Skip Nav Destination
Close Modal
![Basement rock outcrops in the Badwater and Mormon Point turtlebacks, Death Valley, California. All outcrops are structurally below the meter-scale detachment shear zone (e.g., Cowan et al., 2003). A: In the Badwater turtleback, preexisting gneissic foliation (gn) deformed by a greenschist schistose foliation (sh) subparallel to Miocene basaltic dikes (bs) (sample DV1 in Fig. 1B). B: Felsic dikes and leucosomes parallel to the greenschist foliation in the Mormon Point turtleback, which contain Cretaceous-Paleogene and Miocene ages (sample DV4). C: Meter-scale felsic body showing an internal foliation (dashed lines) of biotite-rich layers at the microscale, centimeter-scale domains of dominantly quartzofeldspathic composition (dashed outline, f), and fragments of the gneissic country rocks (dashed outline, gn). A sample from an adjacent site (DV2) yielded Late Cretaceous-Paleogene and Miocene ages. D: Fabrics in a felsic body from the Mormon Point area with a quartz-feldspar framework characterized by interlocked to straight (arrow) contacts. Quartz includes subgrains surrounding contacts, associated with later, lower-temperature overprinting deformational microstructures (sample DV6).]()
![First thumbnail for: Structural evolution of central Death Valley, Cali...]()
![Second thumbnail for: Structural evolution of central Death Valley, Cali...]()
![Third thumbnail for: Structural evolution of central Death Valley, Cali...]()
![Figure 1. Location maps for Black Mountains; Precambrian basement rocks, including turtlebacks, are shown in black. A: Northern Black Mountains. Abbreviations: BW—Badwater turtleback, BC—Buff Canyon, CC—Copper Canyon turtleback, FC—approximate extent of Furnace Creek basin (random-dot pattern), F—Funeral Mountains, FCFZ—Furnace Creek fault zone, G—Greenwater Range, GVF—Grandview fault, MP—Mormon Point turtleback, P—Panamint Mountains, RS—Resting Spring Range, SMP—Smith Mountain pluton, Ti—unnamed Tertiary intrusion, WSP—Willow Spring pluton. B: Range of possible projections of early turtleback fault (dashed lines). N30°E is compatible with normal slip on turtleback fault and little or no slip on Grandview fault; progressively more northward direction of projection is compatible with greater component of dextral slip and greater offset on Grandview fault. Projection originates from oldest exposed turtleback-fault surface at elevation 731.5 m (2400 ft), same elevation as Billie mine.]()
![Figure 1. Geologic maps of central Death Valley and Black Mountains turtlebacks. A: Central Death Valley; insets show locations for B and C. Abbreviations: B—Badwater turtleback; BM—Black Mountains; C—Copper Canyon turtleback; CM—Cottonwood Mountains; CP—Chicago Pass thrust; FM—Funeral Mountains; HMB—Hunter Mountain Batholith; L—Lemoigne thrust; M—Mormon Point turtleback; MC—Marble Canyon thrust; NR—Nopah Range; P—Panamint thrust; PM—Panamint Mountains. B: Map and cross section of Badwater turtleback. Badwater Turtleback normal fault shown as line separating gneiss and metasedimentary rock from Quaternary alluvium, “volcanic hanging wall,” or Willow Spring Pluton. Badwater Turtleback thrust fault is shown by heavy line with teeth that separates metasedimentary rock from structurally overlying basement gneiss. Because bottom of metasedimentary rock is not exposed, its contact is queried in cross section. Location of photograph in Figure 3A is designated 3A. C: Map of Copper Canyon and Mormon Point turtlebacks, modified from Otton (1976) and Holm (1992). Exposures of basement gneiss above Noonday Dolomite (Z) exist at location A. Large enclave of gneiss that structurally overlies dolomite is at location B. Exposed thrust fault at Mormon Point is marked by heavy line with teeth. Location of photograph in Figure 3B is designated 3B.]()
