USGS Identifier

Title: Long Valley Observatory

Selected Hydrologic Features in Long Valley Caldera

Map of selected hydrologic features in Long Valley Caldera

Map of Long Valley caldera showing locations of selected USGS hydrologic monitoring sites, the geothermal well field at Casa Diablo, and various geologic features referred to in the text. Numbered sites are described in the table below, which lists the maximum temperature in wells or the vent temperature in springs. The geologic features include Mammoth Mountain (the site of anomalous gas discharge that is killing trees), the Resurgent Dome (a highland region formed by repeated volcanic eruptions and magmatic uplift following the initial formation of the caldera 760,000 years ago), and the Inyo Craters Volcanic Chain consisting of numerous volcanic domes and phreatic craters that have erupted repeatedly over the past 10,000 years or so.

Number
on map

Site Name

Site Description

Temperature (Celsius)

1

Big Alkali Spring

Hot Spring near Big Alkali Lake

57

2

Big Springs

Cold springs along Owens River

11

3

Colton Spring

Hot spring activated by earthquakes in the 1980's, but ceasing to flow in 1991 as a result of pressure declines from geothermal development

93

4

Fish Hatchery Springs

Four groups of spring vents; water used for fish rearing operations

11-18

5

Hot Bubbling Pool

Hot pool with no surface discharge; fed by hot springs at temperatures of 93 °C

~70

6

Hot Creek gorge Springs

Numerous hot springs in and adjacent to an approximately 1-km long reach of Hot Creek

93

7

Little Hot Creek Springs

Numerous hot springs that feed into Little Hot Creek

~80

8

Well MBP-3

Geothermal production well at Casa Diablo

161

9

Wells SC-1, SC-2

Wells near Sherwin Creek Campground

17

10

Mammoth Creek at Hwy 395

Site for chemical sampling and discharge measurements

17

11

Hot Creek above gorge

Site for chemical sampling and discharge measurements

~15

12

Hot Creek at Flume

Site for chemical sampling and discharge measurements

~35

13

LVEW

Site of Long Valley Exploration Well and adjacent water-supply well (SF) used for continuous pressure monitoring

100

14

LKT Well

Well near Lookout Mountain used for continuous pressure monitoring

--

15

RDO-8

Well near Shady Rest Campground used for continuous pressure monitoring

202

16

CH10-B Well

Well near Hot Creek Gorge used for continuous pressure monitoring

95

17

CW-3

Chance Well #3 near Hot Bubbling Pool

120

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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA
URL http://lvo.wr.usgs.gov/CalderaMap.html
Contact: Long Valley Web Team
Last modification: 19 October 1999 (SRB)