Digital data sets that describe aquifer characteristics of the High Plains aquifer in western Oklahoma

This data set consists of digitized water-level elevation
contours for the High Plains aquifer in western Oklahoma. This
area encompasses the panhandle counties of Cimarron, Texas, and
Beaver, and the western counties of Harper, Ellis, Woodward,
Dewey, and Roger Mills. The High Plains aquifer underlies
approximately 7,000 square miles of Oklahoma and is used
extensively for irrigation. The High Plains aquifer is a
water-table aquifer and consists predominately of the
Tertiary-age Ogallala Formation and overlying Quaternary-age
alluvial and terrace deposits. In some areas the aquifer is
absent and the underlying Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous-age
rocks are exposed at the surface. These rocks are hydraulically
connected with the aquifer in some areas.

The High Plains aquifer is composed of interbedded sand,
siltstone, clay, gravel, thin limestones, and caliche. The
proportion of various lithological materials changes rapidly
from place to place, but poorly sorted sand and gravel
predominate. The rocks are poorly to moderately well cemented by
calcium carbonate.

The water-level elevations were measured in January, February,
and March 1980 and ranged from about 4,650 feet above sea level
in Cimarron County to about 2,000 feet above sea level in
Woodward County. The water-level elevation contours were
digitized from folded paper maps in a published report. The
source maps were published at a scale of 1:250,000.