QUATERNARY GEOLOGY of the CABINET, HERON and SMEADS BENCH 7.5’ QUADRANGLES, with EMPHASIS on GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULA SEDIMENTS Emily Welk
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Montana Tech Library Digital Commons @ Montana Tech Graduate Theses & Non-Theses Student Scholarship Spring 2019 QUATERNARY GEOLOGY OF THE CABINET, HERON AND SMEADS BENCH 7.5’ QUADRANGLES, WITH EMPHASIS ON GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULA SEDIMENTS Emily Welk Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch Part of the Geology Commons QUATERNARY GEOLOGY OF THE CABINET, HERON AND SMEADS BENCH 7.5’ QUADRANGLES, WITH EMPHASIS ON GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULA SEDIMENTS by Emily Welk A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geology Montana Tech 2019 ii Abstract The primary scientific purpose of this project was to improve geologic knowledge of valley-fill units in the most downstream portion of the Clark Fork River valley in Montana. This was done to help understand the history of glacial Lake Missoula filling and draining cycles in the vicinity of the dam. The secondary purpose was to make a geologic map of the Cabinet, Heron and Smeads Bench 7.5-minute quadrangles and to resolve differences between detailed maps of Idaho (Lewis and others, 2008) and the old map of the Smeads bench, Heron and Cabinet quadrangles in Montana (Harrison and others, 1992; mapping was done 1977-87). Improving knowledge as to the timing and history of glacial Lake Missoula in this area was done by delineating the valley fill sediments and flood gravel deposits from newer alluvial gravels and glacial outwash. There are two large glaciolacustrine outcrops in the field area that were analyzed in detail. Stratigraphic sections show sections of repeating sequences of silt and clay couplets, that are unconformably separated by a thicker layer of fine grained, crossbedded sand and silt. Sands from both sections were sampled for Optically Stimulate Luminescence and Infrared Stimulated Luminescence burial age-analysis. The burial-age of our successful sample was 16.02 +/- 1.08ka, which is consistent with having been buried during the final stages of glacial Lake Missoula. The other sample was determined to be in error due to scatter in the signal. In the field area, massive gravel deposits were found in streamlined bars mid-channel along the banks of tributary channels and in areas protected from stream erosion such as meanders and topographical highs. The gravels were deposited by one or more massive floods that flowed through the valley when the ice dam broke. The gravel deposits are buttressed and mantled by glaciolacustrine sediments of glacial Lake Missoula and thus can be assumed to be the older of the two deposits. The preservation of the lake beds in the field area indicates that the final draining of the lake was much slower and less erosive. The laminated couplets represent annual deposits laid down while the lake was increasing in depth. The basal sand beds represent high-energy influx of sediment in shallow water. This suggests that lake levels fluctuated around 16.02 +/- 1.08ka before draining completely. Keywords: Glacial Lake Missoula, rhythmites, flood gravels, Cordilleran Ice Sheet, Optically Stimulated Luminescence, Infrared Stimulated Luminescence iii Dedication I want to first and foremost thank my Mom and Dad for always encouraging me to continue educating myself for reasons beyond getting a degree. I want to thank my Grandpa and Uncles for inspiring me to pursue geology and for always wanting to talk things through with me. My advisor Larry Smith was the best person I could have asked for to learn about this amazing subject and I want to thank him for putting up with me. Dean Hartline was a big advocate to me and pushed me harder than I thought I could go. Thank you all very much. iv Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge fellow Geoscience graduate student Michael Chambers for assisting in the mapping portion of this report. Professor Dr. Larry Smith from the Montana Tech Geoscience department who advised me on this project, providing materials such as a Brunton compass, handheld GPS, geologic maps, aerial photos, etc. He also assisted in portions of the mapping and helped me with revisions to the final draft of this thesis. Jeff Lonn, field geologist for the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology came to the field area to teach us about the Belt rocks in the area, which was very useful as Belt units can be hard to distinguish. Financial support was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program: Award No. G15AC00153, 2015. The Geological Engineering department and the Dean of Students at Montana Tech, Bev Hartline, provided grant assistance for my tuition and I am humbled and profoundly grateful. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. II DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................ III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ IV LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF EQUATIONS ............................................................................................................................. IX LIST OF PLATES (IN POCKET) ................................................................................................................. IX 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Previous Geologic Mapping ............................................................................................... 2 1.2. Previous Research on glacial Lake Missoula ...................................................................... 2 1.3. Regional Geologic Setting .................................................................................................. 5 1.4. Structure ............................................................................................................................. 7 2. METHODS ........................................................................................................................................ 8 2.1. Analysis of valley and glacial Lake Missoula deposits ...................................................... 10 2.2. Geochronology of glaciolacustrine sediments ................................................................. 12 2.2.1. Sample Locations ............................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2. Sampling Methods ............................................................................................................................. 13 2.2.3. Sample Preparation Procedures ........................................................................................................ 14 2.2.3.1. Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating (OSL) Procedures .................................................. 14 2.2.4. Environmental Dose Rates and Dose Equivalent Rates ..................................................................... 15 2.3. Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) Dating Procedures .......................................... 17 3. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 18 3.1. Geologic Map ................................................................................................................... 18 vi 3.2. Valley Topography ........................................................................................................... 18 3.3. Bedrock ............................................................................................................................ 20 3.3.1. Belt Supergroup, Middle Proterozoic (1,400 – 900 Ma) .................................................................... 20 3.4. Cambrian Bedrock Units ................................................................................................... 23 3.5. Quaternary Deposits ........................................................................................................ 23 3.5.1. Gravel-dominated deposits ............................................................................................................... 23 3.5.1.1. Glacial Outwash (Qgo) .............................................................................................................. 24 3.5.1.2. Flood Gravel Deposits ............................................................................................................... 24 3.5.1.3. Glaciolacustrine Deposits (Qgl) ................................................................................................. 32 3.5.1.4. Holocene Alluvial Deposits ........................................................................................................ 41 3.6. Optical Ages ..................................................................................................................... 43 4. GEOLOGIC HISTORY .......................................................................................................................... 46 4.1. Precambrian