A Study of the Lake Lahontan Sediments in The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A STUDY OF THE LAKE LAHONTAN SEDIMENTS IN THE WINITEUUCCA AREA, NEVADA A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Nevada in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Keros Cartwright Reno, Nevada January 30, 1961 Director of Thesis Approved Chairman of graduate committee i i TABLE OF CONTE:ITS PAGE ABSTRACT................. .................... vi INTRODUCTION................................. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................. 3 -PHYSIOGRAPHY................................. if REGIONAL GEOLOGY............................. 6 METHODS OF INVESTIGATIONS .HID RESULTS...... 10 Field Procedures......................... 10 11 Structure..... ........................... + 20 STRATIGRAPHY................................. 20 Ea.rlv Lahontan............................ Medial Gravels............................ 23 Upper Lahontan 28 Post Lahontan. 3? Paleontology.. 37 SEDIMENTARY PETROGRAPHY..................... 39 LATE QUATERNARY GEOLOGIC IISTORY............ ^3 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY............................. *+7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..................... 1+8 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................. 1+9 APPENDIX 52 ILLUSTRATIONS p a g e Figure 1. Index map............... ......... 2 2. Difference between lake and fan sediments, southern Paradise Valley...... ..................... 15 3. Clear Creek flood, ala in.......... 17 *+. Formation of bluff on the east side of Clear Creek flood nlair.. 19 5. Sonoma Ranch well................ 22 6. Basal gravel on Sonoma and Thomas Creek fans.................... 2b 7. Size analyses of the basal gravel on Sonoma and Thomas Creek fans.. 26 8. Change of facies of Medial travels 27 9. Upper Lahontan. section........... 29 10. Section of the mouth of the Little Humboldt River............ 31 11. Illustrating the change in sedi- ments between Grass and Paradise Vallejos......................... 32 12. Western Pacific gravel pit....... 3^ \ 13. Humboldt county gravel pit....... 36 1b-. Generalized section of Grass Valley....................... • ••• 38 15. Process of deposition.•• ...... *+1 i v ILLUSTRATIONS CcontT" PAGE Figure 16. Process of deposition modi- fied........................... ^2 17. Possible hyoosonetric relation- ships of the late Quaternary sediments.................... ^5 18. Levels of Lake Lahontan..... *+6 PLATES PAGE Plate 1. Composite Geologic Map...... Jacket 2. Rose Creek Quadrangle, Nevada. Jacket 3 . Winnemueca Quadrangle, Nevada* Jacket h. Bliss Quadrangle, Nevada....... Jacket 5. Osaood Mountains Quandrangle, Nevada.......................... Jacket 6. Paradise Valley uadrangle, Nevada.......................... Jacket v ABSTRACT The last bed to be deposited by Lake Lahontan in the Winnemucca area was a five feet thick silty clay, which grades into a fine sand near the shore of the lake. This sand, when traced around the basin, defined the maximum extent of the last deep-lake stage. Lake Lahontan occuoied the valleys around Winnemucca at least twice. A basal conglomerate is associated with the rise of the second deep- lake stave. Poorly preserved wave cut notches are found at M +00 feet and ^360 feet above sea level which are associated with the first and second major rise of the lake resnectively. Gravel bars are found associated with the second deen-lake stage of Lake Lahontan. The petrogranhy of the lake and ian sediments was connared, and a possible means for distin - uishing between the two types of sediments is suggested• v i 1 INTRODUCTION In the spring of 1959 a program designated the Humboldt River Research project was author- ized hy the legislature of the state of Nevada (Cha^. 97, Stats., 1959)* One phase of the pro- ject provided for geologic mapping of sediments involved in the hydrology of the basin. The first nortion of the project covers the Humboldt River Valley and adjacent drain- age areas between the Rose Creek and Comus Creek gauging stations. See location map, figure 1. This paper deals with the sediments of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. Special emphasis is given to the near-shore sediments of the lake, their extent and relationship to possible recent tectonic activity in the area. The work was begun in June 19^9 and was carried through the 1959 and 196c field sessions. There are four previous reports on tne geology of the basin area (Robinsor, Loeltz and Ihoonix, 19^-8, and 19*+9? Onuschak, 1960; and Wilson, 1960). Bedrock Geology was done by Ferguson, Puller, and Roberts (1951), and R. Willden (in preparation). The co-ordinates system used in locating points is illustrated in figure 5* a> V/nnem ucco r * E.I K o o c Reno I a:o .NEVADA i ' i £ \ ; o *■«» V«gos • fj O Q: /> 0 c o ) •o </> O e (/} 3/ -i *D O w O winnemucfco Q_ Mounta in */ Urar. i-Wi/ine m ucca \ v<i' m bo Rose Creek_ rtvi Gauge * >» o* a> c ** o < cn o cr > c / o b cr to E «/> o o V- c O o CO / FIGURE I 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer expresses his appreciation to the following peonle who aided in the