U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Quaternary and Late Pliocene Geology of the Death Valley Region: Recent Observations on Tectonics, Stratigraphy, and Lake Cycles (Guidebook for the 2001 Pacific Cell—Friends of the Pleistocene Fieldtrip) Edited by Michael N. Machette, Margo L. Johnson, and Janet L. Slate Open-File Report 01-51 2001 Frontispiece. Virtual oblique northward view of Death Valley from high above and a little south of the Owlshead Mountains. Shaded relief part of map was made using 30-m DEM data with Landsat TM (band 5) image draped over 3D shaded-relief map. Image created by Michael J. Rymer (USGS). ii Pacific Cell—Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip February 17-19, 2001 Quaternary and Late Pliocene Geology of the Death Valley Region: Recent Observations on Tectonics, Stratigraphy, and Lake Cycles Field Trip Leaders Ralph Klinger, Michael Machette, Jeff Knott, and Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki Field-trip guidebook and selected papers dealing with various aspects of the Quaternary and Pliocene geology of the Death Valley region. This report has been released as U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-51 and may be obtained over the Internet from the following site: http://geology.cr.usgs.gov This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards nor with the North American Stratigraphic Code. Any use of trade names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. 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. iii Guidebook Contributors (In alphabetical order) Debra L. Block Allen F. Glazner U.S. Geological Survey Department of Geological Sciences 2255 North Gemini Drive Mitchell Hall Flagstaff, AZ University of North Carolina ([email protected]) Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315 ([email protected]) James R. Budahn U.S. Geological Survey Angela S. Jayko Mineral Resources Team, Central Region U.S. Geological Survey P.O. Box 25026, MS 974 Earth Surface Processes Team, Western Region Denver, CO 80225-0046 345 Middlefield Road, MS 975 ([email protected]) Menlo Park, CA 94025 ([email protected]) Anthony J. Crone U.S. Geological Survey Margo L. Johnson Geologic Hazards Team, Central Region U.S. Geological Survey P.O. Box 25046, MS 966 Geologic Hazards Team, Central Region Golden, CO 80225-0046 P.O. Box 25046, MS 966 ([email protected]) Golden, CO 80225-0046 ([email protected]) John C. Dohrenwend P.O. Box 141 Dough La Farge Teasdale, UT 84773-014 Humboldt State University ([email protected]) 465 Tyende Ovi Fkagstaff, AZ 86001 Robert J. Fleck ([email protected]) U.S. Geological Survey Earth Surface Processes Team, Western Region Ralph E. Klinger 345 Middlefield Road, MS 937 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Menlo Park, CA 94025 Technical Service Center ([email protected]) P.O. Box 25007, D-8330 Denver, CO80225-0007 Kurt Frankel ([email protected]) Department of Geological Sciences Mitchell Hall Jeffrey R. Knott University of North Carolina UNOCAL Corporation Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315 Environmental Technical Group 376 S. Valencia Ave. (Present Address) Brea, CA 92831 Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences ([email protected]) 31 Williams Hall Lehigh University Joseph C. Liddicoat Bethlehem, PA 18015 Department of Environmental Science ([email protected]) Barnard College, Columbia University New York, NY 10027 John W. Geissman ([email protected]) Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences Northup Hall Michael N. Machette University of New Mexico U.S. Geological Survey Albuquerque, NM 87131 Geologic Hazards Team, Central Region ([email protected]) P.O. Box 25046, MS 966 Golden, CO 80225-0046 ([email protected]) iv Chris Menges Arthur G. Sylvester U.S. Geological Survey Department of Geological Sciences Nevada Operations Programs University of California 1180 Town Center Drive, MS 423 Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9630 Las Vegas, NV 89134 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Emily M. Taylor Paula Messina U.S. Geological Survey Department of Geology P.O. Box 25046, MS421 San José State University Denver, CO 80225-0046 One Washington Square ([email protected]) San José, CA 95192-0102 ([email protected]) Ren A. Thompson U.S. Geological Survey Genne Nelson Earth Surface Processes Team, Central Region P.O. Box 258 P.O. Box 25046, MS 913 Amargosa Valley, NV 89030 Denver, CO 80225-0046 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Lucy A. Piety John C. Tinsley, III U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Earthquake Hazards Team, Western Region Technical Service Center 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977 P.O. Box 25007, D-8330 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Denver, CO80225-0007 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) James P. Walker Michael J. Rymer U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Team, Western Region Earth Surface Processes Team, Western Region 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977 345 Middlefield Road, MS 975 