Geology of the Capitol Reef Area, Wayne and Garfield Counties, Utah
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.GtU~; · . lZ:::J~~:.. ·, .• . ".U ~- 1: , tJ l:J u \ . ' .... ..... "t{ \.::.Y i.J iJ \·· . t1.;.'';- 9 " . u ~\.'.-.;/ .:,·:; J/ :i·. ... ""'. ~~-\::.,.: ,. ¥ '~ > .: Q" ~::--(, -~------~~~~~~~ Geology of the Capitol Reef Area, Wayne and Garfield Counties, Utah GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 363 Prepared on behalf of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Geology of the C~pitol Reef Area, Wayne and Garfield COunties, Utah By J. FRED SMITH, ]R., LYMAN C. HUFF, E. NEAL HINRICHS, and ROBERT G. LUEDKE GEOLOGiCAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 363 Prepared on behalf of the -:.· I U.S. Atomic Energy Commission ·~ .. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1963 • UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ThomasB.No~n,D~ec~r • For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C.,. 20402 1 ·~: i CONTENTS Page Physiography and Quaternary deposits-Continued Abstract------------------------------------------- 1 Recent deposits-Continued Page Introduction ______________________________________ _ 3 Colluvial sand and graveL ______ -_----------- 55 Acknowledgments ______________________________ - 4 Previous work _________________________________ _ Alluvial fan deposits _____ - __ ---------------- 55 4 Erosional features of the Capitol ReeL_----------- 55 • HistorY--------------------------------------- 4 Structure _________________________________________ _ 57 GeographY------------------------------------- 5 57 Climate and vegetation _______________________ --- Folds----------------------------------------- 6 Waterpocket Fold _______ - __ ---------------- 57 EconOIDY-------------------------------------- 7 Teasdale anticline ________________ ----------- Stratigraphy ______________________________________ _ 57 7 Fruita a.nticline _______________ -- _----------- 58 Permian system ______________________________ -- 8 Circle Cliffs upwarp ______ - __ ---------------- 58 Coconino sandstone _____________________ ---- 8 Thousand Lake anticline _______ --_----------- 59 Kaibab limestone _________________________ -- 9 59 Triassic system _______________________________ -- Saleratus Creek syncline __ ------------------- 10 Anticline near Velvet Ridge _________________ _ 59 Moenkopi formation ______________________ -- 10 59 Chinle formation _________________________ -- Faults----------------------------------------- 14 Teasdale fault ______________ ---------------- 59 Shinarump member ___________________ -- 16 Thousand Lake fault _____________ ----------- 59 Middle and upper members _____________ - 20 Faults from upper Sand Creek to north of Wingate sandstone (Glen Canyon group) _____ - 22 Fruita __________________________________ _ 60 Jurassic(?) system _____________________________ _ 23 Other faults _____________________ ----------- 60 Kayenta formation (Glen Canyon group) _____ - 23 Joints----------------------------------------- 60 Jurassic and Jurassic(?) system __________________ _ 24 Age of folding and faulting ______________________ _ 60 Navajo sandstone (Glen Canyon group) ______ _ 24 Cause of folding ______________ - __ -_------------- 62 Jurassic system-San Rafael group _______________ - 24 Economic geology _______________ -------------------- 62 Carmel formation __________________________ - 24 Uranium deposits ________ --_-------------------- 62 Entrada sandstone _______________ - ___ ------- 27 Uranium in the Moenkopi formation __ -_----- 62 Curtis formation ________________________ ---- 29 Uranium in the Shinarump member of the Summerville formation __________________ --- - 30 Chinle formation _________ - - _ -- - - - - - - - - - - - 64 Morrison formation _____________________ ---- 31 Area of discontinuous occurrence of the Salt Wash sandstone .member ___________ - 31 member ____________________________ _ 64 Brushy Basin shale member __________ - __ - 32 Oyler mine and vicinity ____________ _ 65 Cretaceous system _____________________________ - 33 Area between Grand and Capitol Dakota sandstone _______________________ ---- 33 Washes _________________________ _ 66 Mancos shn.le _____________________________ _ 34 Area between Capitol Wash and Sheets Mesaverde formation _______________________ - 35 Gulch __________________________ _ 66 Tertiary system _______________________________ _ 35 Oak Creek and North and South Cole Fln.gstaff limestone _____________________ ---- 35 man Canyons------------------- 67 Igneous rocks and associated tuffaceous seditnentn.ry rocks _______________________ _ Area of nearly continuous occurrence of the 37 member ____________________________ _ 68 Intrusive rocks _____________________ ---- 37 Area from Chimney Rock west to the Extrusive rocks ______________________ -_- 40 Thousand Lake fault ______ - ______ _ 69 Tuffaceous sedimentary rocks ________ --_- 42 Area from Sheets Gulch and Tantalus · Age of igneous rocks ________________ ---- 42 Flats northwest to the Thousand Physiography and Quaternary deposits _______________ - 42 Lake fault __________ ------------- 70 Pre-Wisconsin deposits _________________________ _ 43 Uranium in the middle and upper members of Pediment graveL __________________________ - 43 the Chinle formation ____________ ---------- 70 Boulder deposits __________________________ -- 44 Wisconsin deposits _____________________________ _ Uranium in the Curtis formation ___ -_- __ ----- 70 46 Uranium in the Salt Wash member of the Mor- 47 Till--------------------------------------- rison formation ________________ -· _____ ---- - 70 Outwash graveL ___________________________ _ 49 Uranium in volcanic rocks ______________ -_--- Terrace graveL ____________________________ - 49 71 Landslide deposits _______________________ -_- 51 Geochemical studies, by Lyman C. Huff __ -_--- 71 Recent deposits_· ______________________________ _ 53 Typical sedimentary rocks ____________ --- 71 Alluvium _________________________________ _ 53 Bleached sedimentary rocks ___________ -_- 72 Rock glaciers ______________________________ - 54 Uranium ore and mineralized rock _______ _ 78 m IV CONTENTS Economic geology-Continued Economic geology-Continued Uranium deposits-Continued Page Uranium deposits-Continued Origin of the uranium deposits ______________ _ 78 Guides for prospecting-Continued Page Chemistry of ore deposition _____________ _ 78 Bleached mudstone ____________________ _ 81 Relation of mudstone bleaching and ore ___ _ 80 Geochemical guides for ore ______________ _ 81 Geologic processes of uranium deposition __ _ 80 Mineral deposits other than urani urn _____________ _ 82 Copper ___________________________________ _ Guides for prospecting ______________________ _ 80 82 Manganese ________________________________ _ Stratigraphic guides ____________________ _ 80 82 Gypsum __________________________________ _ Thinning and pinching out of ore-bearing 83 Shinarump member of the Chinle forma- Building stone _____________________________ _ 83 tion ________________________________ _ 81 Sand~ndgravel ___________________________ _ 83 Relation to channels ___________________ _ 81 · Oil and gas _______________________________ _ 83 • Mineralogy and radioactivity ____________ _ 81 Measured stratigraphic sections ______________________ _ 84 Carbonaceous material and beds, lenses, or References cited ___________________________________ _ 96 pockets of clay or claystone __ ;.. ________ _ 81 Index ________________________________________ .____ _ 101 ILLUSTRATIONS Page PLATE 1. Geologic map and sections of the Capitol Reef area, Wayne and Garfield Counties_ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In pocket 2. Oyler mine, Capitol Reef area. Plan maps and wall sections _________________________________________ In pocket FIGURE 1. Index map of Utah showing the location of the Capitol Reef area and of other areas in southeastern Utah ____ _ 3 2. Index map showing physiographic subsections in and near the Capitol Reef area ___________________________ _ 4 3. Diagrammatic sections of the Moenkopi formation in the Capitol Reef area __________________· _____________ _ 11 4. Photograph showing contact between light-colored Kaibab limestone and overlying dark siltstone of the Moenkopi formation. View of wall in Capitol Wash __________________________________________________________ _ 14 5. Diagrammatic sections of the Chinle formation in the Capitol Reef area __________________________________ _ 15 6. Photograph showing Chinle formation and Wingate sandstone on north side of Grand Wash ________________ _ 16 7. Photograph showing Shinarump member and basal part of middle member of Chinle formation ______________ _ 18 8. Photograph showing contact between dark evenly bedded Moenkopi formation and overlying Shinarump member of the Chinle formation ______________ ---- _________________________________________________________ _ 19 9. Sketch map showing the principal directions of dips of crossbedding in the Shinarump member of the Chinle formation and approximate location of the boundary between the continuous and discontinuous Shinarump __ 20 "' 10. Sketch showing relation of Shinarump and middle members of the Chinle formatien on the northeast side of Sheets Gulch ________ .____ -----_------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 11. Photograph showing Glen Canyon group on north side of Fremont River just east of Fruita ________________ _ 22 12. Diagrammatic sections of the Carmel formation in the Capitol Reef area _________________________________ _ 25 13. Percentages of lithologic types in three sections