USGS Logo Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1475-G
Water-Supply Possibilities at Capitol Reef National Monument, Utah
GEOLOGY

Geologic formations in the headquarters area of capitol reef national Monument range in age from Permian to Recent but cretaceous and tertiary formations are absent. The generalized section of the geologic formations in the headquarters area of the monument is shown on table 1. Plate 15 is a geologic map of the same area. The structure in the headquarters area is that of a simple monocline dipping 10° to 13° NE. Plate 16 is a geologic section through Fruita parallel to the general dip of the formations.

TABLE 1.—Generalized section of the geologic formations and their water-bearing properties in the headquarters area, Capitol Reef National Monument, Utah
[Adapted from Luedke (1953, 1954) and Smith and others (1957a, b)]1

SystemSeriesFormation Approximate
thickness
(feet)		Physical character Water-bearing properties
QuaternaryRecent and
Pleistocene		Undifferentiated deposits<50 Alluvium, terrace gravel, pediment gravel. Alluvium along parts of the Fremont River might supp]y limited amounts of water to shallow wells. Other Quaternary deposits are commonly not saturated.
Unconformity
Jurassic
Glen
Canyon
group		Navajo
sandstone		 750 White to yellow fine-grained sandstone. Supplies large quantities of water to wells in some parts of the Colorado Plateau.
Jurassic (?)
Kayenta
formation		245 Irregularly bedded white to reddish-brown siltstone, conglomerate, and very fine to medium-grained sandstone. The fine-grained character of this formation makes it unlikely that large water supplies could be developed from it.
TriassicUpper
Triassic		Wingate sandstone320 Fine-grained reddish-brown cliff-forming sandstone, massive and crossbedded. Jointing makes this formation permeable and enables wells to derive moderate to large quantities of water from it.
Unconformity
Chinle formation510 Variegated claystone, pale-red and greenish-gray limestone, very fine to medium grained sandstone, and lenses of conglomerate near base. Some water might be produced from the conglomerate at the base, but it would likely have a high content of chemical constituents.
Unconformity
Lower and
Middle (?)
Triassic		Moenkopi
formation		950 Reddish-brown and some yellow thin-bedded siltstone, claystone, and fine-grained sandstone and gypsum; yellowish-gray limestone and dolomite; chert-pebble conglomerate locally at base. The fine-grained character of most of this formation makes it unlikely that large water supplies could be developed from it. Water from this formation would likely have a high sulfate content.
Unconformity
Permian
Kaibab
limestone		 185 White calcareous siltstone and silty limestone containing chert layers and nodules; thin crossbedded white fine grained sandstone and some dolomite. Small water supplies might be developed from fractures and solution cavities in this formation.
Coconino
sandstone		2800+ Yellowish very fine to fine grained sandstone. Development of about 50 gpm, principally from fractures in this formation, should be possible.
1Luedke, R. G., 1953, Stratigraphy and structure of the Miners Mountain area, Wayne county, Utah: U.S. Geol. survey open-file report, 94 p.

____ 1954, Geology of the Capitol Reef area, Wayne and Garfield counties, Utah, in Geology of portions of the High Plateau and adjacent canyon lands central and south-central Utah: Intermountain Assoc. Petroleum Geologists, Fifth Ann. Field Conf., p. 59-62.

Smith, J. F., Jr., Huff, L. C., Hinrichs, E. N., and Luedke, R. G. 1957a, Preliminary geologic map of the Notom 1 SW quadrangle, Utah; U.S. Geol. Survey Mineral Inv. Field Studies Map MF 103.

______ 1957b, Preliminary geologic map of the Notom 2 SE quadrangle, Utah; U.S. Geol. Survey Mineral Inv. Field Studies Map MF 107.

2Base concealed; actual thickness 1,231 ft in oil-test well, 8 miles west-southwest of headquarters.

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Last Updated: 28-Jul-2007