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Research about Inyo County, California

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Inyo County, California.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2023

Pliocene–Pleistocene hydrology and pluvial lake during Marine Isotope Stages 5a and 4, Deep Springs Valley, western Great Basin, Inyo County, California

Deep Springs Valley (DSV) is a hydrologically isolated valley between the White and Inyo mountains that is commonly excluded from regional paleohydrology and paleoclimatology. Previous studies showed that uplift of Deep Springs ridge (informal name) by the Deep Springs fault defeated streams crossing DSV and hydrologically isolated the valley sometime after eruption of the Pleistocene Bishop Tuff (0.772 Ma). Here, we present tephrochronology and clast counts that reaffirms interruption of the Pliocene–Pleistocene hydrology and formation of DSV during the Pleistocene. Paleontology and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dates indicate a freshwater lake inundated Deep Springs Valley from ca. 83–61 ka or during Late Pleistocene Marine Isotope Stages 5a (MIS 5a; ca. 82 ka peak) and 4 (MIS 4; ca. 71–57 ka). The age of pluvial Deep Springs Lake coincides with pluvial lakes in Owens Valley and Columbus Salt Marsh and documents greater effective precipitation in southwestern North America during MIS 5a and MIS 4. In addition, we hypothesize that Deep Springs Lake was a balanced-fill lake that overflowed into Eureka Valley via the Soldier Pass wind gap during MIS 5a and MIS 4. DSV hydrology has implications for dispersal and endemism of the Deep Springs black toad ( Anaxyrus exsul ).

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USGS2021

Zircon geochronology and geochemistry of Quaternary rhyolite domes of the Coso volcanic field, Inyo County, California

The Quaternary Coso volcanic field (CVF) is a compositionally bimodal volcanic field located within a releasing bend along the eastern range-front Sierra Nevada fault zone in California's southern Owens Valley. The erupted products of CVF silicic magmatism since ~1 Ma comprise 38 high-silica rhyolite domes, with the volumetric majority (~99%) of rhyolite emplaced within the past ~300 ka. The CVF hosts an economically important geothermal field driven by heat associated with a shallow (~5 km) igneous intrusion. The CVF is potentially an immature analog to the nearby Long Valley system, which culminated in generation and eruption of the voluminous and widespread Bishop Tuff. As such, the CVF represents a considerable volcanic hazard, making a detailed understanding of the eruptive history and pre-eruptive conditions of the system critically important. We present uranium-series isochron dates from zircon ± allanite crystal surfaces and zircon trace element geochemical data on the youngest 17 rhyolite domes at Coso, which represent ~60% (by volume) of the silicic magma erupted by the system. These data suggest: (1) a shorter emplacement duration than previously recognized for these domes, with a duration of 20 ± 5 ka; (2) 4 shorter-duration eruption pulses within this interval, all of which occur during the marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 interglacial period; (3) an uptick in the volume of CVF magma erupted between ~200 ka and ~ 78 ka relative to that emplaced over the lifetime of the system; (4) near-coeval eruption of geochemically distinct magma in close geographic proximity, either sourced from different portions of the same magma system at depth or from discrete, uncommunicating bodies; (5) ambiguity with respect to whether or not CVF magmatism is time-predictable, as previously suggested, or erupted as a series of punctuated episodes; (6) no rhyolite volcanism in the past ~78 kyr.

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USGS2021

Lake Andrei: A pliocene pluvial lake in Eureka Valley, Eastern California

We used geologic mapping, tephrochronology and 40Ar/39Ar dating to describe evidence of a ca. 3.5 Ma pluvial lake in Eureka Valley, eastern California, that we informally name herein Lake Andrei. We identified six different tuffs in the Eureka Valley drainage basin including two previously undescribed tuffs: the 3.509 ± 0.009 Ma tuff of Hanging Rock Canyon and the 3.506 ± 0.010 Ma tuff of Last Chance (informal names). We focused on four Pliocene stratigraphic sequences. Three sequences are composed of fluvial sandstone and conglomerate with basalt flows in two of these sequences. The fourth sequence, located about 1.5 km south of the Death Valley/Big Pine Road along the western piedmont of the Last Chance Range, included green, fine-grained, gypsiferous lacustrine deposits interbedded with the 3.506 Ma tuff of Last Chance that we interpret as evidence of a pluvial lake. Pluvial Lake Andrei is similar in age pluvial lakes in Searles Valley, Amargosa Valley, Fish Lake Valley and Death Valley of the western Great Basin. We interpret these simultaneous lakes in the region as indirect evidence of a significant glacial climate in western North America during Marine Isotope Stages MG5/M2 and a persistent Pacific jet stream south of 37°N.

