Geology of the Central Dome Rock Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona
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Geology of the central Dome Rock Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Crowl, William James Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 03/10/2021 21:21:07 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555159 GEOLOGY OF THE CENTRAL DOME ROCK MOUNTAINS, YUMA COUNTY, ARIZONA by William James Growl A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF (SOSCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 9 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: S. R. Date Professor of Geosciences ACKNOWIEDCMENTS I am very grateful to the Kerr-McGee Corporation for providing financial assistance to defray field and laboratory expenses. David Snyder of Kerr-McGee was very helpful, assisting the author in defining the problem to be attacked and motivating me to complete the task. Dr. William Leedy, also of Kerr-McGee, helped the author interpret compli cated field problems. Louise Ferris is to be thanked for the fine drafting done on the geologic map. Earth Resources Company and the DeLamar Silver Mine are to be thanked for providing financial assistance in the final stages of this study. Lyle Talbott gave me great encouragement and time off when I needed it most. Thomas Weitz was most understanding throughout the writing stage of the thesis and gave abundant encouragement at the appropriate times. Ellen Barker spent many hours typing rough drafts and is to be thanked. A special thank you goes to many friends who have prodded, en couraged and demanded that I complete this study. To Dr. S. R. Utley, thesis director and advisor, and Drs. McCullough and Sumner I owe many thanks for being patient and understanding. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Marcy, for her countless hours of encouragement and work. Without her help, this study would not have been completed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF T A B L E S ........................................... vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................................... vii ABSTRACT ................................................. viii 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................. 1 Previous Work ................ Purpose and Scope of Study . Collection and Treatment of Data H v> 4> 2. STRATIGRAPHY............................................. 8 Dome Rock Metamorphic Formation . ..................... 8 Quartz-Albite Schist ............................. 10 Quartz-K-Feldspar-Muscovite Schist ...... 13 P h y l l i t e ......................................... 14 Petrography....................................... 14 Metamorphism in the Dome Rock Metamorphic Formation..................................... l6 Whole Rock Chemistry ............................. 17 Age, Correlation, and Tectonic Implications . 29 Middle Camp Quartz Monzonite ......................... 30 Pyroxene Granulite .............. 32 Livingston Hills F o r m a t i o n ........................... 33 Diablo Quartz Monzonite Intrusives • . .......... • . 36 B a s a l t ............................ 38 Upper Tertiary and Quaternary D e p o s i t s .............. 38 3. STRUCTURE................................................. 40 Strike-Slip Faults ............ .......... 40 Normal and Reverse Faults ............................. 43 Thrust Faults and Gravity Faults .................... 44 Foliation in the Dome Rock Metamorphic Formation . 45 Geophysics and Plate Tectonics ....................... 46 Chronology of Structural Events ..... ............ 48 iv V TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page 4. MINERALIZATION AND HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION ............... 50 G o l d ................................................. 50 Base Metals and Associated Hydrothermal Alteration . 51 Miscellaneous Commodities .......... ......... 54 5. GEOLOGIC H I S T O R Y ......................................... 56 6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.................. 58 APPENDIX A: THIN SECTION DE S C R I P T I O N S................... 60 LIST OF REFERENCES 75 LIST OF TABLES Page 1. Chemical Analyses of Samples from the Dome Rock Metamorphic Formation .............. .............. 6 2e Chemical Analyses of Volcanic Rocks from Orogenic Areas (Jakes' and 'White, 1972) and Average Analysis of Dome Rock Metamo r p h i c s ............................... 7 3» CIPW Normative Mineralogy for the Analyses in Table 1 . 19 4» CIPW Normative Mineralogy for the Analyses in Table 2 . 20 5. Comparison of Modal Mineralogy to CIPW Normative Mineralogy for Dome Rock Metamorphics................ 21 6. Chemical Indices and Ratios of Analyses in Table 2 . 22 7. Generalized Differences between Calc-Alkaline Volcanic Rocks of Island Arcs and Those of Continental Margins . .................... ...................... 23 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page 1. Location Map of Study A r e a ............................... 2 2. Geologic Map of the Central Dome Rock Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona .......... ................ in pocket 3» Geologic Cross Sections of the Central Dome Rock Mountains, Yuma County, Arizona .................... in pocket 4. Generalized Stratigraphic Column of Rocks Exposed in the Central Dome Rock Mountains . ......................... 9 5. Foliation in Quartz-albite Schist (Looking Northeast) . 12 6. Rittman Plot of Data from Table 2 ......................... 24 7. Variation Diagrams — CaO- K^O- Na^O versus SiOg ..... 26 8. Variation Diagram of Differentiation Index versus A1?0_- K20- Na20- CaO- MgO- FeO- Fe^O^- FeTotal . 7 f . 27 9. Folds in the Livingston Hills Formation at the Copper Bottom Mine ...... ....................... .... 35 10. Fault Trace Valley, Copper Bottom Pass and La Paz Arroyo (Looking Southeast)............................. 41 11. Regional Free-air Gravity Anomaly Map of Southwestern Arizona.................................. 47 vii ABSTRACT The central Dome Rock Mountains lie in Yuma County, Arizona, 15 miles (24 km) east of Blythe, California. The oldest rocks in the study area are the lower to middle Jurassic Dome Rock metamorphics. This metamorphic formation is divided into three members— quartz-albite schist, quartz-K-feldspar-muscovite schist, and phyllite. The Dome Rock metamorphics are intruded by the Jurassic Middle Camp quartz monzonite and are unconformably overlain by the Livingston Hills Formation. Intruding the Dome Rock metamorphics and the Middle Camp quartz monzonite is the Diablo quartz monzonite. The study area is cut by several major faults, most of which appear to have been strike-slip faults. The slightly negative free-air gravity anomaly in the area indicates that the landward extension of the present-day East Pacific Rise lies to the west in California. Chemically the metamorphics are similar to Andean calc-alkaline volcanics. Gold, copper, mercury, and manganese have been mined in the Dome Rock Mountains. Magnetite specular hematite, molybdenum and alunite are present, but are of little economic interest. viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The Dome Rock Mountains are located in west-central Yuma County, Arizona, approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Blythe, Cali fornia and 8 miles (13 km) west of Quartzsite, Arizona (Figure l). Much of the access to the central portion of the range is from Interstate Highway 10, which traverses the range. Two natural gas pipelines, owned by El Paso Natural Gas, also provide excellent access to the southern part of the range. Numerous smaller roads, most of which are not maintained, lead to abandoned mine workings and provide additional access to this rugged range. However, few roads exist to provide access to unmineralized areas, which comprise the main mass of the Dome Rock Mountains. Previous Work The earliest work in the Dome Rock Mountains was done by Howland Bancroft (1911). Bancroft visited many of the then active mining properties in the area and discussed the general geology in northern Yuma County. The gold deposits of the area were discussed by Jones (1916). Another regional study was accomplished by Ross (1922), but the study was limited to the lower Gila River region, which included the Dome Rock.Mountains. Darton (1925) mentions the geology of the range briefly. The alunite deposits were studied by Heineman (1935)• 1 2 ARIZONA PARKER QUARTZSITE PHOENIX Study Area YUMA 80 KILOMETERS Figure 1. Location Map of Study Area 3 The most detailed map of the region, the Geologic Map of Yuma County, was compiled by Wilson (i960). The Geologic Map of Arizona (Wilson, 1969)