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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

An overview of the geology and hydrology of the Yucca Mountain area, Nevada

Conference ·
OSTI ID:137911
 [1]
  1. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
Yucca Mountain, in the southern Great Basin about 140 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, currently is evaluated as a potential mined geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. As described in the recently released Site Characterization Plan, geologic and hydrologic investigations will be conducted on both regional and local scales to support evaluations of the suitability of the site. In the Yucca Mountain area, most rocks of pre-Cenozoic age are sedimentary; the maximum thickness of these rocks exceed 8,000 meters. Rocks of Cenozoic age are both sedimentary and volcanic. The volcanic sequence of late Eocene and Miocene age consists principally of silicic units that exceed 3,000 meters in thickness. Volcanic rocks of Pliocene to Holocene age are basaltic and relatively thin compared to the older volcanic rocks. Yucca Mountain lies within the Walker Lane belt, a regional northwest-trending zone (about 100 kilometers wide) of oroclinal folding and right-lateral faulting.
OSTI ID:
137911
Report Number(s):
CONF-890207--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English