California State University, Northridge
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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE MODELING KARST DEVELOPMENT IN AN ALPINE LOCATION: MINERAL KING, SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Geography By Patrick Joseph Kahn August 2008 The thesis of Patrick Joseph Kahn is approved: Darrick Danta, Ph. D Date Shawna Dark, Ph. D Date Julie Laity, Ph. D, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii DEDICATION This volume is dedicated in loving memory to my parents, Melodee (1953-2007) and Kevin (1952-2008) Kahn - who made many sacrifices and were the catalysts in my success. They will be forever missed, but never forgotten. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the help of so many individuals. Therefore, I would like to take this time to acknowledge those people who devoted their time in helping me throughout this process. I would like to thank Joel Despain, Ben Tobin, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks for providing me with the opportunity to conduct this exciting project. Additionally, I’d like to thank Joel and Ben for their invaluable assistance and companionship in the field, and their willingness to help through email. I had the pleasure of many field assistants, none more valuable than Chris Lima, who made many early morning journeys with me to Mineral King and sustained copious amounts of physical abuse. I also want to thank Rob O’Keefe, his wife Kolette, and daughter Emily for their companionship on a long field weekend. Additionally, I want to acknowledge Ted Riedell, Tyler Eaton, Crystal Cave Guide, and Heather Veerkamp- Tobin, National Park Service employee, for their invaluable assistance in the field. Many people have contributed their knowledge and assistance to various aspects in the creation of this volume. I would like to thank Greg Stock, National Park Service Geologist, Cathy Busby, UCSB, Dave Deis, Danielle Bram, Kris Tacsik, Stephanie Rozek, CSUN. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Amalie Orme and Dr. Steve Graves for their invaluable input. For her unconditional support and patience, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Courtney. Also, much thanks to my friends and family for their continued emotional support in what has been a truly difficult time; I could not have finished without them. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to end my praises with the three individuals on my committee who dedicated their time to guiding me through this process. I would like to thank Dr. Darrick Danta, Dr. Shawna Dark, and Dr. Julie Laity, for their fruitful knowledge and advice. I especially want to thank my chair, Dr. Julie Laity, who dedicated a large amount of time reading, editing, and guiding me until the end. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables vii List of Figures viii List of Equations x Abstract xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Statement of Purpose 4 1.2 Research Questions and Hypothesis 4 2. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF MINERAL KING 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Climate and Vegetation 8 2.3 Geology 11 2.4 Glaciation 18 2.5 Karst in the Sierra Nevada 20 3. GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND GEOMORPHOLOGY 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 GIS and Karst Geomorphology 24 4. DEVELOPMENT OF KARST SYSTEMS 27 4.1 Introduction 27 4.2 Structural and Stratigraphic Controls 27 4.3 Models of Formation 28 5. METHODS 31 5.1 Introduction 31 5.2 Methodology: fieldwork, digitization, and GIS analysis 31 5.3 Fieldwork 32 5.4 Database Management 36 5.5 Developing the Predictive Model 38 v 5.6 Analysis 41 6. RESULTS 48 6.1 Predictive Model 48 6.1 Distribution, Density, Correlative Analysis, and Regression 54 6.3 Franklin Creek Drainage 55 6.4 Monarch Creek Drainage 64 6.5 Timber Gap 71 6.6 White Chief 78 7. DISCUSSION 88 7.1 Franklin Drainage 88 7.2 Monarch Drainage 92 7.3 Timber Gap 94 7.4 White Chief 96 8. CONCLUSIONS 102 WORKS CITED 109 APPENDIX A 115 APPENDIX B 118 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Glacial Chronology of the Sierra Nevada 19 Table 6.1 Regression Model Summary and Coefficients for Franklin Drainage 63 Table 6.2 Regression Model Summary and Coefficients for Monarch Creek Drainage 71 Table 6.2 (cont.) 72 Table 6.3 Regression Model Summary and Coefficients for Timber Gap 77 Table 6.3 (cont.) 78 Table 6.4 Regression Model Summary and Coefficients for White Chief Valley 87 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Location map of Mineral King in Sequoia National Park 7 Figure 2.2 Shaded relief map of Mineral King Valley 9 Figure 2.3 Geologic Map of Mineral King Valley 12 Figure 2.4 Marble Map of Mineral King Valley 15 Figure 2.5 