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Nitrate Deposits in the Amargosa Region Southeastern California

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Nitrate Deposits in the Amargosa Region Southeastern California DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ALBERT B. FALL, Secretary UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Director BULLETIN 724 NITRATE DEPOSITS IN THE AMARGOSA REGION SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA BY L. F. NOBLE, G. R. MANSFIELD, AND OTHERS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1922 t' I'o1 *=^ ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 35 CENTS PER COPY CONTENTS. Pagf, Preface, by Hoyt S. Gale___________________________- t Introduction, by Hoyt S. Gale and L. F. Noble..______-_____ 5'* Distribution of deposits_____________- ___ ___ 5 Character of deposits________-____ - _ 6 General conclusions as to value __ _ 1__ 9 Previous work _ 10 Plan of present investigation______________ _____ 15 Hand sorting and deep drilling__________ _____ 17 Nitrate fields in Amargosa region____________________ 20 Nitrate deposits reported elsewhere in southeastern California___ 21 South Death Valley, by L. F. Noble______________________ 22 General features- __ : 22 Water_____________ _ ________ 24 Roads_______________:______________________ 25 Climate_______________________________________ 26 Vegetation____________ _ _____ ___________ 27 Geology and topography______________________________ 27 Saratoga field,-by L. F. Noble______________.________ 31 Field work _______________________________ 31 Location and extent________________ _________ 31 Salt, gypsum, and celestite deposits __ _________ 31 Saratoga Hills_______________________________ 32 Previous work___________________________ 32 The strata_____________________________ 32 Structure__.___-________________________________ , 32 Belt of greenish gypsiferous sandstone__________ 33 Belt of brown sally shale___________________ 33 Belt of gray arkosic sandstone___..___________ 34 Age and correlation_______________________ 34 Distribution of niter-bearing ground determined by prelimi­ nary quantitative tests_____________________ 35 Tests at west end of Saratoga Hills_________________ 36 Preliminary pit tests_______________________ 36 Location _______________i._____________ 36 Cross section of deposit___________________ 36' Nitrate content_ ________________________ 37 Further tests_____________________________ 37 Conclusions ______________ ________________ 38' Tests in Amphitheater Canyon______________________ 38: Belt of gray arkosic sandstone________________ 38- Belt of greenish gypsiferous sandstone_____________ 39 Belt of brown salty shale___;______________ _ 39' 258084 IV CONTENTS. South Death Valley Continued. Saratoga field Continued. Page. Results of tests in detail__________________________ 40 Tests at west end of Saratoga Hills______________ 40 Tests in Amphitheater Canyon__^_1__________ 47 Conclusions on the Saratoga field____.______________ 50 Conditions requisite for exploitation_______________ 50 Actual conditions____________________________ 50 Untested areas _________________:_______ 51 Confidence field, by P. C. Calkins______________________ 51 Introduction ____________ _______ ___ _ 51 Geology and topography________________ .52 Kinds of caliche present ___________ ___ 53 General sequence and results of prospecting operations____ 53 Results of tests in detail - ________ 57 Summary ______________ _______________ 58 Middle Amargosa region______ _ _______ 1 59 General features, by G. R. Mansfield__________________ 59 Zabriskie field, by G. R. Mansfield and F. C. Calkins_______ 61 General features___ 61 Subdivisions ______ ________ 62 Prospecting and its results ^ 62 Southern area__________ __ _ _________ 63 Middle area ______________________ ____ 64 Northern area ___________________________ 65 Results of tests_____________________________ 66 General conclusion.._______ __ _________ ______ 66' Upper Canyon field, by G. R. Mansfield ._______________ 67 General exploration ___ _______ _____________ 67 Bully Hill district______________________________ 67 Reported character____________:____________ 67 Nature and duration of investigation___;________ 67 Location and extent________________________ 68 Geologic features__ ______________________ 69 Character of the deposits____________________ 69 Method of sampling____________:__________ 70 Trench -and pits________________,_________ 71. Weight determinations_-____________________ 72 Soil samples____________________________ 72 Results of tests in detail_____________________ 73 Tonnage estimates_______'________________ 75 Summary for Bully Hill district__________L._____ 76 Southwestern area____________________:______ 76 .Location and extent______________________. 