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Precambrian Geology of the Emigrant Canyon area, Panamint Range, California

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Precambrian Geology of the Emigrant Canyon area, Panamint Range, California

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Content PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY OF THE EMIGRANT CANYON AREA, PANAMINT RANGE, CALIFORNIA by James H. Thompson A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE (Geology) June 1963 UMI Number: EP58517 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikejy event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. U M I Dissertation Publishing UMI EP58517 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA G R A D U A T E S C H O O L U N IV E R S IT Y P A R K L O S A N G E L E S 7 , C A L IF O R N IA 'v1 ' " : This thesis, w ritten by .J a m e s .H ... T h o rnp s on ......................................... / 7 ^ ? under the direction of h is . Thesis Committee, and approved by a ll its members, has been p re sented to and accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School, in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t of re quirements fo r the degree of .MASTE.R.. .QF _ _ S.CIE N Q £............. Dean Date J u n e . .1.9. . 6. 3. THESTS^DMMITTEE / ^ / , . Chairman .•C.-1 > 7 c, v" j - ^ _________ 6-61— 2M — HI CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................... 2 Location and Accessibility ....................... 2 Culture .......................................... 4 Geography .............................. ..... 5 Topography and Drainage ..................... 5 Climate ...................................... 6 Vegetation .................................... 7 Purpose and Scope ................................ 7 Field Work and Acknowledgments................... 8 Present Work.................................. 8 Previous W o r k ................................ 8 Acknowledgments .............................. 10 DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY .................................. 12 General Features .................................. 12 Precambrian Rocks ................................ 12 Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated Rocks .... 12 Kingston Peak Formation ..................... 20 ii iii Page Noonday (?) Dolomite............................27 Johnnie Formation ............................ 31 Stirling Quartzite ............................ 36 Mesozoic R o c k .......................................38 Quartz Monzonite Plutonic Rocks ............. 38 Cenozoic Rocks - Tertiary System - Pliocene (?) Series.......................................45 Nova Formation ..........................45 Quaternary System ................................ 48 Alluvium.........................................48 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY .................................... 50 General Features .................................. 50 Mesozoic Structures .............................. 51 Cenozoic Structures.............. 53 GEOMORPHOLOGY ........................................ 55 General Statement ................................ 55 Stage of Geomorphic C y c l e ..........................56 Erosion Surface of Low Relief......................57 Other Geomorphic Features ....................... 59 GEOLOGIC HISTORY.........................................63 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY ...................................... 67 Metallic Mineral Deposits ....................... 67 iv Page General Features............................... 67 Gold and Si lver..................................68 Origin and Age of Metallic Deposits............ 76 Non-Metallic Mineral Deposits ................... 76 Water Supply.........................................78 General Features .............................. 78 Springs................... 81 Quality of Ground W a t e r .........................82 REFERENCES............................................... 86 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Geologic Map of the Emigrant Canyon Area, Panamint Range, California ............... Pocket 2. Geologic Sections of the Emigrant Canyon Area, Panamint Range, California ........ Pocket 3. Columnar Section of the Emigrant Canyon Area, Panamint Range, California ........ Pocket 4. Index Map showing the location of the Emigrant Canyon Area ..................... 4 5. Geologic History of the Emigrant Canyon Area...................................... 66 Plate 1. Banded quartzite of the Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks ................... 14 2. Lower units of Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated r o c k s .................................... 16 3. Ripple-marks in Precambrian (?) Undiffer entiated rocks............................ 17 4. Stretched pebble conglomerate in the Kingston Peak Formation ................. 24 5. Porphyritic facies of the quartz monzonite intrusion................................ 40 6. Intrusive contact between Johnnie Formation and quartz monzonite intrusion .......... 44 v vi Plate Page 7. Pedestal rocks in the Nova Fanglomerate .... 60 8. Natural rock bridge in the Nova Fanglomerate ................................ 62 9. Emigrant Spring with abundant phraetophyte growth................................... 79 10. Burro Spring showing tunnel developed in Andesite Flow member of Nova Fanglomerate . 80 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Mines and Prospects of the Emigrant Canyon Area.....................................70 2. Springs of the Emigrant Canyon Area.............. 83 ABSTRACT The Emigrant Canyon area contains a thick section of Precambrian rocks. Five Late Precambrian formations are recognized. Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks consist predominantly of quartzite with a maximum thickness of about 4580 feet, and have a lithologic similarity to the Crystal Spring Formation of the Pahrump Series. The Kingston Peak Formation, which attains a maximum thickness of approximately 2860 feet, consists of interbedded shale, quartzite, limestone, and a distinctive stretched pebble conglomerate member. The Noonday Dolomite is questionably present in the mapped area, lying in fault contact with the Precambrian undifferentiated rocks, but its contact rela tionship with other Precambrian rocks is unknown. The Johnnie Formation, about 4920 feet thick, and the basal 910 feet of the Stirling Quartzite complete the Precambrian section. Plutonic rocks of quartz monzonite composition in trude the Precambrian formations and are probably correla tive to the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Nevadian intru- sives. Gold and silver occur in fissure-vein type deposits related to the quartz monzonite intrusion. The Precambrian and Mesozoic rocks are overlain by approximately 7680 feet of continental sedimentary rocks of Pliocene to Recent age. Included are the Nova Formation, consisting of interbedded fanglomerate, sedimentary breccia lenses, and volcanics; and Quaternary Fanglomerate and Al luvium. The structural features are ascribed to two main periods of deformation; the Nevadian Orogeny with faulting and igneous intrusion being dominant features, and the Late Cenozoic with high angle normal faulting dominant. 1 INTRODUCTION Location and Accessibility The Emigrant Canyon area is in the central Panamint Range in the Basin and Range geomorphic province of south eastern California. Panamint Range is bounded on the east by Death Valley and on the west by Panamint Valley. The mapped area covers 42 square miles and lies within the boundaries of the Death Valley National Monument, Inyo County, California. It is readily reached by the Emigrant Canyon Road, a paved, all-weather road which cuts across the area through Harrisburg Flat and Emigrant Canyon, and links Wildrose with Stove Pipe Wells. State Highway 190 inter sects the Emigrant Canyon Road north of the area and con nects Panamint Springs with Stove Pipe Wells (Figure 4). Numerous dirt roads, maintained by National Monument per sonnel, provide access to many parts of the area although the less traveled roads may be locally washed out or in poor condition. BISHOP 72 LOS ANGELES DEATH 95 LONE P IN E 190 HEADQUARTERS ‘190 M O N U M E N T 395 TRONA 50 MfLES 40 O 20 30 10 Figure 4. Index map showing location of the Emi grant Canyon Area, Inyo County, California. 4 Culture Petroglyphs and abandoned rock blinds offer evi dence of the sizable Shoshone Indian population that in habited the area only a few decades ago. Jayhawker Canyon is believed to have been visited by the Jayhawker Party in 1S49 (Chalfant, 1956, p. 40), and Emigrant Spring has been known since 1852 (Mendenhall, 1909, p. 35), receiving its name because it was used by the early emigrants from Salt Lake City, who entered Panamint Valley by this route. There is also evidence of the several generations of miners who prospected the region during the last hundred years. The towns of Harrisburg and Skidoo (one-half mile northeast of the mapped area) were active in the early 1900's, and the Journigan Mill (now the Detloff Mill) was active for a brief period in the 1950's. The Death Valley National Monument was established February 11, 1933 (Tucker, 1938, p. 370) and, at present, the only permanent inhabitants in the area are National Park Service Ranger and Mrs. Matt Ryan, who live at the Emigrant Ranger Station. Dwellings at Burns Spring and Harrisburg are inhabited periodically by their owners. 