![Digital elevation model of Death Valley, California, region with geologic overlay after Miller and Pavlis (2005). Diagonal line indicates approximate direction of top-to-NW extension. BWT—Badwater turtleback, CCT—Copper Canyon turtleback, MPT—Mormon Point turtleback, DVFC—Death Valley–Furnace Creek, DVBM—Death Valley–Black Mountains, SHF—Sheep Head fault. The map projection is WGS84.]()
![First thumbnail for: Rolling hinge or fixed basin?: A test of continent...]()
![Second thumbnail for: Rolling hinge or fixed basin?: A test of continent...]()
![Third thumbnail for: Rolling hinge or fixed basin?: A test of continent...]()
![Figure 4. Schematic cross sections from A to A′ of Figure 1 that compare interpretations of present-day and preextension structure of Death Valley region. Abbreviations: BMT—Black Mountains thrusts; CP—Chicago Pass thrust; HMB—Hunter Mountain Batholith; L—Legmoigne thrust; MC—Marble Canyon thrust; P—Panamint thrust; TB—turtlebacks. BMT and TB are both projected into line of section. A: Present-day structure as interpreted by Wernicke et al. (1988) and Snow and Wernicke (2000). Note that extensional turtleback faults (TB) are part of regional detachment. Not shown on east edge is deeper part of detachment system that underlies Nopah Range. B: Restoration of Panamint thrust (P) to coincide with Chicago Pass thrust (CP) places HMB over Black Mountains basement. Star marks location of turtlebacks. C: Present-day structure as described in this paper. Note that extensional turtleback faults are deep-seated faults. D: Restoration proposed in this paper keeps HMB west of Black Mountains.]()
![Figure 3. Photographs of exposed older-over-younger contacts. Photograph locations are shown as 3A and 3B in Figures 1B and 1C, respectively. A: At south side of Badwater turtleback; view is toward south. B: On Mormon Point turtleback; view is toward east.]()
![Cooling envelopes for the Badwater turtleback (BWT; this study), Copper Canyon turtleback (CCT; Holm and Dokka, 1993), Mormon Point turtlebacks (MPT; Holm and Dokka [H&D], 1993), and crystallization ages (this study) of the adjacent Smith Mountain granite (SMG) and Willow Spring diorite (WSD) with intrusion depth estimates from Holm et al. (1992). The BWT cooling envelope is an outline of cooling ages, inclusive of error of closure temperature and measured age (this study; Fig. DR9 [see footnote 1]). Raw K-feldspar cooling ages were excluded (explanation in the Data Repository text). CCT and MPT envelopes are based on the uncertainty of cooling ages of Holm and Dokka (1993). Depth and exhumation rates on the Y-axis are based on a 30 °C/km geothermal gradient.]()
![Figure 1. Location map showing ranges, valleys, and faults discussed in text. Valleys (open boxes): SaV—Saline Valley, PV—Panamint Valley, SV—Searles Valley, DV—Death Valley. Ranges: IM—Inyo Mountains, PM—Panamint Mountains, SR— Slate Range, BM—Black Mountains, HM—Hunter Mountain. Faults: WFZ—Western Frontal Zone of Saline Valley (Zellmer, 1980), HMF—Hunter Mountain fault, AHF—Ash Hill fault, PV—Panamint Valley fault zone, BTB—Badwater Turtleback, CCTBB—Copper Canyon turtleback, MPTB—Mormon Point turtleback. Solid-line boxes—range-flank areas mapped as part of this study. Dashed-line polygon—flank of Slate Range described by Smith et al. (1968). Numbers in lower left corner indicate other figures (detailed geologic maps).]()
![First thumbnail for: Structural features and formation conditions of mu...]()
![Second thumbnail for: Structural features and formation conditions of mu...]()
![Third thumbnail for: Structural features and formation conditions of mu...]()
![First thumbnail for: U-Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of ...]()
![Second thumbnail for: U-Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of ...]()
![Third thumbnail for: U-Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of ...]()
1-20 OF 184 RESULTS FOR
turtlebacks
Results shown limited to content with bounding coordinates.