76 Nature of exploration______________________ 77 Geologic features_________________________ 77 Character of deposit- _____________________ 77 Method of sampling_____________;___:______ 75 Results of tests__________________________ 78 . Acreage _____________________________ 79 Tonnage __________________ 79 . Summary for southwestern area________________ 79 ILLUSTRATIONS. V Middle Amargosa region Continued. Upper Canyon field Continued. Page Northwestern area- - 80 Location and extent _ SO Nature of exploration____ SO Geologic features SO Character of deposit SI Method of sampling . 81 Results ___ SI Acreage . - 82 Tonnage _____ _ 82 Summary for northwestern area 82 Eastern area________ . 83 Location and extent_____ _ 83 Nature of exploration___ _ 83 Geologic features_______ _ 84 Character of deposit _ - 84 Method of sampling, _ 84 Results ______________________ 84 Summary for eastern area____ _ 85 Lower Canyon field, by G. R. Mansfield___ _ '85 Location and extent__________ _ __'. 85 Reported character i__________ __ : 85 Nature of exploration_____________________ _ 86 Geologic features______________ _______ _-_ 86 Character of deposit__________________________ 87 Method of sampling____________________=_______ 87 Results ___________________ _____________ 87 Acreage and tonnage,. _____________________ 88 Summary for Lower Canyon field___________________ 88 Geologic classification of deposits, by L. F. Noble______________ 89 General summary for the Amargosa region, by G. R. Mansfield_____ 89 Conclusions______-________________________________ 92 Appendix______________________________________ 94 Index _ ______ _______ __s_______________ 97 ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. PLATE I. Index map of the niter fields of the Amargosa district ___ 6 II. The Saratoga niter hills; view southwestward from the top of hill No. 3 ____________________________ 6 III. A, West end of hill No. 3, Saratoga niter hills, from the west ; B, Testing a sample of nitrate with portable field outfit ; G, Pit test at west end of Saratoga niter hills ________ 16 IV. Sampling operations : A, Pounding material before grinding in mill; B; Dividing material after it has been ground__ 17 V. General map of the west end of the Saratoga niter hills __ 32 VI. A. Head of Amphitheater Canyon, showing location of spur and ravine cuts ; B, View, from Amphitheater Canyon across South Death Valley, showing characteristic outcrop of salt caliche marking bed of rock salt ____________ . __ 38 VI ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. PLATE VII. A, Mouth of Amphitheater Canyon showing cut in gypsiferous sandstones; B, View along trench A, Confidence Hills 39 VIII. Profile of trench No. 1, on top of hill No. 1, west end of Sara­ toga niter hills _ 40 IX. Profile of trench No. 2, northwest base of hill No. 1, on Randsburg-Saratoga road_ 42 X. A, Hill No. 3 from northwest end of Saratoga niter hills; B, Trench No. 2, at northwest base of hill No. 1, west end of Saratoga niter hills __ _ 43 XI. Trench No. 3, on west slope of hill No. 3, west end of Sara­ toga niter hills_____________ ___ __ 44 XII. Sketch map and sections of Confidence field_ _ 52 XIII. A, General view of Confidence Hills; B, View southeastward along crest of Confidence Hills ___ 52 XIV. A, View northwestward- across Through Canyon; B, " Blister ; caliche " on Green Hill______ _______ 52 XV. Profile along trench and line of pits near camp, Confidence field______________________________ In pocket. XVI. Line of pits B and end of trench A, Confidence field_____ 54 XVII. A, B., Southeast side of Through Canyon__________:__ 55 XVIII. A, China ranch from the south; B, Gravel escarpment and " niter hills " along Willow Creek above China ranch; C, Gravel cliffs along Amargosa River about 2 miles-above Acme station _______________ __ _ __ 60 XIX. A, Upper Canyon nitrate field; B, Upper Canyon field from high clay hill about S. 80° W. from Bully Hill_______ GO XX. -4, View eastward across northern part of Upper Canyon field from high clay hill west of Amargosa River; B, Rainbow Mountain, Acme _ ______ _ __ ________ 60 XXI. A, Butte and mesa topography in lake-bed clays southwest of Zabriskie, in the SE. $ sec.'l, T. 20 N., R. 6 E. (un- surveyecl); B, Lake beds northeast of Shoshone, in T. 20- N., R. 7 E_______________________________ 62 XXII. A, Adjoining caverns in greenish-gray clay, sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E.; B, Cavern in greenish-gray clay, showing small guano deposit _ _ _ __________________ XXIII. Map of Zabriskie field_____________________________ XXIV. A. Hills of greenish clay bordering ancient inclined strata in sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E.; B, Whitish hills in the SW. i sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E__________________________ G2 XXV. Survey trench Z Ch-1, in the SE. i sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E__ 62 XXVI. A, Lower slope of greenish hills in sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E.; B, Trench north of locality Z-l, in the NW. i SW. £ sec. 7, T. 20 N., R. 7 E____________________________ 63 XXVII. A, Bully Hill from the south; B, Bully Hill from
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