field work and made many heloful, critical suggestions in the field and in the nrenaration of this renort: Dr, 3. R, Larson, chairman of the geology depart- ment of the Ma.ckay School of Mines, who directed the Wield work and the preparation of the oaner; Professor J. I, Gimlett who made many valuable suggestions in the field and in the editing of this pa^er; Mr* J. N, Swinderman of the University of Nevada and Messersd. W. Hawley, and W, 3. Wilson, of the University of Illinois who aided in the collection of some of the data in the field. If PHYSIOGRAPHY Tho area studied includes parts of Paradise and Grass Valleys. The former lies east of Winnemucca, Nevada and mostly north of the Humboldt River; the latter lies west of Winn- emucca and mostly south of the Humboldt River. The valleys are almost entirely bounded by five mountain ranges. The highest range in the area is the Santa Rosa Range (maximum altitude 975k- feet above sea level) which borders the west side of Paradise Valley. This range extends from. Winnemucca fountain, just north of the town of Winnemucca, to the Nevada-Oregon boundary. The east side of Paradise Valley is bounded by the Hot Spring Mountains and the Osgood Mountains? the Sonoma Range is the southern boundary of the valley. The Sonoma Range which bounds the east side of Grass Valley is the second highest range in 'area (maximum altitude 9^21 feet above sea level). The East Range bounds the west side of Grass /alley, and Winnemucca. Mountain and the Lrum • (ills form the northern boundary of the valley. All the mountain ranges are block-faulted ranges typical of the Basin and Range Province, and are bounded by relatively s h a m fronts, except for the East Range. The ranges have a very thin soil mantle and vegetation is scarce. They are drained by small nerennial and intermittent streams. The uplands have rounded to sharp peaks and portions of the Santa Rosa and Sonoma Ranges have been modified in their higher reaches by Pleistocene glaciation (Robinson, et al, 19^8). Remnants of several old erosion surfaces are nresent at comnarable elevations in all the ranges (Ferguson, et al, 19^1)* The valleys are north-south trending troughs tributary to the Humboldt River. Paradise Valley is drained by the Little Humboldt River which is dry in most of its lower reaches. Grass Valley is drained by Clear Creek, which is dry for its entire length from the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon to the Humboldt River. Goth si-reams, however, have incised charnels showing much great- er flow of water in the past. No estimate of the denth of fill in Paradise Valiev has been made5 however, its deepest oortion is probably considerably north of tue Humboldt River, the valley being rather shallow here. Valiev fill in Grass Valley was estimated, to be over ^600 feet thick one mile south of tie Humboldt-Pershing county line (V/ilson, I960). 6 REGIONAL GEOLOGY The geology of the 30 minute Winnemucca Quadrangle has been mapped by Ferguson, Muller, and Roberts (1991) and Humboldt county by R. Willden (in pernanation)• Internretations have been drawn largely from their reports. Since the detailed geology of the ranges border! g the area is not within the scope of this report, only a general summary is presented. The ranges consist of a great thickness of rocks of Triassie and Paleozoic age which are intruded by late Jurassic ((Cretaceous ?))plutonic rocks and overlain by Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary and volcanic rocks. In general, the older Paleozoic and Triassie rocks form the ranges, while the younger rocks flank the ranges and are preserved mostly in the valleys. The pre-plutonic rocks nave been strongly deformed by two periods of folding and by a series of large thrust faults which bring together rocks of the same age but different facies. Eroded remnants of thick flows of rnyolitic lavas are exposed in 'Hater Canyon and south of H a r ony Canyon, Dikes of rhyolite porihyry cut Paleozoic sediments (some dikes follow thrust- 7 pebble dikes consisting mainly of quartzite in a matrix of rhyoliteQjerguson, et al, 1951)^) Tertiary sedimentary rocks are exnosed. on the pediment bordering the north end of the Sonoma Range. They consist principally of poorly consolidated conglomerates and sandstones and are overlain by the rhyolitic volcanic flows. North of the Krum hills is the Pansy Lee Conglomerate, a moderately consolidated conglomerate, which is either Tertiary or Cretaceous in age)(R. Willden, 19 o8). To the northwest near the confluence of the Humboldt River and the Little Humboldt River, and in the Krum Hills, tuffaceous sediments of the younger Plxocence)(?) Humboldt (?) ^formation ^(l/ilmarth, 1938; Robinson et al, 19^9)) dip about 30° southeast ((confluence of the two rivers)) and 20° to 30° south (Krum Hills): they are overlain by less steeply dipping or flat lying basalt flows, This evidence correlated with well data suggests that most of the valley floors may he underlain by Tertiary sediments. These include, fairly thick sections of the Humboldt ()(?D formation. Tertiary and/or yua■ternary basalt flows " re quite extensive on the -"lanks of the mountains bordering Paradise Valley.