69
Wang, H. F., and Anderson, M. P., 1982, Introduction to groundwater modeling, finite difference and finite element methods: San Francisco, W. H. Freeman and Company, 237 p
Weimer, R. J., 1984, Relation of unconformities, tectonics, and sea-level changes of the Cretaceous Western Interior; in, Interregional Unconformities and Hydrocarbon Accumulation, J. S. Schlee, ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 36, p. 7–35
Whittemore, D. O., and Fabryka-Martin, J., 1992, Halogen geochemistry of Cretaceous sandstone aquifers of North America; in, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Water-Rock Interaction, Y. K. Kharaka, and A. S. Maest, eds.: Rotterdam, Netherlands, A. A. Balkema Publishers, p 855–858
Belitz, K., 1985, Hydrodynamics of the Denver basin—an explanation of subnormal fluid pressures: Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 194 p
Belitz, K., and Bredehoeft, J. D., 1988, Hydrodynamics of the Denver basin—explanation of fluid subnormal pressures: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, v 72, no. 11, p. 1334–1359
Chamberlin, T. C., 1885, Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells: U.S. Geological Survey, 5th Annual Report, p 125–173
Darton, N. H., 1905, Preliminary report on the geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains: U.S Geological Survey, Professional Paper 32, 433 p
______, 1906, Geology and underground water resources of the Arkansas valley in eastern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 52, 90 p
Dugan, J. T., and Peckanpaugh, J. M., 1985, Effects of climate, vegetation, and soils on consumptive water use and groundwater recharge to the Central Midwest Regional Aquifer System, mid-continent United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4236, 78 p
Fenneman, N. M., 1946, Physical subdivisions of the United States (map): U.S. Geological Survey, 1:700,000, 1 sheet
Fogg, G. E., and Prouty, D. A., 1986, Ground-water hydraulics of the Wilcox-Carrizo aquifer system, Sabine uplift area; in, Geology and Ground-Water Hydrology of Deep-basin Lignite in the Wilcox Group of East Texas, W. R. Kaiser, ed.: Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, 186 p
Franks, P. C., 1966, Petrology and stratigraphy of the Kiowa and Dakota Formations (basal Cretaceous) north-central Kansas: Ph.D. thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 312 p
______, 1975, The transgressive-regressive sequence of the Cretaceous Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Dakota Formations in Kansas; in, The Cretaceous System in the Western Interior of North America, W. G. E. Caldwell, ed.: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 13, p. 469–521
Freeze, R. A., and Witherspoon, P. A., 1967, Theoretical analysis of regional ground-water flow—2, Effect of water-table configuration and subsurface permeability variation: Water Resources Research, v. 3, p. 623–634
Gable, D. J., and Hatton, T., 1983, Maps of vertical crustal movements in the conterminous United States over the last 10 million years: U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map I-1315, 2 sheets
Hamilton, V. J., 1989, Stratigraphic sequences and hydrostratigraphic units in Lower Cretaceous strata in Kansas: M.S. thesis, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, 165 p
Harbaugh, A. W., 1990, A computer program for calculating subregional water budgets using results from the U.S Geological Survey modular three-dimensional finitedifference ground-water flow model: U.S. Geological Survey, 46 p
Hattin, D. E., 1962, Stratigraphy of the Carlile Shale (Upper Cretaceous) in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 156, 155 p
______, 1965, The stratigraphy of the Graneros Shale (Upper Cretaceous) in central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 178, 83 p
______, 1975, Stratigraphy and depositional environment of the Greenhorn Limestone (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 209, 128 p
______, 1982, Stratigraphy and depositional environment of Smoky Hill Chalk Member, Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the type area, western Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 225, 108 p
Hattin, D. E., and Siemers, C. T., 1987, Guidebook—Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy and depositional environments of western Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Guidebook Series 3 (reprint, with modifications, of 1978 version), 55 p
Haworth, E., 1913, Special report on well waters in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 1, 110 p
Helgeson, J. O., Jorgensen, D. G., Leonard, R. B., and Signor, D. C., 1982, Regional study of the Dakota aquifer (Darton’s Dakota revisited): Ground Water, v. 20, no. 4, p. 410–414
Helgeson, J. O., Leonard, R. B., and Wolf, R. J., 1994, Aquifer systems underlying Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming—hydrology of the Great Plains aquifer system in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and adjacent areas: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1414-E, 161 p
