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The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada—An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny

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The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada—An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada—An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny Professional Paper 1757 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada—An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny By Keith B. Ketner Professional Paper 1757 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2008 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Ketner, Keith B., 2008, The Inskip Formation, the Harmony Formation, and the Havallah Sequence of Northwestern Nevada —An Interrelated Paleozoic Assemblage in the Home of the Sonoma Orogeny: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1757, 21 p. iii Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Geologic Setting ...................................................................................................................................1 Early Work ..............................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and Method ............................................................................................................................3 East Range ......................................................................................................................................................3 Preble Formation ...................................................................................................................................3 Valmy Formation ....................................................................................................................................3 Chert Couplet of Table Mountain ...............................................................................................4 Inskip Formation ....................................................................................................................................4 Lower Unit .....................................................................................................................................4 Upper Unit .....................................................................................................................................4 Base of the Inskip ........................................................................................................................4 Triassic Rocks ........................................................................................................................................5 Nomenclatural Problems in the East Range ....................................................................................5 Northern Exposures ....................................................................................................................5 Southern Exposures ....................................................................................................................5 Metamorphism ......................................................................................................................................5 Megastructures of the East Range ....................................................................................................5 Petrologic Features of the Inskip Formation .............................................................................................7 Source of Data.......................................................................................................................................7 Metasedimentary Rocks ......................................................................................................................7 Metaigneous Rocks ..............................................................................................................................9 Metabasalt ...................................................................................................................................9 Metafelsite ..................................................................................................................................10 The Felsite Problem ...................................................................................................................10 Depositional Conditions of the Inskip ..............................................................................................11 Hot Springs Range .......................................................................................................................................11 Source of Data.....................................................................................................................................11 Strata in the Hot Springs Range Underlying the Inskip-Equivalent Rocks ................................13 Stratigraphic Units Equivalent to the Inskip in Age and General Aspect ..................................13 Harmony Formation ...................................................................................................................13 Home Ranch Subterrane ..........................................................................................................13 Lower Poverty Peak Sequence ...............................................................................................13 Upper Poverty Peak Sequence ...............................................................................................13 Poverty Peak–Golconda Mélange ..........................................................................................14 Phyllite and Shale Sequence ...................................................................................................14 Triassic and Jurassic Rocks .............................................................................................................14 Megastructures of the Hot Springs Range .....................................................................................14 Osgood Mountains.......................................................................................................................................14 Sonoma Range .............................................................................................................................................14 Stratigraphic and Structural Issues ................................................................................................14 iv Havallah Sequence.............................................................................................................................15 Triassic Rocks ......................................................................................................................................15 Battle Mountain............................................................................................................................................15 North Slope ..........................................................................................................................................15 South Slope ..........................................................................................................................................15 The Havallah Sequence .....................................................................................................................16 Unconformities ....................................................................................................................................16 Relation of the Inskip and the Harmony Formations to the Havallah Sequence in the Arkosic Triangle ............................................................................................................................................16 Sonoma Orogeny and Golconda Thrust ...................................................................................................16 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................17 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................18 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................18 Figures 1. Map showing northwestern Nevada the locations of figures 2 and 11. Also shown, in the inset outline of Nevada, are the locations of the arkosic triangle and the area shown in
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