Geothermal Exploration at Emerson Pass, Pyramid Paiute Tribal Lands, Nevada

Abstract

Five thermal gradient wells were drilled and evaluated as part of a recent collaboration between the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG) and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (PLPT) at the Emerson Pass geothermal prospect. Maximum recorded temperatures were 120.8°C at 76 m (250 ft) in one of the wells drilled by the PLPT. A subsequent deeper well drilled by NBMG to 305 m (1000 ft) showed a maximum temperature of 117°C at 168 m (550 ft), with temperatures decreasing below that depth indicating a broad outflow zone between approximately 79 to 238 m (260 to 780 ft) below ground surface at ?115°C. Existing data indicate that the shallow, maximum temperature zone of ?120°C may be of fairly limited spatial extent based on the size of a vegetation dead zone and the near surface expression of an anomalous temperature zone depicted by several shallow temperature surveys. A deeper higher temperature reservoir could be present, although its temperature and extent remain unconstrained.