5 Geography Topography and Drainage The Emigrant Canyon area consists of several north- and south-trending topographic units. The easternmost unit comprises Harrisburg Flat which is characterized by rounded hills of low relief among alluviated flats, which give a flat-topped aspect to the topography. Elevations average about 4900 feet. East of Harrisburg Flat the elevations increase and relief is greater with the higher peaks rang ing between 5700 to 5900 feet above sea level. The area has a maximum relief of 3558 feet, rising from 2377 feet above sea level in Emigrant Wash to 5935 feet, east of Harrisburg Flat. West of Harrisburg Flat the slopes are steeper and more rugged along Emigrant Canyon where slopes up to 55° are common, and locally vertical cliffs of 75 to 100 feet occur. Along Emigrant Canyon are highly dissected ridges of moderate relief and steep slopes that give way to a coalescing fan at its mouth. Most of Harrisburg Flat is drained northward through Emigrant Canyon into Emigrant Wash, jayhawker Canyon and Telephone Canyon also drain in a northerly di 6 rection. East of Harrisburg Flat drainage is to the east. The stream channels that comprise these drainage systems consist of dry washes that contain streams only during occasional heavy rains. Nine springs and seeps occur along the south westerly ridges bordering Emigrant Canyon. Two other springs are located in Telephone and jayhawker Canyons. Telephone Spring is dry and is the only one east of Emi grant Canyon. The springs are possibly controlled by un conformities or faults. Climate Temperatures in the summer generally exceed 100° F. during the day, but in much of the area mapped, the nights are cool. There is a general 5° decrease in temperature for each thousand-foot rise in elevation. In the winter the days are mild to cold, and during the nights the temp erature frequently falls below freezing. The annual per- cipitation is about 3 inches, and falls as snow during the winter months in the higher part of the area, although sporadic summer thunder showers, which frequently cause flash floods, may contribute a significant part of the rainfall. Winds are common, especially on the higher peaks 7 and ridges. They are usually gentle during the summer, but may become quite strong during the winter and spring. Vegetation The vegetation is that characteristic of a higher desert range, with cresote bush (Larrea divericata), burro- bush (Franseria dumosa), buckwheat (Erigonum trichopes), desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra), and other xerophytes, including several varieties of cactus, being common. Tule or bullrush (Scirpus acutus) and arrow-weed (Pluchea sericea), which reach a height of 6 to 8 feet in a dense tangle, flourish around the springs and seeps in the area. Vegetation is sparse, soil is poorly-developed, and ex posures of bedrock are excellent. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to describe the general geology of a portion of the Emigrant Canyon Quad rangle and to deduce therefrom the geologic history of the region. The Pliocene rocks described in this report have been subdivided solely on the basis of lithologic differ ences, and accordingly, it has been necessary to introduce names for several of the members. Field Work and Acknowledgments 8 Present Work Approximately 47 days were spent in the field dur ing the summer of 1962. Mapping was done on aerial photos flown by the United States Geological Survey in 1948 (scale approximately 1:32,250) and on enlargements of the United States Geological Survey topographic map of Emigrant Can yon Quadrangle (1952). All data were subsequently compiled on a topographic base of the same enlargement (1:20,833) to constitute the geologic map of this report. Geologic sec tions were measured by pace and compass methods and esti mated on the aerial photographs where distortion of scale was thought to be at a minimum. Previous Work The geology of the Panamint Range was mentioned in notes by Whitney (1865, p. 474), who reported that "of their geology little is known except the rocks are crystal line and metamorphic." In 1889 Wheeler traversed the Death Valley and Panamint Range region and published a topo graphic map showing Emigrant Spring and several of the early mines. Fairbanks (1896, p. 63) described rocks in the Emigrant Canyon area as "being largely composed of 9 mica-schists, quartzites and marbles, which have been cut by intrusive granite." Spurr compiled all existing data in 1903, including a geologic map (scale of 15 miles to the inch) of southern Nevada and southeastern California, showing Cambrian and Silurian rocks, and porphyritic igneous rocks in the Emigrant Canyon area. Older alluvium and volcanics of Plio-Pleistocene age and a quartz monzo nite intrusion in the Emigrant Spring vicinity were de scribed by Ball (1907, p. 204). Waring's lithologic map (1915), published on a scale of 1:2,000,000, shows the Emigrant Canyon area as composed of schists, quartzites and limestones of unknown ages. Papers by Murphy (1930, 1932) revised the Pre cambrian stratigraphy and described the mineral deposits of the Telescope Peak Quadrangle, which lies south of the Emigrant Canyon Quadrangle. The types of rock and their ages in the Death Valley region were summarized by Noble in 1934. White (1940) published on the antimony deposits of the Wildrose Canyon area. In 1947, Hopper mapped along the southern part of the Emigrant Canyon area and presented detailed stratigraphic and structural interpretations in this work. A report on the geologic formations of the Quartz Spring area, which is about 20 miles northwest of 10 the mapped area, was published by McAllister in 1952. Wright and Troxel (1954) published a reconnaissance geo logic guide through the Emigrant Canyon area, describing the general geology and structural relationships, and noting the sedimentary monolithic breccias near Emigrant Wash. Sears mapped much of the central Panamint Range in reconnaissance, and the results of his work are shown on the Death Valley sheet (1958) of the new Geologic Map of California. The geology of part of the Manly peak Quadrangle was mapped by Johnson (1959), who described in detail the Precambrian stratigraphy, the Mesozoic intrusive rocks and the structural relationships of the southern Panamint Range. In 1960, Axelrod dated beds in the Nova Formation as being Late Pliocene in age, based on palynological evi dence, and he postulated a western source for the Nova Formation. At present the United States Geological Survey is conducting a quadrangle mapping program in the Panamint Range region. Acknowledgments The writer wishes to express his appreciation to Dr. Thomas Clements of the Geology Department of the Uni 11 versity of Southern California for suggesting the area and offering helpful criticism and assistance during the course of this project; to Dr. Richard H. Merriam and Dr. Richard O. Stone, also of the Geology Department of the University of Southern California for critically reading the manu script and offering helpful advice; to Matt Ryan, National Park Service Ranger, and his wife, for their hospitality, and also suggestions, and knowledge of the mines in the area; to Robert Knox for his helpful assistance and advice as a field partner, and companionship throughout the field investigation. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the innumerable courtesies extended by other personnel of the Death Valley National Monument and residents in the vicinities of Trona, California and Beatty, Nevada. DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY General Features Rocks exposed in the Emigrant Canyon area range in age from Precambrian to Recent. The geologic record over this span is incomplete as there are no known rocks of Paleozoic or early Tertiary age although the former occur a few miles to the east. The Precambrian sedimentary rocks comprise over 9690 feet of section and are intruded by a quartz monzonite pluton of possible Cretaceous age. An additional 4580 feet of strata may be of Precambrian age, although definite field evidence is lacking. Lying upon the older rocks are Pliocene continental beds and volcanics, and Recent alluvium. Precambrian Rocks Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated Rocks Introduction The oldest rock unit in the sedimentary sequence of the Emigrant Canyon area is designated Precambrian (?) Un- 12 13 differentiated on the geologic map (Figure 1). The age of these rocks is questionable as they have no lithologic sim ilarities to other rock units in the area and are unfos- siliferous. Distribution and Thickness The Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks are ex posed south of Emigrant Canyon Road between Upper Emigrant Spring and Burro Canyon as an inlier approximately one mile square. Rocks in this block generally strike northwest and dip moderately to steeply northeastward. A total apparent thickness of about 4580 feet is exposed. Lithology The formation consists largely of resistant, well- bedded quartzite, some interbedded metamorphosed shale, and thin units of limestone. The quartzite varies in color from white to gray, and a distinctive white and red-brown banded unit is very conspicuous (Plate 1). The quartz grains of the quartzite are fine- to medium-grained, angu lar, and poorly sorted. The lower white to gray quartzite is fine- to coarse-grained; it locally shows cross-bedding and ripple Plate 1. Exposure of banded quartzite of the Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks. Note checkerboard effect caused by shearing normal to bedding. Lo cated between Upper Emigrant Spring and Hill 5624. 15 marks, and weathers to a brownish-gray. Subordinate shaly layers occur randomly through the sequence. Overlying the lower quartzite is a fine-grained, gray quartzite weather ing red or orange, and a platy, laminated grayish-blue shale. These, because of their color, are readily disting uished at a distance (Plate 2). Well preserved ripple marks are common. Both units tend to be eroded and form gullies in contrast to the more resistant quartzites. Near the middle of the formation is a massive, fine-grained, gray limestone with dark-brown shale below and grayish-green shale above. The lower shale is cal careous in part and the upper shale commonly shows ripple marks (Plate 3). At the base is a thin, flaggy, dark-gray shale weathering greenish-brown, that is highly contorted and appears to thicken to the west. The remaining part of the sequence consists of well-bedded quartzite with thin units of gray shale and a prominent, resistant gray dolomite. From top to bottom, the exposed Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks consist of the following units. The thickness was measured from structure section E-E' (Figure 2) . Plate 2. Looking south to ward Hill 5624 composed of lower units of the Precambrian (?) Un differentiated rocks. Note col or contrast. 17 Plate 3. Exposure of rip ple-marks in Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks. Lo cated southwest of Upper Emi grant Spring. 18 Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated: Feet (10) Quartzite: medium-grained, light- green, weathers red-brown, well indurated, commonly one-foot bedding . . 450 (9) Dolomite: gray, massive, weathers b r o w n .....................................220 (8) Quartzite: white to light-gray, well bedded, with thin gray sandy shale interbeds.........................1410 (7) Shale: grayish-green, thinly layered to massive................................ 240 (6) Limestone: gray, massive, fine grained, weathers reddish-brown .... 220 (5) Shale: calcareous, dark-brown ......... 110 (4) Quartzite: white and reddish-brown banded, well bedded, medium-grained . . 450 (3) Shale: grayish-blue, platy, laminated . 200 (2) Quartzite: fine-grained, red- to orange-weathering, bedding 4 to 6 inches thick ............................ 320 (1) Quartzite: white to gray, massive, fine- to coarse-grained with highly contorted dark-gray shale at base . . . 960 T o t a l ........................................ 