Geology Of The Blowout Canyon Area Snake River Range Idaho

Author : Tracy Lowell Vallier
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 534 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (424 download)

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Download or read book The Geology of Part of the Snake River Canyon and Adjacent Areas in Northeastern Oregon and Western Idaho written by Tracy Lowell Vallier and published by . This book was released on 1967 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mapped area lies between the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern Oregon and the Seven Devils Mountains of western Idaho. Part of the Snake River canyon is included. A composite stratigraphic section includes at least 30,000 feet of strata. Pre- Tertiary and Tertiary strata are separated by a profound unconformity. Pre -Tertiary layered rocks are mostly Permian and Triassic volcaniclastic and volcanic flow rocks. At least four pre -Tertiary intrusive suites occur. Tertiary rocks are Miocene and Pliocene plateau basalts. Quaternary glacial materials and stream deposits locally mantle the older rocks. Permian rocks of the Windy Ridge Formation are the oldest rocks and consist of 2,000 to 3,000 feet of keratophyre, quartz keratophyre, and keratophric pyroclastic rocks. Unconformably overlying the Windy Ridge Formation are 8,000 to 10,000 feet of volcaniclastic rocks and minor volcanic flow rocks of the Hunsaker Creek Formation of Middle Permian (Leonardian and Wordian) age. Spilitic flow rocks of the Kleinschmidt Volcanics are interlayered with and in part overlie the Hunsaker Creek Formation and comprise a sequence about 2,000 to 3,000 feet thick. The Paleozoic layered rocks were intruded by the Holbrook - Irondyke intrusives, composed of keratophyre porphyry, quartz keratophyre porphyry, diabase, and gabbro. The Paleozoic rocks were deformed by an orogeny between Middle Permian and Middle Triassic time. Plutonic rocks (Oxbow Complex) of gabbro, quartz diorite, diorite, and albite granite were intruded during Early Triassic (7) time. Movements along the Oxbow -Cuprum shear zone occurred during and after the intrusions. Middle Triassic (Ladinian) spilitic flow rocks and volcaniclastic rocks of the Grassy Ridge Formation overlie the older rocks with angular unconformity. Thicknesses are 3,000 to 4,000 feet in the northeast part of the map area; no rocks of the Grassy Ridge Formation are exposed in the southwest part. The Imnaha Formation of Late Triassic (Karnian) age overlies the Permian strata unconformably near Fish Lake in the western part of the area. The Doyle Creek Formation of Late Triassic (Karnian) age conformably overlies the Grassy Ridge Formation in the Snake River and Imnaha River canyons and may interfinger with the Imnaha Formation east of Fish Lake. The Doyle Creek Formation ranges in thickness from 3,000 to 5,000 feet and includes two members - the Ashby Creek Conglomerate and the Piedmont Point Member. The Martin Bridge Formation, represented by 1,750 feet of Late Triassic (Norian) limestone, conformably overlies the Doyle Creek Formation. At least two intrusive events apparently occurred during the Jurassic Period. The Jurassic intrusives, were emplaced before regional metamorphism and consist of hypabyssal dikes and sills of diorite, quartz diorite, and dacite and andesite porphyries. Subsequently, the Upper Jurassic intrusives were emplaced during a late stage of regional metamorphism and are represented by small stocks of gabbro, norite, quartz diorite, and gran - odiorite porphyry. A major orogeny during Middle and Late Jurassic time deformed the rocks. Regional metamorphism produced mineral assemblages characteristic of the greenschist facies. Columbia River Basalt, 2,000 to 3,000 feet thick, erupted from fissures during late Miocene and early Pliocene time and covered an old erosion surface. Pliocene - Pleistocene uplift, alpine glaciation, and extensive stream erosion are responsible for the present topography.