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USGS2000

Potential seismic hazards and tectonics of the upper Cook Inlet basin, Alaska, based on analysis of Pliocene and younger deformation

The Cook Inlet basin is a northeast-trending forearc basin above the Aleutian subduction zone in southern Alaska. Folds in Cook Inlet are complex, discontinuous structures with variable shape and vergence that probably developed by right-transpressional deformation on oblique-slip faults extending downward into Mesozoic basement beneath the Tertiary basin. The most recent episode of deformation may have began as early as late Miocene time, but most of the deformation occurred after deposition of much of the Pliocene Sterling Formation. Deformation continued into Quaternary time, and many structures are probably still active. One structure, the Castle Mountain fault, has Holocene fault scarps, an adjacent anticline with flower structure, and historical seismicity. If other structures in Cook Inlet are active, blind faults coring fault-propagation folds may generate M w 6–7+ earthquakes. Dextral transpression of Cook Inlet appears to have been driven by coupling between the North American and Pacific plates along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, and by lateral escape of the forearc to the southwest, due to collision and indentation of the Yakutat terrane 300 km to the east of the basin.

Alaska↗

USGS2000

Katmai volcanic cluster and the great eruption of 1912

In June 1912, the world's largest twentieth century eruption broke out through flat-lying sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age near the base of Trident volcano on the Alaska Peninsula. The 60 h ash-flow and Plinian eruptive sequence excavated and subsequently backfilled with ejecta a flaring funnel-shaped vent since called Novarupta. The vent is adjacent to a cluster of late Quaternary stratocones and domes that have released about 140 km 3 of magma in the past 150 k.y. Although the 1912 vent is closest to the Trident group and is also close to Mageik and Griggs volcanoes, it was the summit of Mount Katmai, 10 km east of Novarupta, that collapsed during the eruption to form a 5.5 km 3 caldera. Many earthquakes, including 14 in the range M 6−7, took place during and after the eruption, releasing 250 times more seismic energy than the 1991 caldera-forming eruption of the Philippine volcano, Pinatubo. The contrast in seismic behavior may reflect the absence of older caldera faults at Mount Katmai, lack of upward (subsidence opposing) magma flow owing to lateral magma withdrawal in 1912, and the horizontally stratified structure of the thick shale-rich Mesozoic basement. The Katmai caldera compensates for only 40% of the 13 km 3 of 1912 magma erupted, which included 7–8 km 3 of slightly zoned high-silica rhyolite and 4.5 km 3 of crystal-rich dacite that grades continuously into 1 km 3 of crystal-rich andesite. We have now mapped, sampled, and studied the products of all 20 components of the Katmai volcanic cluster. Pyroxene dacite and silicic andesite predominate at all of them, and olivine andesite is also common at Griggs, Katmai, and Trident volcanoes, but basalt and rhyodacite have erupted only at Mount Katmai. Rhyolite erupted only in 1912 and is otherwise absent among Quaternary products of the cluster. Pleistocene products of Mageik and Trident and all products of Griggs are compositionally distinguishable from those of 1912 at Novarupta. Holocene products of Mount Martin and Trident are closer in composition to the andesite-dacite array of 1912, but they reveal consistent differences. The affinity of the 1912 suite is closest with the array of products erupted by the Southwest Katmai cone, the edifice that had produced the only pre-1912 rhyodacite as well as the largest prehistoric Plinian eruption in the cluster. It is doubtful that any 1912 magma had been stored beneath Novarupta or Trident, and there is no evidence that more than one magma chamber erupted in 1912. Despite a compositional gap separating the aphyric rhyolite from the very crystal-rich andesite-dacite continuum, isotopic and chemical affinities linking all the 1912 ejecta and the continuity of all those ejecta in magmatic temperature and oxygen fugacity suggest that the rhyolite originated principally by incremental upward expulsion of interstitial melt from subjacent andesite-dacite mush. A large reservoir of such hot crystal mush is required both as the residue of rhyolitic melt separation and as a proximate heat source to thermally sustain the nearly aphyric condition of the overlying rhyolite. A model is presented for a unitary zoned chamber beneath Mount Katmai.

