Geology of the Canyon Ferry Quadrangle, Montana
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Geology of the Canyon Ferry Quadrangle, Montana By JOHN B. MERTIE, JR., RICHARD P. FISCHER, and S. WARREN HOBBS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 972 The geologic features and mineral re sources of an area in the Missouri River valley where a power dam is being built UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1951 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 75 cents (paper cover) CONTENTS Pa&'t Abstrac~--------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction------------------------------------------~----------- 2 Location of area ________________________________________ ----___ 2 Earlier surveys________________________________________________ 3 Presentwork-----------------------------~-------------------~ 4 Acknowledgments ________________________________________ --___ 5 GeographY--------------------------------------------------------Drainage ________________________________________________ ·_ _ _ _ _ 5 Relief-------------------------------------------------------- 7 ~ountainsandvalleys_____________________________________ 7 Terraces-------------------------------------------------- 7 Climate------------------------------------------------------ 9 ~agnetic declination _____________________ ,._____________________ 12 Vegetation and animal life---------------------------------~---- 14 Settlements--------------------------------------------------- 15 Transportation------------------------------------------------ 15 Industries____________________________________________________ 16 Generalgeology___________________________________________________ 17 Sedimentaryrocks_____________________________________________ 17 Pre-Cambrian rocks _______________________ ----·----_________ 17 Belt series____________________________________________ 17 Newland limestone_ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 18 Greyson shale~____________________________________ 18 Spokane shale___ __ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ 19 Empire shale ______________________________________ . 19 Helena limestone _______________________________ .;.__ 20 Paleozoic rocks _______________ -------- __ ------------_______ 21 Cambrian system __________ - ... ______________ .:___________ 21 Flathead quartzite ________ -------__________________ 21 Wolsey shale______________________________________ 21 ~eagher limestone______ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ 22 Parkshale________________________________________ 23 Pilgrim limestone___ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 24 Dry Creek shale ________________________ ·___________ 24 Devonian system_ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ 25 Jefferson limestone ______________________ ~__________ 25 Three Forks shale_________________________________ 26 Carboniferous system _______________________ -' __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ 26 ~adison limestone____ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 26 Quadrant formation ______ ·_________________ ~________ 28 Permian system_ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 28 Phosphoria (?) formation___________________________ 28 III IV CONTENTS General geology-Continued Sedimentary rocks-Continued Page Cenozoicrocks-----------------------------------~-------- 29 Tertiary system_______________________________________ 29 Gener~ character__________________________________ 29 Undifferentiated Tertiary beds______________________ 30 0 ligocene beds_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 31 ~iocene beds_____________________________________ 38 Quaternary system____________________________________ 39 Older gravels______________________________________ 39 Younger gravels___________________________________ 43 lgneousrocks_________________________________________________ 44 Monzonitic and granitic intrusives___________________________ 44 Felsic and mafic differentiates_______________________________ 46 Diorite and gabbro________________________________________ 47 Latitic intrusives_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 48 Andesitic intrusives ______ .:._________________________________ 49 Basalt____________________________________________________ 50 Structure and general relations__________________________________ 51 ' Pre-Tertiary rocks_________________________________________ 51 Big Belt Mountains____________________________________ 51 Spokane Hills_________________________________________ 53 General interpretation_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 54 Tertiary sediments ____________________________ ------ ____ --- 55 Economic geology_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 56 First discoveries of gold _________________ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 56 Metalliferous deposits__________________________________________ 58 Lodes____________________________________________________ 58 Gold lodes____________________________________________ 59 Mineralization____________________________________ 59 Principal gold mines__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 60 Copper and other lodes_________________________________ 62 Placers-------~------------------------------------------- 65 Early placer mining____________________________________ 65 Confederate Creek_________________________________ 65 White Gulch __ ~___________________________________ 68 Avalanche Creek__________________________________ 69 Hellgate Gulch____________________________________ 70 Magpie Creek_____________________________________ 70 Cave Gulch_______________________________________ 72 Cooper Gulch ___________________________________ . 7 4 Oregon Gulch and Clarks Gulch_____________________ 75 York Gulch_______________________________________ 76 Trout Creek______________________________________ 77 Missouri River terraces_____________________________ 78 Present and proposed placer mining______________________ 80 Confederate Creek_________________________________ 80 White Gulch.:._____________________________________ 81 Hellgate Gulch____________________________________ 81 Cave Gulch and Cooper Gulch______________________ 81 Oregon Gulch and Clarks Gulch_____________________ 82 1\.:.issouri River terraces_____________________________ 82 CONTENTS V Economi<;J geology-Continued Metalliferous depusits-Continued Placers-Continued Page Origin of the placer.s _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ __ _ 82 Sources of the gold_ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ 82 Outline of physiography____________________________ 84 Formation of pay streaks___________________________ 85 N onmetalliferous deposits___ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ 87 Dimension stone_____ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ 87 Brokenstone______________________________________________ 88 Bentonite_________________________________________________ 89 Sapphires_________________________________________________ 90 Discovery and early mining_____________________________ 90 Distribution_ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ 91 Character and origin___________________________________ 92 Recent mining________________________________________ 93 Literature cited ___________________________________ :..------_________ 93 Index ______________________________________ ·:._·-_ _ __ __ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ 95 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 1. Geologic map of the Canyon Ferry quadrangle, Mont ______ In pocket 2. Geologic map of bentonite deposits northeast of Winston, Broadwater County, Mont ____________________________ In pocket FIGURE 1. Monthly precipitation and snowfall, Canyon Ferry and Helena__ 11 2. Precipitation at Canyon Ferry, 1899-1945; and at Helena, 1881-1945.____________________________________________ 13 3. Magnetic declination, Canyon Ferry quadrangle, 1850-194 7 _ _ __ 14 GEOLOGY OF THE CANYON FERRY QUADRANGLE BY JOHN B. MERTlE, JR., RICHARD P. FisCHER, AND S. WARREN HoBBS ABSTRACTS The Canyon Ferry quadratrgle lies between meridians 111 °30' and 111 °45' and parallels 46°30' and 46°45' in west-central Montana. As a new dam on the Missouri River is to be built at Canyon Ferry, the Reclamation Service wished to obtain all available information regarding the geology and mineral resources of this quadrangle. With funds furnished by the Reclamation Service, the accompanying geologic map and report were made in 1946 by the Geological Survey. The Missouri River :flows northwest across the quadrangle, and an old dam at Canyon Ferry impounds a lake 6 miles long, called Lake Sewell. Two tribu taries of the river from the northeast, and one from the southwest, are perennial; all the others are intermittent throughout most of their courses. The· Big Belt Mountains constitute the northeastern watershed; and the Spokane Hills, though not a principal watershed, bound the valley on its southwest side. Prominent river-cut terraces at several levels are present. This region has a semiarid climate, characterized by short, warm summers and long, cold winters. The mean annual precipitation-about 12 inches-falls mainly in May, June, and July; and a cyclic variation exists, with minima every 15 years. Vegetation and animal life are scant. Canyon Ferry is