Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Ground-water flow related to streamflow and water quality

August 15, 1968

A ground-water flow system in southwestern Minnesota illustrates water movement between geologic units and between the land surface and the subsurface. The flow patterns indicate numerous zones of ground-water recharge and discharge controlled by topography, varying thicknesses of geologic units, variation in permeabilities, and the configuration of the basement rock surface. Variations in streamflow along a reach of the Yellow Medicine River agree with the subsurface flow system. Increases and decreases in runoff per square mile correspond, apparently, to ground-water discharge and recharge zones. Ground-water quality variations between calcium sulfate waters typical of the Quaternary drift and sodium chloride waters typical of the Cretaceous rocks are caused by mixing of the two water types. The zones of mixing are in agreement with ground-water flow patterns along the hydrologic section.

Publication Year 1968
Title Ground-water flow related to streamflow and water quality
DOI 10.1029/WR004i004p00769
Authors Wayne A. Van Voast, R.P. Novitzki
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Water Resources Research
Index ID 70175446
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Minnesota Water Science Center