Alaska↗

USGS2002

Paleoseismology at high latitudes: Seismic disturbance of upper Quaternary deposits along the Castle Mountain fault near Houston, Alaska

Most paleoseismic studies are at low to moderate latitudes. Here we present results from a high-latitude (61°30′ N) trenching study of the Castle Mountain fault in south-central Alaska. This fault is the only one known in the greater Anchorage, Alaska, area with historical seismicity and a Holocene fault scarp. It strikes east-northeast and cuts glacial and postglacial sediments in an area of boreal spruce-birch forest, shrub tundra, and sphagnum bog. The fault has a prominent vegetation lineament on the upthrown, north side of the fault. Nine trenches were logged across the fault in glacial and postglacial deposits, seven along the main trace, and two along a splay. In addition to thrust and strike-slip faulting, important controls on observed relationships in the trenches are the season in which faulting occurred, the physical properties of the sediments, liquefaction, a shallow water table, soil-forming processes, the strength of the modern root mat, and freeze-thaw processes. Some of these processes and physical properties are unique to northern-latitude areas and result in seismic disturbance effects not observed at lower latitudes. The two trenches across the Castle Mountain fault splay exposed a thrust fault and few liquefaction features. Radiocarbon ages of soil organic matter and charcoal within and overlying the fault indicate movement on the fault at ca. 2735 cal. (calendar) yr B.P. and no subsequent movement. In the remaining seven trenches, surface faulting was accompanied by extensive liquefaction and a zone of disruption 3 m or more wide. The presence of numerous liquefaction features at depths of <0.5–1.0 m indicates faulting when the ground was not frozen—i.e., from about April to October. Sandy-matrix till, sand, silt, gravel, and pebbly peat were injected up to the base of the modern soil, but did not penetrate the interlocking spruce-birch root mat. The strength of the root mat prohibited development of a nonvegetated scarp face and colluvial wedge. In only one trench did we observe a discrete fault plane with measurable offset. It lay beneath a 2-m-thick carapace of liquefied sand and silt and displayed a total of 0.9–1.85 m of thrust motion since deposition of the oldest deposits in the trenches at ca. 13,500 yr B.P. We found liquefaction ejecta on paleosols at only one other trench, where there were bluejoint ( Calamagrostis canadensis ) tussocks that lacked an extensive root mat. From crosscutting relationships, we interpret three paleoliquefaction events on the main trace of the Castle Mountain fault: 2145–1870, 1375–1070, and 730–610 cal. yr B.P. These four earthquakes on the Castle Mountain fault in the past ∼2700 yr indicate an average recurrence interval of ∼700 yr. As it has been 600–700 yr since the last significant earthquake, a significant (magnitude 6–7) earthquake in the near future may be likely. Paleoseismic data indicate that the timing and recurrence interval of megathrust earthquakes is similar to the timing and recurrence interval of Castle Mountain fault earthquakes, suggesting a possible link between faulting on the megathrust and on “crustal” structures.

Alaska↗

USGS2003

Eruptive history and geochronology of the Mount Baker volcanic field, Washington

Mount Baker, a steaming, ice-mantled, andesitic stratovolcano, is the most conspicuous component of a multivent Quaternary volcanic field active almost continuously since 1.3 Ma. More than 70 packages of lava flows and ~110 dikes have been mapped, ???500 samples chemically analyzed, and ~80 K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages determined. Principal components are (1) the ignimbrite-filled Kulshan caldera (1.15 Ma) and its precaldera and postcaldera rhyodacite lavas and dikes (1.29-0.99 Ma); (2)~60 intracaldera, hydrothermally altered, andesite-dacite dikes and pods-remnants of a substantial early-postcaldera volcanic center (1.1-0.6 Ma); (3) unaltered intracaldera andesite lavas and dikes, including those capping Ptarmigan and Lasiocarpa Ridges and Table Mountain (0.5-0.2 Ma); (4) the long-lived Chowder Ridge focus (1.29-0.1 Ma)-an andesite to rhyodacite eruptive complex now glacially reduced to ~50 dikes and remnants of ~10 lava flows; (5) Black Buttes stratocone, basaltic to dacitic, and several contemporaneous peripheral volcanoes (0.5-0.2 Ma); and (6) Mount Baker stratocone and contemporaneous peripheral volcanoes (0.1 Ma to Holocene). Glacial ice has influenced eruptions and amplified erosion throughout the lifetime of the volcanic field. Although more than half the material erupted has been eroded, liberal and conservative volume estimates for 77 increments of known age yield cumulative curves of volume erupted vs. time that indicate eruption rates in the range 0.17-0.43 km3/k.y. for major episodes and longterm background rates of 0.02-0.07 km3/k.y. Andesite and rhyodacite each make up nearly half of the 161 ?? 56 km3 of products erupted, whereas basalt and dacite represent only a few cubic kilometers, each representing 1%-3% the total. During the past 4 m.y., the principal magmatic focus has migrated stepwise 25 km southwestward, from the edge of the Chilliwack batholith to present-day Mount Baker.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