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Menlo Park, CA 94025 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki Stephen G. Wells U.S. Geological Survey Desert Research Institute Earth Surface Processes Team, Western Region 2215 Raggio Parkway 345 Middlefield Road, MS 975 Reno, NV 89512 Menlo Park, CA 94025 ([email protected]) ([email protected]) Chris Wills Janet L. Slate California Division of Mines and Geology U.S. Geological Survey 185 Berry Street, Suite 210 Earth Surface Processes Team, Central Region San Francisco CA 94107 P.O. Box 25046, MS 913 ([email protected]) Denver, CO 80225-0046 ([email protected]) Jeremiah B. Workman U.S. Geological Survey Philip W. Stoffer Earth Surface Processes Team, Central Region U.S. Geological Survey P.O. Box 25046, MS 913 Library, Western Region Denver, CO 80225-0046 345 Middlefield Road, MS 955 ([email protected]) Menlo Park, CA 94025 ([email protected]) v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE FRONTISPIECE (Rymer) . ii INTRODUCTION . 1 Overview of field trip . 1 Overview of papers . 1 Acknowledgements . 3 FIELD TRIP GUIDEBOOK Chapter A. Field trip guide for Day A, northern Death Valley (Klinger and Sarna-Wojcicki) . A5 Road log for Day A (Klinger) . A6 Stop A1—Late Quaternary volcanism of Ubehebe Crater (Klinger) . A21 Stop A2—Active tectonics and deposition in the Lake Rogers basin (Klinger, and Sarna-Wojcicki) . A25 Stop A3—Evidence for large dextral offset near Red Wall Canyon (Klinger) . A32 Stop A4—Lacustrine deposition of Lake Manly or springs near Titus Canyon (Klinger) . A38 Stop A5 (optional)—The Beatty Junction bar complex (Klinger) . A40 Day A—References Cited . A47 Chapter B. Field trip guide for Day B, Furnace Creek area (Machette and others) . B51 Stop B1—Tea House above Furnace Creek Inn (Machette and Menges) . B52 Stop B2—Late Quaternary uplift of the Mustard Hills—tectonic, diapiric, or both? (Machette and Slate) . B59 Stop B3 (optional)—Late Holocene faulting on the old Ghost allluvial-fan complex (Machette and Crone) . B67 Stop B4—Late Quaternary growth of the Echo Canyon thrust and Texas Springs syncline (Klinger, Piety, and Machette) B75 Stop B5—Late Pliocene volcanic tuffs in the upper part of the Furnace Creek Formation (Machette, Sarna-Wojcicki, and Thompson) . B80 Day B—References Cited . B88 Chapter C. Field trip guide for Day C, central Death Valley (Knott and others) . C89 Road log for Day C . C91 Stop C1—Late Quarternary tectonic geomorphic development and pluvial lakes at Mormon Point (Knott and others) . C92 Stop C2—Late Pleistocene slip rate of the Black Mountains fault zone (Knott and Wells) . C103 Stop C3—Late Pliocene tephrostratigraphy and gomorphic development of the Artists Drive structural block (Knott and Sarna-Wojcicki) . C105 Stop C4 (Optional)—Lacustrine gravel in Desolation Canyon (Knott and Machette) . C112 Day C—References Cited . C115 PAPERS Chapter D. Satellite image map of Death Valley (Dohrenwend) . D117 Chapter E. Weaving a temporal and spatial framework for the late Neogene of Death Valley (Sarna and others) . E121 Chapter F. Paleomagnetism of the upper part of the Furnace Creek Formation, Death Valley, California (Liddicoat) . F137 Chapter G. Questions about Lake Manly’s age, extent, and source (Machette, Klinger, and Knott) . G143 Chapter H. Regional surficial-deposit mapping in the Death Valley area of California and Nevada in support of ground-water modeling (Menges and others) . H151 Chapter I. A short note on developing digital methods for regional mapping of surficial deposits in arid regions using remote-sensing and DEM data (Menges and Jayko) . I167 Chapter J. A proposed nomenclature for the Death Valley fault system (Machette and others) . J173 Chapter K. Late Quaternary flexural-slip folding and faulting in the Texas Springs syncline, Death Valley (Klinger and Piety) . K185 Chapter L. Holocene faulting and slip rates along the Black Mountains fault zone near Mormon Point (Klinger and Piety) L193 Chapter M. Characteristics of Holocene fault scarp morphology, southern part of the Black Mountains fault zone, Death Valley (Frankel, Jayko, and Glazner) . M205 Chapter N. Search for contemporaneous fault creep in Death Valley, 1970-2000 (Sylvester) . N217 Chapter O. Liquefaction in the California desert—An unexpected geologic hazard (Wills) . O225 Chapter P. GIS-based terrain analysis of the Racetrack Playa, and implications for the sliding rock phenomenon of Death Valley National Park (Messina and Stoffer) . P233 Chapter Q. A brief history of the Furnace Creek area (1849-1954) (Nelson) . Q239 vii he Pacific Cell of the Friends of the Pleistocene (FOP) been mapping parts of the Furnace Creek is a loosely knit group of geologists and other scientists 7.5-minute quadrangle in detail, and focus- T who have an avid interest in the Quaternary history of ing on dating air-fall tuffs that are markers in the Earth. For the past 35 years, some willing souls have offered the Furnace Creek Formation in collabora- to host the next year’s meeting, and in 1999 we made such an tion with co-leader Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki.