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66-513: The 301,000 acre⋅ft (371,000,000 m) capacity reservoir was created by the construction of the Indian Valley Dam across the north fork of Cache Creek in 1975 (49 years ago)  ( 1975 ) . The 965 ft (294 m) long and 201 ft (61 m) high earth-fill dam was built for water storage, irrigation and flood control. Although the reservoir is in Lake County, it

132-623: A 175-mile (280 km) network of canals . At the end of the Capay Valley near Esparto Cache Creek runs east into Sacramento Valley , ending in a settling basin east of Woodland . If the Sacramento river is not in flood then any overflow runs into the Tule Canal , continues as Prospect Slough and finally enters the Sacramento River at Cache Slough . If the Sacramento is in flood, then

198-583: A balance between the needs of the two counties, although high-water conditions can cause temporary disagreements. Under the Solano Decree Yolo currently holds appropriative rights for up to 150,000 acre-feet (190,000,000 m ) per year from Clear Lake, and all the water from the Indian Valley dam. The Cache Creek Dam on the South Fork of Cache Creek, five miles (8 km) downstream from Clear Lake ,

264-578: A federal survey agency, in part to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Mexican–American War in 1848. The USGS was authorized on March 3 in a last-minute amendment to an unrelated bill that charged the new agency with the "classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of

330-633: A few miles, and turns south, again cutting through a canyon following State Route 16 in Colusa and Yolo Counties. Meanwhile, Cache Creek cuts south-east between Cache Creek Ridge (on its north bank) and Little Blue Ridge (south bank), joining Bear Creek at Route 16 near the junction of Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties. The combined Cache Creek continues in the canyon until it emerges north of Rumsey in Capay Valley . The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using

396-468: A growing population of the rare tule elk , plus winter populations of bald eagles . The ruggedness of the area tends to ensure its isolation from human activity. In 2006 the United States Congress designated 27,245 acres (110 km ) of the area as the federally protected Cache Creek Wilderness . Cache Creek Conservancy has restored a 130-acre Cache Creek Nature Preserve area downstream in

462-449: A lack of accuracy and detail in comparison to older generation maps based on aerial photo surveys and field checks. As the digital databases were not designed for producing general-purpose maps, data integration can be a problem when retrieved from sources with different resolutions and collection dates. Human-made features once recorded by direct field observation are not in any public domain national database and are frequently omitted from

528-400: A network of canals . At the end of the Capay Valley , near Esparto , Cache Creek runs east into Sacramento Valley , ending in a settling basin east of Woodland , the overflow of which runs into the Sacramento River through a flood control canal. In addition to the recreational use of Clear Lake and Indian Valley Reservoir there are numerous trail-heads, parks and campgrounds, including

594-673: A new way to view their entire digitized collection of over 178,000 maps from 1884 to 2006. The site is an interactive map of the United States that allows users to search or move around the map to find the USGS collection of maps for a specific area. Users may then view the maps in great detail and download them if desired. In 2008 the USGS abandoned traditional methods of surveying, revising, and updating topographic maps based on aerial photography and field checks. Today's U.S. Topo quadrangle (1:24,000) maps are mass-produced, using automated and semiautomated processes, with cartographic content supplied from

660-410: A non-metric scale virtually unique to the United States. Each of these maps covers an area bounded by two lines of latitude and two lines of longitude spaced 7.5 minutes apart. Nearly 57,000 individual maps in this series cover the 48 contiguous states , Hawaii , U.S. territories , and areas of Alaska near Anchorage , Fairbanks , and Prudhoe Bay . The area covered by each map varies with

726-517: A number of specific science programs, facilities, and other organizational units: The Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) in Golden, Colorado , on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location and magnitude of global earthquakes. The USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in

