Ground Water in the Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments, Coconino County, Arizona

Cosner, Oliver

The author presents material gathered by the US Geological Survey at the request of the National Park Service for examining the groundwater situations at Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments. USGS' research was used to determine suitable locations for drilling drinking water wells. The results include information on climate, geology, geomorphology, quaternary deposits, igneous geology, and cinder cones. A table is included showing the discharge of Heiser and Wupatki springs as compared with the water content of precipitation. The Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments are 15 and 30 miles, respectively, northeast of Flagstaff on the San Francisco Plateau. They are in the eastern part of the San Francisco volcanic field and on the southwest flank of the Black Mesa basin. The Supai formation, Coconino sandstone, Kaibab limestone, Moenkopi formation, and Chinle formation are overlain in parts of the area by volcanic rocks and alluvium. The regional water table occurs chiefly in the Coconino sandstone at altitudes of about 5,000 feet at Sunset Crater, about 4,075 feet near Wupatki Ruin, and about 4,100 feet near Citadel Ruin. The general movement of the ground water is northeastward. Small supplies of perched water occur in the Moenkopi formation and in the alluvium, and perched water may be present locally in the volcanic rocks. The results of the field investigation indicated that adequate ground-water supplies were available from the Coconino sandstone to meet the needs of the National Monuments, and a well was drilled at the Wupatki Monument headquarters in 1958 to a total depth of 904 feet. It produced 50 gpm (gallons per minute) of water with 45 feet of drawdown from a static water level of 780 feet below land surface.

Ground Water in the Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments, Coconino County, Arizona

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