4580 Contacts The contacts of the Precambrian (?) Undifferenti ated unit with other formations are everywhere discordant. The contact with the Noonday (?) Dolomite is a thrust fault 19 and the unit is overlain with angular discordance by the Pliocene Nova Formation. Age and Correlation Rocks of the Crystal Spring Formation, as described by Wright (1952, p. 11) from the Superior Talc area of southern Death Valley, bear a marked lithologic resemblance to rocks mapped in this report as Precambrian (?) Undif ferentiated. The Crystal Spring Formation is the lowest member of the pahrump series as defined by Hewett (1940, p. 239) at its type locality in the Kingston Range and is overlain by the Beck Spring Dolomite and the Kingston Peak Formation. Although the Beck Spring Dolomite was not recog nized in the mapped area, the Precambrian (?) Undifferenti ated rocks can be correlated tentatively on lithologic grounds with the Crystal Spring Formation. Origin and Condition of Deposition The precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks have distinct bedding planes, abrupt and vertical variations in lithology, and some beds exhibit ripple marks. These features, with the lithologic sequence of coarse- to fine grained rock, suggest an oscillatory transgressive and re- 20 gressive sea during the deposition of these rocks. Kingston Peak Formation Introduction The Kingston Peak Formation is the upper unit of the Pahrump group, a sequence of three formations that is present in the southern Death Valley region, and its type section is in the Kingston Range, southeast of Death Valley (Hewett, 1940, pp. 239-240). The Kingston Peak Formation and possibly the Crystal Spring Formation have been mapped in the Emigrant Canyon area, but the other mem ber of the pahrump group, the Beck Spring Dolomite, was not recognized. Johnson (1959, p. 360) divided the Kingston Peak Formation into three members: the Surprise member, the Sour Dough Limestone member, and the South Park mem ber. In this report they were not mapped as separate mem bers due to poor exposures and to faulting. Distribution and Thickness The Kingston Peak Formation crops out along the eastern and northern part of Harrisburg Flat, forming a belt that trends north-south across the area. These rocks attain a thickness of 2860 feet, being limited on the west 21 by Quaternary Alluvium and on the east by the Cretaceous (?) plutonic rocks. They strike northward and dip steeply to the east. Lithology The Kingston Peak Formation consists predominantly of interbedded quartzite and shale, a prominant pebbly con glomerate, interbedded quartzite and sandy limestone, shale and quartzite. A composite measured section along Harris burg Hill at the southern end of Harrisburg Flat is as follows: Kingston Peak Formation: Feet (7) Dark red- to black-weathering, coarse-grained quartzite. Outcrop is massive, although locally somewhat platy and highly fractured. Numerous quartz veins 2 to 3 feet thick are present. Top of unit is not exposed . . 300 (6) Light blue-gray, coarse-grained limestone. Stratification is com monly about 3 mm apart. Weathered surfaces are pitted and brown to dark- brown in color, becomes sandy near base.................................... 190 (5) Interbedded dark-gray quartzite and arenaceous limestone. Quartzite (70%) fine-grained, somewhat micaceous, con tains pyrite crystals, and commonly has bedding planes 3 to 7 mm apart. Arena ceous limestone (30%) : sandy throughout, becoming shaly in places with individual 22 Feet beds varying in thickness from 1 to 4 feet, and weathering to a reddish-brown color.................................. 480 (4) Pebble conglomerate. Dark-gray to black schistose matrix, containing light-gray to white, stretched quartzite and lime stone clasts. The clasts are elongated so that the long axes are parallel to the bedding, and the length is 2 to 4 times the thickness. Although pebble-size clasts predominate, sorting is poor and grains only a few mm. in length are pre sent. The crystalloblastic matrix is predominantly finely micaceous, with some scattered muscovite flakes ........... (3) Interbedded reddish-brown to dark-gray quartzite and gray shale. Bedding is indistinct and appears to be variable. The quartzite is the most abundant? is massive and consists of poorly sorted, subrounded grains? the shale weathers red to brown with abundant mica flakes on exposed surfaces ................... (2) Orange-brown weathering dolomite with light-gray fresh surfaces. Bedding in distinct .............................. (1) Dark, greenish-gray shale, poorly ex posed, with obscure bedding. The upper portion contains disseminated quartz grains and muscovite flakes. The lower portion is darker in color and highly micaceous. Base of unit is not exposed. Total . . '................................. Within the Emigrant Canyon area the lower part of the Kingston Peak Formation consists of a poorly-bedded 550 720 30 590+ 2860+ 23 greenish-gray shale with abundant quartz grains, which be comes highly micaceous near the base. A thin dolomite bed is exposed above the shale and does not exceed 30 feet in thickness. It apparently is lenticular as it crops out on ly along Harrisburg Hill and hence is not a good marker horizon. Near the middle of the section are interbedded gray quartzites and gray shale, overlain by the stretched pebble conglomerate. A characteristic feature of the conglomerate is the texture produced by pronounced stretching or flattening of the clasts. The clasts are disc-shaped and flattened into the plane of foliation (Plate 4). The overall dark color of the conglomerate reflects the composition of the matrix which is highly micaceous. The clasts are pre dominantly very light-gray or white quartzite that weathers a light-gray color in marked contrast to the dark matrix. Above the conglomerate are interbedded gray quart zite and arenaceous limestone. Fine-grained quartzite com prises approximately 70% of the unit with bedding planes commonly 3 to 7 mm apart. The arenaceous limestone be comes shaly in places. Light blue-gray limestone and dark colored, rela- ; _ i - ' z * ' # ' * ? * - ' - Plate 4. Exposure of the stretched pebble conglomerate in the Kingston Peak Formation. Lo cated south of Aguerreberry Road and west of town-site of Harris burg. 25 tively pure quartzite are abundant near the top of the measured section. The limestone strata are commonly 3 to 7 mm thick. Most of the quartzite is uniform or massive, but locally becomes platy and is thinly bedded. Some of these beds show very faint grading. Contacts The contacts of the Kingston Peak Formation, both below and above, are concealed by the Quaternary Alluvium of Harrisburg Flat at the measured section. Farther to the north the Kingston Peak Formation is intruded by quartz monzonite of the Cretaceous (?) pluton. In the southern Panamint Range most exposures of the contact between the Kingston Peak Formation and the overlying Noonday Dolomite indicate apparent conformity, but an unconformity has been suggested on the basis of possible truncation of the uppermost unit of the Kingston Peak Formation (Johnson, 1959, p. 354). Age and Correlation ■ ■ ■ ■ - - i — 11 ■ ! 1 1 h i 1 ■■ M The Kingston Peak Formation, as originally defined in the Kingston Range (Hewett, 1940, p. 240), is the high est of three formations constituting the Pahrump Series of Precambrian (Algonkian) age. It can be correlated on the 26 basis of its distinctive lithology with similar rocks de scribed in the Manly Peak Quadrangle (Johnson, 1959, p. 367), about 24 miles south of the mapped area. Origin and Condition of Deposition Interbedded quartzites, shales, limestones, and conglomerates of the Kingston Peak Formation are suggestive of a marine origin. The poorly sorted, lithologically heterogeneous conglomerate may be of fluviatile origin, and may represent a pouring of coarse, clastic material into a shallow sea from rapidly eroding source areas. The pro gressive increase in average coarseness of the sediments from bottom to the top of the section indicates that the depth of water gradually lessened as the sediments ac cumulated, although there may have been minor cessations or reversals as represented by interbedded shales in quart zites and by the intercalated conglomerate. Whether the general shallowing of the water resulted from elevation of the sea bottom, or from sedimentation more rapid than the sinking of the floor of the sedimentary basin is not evident. The occurrence of the stretched pebble conglomer ate may represent a higher grade of metamorphism due to 27 more intense deformation, as this unit is markedly schist ose, the clasts are elongated, and the crystalloblastic matrix contains grains of quartz and muscovite. Noonday (?) Dolomite Introduction The carbonate rocks exposed along Emigrant Canyon are here considered to be probably equivalent to the Noon day (?) Dolomite. The type locality of the Noonday (?) Dolomite is in the Nopah Range, California, where the formation consists of about 1500 feet of cream-colored dolomite (Hazzard, 1937, p. 300). Distribution and Thickness The Noonday (?) Dolomite crops out along Emigrant Canyon between Emigrant Spring and Upper Emigrant Spring, where it forms massive, rocky outcrops. The thickness was undeterminable due to the massive character of the forma tion, but was estimated from structure section E-E' as about 1000 feet. In the Manly Peak Quadrangle its thick ness is from 800 to 1000 feet (Johnson, 1959, p. 370). Lithology The Noonday (?) Dolomite in the Emigrant Canyon 28 area is predominantly a massive, buff to light-orange, fine-grained, crystalline dolomite. In places the dolomite is slightly sandy with quartz grains ranging in size from less than 2 to 5 mm. The arenaceous limestone layers weather medium-brown or gray and the layers are light-gray on fresh surfaces. The bedding is indistinct and attitudes could not be determined in the unit. Interbedded thin- gray limestone and blue-gray limestone were found at sev eral places in the massive dolomite. Locally, the dolomite is highly brecciated, suggesting minor thrusting in the formation itself. Contacts The Noonday (?) Dolomite is intruded by quartz monzonite of Cretaceous (?) age, lies in fault contact with the Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated rocks, and is uncon- formably overlain by fanglomerate of Pliocene age in the Emigrant Canyon area. It appears to lie in a down-dropped fault block with the adjacent up-thrown thrust block con sisting of older rocks. The Noonday (?) Dolomite is missing in the eastern part of the area where the plutonic rocks separate the Kingston Peak Formation and the upper part of the Johnnie 29 Formation. Hopper (1947, p. 405) found the same relation ship several miles south of the mapped area. He suggests an angular unconformity between the Kingston Peak Formation and the overlying upper part of the Johnnie Formation, due to a transgression of the Lower Cambrian seas from east to west across the Death Valley region. The Noonday (?) Dolomite was reported by Lanphere (1962, p. 51) in the Wildrose Canyon area 8 miles south of the mapped area. Due to the angular discordance between the Kingston Peak Formation and the Johnnie Formation it may be possible that the Noonday (?) Dolomite and the lower part of the Johnnie Formation have been faulted and that the dike-like quartz monzonite intrusion was localized by this pre-existing fault. The possibility of the formation thinning rapidly between Wildrose Canyon and Harriburg Flat may be suggested, but Johnson (1959, p. 372) noted the inconsistency of this proposal with the conformity of the Kingston Peak, Noonday, and Johnnie Formations in the Manly Peak Quadrangle, the angular discordance in the Emigrant Canyon area, and be cause of the widespread occurrence of the Noonday Dolomite and its equivalents throughout much of the Death Valley region. 