USGS1984

Relationship of late Quaternary fault scarps to subjacent faults, eastern Great Basin, Utah

High-resolution seismic reflection profiles in the Sevier Desert basin in western Utah help clarify the relationship between some late Quaternary fault scarps and subjacent faults. A profile crossing the Clear Lake fault confirms that Holocene(?) displacement has occurred on a high-angle normal fault that is directly connected to the Sevier Desert detachment. If detachment faults can act as seismogenic source zones, then the young movement on the normal fault suggests that the Sevier Desert detachment may be unstable and perhaps the source of future earthquakes. A swarm of late Quaternary scarps near the Drum Mountains overlies a network of steep faults in competent rock that have had recurrent movement. Many subsurface faults are not associated with scarps, suggesting that selected faults ruptured during the last episode of surface faulting.

Geology↗

USGS1987

Late Quaternary caldera-forming eruptions in the eastern Aleutian arc, Alaska

Late Quaternary calderas have been identified at 12 of 40 volcanic centers in the eastern Aleutian arc, and sufficient radiocarbon dates and geologic information have now been obtained to either date or constrain the timing of the climactic caldera-forming eruptions. At least eight major caldera-forming events, each characterized by estimated eruption volumes of more than 10 km 3 , occurred at seven different volcanic centers in the Holocene, and as many as six of these had estimated eruption volumes of more than 50 km 3 . Eruptions of similar magnitude formed two other calderas in Wisconsin time. The dating of these hitherto little-known events adds significantly to the previously existing chronology of large prehistoric eruptions. This refined chronology is important in understanding eruption-induced climate changes, in assessing volcanic hazards, and in developing a tephrochronology for northwestern North America. © 1987 Geological Society of America.

Alaska↗

USGS1991

Multiple outer-reef tracts along the south Florida bank margin: Outlier reefs, a new windward-margin model

High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles off the lower Florida Keys reveal a multiple outlier-reef tract system ~0.5 to 1.5 km sea-ward of the bank margin. The system is characterized by a massive, outer main reef tract of high (28 m) unburied relief that parallels the margin and at least two narrower, discontinuous reef tracts of lower relief between the main tract and the shallow bank-margin reefs. The outer tract is ~0.5 to 1 km wide and extends a distance of ~57 km. A single pass divides the outer tract into two main reefs. The outlier reefs developed on antecedent, low-gradient to horizontal offbank surfaces, interpreted to be Pleistocene beaches that formed terracelike features. Radiocarbon dates of a coral core from the outer tract confirm a pre-Holocene age. These multiple outlier reefs represent a new windward-margin model that presents a significant, unique mechanism for progradation of carbonate platforms during periods of sea-level fluctuation. Infilling of the back-reef terrace basins would create new terraced promontories and would extend or "step" the platform seaward for hundreds of metres. Subsequent outlier-reef development would produce laterally accumulating sequences.

Florida↗

USGS1994

Two episodes of meltwater influx from glacial Lake Agassiz into the Lake Michigan basin and their climatic contrasts

Two episodes of meltwater influx from glacial Lake Agassiz are recorded as prominent sedimentologic, isotopic, magnetic, and faunal signatures in southern Lake Michigan profundal sediments. As a tributary to the main path of eastward Lake Agassiz flow, southern Lake Michigan recorded only the largest, catastrophic discharges. The distinctive Wilmette Bed, a massive gray mud that interrrupts laminated red glaciolacustrine clays, marks the first episode, which occurred near the beginning of the Younger Dryas cooling events. The associated discharge may have played a role in the inception or severity of the Younger Dryas event. An oxygen isotope excursion in biogenic carbonate and changes in ostracode assemblages mark the second episode, which appears to have had at least two pulses, dated by accelerator mass spectrometer 14C ages on biogenic carbonate at about 8.9 and 8.6 ka. The second episode occurred during the early Holocene peak in global meltwater discharge and apparently had little widespread climatic or oceanographic effect. The contrast between the effects associated with these two episodes of meltwater discharge emphasizes the complexity of the ice sheet-ocean-climate system. -Authors

