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Georeferenced Plate 3, 1968, from "Hydrologic significance of the lithofacies of the Sparta Sand in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas" (Payne, 1968)

Metadata Updated: September 24, 2025

The study of the geohydrology of the Sparta Sand is the initial phase in the investigation of the geohydrology of the Claiborne Group. The thicker sections of the Sparta Sand lie along the axes of the Mississippi embayment and Desha basin. The area of maximum thickness, 1,100-1,200 feet, is in Claiborne and Warren Counties, Miss., and Madison Parish, La. Local thickening or thinning over some structures indicates structural movement during Sparta time. A sand-percentage map prepared from data derived from interpretation of electric logs indicates that the Sparta Sand was deposited as a delta-fluvial plain complex in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This complex shows a text-book example of a well-developed channel pattern. The delta-fluvial plain complex probably resulted from an ancestral Mississippi River system. In most of Texas the sand-percentage map shows a pattern suggestive of offshore or near-shore bar deposition. A map of the maximum sand-unit thickness shows the development during deposition of an interlacing channel pattern in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In the channel areas the maximum thickness of the sand units may be as much as 350 feet; in the inter-channel areas the maximum thickness is generally less than 50 feet. Coefficients of permeability and transmissibility for the Sparta Sand vary widely in localized areas. In the channels and area of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, data suggest that the coefficient of permeability increases with an increase in maximum sand-unit thickness. These permeability values which depend on sand unit thicknesses, were used to prepare a map showing the transmissibility of the total sand thickness of the Sparta Sand in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and eastern Texas. The data on the map show a close relation between channel development and high transmissibility values. The Sparta Sand is recharged by infiltration of water from precipitation on the outcrop, by leakage from other aquifers, and by seepage from streams. Natural discharge from the Sparta Sand takes place primarily by leakage through the overlying and underlying confining beds. In Texas, west-central Louisiana, and southeastern Mississippi the direction of flow of ground water is down the regional dip toward the gulf coast geosyncline. In most of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi the regional flow is toward the Mississippi River alluvial valley. In the channel-sand area of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi the ground-water flow is governed by changes in transmissibility, which in turn reflects the lithology. A study of the ground-water chemistry indicates that the areas of higher transmissibility have lower concentrations of dissolved solids than the areas of low transmissibility. On the basis of anion ratios, the waters of the Sparta Sand are grouped into three chemical provinces: the bicarbonate water province, the chloride water province, and the sulfate water province. The dissolved-solids content of waters from the Sparta Sand is closely related to the lithologic framework of the Sparta Sand area. Differences in water chemistry are attributed to regional differences in the rates of ground-water movement. Interpretation of the data suggests that the channel deposits have undergone a higher degree of flushing by fresh water than the inter-channel deposits.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 24, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 24, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5cf14c84e4b056af3664e7be
Data Last Modified 2020-09-25T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 75f0da45-adda-49cb-a2f3-ba9c7811fcd0
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -94.009998295, 30.78217866, -88.168980966, 34.102271065
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 94848d7a99b044391dc49f79a2fccbb659e9ca1db7284af64ecc32bfe9a4aa58
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -94.009998295, 30.78217866, -94.009998295, 34.102271065, -88.168980966, 34.102271065, -88.168980966, 30.78217866, -94.009998295, 30.78217866}

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