Geologic Evaluation of the Oasis Valley Basin, Nye County, Nevada
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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U, S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Geologic evaluation of the Oasis Valley basin, Nye County, Nevada by: C. J. Fridrich’, S. A. Minor’, and E. A. Mankinen2 1 USGS, Denver, CO 2 USGS, Menlo Park, CA Open-File Report 99-533-A Prepared in cooperation with the U. S. Depatfment of Energy This reportis preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformitywith U. S. Geological Survey editorial standards (or with the North American Stratigraphic Code). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes and does not imply endorsement by the U. S. Geological Survey. 1999 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. 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INTRODUCTION This report documents the results of a geologic study of the area between the underground- nuclear-explosion testing areas on Pahute Mesa, in the northwesternmost part of the Nevada Test Site, and the springs in Oasis Valley, to the west of the Test Site. The new field data described in this report are also presented in a geologic map that is a companion product (Fridrich and others, 1999) and that covers nine 7.5-minute quadrangles centered on Thirsty Canyon SW, the quadrangle in which most of the Oasis Valley springs are locatedl. At the beginning of this study, published detailed maps were available for 3 of the 9 quadrangles of the study area: namely Thirsty Canyon (0’Connors and others, 1966); Beatty (Maidonado and Hausback, 1990); and Thirsty Canyon SE (Lipman and others, 1966). Maps of the [ast two of these quadrangles, however, required extensive updating owing to recent advances in understanding of the regional structure and stratigraphy. The new map data are integrated in this report with new geophysical data for the Oasis Valley area, include gravity, aeromagnetic, and paleomagnetic data (Grauch and others, 1997; written comm., 1999; Mankinen and others, 1999; Hildenbrand and others, 1999; Hudson and others, 1994; Hudson, unpub. data). Developing an understanding of the geology of the Oasis ValIey area is challenging because: (1) most of the area. between Pahute Mesa and Oasis Valley is covered by alluvium or by post-~.O-Ma volcanic units that postdate development of the major structures at the depth of the water table; hence, the geologic features that control groundwater flow are largely concealed, and (2) the structure and stratigraphy of this area are complex because it lies at the boundary ? New maps for 2 of the 9 quads have been previously published (Minor and others, 1997a;l 998). 2 between the central ca~dera complex of the southwest Nevada volcanic field (Sawyer and others,’1 994; and references therein) and the southern part of the Walker Lane belt (Stewart, 1988; Hardyman and Oldow, 1991) --a domain characterized by strong, multi- stage, extension and strike-slip deformation (Figure 1) and, in the area of interest, by detachment faulting (Figures 2A and 2B). Because of these problems, as well as the sparseness of drill-hole control, any interpretation of the study area is inevitably somewhat tentative. Nonetheless, the goal of developing a defendable preliminary interpretation of the basic structure and stratigraphy of the Oasis Valley area is achievable because: (1) the large-scale geologic context of the area has been well established by the 35 years of geologic studies that have been conducted in and around the Nevada Test Site (e.g., see Byers and others, 1989; and see articles in Wernicke, 1990), (2) there is a wealth of geophysical data on this area, and (3) this is an area in which geophysical methods provide excellent constraints on the locations of concealed geologic structures, owing to strong contrasts in the physical properties of the principal groups of rock units (Grauch and others, 1997; written comm., 1999; Hildenbrand and others, ‘1999; Mankinen and others, 1999). The new geophysical data have permitted identification of many of the major concealed structures in the area of interest, as covered in recent reports by Grauch and others (1997; written comm., 1999; and see Fridrich and others, 1996), and in the new work by Mankinen and others (1999; and see Figures 3,4, and 5). The goal of this report is to integrate the new geologic map data with the geophysical data to develop a comprehensive, testable model of the structure and stratigraphy of the Oasis ValIey area. For the sake of clarity in the discussions belowl it is necessary to define certain features in the vicinity of Oasis Valley. The topographic feature called Oasis Mountain (Figure 3) is bordered 3 120” ‘ 118” 116° 114° 1 I +. n MAP AREA OASIS VALLEY i8e * Southwest Nevada Volcanic Field “+ + 9 Nevada Test Site 7 z *L 9 0 7 100mi 6° I I 100km k MTcgrsphy yA. Kmn WW99 I I F@sre 1. Location map of Oasis Valley in the southwest Nevada volcanic field of the western Great Basiq with schematic representations of the major faults of the WaIker Lane belt that have large components of strike-slip offse~ modified km Stewart (1988). 4 lIT’TX? 116%30 @gure 2A. Location map of the northeast Death Valley detachment fault system showing bedrock-dluvhnn contacts (thin lines], western boundary of the Nevada Test Site (dotdash line), major. faults (thick lines) including caldera margins (tilck lines with ticks), exposures of the regional detachment fault of this system (thick Iiies with square teeth), traiiing-edge fauks (thick lines with ball and bar), and buried faults [dashed lines). From north to south, major faults shown include the Hogback fault (I-F), FIuorspar Canyon- Bulllkog Hills detachment fault (FCDF), Carrara fault (CF), Porter Mine fkult (PMF),and F~eml Mountains detachment fault (FMDF), .. —., ..—., I Ir-uu 1lo-al J7 R f-l ) ‘7 OASE Y/’ VALLEY BASIN” ~1 , . CRATEi FLAT i JJ>. BASJN .—.—.. -.’-!‘Y’- I \\ Figure 2B. Same area as figure 2A, showing the partially overlapping structural domains of the northeast Death Vailey detachment fault systerq which are numbered: 1, areas of tectonic denudation along the main detachment faul~ 2, extended upper-plate rocks; 3, trailing-edge basiny 4, ‘ transverse basins. Two of the haif-graben basins that formed on the trailing- edge of the detachment fault system are highlighted-the Oasis Valley and Crater Flat basins. orI its southeast side by a rectangular bedrock exposure we call the Hogback, and we use the term Oasis Mountain Hogback to mean both of the these features together. Oasis Valley is that part of the’Amargosa River valley that lies between Oasis Mountain and Bare Mountain (Figure 3), and is so named because of the abundance of springs and vegetation. The Oasis Valley basin lies entirely to the east of Oasis Valley and is separated from it by the Oasis Mountain I-logback (Figure 3). We use the term SNVF caldera complex to mean the whole central caldera complex of the Southwest Nevada yoicanic field, which is comprised ot (1) a northern part, the Silent Canyon caldera, (2) a central part, the Timber Mountain caldera complex, which is a composite of the Rainier Mesa caldera and the Ammonia Tanks caldera, and (3) a small southern part, the Claim Canyon caldera (see Figures 2A, 2B, and 3). Summaries of the general stratigraphy and tectonic history of the western part of the Nevada Test Site region ‘are presented in table form in the back of this report so that they can be used as reference material (Tables 1 and 2; both modified from Fridrich, ‘1998 and in press). From the time of the early geologic studies of the southwest Nevada volcanic fie!d (Byers and others, 1976; 1989; Chfistiansen and others, 1977), the area between the Transvaal Hills and Oasis Mountain (Figure 3) has been recognized as a basin because: (1) it is an area of almost total alluvial cover, (2) the strata in bordering bedrock exposures dip toward this area of cover on the west, south, and east sides, and (3) it is an area of low gravity. The nature of this basin has, however, been controversial. The major disputes have focused on whether the Oasis Valley basin is a tectonic basin or part of a caldera (a volcanic collapse basin), and if it is a caldera, which major ash-flow tuff unit(s) of the volcanic field are associated with it (Byers and others, 1976; ~989; Christiansen and others, 1977; Noble and others, 1991; Sawyer and others, 1994; Grauch and others, 1997; written comm., 1999). The new geological and geophysical data gathered in the last eight years permit a more definitive analysis of this basin and its structural setting than was previously possible. m 116°45’ 116%0’ o 5 10km N [ I I 1 ! I [ I I I I o, , , , , fimi TOLICHA PEAK CAWERA ?“ 1 AMRGIN .fl’~i$’igz ‘“w \ “+ RAINiER &fk9A CAWERA MARGIN “h n [ ~ I — 1?o PRINGDAL fibOUIVTAI I ,, L’??(’?P -- = ‘%= P?UJLI -9* “Od ‘.9 7* % r.