Geology of the Northern Part of Wellsville Mountain, Northern Wasatch Range, Utah

Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-1958 Geology of the Northern Part of Wellsville Mountain, Northern Wasatch Range, Utah Stanley S. Beus Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Beus, Stanley S., "Geology of the Northern Part of Wellsville Mountain, Northern Wasatch Range, Utah" (1958). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 4430. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4430 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEOWGY OF THE NORTHERN PART OF WELLSVILLE MJUNTAIN, NORTHERN WASATCH RANGE, UTAH - by Stanley S. Beus A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Geology UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 1958 ACKNO I\ LEDGMENT I am grateful to Dr . J. Stewa rt Ni lli ama, Dr. Clyde T. Hardy , and Professor Dona ld R. Olsen for the as sista nce in field work and for their suggestions concerning the wr iting of this manuscript. Stanley S . Be us II TABLE OF CONTENTS Pa ge Introduction 1 Purpose a nd s cope 1 Location a nd extent of area 1 Physiography 2 Field work 11 5 Previous i nvestigati ons 6 Str a tigr aphy 8 Pr e - Ca mbrian r ocks 8 Cambri an system 9 Bri gham quart zi te 10 La ngs ton forma tion 11 Ute f orma tion 13 Bla cksmith for mation 14 Bloomington f or ma t ion 16 Nounan f orma tion 17 St. Charles f or ma tion 18 Ordovician s ystem 19 Garde n ~ ity limes tone ?0 Swan Peak q u ~ rt zite 22 Fish Ha ve n dolomite 23 Siluria n system 25 La ketown dolomi t e 25 Devonian s ystem 28 Wa t er Canyon f orma t i on 29 Je f f e r son forma tion 30 Mi s sissippian s ys t em 34 Mad i s on gr oup--Lodge pole l imes t one 34 Braze r forma tion 36 Penns ylvani an s ys t em 37 Oquirrh for mation 39 Page Tertiary system 40 Wasa tch group 41 Salt La ke g roup 42 Tertiary boulder gravel 44 q uate rnary deposits 45 Lake Bonne ville sediments 45 Glacial deposits 46 Talus deposits 46 Structural g eo l og y 48 Regional structure 48 Structure of ./ellsville ;-iount a in 48 East-northeast trending faults 50 North-northwest trend ing high-angle faults 54 Age and relationship of Rtructurea 57 Geologic history 6o Pre-Cambrian era 60 Paleozoic deposition 60 He s ozoic deposition 62 Laramide orogeny &e Tertiary events 63 ~ u a ternary events 64 Literature cited 68 App endix 73 LISr OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Index map of northern central Utah 3 2 . Di agram3tic sections of the Brazer form~tion 33 j . Map of regi onal structure in nort hern central Ut ah LlS r OF PL., rES Plate l. Lime s t one pillars ~n the Ute formation 15 2 . S tra tigraphy on north wa ll of Co ttonwo od Canyon 26 3. Base of the Laketown formation i n Cottonw ood Canyon 27 4. Lower and middle Pal e ozoic sections in Co ttonwood Canyon 32 5 . Talus -soil contac t sou thwest of Hendon 47 6 . Aerial view of ce n tral part of >Vellsville Mounta in from the e as t 5 1 7. Aerial view of Cottonwood Canyon , west s ide of Wellsville Noun t ain 52 8. Ae rial view of the west s i rte of the centra l part of Wellsville Mount·>in 53 9 . Aeria l oblique o f the eas t s ide of the northe rn central part of Wellsville Nountain 55 10 . Exposed s urface of the f1t . Hughes f ault 56 ll . Glacial cirques 67 12. Geologic map iR pocket) INTRODUCTION Purpose and Scope Well sville Mountain f orms the extreme northe rn end of the Was~ tch ~a n ge in northern Utah . It lies a t the weste r n margin of t he Midd le Rocky Mo un tain p rovi nce and is bordered by va lleys of the Basin and Ra nge provin ce . Ma ny geologic investiP,a tions have been made in t his region . Much of the Wasa tch Range has been s tudi ed a nd mapped as well as parts of the Be ar River Ra nge , e ast of Cache Valle,y, a nd the Hala d Range which extends north from Wellsville Mo untain; however, the geology of ~e ll s ville Mo untain has not been studied or mapped in deta il. Some recon naissance mapping has been done and secti