The Desert Hot Springs area is in the upper Coachella Valley at the junction of three natural geomorphic provinces of California--the Transverse Ranges, the Peninsular Ranges, and the Colorado Desert. The mapped area is about 100 miles east of Los Angeles and lies principally in north central Riverside County. The oldest rocks in the area are Precambrian(?) amphibolitic and migmatized paragneisses of the San Gorgonio igneous-metamorphic (Chuckwalla) complex. They are intruded by Cretaceous diorite porphyry, Cactus Granite, quartz monzonite, intrusive breccia, and basic plutonic rocks. Of probable late Paleozoic age are the metamorphic rocks of the San Jacinto Mountains which form spurs projecting into San Gorgonio Pass and Coachella Valley.

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The purpose of this program is to conduct studies in the freshwater environment to acquire data needed to evaluate and predict the potential radiation hazards to human populations in the defined regions of proposed nuclear excavations in the Republics of Panama and Colombia. The results of the field surveys conducted in Phase II are presented in this report. Specifically, the data describes the elemental composition of the major components of the ecosystem, and reports the calculated stable element concentration factors for the major food organisms. This data provides baseline values from which predictions can be made of the potential maximum radionuclide intake by populations using this resource.

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Analysis of Columbia River temperature trends indicates conformity with those previously reported. Despite unusually high average temperatures, the temperatures of the upper and lower extremes continued to converge on the mean. The construction of the John Day Dam is expected to have little temperature effect other than a delay of ten days in the timing of the annual temperature peak. Measurements of radioactivity in 465 children were completed at the third Pasco elementary school on January 12. Whole-body counting at the fourth school began on January 24, following lectures to the staff and 17 classrooms. The whole-body counter was recalibrated for K{sup 40} and Zn{sup 65} in late January. Only small modifications in the calibration factors over those currently employed are expected. Washington State Game Department personnel have supplied sufficient pheasant and quail samples shot near the Columbia River for comparison of radionuclide content between species and collection of these samples has been discontinued. The Department of Game continues to supply ``road-kills`` for radiochemical analysis in exchange for x-ray data on the number of birds which contain shot. A game-bird questionnaire for mailing to a statistical sample of Tri-City hunting license holders was drafted in January.

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