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Columbia River Valley
Northeastern Washington
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 367
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Landslides Along the
Columbia River Valley
Northeastern Washington
By FRED O. JONES, DANIEL R. EMBODY, and WARREN L. PETERSON
Witn a section on Seismic Surveys
By ROBERT M. HAZLEWOOD
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 367
Descriptions of landslides anaI statistical
analyses 0f data on some 200 landslides in
Pleistocene sediments
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1961
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Thomas B. Nolan, Director
The US. Geological Survey Library has cataloged this publication as follows:
Jones, Fred Oscar, 1912-
Landslides along the Columbia River valley, northeastern
Washington, by Fred 0. Jones, Daniel R. Embody, and
Warren L. Peterson. With a. section on Seismic surveys, by
Robert M. Hazlewood. \Vashington, US. Govt. Print.
Ofl'., 1961.
v, 98 p. illus., maps (part col.) diagrs., tables. 30 cm. (US.
Geological Survey. Professional paper 367)
Part of illustrative matter in pocket.
Bibliography: p. 94—95.
1. Landslides—Washington (State)—Columbia River valley. 2.
Seismology—Washington (State) I. Embody, Daniel R., joint
author. 11. Peterson, Warren Lee, 1925— ,joint author. III. Hazle-
wood, Robert Merton, 1920—IV. Title. (Series)
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US. Government Printing Oflice
Washington 25, D.C.
CONTENTS
Abstract ___________________________________________
Introduction, by Fred 0. Jones _______________________
Regional physiographic and geologic setting ________
Cultural developments __________________________
Acknowledgments _______________________________
Landslides, by Fred 0. Jones and Warren L. Peterson---
Topography on the surficial deposits _______________
Types of landslides ______________________________
Slump-earthflow landslides ___________________
Multiple-alcove landSIides ____________________
Slip—off slope landslides ______________________
Mudflows __________________________________
Landslides along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake ______
Areas of extensive landsliding ____________________
Reed terrace area __________________________
Culture ________________________________
Geology _______________________________
Geologic history ..... , ___________________
Surface-water and ground-water conditions-
Landslides____-__------_---__--- _______
Lake fill in the Reed terrace area _________
Cedonia area _______________________________
Ninemile area ______________________________
Geology _______________________________
Landslides _____________________________
Seatons Grove—Koontzville area ______________
Seatons landslide (No. 7) ________________
Seatons mudflow (No. 320) ______________
Koontzville landslide (No. 5) _____________
Nespelem River area ________ ’ ________________
Geology _______________________________
Glacial history _________________________
Landslides _____________________________
Landslides in the Columbia River basalt ___________
Summary of possible causes of landslides ___________
Economics _____________________________________
Landslides at Grand Coulee Dam _____________
Costs of landslides __________________________
Statistical studies __________________________________
Field observations and methods, by Fred 0. Jones-
Landslide type groups _______________________
Classification units and measurements of the
geologic environment ______________________
Material-classification categories __________
Ground water __________________________
Terrace height _________________________
Drainage of terrace surface _______________
Original slope of terrace scarp ____________
Submergence ___________________________
Culture ________________________________
Material removal _______________________
} Time ________________________________ ,. - _
, Landslide measurements H C: VC ratio- _--_ _ _ _ -
Page
NNQGGWWU$WHH
.34 7-3 48
'FARTH
SCIENCES
LIBRARY
Statistical studies—Continued
Statistical analyses, by Daniel R. Embody and Fred
0. Jones ------------------------------------
Analysis and interpretation of landslide data_ __
Recent slump-earthflow landslides --------
Qualitative variables ----------------
Quantitative variables ---------------
Tests of significance for materials and
ground water ---------------------
Equation for the prediction of H C 2 VC
ratios of landslides ___________________
Ancient slump-earthflow landslides ________
Slip-off slope landslides ------------------
Multiple-alcove landslides ________________
Landslides ofl" bedrock -------------------
Uniformity experiment ----------------------
Summary of analysis of H C : VC ratio of
landslides ----------------------------
Summary of analysis of original slope- - _ __
Summary of analysis of submergence
percentage ---------------------------
Summary of ground-water analysis ________
Summary of material analysis ____________