Follow your search
Access your saved searches in your account
Would you like to receive an alert when new items match your search?
1
Journal Article
TURTLEBACK FAULTS OF DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: A REINTERPRETATION Available to Purchase
Journal: GSA Bulletin
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 December 1959
GSA Bulletin (1959) 70 (12): 1497–1508.
...HARALD DREWES Abstract Turtlebacks are smooth, curved surfaces, which form north-northwestward-plunging elongate domes on the east side of Death Valley. These surfaces are roughly parallel to bedding or foliation of anticlines in Precambrian schist, gneiss, and marble. Late Cenozoic fan and playa...
Journal Article
Turtleback Surfaces of Death Valley Viewed as Phenomena of Extensional Tectonics Available to Purchase
Journal: Geology
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 February 1974
Geology (1974) 2 (2): 53–54.
...Lauren A. Wright; James K. Otton; Bennie W. Troxel Abstract The controversial turtleback surfaces of Death Valley may be colossal fault mullions resulting from severe crustal extension which were localized along undulating and northwest-plunging zones of weakness that were in existence prior...
Journal Article
Chaos Structure and Turtleback Dome, Mineral Ridge, Esmeralda County, Nevada Available to Purchase
Journal: GSA Bulletin
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 November 1971
GSA Bulletin (1971) 82 (11): 3169–3176.
... are strikingly similar to the characteristics of the Amargosa Chaos of the Death Valley area; moreover, the form of the fault contact resembles the turtleback domes associated with the chaos at Death Valley. Similarities to areas of gravity sliding, including a possible erosion surface overriden by the thrust...
Book Chapter
Gravitational reactivation of an extensional fault system, Badwater Turtleback, Death Valley, California Available to Purchase
Image
Basement rock outcrops in the Badwater and Mormon Point turtlebacks, Death ... Available to Purchase
Published: 09 February 2018
Figure 2. Basement rock outcrops in the Badwater and Mormon Point turtlebacks, Death Valley, California. All outcrops are structurally below the meter-scale detachment shear zone (e.g., Cowan et al., 2003 ). A: In the Badwater turtleback, preexisting gneissic foliation (gn) deformed
Journal Article
Structural evolution of central Death Valley, California, using new thermochronometry of the Badwater turtleback Open Access
Journal: Lithosphere
Publisher: GSW
Published: 25 April 2019
Lithosphere (2019) 11 (4): 436–447.
...Travis Sizemore; Matthew M. Wielicki; Ibrahim Çemen; Daniel Stockli; Matthew Heizler; Delores Robinson Abstract The Badwater turtleback, Copper Canyon turtleback, and Mormon Point turtleback are three anomalously smooth, ∼2-km-high basement structures in the Black Mountains of Death Valley...
FIGURES
Journal Article
High-angle origin of the currently low-angle Badwater Turtleback fault, Death Valley, California Available to Purchase
Journal: Geology
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 April 1991
Geology (1991) 19 (4): 372–375.
...Martin G. Miller Abstract The late Cenozoic Badwater Turtleback fault separates an upper plate of volcanic and sedimentary rocks from a lower plate of predominantly mylonitic plutonic and metamorphic rocks. The Turtleback fault, however, is not a single continuous surface, but consists of at least...
