Transient Electromagnetic Sounding Data Collected in the San Luis Valley, Colorado Near Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and the Alamosa National Wildlife Preserve (Field Seasons 2007, 2009, and 2011)

Time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) soundings were made in the San Luis Valley, Colorado to map the location of a blue clay unit as well as suspected faults. A total of 147 soundings were made near and in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. An additional six soundings were made near Hansen Bluff on the eastern edge of the Alamosa National Wildlife Preserve. The blue clay is a significant hydrologic feature in the area that separates an unconfined surface aquifer from a deeper confined aquifer. Knowledge of its location is important to regional hydrological models. Previous analysis of well logs has shown that the blue clay has a resistivity of 10 ohm-meters (ohm-m) or less, which is in contrast to the higher resistivity of sand, gravel, and other clay units found in the area, making it a very good target for TEM soundings. The top of the blue clay was found to have considerable relief suggesting the possibility of deformation of the clay during or after deposition. Because of rift activity deformation is to be expected. TEM Profiles were also made across faults identified by aeromagnetic data. Some of these profiles showed resistivity variations and/or subsurface elevation relief of resistivity units suggestive of faulting. Such patterns were not associated with all suspected faults. The Hansen Bluff profile showed variations in resistivity and depth to conductor that coincide with a scarp between the highlands to the east and the floodplain of the Rio Grande River to the west.