The Job Canyon caldera, Stillwater Range, west-central Nevada: A steeply tilted late Oligocene igneous complex
- Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
The Job Canyon caldera (JCC) and underlying IXL pluton are the oldest ([approx]29 Ma) and most well preserved parts of the Stillwater caldera complex (SCC), southern Stillwater Range (SR). SCC consists of three partly overlapping calderas JCC, Poco Canyon caldera (PCC), and Elevenmile Canyon caldera (ECC) and the underlying IXL and Freeman Creek plutons. SCC was steeply tilted to the west or east by earliest Miocene extensional faulting exposing sections of late Oligocene rocks as thick as 10 km. JCC consists of 2 structural blocks separated by an E-striking fault zone that was later reactivated to form the north margins of PCC and ECC. The north block of JCC consists of 1.1 km of dacite and andesite lavas, overlain by 2 km of rhyolitic ash-flow tuff locally interbedded with megabreccia, overlain by 2.5 km of dacite and andesite lavas. The south block of JCC is broken into 5 small fault blocks that have thinner sequences of caldera fill consisting of rhyolite ash-flow tuff underlain locally by dacite and andesite lavas. Caldera collapse was accomplished both by large-scale displacement along steep bounding faults and by small displacement along high-angle faults in the interior of the caldera. Hydrothermal alteration of caldera fill is pervasive within JCC and in the upper part of the IXL pluton and appears to predate formation of PCC and tilting of SCC. Most alteration is propylitic and intensity of alteration increases downwards within caldera fill. Preliminary whole-rock [delta][sup 18]O values indicate that hydrothermal fluids were dominated by meteoric water. These values increase upwards to +5 to [minus]3 permil near the top suggesting that there was a steep temperature gradient with temperature increasing with depth. SCC was steeply tilted at about 24--23 Ma shortly following formation of PCC and ECC at about 25--24 Ma. Late Miocene--Holocene Basin and Range faulting has uplifted the SR exposing the older extensional faults and fossil hydrothermal system.
- OSTI ID:
- 5022432
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9305259-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:5; Conference: 89. annual meeting of the Cordilleran Section and the 46th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Reno, NV (United States), 19-21 May 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CALDERAS
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
NEVADA
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION
INCLINED STRATA
PLUTONIC ROCKS
TERTIARY PERIOD
CENOZOIC ERA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRATA
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
IGNEOUS ROCKS
NORTH AMERICA
ROCKS
USA
580000* - Geosciences