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Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the Dawn of Death Valley, California Field Guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013

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Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the Dawn of Death Valley, California Field Guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013 Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the Dawn of Death Valley, California Field Guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013 By J.P. Calzia, O.T. Rämö, Robert Jachens, Eugene Smith, and Jeffrey Knott Open-File Report 2016–1064 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photograph looking north from Dantes View across Death Valley toward the Panamint Range, October, 2015. Photograph by Pietari Skyttä, University of Turku, Finland. U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747). For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Calzia, J.P., Rämö, O.T., Jachens, Robert, Smith, Eugene, and Knott, Jeffrey, 2016, Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the dawn of Death Valley, California—Field guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1064, 32 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161064. ISSN 2331-1258 (online) Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 1 STOP 1. GEOLOGY OF THE SHOSHONE PLUTON, DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA ............................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Geology...................................................................................................................................................... 3 STOP 2. MORE GEOLOGY, THEN ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE SHOSHONE PLUTON, DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA .................................................................................................................................. 6 Geology...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Isotope Geochemistry ................................................................................................................................ 6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................... 7 STOP 3. GRAVITY FIELD OF GREENWATER VALLEY, GREENWATER RANGE, AND SURROUNDING RANGES, DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA—IMPLICATIONS FOR SUBSURFACE DISTRIBUTION OF NEOGENE VOLCANIC AND PLUTONIC ROCKS ........................................................................................ 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Purpose and Method ................................................................................................................................ 11 Interpretation ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Discussion................................................................................................................................................ 12 STOP 4. PLIOCENE CRATER OR CALDERA IN THE GREENWATER RANGE ....................................... 15 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 15 Geologic Setting of the Greenwater Range .............................................................................................. 15 Basalt and Rhyolite Volcanoes of the Greenwater Range ....................................................................... 17 Evidence for a Crater or Caldera in the Greenwater Range ..................................................................... 20 STOP 5: THE ANCIENT FURNACE CREEK BASIN AT ZABRISKIE POINT .............................................. 22 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 22 Furnace Creek Formation ........................................................................................................................ 25 Source of Furnace Creek Formation Sediments ...................................................................................... 26 Interpretations and Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 29 Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................................... 29 References Cited ......................................................................................................................................... 30 Figures 1–1. Google Earth image showing stop locations. .................................................................................... 2 1–2. Photograph showing quartz monzonite and monzodiorite from the Shoshone Pluton ...................... 3 1–3. Photographs showing contact between Shoshone Pluton and Shoshone Volcanics ........................ 4 2–1. Graphs showing 87Sr/86Sri ratios versus εNdi for samples analyzed from Greenwater Range and vicinity ............................................................................................................................................... 8 3–1. Map showing isostatic residual gravity field of Greenwater province and surrounding areas ......... 10 3–2. Schematic diagram illustrating method used to interpret gravity data ............................................. 11 3–3. Map showing inferred depth to bottom of Cenozoic volcanic rocks of Greenwater province .......... 13 3–4. Map showing inferred depth to bottom of Tertiary granitic pluton beneath Greenwater province ... 14 4–1. Map showing location of Greenwater Range with respect to Greenwater Valley and Furnace Creek Faults .............................................................................................................................................. 16 4–2. Geologic map of Greenwater Range showing Funeral Formation basalt centers and related flows, Greenwater caldera, locations of major rhyolite domes, and Miocene volcanic section ................. 19 iii 4–3. Photograph showing rhyolite and basalt pinch out against borax-bearing sediments of Furnace Creek Formation ............................................................................................................................. 20 4–4. Map showing isostatic gravity survey of eastern Death Valley area ............................................... 21 5–1. Generalized geologic map of northwest-elongated Furnace Creek basin near Zabriskie Point showing major rock groups and geologic structures ....................................................................... 23 5–2. Generalized geologic map of the Zabriskie Point area ................................................................... 24 5–3. Stratigraphic section up Zabriskie Wash showing correlation to magnetic polarity time scale ........ 27 5–4. Block diagrams showing depositional and tectonic setting of Furnace Creek Formation ................ 28 iv Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the Dawn of Death Valley, California Field Guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013 By J.P. Calzia,1 O.T. Rämö,2 Robert Jachens,1 Eugene Smith,3 and Jeffrey Knott4 Introduction Much has been written about the age and formation of Death Valley, but that is one—if not the last—chapter in the fascinating geologic history of this area. Igneous and sedimentary rocks in the Greenwater Range, one mountain range east of Death Valley, tell an earlier story that overlaps with the formation of Death Valley proper. This early story has been told by scientists who have studied these rocks for many years and continue to do so. This field guide was prepared for the first Death Valley Natural History Conference and provides an overview of the geology of the Greenwater Range and the early history (10–0 Ma) of Death Valley. 1U.S. Geological Survey 2University of Helsinki 3University of Nevada Las Vegas 4California State University Fullerton STOP 1. GEOLOGY OF THE SHOSHONE PLUTON, DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA By J.P. Calzia,1 O.T. Rämö,2 and Bennie Troxel3 This stop is located at lat 35°58′50.72ʺN., long 116°20ʹ18.20ʺW., the entrance to Death Valley National Park on Highway 178 (fig. 1-1). Introduction The Shoshone Pluton is located at the southern end of the Greenwater Range, approximately 40 kilometers (km) east of Death Valley and 9 km north of Shoshone, California (fig. 1-1). It is one of several granitic bodies that are synchronous with Late Tertiary to Quaternary crustal extension of the Death Valley region. Figure 1–1. Google Earth image
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