Summary and interpretation of uniformity
experiment results -------------------
Slope-stability investigation __________________
Summary of analysis for the discriminant
function
Summary of analysis of variance for the
discriminant function ------------------
Use of the discriminant function ----------
Results of experiment ___________________
Application of landslide and slope stability data, by
Fred 0. Jones and Daniel R. Embody ___________
Recognition of potential landslide areas ________
Estimation of landslide extent in this and similar
geologic settings --------------------------
General application of methods ______________
Illustrations of application of landslide and slope
stability data ____________________________
Ninemile area (Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake) -
Geology and landslide classification of the
Alameda Flat area (Lake Rufus Woods)-
Statistical techniques, by Daniel R. Embody __________
Assumptions made in the analysis of variance ------
Reconciliation of properties of field data and theo-
retical requirements for validity ----------------
Experimental logic, tests of significance and precision-
Specific methods and sources _____________________
Summary of reconnaissance seismic surveys, by Robert
M. Hazlewood _____________________________________
Field measurements _____________________________
Results ________________________________________
Reed terrace area _______________________________
m
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Page
46
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47
48
49
54
55
55
55
56
57
57
58
IV CONTENTS
Summary of reconnaissance seismic surveys—Con. Page Page
Ninemile area __________________________________ 74 Tables of landslide data _____________________________ 74
Nespelem River area ____________________________ 74 Selected references __________________________________ 94
Conclusions ____________________________________ 74 Index _____________________________________________ 97
ILLUSTRATIONS
[Plates are in pocket]
Geologic map of the Reed terrace area.
Hydrography and landslide fill in Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake.
Geologic map and landslide classification of Ninemile area.
Sections of Seatons and Koontzville landslides.
Geologic map of the Nespelem River area.
Geologic map and landslide classification of the Alameda Flat area.
Page
General index map of the Columbia River valley of northeastern Washington____ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ I. - - _ _ 2
Nomenclature of the parts of a landslide ______________________________________________________________ 6
An ancient slump-earthflow landslide exposed by recent sliding __________________________________________ 7
Aerial view of a recent multiple-alcove landslide _______________________________________________________ 8
Multiple-alcove landslide and cr0ss section ____________________________________________________________ 8
Photograph of a typical slip-off landslide ______________________________________________________________ 9
Slip-off slope landslide and cross section _______________________________________________________________ 9
Slip-off slope landslide, Kettle Falls area ______________________________________________________________ 10
Mudfiow in Hopkins Canyon ________________________________________________________________________ 11
Index map of the Columbia River valley of northeastern Washington _____________________________________ 12
Aerial oblique photograph of the Reed terrace taken May 15, 1951 _______________________________________ 16
Aerial oblique photograph of the Reed terrace taken on August 1, 1952 ___________________________________ 17
Slump-earthflow landslide, Reed terrace area __________________________________________________________ 19
Terrace of sand with some interbedded silt and clay ____________________________________________________ 20
Aerial photograph of Seatons landslide ________________________________________________________________ 22
Diagram of Seatons landslide ________________________________________________________________________ 23
Slickensides showing the upward and riverward movement of the Seatons landslide _________________________ 24
Mudflow at Seatons Grove __________________________________________________________________________ 25
Photograph showing the Koontzville landslide _________________________________________________________ 26
Diagram of the Koontzville landslide _________________________________________________________________ 27
Aerial photograph showing landslide in Bailey Basin ____________________________________________________ 30
Ancient slump-earthflow landslide and cross section ____________________________________________________ 30
Histogram showing estimated frequency of all‘ landslides along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, 1941 to 1954 _____ 31
Slump-earthflow landslide in lacustrine silt and clay ____________________________________________________ 32
