Geoscience in Your State: West Virginia

Cover of Geoscience Policy State Factsheet. Image credit: AGI

By the numbers: West Virginia

3,217 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed)¹
134 million gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal³
$245 million: value of nonfuel mineral production in 2017⁴
67 total disaster declarations, including 29 flood, 23 severe storm, and 4 snow disasters (1953-2017)⁶
$294,000: NSF GEO grants awarded in 2017^14...

Agencies Working on Geoscience Issues in west virginia

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

http://dep.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is a statewide operation, headquartered in Charleston. Operations are accomplished on a district or regional level, based upon the program, thus requiring a workforce throughout West Virginia. The WVDEP is involved in activites related to air quality, environmental quality and remediation, emergency response to hazards, land restoration, mining operations and reclamation, and regulation of the oil and gas industry.

West Virginia Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management

https://dhsem.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

The mission of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) is to ensure the protection of life and property by providing coordination, guidance, support and assistance to local emergency managers and first responders.

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/

The WVGES was established with the purposes to, in general, (1) investigate the State's geological and physical resources, (2) make the results of these investigations promptly available to the public, and (3) provide topographic, geologic, and other maps of the State.

Maps & Visualizations

Screenshot of the interactive USGS geologic map database.

Interactive database for geologic maps of the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey hosts the National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB). This interactive tool serves as a national archive for high-quality, standardized geologic maps created by the U.S. Geological Survey and state geological surveys. The MapView section of the NGMDB displays geologic maps...

Interactive database for geologic maps of the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of the interactive database topoView.

Interactive database for topographic maps of the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey hosts topoView, an interactive database of the survey’s topographic maps. The map is searchable by address, and clicking on any point on the map brings up topographic maps of the area dating back to 1879. Map results can be narrowed further using scale and date filters...

Interactive database for topographic maps of the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of National Water Information System interactive map

Interactive map of water resources across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System (NWIS) created an interactive tool that maps water resources data at over 1.5 million sites across the country. The search tool allows the user to find sites by street address, location name, site number, state/territory, and watershed...

Interactive map of water resources across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of groundwater monitoring information in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The National Ground-Water Monitoring Network compiles information from over 7,000 groundwater monitoring wells across the country, including Federal, State, and local groundwater monitoring networks. Although the image above only shows the contiguous United States, the interactive map also includes...

Interactive map of groundwater monitoring information in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of geothermal resources in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey provides an interactive map of geothermal resources in the state. The map shows temperatures at specific depths underground, as well as the depth required to reach specific temperatures. In addition, a large amount of related information is also...

Interactive map of geothermal resources in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

Screenshot of the EPA Cleanups in My Community map.

Interactive map of hazardous waste cleanups in the United States

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides an interactive map of hazardous waste cleanups across the United States. The "Cleanups in My Community" map provides a huge amount of information on thousands of cleanups of many kinds. For every cleanup, users can access and download reports...

Interactive map of hazardous waste cleanups in the United States

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Screenshot of the National Pipeline Mapping System Public Viewer

Interactive map of pipelines in the United States

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

The National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) Public Viewer from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration allows users to view pipelines and related information by individual county for the entire United States. The map includes: Gas and hazardous liquid pipelines Liquefied...

Interactive map of pipelines in the United States

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

Screenshot of the National Coal Resources Data System interactive map

Interactive map of coal resources in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resources Data System comes with an interactive map that provides a huge amount of information on the distribution, thickness, and classification of coal in the United States. The interactive map contains over 250,000 data points, each typically...

Interactive map of coal resources in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of the interactive USGS map of historical oil and gas production in the United States

Interactive map of historical oil and gas production in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey provides an interactive map of historical oil and gas production in the United States from 1859 to 2005, including Alaska and Hawaii. In this map, the country is split into quarter-mile cells and the production status of all wells in that cell are aggregated for each time...

Interactive map of historical oil and gas production in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of the USGS "Energy In Our Nation" interactive map

Interactive map of energy resources in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's interactive map, "Energy In Our Nation," provides a wide range of information on energy resources in the United States, including: Oil and gas exploration and production through 2005/2006 The 2012 USGS shale gas assessment for the United States Geothermal...

Interactive map of energy resources in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of the interactive USGS windFarm map

Interactive map of wind farms in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's interactive windFarm map provides detailed information on wind farms across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. By zooming in on the map, users can find the precise location of tens of thousands of individual turbines, with information for each turbine...

Interactive map of wind farms in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of environmental information in West Virginia

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection provides an interactive map of environmental information in West Virginia. The map includes: Mining underground injection sites Oil and gas wells Sites of regulated pollutant discharge Landfill sites Mining permits Abandoned...

Interactive map of environmental information in West Virginia

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Interactive map of coal mines in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey provides an interactive map of underground and surface coal mining activity in West Virginia. The map shows areas of active and historical coal mining in both underground and surface mines, with separate colors for auger and highwall mining. Users...

