DOCSLIB.ORG

The Altithermal Revisited: Pollen Evidence from the Leonard Rockshelter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Altithermal Revisited: Pollen Evidence from the Leonard Rockshelter Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Vol. 1, No. 2, pp, 280-294 (1979), The Altithermal Revisited: Pollen Evidence from the Leonard Rockshelter ROGER BYRNE COLIN BUSBY R. F. HEIZER URING the past thirty years, there has sistence and settlement patterns? In this paper, Dbeen a continuing debate among we present evidence that relates directly to the students of Great Basin prehistory over the first question and indirectly to the second. nature and significance of postglacial climatic More specifically, we report on the fossil change (Aikens 1970; Antevs 1948; Aschmann pollen content of two series of sediment 1958; Baumhoff and Heizer 1965; Bryan and samples from the Leonard Rockshelter, Gruhn 1964; Harper and Alder 1970; Jennings Pershing County, Nevada. 1957; Martin 1963; Swanson 1966). Several Leonard Rockshelter (NV-Pe-14) is one of symposia have been devoted to the subject a limited number of sites in the Great Basin (Fowler 1972, 1977; Elston 1976), but there with a clear record of human occupance that are still no signs of a consensus. One basic dates back to the early Hoiocene. The site was issue is the validity of the Antevs three- excavated in 1937 and 1950 by University of part model. Mehringer (1977), for example, California archaeological field parties and has cautioned against the acceptance of paleo- produced a varied assemblage of artifacts. climatic models which claim relevance for the Wooden atlatl foreshafts have been radio­ Great Basin as a whole. The question remains, carbon dated at 7038 + 350 B.P. (5088 B.C.), however, as to whether or not the Antevs' and indirect evidence in the form of obsidian reconstruction is valid. Was the Altithermal, flakes from a basal bat guano layer radio­ for example, a period of warmer and drier carbon dated at 11,199 ± 570 B.P. indicates climate? And, if so, was it warm and dry that the site may have been occupied as early as enough to account for changes in human sub- 9000 B.C. (Heizer 1951). Roger Byrne, Dept. of Geography and Museum of Paleon­ The site is also of interest in that it provides tology, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720. Colin Busby, clear evidence of environmental change during Dept, of Anthropology, Univ, of California, Berkeley, CA the Hoiocene. The rockshelter was formed by 94720. R, F. Heizer, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ, of Cali­ wave action along the southern shore of an arm fornia, Berkeley, CA 94720 (deceased). of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, and has since [280] THE ALTITHERMAL REVISITED 281 been partially filled by a distinctive sequence of Humboldt Sink (Fig. 3). The Humboldt River sediments, including beach gravels, bat guano, drains through this area into Humboldt Lake. aeolian silt, and rockfall. In 1950, Antevs inves­ The lake is now shallow (<20 ft. deep) and tigated the stratigraphy of the site and during the historic period has been highly interpreted it as supporting evidence for his variable in area. In 1883, for example, it reconstruction of postglacial climatic change covered an area of 20 mi.^ and the eastern in the Great Basin (Antevs 1955). In 1955, in shoreline was less than a mile from the rock­ the hope of obtaining further evidence on the shelter. In 1951, however, the lake had an environmental history of the site, Heizer sent area of only 11 mi.-, and the eastern shoreline H. P. Hansen (Oregon State University) was more than seven miles from Leonard (Fig. samples of guano for pollen analysis. Unfor­ 2). During the period of European settlement, tunately, the results proved to be negative and irrigation has drastically reduced the flow of no further pollen work was attempted at that the Humboldt River and during drought years time. the lake has dried up completely (Antevs In this paper, we report on a second 1938). This recent variability in the area of attempt to recover pollen from the Leonard Humboldt Lake underlines the fact that even Rockshelter sediments. In 1976, we directed small changes in hydrological conditions can our attention to two series of samples that have significant effects on a shallow lake of included the whole of the stratigraphic this kind. We shall reemphasize this impor­ sequence. The samples were collected during tant point later in the paper. the 1950 excavation, and had since been stored The present climate of this part of Nevada in the Lowie Museum of Anthropology is semi-arid. Mean annual precipitation totals (Berkeley). Like Hansen, we found it impos­ vary from the less than 5 in. at 3800 ft. to sible to extract pollen from the lower bat 30-35 in. at 8000-9000 ft. Most of the precipi­ guano