Geologic Map of the Fort Collins 30'×60' Quadrangle, Larimer and Jackson Counties, Colorado, and Albany and Laramie Counties, Wyoming
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Geologic Map of the Fort Collins 30'×60' Quadrangle, Larimer and Jackson Counties, Colorado, and Albany and Laramie Counties, Wyoming Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3399 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Photograph looking east from Rockhole Lake in the Rawah Wilderness down the West Branch Laramie River as it descends steeply eastward to the north-flowing upper Laramie River. High upland areas in the foreground expose granite of the Rawah batholith (XgR) with glacial till of Pinedale age (Qtp) filling the valley below. The southern end of Green Ridge, capped by a gently sloping erosion surface below the skyline, is visible just beyond the mouth of the valley. This ridge, formed by the Laramie River fault zone, separates the Laramie River drainage to the west from the Cache la Poudre River drainage to the east. South Bald Mountain is visible on the skyline to the left with Crown Point visible on the skyline to the right. The Cache la Poudre River flows east, away from view through a deep, inset canyon between these two high points below the skyline. Photograph by C.R. Ruleman, May 24, 2005. Geologic Map of the Fort Collins 30'×60' Quadrangle, Larimer and Jackson Counties, Colorado, and Albany and Laramie Counties, Wyoming By Jeremiah B. Workman, James C. Cole, Ralph R. Shroba, Karl S. Kellogg, and Wayne R. Premo Pamphlet to accompany Scientific Investigations Map 3399 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior RYAN K. ZINKE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2018 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 https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://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: Workman, J.B., Cole, J.C., Shroba, R.R., Kellogg, K.S., and Premo, W.R., 2018, Geologic map of the Fort Collins 30'×60' quadrangle, Larimer and Jackson Counties, Colorado, and Albany and Laramie Counties, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3399, pamphlet 83 p., scale 1:100,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3399. ScienceBase data release for this report available at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7G44PHV ISSN 2329-132X (online) iii Acknowledgments Funding for this study was provided by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program through a joint project with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program. Proj- ect coordination was provided by K.S. Kellogg and T.L. Klein (USGS). Constructive comments and suggestions were incorporated based on technical reviews by S.C. Lundstrom (USGS) and W.D. Nesse (University of Northern Colorado, emeritus). Preliminary reconnaissance geologic mapping was carried out in the Laramie River valley within the map area (parts of the Crazy Mountain, Glendevey, and Deadman quadrangles) by W.A. Braddock of the University of Colorado, Boulder (deceased) as part of a USGS funded project from 1981 to 1982. Geologic mapping, petrologic studies, and geochronologic investigations in the Comanche Peak quadrangle were completed over a number of years by T.G. Plymate and T.D. Moeglin of Southwestern Missouri University and by W.R. Van Schmus of Kansas State University; these results were graciously provided to the authors for this compilation prior to publication. W.A. Cobban (USGS; deceased) provided guidance in correlation of Cretaceous map units across the study area. The authors acknowledge and appreciate the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of these efforts. The final map and report are improved and refined as a result. Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Geography and Geomorphology ........................................................................................................2 Compilation Sources and Methods ...................................................................................................8 Geologic History ...........................................................................................................................................10 Paleoproterozoic Layered Rocks .....................................................................................................14 Paleoproterozoic Intrusive Rocks ....................................................................................................19 Paleoproterozoic Metamorphism ....................................................................................................20 Mesoproterozoic Intrusive Rocks ....................................................................................................21 Kimberlite .............................................................................................................................................23 Pre-Cenozoic Sedimentary Rocks ...................................................................................................24 Laramide Synorogenic Sedimentary Rocks ...................................................................................27 Laramide Intrusive Rocks ..................................................................................................................28 Post-Laramide Intrusive and Volcanic Rocks ................................................................................28 Post-Laramide Sedimentary Rocks .................................................................................................29 Quaternary Deposits...........................................................................................................................32 Main-Stream Fluvial and Pediment Deposits ........................................................................32 Glacial and Glaciofluvial Deposits ..........................................................................................33 Mass-Movement Deposits .......................................................................................................34 Eolian Deposits ...........................................................................................................................34 Structure........................................................................................................................................................34 iv Paleoproterozoic Structures .............................................................................................................34 Mesoproterozoic Structures .............................................................................................................37 Sherman Batholith and Virginia Dale Ring-Dike Complex ..................................................37 Log Cabin Batholith ...................................................................................................................38 Longs Peak-St. Vrain Batholith ................................................................................................38 Mylonite-Bearing Shear Zones ...............................................................................................38 Arapaho Uplift (Ancestral Rocky Mountains) ................................................................................39 Laramide Orogeny...............................................................................................................................39 Early Laramide Structures ........................................................................................................39 Late Laramide Structures .........................................................................................................40 Post-Laramide Structures .................................................................................................................42 Braddock Peak Volcanic Complex ..........................................................................................43 Laramie River Fault Zone ..........................................................................................................43 Block-Glide Landslides .............................................................................................................43 Miocene-Pliocene Uplift and River Incision .........................................................................44 Economic Geology .......................................................................................................................................45 Manhattan District ..............................................................................................................................45 Diamonds of the State-Line Kimberlite District .............................................................................45