Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

Edwin H. McKee

Publications and source records attributed to Edwin H. McKee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2023

The enigmatic Rattlesnake Knoll, Spring Valley, east-central Nevada—A geophysical perspective

Rattlesnake Knoll is a small, 30-meter-high mound of igneous breccia in the center of Spring Valley, east-central Nevada. In the past, researchers have disagreed as to whether the unusual-looking outcrop is intrusive or volcanic. The breccia possesses a normal magnetic polarity, but this is not apparent in aeromagnetic survey data. These data instead show that the knoll lies within a small aeromagnetic low that partially overlaps the extent of a small gravity high. The small gravity anomaly associated with the knoll, combined with an initial, limited ground magnetic survey taken at the knoll, indicates that the knoll rocks extend northward in the subsurface. A second, more extensive ground magnetic traverse was also done north of the knoll. Taking into consideration these new survey data and preexisting data, a two and one-half dimensional modeling program based on Webring (1985) was used to produce a geophysical model that accounts for gravity and magnetic properties, satisfies available geologic information, and conforms to current estimates of basin thickness. This model and the field observations support the interpretation that the knoll consists of gently west-dipping beds of Tertiary volcanic flow breccia, mudflow breccia, and conglomerate.

Nevada↗
USGS2017

X-ray diffraction analysis of pictograph pigments from Toquima Cave, central Nevada

X-ray diffraction analysis of red, yellow, white, and black pigments from pictographs in Toquima Cave in central Nevada reveals that gypsum was used as a binder in all colors; ocher (hematite and goethite) and carbon (charcoal) formed the coloring agents. Gypsum and ocher are not found in or near the cave, so the paint mixtures were made from ingredients found elsewhere and then transported to the site of the paintings.

Nevada↗
USGS2016

Regional geophysics of western Utah and eastern Nevada, with emphasis on the Confusion Range

As part of a long term geologic and hydrologic study of several regional groundwater flow systems in western Utah and eastern Nevada, the U.S. Geological Survey was contracted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to provide geophysical data. The primary object of these data was to enable construction of the geological framework of the flow systems. The main new geophysical data gathered during the study were gravity observations, and existing aeromagnetic data were also compiled. These data resulted in regional maps of the isostatic gravity and aeromagnetic fields of the area. The isostatic gravity map shows a north-south grain to most of the area, which was imparted by post-20 Ma basin-range tectonism; whereas the aeromagnetic map shows an east-west grain to the area, imparted by Eocene to lower Miocene calc-alkaline calderas and source intrusions. To de-emphasize surface and near-surface features and to gain greater insight into contributions from deeper sources, the isostatic gravity anomalies were upward continued by 3 km and the aeromagnetic data were transformed to their magnetic potential ("pseudogravity"). Identification of maxima of the horizontal gradients in the gravity and magnetic-potential data helped define deep-seated crustal blocks that are characterized by major changes in density and magnetization. Maps showing these maxima were useful in defining large faults, especially range-bounding faults, and margins of igneous bodies and calderas. A gravity inversion method was used to separate the isostatic residual anomaly into pre-Cenozoic basement and young basin fill. Inasmuch as the primary aquifer in the area is sedimentary basin fill, this method is especially valuable for hydrogeologic analyses because it estimates the thickness of the fill. As befits its name, the geology of the Confusion Range of Utah has been a point of contention for many years, so we looked at it in greater detail in the course of our regional study. The northern part of the range is underlain by a large gravity high, which continues south through the Conger Range, Burbank Hills, and northern Mountain Home Range. This is the "structural trough" reported in the literature that was mapped as the axial part of a Sevier synclinorium and contains the maximum thickness (7 km) of high-density carbonates in the area, thus the largest high gravity anomaly.

Utah↗
USGS2016

Geology, selected geophysics, and hydrogeology of the White River and parts of the Great Salt Lake Desert regional groundwater flow systems, Utah and Nevada

