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J.P. Calzia

Publications and source records attributed to J.P. Calzia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2016

Geology of the Greenwater Range, and the dawn of Death Valley, California—Field guide for the Death Valley Natural History Conference, 2013

Much has been written about the age and formation of Death Valley, but that is one—if not the last—chapter in the fascinating geologic history of this area. Igneous and sedimentary rocks in the Greenwater Range, one mountain range east of Death Valley, tell an earlier story that overlaps with the formation of Death Valley proper. This early story has been told by scientists who have studied these rocks for many years and continue to do so. This field guide was prepared for the first Death Valley Natural History Conference and provides an overview of the geology of the Greenwater Range and the early history (10–0 Ma) of Death Valley.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2003

Geologic map of the Valjean Hills 7.5' quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California

Open-File Report 03-096 contains a digital geologic map database of the Valjean Hills 7.5' quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California that includes: ARC/INFO (Environmental Systems Research Institute, http://www.esri.com) version 8. 2 coverages of the various elements of the geologic map. A Postscript file to plot the geologic map on a topographic base, and containing a Correlation of Map Units diagram (CMU), a Description of Map Units (DMU), and an index map. Portable Document Format (.pdf) files of the same graphic as plotted in 2 above. Adobe Acrobat page size setting influences map scale. A Readme file with additional report information. FGDC-compliant metadata for the ARC/INFO coverages. The Correlation of Map Units and Description of Map Units is in the editorial format of USGS Geologic Investigations Series (I-series) maps but has not been edited to comply with I-map standards. Within the geologic map data package, map units are identified by standard geologic map criteria such as formation-name, age, and lithology. Even though this is an Open-File Report and includes the standard USGS Open-File disclaimer, the report closely adheres to the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. Descriptions of units can be obtained by viewing or plotting the .pdf file (3 above) or plotting the postscript file (2 above).

California↗
USGS2002

Geochemistry of Mesozoic plutons, southern Death Valley region, California: Insights into the origin of Cordilleran interior magmatism

Mesozoic granitoid plutons in the southern Death Valley region of southeastern California reveal substantial compositional and isotopic diversity for Mesozoic magmatism in the southwestern US Cordillera. Jurassic plutons of the region are mainly calc-alkaline mafic granodiorites with ε Ndi of –5 to –16, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i of 0.707–0.726, and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb i of 17.5–20.0. Cretaceous granitoids of the region are mainly monzogranites with ε Ndi of –6 to –19, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i of 0.707–0.723, and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb i of 17.4–18.6. The granitoids were generated by mixing of mantle-derived mafic melts and pre-existing crust – some of the Cretaceous plutons represent melting of Paleoproterozoic crust that, in the southern Death Valley region, is exceptionally heterogeneous. A Cretaceous gabbro on the southern flank of the region has an unusually juvenile composition (ε Ndi –3.2, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr i 0.7060). Geographic position of the Mesozoic plutons and comparison with Cordilleran plutonism in the Mojave Desert show that the Precambrian lithosphere (craton margin) in the eastern Mojave Desert region may consists of two crustal blocks separated by a more juvenile terrane.

California↗
USGS2000

Late Cenozoic crustal extension and magmatism, southern Death Valley region, California

The late Cenozoic geologic history of the southern Death Valley region is characterized by coeval crustal extension and magamatism. Crustal extension is accommodated by numerous listric and planar normal faults as well as right- and left-lateral strike slip faults. The normal faults sip 30°-50° near the surface and flatten and merge leozoic miogeoclinal rocks; the strike-slip faults act as tear faults between crustal blocks that have extended at different times and at different rates. Crustal extension began 13.4-13.1 Ma and migrated northwestward with time; undeformed basalt flows and lacustrine deposits suggest that extension stopped in this region (but continued north of the Death Valley graben) between 5 and 7 Ma. Estimates of crustal extension in this region vary from 30-50 percent to more than 100 percent. Magmatic rocks syntectonic with crustal extension in the southern Death Valley region include 12.4-6.4 Ma granitic rocks as well as bimodal 14.0-4.0 Ma volcanic rocks. Geochemical and isotopic evidence suggest that the granitic rocks get younger and less alkalic from south to north; the volcanic rocks become more mafic with less evidence of crustal interaction as they get younger. The close spatial and temporal relation between crustal extension and magmatism suggest a genetic and probably a dynamic relation between these geologic processes. We propose a rectonic-magmatic model that requires heat to be transported into the crust by mantle-derived mafic magmas. These magmas pond at lithologic or rheologic boundaries, begin the crystallize, and partially melt the surrounding crustal rocks. With time, the thermally weakened crust is extended (given a regional extensional stress field) concurrent with granitic magmatism and bimodal volcanism.

California↗
USGS1998

Nd isotopic composition of cratonic rocks in the southern Death Valley region: Evidence for a substantial Archean source component in Mojavia

Thirty Early Proterozoic intermediate to silicic metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks in the southern Death Valley region and vicinity show ϵ Nd values of −1.6 to −6.3 at 1.7 Ga and Nd model ages of 2.1 to 2.6 Ga. These cratonic rocks thus reveal an older signature than so far reported for Nd province 1 of the western United States; as much as 30%–40% of their mass may be Archean crustal material. The Archean component was introduced in the form of sedimentary detritus that was probably subducted and mixed with juvenile material at a convergent margin. Three younger Precambrian rocks associated with the cratonic rocks also have a Nd isotopic composition of province 1 type.

Geology↗
USGS1988

Mineral resources and resource potential map of the Pyramid Peak Roadless Area, Riverside County, California

The Pyramid Peak Roadless Area is underlain by mid-Cretaceous plutonic rocks (granite, granodiorite, and tonalite) that intrude metasedimentary rocks of the Desert Divide Group. The granodiorite grades eastward into strongly deformed mylonitic rocks mapped as part of the Santa Rosa mylonite zone. Metasedimentary rocks, orthogneiss, and anatexites of the Palm Canyon Complex were displaced westward over the Santa Rosa mylonite zone along low-angle thrust faults that are nearly synchronous with the mylonite zone. The Pliocene and (or) Pleistocene Bautista Formation unconformably overlies the mid-Cretaceous plutonic rocks. Geologic and geochemical data indicate that the study area has high resource potential for marble, and moderate resource potential for epithermal gold deposits and tungsten skarns. The Desert Divide Group and the Palm Canyon Complex contain large resources of marble quarried for Portland cement and for construction applications. Gold occurs in quartz veins and pegmatites in the Desert Divide Group and the Penrod Quartz Monzonite. Skarns in the Desert Divide Group contain scheelite and anomalous concentrations of arsenic and beryllium. Thin layers of tremolite asbestos along low-angle thrust faults occur outside of the study area.

California↗