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USGS2014

Geologic map and upper Paleozoic stratigraphy of the Marble Canyon area, Cottonwood Canyon quadrangle, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California

This geologic map and pamphlet focus on the stratigraphy, depositional history, and paleogeographic significance of upper Paleozoic rocks exposed in the Marble Canyon area in Death Valley National Park, California. Bedrock exposed in this area is composed of Mississippian to lower Permian (Cisuralian) marine sedimentary rocks and the Jurassic Hunter Mountain Quartz Monzonite. These units are overlain by Tertiary and Quaternary nonmarine sedimentary deposits that include a previously unrecognized tuff to which we tentatively assign an age of late middle Miocene (~12 Ma) based on tephrochronologic analysis, in addition to the previously recognized Pliocene tuff of Mesquite Spring. Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks in the Marble Canyon area represent deposition on the western continental shelf of North America. Mississippian limestone units in the area (Tin Mountain, Stone Canyon, and Santa Rosa Hills Limestones) accumulated on the outer part of a broad carbonate platform that extended southwest across Nevada into east-central California. Carbonate sedimentation was interrupted by a major eustatic sea-level fall that has been interpreted to record the onset of late Paleozoic glaciation in southern Gondwana. Following a brief period of Late Mississippian clastic sedimentation (Indian Springs Formation), a rise in eustatic sea level led to establishment of a new carbonate platform that covered most of the area previously occupied by the Mississippian platform. The Pennsylvanian Bird Spring Formation at Marble Canyon makes up the outer platform component of ten third-order (1 to 5 m.y. duration) stratigraphic sequences recently defined for the regional platform succession. The regional paleogeography was fundamentally changed by major tectonic activity along the continental margin beginning in middle early Permian time. As a result, the Pennsylvanian carbonate shelf at Marble Canyon subsided and was disconformably overlain by lower Permian units (Osborne Canyon and Darwin Canyon Formations) representing part of a deep-water turbidite basin filled primarily by fine-grained siliciclastic sediment derived from cratonal sources to the east. Deformation and sedimentation along the western part of this basin continued into late Permian time. The culminating phase was part of a regionally extensive late Permian thrust system that included the Marble Canyon thrust fault just west of the present map area.

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USGS2011

Review of samples of tailings, soils, and stream sediments adjacent to and downstream from the Ruth Mine, Inyo County, California

The Ruth Mine and mill are located in the western Mojave Desert in Inyo County, California (fig. 1). The mill processed gold-silver (Au-Ag) ores mined from the Ruth Au-Ag deposit, which is adjacent to the mill site. The Ruth Au-Ag deposit is hosted in Mesozoic intrusive rocks and is similar to other Au-Ag deposits in the western Mojave Desert that are associated with Miocene volcanic centers that formed on a basement of Mesozoic granitic rocks (Bateman, 1907; Gardner, 1954; Rytuba, 1996). The volcanic rocks consist of silicic domes and associated flows, pyroclastic rocks, and subvolcanic intrusions (fig. 2) that were emplaced into Mesozoic silicic intrusive rocks (Troxel and Morton, 1962). The Ruth Mine is on Federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Tailings from the mine have been eroded and transported downstream into Homewood Canyon and then into Searles Valley (figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6). The BLM provided recreational facilities at the mine site for day-use hikers and restored and maintained the original mine buildings in collaboration with local citizen groups for use by visitors (fig. 7). The BLM requested that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with Chapman University, measure arsenic (As) and other geochemical constituents in soils and tailings at the mine site and in stream sediments downstream from the mine in Homewood Canyon and in Searles Valley (fig. 3). The request was made because initial sampling of the site by BLM staff indicated high concentrations of As in tailings and soils adjacent to the Ruth Mine. This report summarizes data obtained from field sampling of mine tailings and soils adjacent to the Ruth Mine and stream sediments downstream from the mine on June 7, 2009. Our results permit a preliminary assessment of the sources of As and associated chemical constituents that could potentially impact humans and biota.

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USGS2009

Geologic Map of the southern Inyo Mountains and vicinity, Inyo County, California

The Inyo Mountains are located in east-central California between Owens Valley on the west and Saline Valley on the east. This map encompasses the southernmost part of the Inyo Mountains and vicinity, which is centered on the high plateau of Conglomerate Mesa and extends from Owens Valley on the west to the Santa Rosa Hills, Lee Flat, and the Nelson Range on the east. The area includes parts of the Cerro Gordo Peak, Nelson Range, Keeler, and Santa Rosa Flat 7.5' quadrangles. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks, unconformities, and structural features exposed in the southern Inyo Mountains region provide information critical for reconstructing the complex Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the southwestern United States. Ordovician to Cretaceous rocks in the map area record a long geologic history during which the continental margin of the western United States gradually changed from a passive tectonic setting in the early and middle Paleozoic to an active tectonic setting in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. A major highlight of the map area is the unusually complete record of late Paleozoic to earliest Mesozoic (Pennsylvanian to Triassic) deformation and sedimentation that marked the transition between the passive and active margin settings. The area also provides an excellent record of Jurassic to Cretaceous deformation and igneous activity that characterized the middle to late Mesozoic active margin. This map provides a detailed depiction of all the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks and structural features known in the area. The area also contains important exposures of upper Cenozoic rocks related to the evolution of the Basin and Range province, although detailed mapping of these rocks was beyond the scope of this study.