layer, but the overlying silt and rock- tation is received in winter from mid-latitude fall layers yielded reasonably well-preserved cyclones, although summer thunderstorms pollen in countable quantities. The results of can also produce locally significant totals. the analysis in large part support the Antevs The annual temperature regime is character- model and also throw new light on the "sig­ nificance" of climatic change in the Great / Basin. l. c^^' ^'1- _ ^ ^ \ THE REGIONAL SETTING ; •• / X ' (-study Location Leonard Rockshelter is located 17 miles ^"'"'^ M \ ''' -x 1 south of Lovelock, Nevada, on a north-facing ' ''} } slope of the West Humboldt Range (Figs. 1 1 Jfiml r^' and 2). This area of the Great Basin has numerous cave and open sites, several of which V i ( \ \ ^ ' have been excavated or surface collected VJ • I'M (Loud and Harrington 1929; Heizer and ( 1 1 1 \ \ f^ ' ~ T Krieger 1956; Roust 1966; Baumhoff 1958; ) , Elsasser 1958; Heizer and Clewlow 1968; [. 1 1 ' 1 Heizer and Napton 1970; cf. Ranere 1970 for an overview). Less than a half-mile to the west Fig, 1. Location of the study area within the Great of the site is the broad and flat expanse of the Basin, 282 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY istically continental with hot summers and semi-arid nature of the climate and is domi­ cold winters; Lovelock, Nevada, for example, nated by several species of xerophytic shrubs. has a mean January temperature of 27°F. and On a regional scale, the site is close to the a July average of 75°F. (Brown I960). boundary between the Sagebrush-Grass Zone The vegetation of the area reflects the of the northern Great Basin and the more 8 - LEONARD ROCKSHELTER -^ '-"' ,.-...AOOO -HUMBOLlir ^:'^OVELOCK'CAVE ;>r I.".-'- *;•,.• ••••'.'J..* "v-;.'"•-'•;. V ^•;f'- " ;'.'.-!.''.• 'SINK\:.:>ft' A • . • i:.-.. -"/- 4684 •••'.-,••'"'.•'•,' ^- ^ ' ~ - ' -•,'^'i'^'i**'f-'r-'-'-.''.V.^ A. •/•..• ."'.I ^ .'-; -';•: ..'*-^.,'- --'"•'•":,•':•• >V-- OCAJ_A* -CAVE r J 1882 lake level (3929') + Surface site -W^:: Alkali flat O 5 Miles •'I---':;-' •4 Contour interval 500' O 8 Km Fig, 2, Map of the study area indicating major topographic and cultural features. THE ALTITHERMAL REVISITED 283 Fig. 3. The Humboldt Sink from the Leonard Rockshelter. centrally-located Shadscale Zone (Billings marsh covered the area to the north of the sink. 1951:104). Local variation in species com­ Most of this area has since been reclaimed for position is largely a function of edaphic con­ agriculture by deep drainage canals, and only ditions. The following summary is based on a few relic areas remain. The dominant species Billings (1951) and Cronquist et al. (1972). here are cattail {Typha dotningensis) and tules On the higher ground, sagebrush {Arte- {Scirpus americanus, S. acutus). mesia tridentata) is the dominant species. THE SITE AND ITS STRATIGRAPHY On the lower slopes and on the well-drained Lahontan sediments, greasewood {Sarcobatus In 1936, the Leonard Rockshelter was baileyi) and shadscale {Atriplex confertifolia) mined for bat guano by Thomas Derby. are more important. These spiny shrubs are During the mining operation, Derby dis­ generally evenly spaced and provide a rather covered and saved several artifacts which thin cover. Other species less commonly en­ were later described by Heizer (1938). In 1937, countered are bud sagebrush {Artemisia a University of California field party made spinescens). Mormon tea {Ephedra nevaden- some preliminary archaeological investi­ sis) hop sage {Grayia spinosa), and winter fat gations at the site, and several more artifacts {Eurotia lanata). Perennial herbs and annuals were recovered from a basal guano layer. It may have been more common prior to grazing was recognized at the time that these artifacts by cattle and sheep, but are now rare. On might represent an early period of occupation, clayey soil and in poorly drained depressions although no means of absolute dating were at the edge of the sink greasewood {Sarcobatus then available. In 1949, samples of the guano vermiculatus) is dominant, but gives way to and three greasewood atlatl foreshafts were iodine bush {Allenrolfea occidentalis), salt- sent to W. F. Libby for radiocarbon dating. grass {Distichlis spicata var. strict a), and The dates proved to be unexpectedly old, Salicornia europaea subs, rubra on the more 8600 ±300 B.P. (6710 B.C.) and 7038 ±350 xeric sites. Cottonwoods {Populus fremontii) (5088 B.C.), respectively (Arnold and Libby form gallery forests along the river, and sage­ 1950), and it was therefore decided to exca­ brush {Artemisia tridentata) is also encoun­ vate the site more thoroughly. A University tered in the valley bottoms. During the nine­ of California field party spent five weeks at teenth century, extensive areas of freshwater the site in 1950 and established the natural 284 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY stratigraphy and history of human occupance. guano layer in Areas B and C. The guano The results of this excavation were presented accumulated over a period of 4000 years as in a preliminary report by Heizer (1951). indicated by a date of 7038 B.P. for the atlatl During the 1950 excavation, four areas of the foreshafts near the top of the deposit.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Lovelock-Cave-Back-Country-Byway