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792-818: A number of water-related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program and National Water-Quality Assessment Program. USGS Water data is publicly available from their National Water Information System database. The USGS also operates the National Wildlife Health Center , whose mission is "to serve the nation and its natural resources by providing sound science and technical support, and to disseminate information to promote science-based decisions affecting wildlife and ecosystem health. The NWHC provides information, technical assistance, research, education, and leadership on national and international wildlife health issues." It

858-437: A reservoir near Winters. This feeds into Willows Canal, which runs east for miles alongside Putah Creek —the water of which is used primarily by Solano County . The 474 foot long, 15 foot high concrete dam was constructed in 1914. In 1994 its apron was raised with a 5-foot high inflatable bladder (the "longest in the world"), which can be raised or lowered in 30 minutes. It underwent substantial repairs starting in 2009. From

924-658: A result, some have noted that the U.S. Topo maps currently fall short of traditional topographic map presentation standards achieved in maps drawn from 1945 to 1992. The Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) has four sections within its organizational structure; the Field Services Section which includes the warehouse, repair shop, and Engineering Unit; the Testing Section which includes the Hydraulic Laboratory, testing chambers, and Water Quality Laboratory;

990-475: A towing tank, jet tank, pipe flow facility, and tilting flume. In addition, the HIF provides training and technical support for the equipment it stocks. The Engineering Group seeks out new technology and designs for instrumentation that can work more efficiently, be more accurate, and or be produced at a lower cost than existing instrumentation. HIF works directly with vendors to help them produce products that will meet

1056-614: A variety of USGS Report Series that include preliminary results, maps, data, and final results. A complete catalog of all USGS publications is available from the USGS Publications Warehouse. In the mid-1800s, various states set up geological survey institutions; e.g., the Kentucky Geological Survey , established in 1854. In 1879, a report from the National Academy of Sciences prompted Congress to set up

1122-506: Is a partnership-driven program that teams scientific researchers with natural and cultural resource managers to help fish, wildlife, waters, and lands across the country adapt to climate change . The National CASC (NCASC), based at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia, serves as the national office for the CASC network, while eight regional CASCs made up of federal-university consortiums located across

1188-517: Is enough water. Consequently, there are no longer any anadromous fish species in Cache Creek. Cache Creek was added to California's Wild and Scenic Rivers System in October 2005 which protects 31 miles (50 km) of the river from construction of new dams or diversions. Assembly member Lois Wolk introduced AB 1328 in 2005 which received support as well as opposition. New dam construction on Cache Creek

1254-716: Is headquartered in Reston, Virginia , with major offices near Lakewood, Colorado ; at the Denver Federal Center ; and in NASA Ames Research Park in California. In 2009, it employed about 8,670 people. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world". The agency's previous slogan, adopted on its hundredth anniversary, was "Earth Science in the Public Service". Since 2012,

1320-472: Is mapped at this scale in quadrangles measuring 1° by 1°. USGS topographic quadrangle maps are marked with grid lines and tics around the map collar which make it possible to identify locations on the map by several methods, including the graticule measurements of longitude and latitude, the township and section method within the Public Land Survey System , and cartesian coordinates in both

1386-516: Is the agency primarily responsible for surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in the United States. The USGS also runs 17 biological research centers in the United States, including the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . The USGS is investigating collaboration with the social networking site Twitter to allow for more rapid construction of ShakeMaps. ShakeMaps are an interactive tool allowing users to visually observe

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1452-868: The Indian Valley Brodiaea and Adobe lily grow here. Cache Creek (Yolo County, California) Cache Creek is an 87-mile-long (140 km) stream in Lake , Colusa and Yolo counties, California . Cache Creek starts at the outlet of Clear Lake . It has two main tributaries: North Fork (starting in the Mendocino National Forest north of Clear Lake, and dammed by the Indian Valley Reservoir ); and Bear Creek (starting in Bear Valley ). The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using

1518-525: The Cache Creek Recreation Area . Cache Creek runs north-east from the dam, behind Perkins Creek Ridge and over The Jams Waterfall before joining the North Fork about 2 miles east of the bridge over Route 20. Bear Creek starts in Bear Valley and runs south through a canyon (joining Sulphur Creek near Wilbur Springs ) until it meets Route 20. It then runs east in parallel with Route 20 for