The east-central Great Basin near the Utah-Nevada border contains two great groundwater flow systems. The first, the White River regional groundwater flow system, consists of a string of hydraulically connected hydrographic basins in Nevada spanning about 270 miles from north to south. The northernmost basin is Long Valley and the southernmost basin is the Black Mountain area, a valley bordering the Colorado River. The general regional groundwater flow direction is north to south. The second flow system, the Great Salt Lake Desert regional groundwater flow system, consists of hydrographic basins that straddle the Utah-Nevada border, with a length of about 150 miles from north to south. The general regional groundwater flow direction is from south to north towards the Great Salt Lake Desert. For 15 years with support from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), hydrologists, geologists, and geophysicists studied the basin connections and the groundwater resources in these and adjacent flow systems over an area of about 25,000 square miles. A major first part of the SNWA study was constructing a 3-dimensional digital hydrogeologic framework based on geologic maps and cross sections at 1:250,000 scale. This framework documents the presence of three major aquifers: (1) Paleozoic carbonate rocks, (2) Eocene to Miocene volcanic rocks, and (3) Miocene to Holocene basin-fill sediments, as well as confining units that constrain flow. We interpret that movement of most groundwater through and across basins is by fracture-dominated flow along faults/fractures, yet in most places flow is prevented or retarded across faults, so mapping structures gives a first approximation to conduits and barriers to flow. The most important structures by far are high-angle normal faults of the basin-range episode of east-west extensional deformation. This event began at about 20 Ma, although most deformation and the formation of the present topography took place between 10 Ma and present. This topography consists of north-trending basins (mostly grabens) that alternate with north- trending ranges (mostly horsts); erosion of the ranges filled the basins with clastic alluvial basin-fill deposits. Geophysics provides data on the third dimension (cross sections) of the hydrogeologic framework. Audiomagnetotelluric profiles and gravity inversion located faults and enabled us to estimate thicknesses of basin-fill deposits. To this framework, hydrologic studies addressed precipitation, surface water, and springs, as well as groundwater levels, volumes, geochemistry, water budgets, and monitoring. At nearly the same time as our study, the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) addressed the same issues in many of the same areas, and publication of the efforts by all three agencies reveals a surprising similarity of conclusions, with some critical exceptions, which therefore demonstrates the great value of many scientists independently studying the same complex scientific problem. The differences in conclusions include directions and volumes of some ground- water flow paths, such as one proposed by the USGS of unlikely groundwater flow from Steptoe Valley to southern Snake Valley, and another proposed by the UGS of unlikely significant groundwater recharge flow from the Snake Range to the Fish Springs complex.

Utah↗
USGS2011

Principal facts for gravity stations collected in 2010 from White Pine and Lincoln Counties, east-central Nevada

Increasing demands on the Colorado River system within the arid Southwestern United States have focused attention on finding new, alternative sources of water. Particular attention is being paid to the eastern Great Basin, where important ground-water systems occur within a regionally extensive sequence of Paleozoic carbonate rocks and in the Cenozoic basin-fill deposits that occur throughout the region. Geophysical investigations to characterize the geologic framework of aquifers in eastern Nevada and western Utah began in a series of cooperative agreements between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Southern Nevada Water Authority in 2003. These studies were intended to better understand the formation of basins, define their subsurface shape and depth, and delineate structures that may impede or enhance groundwater flow. We have combined data from gravity stations established during the current study with previously available data to produce an up-to-date isostatic-gravity map of the study area, using a gravity inversion method to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and to estimate alluvial/volcanic fill in the valleys.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2010

Tertiary volcanic rocks from the southern Pannonian Basin, Croatia

The Tertiary volcanic rocks of the southern part of the Pannonian Basin are related to a sequence of tectonic events that occurred along the northern margin of the Dinarides when subduction ceased and after uplift of the region in middle Eocene time. The oldest rocks are andesites and dacites erupted during an Egerian to Eggenburgian marine transpression phase. In early Miocene time (about 17 Ma), rifting started, probably caused by the rise of the mantle, resulting in E-W extension and strike-slip faulting leading to formation of the Pannonian Basin. The initial rifting was accompanied by trachyandesitic volcanism of Karpathian age, followed by Badenian-age (15 to 13 Ma) volcanic activity producing basalts, andesites, and dacites. During these volcanic phases the Pannonian Basin, or the Paratethys, probably was periodically connected with the Mediterranean Sea. The final period of volcanism (about 9 to 7 Ma) produced alkalic basalts and basalts and occurred in fresh-water environments. These volcanic rocks have had a complex petrological evolution, related to an active continental margin. Egerian-Eggenburgian andesites and dacites can be explained by upper crustal assimilation with fractional crystallization (ACF) of primary basalt magma. The three younger associations originated by partial melting of rocks from both the upper mantle and the lower crust. Their evolution was accompanied by crustal contamination.

