Discovery of a concealed geothermal resource in the Alturas Basin, and its implications for further exploration in northeastern California
- Plumas Geo-Hydrology, Portola, CA (United States)
- Millcreek Associates, Milford, CA (United States)
In 1988 a so far unknown geothermal resource was drilled into under the City of Alturas in northeastern California. A fracture was tapped below 2300 feet, in cemented fine-grained tuffs and mudflows, producing 182{degrees}F water. The well has been used since 1990 to heat the local high school. A second well was drilled in 1991, producing about 250 gpm 182{degrees}F water from a fracture below 1893 ft. Well productivities and artesian pressures are variable, depending on distance from a major fault zone and local hydrologic regime. It appears as if the wells produce from deep reaching fractures in a caprock, that may conceal a 300 to 400{degrees}F resource between 4000 and 6000 feet depth. The results have important implications for geothermal exploration in northeastern California, i.e. just because there are no surface manifestations in a basin, it does not necessarily mean there is no geothermal resource at depth.
- OSTI ID:
- 175618
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-951037-; TRN: 95:008065-0029
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the Geothermal Resources Council, Reno, NV (United States), 8-11 Oct 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Accomplishments of the past and challenges of the future. Transactions, Volume 19; PB: 604 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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