1584-575: The State Plane Coordinate System and the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system . Other specialty maps have been produced by the USGS at a variety of scales. These include county maps, maps of special interest areas, such as the national parks , and areas of scientific interest. A number of Internet sites have made these maps available on the web for affordable commercial and professional use. Because works of

1650-610: The UCERF California earthquake forecast. As of 2005, the agency is working to create a National Volcano Early Warning System by improving the instrumentation monitoring the 169 volcanoes in U.S. territory and by establishing methods for measuring the relative threats posed at each site. The USGS also operates five volcano observatories throughout the nation: the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, Alaska (on

1716-550: The magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time. The USGS collaborates with Canadian and Mexican government scientists, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation , to produce the North American Environmental Atlas , which is used to depict and track environmental issues for a continental perspective. The USGS operates the streamgaging network for

1782-442: The 15-minute series, was once used to map the contiguous 48 states at a scale of 1:62,500 for maps covering the continental United States, but was discontinued during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Each map was bounded by two parallels and two meridians spaced 15 minutes apart—the same area covered by four maps in the 7.5-minute series. The 15-minute series, at a scale of 1:63,360 (one inch representing one mile), remains

1848-439: The 30 x 60-minute quadrangle series. Each of these quadrangles covers the area contained within 32 maps in the 7.5-minute series. The 1:100,000 scale series is unusual in that it primarily employs the metric system . One centimeter on the map represents one kilometer of distance on the ground. Contour intervals , spot elevations, and horizontal distances are also specified in meters. The final regular quadrangle series produced by

1914-570: The Bear Valley wildflower hotspot. Bear Creek and Cache Creek run in a scenic canyon along State Route 16 in Colusa and Yolo county, including the Cache Creek Regional Park . Cache Creek provides white-water rafting, both in the spring when it is flooded, and through the summer using the agricultural water flow. The entire area south of Route 20 and west of Route 16 is a wildlife preserve, hosting two herds of Tule Elk . The name of

1980-530: The California Environmental Protection Agency published a staff report that acknowledged the continued increase of mercury in Cache Creek, and determined that 12 percent of the source were old mercury mines located near major tributaries such as: North Fork Cache Creek, Clear Lake outflow, Bear Creek , Harley Gulch, and Davis Creek. Reports like this led to protocols set in place to monitor the mercury levels within Cache Creek and warn

2046-555: The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Geological Survey from 1994-2001 confirmed Cache Creek as a major source contributing to mercury level spikes in the Sacramento River. Since then, multiple studies have been conducted to pinpoint the mines that are still releasing quicksilver, and the course the element has traveled to measure the extent of the issue. In 2004,

Indian Valley Reservoir - Misplaced Pages Continue

2112-461: The Hudson's Bay Company trappers as Rivière la Cache . Cache Creek was temporarily blocked north of Rumsey by a landslide caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake  : Our Rumsey correspondent mentions the fall of Cache Creek as a result of an earthquake shock Tuesday night. The water has continued to fall some since that date and in some places it is dry. Upon investigation by the officials of

2178-951: The Information Technology Section which includes computer support and the Drafting Unit; and the Administrative Section. The HIF was given national responsibility for the design, testing, evaluation, repair, calibration, warehousing, and distribution of hydrologic instrumentation. Distribution is accomplished by direct sales and through a rental program. The HIF supports data collection activities through centralized warehouse and laboratory facilities. The HIF warehouse provides hydrologic instruments, equipment, and supplies for USGS as well as Other Federal Agencies (OFA) and USGS Cooperators. The HIF also tests, evaluates, repairs, calibrates, and develops hydrologic equipment and instruments. The HIF Hydraulic Laboratory facilities include