30 Age and Correlation No recognizable fossils were found in the Noonday (?) Dolomite; however, algal structures were noted among talus debris which resemble algae such as Girvanella sp. The unit is similar to rocks described by Lanphere (1962, p. 51) and Johnson (1959, p. 370), and is tentatively dated as Late Precambrian or Algonkian. The Noonday (?) Dolomite has been correlated with the Telescope group of Murphy (1932) and with the Reed Dolomite in the Inyo-White mountains on the basis of stratigraphic position, lithology and thickness (Johnson, 1959, p. 372). Origin and Condition of Deposition Post-depositional alteration masks most of the features bearing on the original character of the Noonday (?) Dolomite. Dolomitization processes have occurred, al though it is not known whether dolomitization was an early or late post-depositional process. Relics of detrital quartz show that the formation was in part of clastic ori gin. The algal structures in other places suggest a partly bioclastic origin. During the deposition of the Noonday (?) Dolomite, a situation far from land is indi- 31 cated, or else the nearby land was low and provided only small quantities of detrital sediment. The thickness of the formation is suggestive of uniform conditions in a shallow marine environment for a long period of time. Johnnie Formation Introduction Nolan (1929, p. 461) was the first to define the Johnnie Formation in the Spring Mountains of Nevada, where it has a maximum thickness of 4500 feet. In the southern part of the Panamint Range, Johnson (1959, p. 37 3) assigns a section of rocks 2000 to 2500 feet thick to the Johnnie Formation; the lower member of the formation consists of quartzite, sandy dolomite, and dolomite, and the upper member consists of shale, sandstone, and minor dolomite. Hopper (1947, p. 405) mapped the upper shaly portion of the Johnnie Formation south of the present mapped area, where it has a thickness of about 1500 feet. Distribution and Thickness The Johnnie Formation is exposed along the east side of Harrisburg Flat, forming a belt varying from less than a mile to over 1 1/4 miles in width. In general, the 32 formation dips moderately to steeply eastward, although local structural modifications occur. For the purpose of field mapping the Johnnie Formation was divided into two members of differing lithology: a lower member of shale, quartzite and carbonates approximately 1525 feet thick, and an upper shale member with minor limestone beds about 3395 feet thick. The top of the carbonate sequence was used as the line of subdivision since the change of lithology is abrupt, and is easily recognized throughout the area. Lithology The lower member of the Johnnie Formation weathers to a dark-brown color, producing a massive rubbly float and a dark-colored slope in contrast to a very light-colored slope that characterizes the intrusive rocks. The lowest unit consists of about 350 feet of highly fractured, dark- gray, silty shale, which weathers to a reddish-brown color. The silty shale becomes slaty near the intrusive contact and frequently contains small cubes of hematite pseudo- morphous after pyrite. Interbedded in the shale is a well- indurated shale breccia, about 15 feet thick, which con tains poorly-sorted, angular shale clasts of cobble size 33 with a few limestone clasts present. The breccia is lense- like and not continuous in outcrop. It may represent a submarine slide or turbidite deposit. The silty shale grades into a dark-gray to black shale, which is fractured and highly contorted. It appears to be continuous to the south, but thins rapidly to the north. A lens or tongue-like white to gray quartzite, weathering orange-brown to dark-brown, is interbedded with the shale. The quartzite thickens to the north, attaining a thickness of about 400 feet, but is absent along Aguer- reberry Road. The quartz grains are subrounded to well- rounded, and medium- to coarse-grained, although small pebble lenses are not uncommon. The cementing material is siliceous, but small amounts of calcium carbonate and iron- oxide are present. Lateral variation is characteristic of Johnnie lithology (Hazzard, 1937, p. 305) and shales inter bedded with sandstones commonly grade laterally into them. Overlying both the quartzite and shale is a carbon ate sequence about 490 feet thick. The lower laminated limestone is dark-gray on fresh surfaces, and weathers light-brown along the laminations. Calcite veins are com mon, varying in width from minute fractures to three- eighths of an inch thick. Thin arenaceous limestone lenses 34 and shale interbeds occur locally. A white to buff-colored, coarsely crystalline dolomite overlies the limestone and contains minor one- to four-inch thick, fine-grained, sandy interbeds. The upper limestone is orange-brown to buff-colored on the weathered surface, and is a prominent, resistant ridge-former. The upper member of the Johnnie Formation weathers a greenish-gray color and produces a slabby or slaty float. The lower, platy gray shale weathers reddish-brown and contains abundant five- to six-foot quartzite stringers weathering out on the surface. The surfaces of the shale are commonly corrugated, although larger flaggy rocks dis play planar surfaces. The middle dark-gray limestone is shaly near the base, having a transitional contact with the underlying shale. Overlying the limestone is a blocky, greenish to gray-brown shale with local interbeds of quart zite which are lens-shaped and pinch out abruptly. Contacts The lower contact of the Johnnie Formation is an intrusive one with the Cretaceous (?) quartz monzonite. The contact is abrupt and appears to be concordant, with bedding planes paralleling the margin of the intrusion. 35 The contact with the overlying Stirling Quartzite appears to be conformable with no appreciable change in attitude. Johnson (1959, p. 376) found this same relation ship in the Manly Peak Quadrangle. Age and Correlation No fossils were found in the Johnnie Formation in the mapped area, so its age is questionable. Johnson (1959, p. 37 5) placed the formation in late Precambrian (Algonkian) time and suggests that it may be equivalent to rocks of the Deep Spring Formation of the Inyo Range, which are Cambrian or Precambrian (Nelson 1962, p. 140). Origin and Condition of Deposition The lithology of the Johnnie Formation suggests fairly rapid deposition under geosynclinal conditions with the sediment derived from rapid erosion of a tectonic source area. The quartzite and carbonate beds would be evidence of minor oscillations in the conditions of depo sition. Irregularities of deposition are common in areas of shallow water and may result from variations in the type and amount of sediment delivered to the area? minor fluctuations of the sea and interlayering from these causes is likely to be seasonal or follow some cycle of a longer 36 period. Stirling Quartzite Introduction Nolan (1929, p. 463) originally used the name Stirling Quartzite for beds overlying the Johnnie Forma tion in the northwest portion of the Spring Mountains, Nevada, where the formation is 3700 feet thick. The name was applied by Hazzard (1937, p. 306) to rocks of similar age and lithology in the Nopah Range. Hopper (1947, p. 406) noted the occurrence of the Stirling Quartzite south of the mapped area where it attains a thickness of 1200 feet, while Johnson (1959, p. 376) recognized the Stirling Quartzite in the Manly Peak Quadrangle. Distribution and Thickness The Stirling Quartzite crops out only in the eastern part of the mapped area north of Aguerreberry Road, where it is approximately 910 feet thick. The top of the formation was not found. The Stirling Quartzite can be distinguished from the underlying gray shale of the Johnnie Formation by its light-gray- to white color and more resistant outcrop. 37 Lithology The Stirling Quartzite in the Emigrant Canyon area is a massive, medium-grained, light-gray to white quart zite weathering to a purple-gray color. Overlying the lower quartzite are gray and reddish quartzites with minor interbedded platy shale and pebbly sandstone lenses. The upper quartzites are medium- to coarse-grained, the quartz grains being subangular to subrounded. Cross-bedding is locally present. Contacts The Stirling Quartzite lies with apparent conform ity on the underlying shales of the Johnnie Formation. The top of the Stirling Quartzite was not seen, but ac cording to Hopper (1947, p. 406) it is conformably overlain by the Wood Canyon Formation east of the mapped area. Age and Correlation The Stirling Quartzite is unfossiliferous and was identified on the basis of its stratigraphic position and lithology. Johnson (1959, p. 376) regards the Stirling Quartzite as Late Precambrian in age and suggests a strati graphic correlation with the Campito Sandstone in the Inyo Range. The lower member of the Campito Sandstone may be 38 Precambrian in age (Nelson, 1962, fig. 2, p. 140). Origin and Condition of Deposition The lithology of the Stirling quartzite is sug gestive of stable conditions of sedimentation, with mild subsidence during accumulation. These areally extensive sand deposits may indicate a zone of very shallow water or an unstable coastline, being either transgressive or regressive, and varying in age in a direction normal to the ancient coastline. Mesozoic Rocks Quartz Monzonite Plutonic Rocks Introduction and Distribution Plutonic igneous rocks underlie the Emigrant Can yon area, the major rock type being quartz monzonite. It forms a dike-like body east of Harrisburg Flat, but is more stock-like in the northern part of the area. The intrusive rock crops out as conspicuous white areas that form rocky, somewhat raised exposures. It is easily distinguished from the dark-gray slopes underlain by the Johnnie Forma tion of Precambrian age. It readily disintegrates, forming rounded crests and generally smooth topography. 39 Petrology The quartz monzonite is a massive, coarse-grained, light-gray igneous rock with a hypautomorphic granular texture, consisting chiefly of quartz, potash feldspar, and saussurized plagioclase. It is uniform in texture and mineral composition throughout the mapped area. Megascopi- cally, the mineral composition and estimated percentages of each mineral present are as follows: Mineral Per Cent potash feldspar 30 quartz 40 plagioclase 20 muscovite 7 magnetite 1 sphene 1 pyrite 1 Coarse-grained porphyritic facies are common near the peripherial margin of the mass (Plate 5), where the orthoclase crystals attain a maximum length of 18 mm. Lenticular veins of white, milky quartz are common locally in the intrusion, and are frequently mineralized. Dark, fine-grained inclusions, several feet across, are common near the southern end of Harrisburg Plat. A typical inclusion, muscovite granite, has the following composition: 40 Plate 5. Coarse-grained porphyritic facies of the quartz monzonite intrusion. 41 Mineral Per Cent potash feldspar quartz plagioclase muscovite magnetite pyrite 40 40 8 10 1 1 Diabase dikes, ranging up to several feet thick, locally are present in the quartz monzonite intrusion, and are traceable for several hundred feet. They are most prominently developed along the southern margin of the large central mass of quartz monzonite. The dikes appear to originate from this rock and to transect it in a nearly straight line. The diabase dikes are massive, fine-grained dark rocks made up mainly of euhedral plagioclase and an- hedral augite. Contacts and Mode of Emplacement The contacts of the intrusion are generally con cordant with the lower part of the Johnnie Formation. How ever, north of Harrisburg Flat, the contact of the intru sion is intricately discordant with the Kingston Peak Formation, where the beds are steeper dipping and over turned. The intrusive contact is in fault contact along most of its extent. Observation of the contact zone allows the making 42 of certain reasonably reliable statements regarding the relationship of the intrusive rocks to the intruded rocks in the Emigrant Canyon area: (1) The Precambrian rocks adjacent to the intru sion have been highly deformed, at least in part by the intrusion, suggesting some forceful injection. (2) The lack of linear or planar structures in the intrusion indicates that forceful injection was not the dominant process and that bedding planes of the invaded rock determined the attitude of a least part of the margin of the intrusion. (3) The dike-like intrusion may owe its existence to a pre-intrusion fault. This statement is because of its elongate dike-like shape, and the absence of the Noonday Dolomite and the lower portion of the Johnnie Formation from their normal stratigraphic sequence throughout the southern Panamint Range. This is purely speculative and field studies south of the mapped area may give evidence to the existence, extent, and displacement of such a fault. (4) It seems probable therefore, that locally the quartz monzonite was emplaced as a magma by forceful in jection, with piecemeal stoping of the wall rock being a dominant process. Whether or not assimilation was in volved cannot be postulated at this time. No apophyses were observed along the contact, but xenoliths of Pre- cambrian rocks were found in the quartz monzonite near the contact (Plate 6) . Age The plutonic rocks in the Emigrant Canyon area are believed to be Cretaceous in age. The rocks are intrusive into the Kingston Peak and the Johnnie Formations: there fore the field relations in the area allow an age assign ment only of post-late Precambrian. However, a potassium- argon age of 73 million years has been measured on musco vite from granite in the Wildrose area (Lanphere, 1962, p. 78), suggesting a possible Cretaceous age. These rocks are probably correlative with the plutonic rocks in the Sierra Nevada, which have been called Late Jurassic as well as Early Cretaceous, and are associated with the folding and intrusive activity related to the Nevadian Orogeny. 44 Plate 6. Exposure of contact between the Johnnie Formation and the quartz monzonite intrusion. Note blocky xenoliths in the ig neous rocks. 45 Cenozoic Rocks Tertiary System-Pliocene (?) Series Nova Formation Introduction Hopper (1947, p. 414) described the Nova Formation as predominantly fanglomerate with intercalated layers of volcanic material, attaining a thickness of at least 3000 feet. The type section is exposed in Nova Canyon, 8 miles northwest of Wildrose Canyon. Distribution and Thickness The Nova Fanglomerate occupies a large part of the Emigrant Canyon area, extending from west of Harrisburg Flats to Emigrant Wash. It attains a maximum thickness of 7680 feet, as measured from structure section E-E' (Fig ure 2). It is in nearly vertical cliffs along Emigrant Canyon, but, in other areas it tends to form badland topo graphy. Lithology The Nova Formation consists mainly of poorly sorted, angular to sub-angular, buff-colored to reddish-brown fan glomerate, with interbedded sedimentary breccias and vol 46 canic extrusive rocks. The matrix is primarily silt with a calcium carbonate cement. Crude bedding is developed and locally there are pebbly lenses. The interbedded members consist of andesite and basalt flows, breccias, and a lenticular rhyolitic tuff bed. The breccias are coarse grained, and nearly all are essentially monolithologic. Most of the breccias consist of angular blocks of blue- gray limestone or buff dolomite in a carbonate matrix; typically they crop out as prominent ridges. One breccia consists wholly of quartzite fragments. They form tabular masses ranging from 80 feet to about 700 feet in thickness and are clearly interstratified with the finer-grained fanglomerate. The basalt and andesite volcanic flows are gener ally massive and either vesicular or amygdaloidal through out much of their thickness. In the basalt the vesicles are elongated in the direction of flow, whereas the ande site contains araygdules primarily of calcite. Each unit probably represents several flows as scoriaceous textures and baked zones were observed in several places in a vertical succession. 47 Contacts An angular unconformity separates the Nova Forma tion from the underlying Precambrian sedimentary and Mesozoic igneous rocks. Quaternary Alluvium and stream gravels lie unconformably on the Nova Fanglomerate. Age and Correlation The Nova Formation has been designated as possibly Late Miocene in age, based on structural evidence (Hopper, 1947, p. 414), but it resembles the fanglomerate of the Furnace Creek Formation and may be its correlative. The age of the latter is Pliocene (Clements, 1954, p. 32). Origin and Condition of Deposition The Pliocene Nova Formation appears to represent terrestrial fluviatile or alluvial fan deposition, with the intermittent addition of coarser material producing the interbedded sedimentary breccia lenses, and intermittent volcanic fissure eruptions accounting for the volcanic flows. The breccia lenses, each of limited extent, lie at different stratigraphic horizons conformable with the en closing fanglomerate. It is suggested that the breccia masses slid or were transported as debris waves from a high block of bedrock that bordered the area. An active fault 48 or fault zone to the west of the area may have maintained a fairly constant scarp and coarse debris from this source may have slid or may have been carried in a fluid condition eastward or down-slope and subsequently buried in the thickening fanglomerate sediments. Quaternary System Alluvium The Quaternary rocks in the Emigrant Canyon area consist of younger fanglomerate, and Recent stream and slope wash gravels, and stream debris. The Recent de posits were not separated from the older ones and both are shown as Quaternary alluvium on the geologic map (Figure 1) . The younger buff-colored fanglomerate is composed of angular to subrounded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders in a limy matrix of sand and silt. This material can be dif ferentiated from the Nova Fanglomerate by its color and its angular contact with the older fanglomerate. The younger fanglomerate is not deformed and is only moderately dis sected, suggesting a Late Pleistocene age. The unconsolidated stream gravels and sands are 49 stained with limonite and extend up all the canyons that drain the area. They are probably younger than the dis sected fanglomerate. The alluvium which blankets the floor of Harris burg Flat consists predominantly of unconsolidated detrital sand and silt deposited by the action of wind, water, and gravity. STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY General Features The Panamint Range is a northwest- to southeast- trending fault block separated from Death Valley on the east by a fault (Hopper, 1947, p. 428), and from Panamint Valley on the west by the Panamint Valley fault zone (Hopper, 1947, p. 426). Throughout the central part of the range, all the strata are tilted to the east, and generally the dips are greatest in the older rocks, although local variations exist (Hopper, 1947, Plate 1; Murphy, 1932, Plate 4). The absence of sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Early Tertiary age in the mapped area not only leaves a wide gap in the history of the sediments, but also introduces problems in dating events in the structural history. The structural features of the Emigrant Canyon area include folds and faults, which are ascribed to two periods of deformation. The first is evidenced by a thrust fault 50 51 along Emigrant Canyon, steeply dipping strata of the Kings ton Peak Formation, and drag folds in the Johnnie Forma tion, which may be related to Cretaceous (?) intrusive ac tivity. The second period of deformation is expressed by high angle, normal faults which cut the Pliocene sediments. Structural features of the first deformation have been fur- there deformed and to a certain extent obscured by later deformation. Mesozoic Structures The later Precambrian rocks generally dip moderate ly to steeply eastward and their structure is essentially monoclinal. Exceptions to this generalization include drag folds and overturned beds along the margins of the Mesozoic quartz monzonite intrusion, suggesting forceful injection of the intrusion. The shape of the intrusion may have been partly controlled by a large pre-existing fault or fault zone, a relationship which was discussed prev iously . Faults in the Precambrian rocks trend north-south and are definitely related to the intrusion. The location, extent, trend, and apparent displacement of these faults are shown on the geologic map (Figure 1) and accompanying cross-sections (Figure 2). Some of the larger faults are traceable for several miles, but more commonly they extend for less than a mile before bifurcating, intersecting another longitudial fault, or in some cases, abutting against a transverse fault or more commonly being covered by alluvium. The trace of the Upper Emigrant Spring Thrust is marked in places by strong brecciation of the Noonday (?) Dolomite, highly contorted shale of the Precambrian (?) Undifferentiated unit, fault gouge, and a fault-line spring. Erosion of Emigrant Canyon has removed the top of the thrust plate, thus giving a sinuous trace to the fault. The faults are recognized in the field on the basis of one or more of the following criteria; structural discontinuity, stratigraphic discontinuity, and physio graphic evidence. Structural discontinuities are particu larly evident where the light colored quartz monzonite abuts against the Precambrian shale and quartzite. It is probable that the first longitudinal faults developed contemporaneously with the intrusion of magma during the Nevadian Orogeny. Tensional faults may have formed after the intrusion, and possibly there was addi tional movement along the older faults. 