    Back Country Byways . An Invitation to Discover There is an axiom among seasoned travelers advising that the best way to get to know a new place is to get off the highway and visit the back roads, the side trails and the hidden, out-of-the-way corners where the true qualities wait to be discovered. The same axiom holds true for America’s public lands, the vast reaches of our nation that are all too often seen only from the windows of speeding cars or the tiny portholes of airliners. The Bureau of Land Management, America’s largest land managing agency, is providing an exciting opportunity for more Americans to get to know their lands by getting off the main roads for leisurely trips on a series of roads and trails being dedicated as Back Country Byways. The Back Country Byways Program, an outgrowth of the national Scenic Byways Program, is designed to encourage greater use of these existing back roads through greater public awareness. The system is BUREAUREAU OOFF LANDLAND MANMANAGEMENTGEMENT expected to expand to 100 roads when completed. In Nevada, each byway has a character and beauty of its own, taking travelers through scenery that is uniquely Nevadan, into historic areas that helped shape our state and near areas that have been largely untouched by man. They can see the multiple uses of their lands and come to a greater awareness of the need for the conservation and wise use of these resources. And all this can be accomplished at little cost to the taxpayer. Because the roads are already in place, only interpretive signs and limited facilities are needed to better serve the public.
    [Show full text]
  • Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone Land Use in Northern Nevada: a Class I Ethnographic/Ethnohistoric Overview
    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management NEVADA NORTHERN PAIUTE AND WESTERN SHOSHONE LAND USE IN NORTHERN NEVADA: A CLASS I ETHNOGRAPHIC/ETHNOHISTORIC OVERVIEW Ginny Bengston CULTURAL RESOURCE SERIES NO. 12 2003 SWCA ENVIROHMENTAL CON..·S:.. .U LTt;NTS . iitew.a,e.El t:ti.r B'i!lt e.a:b ~f l-amd :Nf'arat:1.iern'.~nt N~:¥G~GI Sl$i~-'®'ffl'c~. P,rceP,GJ r.ei l l§y. SWGA.,,En:v,ir.e.m"me'Y-tfol I €on's.wlf.arats NORTHERN PAIUTE AND WESTERN SHOSHONE LAND USE IN NORTHERN NEVADA: A CLASS I ETHNOGRAPHIC/ETHNOHISTORIC OVERVIEW Submitted to BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Nevada State Office 1340 Financial Boulevard Reno, Nevada 89520-0008 Submitted by SWCA, INC. Environmental Consultants 5370 Kietzke Lane, Suite 205 Reno, Nevada 89511 (775) 826-1700 Prepared by Ginny Bengston SWCA Cultural Resources Report No. 02-551 December 16, 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................v List of Tables .................................................................v List of Appendixes ............................................................ vi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................1 CHAPTER 2. ETHNOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW .....................................4 Northern Paiute ............................................................4 Habitation Patterns .......................................................8 Subsistence .............................................................9 Burial Practices ........................................................11
    [Show full text]
  • Gravity Modeling of the Rye Patch Known Geothermal Resource Area, Rye Patch, Nevada
    GRC Transactions, Vol. 38, 2014 Gravity Modeling of the Rye Patch Known Geothermal Resource Area, Rye Patch, Nevada Mark R. McDonald1 and William D. Gosnold2 1North Dakota Geological Survey, Bismarck ND 2Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks ND Keywords A gravity study was performed at the Rye Patch KGRA in an Rye Patch, gravity, modeling, geophysics, exploration attempt to further define the geothermal reservoir and/or to identify potential drilling targets in the area by delineating approximate fault locations, lengths, trends and dip angles. The gravity survey ABSTRACT was augmented with existing seismic, aeromagnetic, remote sens- ing, and geochemical data. A gravity survey was conducted at the Rye Patch Known Geo- thermal Resource Area located at Rye Patch, Nevada. The purpose Geology of the study was to attempt to further delineate the geothermal reservoir and/or to identify potential