Effect of faulting on ground-water movement in the Death Valley region, Nevada and California

This study characterizes the hydrogeologic system of the Death Valley region, an area covering approximately 100,000 square kilometers. The study also characterizes the effects of faults on ground-water movement in the Death Valley region by synthesizing crustal stress, fracture mechanics,a nd structural geologic data. The geologic conditions are typical of the Basin and Range Province; a variety of sedimentary and igneous intrusive and extrusive rocks have been subjected to both compressional and extensional deformation. Faulting and associated fracturing is pervasive and greatly affects ground-water flow patterns. Faults may become preferred conduits or barriers to flow depending on whether they are in relative tension, compression, or shear and other factors such as the degree of dislocations of geologic units caused by faulting, the rock types involved, the fault zone materials, and the depth below the surface. The current crustal stress field was combined with fault orientations to predict potential effects of faults on the regional ground-water flow regime. Numerous examples of fault-controlled ground-water flow exist within the study area. Hydrologic data provided an independent method for checking some of the assumptions concerning preferential flow paths. 97 refs., 20 figs., 5 tabs