2244-514: The National GIS Database. In the two years from June 2009 to May 2011, the USGS produced nearly 40,000 maps, more than 80 maps per work day. Only about two hours of interactive work are spent on each map, mostly on text placement and final inspection; there are essentially no field checks or field inspections to confirm map details. While much less expensive to compile and produce, the revised digital U.S. topo maps have been criticized for

2310-495: The North Fork of Cache Creek forms Indian Valley Reservoir . The dam's primary purpose is water storage for irrigation , but a 3.3 MW hydroelectric plant was built to take advantage of the falling water. The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a 175-mile (280 km) network of canals . For example, water is pumped into the Winters Canal, which runs south and ends in

2376-468: The U.S. government are in the public domain , it is also possible to find many of these maps for free at various locations on the Internet. Georeferenced map images are available from the USGS as digital raster graphics (DRGs) in addition to digital data sets based on USGS maps, notably digital line graphs (DLGs) and digital elevation models (DEMs). In 2015, the USGS unveiled the topoView website,

2442-699: The U.S., U.S. Pacific Islands, and U.S. Caribbean deliver science that addresses resource management priorities of the states within their footprints. Since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar , and planetary exploration and mapping . In collaboration with Stanford University , the USGS also operates the USGS-Stanford Ion Microprobe Laboratory, a world-class analytical facility for U-(Th)-Pb geochronology and trace element analyses of minerals and other earth materials. USGS operates

2508-891: The USGS Center for Coastal Geology) has three sites, one for the Atlantic Ocean (located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts ), one for the Pacific Ocean (located in Santa Cruz, California ) and one for the Gulf of Mexico (located on the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus). The goal of this department is to conduct research in geology, mapping, hydrology, biology, and related sciences; evaluate hazards associated with floods, droughts, hurricanes, subsidence, human activity, and climate change; map

2574-474: The USGS is the 1:250,000 scale topographic series. Each of these quadrangles in the conterminous United States measures 1 degree of latitude by 2 degrees of longitude. This series was produced by the U.S.  Army Map Service in the 1950s, prior to the maps in the larger-scale series, and consists of 489 sheets, each covering an area ranging from 8,218 square miles (21,285 km ) at 30° north to 6,222 square miles (16,115 km ) at 49° north. Hawaii

2640-488: The USGS science focus has been directed at topical "Mission Areas" that have continued to evolve. Further organizational structure includes headquarters functions, geographic regions, science and support programs, science centers, labs, and other facilities. The USGS regional organization aligns with the U.S. Department of the Interior Unified Interior Regions: USGS operates and organizes within

2706-558: The USGS to rely on donations of time by civilian volunteers in an attempt to update its 7.5-minute topographic map series, and USGS stated outright in 2000 that the program was to be phased out in favor of The National Map (not to be confused with the National Atlas of the United States produced by the Department of the Interior , one of whose bureaus is USGS). An older series of maps,

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2772-481: The United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and the public, both domestic and worldwide, about significant earthquakes. It maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards . USGS has released

2838-867: The United States, with over 7400 streamgages . Real-time streamflow data are available online. As part of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, the State Water Resources Research Act Program created a Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) in each state, along with Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam. Together, these institutes make up the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). The institutes focus on water-related issues through research, training and collaboration. The National and regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs)

2904-700: The Water Company it was found that a landslide had dammed the Creek near the Leonard ranch in Lake county.... The creek subsequently broke through, causing severe flooding in Rumsey. From 1800s to the mid 1900s, mercury was mined free of environmental regulation causing an influx of the element within Cache Creek. In 2001, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that Cache Creek

2970-475: The amount of water that can flow through at that point. The limited capacity of the stream means that it takes a very long time to drain excess flow from Clear Lake, increasing the chance of flooding around the lake. The bottleneck is seen as a backup to prevent flooding downstream and Yolo County is prohibited from increasing the capacity of the channel by the Gopcevic and Bemmerly Decrees. The Indian Valley dam on