Great Northern Railway landslide near Marcus, Wash __________________________________________________ 34
Deadman Creek landslide ___________________________________________________________________________ 35
Landslide data card (front) ____________________________________________________________________________ 36
Landslide data card (back) __________________________________________________________________________ 37
Slump-earthflow landslide limited by bedrock __________________________________________________________ 38
Failure of an artificial slope _________________________________________________________________________ 39
Dry earthflow ________________________________________________________________ . _____________________ 40
Sediments included in material category 1, Reed terrace area ___________________________________________ 41
Sediments included in material category 1, Hunters-Nez Perce Creek area _____________ L ____________________ 41
Sediments included in material category 2, Ninemile area _______________________________________________ 42
Sediments included in material category 2, Wilmont-Jerome area _________________________________________ 43
Sediments included in material category 3, Hawk Creek area ____________________________________________ 43
Sediments included in material category 4, Cedonia area ________________________________________________ 44
Sediments included in material category 5, Cedonia area ________________________________________________ 45
Cross section of a landslide showing H C and V0 measurements __________________________________________ 46
A slope on sand judged to be very stable ______________________________________________________________ 59
A slope on interbedded silt, clay, and sand judged to be nearly stable _____________________________________ 59
A slope on silt and clay judged likely to be affected by landslides ________________________________________ 60
Sample time-distance curves and bedrock profiles for Reed terrace area ___________________________________ 72
CONTENTS v
TABLES
Page
TABLE 1, One hundred sixty recent slump-earthflow landslides used in statistical analysis ______________________________ 75
2. Forty-two slip-off slope landslides used in statistical analysis ______________________________________________ 79
3. Thirty-seven ancient slump-earthflow landslides used in statistical analysis __________________________________ 80
4. Classification and landslide data _______________________________________________________________________ 82
5, Landslide-classification data, Alameda Flat area. _________________________________________________________ 84
6. Miscellaneous landslides—data recorded for special studies, including landslides not sufficiently complete for
type-group analyses or summaries ___________________________________________________________________ 85
7. Uniformity experiment—recent slump-earthflow landslides ________________________________________________ 87
8. Slope-stability investigation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake _________________________________________________ 89
9. Landslide date and time data _________________________________________________________________________ 92
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
By FRED O. JONEs, DANIEL R. EMBODY, and WARREN L. PETERSON
ABSTRACT
Landslides occur so frequently in the surficial depOsits along
the upper valley of the Columbia River that they affect greatly
engineering developments and land use. Most of the recent
landslides took place in the Pleistocene deposits bordering
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, the Grand Coulee Dam reservoir,
which was slowly and intermittently filled during the construction
of Grand Coulee Dam (1933 to 1942). Many landslides occurred
while the lake was filling; many have occurred since. Down-
stream from Grand Coulee Dam landsliding has occurred in
several places since the beginning of construction. Geologic
investigations were made intermittently from 1942 to 1948 and
continuously from 1948 to 1955 in an effort to establish criteria
for predicting the probable amount of land that will be affected
by sliding. The area of study extends along the upper 200 miles
of the Columbia River valley in Washington, reaching upstream
from Grand Coulee Dam along Frankliri D. Roosevelt Lake to
Canada and downstream from Grand Coulee Dam along the
Columbia River nearly to Chief Joseph Dam. Many fresh land-
slides in a nearly uniform physical setting presented an unusual
opportunity for a study of geologic processes and for a statisti-
cal analysis of landslide data.
More than 300 landslides in the Pleistocene terrace deposits
were examined. Slides were classified into type groups, so that
each type might be analyzed and compared with the others. The
geologic environment was subdivided into the classification
factors—material, ground-water conditions, terrace height, drain—
age, original slope, submergence, culture, and material removal.