53 Cenozoic Structures High angle, normal faults are the predominant structures in the Nova Formation and are related to deform- ation during the latter part of the Tertiary. The complex interconnected system of normal faults has partitioned the area into a patchwork of fault blocks of variable size. These faults differ from Mesozoic faults mainly in that their displacement is considerably less, and they generally exhibit physiographic evidence of their relative youth. Some of the normal faults might have developed along existing longitudinal faults. The normal faults commonly form sinuous courses across many small gullies. However, the abrupt lithologic change at the fault is a more satis factory mapping criterion, particularly in areas where talus covers the fault trace. Several important normal faults were recognized in the area. A fault, roughly parallel to jayhawker Canyon, offsets and faults out many members of the Nova Formation. A second normal fault zone, traced for over 2 miles, off sets the limestone breccia and basalt flow members along Emigrant Canyon. The presence of the Emigrant Wash fault is based on physiographic evidence and was recognized by 54 Ball (1907, p. 210) in his study of the Death Valley re gion. Hopper (1947, p. 427) infers that it may be a northerly continuation of a north-trending fault, which separates Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks on the west side o f the Panamint Range. The mechanism that produced the high angle normal faults in the mapped area is not known, but they might have developed in order to relieve stresses produced in the Panamint block by movement along frontal faults. Movement along the Cenozoic faults probably began in Late Tertiary time and has continued to the present. That movement has continued to the present is indicated by Recent displace ment of Quaternary Alluvium. Tiltmeter observations on the floor of Death Valley indicate that measureable tilting is occurring at the present (Green and Hunt, 1960, p. 27 5- 276) . GEOMORPHOLOGY General Statement Physiographic features of the Emigrant Canyon area are typical of those of the Basin and Range Province. They have developed in accord with the particular local, cli matic, lithologic, and structural conditions. Thus the present topography strongly reflects the complexity of the fault systems developed in alternating sequences of strati fied rocks that vary in resistance to erosion. The mapped area can be divided roughly into three components: 1. an alluviated surface, Harrisburg Flat, which is considered a remnant of the Late Tertiary (?) pre-Basin-Range uplift erosion surface; 2. eastern hills, forming rounded talus-covered slopes on homoclinal and slightly folded strata, which trend north-south and provide a divide for re- sequent drainage to the east; 3. a western canyon area, which contains a consequent stream channel heading in Harrisburg Flat and opening into Emigrant Wash, and along which Pliocene fanglomerate is being dissected into badland topography. 55 Stage of Geomorphic Cycle 56 The Panamint Range, initiated by the most recent major deformation, is in the youthful stage of the desert erosion cycle (Hopper, 1947, p. 396). At present the rugged, youthful mountains are being eroded and dissected, and relief is at a maximum. Relatively well dissected mountain slopes, fairly straight base line at the foot of the range and V-shaped canyons opening onto coalescing al luvial fans indicate a youthful stage in the arid cycle of geomorphic development. Old erosion surface remnants are all that are left of the mature surface which was termed a "senesland" by Maxson, a land surface intermediate between a mature land and peneplain (Maxson, 1950, p. 101), and which provides a local base level in part of the area. Emigrant Canyon is the main drainage channel in the area with subsequent streams entering accordantly. The steep tributary canyons are undergoing vigorous headward erosion. The drainage pattern is locally dendritic, al though a regional radial drainage pattern appears to be developed around Pinto Peak, which is situated about 2 miles southwest of Willow Spring. 57 Topographic highs are controlled by the more resis tant volcanic cap rock and carbonate breccias, whereas bad- land topography is well developed where there is an absence of lithologic controls. Steep amphitheater structures fluted by erosion furrows are also developed. Rill and sheetwash erosion and convex hill slopes are characteris tically developed on fine-grained, poorly consolidated strata in an arid climate. Structural dip slopes are de veloped on the more resistant beds, being usually covered by a thin veneer of fanglomerate where the resistant beds crop out. Dry waterfalls are incised along the front of many of these beds, and almost vertical cliffs are common along many of the canyons. Erosion Surface of Low Relief Remnants of an old erosion surface have been recog nized in many parts of the Panamint Range. Palmer (1893, p. 377) recognized a basin-like structure at the head of Emigrant Canyon in 1891, and designated it "Perognathus Flat”, because of the unusual abundance of pocket mice of the genus Perognathus. It has subsequently been renamed Harrisburg Flat, after the old townsite of Harrisburg (Wright, 1954, p. 26). 58 Maxson (1950, p. 102) recognized low relief rem nants of this surface in the Cottonwood Mountains, Tucki Mountain, and the Harrisburg Flat-Wildrose area; calling it the Darwin arid senesland in this part of the Great Basin. The age of this surface throughout the southwestern Great Basin is commonly considered to be Late Pliocene (Murphy, 1932, p. 336). Hopper (1947, p. 401) correlated the Pana mint Range erosion surfaces with those in the Coso and Argus Ranges and considered that they correspond to the interval between Lower Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Axelrod (1960, p. 23) concluded from structural and fossil flora evidence that the erosion surface at Harrisburg Flat is not the Coso surface, but a younger erosion surface of Pleistocene age. Johnson (1959, p. 411) described several erosion surfaces in the Manly Peak Quadrangle about 25 miles south of Harrisburg Flat. They differ from the erosion surface of Harrisburg Flat in that they contain playas and are situated transverse to the Panamint Range. The erosion surface in the mapped area is elongate parallel to the range, trending north-south, and has a major diameter of 5 1/2 miles and a minor diameter of 2 1/2 miles. The ele vation averages about 5200 feet around its periphery and is 59 4863 feet at its lowest point near the head of Emigrant Canyon. These near-basins, like true basins in an arid region, are expanding laterally by the retreat of the en closing mountain slopes. They provide local base levels controlling the erosion of flanking pediments (Maxson, 1950, p. 102). Other Geomorphic Features Pedestal rocks are commonly developed in the Nova Formation (Plate 7). They have formed along the upper reaches of Burro Canyon on steep slopes, where more resis tant lenses of fanglomerate protected the underlying strata from erosion. They are the result of normal recession of the walls of the canyon, with the more resistant (better cemented) lens forming a protective cap over the under lying weaker strata. Similar structures have developed between Burro Spring and the mouth of Burro Canyon where andesitic cap rock overlies the less resistant fanglomerate. There is also some development of pedestal rocks in lower Emigrant Canyon. Differential weathering and differential rainwash 60 : Plate 7. Pedestal rocks in the Nova Fanglomerate. Located in Burro Canyon near Malapi Spring. 61 theories may be discarded because of the lack of soil moisture in the region and the absence of evidence of rain or drip furrows around the base of the structures. A natural rock bridge, over 6 feet in height, is developed north of Telephone Spring (Plate 8), where a tributary stream has cut through the fanglomerate. 62 Plate 8. Natural rock bridge in the Nova Fanglomerate. Located north of Telephone Spring in Telephone Canyon. GEOLOGIC HISTORY The earliest record of geologic events within the Emigrant Canyon area is the deposition during the pre cambrian of a thick series of muds, along with lesser amounts of alternating lime and sand in a shallow, wide spread sea. The receiving basin or geosyncline must have sub sided continuously resulting in a deep burial of sediments during long periods of stable sea stand. The general tranquility of Precambrian deposition was sharply broken from time to time by local deformation giving rise to coarse, clastic sediments, such as the sedi mentary conglomerate of the Kingston Peak Formation. Oscil latory seas, rising highlands or perhaps times of greater capacity of the transporting medium produced clastic depo sition of clay, silt, and sand through much of the Pre cambrian as shown by the Johnnie Formation and Stirling Quartzite. Paleozoic rocks may have been deposited in the Emigrant Canyon area, but there is no record of them, 63 possibly due to erosion. A major epoch of mountain building took place be tween the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous time, probably equivalent to the Nevadian Orogeny, an interval of great regional disturbance marked by emergence, deformation, and plutonic intrusion over a large part of the western Cordilleran region. During this orogeny, the Precambrian formations were deformed and invaded by quartz monzonite magmas, with accompanying mineralization. Events from the Cretaceous to the Miocene left no record in the Emigrant Canyon area. It is probable that during a very long period of erosion the mountains formed in the Nevadian Orogeny were worn down to a peneplain. During Late Tertiary time, regional uplift oc curred and many of the present ranges, including the Pana mint Range began to rise significantly above their adjacent valleys as a result of uplift along frontal faults. This faulting has continued into the Recent time. During the Pliocene, continental sedimentation started with the deposition of fanglomerate derived from the basement rocks of the Panamint Range filling canyons eroded in the Precambrian rocks. This was followed by vol- canism which resulted in the extrusion of andesite flows 65 and agglomerate, which, in turn, was followed by intermit tent addition of coarser material from a