drilling targets. The survey The Rye Patch geothermal area is located in the Humboldt Riv- consisted of collecting data at 264 new stations to augment data er Valley in Pershing County, Nevada. As previously mentioned, from 203 stations collected in 2008. Information from previous the study area is bounded by the Humboldt Range on the east seismic, aeromagnetic and geochemical investigations was also examined and incorporated. After filtering the data to remove the strong regional overprint caused by the large density contrast between the low density alluvium within the valley versus the near-surface higher density rock in the higher elevations, 2-D models were created across three profiles. Based on estimates arrived at by using 2nd derivative methods, fault dip angles are on the order of 80o and are consistent with previous conceptual models of the site.
    [Show full text]
  • Quaternary Fault and Fold Database of the United States
    Jump to Navigation Quaternary Fault and Fold Database of the United States As of January 12, 2017, the USGS maintains a limited number of metadata fields that characterize the Quaternary faults and folds of the United States. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the interactive fault map. Western Humboldt Range fault zone (Class A) No. 1635 Last Review Date: 2006-03-22 citation for this record: Adams, K., Sawyer, T.L., and Haller, K.M., compilers, 2006, Fault number 1635, Western Humboldt Range fault zone, in Quaternary fault and fold database of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey website, https://earthquakes.usgs.gov/hazards/qfaults, accessed 12/14/2020 02:35 PM. Synopsis This long, mostly continuous zone is comprised of range-front normal faults and piedmont faults along the prominent western fronts of the Humboldt and West Humboldt Ranges. The zone includes short piedmont faults on slopes adjacent to these ranges. The Humboldt ranges have been tilted about 10–15° east since Tertiary time. The entire length of the fault zone shows evidence of rupture since the highstand of Lake Lahontan at about 13 ka. Sources of data include detailed topical studies of the fault zone involving detailed photogeologic mapping, scarp morphology studies, and trenching; regional and detailed geologic mapping; and reconnaissance photogeologic mapping. Name Refers to faults on the western side of the Humboldt Range and comments West Humboldt Range that were mapped by more than a century comments ago by Russell (1885 #3549). More recent mapping has been conducted by Silberling and Wallace (1967 #3025), Wallace and others (1969 #3027), Slemmons (1968, unpublished Reno 1:250,000-scale map; 1974, unpublished Lovelock 1:250,000- scale map), Johnson (1977 #2569), Wallace (1979 #203), Davis (1983 #3026), Anderson and others (1983 #416), Bell (1984 #105), and Dohrenwend and others (1991 #285).
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Resources Overview of the Heinz Ranch, South Parcel (Approximately 1378 Acres) for the Stone Gate Master Planned Community, Washoe County, Nevada
    Cultural Resources Overview of the Heinz Ranch, South Parcel (approximately 1378 acres) for the Stone Gate Master Planned Community, Washoe County, Nevada Project Number: 2016-110-1 Submitted to: Heinz Ranch Company, LLCt 2999 Oak Road, Suite 400 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 Prepared by: Michael Drews Dayna Giambastiani, MA, RPA Great Basin Consulting Group, LLC. 200 Winters Drive Carson City, Nevada 89703 July7, 2016 G-1 Summary Heinz Ranch was established in 1855 by Frank Heinz, an emigrant from Germany, who together with his wife Wilhelmina, turned it into a profitable cow and calf operation (Nevada Department of Agriculture 2016). In 2004, Heinz Ranch received the Nevada Centennial Ranch and Farm award from the Nevada Department of Agriculture for being an active ranch for over 100 years. A Class II archaeological investigation of the property was conducted in May and June 2016. Several prehistoric archaeological sites have been recorded on the property. Habitation sites hold the potential for additional research and have previously been determined eligible to the National Register of Historic Places. Historic sites relating to mining and transportation along with the ranching landscape are also prominent. Architectural resources on the property consist of several barns, outbuildings and residences. The barns are notable for their method of construction. Many are constructed of hand hewn posts and beams, and assembled with pegged mortise and tenon joinery. They date to the earliest use of the ranch. Residences generally date to the 1930s. Historic sites and resources located on Heinz Ranch provide an opportunity for more scholarly research into the prehistory and history of Cold Springs Valley (also Laughton’s Valley) and the region in general.