Carpathian Basin, Pannonian Basin↗
USGS2009

Geophysical setting of western Utah and eastern Nevada between latitudes 37°45′ and 40°N

Gravity and aeromagnetic data refine the structural setting for the region of western Utah and eastern Nevada between Snake and Hamlin Valleys on the west and Tule Valley on the east. These data are used here as part of a regional analysis. An isostatic gravity map shows large areas underlain by gravity lows, the most prominent of which is a large semi-circular low associated with the Indian Peak caldera complex in the southwestern part of the study area. Another low underlies the Thomas caldera in the northeast, and linear lows elsewhere indicate low-density basin-fill in all major north-trending graben valleys. Gravity highs reflect pre-Cenozoic rocks mostly exposed in the mountain ranges. In the Confusion Range, however, the gravity high extends about 15 km east of the range front to Coyote Knolls, indicating a broad pediment cut on upper Paleozoic rocks and covered by a thin veneer of alluvium. Aeromagnetic highs sharply delineate Oligocene and Miocene volcanic rocks and intracaldera plutons associated with the Indian Peak caldera complex and the Pioche–Marysvale igneous belt. Jurassic to Eocene plutons and volcanic rocks elsewhere in the study area, however, have much more modest magnetic signatures. Some relatively small magnetic highs in the region are associated with outcrops of volcanic rock, and the continuation of those anomalies indicates that the rocks are probably extensive in the subsurface. A gravity inversion method separating the isostatic gravity anomaly into fields representing pre-Cenozoic basement rocks and Cenozoic basin deposits was used to calculate depth to basement and estimate maximum amounts of alluvial and volcanic fill within the valleys. Maximum depths within the Indian Peak caldera complex average about 2.5 km, locally reaching 3 km. North of the caldera complex, thickness of valley fill in most graben valleys ranges from 1.5 to 3 km thick, with Hamlin and Pine Valleys averaging ~3 km. The main basin beneath Tule Valley is relatively shallow (~0.6 km), reaching a maximum depth of ~1 km over a small area northeast of Coyote Knolls. Maximum horizontal gradients were calculated for both long-wavelength gravity and magnetic-potential data, and these were used to constrain major density and magnetic lineaments. These lineaments help delineate deep-seated crustal structures that separate major tectonic domains, potentially localizing Cenozoic tectonic features that may control regional ground-water flow.

Nevada;Utah↗
USGS2007

Geophysical Data from Spring Valley to Delamar Valley, East-Central Nevada

Cenozoic basins in eastern Nevada and western Utah constitute major ground-water recharge areas in the eastern part of the Great Basin and these were investigated to characterize the geologic framework of the region. Prior to these investigations, regional gravity coverage was variable over the region, adequate in some areas and very sparse in others. Cooperative studies described herein have established 1,447 new gravity stations in the region, providing a detailed description of density variations in the middle to upper crust. All previously available gravity data for the study area were evaluated to determine their reliability, prior to combining with our recent results and calculating an up-to-date isostatic residual gravity map of the area. A gravity inversion method was used to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and estimates of maximum alluvial/volcanic fill in the major valleys of the study area. The enhanced gravity coverage and the incorporation of lithologic information from several deep oil and gas wells yields a much improved view of subsurface shapes of these basins and provides insights useful for the development of hydrogeologic models for the region.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Gravity Data from Newark Valley, White Pine County, Nevada

The Newark Valley area, eastern Nevada is one of thirteen major ground-water basins investigated by the BARCAS (Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer Study) Project. Gravity data are being used to help characterize the geophysical framework of the region. Although gravity coverage was extensive over parts of the BARCAS study area, data were sparse for a number of the valleys, including the northern part of Newark Valley. We addressed this lack of data by establishing seventy new gravity stations in and around Newark Valley. All available gravity data were then evaluated to determine their reliability, prior to calculating an isostatic residual gravity map to be used for subsequent analyses. A gravity inversion method was used to calculate depths to pre-Cenozoic basement rock and estimates of maximum alluvial/volcanic fill. The enhanced gravity coverage and the incorporation of lithologic information from several deep oil and gas wells yields a view of subsurface shape of the basin and will provide information useful for the development of hydrogeologic models for the region.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2003

Hydrogeologic factors that influence ground water movement in the desert southwest United States