Lake Michigan basin↗

USGS1996

Isotopic evidence for shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns during the late Quaternary in mid-North America

Wyoming is now at the eastern margin of westerlies originating in the Pacific, but in the Pleistocene appears to have received moisture from elsewhere, possibly the Gulf of Mexico. Oxygen isotope ratios of pedogenic carbonate in postglacial terraces correspond to ratios in equilibrium with present meteoric waters, which show a strong relation to precipitation seasonality and storm sources. In contrast, the oxygen isotope ratios of all pre-Holocene soils are significantly more positive, even though the carbon isotope composition of coexisting organic matter suggests that the carbonate formed in temperatures cooler than today. The oxygen isotope ratios of paleowaters in mid–North America appear to be more useful for identifying past storm sources than for estimating paleotemperatures.

Geology↗

USGS1997

Mapping hydrothermally altered rocks on Mount Rainier, Washington, with Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data

Mount Rainier has produced numerous Holocene debris flows, the largest of which contain clays and other minerals derived from hydrothermally altered rocks on the volcano's edifice. Imagery from an advanced airborne sensor was used to map altered rocks at Mount Rainier and demonstrates their distinctly nonuniform distribution. The mapping of altered rocks helps to identify edifice failure surfaces and to recognize the source areas for the largest debris flow events. Remote sensing methods like those used at Mount Rainier can enhance ground-based mapping efforts and should prove useful for rapidly identifying hazardous sectors at other volcanoes.

Geology↗

USGS1999

Late Quaternary slip rate and seismic hazards of the West Klamath Lake fault zone near Crater Lake, Oregon Cascades

Crater Lake caldera is at the north end of the Klamath graben, where this N10°W-trending major Basin and Range structure impinges upon the north-south–trending High Cascades volcanic arc. East-facing normal faults, typically 10–15 km long, form the West Klamath Lake fault zone, which bounds the graben on its west side. The fault zone terminates on the south near the epicentral area of the September 1993 Klamath Falls earthquakes. It continues north past Crater Lake as the Annie Spring fault, which is within ∼1 km of the west caldera rim, and Red Cone Spring fault. We have determined a long-term vertical slip rate of 0.3 mm/yr for these two faults using high-precision K-Ar and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age measurements on offset lava flows ranging in age from ca. 35 to 300 ka. Holocene offset reported by Hawkins et al. and epicenters of eight M W 2 earthquakes in 1994 and 1995 indicate that the West Klamath Lake fault zone is active. Empirical relations between earthquake magnitudes and scarp heights or fault lengths suggest that the fault zone is capable of producing earthquakes as large as M W 7¼. Earthquakes on these or other faults of the zone could trigger landslides and rockfalls from the walls of the caldera, possibly resulting in large waves on Crater Lake.

Oregon↗

USGS2000

Late Pleistocene granodiorite beneath Crater Lake caldera, Oregon, dated by ion microprobe

Variably melted granodiorite blocks ejected during the Holocene caldera-forming eruption of Mount Mazama were plucked from the walls of the climactic magma chamber at ∼5 km depth. Ion-microprobe U-Pb dating of zircons from two unmelted granodiorite blocks with SHRIMP RG (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe–reverse geometry) gives a nominal 238 U/ 206 Pb age of 100 − 80 + 78 "> 100 + 78 − 80 100−80+78 ka, or 174 − 115 + 89 "> 174 + 89 − 115 174−115+89 ka when adjusted for an initial 230 Th deficit. SHRIMP RG U-Th measurements on a subset of the zircons yield a 230 Th/ 238 U isochron age of 112 ± 24 ka, considered to be the best estimate of the time of solidification of the pluton. These results suggest that the granodiorite is related to andesite and dacite of Mount Mazama and not to magmas of the climactic eruption. The unexposed granodiorite has an area of at least 28 km 2 . This young, shallow pluton was emplaced in virtually the same location where a similarly large magma body accumulated and powered violent explosive eruptions ∼7700 yr ago, resulting in collapse of Crater Lake caldera.

