Geology of the Blue Mountains Region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington
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Geology of the Blue Mountains Region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington: Cenozoic Geology of the Blue Mountains Region U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1437 AVAILABILITY OF BOOKS AND MAPS OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Instructions on ordering publications of the U.S. Geological Survey, along with prices of the last offerings, are given in the cur rent-year issues of the monthly catalog "New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey." Prices of available U.S. Geological Sur vey publications released prior to the current year are listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List" Publications that are listed in various U.S. Geological Survey catalogs (see back inside cover) but not listed in the most recent annual "Price and Availability List" are no longer available. 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E-146, 701 C St. Maps For maps, address mail orders to U.S. Geological Survey, Map Distribution Maps Federal Center, Box 25286 Maps may be purchased over the counter at the U.S. Geologi Denver, CO 80225 cal Survey offices where books are sold (all addresses in above list) and at the following Geological Survey offices: Residents of Alaska may order maps from ROLLA, Missouri-1400 Independence Rd. Alaska Distribution Section, U.S. Geological Survey, DENVER, Colorado-Map Distribution, Bldg. 810, Federal New Federal Building - Box 12 Center 101 Twelfth Ave., Fairbanks, AK 99701 FAIRBANKS, Alaska-New Federal Bldg., 101 Twelfth Ave. Geology of the Blue Mountains Region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington: Cenozoic Geology of the Blue Mountains Region GEORGE W. WALKER, editor U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1437 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1990 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUAL LUJAN, JR., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cenozoic geology of the Blue Mountains Region / George W. Walker, editor p. cm. (Geology of the Blue Mountains Region of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington) (U.S. Geological Survey professional paper; 1437) Includes bibliographical references. Supt. of Docs, no.: I 19.16:1437 1. Geology, Stratigraphic Cenozoic. 2. Geology Blue Mountains Region (Or. and Wash.) 3. Geology Idaho. I. Walker, George Walton, 1921- . II. Series. III. Series: U.S. Geological Survey professional paper ; 1437. QE690.C424 1990 551.7'8'097957-dc 20 89-600366 CIP For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225 PREFACE This U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper is one volume of a series that focuses on the geology, paleontology, and mineral resources of eastern Oregon, western Idaho, and southeastern Washington. The purpose of this series is to familiarize readers with the work that has been completed in the Blue Mountains region and to emphasize this region's importance for understanding island-arc processes, the accretion of an allochthonous terrane, and postaccretion magma- tism and volcanism. These professional papers provide current interpretations of a complex island-arc terrane that was accreted to ancient North America during the late Mesozoic, of a large batholith that intruded after accretion had occurred, and of overlying Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks that were subsequently uplifted and partly stripped off the older rocks by erosion. Most of the Cenozoic volcanogenic rocks were locally derived, although the source vents for some large volumes of rock remain unknown; other rocks formed from material erupted in areas west of the Blue Mountains and were transported eastward into the region. Volcanism within this large region appears to have been more or less continuous throughout the Cenozoic, but the kinds of volcanic products varied both geographically and over time. Earth scientists who have worked on the Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Blue Mountains and adjacent areas have attributed the volcanism partly to several different volcanic arcs and partly to extensional volcanism in regions behind arc axes. Most earth scientists who have worked in the Blue Mountains region agree that the pre-Tertiary rocks there 'form one or more allochthonous terranes. The importance of such terranes in the evolution of circum-Pacific continental margins has been recognized for about a decade, but many complex questions remain. For example, how, when, and where did most of the circum-Pacific allochthonous terranes form? How did they accrete to continents, and how have they affected and been affected by subsequent processes? What are the mechanisms of amalgamation during terrane formation and transport? And, perhaps most importantly, what are the effects of these processes on mineral and hydrocarbon resources? Although the volumes in this series provide some answers, the data and interpretations contained in them will no doubt raise new and equally intriguing questions for future generations of earth scientists. m CONTENTS {Numbers indicate chapters] Page 1. Overview of the Cenozoic geology of the Blue Mountains region Georjre AV. AValker ______________________________________________ i 2. Paleocene(?>, Eocene, and Oligocene(?) rocks of the Blue Mountains region George W. Walker and Paul T. Robinson 13 3. Eocene(?), Oligocene, and lower Miocene rocks of the Blue Mountains region Paul T. Robinson, George W. Walker, and Edwin H. McKee 29 4. The Columbia River Basalt Group and associated volcanic rocks of the Blue Mountains province Peter R. Hooper and Donald A. Swanson 63 5. Miocene and younger rocks of the Blue Mountains region, exclusive of the Columbia River Basalt Group and associated mafic lava flows Georce AV. AValker ______________________________________________ 101 6. Cenozoic tectonism and volcanism of the Blue Mountains region George W. Walker and Paul T. Robinson 119 1. OVERVIEW OF THE CENOZOIC GEOLOGY OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS REGION By GEORGE W. WALKER CONTENTS sparse paleontologic evidence to extrapolate and extend stratigraphic units over large parts of the region, partic Page ularly for Miocene and older Cenozoic rocks. Dependence Abstract 1 on these lithologic characteristics has resulted in estab Introduction 1 lishing and mapping units of questionable time-strati- Acknowledgments 3 graphic significance. Many of the resulting correlations Previous work 3 were approximate at best, and some were incorrect. Purpose and scope 6 Regional stratigraphic relations 7 Since about 1965, however, geologic mapping supported References cited 10 by extensive use of radiometric dating, precise major- and minor-element chemistry, magnetic-polarity deter minations, reevaluation of old fossil collections, and ABSTRACT evaluation of new ones has provided a reasonably consis tent regional time-stratigraphic framework suitable for This volume, besides this brief overview, presents five papers that reconstructing the Cenozoic geology of the region. deal with the Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Blue Although widely recognized and accepted stratigraphic Mountains region. Most of the descriptive material concerning these rocks is organized into chapters that discuss stratigraphic relations, nomenclature has been