A project to study ground-water and surface-water interactions in the desert southwestern United States was initiated in 2001 by the Tucson, Arizona office of the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). One of the goals of the Southwest Ground-water Resources Project was to develop a regional synthesis that includes the use of available digital geologic data, which is growing rapidly due to the increasing use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Included in this report are the digital maps and databases of geologic information that should have a direct impact on the studies of ground-water flow and surface-water interaction. Ground-water flow is governed by many geologic factors or elements including rock and soil permeability, stratigraphy and structural features. These elements directly influence ground-water flow, which is key to understanding the possible inter-connectivity of aquifer systems in desert basins of the southwestern United States. We derive these elements from the evaluation of regional geology and localized studies of hydrogeologic basins. These elements can then be applied to other unstudied areas throughout the desert southwest. This report presents a regional perspective of the geologic elements controlling ground-water systems in the desert southwest that may eventually lead to greater focus on smaller sub-regions and ultimately, to individual ground-water basins.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New ↗
USGS2001

The Silent Canyon caldera — A three dimensional model as part of a Pahute Mesa - Oasis Valley, Nevada, hydrogeologic model

A 3-dimensional caldera model based on gravity inversion, drill-hole data, and geologic mapping offers the framework for a hydrogeologic evaluation of the Silent Canyon caldera in the central part of Pahute Mesa, Nevada. It has been recognized for several decades that the central part of Pahute Mesa is the site of a buried caldera called the Silent Canyon caldera. Conceptually, the structural framework of the Silent Canyon caldera is based on the idea of collapse of the caldera roof over a shallow magma chamber to form a structural basin following violent volcanic eruptions. Calderas are common in certain volcanic regions of the world, and most well-exposed calderas are broadly similar to each other, particularly the arcuate or circular shape of their collapse depression. There are other reasons for modeling the Silent Canyon caldera as a circular feature in addition to knowledge that calderas throughout the world are generally circular features. The Silent Canyon caldera is the site of one of the largest gravity lows in the Western United States, indicating a thick accumulation of low-density rocks such as lavas and tuffs—a fact confirmed by drilling on Pahute Mesa. This gravity low is bowl-shaped, and the uppermost volcanic units on Pahute Mesa form a circular outcrop pattern of inward-dipping tuff interpreted to be the result of their filling the upper part of the bowl-shaped depression. Together, these features are consistent with, and indicative of, a circular collapse structural model for the Silent Canyon caldera. The collapse depression of the Silent Canyon caldera, bounded by arcuate faults, is filled with as much as 6 km (19,800 ft) of volcanic and sedimentary rocks that are considerably less dense than the underlying and surrounding basement rocks. The boundary surface between less dense caldera fill and more dense basement is modeled as the caldera ring fault. Rocks in the upper part of the caldera fill are penetrated by drilling, and the drill-hole data are the basis for 3-dimensional computer modeling of the thickness and distribution of the rock units. The displacement on younger N-S faults that cut the caldera is also determined by offset of the computer derived surfaces defined by the drill-hole intercepts of stratigraphic units.

Nevada↗
USGS2000

Style and age of late Oligocene-early Miocene deformation in the southern Stillwater Range, west central Nevada: Paleomagnetism, geochronology, and field relations

Paleomagnetic and geochronologic data combined with geologic mapping tightly restrict the timing and character of a late Oligocene to early Miocene episode of large magnitude extension in the southern Stillwater Range and adjacent regions of west central Nevada. The southern Stillwater Range was the site of an Oligocene to early Miocene volcanic center comprising (1) 28.3 to 24.3 Ma intracaldera ash flow tuffs, lava flows, and subjacent plutons associated with three calderas, (2) 24.8 to 20.7 Ma postcaldera silicic dikes and domes, and (3) unconformably overlying 15.3 to 13.0 Ma dacite to basalt lava flows, plugs, and dikes. The caldera-related tuffs, lava flows, and plutons were tilted 60°-70° either west or east during the initial period of Cenozoic deformation that accommodated over 100% extension. Directions of remanent magnetization obtained from these extrusive and intrusive, caldera-related rocks are strongly deflected from an expected Miocene direction in senses appropriate for their tilt. A mean direction for these rocks after tilt correction, however, suggests that they were also affected by a moderate (33.4° ± 11.8°) component of counterclockwise vertical axis rotation. Paleomagnetic data indicate that the episode of large tilting occurred during emplacement of 24.8 to 20.7 Ma postcaldera dikes and domes. In detail, an apparent decrease in rotation with decreasing age of individual, isotopically dated bodies of the postcaldera group indicates that most tilting occurred between 24.4 and 24.2 Ma. The onset of tilting immediately following after the final caldera eruptions suggests that the magmatism and deformation were linked. Deformation was not driven by magma buoyancy, however, because tilting equally affected the caldera systems of different ages, including their plutonic roots. It is more likely that regional extension was focused in the southern Stillwater Range due to magmatic warming and reduction of tensile strength of the brittle crust. Faults that accommodated deformation in the southern Stillwater Range initially dipped steeply and cut deeply to expose more than 9 km of crustal section. The exposed crustal sections are probably rotated blocks above an unexposed basal detachment that lay near the early Miocene brittle-ductile transition.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2000