Sketch of vertical distribution of karst in Sequoia National Park 21 Figure 5.1 Photo of Mineral King Valley 33 Figure 5.2 Photo of a karst spring 34 Figure 5.3 Photo of a collapse sink 35 Figure 5.4 Photo of a cave entrance 35 Figure 5.5 Photo of a sinking stream 36 Figure 5.6 Flowchart illustrating steps of predictive model creation 41 Figure 5.7 Flowchart for steps of proximity analysis 44 Figure 5.8 Flowchart illustrating steps of slope analysis creation 45 Figure 6.1 Map of predicted karst development in Franklin drainage 49 Figure 6.2 Map of predicted karst development in Monarch Creek Drainage 50 Figure 6.3 Map of predicted karst development in Monarch Creek Drainage 51 Figure 6.4 Map of predicted karst development in Monarch Creek Drainage 52 Figure 6.5 Regressions comparing predictive model distribution to Expected distribution 54 Figure 6.5 (cont.) 55 Figure 6.6 Karst feature distribution map of Franklin drainage 57 Figure 6.7 Karst feature density map of Franklin drainage 58 Figure 6.8 Histograms showing karst feature distances to formative variables in Franklin drainage 61 Figure 6.9 Karst density vs. Stream distance in Franklin drainage 63 Figure 6.10 Karst feature distribution map of Monarch Creek drainage 66 Figure 6.11 Karst feature density map of Monarch Creek drainage 67 Figure 6.12 Histograms showing karst feature distances to formative variables in Monarch Creek drainage 68 Figure 6.12 (cont.) 69 Figure 6.13 Karst density vs. Stream distance in Franklin drainage 70 Figure 6.14 Karst feature distribution map of Timber Gap 73 Figure 6.15 Karst feature density map of Timber Gap 74 Figure 6.16 Histograms showing karst feature distances to formative variables in Timber Gap 76 Figure 6.17 Karst density vs. Stream distance in Timber Gap 77 viii Figure 6.18a Karst feature distribution map of White Chief 81 Figure 6.18b Karst feature distribution map of White Chief Valley 82 Figure 6.19 Karst feature density map of White Chief Valley 83 Figure 6.20 Histograms showing karst feature distances to formative variables in White Chief Valley 85 Figure 6.21 Karst density vs. Stream distance in White Chief Valley 87 Figure 7.1 Photo of marble outcrop in Franklin drainage 92 Figure 7.2 Photo of Monarch drainage 94 Figure 7.3 Photo of Timber Gap marble 96 Figure 7.4 Photo of White Chief Cave complex 101 Figure B.1 Franklin Karst 119 Figure B.2 Monarch Karst 120 Figure B.3 Timber Gap Karst 121 Figure B.4 White Chief Karst (North) 122 Figure B.5 White Chief Karst (South) 123 ix LIST OF EQUATIONS Equation 5.1 Predictive model 39 Equation 6.1 Franklin Regression 62 Equation 6.2 Monarch Regression 69 Equation 6.3 Timber Gap Regression 76 Equation 6.4 White Chief Regression 86 x ABSTRACT MODELING KARST DEVELOPMENT IN AN ALPINE LOCATION: MINERAL KING, SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA By Patrick Kahn Master of Arts in Geography The Sierra Nevada Mountains have been extensively studied, but the principle focus has been its geologic and glaciologic history. Over the past 50 years, the discovery of many new caves has positioned Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks firmly in the karst community. Karst topographies supply much of the Earth’s population with water, and caves represent one of the last unexplored frontiers. There lacks substantial knowledge of karst genesis in alpine settings. This study had two purposes. The first was to map and create an inventory of karst features in Mineral King Valley. The second used the inventory to analyze the morphogenesis of karst features as it relates to lithology, geology, and hydrography. Mineral King Valley is a glaciated, sub-alpine to alpine valley at the southern extent of Sequoia National Park, and its karstified marble is part of a submarine metamorphic complex overlaying the Sierra Nevada batholith. Fieldwork took place between July and October of 2007, and consisted of mapping the marble units and inventorying surficial karst features, such as caves, springs, sinks, and stream sinks. Moreover, a predictive model was developed using ArcGIS 9.2 to project probable xi locations of karst features. Analysis employed ArcGIS and SPSS to perform distribution, density, histogram, and regression analyses to model karst formation. The results indicate preferential formation along carbonate/non-carbonate boundaries, streams, and north aspects. Additionally, karst feature distributions tend to occur approximately parallel to strike. Development was also apparent along faults and folds to a lesser extent. Fracturing due to glaciation and glacial meltwater appear to have played the most significant role in karst genesis, possibly previous to Tioga glaciation. Further alpine karst investigation is necessary to validate these results and monitor the effects of climate change on karst formation.