Jorgensen, D. G., Helgeson, J. O., and Imes, J. L., 1993, Aquifer systems underlying Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming—geohydrologic framework: U.S Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1414-B, 72 p
Keene, K. M., and Bayne, C. K., 1977, Ground water in Cretaceous rocks in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Chemical Quality Series 5, 18 p
Kume, J., and Spinazola, J. M., 1982, Geohydrologic data from sandstone aquifers in southwestern Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 82-868, 112 p
______, 1985, Geohydrology of sandstone aquifers in southwestern Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Irrigation Series 8, 49 p
Leonard, R. B., Signor, D. C., Jorgensen, D. G., and Helgeson, J. O., 1983, Geohydrology and hydrochemistry of the Dakota aquifer, central United States: Water Resources Bulletin, v 19, no. 6, p. 903–911
Macfarlane, P. A., 1993, The effect of topographic relief and hydrostratigraphy on the upper part of the regional groundwater flow system in southeastern Colorado and western and central Kansas, with emphasis on the Dakota aquifer: Ph.D dissertation, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 197 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Townsend, M. A., Whittemore, D. O., Doveton, J. H., and Staton, M., 1988, Hydrogeology and water chemistry of the Great Plains (Dakota, Kiowa, and Cheyenne) and Cedar Hills aquifers in central Kansas—end of contract report: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 88-39, 184 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Wade, A., Doveton, J. H., and Hamilton, V. J., 1991, Revised stratigraphic interpretation and implications for pre-Graneros paleogeography from test-hole drilling in central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 91-1A, 73 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Whittemore, D. O., Chu, T., Butler, Jr., J. J., Wade, A., Coleman, J., Doveton, J. H., Mitchell, J., and Kay, S., 1992, The Dakota Aquifer Program—annual report, FY91: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 92-1, 93 p
Macfarlane, P. A., Whittemore, D. O., Townsend, M. A., Doveton, J. H., Hamilton, V. J., Coyle, III, W. G., Wade, A., Macpherson, G. L., and Black, R. D., 1990, The Dakota Aquifer Program—annual report, FY89: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 90-1, 301 p
McDonald, M. G., and Harbaugh, A. W., 1988, A modular threedimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model: U.S Geological Survey, Techniques of Water Resources Investigations, Book 6, Chapter A1, 576 p
McLaughlin, T. G., 1954, Geology and groundwater resources of Baca County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 1256, 232 p
Osterkamp, W. R., Fenton, M. M., Gustavson, T. C., Hadley, R. F., Holliday, V., Morrison, R. B., and Toy, T. J., 1987, Great Plains; in, Geomorphic Systems of North America, W. L Graf, ed.: Geological Society of America, Centennial Special Volume 2, p. 163–210
Robson, S. G., and Banta, E. R., 1987, Geology and hydrology of deep bedrock aquifers in eastern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4240, 6 sheets
Toth, J., 1962, A theory of groundwater motion in small drainage basins in central Alberta, Canada: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 67, no. 11, p. 4375–4387
______, 1963, A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins: Journal of Geophysical Research, v 68, p. 4795–4812
Trimble, D. E., 1980, Cenozoic tectonic history of the Great Plains contrasted with that of the southern Rocky Mountains— a synthesis: The Mountain Geologist, v. 17, no. 3, p 59–69
Wang, H. F., and Anderson, M. P., 1982, Introduction to groundwater modeling, finite difference and finite element methods: San Francisco, W. H. Freeman and Company, 237 p
Weimer, R. J., 1984, Relation of unconformities, tectonics, and sea-level changes of the Cretaceous Western Interior; in, Interregional Unconformities and Hydrocarbon Accumulation, J. S. Schlee, ed.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 36, p. 7–35
Whittemore, D. O., and Fabryka-Martin, J., 1992, Halogen geochemistry of Cretaceous sandstone aquifers of North America; in, Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Water-Rock Interaction, Y. K. Kharaka, and A. S. Maest, eds.: Rotterdam, Netherlands, A. A. Balkema Publishers, p 855–858
Downloads
Published
1995-01-01
Issue
Section
Articles
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors can view article download statistics for published articles within their accounts.
How to Cite
Macfarlane, P. Allen. 1995. “The Effect of River Valleys and the Upper Cretaceous Aquitard on Regional Flow in the Dakota Aquifer in the Central Great Plains of Kansas and Southeastern Colorado”. Current Research in Earth Sciences, no. 238 (January): 11-30. https://doi.org/10.17161/cres.v0i238.11814.