    [Show full text]
  • Larval Hostplants of Butterflies in Nevada
    HOLARCTIC LEPIDOPTERA Editor: Andrei Sourakov Assoc. Editor: Thomas C. Emmel ASSOCIATION FOR TROPICAL VOLUME 12 NUMBER 1-2 August 2008 LEPIDOPTERA Founded 1989 ADVISORY COUNCIL LARVAL HOSTPLANTS James K. Adams (USA) Martin Krüger (South Africa) Andrés O. Angulo (Chile) Tosio Kumata (Japan) OF BUTTERFLIES IN NEVADA Yutaka Arita (Japan) Jean-Francois Landry (Canada) George T. Austin (USA) Torben B. Larsen (England) Jorge Llorente B. (Mexico) Vitor O. Becker, Planaltina, Brazil by Zsolt Bálint (Hungary) Martin Lödl (Austria) Henry S. Barlow (Malaysia) Wolfram Mey (Germany) George T. Austin Dubi Benyamini (Israel) Kauri Mikkola (Finland) Ronald Boender (USA) Scott E. Miller (USA) and Keith S. Brown Jr. (Brazil) Joël Minet (France) José A. Clavijo A. (Venezuela) Eugene G. Munroe (Canada) Patrick J. Leary Charles V. Covell Jr. (USA) K.-T. Park (South Korea) U. Dall’Asta (Belgium) Rod E. Parrott (Canada) Philip J. DeVries (USA) Amnuay Pinratana (Thailand) Julian P. Donahue (USA) Rimantas Puplesis (Lithuania) CONTENTS Eric Garraway (Jamaica) Jozef Razowski (Poland) Dale H. Habeck (USA) M. Alma Solis (USA) INTRODUCTION 1 NYMPHALIDAE 95 Christoph Häuser (Germany) Dieter Stüning (Germany) METHODS 1 Libytheinae 95 Lowell N. Harris (USA) Gerhard Tarmann (Austria) Toshiya Hirowatari (Japan) Paul Thiaucourt (France) LARVAL HOSTPLANTS 2 Heliconiinae 96 Hiroshi Inoue (Japan) Jürgen H. R. Thiele (Germany) HESPERIIDAE 2 Nymphalinae 99 Daniel H. Janzen (USA) Antonio Vives M. (Spain) Kurt Johnson (USA) Hsiau-Yue Wang (Taiwan) Eudaminae 2 Limenitidinae 119 Roger L. Kitching (Australia) Per O. Wickman (Sweden) Pyrginae 2 George O. Krizek (USA) Allen M. Young (USA) Apaturinae 124 Hesperiinae 8 Satyrinae 124 PAPILIONIDAE 14 OFFICERS Danainae 126 President: Ulf Eitschberger, Germany Parnassiinae 14 DISCUSSION 127 Vice-President: Thomas C.
