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Pre-Tertiary Stratigraphy and Upper Triassic Paleontology of the Union District Shoshone Mountains Nevada

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Pre-Tertiary Stratigraphy and Upper Triassic Paleontology of the Union District Shoshone Mountains Nevada Pre-Tertiary Stratigraphy and Upper Triassic Paleontology of the Union District Shoshone Mountains Nevada GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 322 Pre-Tertiary Stratigraphy and Upper Triassic Paleontology of the Union District Shoshone Mountains Nevada By N. J. SILBERLING GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 322 A study of upper Paleozoic and lower Mesozoic marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks, with descriptions of Upper Triassic cephalopods and pelecypods UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1959 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRED A. SEATON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. CONTENTS Page Page Abstract_ ________________________________________ 1 Paleontology Continued Introduction _______________________________________ 1 Systematic descriptions-------------------------- 38 Class Cephalopoda___--_----_---_-_-_-_-_--_ 38 Location and description of the area ______________ 2 Order Ammonoidea__-__-_______________ 38 Previous work__________________________________ 2 Genus Klamathites Smith, 1927_ __ 38 Fieldwork and acknowledgments________________ 4 Genus Mojsisovicsites Gemmellaro, 1904 _ 39 Stratigraphy _______________________________________ 4 Genus Tropites Mojsisovics, 1875_____ 42 Genus Tropiceltites Mojsisovics, 1893_ 51 Cambrian (?) dolomite and quartzite units__ ______ 4 Genus Guembelites Mojsisovics, 1896__ 52 Pablo formation (Permian?)____________________ 6 Genus Discophyllites Hyatt, 1900_____ 55 Grantsville formation (Middle Triassic)__________ 10 Order Nautiloidea_____-_______________- 56 Luning formation (Upper Triassic)______________ 14 Genus Germanonautilus Mojsisovics, Gabbs and Sunrise formations undifferentiated (Up­ 1902_ _____________________ 56 Genus PUoioceras Hyatt, 1883_______ 57 per Triassic and Lower Jurassic)______________ 25 Genus Clydonautilus Mojsisovics, 1882_ 58 Dunlap formation (Middle Jurassic)____________ 29 Class Pelecypoda__________________________ 59 Intrusive rocks_____________________________________ 31 Order Prionodesmacea.________________ 59 Structure of the pre-Tertiary rocks__________________ 32 Genus Myophoria Bronn, 1834________ 59 Genus Septocardia Hall and Whitfield, 1877. 59 Paleontology.______________________________________ 36 References cited-________-----_____-____--__-_-__-_. 61 General features-____--__________--_---___---__- 36 Index _____________________________________________ 65 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates 1-9 follow index] Page PLATE 1. Mojsisovicsites and Klamathites. FIGURE 1. Index map showing the location of the Union 2-4. Tropites. district, Nevada______________________ 5. Tropites, T. (AnatropiteJ), and Tropiceltites!. 2. Age relationships suggested for the upper 6, 7. Guembelites. Karnian and lower Norian faunal zones and 8. Discophyllites, Clydonautilus, and Germanonau­ rock unitS-_--_--------------_-_------- 22 tilus. 3. Lithologic correlation of the Luning forma­ 9. Septocardia!, Myophoria, and Phloioceras. tion between the Union district, north cen­ 10. Geologic map and sections of the pre-Tertiary tral Pilot Mountains, and southwest Gabbs rocks of the Union district, Nye County, Valley Range._________________________ 24 Nev_-_-_-___-___-______--_-_-__-__ In pocket 11. Composite columnar section.___________ In pocket m PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY AND UPPER TRIASSIC PALEONTOLOGY OF THE UNION DISTRICT, SHOSHONE MOUNTAINS, NEVADA By N. J. SlLBEKLING ABSTRACT Gabbs and Sunrise formations in the Union district agree in The pre-Tertiary rocks of the Union district are exposed in lithology and age with the type sections of these formations in an elongate belt extending south from the town of lone for the Gabbs Valley Range, the Gabbs and Sunrise formations are about 12 miles along the west flank of the Shoshone Mountains not differentiated because the minor lithologic change that marks in the northwest part of Nye County, Nev. their mutual boundary in the type area cannot be recognized in Within this area lies an exposure of a nearly complete the Union district. The exposed section of the undifferentiated sequence of stratigraphic units ranging in age from late Paleo­ Gabbs and Sunrise formations is 2,700 feet thick in the Union zoic to Middle Jurassic. At the base of this sequence is the district and is composed largely of argillaceous silty limestone predominantly volcanic Pablo formation of Permian (?) age in and calcareous siltstone ranging from latest Triassic (Rhaetian) which three local members are recognized. The lowest mem­ to at least late Early Jurassic (Toarcian) age. Several