Oregon↗

USGS2001

Pleistocene reduction of polar ice caps: Evidence from Cariaco Basin marine sediments

Sea level is projected to rise between 13 and 94 cm over the next 100 yr due to continued climate warming. The sea-level projections assume that polar ice sheets will remain stable or even increase on time scales of centuries, but controversial geologic evidence suggests that current polar ice sheets have been eliminated or greatly reduced during previous Pleistocene interglacials indicating that modern polar ice sheets have become unstable within the natural range of interglacial climates. Sea level may have been more than 20 m higher than today during a presumably very warm interglacial about 400 ka during marine isotope stage 11. Because of the implications for future sea level rise, additional study of the conflicting evidence for warmer conditions and higher sea level during marine isotope stage 11 is needed. Here we present microfossil and isotopic data from marine sediments of the Cariaco Basin supporting the interpretation that global sea level was 10-20 m higher than today during marine isotope stage 11. The increased sea level requires reduction in modern polar ice sheets and is consistent with the interpretation that the West Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet were absent or greatly reduced during marine isotope stage 11. Our results show a warm marine isotope stage 11 interglacial climate with sea level as high as or above modern sea level that lasted for 25 to 30 k.y. Variations in Earth's orbit around the sun (Milankovitch cycles) are considered to be a primary external force driving glacial-interglacial cycles. Current and marine isotope stage 11 Milankovitch forcing are very similar, suggesting that the present interglacial (Holocene) that began ca. 10 ka will continue for another 15 to 20 k.y. Therefore any anthropogenic climate warming will accelerate the natural process toward reduction in polar ice sheets. The potential for increased rates of sea level rise related to polar ice sheet decay should be considered as a potential natural hazard on centennial time scales.

Cariaco Basin↗

USGS2001

Volcano collapse promoted by hydrothermal alteration and edifice shape, Mount Rainier, Washington

Catastrophic collapses of steep volcano flanks threaten many populated regions, and understanding factors that promote collapse could save lives and property. Large collapses of hydrothermally altered parts of Mount Rainier have generated far-traveled debris flows; future flows would threaten densely populated parts of the Puget Sound region. We evaluate edifice collapse hazards at Mount Rainier using a new three-dimensional slope stability method incorporating detailed geologic mapping and subsurface geophysical imaging to determine distributions of strong (fresh) and weak (altered) rock. Quantitative three-dimensional slope stability calculations reveal that sizeable flank collapse (>0.1 km3) is promoted by voluminous, weak, hydrothermally altered rock situated high on steep slopes. These conditions exist only on Mount Rainier's upper west slope, consistent with the Holocene debris-flow history. Widespread alteration on lower flanks or concealed in regions of gentle slope high on the edifice does not greatly facilitate collapse. Our quantitative stability assessment method can also provide useful hazard predictions using reconnaissance geologic information and is a potentially rapid and inexpensive new tool for aiding volcano hazard assessments.

Washington↗

USGS2003

Quaternary low-angle slip on detachment faults in Death Valley, California

Detachment faults on the west flank of the Black Mountains (Nevada and California) dip 29??-36?? and cut subhorizontal layers of the 0.77 Ma Bishop ash. Steeply dipping normal faults confined to the hanging walls of the detachments offset layers of the 0.64 Ma Lava Creek B tephra and the base of 0.12-0.18 Ma Lake Manly gravel. These faults sole into and do not cut the low-angle detachments. Therefore the detachments accrued any measurable slip across the kinematically linked hanging-wall faults. An analysis of the orientations of hundreds of the hanging-wall faults shows that extension occurred at modest slip rates (<1 mm/yr) under a steep to vertically oriented maximum principal stress. The Black Mountain detachments are appropriately described as the basal detachments of near-critical Coulomb wedges. We infer that the formation of late Pleistocene and Holocene range-front fault scarps accompanied seismogenic slip on the detachments.

Geology↗

USGS2006

Large-volume volcanic edifice failures in Central America and associated hazards

Edifice-collapse phenomena have, to date, received relatively little attention in Central America, although ∼40 major collapse events (≥0.1 km 3 ) from about two dozen volcanoes are known or inferred in this volcanic arc. Volcanoes subjected to gravitational failure are concentrated at the arc's western and eastern ends. Failures correlate positively with volcano elevation, substrate elevation, edifice height, volcano volume, and crustal thickness and inversely with slab descent angle. Collapse orientations are strongly influenced by the direction of slope of the underlying basement, and hence are predominately perpendicular to the arc (preferentially to the south) at its extremities and display more variable failure directions in the center of the arc. The frequency of collapse events in Central America is poorly constrained because of the lack of precise dating of deposits, but a collapse interval of ∼1000–2000 yr has been estimated during the Holocene. These high-impact events fortunately occur at low frequency, but the proximity of many Central American volcanoes to highly populated regions, including some of the region's largest cities, requires evaluation of their hazards. The primary risks are from extremely mobile debris avalanches and associated lahars, which in Central America have impacted now-populated areas up to ∼50 km from a source volcano. Lower probability risks associated with volcanic edifice collapse derive from laterally directed explosions and tsunamis. The principal hazards of the latter here result from potential impact of debris avalanches into natural or man-made lakes. Much work remains on identifying and describing debris-avalanche deposits in Central America. The identification of potential collapse sites and assessing and monitoring the stability of intact volcanoes is a major challenge for the next decade.

