Chemical quality of water and sedimentation in the Moreau River drainage basin, South Dakota

This report gives the results of an investigation by the U. S. Geological Survey of the sediments and dissolved minerals that are transported by the Moreau River.

The Moreau River drainage basin is a narrow basin in northwestern South Dakota that covers about 5, 360 square miles of rolling, grassy plains, which are broken by buttes and by some small areas of badlands. It is underlain by shales, sandstones, siltstones, and limestones that are primarily of Cretaceous age. Precipitation averages about 16 inches per year. Average annual runoff is about 0. 7 inch but varies widely from year to year.