Interactive map of coal mines in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

Screenshot of EIA interactive map of tight oil and shale gas plays

Interactive map of tight oil and shale gas plays in the contiguous United States

U.S. Energy Information Administration

The U.S. Energy Information Administration provides an interactive map showing the major tight oil and shale gas plays in the lower 48 states. Tight oil and shale gas are two of the main types of "unconventional" oil and gas resources, and played an important role in the early-21st-century...

Interactive map of tight oil and shale gas plays in the contiguous United States

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Interactive map of real-time and forecast information for coasts and oceans

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's nowCOAST web app provides real-time observations, forecasts, and warnings for a wide range of coastal and inland weather, water, air, and hazard issues. Available layers and services include: Weather forecasts Hour-by-hour forecasts...

Interactive map of real-time and forecast information for coasts and oceans

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Screenshot of USGS water use visualization showing each state resized relative to its water use in 2010

Visualization of water use in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey has produced a visualization that shows how much freshwater is used by each state for a variety of purposes. The visualization resizes the states according to how much freshwater they use. The visualization shows freshwater withdrawals for thermoelectric power generation...

Screenshot of the USGS Produced Waters app

Interactive map of produced waters in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's Produced Waters app provides information on over 100,000 samples of produced water from the oil and gas industry, waters extracted from hydrothermal systems (geothermal water), and some additional water wells. The app is in the form of an interactive map showing the...

Interactive map of produced waters in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Visualization of energy use in every state

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy and using data from the Energy Information Administration, has produced flow charts showing the major sources and uses of energy in every U.S. state in the year 2014. Energy flows from the sources (...

Screenshot of LLNL water use flow chart for California

Visualization of water use in every state

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy and using data from the U.S. Geological Survey, has produced flow charts showing the major sources and uses of water in every U.S. state in the year 2005. The water sources are divided into ground vs....

Interactive map of streams and rivers in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's Streamer application allows users to explore where their surface water comes from and where it flows to. By clicking on any major stream or river, the user can trace it upstream to its source(s) or downstream to where it joins a larger river or empties into the ocean...

Interactive map of streams and rivers in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of the chemistry and mineralogy of soils in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey provides geochemical and mineralogical maps for the conterminous United States, based on sampling data with a spatial resolution of 1 sample per 1,600 square km, for a total of 4857 sites across the country. The resulting interactive maps allow users to see regional...

Interactive map of the chemistry and mineralogy of soils in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Map of wind power capacity in each U.S. state

U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy's Installed Wind Capacity map shows the current installed wind power capacity in each U.S. state, as well as yearly installed capacity maps dating back to 1999, which collectively show the growth of U.S. wind energy over time. These maps are part of the...

Interactive map of carbon dioxide storage potential in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The results of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geologic CO2 Storage Assessment (2013) are available in interactive map form. Detailed information is available on published and unpublished storage assessments for 36 sedimentary basins. Each basin can be clicked on for more information,...

Interactive map of carbon dioxide storage potential in the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screenshot of interactive geological map of the United States

Interactive map of the United States' geology and natural resources

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Mineral Resources Program's interactive Geologic Map of U.S. States provides a large amount of information on geology, natural resources, and environmental data for every U.S. state, including: Surface and bedrock geology Mineral resources Geochemical and...

Interactive map of the United States' geology and natural resources

U.S. Geological Survey

Visualization of average per person energy use for each state

U.S. Department of Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy's visualization of per person energy use allows you to explore what the average energy usage for your state looks like in the form of burritos, dynamite, and other more relatable metrics. Because most people can't visualize what it means to use 148,600,000 BTU, this...

Screenshot of the interactive drought risk map of the United States

Interactive drought risk map for the United States

National Drought Mitigation Center

National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) "The National Drought Mitigation Center Drought Atlas project is intended to provide a wide range of decision makers with historical drought information and a web-based tool to visualize and assess their risk to drought. Using a station-based...

Interactive drought risk map for the United States

National Drought Mitigation Center

Screenshot of NOAA's thermal springs viewer

Interactive map of thermal springs in the United States

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's thermal springs map displays the location and temperature of thermal springs throughout the U.S. The hot springs shown on the map are color-coded based on recorded temperature (red = boiling, orange = hot, yellow = warm, black = information not...

Interactive map of thermal springs in the United States

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Screenshot of the NWS interactive map of current weather hazards in the United States

Interactive map of weather hazard warnings in the United States

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service Watch, Warning, and Advisory Display map shows up-to-date weather warnings and advisories for the continental U.S. The map covers a wide range of weather hazards including tornadoes, thunderstorms, hurricanes, tropical...

Interactive map of weather hazard warnings in the United States

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Interactive map of oil and gas wells in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey provides an interactive map of over 144,000 oil and gas wells in West Virginia. Users can click on individual wells to access more information, including well logs, production history, important dates, and the availability of samples/cores. Click...

