Wells Canyon Phosphate Deposit

Occurrence in Caribou county in Idaho, United States with commodity Phosphorus-Phosphates
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10089419
MRDS ID W026153
Record type Site
Current site name Wells Canyon Phosphate Deposit

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -111.2358, 42.5252 (WGS84)
Elevation 2835
Relative position 7 MI NE OF GEORGETOWN

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Bear Lake(county)

Idaho(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Snowdrift Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Soda Springs(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Preston(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Salt(hydrologic unit)

Snake Headwaters(hydrologic accounting unit)

Upper Snake(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Caribou-Targhee National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Idaho Caribou
United States Idaho Bear Lake

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Boise 010S 045E 30,04,09,16,21,28 Idaho

Comments on the location information

  • PHOSPHATE DEPOSIT IN SECTIONS 3 , 5 , 7 ALSO; PLOTTED IN SECTION 30

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Tertiary

Analytical data

Result RANDOM SAMPLES RANGED FROM 26.1 - 37 % P2O5
Result OTHERS AVG. ABOUT 37 % P2O5
Result 15 SAMPLES OF STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE ( SECTION 30 ) GAVE 22.4 % P2O5 MAX
Result 108 SAMPLES FROM A 2ND SECTION 30 TRENCH GAVE 37.3 % P2O5 MAX

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
    Rock unit name Wells Formation-Sandstone, Limestone;Wells Formation-Sandstone, Limestone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Dinwoody Formation-Shale, Limestone;Dinwoody Formation-Shale, Limestone
    Rock description Wells Formation-Sandstone, Limestone;Wells Formation-Sandstone, Limestone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Thaynes Formation-Shale, Limestone, Sandstone;Dinwoody Formation-Shale, Limestone;Dinwoo
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Permian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Phosphoria Formation-Phosphatic Shale, Chert, Sandstone;;;
    Rock description Phosphoria Formation-Phosphatic Shale, Chert, Sandstone;;;

Nearby scientific data

(1) -111.2358, 42.5252

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Webster Syncline, Georgetown Syncline, Snowdrift Anticline, Boulder Creek Anticline, Meade Overthrust

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Strike S 10 DEG W
    Dip 30 DEG W
    Thickness 1.83M
    Depth to bottom 609.6M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Structure

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Medium
Significant No

Mining district

District name Georgetown Area

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name Caribou National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Operator
    Owner Monsanto Co. ( 1966 )

Comments on the workings information

  • DIAMOND DRILL HOLE ( 1949 )

Comments on development

  • WELLS CANYON LEASE TOTALS 1438 ACRES ( 1966 )

Reference information

Bibliographic references

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 4236 ACRE AREA CONSIDERED AS PHOSPHATE LAND ( 1927 ); 181.5 FT THICKNESS OF PHOSPHATIC SHALE MEMBER ( SECTION 30 )

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-1976 Siefken, Robert R. (Miller, Pat) U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.