The Las Vegas Formation
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The Las Vegas Formation Professional Paper 1839 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Buff-colored deposits sit against the backdrop of the Las Vegas Range in the northern Las Vegas Valley. Once thought to be remnants of a large pluvial lake, these sediments actually record the presence of extensive paleowetlands that supported a diverse flora and fauna. Throughout the Quaternary, the wetlands expanded and contracted in response to abrupt changes in climate. These dynamic ecosystems are preserved in the geologic record as the Las Vegas Formation. (Photograph by Eric Scott, Cogstone Resource Management, Inc., used with permission) The Las Vegas Formation By Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, and Shannon A. Mahan Professional Paper 1839 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior RYAN K. ZINKE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2018 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Springer, K.B., Pigati, J.S., Manker, C.R., and Mahan, S.A., 2018, The Las Vegas Formation: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1839, 62 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1839. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Springer, Kathleen B., author. | Geological Survey (U.S.), issuing body. Title: The Las Vegas Formation / by Kathleen B. Springer [and three others]. Other titles: U.S. Geological Survey professional paper ; 1839. Description: Reston, Virginia : U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 2018. | Series: Professional paper ; 1839 | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2018029677 | ISBN 9781411342378 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: Formations (Geology)--Nevada--Las Vegas Valley. | Sediments (Geology)--Nevada--Las Vegas Valley. | Geology, Stratigraphic--Pleistocene. | Geology, Stratigraphic--Holocene. Classification: LCC QE697 .S67 2018 | DDC 557.93/13--dc23 | SUDOC I 19.16:1839 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029677 ISSN 1044-9612 (print) ISSN 2330-7102 (online) ISBN 978-1-4113-4237-8 iii Acknowledgments This study was inspired by our colleague and friend C. Vance Haynes, Jr., the vanguard of desert wetland research. This manuscript is a product of more than a decade of work investigating the deposits in the upper Las Vegas Wash. Early on, the Bureau of Land Management understood the significance of this important fossil-bearing sequence of “white dirt” and had the foresight to fund our work. In part, that recognition, and the science that came from their support, eventually led to the area being designated as Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. We gratefully thank Gayle Marrs-Smith, Field Manager of the Bureau of Land Management’s Southern Nevada District Office, and Scott Foss, Bureau of Land Management Senior Pale- ontologist, for their vision, assistance, and support of this work with funding through Federal Assistance Agreement L08AC13098 (to Kathleen Springer). We also extend great appreciation to the National Park Service and the leadership of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument for their support of our ongoing work there, because the fossils are cool, but the rocks rock. We thank Dan Muhs, Marith Reheis, Buddy Schweig, Randy Schumann, Keith Kirk, and Janet Slate (all U.S. Geological Survey) and Mark Springer (University of California, Riverside) for their constructive reviews of this manuscript. We also thank Paco van Sistine (U.S. Geological Survey) for assistance with figures 1 and 3. This project was funded in part by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Land Change Science Program through the Paleohydrology of Desert Wetlands project. iv Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Early Investigations ..............................................................................................................................1 Desert Wetlands ...................................................................................................................................3 Groundwater Discharge Deposits in the Las Vegas Valley ...........................................................5 Subsequent Mapping and Topical Studies .......................................................................................5 This Study ...............................................................................................................................................5 Methods...........................................................................................................................................................6 Field Methods ........................................................................................................................................6 Radiocarbon Dating Methods .............................................................................................................6 Luminescence Dating Methods .......................................................................................................11 Results and Discussion ...............................................................................................................................12 Paleohydrologic Environments of the Las Vegas Formation .......................................................12 The Las Vegas Formation ..................................................................................................................12 Member X ....................................................................................................................................17 Age Control of Member X ................................................................................................21 Member A....................................................................................................................................21 Age Control of Member A ................................................................................................22 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Member A .............................................................................22 Member B....................................................................................................................................23 Beds B1 and B1-wet ..............................................................................................................23 Age Control of Beds B1 and B1-wet ..........................................................................23 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Beds B1 and B1-wet .......................................................23 Bed B2 .................................................................................................................................23 Age Control of Bed B2 ..............................................................................................23 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Bed B2...........................................................................27 Bed B3 .................................................................................................................................27 Age Control of Bed B3 ..............................................................................................27 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Bed B3...........................................................................27 Member D....................................................................................................................................27 Bed D1 .................................................................................................................................27 Age Control of Bed D1 ..............................................................................................32 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Bed D1...........................................................................32 Bed D2 .................................................................................................................................32 Age Control of Bed D2 ..............................................................................................32 Depositional Environments, Paleohydrology, and Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Bed D2...........................................................................32