Image
Figure 1. Location maps for Black Mountains; Precambrian basement rocks, in... Available to Purchase
in Rolling hinge or fixed basin?: A test of continental extensional models in Death Valley, California, United States
> Geology
Published: 01 September 2002
Figure 1. Location maps for Black Mountains; Precambrian basement rocks, including turtlebacks, are shown in black. A: Northern Black Mountains. Abbreviations: BW—Badwater turtleback, BC—Buff Canyon, CC—Copper Canyon turtleback, FC—approximate extent of Furnace Creek basin (random-dot pattern), F
Book Chapter
Implications of ductile strain on the Badwater Turtleback for pre-14-Ma extension in the Death Valley region, California Available to Purchase
Image
Figure 1. Geologic maps of central Death Valley and Black Mountains turtleb... Available to Purchase
in Basement-involved thrust faulting in a thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, Death Valley, California, USA
> Geology
Published: 01 January 2003
Figure 1. Geologic maps of central Death Valley and Black Mountains turtlebacks. A: Central Death Valley; insets show locations for B and C. Abbreviations: B—Badwater turtleback; BM—Black Mountains; C—Copper Canyon turtleback; CM—Cottonwood Mountains; CP—Chicago Pass thrust; FM—Funeral Mountains
Image
Digital elevation model of Death Valley, California, region with geologic o... Open Access
in Structural evolution of central Death Valley, California, using new thermochronometry of the Badwater turtleback
> Lithosphere
Published: 25 April 2019
Figure 1. Digital elevation model of Death Valley, California, region with geologic overlay after Miller and Pavlis (2005) . Diagonal line indicates approximate direction of top-to-NW extension. BWT—Badwater turtleback, CCT—Copper Canyon turtleback, MPT—Mormon Point turtleback, DVFC—Death Valley
Journal Article
Brittle faulting induced by ductile deformation of a rheologically stratified rock sequence, Badwater Turtleback, Death Valley, California Available to Purchase
Journal: GSA Bulletin
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 October 1992
GSA Bulletin (1992) 104 (10): 1376–1385.
...MARTIN G. MILLER Abstract Field relations in the footwall of the Badwater Turtleback fault provide evidence that macroscopically ductile deformation was directly responsible for early stages of brittle faulting during extensional denudation. Footwall rocks, which are typically mylonitie, consist...
Journal Article
Rolling hinge or fixed basin?: A test of continental extensional models in Death Valley, California, United States Available to Purchase
Journal: Geology
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 September 2002
Geology (2002) 30 (9): 847–850.
...Figure 1. Location maps for Black Mountains; Precambrian basement rocks, including turtlebacks, are shown in black. A: Northern Black Mountains. Abbreviations: BW—Badwater turtleback, BC—Buff Canyon, CC—Copper Canyon turtleback, FC—approximate extent of Furnace Creek basin (random-dot pattern), F...
FIGURES
Image
Figure 4. Schematic cross sections from A to A′ of Figure 1 that compare ... Available to Purchase
in Basement-involved thrust faulting in a thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, Death Valley, California, USA
> Geology
Published: 01 January 2003
; P—Panamint thrust; TB—turtlebacks. BMT and TB are both projected into line of section. A: Present-day structure as interpreted by Wernicke et al. (1988) and Snow and Wernicke (2000) . Note that extensional turtleback faults (TB) are part of regional detachment. Not shown on east edge is deeper
Image
Figure 3. Photographs of exposed older-over-younger contacts. Photograph lo... Available to Purchase
in Basement-involved thrust faulting in a thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, Death Valley, California, USA
> Geology
Published: 01 January 2003
Figure 3. Photographs of exposed older-over-younger contacts. Photograph locations are shown as 3A and 3B in Figures 1B and 1C , respectively. A: At south side of Badwater turtleback; view is toward south. B: On Mormon Point turtleback; view is toward east.