high land area a few miles or even tens of miles distant. These breccia- forming fragments may have been transported as debris waves or water-laden flows. Accumulation of terrestrial sedi ments continued, accompanied by renewed volcanism and the extrusion of basalt fissure flows. Fanglomerate deposition continued with a final volcanic explosion in the later stages resulting in the deposition of the tuff member. Pleistocene and Recent faulting brought the Emi grant Canyon area to its present condition. Recent uplift rejuvenated the streams, resulting in the dissection of al luvial fans. The present streams are eroding the older fan material as well as all other formations in the area. The geologic history is summarized in Figure 5. Figure 5. GEOLOGIC HISTORY 66 SEDIMENTATION Marine Non-Marine Erosion co 2 h w w o n a o g ’ ’. ■JIIIII'ITTTI I iii ii« i» )H)W »mj ----- m m ,iiiin llM llllhW M ilB Erosion M Missing or Eroded Thickness in Thousands of Feet i = intrusion e = extrusion o = faulting • = folding and faulting ECONOMIC GEOLOGY Metallic Mineral Deposits General Features Most of the known gold and silver deposits in the mapped area are of the fissure-vein type and occur along the contact between Precambrian sedimentary rocks and Mesozoic plutonic rocks. Most of the veins average 2 to 3 feet in thickness, strike northward, and dip steeply to the east. The predominant gangue mineral is milky quartz. Oxidized minerals commonly are limonite and malachite. The most common mineral assemblage is tetrahedrite, galena, sphalerite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite (Murphy, 1930, p. 321) . Data on the grade of the deposits are few, but the cited reports indicate that the best ore contained 0.5 to 1.7 ounces of gold and 15 ounces of silver per ton (Norman, 1951, p. 44); this is probably not an average of ore grade but a maximum. Development of the steeply dipping veins consists of shaft sinking and driving of drifts from the shaft at 67 68 suitable levels, or cross-cutting from the hillside to a vein and drifting and stopping the vein. Gold and Silver Independent Mine (Cashier): The Independent Mine was located by J. P. Aguereberry in 1906 and worked until 1910. The Cashier Mining Company then acquired the prop erty and worked it until 1914. J. P. Aguereberry later relocated the property, which consists of seven claims. The main workings occupy the eastern end of an elongate hill of sedimentary rocks of the Precambrian Kingston Peak Formation near the southeastern corner of Harrisburg Flats. The ore mineral is free gold in lens shaped bodies of quartz, adjacent to the quartz monzonite intrusion. The ore bodies occupy fissures which strike N. 20 to 25°E. and dip 55 to 70°E. Principal workings are a 400-foot shaft inclined 55°E. with levels at 100, 200, 300, and 400 feet below the shaft collar. According to Tucker (1938, p. 391), the total recorded production was over $150,000 in gold and silver. The mine was last operated in 1951 and 1952. Sunset Mine: The Sunset Mine consists of four claims: Sunset 1, Sunset 2, National, and St. Lawrence. 69 The mines are east of Harrisburg Flats, north and south of the Skidoo Road. The owner of the mine is W. M. G. Walters, of Trona, California. Gold is associated with a quartz vein in a quartz monzonite intrusion. The vein is exposed by prospect holes for approximately 200 feet along the surface. The irregu lar ore bodies range from a few inches to 6 feet in width. Workings consist of a timbered shaft with drifts on the 50, 100, and 125 foot levels. Approximately 100 tons of ore carrying an average of 20 dollars worth of gold per ton have been shipped from the mine. Some silver is also recovered from the ore (Norman, 1951, p. 52). The mine is now idle, having been worked last in 1940. As it was impossible to identify some of the un marked workings from descriptions of past activities, many mineral deposits which are described in the literature as being within the mapped area are not shown on the geologic map (Figure 1). On the accompanying tabulated list of mines and prospects (Table 1), locations of the various properties are referred to local roads and landmarks, since public land survey lines are not complete on the base map. Table 1. Mines and Prospects of the Emigrant Canyon Area Map Name of Claim No. or Mine Owner and Date of Claim Location Remarks American No. 4 American No. 5 American No. 9 Art Detloff March 6, 1953 Art Detloff March 6, 1953 Art Detloff Date undeter mined. About 600 ft. in a northeastern direc* tion from Burro Spring. About midway be tween Malapi Spring and Burns Spring. 400 ft. in south eastern direction from Greer Spring. Quartz claim; general course of vein is northerly and souther ly. Size of claim is 1500 ft. long by 600 ft. wide. Adit, about 30 ft. long, on contact between andesite vol- canics (Ta) and Pre- cambrian (?) rocks (Au) . Prospect; course of vein northerly and southerly, in fanglom- erate (Tf) above ande- sitic volcanics (Ta). Prospect; several shal low pits along contact between fanglomerate (Tf) and Precambrian (?) quartzite (Au). Table 1 (Cont'd) Map Name of Claim No. or Mine Owner and Date of Claim Location Remarks Black Horse 8 Cashier Mine (Independent Mine) Charm No. 2 Alex Jones July 6, 1935 Melvin Hills and Reva Leitch September 18, 1955 Eastern side of Harrisburg Flats, about 800 ft. north of the Skidoo Road. Eastern side of Harrisburg Flats, about 1650 ft. north of Skidoo Road. Shallow prospect pit in massive quartzite of the Kingston Peak Form ation, near contact with quartz monzonite intrusion. Vein course is easterly and wester ly. An amended filing claim. See page 68 Vertical shaft located in quartz monzonite in trusion. Abundant quartz gangue. Former ly known as Comet No. 2 and Contact No. 2. Joins Charm No. 1 to the west. Table 1 (Cont’d) Map No. 7 8 9 10 Name of Claim or Mine Owner and Date of Claim Location Remarks Comet No. 3 Easter No. 1 Easter No. 2 Gleir No. 1 W. Montelam Eastern side of and o. Montelam Harrisburg Flats, August 20, 1952 680 ft. south of Skidoo Road. M. Kurkdjie and P. Markham July 4, 1955 M. Kurkdjie April 12, 1958 C. Meyers and Roy Wells Jan. 2, 1954 North of Harris burg Flats, about 4230 ft. southeast of Hill 5944. North of Harris burg Flats, about 4210 ft. southeast of Hill 5944. East of Upper Emi grant Spring, 725 ft. northeast of Emigrant Canyon Road. Prospect; consists of two small pits in lime stone of the Kingston Peak Formation. Lode direction is northwest to southeast. Inclined adit in quartz monzonite intrusion. General course of vein is north-south. Abun dant vein quartz. Inclined adit in quartz monzonite. General course of vein is north south. Consists of two verti cal shafts and two shallow prospect pits in dolomitic limestone of the Noonday (?) Dolomite. NJ Table 1 (Cont'd) Map No. 11 12 13 14 15 Name of Claim or Mine Owner and Date of Claim Location Remarks Harrisburg Mohawk National Nite Cap No. 2 L. J. Dunn April 13, 1954 East side of Harrisburg Flats, about 6060 ft. south of Skidoo Road. L. V. Howell East side of and M. Barginski Harrisburg Flats, May 25, 1951 about 1550 ft. south of Skidoo Road. See Cashier Mine and page 68 Quartz claim in quartz monzonite intrusion. Adit inclined and vein quartz abundant. See Sunset No. 1 Shallow prospect pit in quartz monzonite intru sion . Pioneer's Lode Frank Victor East of Upper Emi grant Spring, 225 ft. east of Emi grant Canyon Road Twenty-foot adit in dolomitic limestone of the Noonday (?) Dolomite. Table 1 Map Name of Claim Owner and No. or Mine Date of Claim 16 Red Dog No. 3 R. Tranah May 7, 1956 17 Short John w. A. Tranah Extension No. 1 January 7, 1953 18 St. Lawrence 19 Sunrise No. 1 M. E. Huntley 20 Sunset No. 1 W. M. Walters July 1, 1941 21 Sunset No. 2 (Cont'd) Location Remarks East of Harrisburg, Inclined adit in dolomite 2680 ft. south of of Johnnie Formation. Aguereberry Road. Lode direction northeast- southwest. Relocation of claim formerly known as the Vernon No. 2. Eight tons of tungsten ore mined and removed. East of Harrisburg, Shallow prospect pit in 1500 ft. south of quartzite of Johnnie Aguereberry Road. Formation (Ajx). See Sunset No. 1 East of Harrisburg Shallow prospect pit in Flats, 6560 ft. limestone of Johnnie southeast of Skidoo Formation (Aj^). Abundant Road, near eastern quartz vein gangue. boundary of area. See pages 68 and 69. See Sunset No. 1 4 ^ Table Map Name of Claim Owner and No. or Mine Date of Claim 22 Tungsten-Buick D. Leonard No. 2 Nov. 21, 1954 23 Undetermined T. C. Greene and J. L. Greene Sept. 3, 1953 24 Undetermined Unknown 25 Valley View No. 1 H. D. M. Neer Feb. 8, 1953 26 Valley View Lode No. 1 L. J. Dunn Feb. 15, 1955 (Cont'd) Location Remarks East of Harris burg Flats, 2350 ft. south of Skidoo Road. Shallow prospect pit in quartzite of the Kingston Peak Formation. Vein direction is northeast- southwest . Vicinity of Chukar Spring, 800 ft. southeast of Burn's Spring. East of Emigrant Spring, about 1.5 miles on side road. East of Harris burg Flats, 300 ft. south of Skidoo Road. Shallow prospect pit near contact fanglomerate (Tf) and basalt flow member (Tba2) . Two adits in highly fractured quartz monzo nite with numerous thick quartz veins. Shallow prospect pit in limestone of the Kingston Peak Formation. East of Harrisburg Prospect pit in limestone Flats, about 6600 ft. of the Johnnie Formation southeast of Skidoo (Aj^). Vein direction is Road, near eastern north-south, boundary of area. 76 Origin and Age of Metallic Deposits Murphy (1930, p. 324), proposed that the ores have been deposited in open spaces in favorable places in the veins, have not replaced the adjacent wall rock, and may be classified as "fissure veins." The fissures were probably enlarged due to renewed faulting, inasmuch as the trend of the veins is controlled largely by faults that originated during the Laramide Orogeny. The mineralizing solutions were evidently derived in part from deep-seated consoli dating magma and in part by mingling meteroic waters re lated to the emplacement of the guartz monzonite intrusion. Factors determining the direction of active ascent of the ore-forming solutions are the structural features of the fissure, its size, and the continuity of open spaces. Non-Metallie Mineral Deposits Sand, gravel and rock suitable for road metal, rip rap, railroad ballast and similar uses are present in the area in large quantities. The sand and gravel, in stream bottoms along Emigrant Canyon and in Emigrant Wash, are composed chiefly of fanglomerate and granitic debris, but there is a variable fraction of quartzite, dolomite and 77 volcanic debris. Crystalline rocks that have a potential for quar rying and crushing include quartzite, limestone and dolo mite from the Precambrian rocks, and quartz monzonite from the Cretaceous (?) pluton. Sand and gravel have been produced in small amounts from the stream bottom of Emigrant Canyon, but production has been intermittent and there are no established pits. The tuff member of the Nova Fanglomerate, which crops out near the head of Emigrant Canyon, is reported to be on a patented claim (Matt Ryan, personal communication), although there is no evidence of any quantity having been removed. The tuff bed appears to be suitable for pozzolan or lightweight aggregate uses. The quantity available is unknown, as the lenticular tuff bed thins to the north. Sand, gravel, crushed rock and tuff can be produced from the mapped area, but the distance to population cen ters, and the resulting high cost of shipping these ma terials, precludes much development under present condi tions. Also, it is in a National Monument. 