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USGS-474-136, "Gravity Survey of Amargosa Desert Area of Nevada

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CONTEh"S Page Abstract -------------------------------- _-_______________-__- 1 Introduction -----------------------------a--------------- I Acknowledgments------------------------------------------------ 2 Geologic setting------------ ------------ ------------ ----------- 3 Density data--------------------------------------------------- 5 Gravity survey----------------------------------------------- 8 Field work------------------------------------------------ 8 Reduction of data----------------------------------------- 8 Interpretation------------9----------------------------- 9 Depch control------------------------9-- ------ ------ 9 Discussion of gravity anomalies--------------------------- 9 Gravity highs-------------------------------------------- 11 Funeral Mountains-Bare Mountain-Bullfrog Hills------ 11 Spring Mountains-Lathrop Wells area------------------ 12 Mount Shador area------------------------------------ 12 Resting Spring and Nopah Ranges---------------------- 12 Highs in alluviated areas---------------------------- 13 Gravity lows---------------------------------------------_ 14 Northern Amargosa Desert---------------------------- 14 Southern Amargosa Desert----------------------------- 15 Crater Flat-Yucca Mountain area--------------------- 19 Mount Shador brasin----------------------------------- 20 Pabrump Valley-Stewart Valley------------------------ 20 CONTENTS--Continued Page Interpretation--Continued Gravity lows--Continued Greenwater Range------------------------------------- 22 Indian Springs Valley------------------------------- 22 Gi:avity trends- -------------------------------------- 23 References---- ------------------------------------------- 27 ii -- - - - a- .-. -- -- -- - I ILLUTSTRArIONS Page Figure l.--Location map showing area of this report (shaded) and regional distribution of high-angle faults in southern Nevada and southeastern California------- In pocket 2.--Generalized geologic and complete Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the Amargosa Desert area, Nevada and California----------------------------------- In pocket 3.--Generalized geologic cross sections determined by two-dimensional analysis of gravity data---------- In pocket 4.--Trend map of major gravity anomalies, faults, and inferred faults in the Amargosa Desert area of Nevada and California----------------------------- In pocket TABLES Table l.--Range and average dersity of rocks in the vicinity of the Amargosa Desert----------------------------- 6 2.--Principal facts for gravity base stations in the Amargosa Desert area------------------------------- 10 iii UNITED STATES NTS-99 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR USGS-474-136 1971 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 GRAVITY SURVEY OF THE AMARGOSA DESERT AREA OF NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA By D. L. Healev and C. H. Miller ABSTRACT A gravity survey consisting of about 1,800 observations within the 2,400-square-mile area of the Amar-03a Desert has provided information regarding the basin-fill geology and buried normal fdults. Analysis of five two-dimensional geologic cross sections indicates that the valley fill ranges in thickness from seversa hundred to tlore than 7,OOC feet. The thickest fill apparently occurs between Lathrop Wells and 'Death Valley Junction and also in Mount Shador basin. At two locations steep gravity gradients are interpreted to represent high-angle normal faults hidden beneath the alluvium. Near Lathrop Wells one of these inferred faults may have been tha cause for the abrupt western terminus of outcropping pre-Cenozoic rocks in both the Striped and Skeleton Hills. The second inferred fault, near Death Valley Junction, may have been the cause of the southeast termination of the Funeral Mountains. The agreement between outcrops of pre-Cenozoic roc-a a-d the gravity anomalies is very good. Exceptions do occur, F3waver, and in these places the gravity anomalies are useful in delinea.ing the buried geologic structure. INTRODUCTION The southern and southeastern Amargosa Desert is an important discharge area of ground water coming from the Nevada Test Site. To provide the basic knowledge for determining semiquantitatively the relative proportions of ground water being contributed from the Nevada Test Site and from other areas, it has been necessary to compile the available geologic, geophysical, and hydrologic data and to supplement these data by limited field investigations where necessary. This report describes the results of the gravity survey. - - *--.--.----- * -t - _-- _'~..- I - The gravity survey of the Nevada Test Site was expaL.lec into the Amargosa Derert area to provide data regarding the subsuiface structure and thicknesses oL Tertiary and Quaternary fill in the various basinc. These data also add to our knowledge of the regional gravity gradient, which aids in interpreting gravity data at the Nevada Test Site aud northward. The purpose of this report is to make available the additional knowledge of the buried structure gained through analysii if these gravity data. The known and Infrred structural features are compared with known structural features in adjacent areas. These data will aid in synthesizing the structure of both the Amargosa Desert and the Nevada Test Site. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The work was done on behalf of the Nevada Operations Office of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. We are indebted to the many people who helped to make this report possible. Maut of the gravity observatiou:3 were made by F. E. Currey, who aio assisted with the .eduction of these data. D. G. Murray, E. D. Seals, G. S. Erickson, R. C. Smith, Ppter Dobrovolny, and D. C. Jackson also aided in the acquisition and reduction of the gravity duta. R. M. Haziewood assisted with the gravity survey of the Mount Shade., quadrangle and adjacent areas. Particular thanks go to I. J. Winograd for his assistance in obtaining the drill-hole data for the area. We thank D. R. Mabey, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CAlo., or permission to use some of his reconnaissance gravity Zata in this 2 . e~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ report and M. F. Kane, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Mass., for permission to use some of his gravity data in the western part of Clark County. GEOLOGIC SETTING The Amargosa Desert area is in southern Nevada and eastern California and roughly parallels the State line (fig. 1). The area of this report, about 2,400 square miles, is approximately 90 miles long (in a northwest direction) by a maximum of 35 miles wide and covers all or parts of fifteen 15-minute quadrangles. It lies within the Basin and Range physiographic province and is characterized by north- and northwest-trending mountain ranges and intermontane valleys. The topography differs from the typical Basin and Range topography in that the valleys are not closed. The Amargosa River drains all but the southeast corner of the area C(alker and Eakin, 1963, p. 5 and pl. 1). The northwest trend of the mountains and valleys has apparently resulted from tectonic activity. A right-lateral shear zone, the Walker Lane (fig. 1), which is inferred to trend southeastward across the Amargosa tesert, was postulated by 'ianella and Callaghan (1934, p. 3) and by Locke, Billingsley, and Mayo (1940). They project this shear zone more than 300 miles from north of Reno into Las Vegas Valley along a topographic trough. This topographic trough also marks the area where the Basin and Range structural alinement changes from north (on the north) to northwest (on the south). Longwell 3 Ii (1960, p. 202) traces the Las Vegas shear zone from a point east of Las Vegas northwesterly into a topographic depression west of Mercurv (fig. 1), but does not recognize the shear zone beyond this area. Burchfiel (1960, p. 138) suggests that the Las Vegas shear zone may trend west through the central portion of the Specter Range (west of Mercury) and then swing northwest at a point southwest of Lathrop Wells. F. G. Poole (oral commun., 1964) believes that the right-lateral displacement on the shear zone is taken up by a series of en echelon high-angle faults in the Specter Range. R. L. Christiansen (oral commun., 1964) thinks the right-lateral displacement is taken up by flexure. Other major high-angle fault zones in adjacent areas are also shown on figure 1. The structural complexity of the surrounding region is well illustrated by the number and extent of these faults. The apparent lack of faults in the area of this report is due mainly to a lack of geologic information. The fault pattern in figure 1 was taken from the Tectonic Map of the United States (Cohee, 1962), and most of the area of this report was unmapped, except in reconnaissance fashion, when the tectonic map was published. The rocks that crop out range in age from Precambrian through Cenozoic. A generalized summary of the geology of the region has been given previously by Healey
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