    [Show full text]
  • Nevada Fishing Guide
    2021 NEVADA FISHING GUIDE Fishing Above Tahoe – Page 6 Kayak Fishing: A Close-Up Experience – Page 14 Photos of you! Look who got outside – Page 53 SIMPLE MODERN CONVENIENT GET ONLINE GET www.ndowlicensing.com OUTSIDE • Fishing, hunting or combination licenses are FISHING now valid for one year from date of purchase. • Trout Stamp: Now included as a built-in HUNTING privilege with a fishing or combo license. • Second Rod Stamp: Now included as a built-in BOATING privilege with a fishing or combo license. 2021 NEVADA CONGRATULATIONS FISHING to the winners of 2nd GUIDE the 2020 Nevada Free Fishing Day Poster Contest! CONTENTS Licenses, Permits and Fees 4 st Fishing Above Tahoe 6 1 The Horse is Back 10 Kayak Fishing Offers Anglers a Close-Up Experience 14 HAYDEN LAMB Selected Game Fish of Nevada �������������������������������������������������������16 Regional Fish Stocking Reports 18 3rd Fishable Waters Maps 20 Species List by Region, ADA locations, and AIS Inspection Stations Statewide Regulations 32 Reglas de Pesca 34 Accessible (ADA) Fishing in Nevada ���������������������������������������37 Eastern 38 Southern 42 AIDAN YELOWITZ ADDY SMITH Western 44 Wildlife Management Area Regulations ���������������������������������������48 Boating Regulations 50 FREE FISHING DAY Look Who Got Online and Got Outside 53 June 12, 2021 Nevada “Native Fish Slam” Entry Form 54 Trophy Fish Entry ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������55 Record Fish of Nevada 56 STATE OF NEVADA Steve Sisolak, Governor STATE BOARD OF WILDLIFE COMMISSIONERS Tiffany East,Chairman Tom Barnes, Vice Chairman Jon Almberg, Tommy Caviglia, Kerstan Hubbs, Casey D. Kiel, David McNinch, Ron Pierini, and Shane Rogers NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE Tony Wasley, Director Jon Sjӧberg, Fisheries Division Chief Chris Vasey, Conservation Education Division Chief Mike Maynard, Chief Game Warden Advertising in this publication lowers production costs.
    [Show full text]
  • Located in the "Sinks"R Or Catchment Basins of the Carson, Walker, Truckee, and Humboldt Rivers (Fig
    PART IV: THE LACUSTRINE SUBSISTENCE PATTERN IN THE DESERT WEST Lewis K. Napton University of California, Berkeley Archaeological investigation of prehistoric occupation sites located in the Great Basin region of the western United States has dis- closed a long and remarkably detailed record of cultural adaptation in surroundings that have been characterized as one of the New World's harshest environments. The ttrestrictive" aspects of the Great Basin environment have been stressed to such an extent that one has the impression that the entire region was a bone-dry desert occupied only by small groups of Indians who managed to eke out a precarious living by subsisting on an occasional antelope, deer, or mountain sheep, the seeds of various plants, or unpalatable foods such as locusts, ants, gophers, snakes and crickets obtained from the desert biome. This '"marginal" sub- sistence adaptation was the economic basis of a lifeway that seems to have been shared by many inhabitants of the Great Basin (Steward 1938), but it is apparent that the desert-adapted existence has considerable time-depth in the region, for archaeological evidence found in sites such as Danger Cave, in western Utah, conforms to the putative Great Basin economic pattern--a ceaseless struggle to survive in an extremely arid habitat that has apparently remained almost unchanged during the last ten thousand years. A rather different impression of life in the Great Basin may be obtained, however, from study of archaeological sites located in the western part of the basin. Sites excavated or investigated during the last half-century in the Humboldt and Carson Sinks in west-central Nevada give evidence of a regional subsistence pattern that was structured primarily on utilization of the resources found in and near the lakes and marshes located in the "sinks"r or catchment basins of the Carson, Walker, Truckee, and Humboldt Rivers (Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Rochester District, Nevada
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HUBERT WORK, Secretary UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director Bulletin 762 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE ROCHESTER DISTRICT, NEVADA BY ADOLPH KNOPF WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1924 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM' THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C AT 15 CENTS PER COPY CONTENTS Preface, by F. L. Ransome____________________________________________ Outline of the report__________________________________________ Part I. General features_____________________________ Geography. ___________ __________________.______. Situation of the district ________________________ Physical features _______________- _________________ 1 Climate and vegetation____ ________________ 3 History of mining______________________________ _ 4 Output of silver and gold_______ ________________ fi Geologic investigations of the district-^_________________ 7 Bibliography____________________________________ !) Geology of the Star Peak Range______________________ 9 Part II. General geology of the district____________________ 13 Triassic rocks _______________________________ 13 Introductory outline________________________- 13 Rochester trachyte____________________________. 14 General features____ ______ 14 Petrography______________________________. 14 Thickness and age________ _ ________ 17 Dumortieritized trachyte _____ _____________ 18 Keratophyres________________ _______________ 20 Occurrence and character___________________. 20 Petrographic features__
