Miocene magmatism and coeval crustal extension in the Colorado River and Death Valley extensional terrains (IGCP-510)
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Published:January 01, 2008
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CiteCitation
J.P. Calzia, Steve Ludington, C.F. Miller, O.T. Rämö, 2008. "Miocene magmatism and coeval crustal extension in the Colorado River and Death Valley extensional terrains (IGCP-510)", Roaming the Rocky Mountains and Environs: Geological Field Trips, Robert G. Raynolds
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Abstract
Ernie Anderson, Lauren Wright, and Bennie Troxel were among the first to rec-ognize the coeval nature of magmatism and crustal extension in the Colorado River and Death Valley extensional terrains, respectively. The earliest magmatic rocks in the Colorado River extensional terrain include the 15.7 Ma Aztec Wash and 15.8-16.9 Ma Searchlight plutons as well as the 15.3-17.4 Ma Spirit Mountain batholith. The Aztec Wash and Searchlight plutons are well exposed, stratified plutons that show a similar range in composition from 45 to 75 wt% SiO2. Homogeneous granites that compose about one-third of each intrusion are nearly identical...
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Contents
Roaming the Rocky Mountains and Environs: Geological Field Trips

Prepared following the 2007 GSA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, these 15 guides illustrate the latest geological and archeological thinking on a variety of current research themes. Regional-scale topics include landscape responses to dynamic processes of volcanism and uplift in Yellowstone and western Colorado, geomorphic evolution along the Front Range of Colorado and on the High Plains of South Dakota, and geoarchaeological research in central Colorado and western Nebraska. A series of papers illustrates tectonic and stratigraphic processes through time and space, with discussions of Precambrian structures in western Colorado, Jurassic deposition in south-central Colorado, and near-shore stratigraphic patterns in the Cretaceous strata of the Book Cliffs. One paper reviews potential seismic signatures in Cretaceous and Early Tertiary strata in northern Wyoming and Montana, and another discusses patterns of extension in southern Nevada and adjacent portions of California. Other topics in this well-rounded volume include the history of volcanism and gold mineralization at Cripple Creek, development of coalbed methane resources in the Powder River Basin, and a long-lived subsurface coal fire in western Colorado. Follow in the footsteps of these field trips, and see for yourself the patterns and evidence discussed.
GeoRef
- Basin and Range Province
- Book Cliffs
- Cenozoic
- clastic rocks
- Colorado
- continental shelf
- Cretaceous
- deltaic environment
- field trips
- fluvial environment
- lithostratigraphy
- Mancos Shale
- Mesaverde Group
- Mesozoic
- North America
- Paleogene
- road log
- sedimentary rocks
- sedimentary structures
- sequence stratigraphy
- shore features
- stratigraphic units
- Tertiary
- United States
- Upper Cretaceous
- Utah
- Wasatch Formation
- Western Interior
- Western Interior Seaway
- eastern Utah
- western Colorado