Relation of mercury, uranium, and lithium deposits to the McDermitt caldera complex, Nevada-Oregon

Abstract

The McDermitt caldera complex, located along the Nevada-Oregon border, is a Miocene collapse structure 45 km in diameter. Large-volume rhyolitic and peralkaline ash-flow tufts were erupted from 17.9-15.8 m.y. ago, leading to the formation of overlapping and nested calderas. Emplacement of rhyolitic ring domes, located primarily along the western margin of the calderas, represents the last phase of volcanic activity.