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USGS2005

Digital method for regional mapping of surficial basin deposits in arid regions, example from central Death Valley, Inyo County, California

Derivative maps generated from DEM's and panchromatic remote sensing data (TM Landsat 7 or SPOT) can be used to characterize surficial basin deposits in arid regions dominated by basin and range topography. Results indicate the technique is useful for rapid digital mapping of surficial deposits where a first order, systematic subdivision of bedrock, alluvial fan units, and playas is unavailable at regional scales. Digital mapping can provide information about relative age and material properties of units that in part can be derived from the position of units within the basin. This automated mapping, implemented in a GIS system, involves an iterative process applied to a combination of digital elevation models (DEM) and satellite image data, such as SPOT or the high-resolution panchromatic Band 8 of Landsat 7 scenes. The method first discriminates the region into first-order terrains consisting of bedrock mountain highlands, basin piedmonts, and playa-basin interiors based on user-defined slope cutoffs applied to DEM data. The basin areas are subsequently classified into surficial map units such as active channels, ground-water discharge zones, and multiple age alluvial-fan piedmont units based on reflective properties of the associated surfaces in the satellite imagery. The surficial units are differentiated through systematic classification based on specific user-defined ranges of spectral values for each unit. The spectral ranges used in the classification are largely dependent on the composite effects of surface characteristics and material properties, including depositional morphology and texture, pavement development, degree of surface clast varnishing, and (or) properties of exposed soils of the alluvial fan units. We have used the slope-curvature properties derived from the DEM data to discriminate the bajada areas that exhibit non-unique spectral characteristics. Slope curvature is particularly effective at differentiating young undissected surfaces from older dissected piedmont units. Available geologic maps and field observations may be used both to iteratively calibrate the spectral classification scheme and to provide additional verification of the digital map output. Digital mapping combined with detailed field studies in selected areas provides useful regional maps of surficial units until time and funding is available for more field intensive studies. In addition, anomalous areas on the thematic maps indicate where more detailed field or air photo work is warranted. The technique successfully distinguishes between bedrock, alluvial fans (generally multiple fan units), active washes, playas, playa rimming marshes and seeps and other active and inactive discharge zones in arid basin and mountain regions. Limitations occur in the subdivision of some fan units where the dominant detrital clast lithologies are not susceptible to varnish development.

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USGS1997

Geohydrology and evapotranspiration at Franklin Lake playa, Inyo County, California

Franklin Lake playa is one of the principal discharge areas of the ground-water-flow system associated with Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the potential site of a high-level nuclear-waste repository. By using the energy-budget eddy-correlation technique, measurements made between June 1983 and April 1984 to estimate evapotranspiration were found to range from 0.1 centimeter per day during winter months to about 0.3 centimeter per day during summer months; the annual average was 0.16 centimeter per day. These estimates were compared with evapotranspiration estimates calculated from six other methods.

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USGS1984

Analytical results, geology, and sample locality map of mercury-sulfur-gypsum mineralization at Crater, Inyo County, California

The Crater mercury-su l fur-gypsum ~ineral ized area is located in east-central California along the crest of the Last Chance Range, west of the north end of Death Valley (fig. 1). The area is in the northwest quarter of the Last Chance Range 15-minute quadrangle and occupies the area between 117 39 and 117 45 longitude and 37 10 and 37 15 latitudP.. The area studied lies between 5000 ( 1525 m) and 6000 ( 1830 m) feet above sea level. Relief isgenerally moderate but can be extreme in some places, as at Hanging Rock Canyon (plate 1). The climate is arid, and there are no active streams in the area. The range fronts east and west of the area are precipitous and incised by many steep canyons, whereas the range crest has relatively low relief. The old abandoned town and mine site of Crater 1 ie in this area of low relief. Access to the Crater area is by paved and dirt roads from Big Pine to the west or from the north end of the Death Valley National Monument to the southeast.

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USGS1979

Lithologic log, lithium content, and mineralogy of sediments penetrated in test boring drilled in Eureka Valley, Inyo County, California

A test boring was drilled in a playa in Eureka Valley, Calif., by the U.S. Geological Survey in the spring of 1978. Work was done under the terms of a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the leasable mineral potential of various playas in the California Desert Planning area, as described in the environmental analysis (prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1978). The purpose of this report is to describe the occurrence and distribution of lithium in the basin sediments as part of a program to identify additional domestic resources of nonpegmatite lithium (Vine, 1978). Interest in this playa stems from the fact that Eureka Valley is located in a region where other lithium resources have been identified. Lithium is recovered from subsurface brines at Clayton Valley, Nev., to the north and at Searles Lake, Calif., to the south. Eureka Valley is a closed topographic basin that has an arid climate, it thus provides suitable conditions for the entrapment of a brine and subsequent concentration of lithium by evaporation. Development of new energy related uses for lithium in batteries for electric vehicle propulsion and for off-peak power storage by the utility industry (Chilenskas and others, 1977) may he aided by identification of a large domestic resource of lithium.

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