These factors were again subdivided into quantitative or qual-
itative categories that could be determined by field examinations.
The key measurement of a landslide was taken to be the ratio
HC: VC, where HC and V0 are, respectively, the horizontal and
vertical distances from the foot to the crown of the landslide
taken at midsection normal to the slope. The HC:VC ratio
was correlated with the classification units of the geologic en-
vironment. The most extensive statistical analysis was done on
data from slump-earthflow landslides. Of the eight classifi-
cation factors analyzed, only material, ground water, original
slope, and submergence proved to be significantly related to the
HC:VC ratio. A formula was developed for predicting the
H C : VC ratio of slump-earthflow landslides.
The stability of natural slopes was investigated by comparing
data from slopes on which slides have not occurred with data
from slopes on which slides have occurred. The analysis in-
cluded a consideration of material, ground water, terrace height,
original slope, and submergence. A formula was developed for
predicting the stability of natural slopes.
The glacial geology of selected areas was mapped. The land-
slides in these areas are described.
To illustrate the practical application of the slope stability
and landslide data, detailed landslide-classification studies were
made of the lakeshore land in the Ninemile area along Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake and in the Alameda Flat area along Lake Rufus
Woods (the Chief Joseph Dam reservoir).
The techniques of geologic classification and statistical analysis
described in this report will assist geologists and engineers in
judging the stability of natural slopes and in estimating the
extent of impending landslide action.
INTRODUCTION
By FRED O. JONES
Landslides occur so frequently in the surficial deposits
along the upper valley of the Columbia River that they
become an important factor in engineering develop—
ments and land use. Geologic investigations of the
landslides were made intermittently from 1942 to 1948
and continuously from 1948 to 1955. This report sum-
marizes the results of these investigations. The area
included in these studies extends along the upper 200
miles of the Columbia River valley in Washington,
reaching upstream from Grand Coulee Dam along
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake to the international bound-
ary, and downstream from Grand Coulee Dam along the
Columbia River nearly to Chief Joseph Dam (fig. 1).
Such a large number of fresh landslides in a nearly
uniform geologic setting presented an ideal opportunity
for study of landslide processes and for a statistical an-
alysis of landslide data. The application of statistical
methods is a new approach to the analysis of landslides
and the stability of natural slopes.
Most of the recent landslides have been related to the
construction of Grand Coulee Dam, especially tothe
consequent filling of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (the
Grand Coulee Dam reservoir). Construction of the
dam was begun in 1933. The level of the backwater
was slowly and intermittently raised as construction
proceeded, until the dam was completed and full reser-
voir level was first attained in 1942 thus creating a lake
144 miles long and raising the water level 350 feet at the
dam.
Landslides occurred with unusually great and unex-
pected frequency in the bordering Pleistocene deposits
as Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake filled. Because of the
damage to property adjacent to the reservoir and the
1
2 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
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FIGURE 1.—General index map of the Columbia River valley of northeastern Washington.
threat to.human lives, a study of the landslides was
begun by the senior author in 1942 for the Bureau of
Reclamation. The geologic conditions and topographic
relations were examined, and the 600 .to 700 miles of
lakeshore lands were classified generally into five groups:
landslides likely, landslides unlikely, slide areas, bed-
rock, and indeterminate. The indeterminate classifica-
tion was necessary as data were often insufficient to
make a valid determination of the landslide potential.
Particular attention was directed to areas where land-
slides might destroy private property or endanger lives.
Where privately owned land was found to be potentially
dangerous, the US. Government ofl’ered to purchase the
property.
In 1948 the Geological Survey began research studies
on Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in technical cooperation
with the Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park
Service, the two Federal agencies most concerned with
administrative problems of property adjacent to the
lake.
In 1950, in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers,
investigations were extended to include a section of the
Columbia River valley between Grand Coulee and Chief
Joseph Dams. A geologic setting similar to that of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake exists in the upstream part
of the Chief Joseph reservoir (Lake Rufus Woods).