Image
![Cooling envelopes for the Badwater turtleback (BWT; this study), Copper Canyon turtleback (CCT; Holm and Dokka, 1993), Mormon Point turtlebacks (MPT; Holm and Dokka [H&D], 1993), and crystallization ages (this study) of the adjacent Smith Mountain granite (SMG) and Willow Spring diorite (WSD) with intrusion depth estimates from Holm et al. (1992). The BWT cooling envelope is an outline of cooling ages, inclusive of error of closure temperature and measured age (this study; Fig. DR9 [see footnote 1]). Raw K-feldspar cooling ages were excluded (explanation in the Data Repository text). CCT and MPT envelopes are based on the uncertainty of cooling ages of Holm and Dokka (1993). Depth and exhumation rates on the Y-axis are based on a 30 °C/km geothermal gradient.](https://gsw.silverchair-cdn.com/gsw/Content_public/Journal/lithosphere/11/4/10.1130_L1044.1/4/s_436f7.png?Expires=2147483647&Signature=49UnJ0YtCfdsd6Te0Gr3ZEOhHwyMY5~oohjDz0tFZw7VhHNAUVu8VzdII00XA8A2A2g7dSIywgXDLKewcTA05n1X5MPzn1O6cHEdhtLnSx6iYffkEhDdHZkGfA9rjKMmu44aXP5cCqciXwa65wRMNCJMWWXNTOGXdj17Zh20pZTFmI4k8-hWtI6sP4UNj9D4cPhhdIFKbc2MTEiM7rV1isFDprYhKEZMs0kaJJ-618VNa7csPPiglfHJEWrc6FyVMU4fh62fKG9k5nPS85LdDuvlsP4zrp-ec5XXmMerB8CiymR2JOmTyx9c9WHmfbHMWMEhG6st7mrvJGRNy~9wtQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA)
Cooling envelopes for the Badwater turtleback (BWT; this study), Copper Can... Open Access
in Structural evolution of central Death Valley, California, using new thermochronometry of the Badwater turtleback
> Lithosphere
Published: 25 April 2019
Figure 7. Cooling envelopes for the Badwater turtleback (BWT; this study), Copper Canyon turtleback (CCT; Holm and Dokka, 1993 ), Mormon Point turtlebacks (MPT; Holm and Dokka [H&D], 1993), and crystallization ages (this study) of the adjacent Smith Mountain granite (SMG) and Willow Spring
Journal Article
Early Tertiary magmatism and probable Mesozoic fabrics in the Black Mountains, Death Valley, California Available to Purchase
Journal: Geology
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Published: 01 January 1999
Geology (1999) 27 (1): 19–22.
... that occupies part of the footwall of the Badwater turtleback, a late Tertiary extensional feature; similar but undated pegmatite intrudes the footwalls of the Copper Canyon and Mormon Point turtlebacks farther south. The pegmatite suite demonstrates that fabric development on the turtlebacks was at least a two...
Image
Figure 1. Location map showing ranges, valleys, and faults discussed in tex... Available to Purchase
in Low-angle, range-flank faults in the Panamint, Inyo, and Slate ranges, California: Implications for recent tectonics of the Death Valley region
> GSA Bulletin
Published: 01 June 2000
—Western Frontal Zone of Saline Valley ( Zellmer, 1980 ), HMF—Hunter Mountain fault, AHF—Ash Hill fault, PV—Panamint Valley fault zone, BTB—Badwater Turtleback, CCTBB—Copper Canyon turtleback, MPTB—Mormon Point turtleback. Solid-line boxes—range-flank areas mapped as part of this study. Dashed-line polygon
Journal Article
Structural features and formation conditions of mud diapirs in the Andaman Sea Basin Available to Purchase
Journal: Geological Magazine
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06 March 2018
Geological Magazine (2019) 156 (4): 659–668.
... are investigated based on seismic profiles combined with drilling data and regional tectonic settings. The results show that there are five types of mud diapir in the Andaman Sea Basin: turtleback mud diapir, mud dome, piercing mud diapir, mud volcano and gas chimney-like mud diapir. Turtleback mud diapirs mainly...
FIGURES
Journal Article
U-Pb Geochronology and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of the Turtleback Complex and East Sound Group, San Juan Islands, Northwestern North American Cordillera Open Access
Journal: Lithosphere
Publisher: GSW
Published: 16 October 2021
Lithosphere (2021) 2021 (1): 3358149.
...Kojo M. Plange; George E. Gehrels; Edwin H. Brown; Elizabeth R. Schermer; William C. McClelland Abstract This study focuses on Paleozoic rocks of the Turtleback Complex (TBC) and East Sound Group (ESG) of northwestern Washington. These assemblages record a long and complex history of magmatism...
FIGURES
Includes: Supplemental Content
1