3036-1116: The campus of Alaska Pacific University ), the California Volcano Observatory in Menlo Park, California , the Cascades Volcano Observatory (covering volcanoes in Idaho , Oregon , and Washington ) in Vancouver, Washington , the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii , and the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (covering volcanoes in Arizona , Colorado , Montana , New Mexico , Utah , and Wyoming ) in Yellowstone National Park , Wyoming. The USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center (formerly

3102-422: The continental United States, though only for use by members of its defense forces). The next-smallest topographic series, in terms of scale, is the 1:100,000 series. These maps are bounded by two lines of longitude and two lines of latitude. However, in this series, the lines of latitude are spaced 30 minutes apart and the lines of longitude are spaced 60 minutes, which is the source of another name for these maps;

3168-400: The creek. As well as a monitoring of these pits every other year for 10 years once the reclamation process is completed A large part of the creek within Lake County is designated a Wildlife Area by the state of California and the federal Bureau of Land Management , on which vehicles are prohibited but hiking, primitive camping, and hunting are allowed. The North Fork and Bear Creek each host

3234-420: The distribution and severity of Shaking resulting from Earthquakes. The USGS produces several national series of topographic maps which vary in scale and extent, with some wide gaps in coverage, notably the complete absence of 1:50,000 scale topographic maps or their equivalent. The largest (both in terms of scale and quantity) and best-known topographic series is the 7.5-minute, 1:24,000 scale, quadrangle ,

3300-455: The early 1800s to much of the 1900s, mining for elemental mercury, also known as quicksilver , was widely popular in Cache Creek's upper watershed, given its gold recovering properties. At the peak of mercury production, over 6 million pounds (2.7 million kg) of mercury were mined, creating large mining caverns across the entirety of California. Throughout this period, little to no environmental regulations had been established causing mercury, in

3366-467: The form of mining waste from retorting , to infiltrate water systems and make its way into Cache Creek . Through a process known as bio-accumulation , the integration of mercury into the creek caused increased levels of the element in organisms within the creek. If consumed, accumulation of high mercury levels within organisms, particularity fish, may induce harm to the nervous systems of unborn babies and young children. Water quality studies conducted by

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3432-488: The latitude of its represented location due to convergence of the meridians. At lower latitudes, near 30° north, a 7.5-minute quadrangle contains an area of about 64 square miles (166 km ). At 49° north latitude, 49 square miles (127 km ) are contained within a quadrangle of that size. As a unique non-metric map scale, the 1:24,000 scale naturally requires a separate and specialized romer scale for plotting map positions. In recent years, budget constraints have forced

3498-537: The mission needs of the USGS. For instrument needs not currently met by a vendor, the Engineering Group designs, tests, and issues contracts to have HIF-designed equipment made. Sometimes HIF will patent a new design in the hope that instrument vendors will buy the rights and mass-produce the instrument at a lower cost to everyone. USGS researchers publish the results of their science in a variety of ways, including peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as in one of

3564-465: The newest generation digital topo maps, including windmills, mines and mineshafts, water tanks, fence lines, survey marks, parks, recreational trails, buildings, boundaries, pipelines, telephone lines, power transmission lines, and even railroads. Additionally, the digital map's use of existing software may not properly integrate different feature classes or prioritize and organize text in areas of crowded features, obscuring important geographic details. As

3630-469: The onshore and offshore geologic framework; assess mineral resources and develop techniques for their discovery; assess water resources and develop an understanding of the impact of human activities and natural phenomena on hydrologic systems; assess links between biodiversity, habitat condition, ecosystem processes and health; and develop new technologies for collection and interpretation of earth science data. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors

3696-687: The overflow from the settling basin is swept into the Yolo Bypass and Sacramento Bypass flood control system, emerging directly at Cache Slough . Water rights and flooding protection have been in dispute between Yolo and Lake Counties since the late 19th century. The Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District ("Yolo") has "an 1855 priority right to divert the natural flow of Cache Creek, and 1912 priority right to store waters in Clear Lake to elevation 7.56 feet Rumsey Gauge for later release and beneficial use." Various decrees attempt to ensure

