Geology of the UE17e drill hole, Area 17, Nevada Test Site

Technical Report · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:59610

Hodson, J N; Hoover, D L

The UE17e drill hole, located at the northwest corner of Syncline Ridge, was cored from 3.05 m (10 ft) to a total depth of 914.4 m (3,000 ft) in unit J (Mississippian) of the Eleana (Devonian and Mississippian) to obtain samples for mineral, chemical, and physical-property analyses. UE17e penetrated 73.5 m (241 ft) of the quartzite subunit and 840.9 m (2,759 ft) of the argillite subunit of unit J. Less than 0.4 percent quartzite is present in the argillite subunit. Dips range from 12{sup 0} to 18{sup 0}. Twenty-three faults were observed in the core or on geophysical logs. Most of these faults affect only a few meters of the core and probably have displacements of a few meters. The majority of fractures are parallel to bedding planes. Fracture frequency ranges from 3.4 to 9.4 fractures per meter in the upper part of the cored interval and 1.4 to 5.9 fractures per meter in the lower part of the cored interval. The core index indicates that the lower part of the hole is more competent than the upper part. Lower competency in the upper part of the hole may be caused by weathering and/or near-surface stress relief. Physical, mechanical, and thermal property measurements indicate that bedding and fracturing are the major factors in variation of properties between samples. 17 figures, 10 tables.

• Research Organization: Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: EW-78-A-08-1543
• OSTI ID: 59610
• Report Number(s): USGS--1543-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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