ons of Cambrian a nd Penns ylvani an formations have been measured on the western mounta in front (Maxey , 1941 ; Wi lliams, 1 9 43) , b ut li t tle i s known about t he middle Paleozoic forma tions and the structural geology of the northern part of the mountain. The purposes of t hi s thesi s study are as follows: (1) to map and describe the gen e r a l geology of the northe rn part of •'lellsville Mounta in, (2) to provi de a more de t a iled account of the l ocal s t rati gr aphy and s tructure , a nd (3) to relate the loca l geology to t hat of the region . Loca tion and Exten t of Are a The mapped area covers the northern half of Nells ville Moun t a in which l ies in Cac he and Box Elder Counties, Utah . The crest of Wellsville Mo unta i n forms the co unty line for a dis tance 2 of a?out eight miles along the middle part of the mapped area , The mapped area is approximately ll miles long and five miles wide and covers about 60 square miles , including parts of Tps. 10, 11, and 12 N., R. l w., a nd Tps. 10, 11, and 12 N., R. 2 W, The southeas t part lies within the Lo gan Quadran gle, Utah. The south end of the mapped area is approximately seven miles north of Brigham City , Utah, and the east side is approximately eight miles west of Logan, Utah (Figure l), The towns of Wellsville and Mendon are adjacent to the east side of northern Wellsvil le Mountain and the towns of Honeyville, Deweyville, and Collinston lie along the west side . These towns are joined by paved roads which border the mountain on the east, west, and north, and f orm a convenient boundary for the mapped area. The southern bounda ry of the mapped area is drawn at the northern edge of the Brigham and Mt . Pisgah quadrangles. Most of Wellsville Mountain lies within the Cache National Forest. A few forest roads provide limited access to parts of the area. Physiography Wellsville Mounta in is a hig h, narrow, s ingle-crested mountain approximately 20 miles long and from three to four miles wide. It forms the divide between southern Cache Valley on the east and Bear River Valley on the west. The topographic expres sion is typical of the Basin and Range province, although the area is included in the Middle Rocky Mo untain province. The western fa ce presents a bold, steep escarpment of cliffs and faceted spurs separated by short, narrow canyons and ravines developed in resistant Paleozoic rocks. The eastern mountain 3 .... <!> z "'cr "'.... > 1 :~: a:: c_, ,' o-< J> :;:: I l z "' G) "'.... I "' MIDDLE ROCKY ( B u MOUNTAINS to miles Figure l. Index ma p of northern central Utah showing the location of the mapped area. 4 front has a more gentle slope largely con trolled by the dip of the inclined Paleozoic beds . At the south end, Wellsville Mou n tain i s te r min a ted by Box Elder Canyon which cuts through the Wasatch Ra nge near Brigham City and separates the Wellsvill e Mo unta in block from the southward continuation of the r ange . The northern end of the mo unta in descends gradually to gently rounded r idges a nd hi l l s formed in we aker Te rtia ry rocks. The waters of Lake Bo nneville have terrace d the northern end a nd both s ides of the mo unta in. The lower foothills a t the northe rn end are c omposed of tuffaceous material which has been reworked and deposited as . Lake Bo nneville sediments . Much of the crest of the northern half of Wellsvi lle Mountain is above 8 , 000 fee t in e levation , t he highest points being Wi llards Peak, 9 , 355 feet, and We lls ville Co ne, 9 , 3 00 f ee t. These t wo peaks are composed of resistant limestone and sandstone; they a re in the southern part of the mapped are a and near the mid point of the mountain cres t. Mos t of t he maj or ca nypns are exca vated alan~ the s t eep western front of the mountain. They occ ur a t regular i ntervals along the s outhe rn a nd central part of the mountain but a re smaller and less fre q uent in the northe rn part.

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