Preliminary model of the pre-Tertiary basement rocks beneath Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, based on analysis of gravity and magnetic data

The Environmental Restoration Program of the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, was developed to investigate the possible consequences to the environment of 40 years of nuclear testing on the Nevada Test Site. The majority of the tests were detonated underground, introducing contaminants into the ground-water system (Laczniak and others, 1996). An understanding of the ground-water flow paths is necessary to evaluate the extent of ground-water contamination. This report provides information specific to Yucca Flat on the Nevada Test Site. Critical to understanding the ground-water flow beneath Yucca Flat is an understanding of the subsurface geology, particularly the structure and distribution of the pre-Tertiary rocks, which comprise both the major regional aquifer and aquitard sequences (Winograd and Thordarson, 1975; Laczniak and others, 1996). Because the pre-Tertiary rocks are not exposed at the surface of Yucca Flat their distribution must be determined through well logs and less direct geophysical methods such as potential field studies. In previous studies (Phelps and others, 1999; Phelps and Mckee, 1999) developed a model of the basement surface of the Paleozoic rocks beneath Yucca Flat and a series of normal faults that create topographic relief on the basement surface. In this study the basement rocks and structure of Yucca Flat are examined in more detail using the basement gravity anomaly derived from the isostatic gravity inversion model of Phelps and others (1999) and high-resolution magnetic data, as part of an effort to gain a better understanding of the Paleozoic rocks beneath Yucca Flat in support of groundwater modeling.

Nevada↗
USGS1999

Gravity and magnetic study of the Pahute Mesa and Oasis Valley region, Nye County, Nevada

Regional gravity and aeromagnetic maps reveal the existence of deep basins underlying much of the southwestern Nevada volcanic field, approximately 150 km northwest of Las Vegas. These maps also indicate the presence of prominent features (geophysical lineaments) within and beneath the basin fill. Detailed gravity surveys were conducted in order to characterize the nature of the basin boundaries, delineate additional subsurface features, and evaluate their possible influence on the movement of ground-water. Geophysical modeling of gravity and aeromagnetic data indicates that many of the features may be related to processes of caldera formation. Collapse of the various calderas within the volcanic field resulted in dense basement rocks occurring at greater depths within caldera boundaries. Modeling indicates that collapse occurred along faults that are arcuate and steeply dipping. There are indications that the basement in the western Pahute Mesa - Oasis Valley region consists predominantly of granitic and/or fine-grained siliceous sedimentary rocks that may be less permeable to groundwater flow than the predominantly fractured carbonate rock basement to the east and southeast of the study area. The northeast-trending Thirsty Canyon lineament, expressed on gravity and basin thickness maps, separates dense volcanic rocks on the northwest from less dense intracaldera accumulations in the Silent Canyon and Timber Mountain caldera complexes. The source of the lineament is an approximately 2-km wide ring fracture system with step-like differential displacements, perhaps localized on a pre-existing northeast-trending Basin and Range fault. Due to vertical offsets, the Thirsty Canyon fault zone probably juxtaposes rock types of different permeability and, thus, it may act as a barrier to ground-water flow and deflect flow from Pahute Mesa along its flanks toward Oasis Valley. Within the Thirsty Canyon fault zone, highly fractured rocks may serve also as a conduit, depending upon the degree of alteration and its effect on porosity and permeability. In the Oasis Valley region, other structures that may influence ground-water flow include the western and southern boundaries of the Oasis Valley basin, where the basement abruptly shallows.

Nevada↗
USGS1999

High-angle faults in the basement of Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, based on analysis of a constrained gravity inversion surface

Using a model of the topographic subsurface derived from drill hole and gravity inversion analysis of the basement rocks in Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada, a fault map and digital fault dataset were constructed based on offsets of the basement surface. Because these faults are, in large part, not present at the surface, they are interpreted to be inactive faults, older than the alluvial basin fill.

Nevada↗