Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \Fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality, 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming
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Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality, 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 932-A Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Wyoming, the Department of Geology of the University of Wyoming, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Museum Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene Rocks and \fertebrate Fossils at the Emerald Lake Locality 3 Miles South of Ifellowstone National Park,Wyoming By J. D. LOVE, MALCOLM C. McKENNA, and MARY R. DAWSON GEOLOGY OF THE TETON-JACKSON HOLE REGION, NORTHWESTERN WYOMING GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 932-A Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Wyoming, the Department of Geology of the University of Wyoming, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Museum UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1976 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR THOMAS S. KLEPPE, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Love, John David, 1913- Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene rocks and vertebrate fossils at the Emerald Lake locality, 3 miles south of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Geology of the Teton-Jackson Hole region, northwestern Wyoming) (Geological Survey Professional Paper 932-A) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Geology, Stratigraphic Tertiary. 2. Vertebrates, Fossil. 3. Geology Wyoming Teton Co. I. McKenna, Malcolm C., joint author. II. Dawson, Mary R., joint author. III. Wyoming Geological Survey. IV. Title: Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene rocks and vertebrate fossils at the Emerald Lake locality ... V. Series. VI. Series: United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 932-A. QE691.L79 551.?'8 76-8159 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, B.C. 20402 Stock Number 024-001-02792-5 CONTENTS Page Page Metric-English equivalents........................................................... IV Post-Miocene rocks....................................................................... A21 Abstract......................................................................................... Al Pyroxene andesite and basalt of Emerald Lake.................... 21 Introduction.................................................................................. 1 Huckleberry Ridge Tuff........................................................ 22 Acknowledgments......................................................................... 2 Structural summary...................................................................... 22 Wiggins Formation (Eocene)........................................................ 2 References cited............................................................................. 25 White River Formation (Oligocene)............................................ 8 Index............................................................................................. 27 Colter Formation (Miocene)......................................................... 18 ILLUSTRATIONS Page FIGURE 1. Map showing mountains, basins, and volcanic areas in and adjacent to northwestern Wyoming............................................... A2 2. Relief map................................................................................................................................................................................^ 3 3. Geologic map.................................................................................................................................................^ 4 4-9. Photographs: 4. Volcanic conglomerate in the Wiggins Formation, measured section A ......................................................................... 6 5. Volcanic conglomerate in the Wiggins Formation, measured section D......................................................................... 7 6. Measured section C of the White River Formation........................................................................................................... 8 7. Measured section D of the White River Formation .......................................................................................................... 9 8. View north from measured section D, showing the White River and Wiggins Formations........................................... 10 9. Detail of lithology of the White River Formation............................................................................................................ U 10. Graph showing semiquantitative spectrographic analyses ............................................................................................................. 16 11. Diagram showing relations between the Wiggins and White River Formations........................................................................... 18 12. Schematic diagram showing relations of Tertiary and older rocks ................................................................................................ 18 13-18. Photographs: 13. Vertical aerial photograph showing Oligocene and Miocene vertebrate fossil sites........................................................ 19 14. View northwest up fault valley, showing vertebrate fossil sites and stratigraphic relations of formations.................... 21 15. Colter Formation at locality SR ........................................................................................................................................ 22 16. Vertebrate fossil sites in Colter Formation at locality SR................................................................................................. 23 17. Closeup view of west-dipping tuffaceous sandstone in Colter Formation....................................................................... 24 18. Right lower jaw of undescribed aplodontid rodent....................................................-.................. 24 TABLES Page TABLE 1. Rock analyses of tuffaceous strata of early Oligocene and Miocene age in the Emerald Lake, Granite Mountains, and Beaver Divide areas, Wyoming, and Black Butte, Montana.................................................................................................................... A14 2. Potassium-argon ages of some Oligocene and Eocene rocks in northwestern and central Wyoming................................................ 17 3. Distribution by site of Oligocene and Miocene fossils at Emerald Lake locality ............................................................................. 20 in IV CONTENTS METRIC-ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS Metric unit English equivalent Metric unit English equivalent Length Specific combinations Continued millimetre (mm) = 0.03937 inch (in) litre per second (1/s) = .0353 cubic foot per second metre (m) = 3.28 feet (ft) cubic metre per second kilometre (km) = .62 mile (mi) per square kilometre [(m3/s)/km2] Area square mile [(ft3/s)/mi2] metre per day (m/d) 3.28 feet per day (hydraulic square metre (m2) = 10.76 square feet (ft2) conductivity) (ft/d) square kilometre (km2 = .386 square mile (mi2) metre per kilometre hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres (m/km) = 5.28 feet per mile (ft/mi) kilometre per hour (km/h) = .9113 foot per second (ft/s) Volume metre per second (m/s) 3.28 feet per second cubic centimetre (cm3) = 0.061 cubic inch (in3) metre squared per day litre (1) 61.03 cubic inches (m2/d) = 10.764 feet squared per day (ft2/d) cubic metre (m3) = 35.31 cubic feet (ft3) ( tr ansmissivity ) cubic metre = .00081 acre-foot (acre-ft) cubic metre per second cubic hectometre (hm3 ) =810.7 acre-feet (m3/s) = 22.826 million gallons per day litre = 2.113 pints (pt) (Mgal/d) litre = 1.06 quarts (qt) cubic metre per minute litre = .26 gallon (gal) (m3/min) = 264.2 gallons per minute (gal/min) cubic metre = .00026 million gallons (Mgal or litre per second (1/s) = 15.85 gallons per minute 10e gal) litre per second per cubic metre = 6.290 barrels (bbl) (1 bbl = 42 gal) metre [(l/s)/m] = 4.83 gallons per minute per foot [(gal/min) /ft] kilometre per hour Weight (km/h) = .62 mile per hour (mi/h) gram (g) = 0.035 ounce, avoirdupois (oz avdp) metre per second (m/s) = 2.237 miles per hour gram = .0022 pound, avoirdupois (Ib avdp) gram per cubic tonne (t) = 1.1 tons, short (2,000 Ib) centimetre (g/cm3 ) = 62.43 pounds per cubic foot (lb/ft3) tonne = .98 ton, long (2,240 Ib) gram per square centimetre (g/cm2) 2.048 pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) gram per square Specific combinations centimetre .0142 pound per square inch (lb/in2) kilogram per square centimetre (kg/cm2) = 0.96 atmosphere (atm) Temperature kilogram per square centimetre = .98 bar (0.9869 atm) degree Celsius (°C) = 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) cubic metre per second degrees Celsius (mVs) = 35.3 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) (temperature) = [(1.8X°C)+32] degrees Fahrenheit GEOLOGY OF THE TETON-JACKSON HOLE REGION, NORTHWESTERN WYOMING EOCENE, OLIGOCENE, AND MIOCENE ROCKS AND VERTEBRATE FOSSILS AT THE EMERALD LAKE LOCALITY, 3 MILES SOUTH OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING By J. D. LOVE, MALCOLM C. McKENNA, 1 and MARY R. DAWSON2 ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Several small remnants of Oligocene and Miocene rocks, partly chan No Oligocene or Miocene rocks are at present rec nel deposits, containing diagnostic vertebrate fossils were preserved by late Cenozoic downfaulting in the Emerald Lake area, 3 miles (4.8 ognized in Yellowstone National Park and, except for the kilometres) south of Yellowstone National Park. Inasmuch as no Emerald Lake locality (Love, 1956b) and other localities to Oligocene or Miocene