Interactive map of oil and gas wells in West Virginia

West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey

Interactive map of operating nuclear power reactors in the United States

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Operating Nuclear Power Reactors interactive map shows all the nuclear power reactors that are regulated by the NRC and provides information about the operator, model, and power output for each reactor. Click here to access the ...

Interactive map of operating nuclear power reactors in the United States

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Interactive map of drought conditions across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch program maps below-normal 7-day average streamflow, identified through comparison to historical streamflow readings, to produce their DroughtWatch map. The map identifies drought conditions ranging from extreme hydrological droughts to below normal streamflow...

Interactive map of drought conditions across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of flood conditions across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch Flood Map allows you to find areas currently experiencing flood and high flow conditions across the United States. The map is updated daily and provides the option to search flood conditions by state or water-resources region. Click here...

Interactive map of flood conditions across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Interactive map of United States energy infrastructure and resources

U.S. Energy Information Administration

The Energy Information Administration Energy Mapping System provides an interactive map of U.S. power plants, pipelines and transmission lines, and energy resources. Using the map tool, users can view a selection of different map layers displaying the location and information about: all power...

Interactive map of United States energy infrastructure and resources

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Screenshot of the interactive map of mineral resources in the United States

Interactive map of mineral resources and mines across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Data System catalogs information about mineral resources around the United States and the world. Using the map tool, users can zoom in to obtain reports and data on past and present mines, mine prospects, and processing plants. All of the data...

Interactive map of mineral resources and mines across the United States

U.S. Geological Survey

Screen shot of the EPA's Surf Your Watershed tool

Interactive map of water quality at the state and local level

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Note: Surf Your Watershed was recently decommissioned. EPA is working on a replacement application. We will direct users to that application when it becomes available. The Environmental Protection Agency's Surf Your Watershed interactive map allows you to find water quality...

Interactive map of water quality at the state and local level

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Map of potential geothermal resources across the United States

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) map of potential geothermal resources across the U.S. shows the potential for development of deep enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), as well as identified hydrothermal resources. Color shading shows the potential for deep enhanced geothermal...

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Case Studies & Factsheets

Geoscience in West Virginia

By the numbers: West Virginia 3,217 geoscience employees (excludes self-employed)1 134 million gallons/day: total groundwater withdrawal3 $245 million: value of nonfuel mineral production in 20174 67 total disaster declarations, including 29 flood, 23 severe storm, and 4 snow disasters (1953-...

Screenshot of the USEITI case studies showing the Boone, Logan and Mingo counties case study highlighted

Coal Mining in Boone, Logan, and Mingo Counties, West Virginia

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Information and Data Management has produced a series of case studies on extractive industries across the United States, focusing on coal, copper, gold, iron, natural gas, and oil.

What Determines the Location of a Well?

Introduction Oil- and gas-rich rocks are only found in certain parts of the United States, so most of the country has no oil or gas wells. Where oil and gas production is commercially viable, many factors determine the exact location of each well, including leasing, permitting, competing land uses...

Using Produced Water

Opportunities and Concerns in Using Produced Water Produced water is natural groundwater that is extracted along with oil and gas. It is commonly salty and mixed with oil residues,1 so it must be either disposed of or treated and reused. About 2.5 billion gallons of produced water are extracted...

Dry well usage across the United States

Introduction Dry wells improve stormwater drainage and aquifer recharge by providing a fast, direct route for rainwater to drain deep into underlying sediment and rock. Dry wells are most common in the western U.S. where clay or caliche layers slow down the natural drainage of water into underlying...

Water Sources for Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Demand Hydraulically fracturing a modern well can require millions of gallons of water for the initial fracturing process. This is a potential problem in arid regions with competing demands for fresh water (i.e. high water stress), such as Colorado and West Texas (see...

Groundwater Protection in Oil and Gas Production

Introduction The United States relies on groundwater for roughly 25% of its fresh water.1 This groundwater is found in porous, permeable rocks (aquifers) that often lie close to the Earth’s surface – the deepest freshwater aquifers are found more than 6,000 feet underground,2 but most are much...

Non-Fuel Products of Oil and Gas

Introduction Oil and natural gas are complex mixtures of chemicals. Oil refineries and gas processing plants extract the organic compounds that make the best fuels for transportation, heating, and electricity generation: gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil, and methane. Other chemicals...

Present Day Climate Change

Climate Science 101 Climate is the average of weather conditions over several decades.1,2 Geoscientists monitor modern climate conditions (1880 A.D. to present) in part by taking direct measurements of weather data (i.e., air temperature, rainfall and snowfall, wind speed, cloudiness, and so on)...

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Geoscience in Your State: West Virginia

By the numbers: West Virginia

Read more in this Geoscience in Your State Factsheet...

Agencies Working on Geoscience Issues in west virginia

Case Studies & Factsheets