Landslides had been frequent along the river in this
stretch, and because it was possible to study the valley
before flooding by Lake Rufus Woods, investigations
were extended to include that part of the reservoir
which had similar geologic conditions. The investiga—
tions were discontinued in 1955.
The practical purpose of these investigations was to
establish criteria for predicting the probable amount of
INTRODUCTION 3
land which will be affected by landslides so that maxi-
mum use may be made of lands along the lake. More
than 300 landslides have been studied in relation to
their geologic environment. Classifications were de-
vised to subdivide the environmental factors so that
their separate and combined effects on groups of similar
landslides could be analyzed and evaluated.
Statistical methods employed consisted of the analysis
of variance and covariance, chi-square tests, multiple
regression, and discriminant-function analysis. Each
important analysis is presented in brief summary and
computational detail is omitted. The section headed
“Statistical techniques,” page 69 discusses methods
used and the purposes which they were intended to
accomplish.
The only topographic maps available for studies
made along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in the years
1942 to 1946 were the river survey sheets, “Plan of
Columbia River, International Boundary to Rock Is-
land Rapids (below Wenatchee) Washington, Depart—
ment of the Interior, US. Geological Survey,” which
were surveyed in 1930. These maps were used though
they were limited in extent and accuracy and were inade-
quate for the work. To provide a basis for detailed geo-
logic and engineering studies, as well as for other uses,
the Geological Survey began the topographic mapping of
all the 15-minute quadrangles along the Columbia River
valley from the Omak Lake valley to latitude 48°30'
N. These new topographic maps became available
during the last few years of investigation. The Coast
and Geodetic Survey made a hydrographic survey of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in 1947 and 1948. This
hydrography and the new topography of most of the
project area, along with repeated aerial photography,
have provided an invaluable basis for the geologic and
engineering studies of the landslide features.
REGIONAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGIC
SETTING
Northeastern Washington is comprised of two strik-
ingly different physiographic subdivisionsflethe moun-
tainous highlands to the north and the nearly flat
Columbia Plateau to the south. The boundary be-
tween these subdivisions, with minor exceptions which
are outlined later, follows the general east—west trend
of the Spokane and Columbia Rivers (fig. 1). The
plateau on the south is a part of the vast lava plains
which spread over a large part of the Pacific Northwest.
The highlands, which lie north of the boundary, are
made up of north-south trending valleys between low
subparallel mountain ranges. The principal north—
south valley is occupied by the Columbia and Kettle
Rivers and is a southern extension of the Selkirk Trench.
Of the several minor extensions of the plateau lavas
north of the Spokane-Columbia River valley, only two
are particularly significant. One of these is the tri-
angular-shaped Okanogan Plateau bounded on the
south by the Columbia River, on the northeast by the
Omak Lake valley and on the northwest by the Oka-
nogan River valley. Omak Lake valley is an informal
name used here for the large valley that contains Omak
Lake and extends from the Okanogan River valley to
the Columbia River valley. The second significant
minor extension is the Spokane Plateau, an irregular
group of tongues of the Columbia Plateau which extend
north of the Spokane River (Weaver, 1920).
The Columbia River enters the United States at
about longitude 117°38’ (fig, 1). It flows southwest-
ward for 40 miles in a moderately broad valley which is
between the Rossland Mountains on the northwest and
the Chewelah Mountains on the southeast. At the
southern tip of the Rossland Mountains the Columbia
River is joined by the Kettle River from the north and
the Colville River from the southeast. Downstream
from these junctures, the Columbia flows southward
for 60 miles in a broad valley which lies between .the
Kettle River Mountains on the west and the Huckle-
berry Mountains on the east. The rocks exposed in
the valley walls along this upper 100 miles are princi-
pally limestone, marble, quartzite, schist, gneiss, and
granite of Paleozoic and Mesozoic ages (Pardee, 1918;
Weaver, 1920).