    [Show full text]
  • Reconnaissance Bathymetry of Basins Occupied by Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, Nevada and California L
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Publications of the US Geological Survey US Geological Survey 1986 RECONNAISSANCE BATHYMETRY OF BASINS OCCUPIED BY PLEISTOCENE LAKE LAHONTAN, NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA L. V. Benson National Research Program, U.S. Geological Survey M. D. Mifflin Desert Research Institute Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgspubs Benson, L. V. and Mifflin, M. D., "RECONNAISSANCE BATHYMETRY OF BASINS OCCUPIED BY PLEISTOCENE LAKE LAHONTAN, NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA" (1986). Publications of the US Geological Survey. 131. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgspubs/131 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the US Geological Survey at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications of the US Geological Survey by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. RECONNAISSANCE BATHYMETRY OF BASINS OCCUPIED BY PLEISTOCENE LAKE LAHONTAN, NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA u.s. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4262 RECONNAISSANCE BATHYMETRY OF BASINS OCCUPIED BY PLEISTOCENE LAKE LAHONTAN, NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA By L. V. Bensonl and M. D. Mifflin2 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations' Report 85-4262 lNational Research Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 2Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada Denver, Colorado 1986 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL HODEL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck,
    [Show full text]
  • Moving Forward in the Humboldt River Basin
    UPDATE ON PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE HUMBOLDT RIVER BASIN WATER AUTHORITY Nevada Legislature’s Interim Committee on Public Lands July 26, 2018 Jeff Fontaine Executive Director Humboldt River Basin Water Authority AGENDA ITEM XIII - LANDS Meeting Date: 07-26-18 Overview of Humboldt River Basin Water Authority Established in 1995 by Elko, Eureka, Lander, Humboldt and Pershing Counties Organized to Oppose Proposal to Export in Excess of 300,000 acre feet of Groundwater from the Upper Humboldt River Basin to the Lower Carson River Basin (EcoVision Project) EcoVision Water Right Applications Denied By Nevada State Engineer As Speculative In Nature Fifteen-member Board of Directors; 3 appointed by each member county commission; includes at least one county commissioner from each member county; NMA representative appointed as non-voting member For Past 22 Years 15-Member HRBWA Board of Directors Have Continued to Meet Quarterly to Address Water Resource Issues of Concern 2 Major Roles and Responsibilities Recognize and protect all existing decreed and certificated water rights Identify and seek to resolve inter-county water allocation and management issues Formulate positions for presentation to relevant local, state, and federal agencies Monitor water supply and demand within the Basin Monitor the extent to which proposals to develop and export Humboldt River Basin water may adversely affect the water balance for member counties within the Authority Recommend appropriate federal and state legislation for the management of surface
    [Show full text]
  • Lovelock Wickerware in the Lower Truckee River Basin
    REPORTS Lovelock Wickerware in the Lower enous to die western Great Basin of North Truckee River Basin America (Adovasio 1987:106). Plaiting denotes a subclass of basketry weaves in which single DONALD R. TUOHY elements or sets of elements pass over and under Dept. of Anthropology, Nevada State Museum, Carson City, NV 89710. each other at more or less fixed angles, usually EUGENE M. HATTORI 90 degrees, without any other form of engage­ Nevada State Historic Preservation Office, Carson ment (Adovasio 1987: 99). In Lovelock wicker­ City, NV 89710. ware, rigid, rod-like elements are crossed over and under by paired, flexible strips. The rigid In a regional synthesis of Great Basin element is a peeled willow rod, whereas die basketry, Adovasio (1986:197) stated that flexible element is a peeled and split willow there were 16 basketry wall techniques or types represented in the western Great Ba­ strip. In Lovelock wickerware, the flexible sin. Although information on Humboldt Sink element occurs in pairs, either in a side-by-side and Carson Sink distributions of plaiting was arrangement or one on top of the other (Fig. 1). relatively complete, similar data from the Lower Truckee Basin, consisting of Pyramid The first discovery of Lovelock wickerware Lake and the Winnemucca Lake (playa), was made at Lovelock Cave in Pershing County, were relatively unknown. This report syn­ Nevada. When Lovelock Cave was excavated, thesizes the distributional data on Lovelock there were 1,115 pieces of "wicker basketry" wickerware basketry types around the pe­ ripheries of Pyramid Lake and Winnemucca recovered, and all but 12 of them had less dian Lake (playa) in western Nevada.
    [Show full text]