GSA Special Papers↗

USGS2006

The A.D. 1835 eruption of Volcán Cosigüina, Nicaragua: A guide for assessing local volcanic hazards

The January 1835 eruption of Volcán Cosigüina in northwestern Nicaragua was one of the largest and most explosive in Central America since Spanish colonization. We report on the results of reconnaissance stratigraphic studies and laboratory work aimed at better defining the distribution and character of deposits emplaced by the eruption as a means of developing a preliminary hazards assessment for future eruptions. On the lower flanks of the volcano, a basal tephra-fall deposit comprises either ash and fine lithic lapilli or, locally, dacitic pumice. An overlying tephra-fall deposit forms an extensive blanket of brown to gray andesitic scoria that is 35–60 cm thick at 5–10 km from the summit-caldera rim, except southwest of the volcano, where it is considerably thinner. The scoria fall produced the most voluminous deposit of the eruption and underlies pyroclastic-surge and -flow deposits that chiefly comprise gray andesitic scoria. In northern and southeastern sectors of the volcano, these flowage deposits form broad fans and valley fills that locally reach the Gulf of Fonseca. An arcuate ridge 2 km west of the caldera rim and a low ridge east of the caldera deflected pyroclastic flows northward and southeastward. Pyroclastic flows did not reach the lower west and southwest flanks, which instead received thick, fine-grained, accretionary-lapilli–rich ashfall deposits that probably derived chiefly from ash clouds elutriated from pyroclastic flows. We estimate the total bulk volume of erupted deposits to be ∼6 km 3 . Following the eruption, lahars inundated large portions of the lower flanks, and erosion of deposits and creation of new channels triggered rapid alluviation. Pre-1835 eruptions are poorly dated; however, scoria-fall, pyroclastic-flow, and lahar deposits record a penultimate eruption of smaller magnitude than that of 1835. It occurred a few centuries earlier—perhaps in the fifteenth century. An undated sequence of thick tephra-fall deposits on the west flank of the volcano records tens of eruptions, some of which were greater in magnitude than that of 1835. Weathering evidence suggests this sequence is at least several thousand years old. The wide extent of pyroclastic flows and thick tephra fall during 1835, the greater magnitude of some previous Holocene eruptions, and the location of Cosigüina on a peninsula limit the options to reduce risk during future unrest and eruption.

GSA Special Papers↗

USGS2006

Geology of the Yucca Mountain region

Yucca Mountain has been proposed as the site for the nation's first geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste. This chapter provides the geologic framework for the Yucca Mountain region. The regional geologic units range in age from late Precambrian through Holocene, and these are described briefly. Yucca Mountain is composed dominantly of pyroclastic units that range in age from 11.4 to 15.2 Ma. The proposed repository would be constructed within the Topopah Spring Tuff, which is the lower of two major zoned and welded ash-flow tuffs within the Paintbrush Group. The two welded tuffs are separated by the partly to nonwelded Pah Canyon Tuff and Yucca Mountain Tuff, which together figure prominently in the hydrology of the unsaturated zone. The Quaternary deposits are primarily alluvial sediments with minor basaltic cinder cones and flows. Both have been studied extensively because of their importance in predicting the long-term performance of the proposed repository. Basaltic volcanism began ca. 10 Ma and continued as recently as ca. 80 ka with the eruption of cones and flows at Lathrop Wells, ???10 km south-southwest of Yucca Mountain. Geologic structure in the Yucca Mountain region is complex. During the latest Paleozoic and Mesozoic, strong compressional forces caused tight folding and thrust faulting. The present regional setting is one of extension, and normal faulting has been active from the Miocene through to the present. There are three major local tectonic domains: (1) Basin and Range, (2) Walker Lane, and (3) Inyo-Mono. Each domain has an effect on the stability of Yucca Mountain. ?? 2007 Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.

Memoir of the Geological Society of America↗