78 Water Supply General Features Eleven springs were visited in the mapped area. However, only three were flowing at the time of this study. The flowing springs are: Burns, Emigrant (Plate 9), and Burro (Plate 10) Springs. Telephone Spring and Upper Emigrant Spring were dry with dead phreatophytes and abandoned water-works offering evidence that they were once flowing. The remaining springs are seeps with moss, dampness and phreateophytes showing evidence of shallow water. Dur ing wet cycles they may flow. Chukar Spring flows only during the Spring (Matt Ryan - personal communication). Water is supplied by precipitation on the adjacent higher slopes with the subsurface migration reaching the area from the highlands to the south. The subsurface reservoir is sufficiently large to make several of the springs perennial. Water is encountered in fractured crystalline rocks and in Pliocene continental deposits. Most of the latter are not sufficiently permeable to be reliable water reservoirs. 79 Plate 9. Emigrant Spring. Lo cated along Emigrant Canyon Road. Note abundant growth of phraetophytes. Plate 10. Burro Spring. Lo cated southwest of Emigrant Can yon. 15 foot tunnel developed in Andesite Flow and Agglomerate member of Nova Fanglomerate. 81 Springs The springs appear to be related to the angular un conformity between fractured crystalline Precambrian rocks and the overlying Pliocene continental beds, and to fault or fracture systems in the Precambrian rocks. Springs along Burro Canyon and the adjacent slopes occur near the unconformable contact between Precambrian and Pliocene rocks, and may be classified as contact springs, according to Tolman (1937, p. 452). Unconformities may control spring flow, although the fracture system sup plying the springs acts as the supply reservoir. Pliocene continental beds, being highly cemented with calcium car bonate, are probably not sufficiently permeable to be re liable water reservoirs; although they may have been ren dered porous by brecciation as a result of the extreme amount of faulting in the area. Most of the springs are confined to rather definite localities and issue at points above the canyon level indicating that the flow of ground water to the springs is governed by definite rock struc ture . Other springs may be classed as barrier springs; having formed above a fault between a raised bedrock block 82 and a depressed block of fanglomerate, forming a ground water barrier. The barrier forces ground water to the surface, creating a spring. Springs in the Emigrant Canyon Area are listed in Table 2. Quality of Ground Water Most of the ground water in the mapped area is of excellent quality and is suitable for human consumption. Water from the three flowing springs (Burro, Burns, and Emigrant) is sweet and may be consumed without ill-effects. Water from Emigrant Spring is presently piped to the Emigrant Ranger Station and transported by vehicle to the Stove Pipe Wells resort. A chemical analysis (Hamman , 1933, p. 9) is as follows: Alkalinity, CaCC>3 - 240 ppm. Soap Hardness, CaC0 3 - 222 ppm. Chlorides, Cl. - 34. ppm. Sulfate, S04 -34.8 ppm. Total Solids - 352 ppm. (California State Board of Health Laboratory No. 12372). In general, the water is satisfactory for domestic purposes. The total solids are very low and hardness may be noticed only when the water is boiled or used for laundry purposes. In 1933 (Hamman, p. 10) the total flow Table 2. Springs of the Emigrant Canyon Area Name Condition Type Remarks Burns Spring Flowing Unconformity (?) Piped to storage tank, used for domestic and milling purposes. Burro Spring Flowing Unconformity Flow approximately 75 gal/hr., water ob tained from 15 foot tunnel driven into side of canyon. Canyon Spring Seep Unconformity Dismantled pipeline once connected with main line to Detloff mill? water of good quality collects in potholes in small gulch. Chukar Spring Seep Unconformity (?) Flows only during the Spring. Emigrant Spring Flowing Fault Known since 1852, developments consist of tunnel and tank storage, and water is piped downhill to roadside water tap for public use. Green Spring Seep Unconformity Misprinted as Greer Spring on topographic map, not developed. Jayhawker Spring Seep Fault Visited by jayhawker Party in 1849, little or no development work. Malapi Spring Seep Unconformity Broken pipeline leads towards Canyon Spring. Telephone Spring Dry m m Developed previously? now abandoned. oo Table 2 (Cont'd) Name Condition Type Remarks Upper Emigrant Spring Dry Fault Developed by vertical shaft; now abandoned. Willow Spring Seep Unconformity Developed by pipeline, now dismantled; water collects in potholes along bottom of gulch. oo 4^ 85 from Emigrant Spring was approximately 2300 gallons per day. Water from Burro Spring had a temperature range of 64 to 67° C during the summer of 1962 and had a flow that averaged slightly less than 75 gallons per hour. R E F E R E N C E S REFERENCES Axelrod, D. I., and Ting, W. S., 1960, Late Pliocene floras east of the Sierra Nevada: Univ. Calif. Publ., Bull. Dept. Geol. Sci., v. 39, 118 pp. Ball, S. H., 1907, A geologic reconnaissance in south western Nevada and eastern California: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 208, 218 pp. Chalfant, W. A., 1956, Death Valley-the facts: Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 160 pp. Clements, T., 1954, Geological story of Death Valley: Desert Magazine Press, Palm Desert, California, 52 pp. Fairbanks, H. W., 1896, Notes on the geology of eastern California: Am. Geologist, v. 17, pp. 63-74. Greene, G. W., and C. B. Hunt, 1960, Observations of current tilting of the earthfe surface in the Death Valley, California, area: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 400-B, pp. 275-276. Hamman, H. B., 1933, Report on water supplies and sanita tion, Death Valley National Monument: U. S. Public Health Service, San Francisco, California, 32 pp. Hazzard, J. C., 1937, Paleozoic section in the Nopah and Resting Springs Mountains, Inyo County, California: California Jour. Mines and Geol., v. 33, pp. 270- 341. Hewett, D. F., 1940, New formation names to be used in the Kingston Range of Ivanpah Quadrangle, California: Wash. Acad. Sci. Jour., v. 30, pp. 239-240. 87 88 Hopper, R. H., 1947, Geologic section from the Sierra Nevada to Death Valley, California: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., v. 58, pp. 393-432. Johnson, B. K., 1959, Geology of a part of the Manly Peak Quadrangle, southern Panamint Range, California: Univ. Calif. Publ., Bull. Dept. Geol. Sci., v. 30, pp. 353-423. Lanphere, M. A., 1962, Geology of the Wildrose area, Pana mint Range, California: Part I, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Calif. Inst, of Tech.,pp. 1-101. Maxson, J. H., 1950, Physiographic features of the Panamint Range, California: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., v. 61, pp. 99-114. McAllister, J. F., 1952, Rocks and structure of the Quartz Spring area, northern Panamint Range, California: Calif. Div. Mines Special Rept. 25. Mendenhall, W. C., 1909, Some desert watering places in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada: U. S. Geol. Surv., Water-supply paper 224, 98 pp. Murphy, F. M., 1930, Geology of the Panamint silver dis trict, California: Econ. Geol., v. 25, pp. 305- 325. ________ , 1932, Geology of a part of the Panamint Range, California: Calif. Div. Mines, Rept. 28, nos. 3 and 4 of State Mineralogist, pp. 329-355. Nelson, C. A., 1962, Lower Cambrian-Precambrian succession, White-Inyo mountains, California: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., v. 73, pp. 139-144. Noble, L. F., 1934, Rock formations of Death Valley, Cali fornia: Science, v. 80, pp. 173-178. Nolan, T. B., 1929, Notes on the stratigraphy and structure of the northwest portion of Spring Mountain, Nevada: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 17, pp. 461-472. 89 Norman, Palmer, Spurr, , Tolman, Tucker, Waring, Wheeler White, : Whitney Wright, Wright, L. A., Jr. and Stewart, R. M., 1951, Mines and mineral resources of Inyo County: California Jour. Mines and Geology, v. 47, pp. 17-223. T. S., 1893, The Death Valley Expedition: U. S. Dept, of Agriculture North American Fauna Bull. No. 7, U. S. Gov *t. Printing Office, Washington D. C., 402 pp. '. E., 1903, Descriptive geology of Nevada south of the 40th parallel, and adjacent portions of Cali fornia: U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 208, pp. 195-200. C. F., 1937, Ground water: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 593 pp. W. B., 1938, Mineral resources of Inyo County: California Jour. Mines and Geol., v. 34, pp. 367- 510. C. A., 1915, Springs of California: U. S. Geol. Surv. Water-Supply Paper 338, pp. 5-410. G. M. , 1889, Annual report upon the geographical surveys west of the one hundreth meridian in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana: u. S. War Dept., Chief Eng., Ann. Rept. 1889, v. 3, pp. 36-37, 44, 278, 282. >. C., 1940, Antimony deposits of Wildrose Canyon Area, Inyo Co. Calif.: U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 992-K, pp. 307-325. J. D., 1865, Geological survey of California: v. 1, Geology, 498 pp. L. A., 1952, Geology of the Superior Talc area. Death Valley, California: Calif. Div. Mines Spec. Rept. 20, 22 pp. L. A., and Troxel, B. W., 1954, Geologic guide for the western Mojave desert and Death Valley region, southern California: California Div. Mines, Bull. 170, Geologic Guide No. 1, pp. 3-50. 0 7. I c M E s 0 z ,:_; I c p R E c T R N R y T E R T .I A R r: c L A T E p 1 0 (' E N y E .. ·~ R E T A c E L ' " ? R A I E A A R 1 ' r. FOl1NK.. IOJ! STJRLl·~~; YOP-'·lA'l' !Oil N(XJ1 L)1\"! (? ) !·'.EME<:?. 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Asset Metadata

Creator Thompson, James H (author)

Core Title Precambrian Geology of the Emigrant Canyon area, Panamint Range, California

Degree Master of Science

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Geology,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c30-106861

Unique identifier UC11225278

Identifier usctheses-c30-106861 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier EP58517.pdf

Dmrecord 106861

Document Type Thesis

Rights Thompson, James H.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA