Publications Catalog

This 1:500,000 scale map of Wisconsin depicts sediment deposited by glaciers, streams, wind, and other processes during the Quaternary Period (2.58 million years ago to present). The map was made by compiling detailed Quaternary mapping and lithostratigraphic studies previously conducted by the WGNHS to generate consistent statewide Quaternary map units....

Silurian-aged bedrock in eastern Wisconsin is shallow, fractured, and contains groundwater that is susceptible to surface water contamination. Revisions to Wisconsin state rules ATCP50 and NR151 to regulate manure spreading over this Silurian-aged bedrock create the need for a depth-to-bedrock map of eastern WI. The Wisconsin Geological and Natural...

The geologic map of the Mill Bluff State Park provides a detailed look at the bedrock geology present at one of Wisconsin's most cherished natural sites. The map and accompanying report present the Paleozoic bedrock stratigraphy of the visible formations, as well as an interpretation of their depositional environment. This map was created as part of an...

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF) in northern Wisconsin contains numerous groundwater-dependent water resources that may be vulnerable to potential effects of land development, mining, and climate change. In order to monitor water quality over time, 138 of the lakes, streams, wetlands, spring ponds, springs, and wells were sampled in...

This report documents work completed as part of a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGWMN) program. It provides an overview of the Wisconsin Groundwater-Level Monitoring Network (WGLMN) and provides detailed description of well evaluation and repair activities, and drilling of new monitoring wells across the...

Located in southeast Wisconsin, Jefferson County is almost entirely blanketed by sediments that were delivered or shaped by the ice sheet that covered this area during the last ice age. New mapping interprets the distribution of the bedrock surface that is buried beneath those glacial sediments as interpreted by three drill cores, over 13,000 well...

The geologic map of the Highland West and Highland East 7.5-minute quadrangles includes 1:24,000-scale mapping of both surficial and bedrock geology. Highland was a long-lived and important sub-district of the Upper Mississippi lead-zinc mining area in the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent and renewed interest in the presence and distrubution of critical...

The Durwards Glen 7.5-minute quadrangle map is located in Columbia and Sauk counties, southeast of the city of Baraboo. This geologic map includes Precambrian through Quaternary units. New mapping has focused on subdividing the Baraboo Quartzite into four separate members and delineating Quaternary deposits in greater detail than prior work.

This report presents a county-wide inventory of flowing artesian wells in Bayfield County. Flowing artesian wells are a remarkable resource of high-quality water that both community members and tourists value. This report provides baseline water quality data that are a valuable resource for future assessments. Data collection occurred in 2022. Includes...

This report presents results from a study investigating the potential for carbon dioxide sequestration in the ancient Keweenawan sedimentary formations in northern Wisconsin. Bedrock drill core from the Copper Harbor and Nonesuch formations were examined for their properties to store carbon dioxide (Copper Harbor) and seal that carbon dioxide (Nonesuch)....

The geologic map of the Dells of the Wisconsin River State Natural Area provides a detailed look at the bedrock geology present at one of Wisconsin's most cherished natural sites. The map and accompanying report present the Paleozoic bedrock stratigraphy of the visible formations, as well as an interpretation of their depositional environment. This map...

The geologic map of the Fennimore and Mount Hope quadrangles includes 1:24,000-scale mapping of both surficial and bedrock geology. The mapping was initiated to support groundwater studies in the area. The map and accompanying report present the Paleozoic bedrock stratigraphy, including structures, as well as data from three new bedrock drill cores...

The geologic map of the Stitzer and western part of the Montfort quadrangles includes 1:24,000-scale mapping of both surficial and bedrock geology. This area occurs at the northern margin of the historic Upper Mississippi Valley lead and zinc mining district. Paleozoic strata are folded into a regionally-significant anticline, and mapping was initiated to...

The Quaternary geologic map of Waupaca County, Wisconsin, provides details about the surficial sediment and landscapes that were formed underneath and adjacent to the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the late Wisconsin Glaciation (ca. 20,000 years before present). These landscapes include lowlands underlain by glacial and postglacial lake sediment, uplands...

The Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois got its name from the lack of glacial sediment ("drift") covering the landscape. The surficial geology and topography of the Driftless Area are thus distinct from the surrounding region where multiple phases of glaciation left their mark. This pamphlet, a collaborative effort between...

The southwest Wisconsin groundwater and geology study (SWIGG) was a cooperative effort between Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette county governments, with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, and WGNHS. Researchers tested water quality in hundreds of private water wells across the three...

The Central Sands nitrate and neonicotinoid database consists of over 100,000 measurements of nitrate and neonicotinoid concentrations in groundwater from wells across Adams, Juneau, Marquette, Portage, Waushara, and Wood counties collected between 1953 and 2021. These counties comprise the Central Sands Groundwater County Collaborative (GSGCC), which...

The portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) instrument provides fast, real-time, non-destructive, multi-element geochemical data (i.e. elemental concentrations) on rocks and minerals at a relatively low cost and with minimal sample preparation. This study quantifies the precision and accuracy of measurements collected by the WGNHS pXRF on reference materials...

Elevation contour data and an accompanying report provide an updated interpretation of the elevation of the top of Precambrian bedrock in south-central Wisconsin. The elevation surface was developed from geologic and geophysical data, and provides new detail on the entrenched bedrock valleys that were incised into the north and south ranges of the Baraboo...

The sandy uplands of the Bayfield Peninsula are primary contributors to regional groundwater recharge and provide baseflow to streams in the area. Few data exist, however, to characterize upland hydrogeology or its susceptibility to groundwater contamination. Here, data from two new cores and wells, one existing well, and a lake in the sandy uplands...