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U.S. Department of Energy
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Preliminary survey of tuff distribution in Esmeralda, Nye, and Lincoln Counties, Nevada

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/59425· OSTI ID:59425
This report inventories the surface distribution of silicic tuffs in Nye, Esmeralda, and Lincoln Counties, NV, based on a review of available literature. The inventory was taken to provide a data base in evaluating tuff sites for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Silicic ash-flow tuffs that are about 11 to 34 million years (my) old are widespread in these counties. These rocks are locally deformed by right-lateral movement along Walker Lane and the Las Vegas Shear Zone, and left-lateral movement along a zone from near the Nevada Test Site (NTS) to the Utah border, and are commonly offset by steeply dipping normal faults. The normal faults that bound horsts, grabens, and tilted-fault blocks of the Basin-and-Range Province began to form 30 my ago; some are still active. Tuff distribution is discussed on a regional basis. Tuff thicknesses and alterations, structural complexity, and proximity to recent faulting, recent volcanism, and mineral resources are discussed for each area. Although the literature on which it is based is often incomplete and sketchy, this report is intended to serve as a basis for future, more detailed work that includes initial field inspection, detailed field and laboratory studies, and extrapolations to the subsurface.
Research Organization:
New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
59425
Report Number(s):
SAND--79-1539
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English