hundred ber of the Pablo formation exposed in the Union district is com­ feet of strata assigned to the Dunlap formation conformably posed of coarse- and fine-grained sedimentary rocks interstrati- overlie the undifferentiated Gabbs and Sunrise formations. The fled with andesitic volcanic rocks. Gradationally overlying this Dunlap formation in the Union district consists mainly of non- thick clastic member is a relatively thin limestone member calcareous, possibly nonmarine, sandstone including two rela­ which is in turn overlain by a thick greenstone member com­ tively thin dolomitic carbonate units near the top of the exposed posed of altered andesitic flows and volcanic breccia. section. The Grantsville formation, with little, if any, angular dis­ A thick unit of quartzite and an equally thick unit of dolomite, cordance, overlies the Pablo. It is about 700 feet thick and is both of which are tentatively assigned to the Cambrian, occupy composed of a lower clastic member, of siliceous conglomerate a small area east of lone. The stratigraphic and structural rela­ grading upward into sandstone and argillite, and an upper tionship of these units to the upper Paleozoic and lower Mesozoic limestone member. The marine invertebrate fauna of the lime­ section is not known. stone member of the Grantsville is late Middle Triassic (Ladin- The generally eastward-dipping pre-Tertiary rocks in the ian) in age, represents a biofacies of the Middle Triassic that is northern two-thirds of the area are considered part of the upright unique to North America, and is closely related to the fauna of limb of a large-scale overturned anticline, the axis of which the German Muschelkalk. strikes and plunges southeast. The complexly folded and thrust- The overlying Luning formation of Late Triassic age rests faulted Mesozoic rocks in and south of Grantsville Canyon repre­ with erosional disconformity upon the Grantsville formation. sent the axial region and overturned limb of this fold. Pour informal members are recognized within the Luning. In Subsequent to folding and thrust faulting, an intricate pattern ascending order they are the clastic member, composed of of normal faults developed. Most of the normal faulting pre­ siliceous conglomerate, sandstone, and argillite with a thickness ceded the deposition of Tertiary volcanic rocks, but some of the of about 600 feet; the shaly limestone member, also about 600 faults displace both pre-Tertiary and Cenozoic rocks. feet thick; the calcareous shale member, about 550 feet thick; The species of Late Triassic marine mollusks selected for and the carbonate member, composed of massive limestone and description are those significant in recognizing the Karnian- dolomite with an exposed thickness of at least 2,000 feet. Norian stage boundary. A total of 21 species, including 10 new Three local faunal zones, characterized mainly by cephalopods, species, are described and are assigned to the following genera: occur in the shaly limestone and calcareous shale mem­ of ammonites, Klamathites, Mojsisovicsites, Tropites, T. (Ana- bers of the Luning formation. The stratigraphically lowest of tropites), Tropiceltites?, Guembelites, and Discophyttites; of these zones is tentatively correlated with the upper part of the nautiloids, Clydonautilus, Germanonautilus, and Phloioceras; Tropites auWullatus zone. Based on this correlation, the and of pelecypods, Myophoria and Septocardial. Karnian-Norian stage boundary is provisionally placed between the middle zone, characterized by new species of the am­ INTRODUCTION monite genus Tropites, and the uppermost zone, the fauna of Kocks of late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic age are which is dominated by the lower Norian ammonite Guembelites. present in many isolated localities in northwestern The upper part of the Luning formation and strata equivalent to the lower part of the Gabbs formation of the Gabbs Valley Nevada, geographically separated from one another by Range are not exposed in the Union district. By analogy with Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The geo­ the section in the Gabbs Valley Range, however, the contact logic relationships between these areas of outcrop are between the Luning formation and the undifferentiated Gabbs and Sunrise formations in the Union district is presumably con­ generally obscured by the absence of continuity be­ formable. Although the rocks assigned to the undifferentiated tween them. Consequently, the regional stratigraphic PRE-TERTIARY STRATIGRAPHY, UPPER TRIASSIC PALEONTOLOGY, SHOSHONE MOUNTAINS, NEV. history of the pre-Tertiary rocks exposed in northwest­ of Austin via Nevada State Highway 21, about 70 miles ern Nevada must be obtained by gradually fitting to­ north of Tonopah by way of the Cloverdale Eanch, gether the information gained by the study of each and about 40 miles east of Gabbs by way of Lodi Valley isolated area of outcrop. In
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