WWRC 94-26
Karstic Groundwater Circulation in the Fault-Severed
Madison Aquifer in the Casper Mountain Area of Natrona County, Wyoming
Abstract
Aquifer-severing displacements along thrust faults adjacent to local structural
highs of the Casper Formation have disrupted the hydraulic continuity of the Madison
aquifer in the Casper Mountain area and segmented the aquifer into five discrete
groundwater compartments. The large permeability of the Madison aquifer in the
Casper Mountain groundwater compartment is attributed to the dissolution of interstitial
cements and matrix materials within the aquifer that has resulted in the development of
a madison karst. Consequently, the storage capacity of the Madison aquifer is sufficient
to damp out recharge pulses. The implication for groundwater prospecting is that large
quantities of groundwater can be withdrawn from storage in the Madison aquifer
throughout the entire southwestern homoclinal flank of Casper Mountain.
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