3762-428: The primary topographic quadrangle for the state of Alaska (and only for that particular state). Nearly 3,000 maps cover 97% of the state. The United States remains virtually the only developed country in the world without a standardized civilian topographic map series in the standard 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 metric scales, making coordination difficult in border regions (the U.S. military does issue 1:50,000 scale topo maps of

3828-414: The public of possible health concerns from fish consumption. In 2017, The Department of Environmental Science and Policy from UC Davis, in consultation with The Yolo County Cache Creek Technical Advisory Committee, proposed revisions to the existing protocols. The revision proposal called for yearly monitoring of off channel wet pits for five years, given they may explain additional sources of mercury within

3894-445: The south-east end of Clear Lake (for which it is the outlet), flowing east to the dam which now controls the level of Clear Lake. The North Fork begins in Lake County in the Mendocino National Forest north of Upper Lake. It flows east, where it is joined by Bartlett Creek , and is then dammed by the Indian Valley Reservoir . It then flows south along New Long Valley Road, and turns east along State Route 20 , which it crosses at

3960-418: The water body comes from Hudson's Bay Company trappers who cached their furs along the Sacramento River and smaller tributaries, one of which became known to them as Cache Creek. One of their camps, recognized by early settlers as French Camp, was situated in a grove of oaks on the north bank of Cache Creek one mile (1.6 km) east of the present town of Yolo, California . Cache Creek was originally known to

4026-592: The watershed. Whitewater boating on Cache Creek includes kayaking , rafting, canoeing and innertubing which are popular in the summer using the water released from the dams for downstream agriculture. Nominally a tributary of the Sacramento River , Cache Creek now only reaches it during extremely wet years due to damming and diversion of the stream's water. Degradation of the channel caused by invasive plants , such as Arundo donax and Tamarix spp., as well as gravel mining has left no suitable habitat for Chinook salmon and steelhead to spawn , even if there

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4092-512: Was a contributor to the increase of mercury levels within the Sacramento River . Since then, various regulations have been enacted to monitor the mercury levels in Cache Creek, and multiple studies have been conducted to find the site of contamination. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment released an advisory regarding eating fish caught from this creek based on the mercury level. Cache Creek has two main tributaries: North Fork, and Bear Creek . Cache Creek begins at

4158-704: Was built by neighboring Yolo County , which owns all water rights to the 300,600 acre-feet (370,800,000 m) of water. The dam includes a hydroelectric plant. The cost of the dam and reservoir exceeded $ 9 million and were funded in part by two bond issues. The reservoir is in the Bureau of Land Management 's Walker Ridge Recreation Area. All types of recreation are allowed, including boating , camping , fishing , hunting , hiking , bicycling and horseback riding. There are two primitive boat/hike-in campgrounds, Blue Oaks and Kowalski. The area's flora and fauna include manzanita , oak and pine trees, blacktail deer , black bear , and wild turkey . Rare plants such as

4224-437: Was built to increase Clear Lake's capacity and to regulate outflow for downstream users of Cache Creek water. The dam was later modified to include a 3 MW hydroelectric plant. The stream has a relatively small capacity, less than a quarter of the amount the dam is able to release. There is a rock ledge a mile and a half downstream of Clear Lake, called the Grigsby Riffle, near the bridge on State Route 53 . This ledge restricts

4290-403: Was founded on March 3, 1879, to study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources , and the natural hazards that threaten it. The agency also makes maps of extraterrestrial planets and moons based on data from U.S. space probes . The sole scientific agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. It

4356-436: Was under consideration in 2002 by the Yolo County Water District, the agency that had built the Indian Valley Dam and the present dam on Cache Creek. United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey ( USGS ), founded as the Geological Survey , is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology , geography , geology , and hydrology . The agency

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