A few miles below its confluence with the Spokane
River, the Columbia turns sharply to the westward
and follows a sinuous north-northwest course along the
edge of the Columbia Plateau. The sharp change in
the course of the river resulted from the creation of the
lava plateau in Miocene time. From the mouth of the
Spokane River to the Omak Lake valley, bedrock for-
mations on the left bank1 of the valley are principally
lava flows of the plateau and bedrock formations on
the right bank are granitic rocks of the Colville batholith.
During the Pleistocene epoch the Cordilleran con—
tinental glacier formed one or more times in the inter-
montane plateau region of British Columbia (Dawson,
1891; Johnston, 1926). The number of ice invasions
into the United States area is not known but during
the 'Wisconsin stage ice lobes pushed down southward-
trending valleys into eastern. Washington, Idaho, and
western Montana. Three of these ice lobes entered
the area considered here: the Okanogan lobe which
occupied the Okanogan River valley, the Sanpoil lobe
which occupied the Sanpoil River valley and the
Columbia lobe which occupied the part of the Columbia
River valley north of the Columbia Plateau. The
1 Left and right bank refer to the left and right as one is facingdownstream.
4 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
maximum extent of these lobes has been mapped by
Bretz (1923) and Flint (1937).
During the times of ice invasion and recession
glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments were depos—
ited in the Columbia River valley. Deposits in the
Columbia River valley upstream from the Nespelem
River were first described and named the N espelem silt
by Pardee (1918). These deposits are preserved in
terrace remnants the highest of which occur on both
sides of the valley at altitudes ranging from 1,720 to
1,900 feet (the Nespelem silt terrace of Flint, 1935).
This terrace is found in the Columbia River valley
upstream from Omak Lake valley. Pardee concluded
that the Nespelem silt was aglaciolacustrine fill depos-
ited in a lake ponded in the Columbia River valley.
The first extensive work on the glacial deposits and
erosional features of the Grand Coulee area was done by
Bretz (1923, 1932), who concluded that the Nespelem
silt was deposited in a lake that was ponded in the
Columbia River valley by the Okanogan glacier lobe.
The lake drained through the Grand Coulee which had
been cut during one or more earlier glaciations.
Subsequent work by Flint (1935), and Flint and Irwin
(1939), on the Pleistocene sediments of the Columbia
River valley upstream from the mouth of Okanogan
River confirmed Bretz’s conclusions. Flint and Irwin
concluded that all or most of the Pleistocene sediments
of the Columbia River valley near Grand Coulee Dam
were apparently deposited during a single major ad-
vance and recession of the Okanogan glacier lobe, which
occurred subsequent to the advance or advances
associated with the cutting of the Grand Coulee.
Pardee’s definition of the Nespelem silt is based on
the interpretation that only one lake stage is involved
in the deposition of the Pleistocene sediments. Evi-
dence found this during investigation, shows that more
than one lake' stage occurred. The name “Nespelem
silt” now means little other than Pleistocene lake and
stream deposits of the upper Columbia River valley and
tributary valleys. The word “silt” in the term
“Nespelem silt” is misleading, because, as pointed out
by Flint (1936), much of the fill is not composed of silt-
sized particles. Probably from 25 to 50 percent of the
fill in the Columbia River valley between the Omak
Lake valley and Kettle Falls is sand and gravel. The
name “Nespelem silt” is not used subsequently in
this report.
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS
David Thompson, surveyor, geographer, and fur
trader, who explored the Columbia River valley of
British Columbia beginning in 1800, was the first white
man known to record his presence in the upper Colum-
bia River valley of Washington (Elliot, 1918, p. 14).
His journal records that on June 19, 1811, he reached
the Kettle Falls of the Columbia River. Thompson
and his men constructed a canoe at the site of the falls
and journeyed downstream to the river’s mouth (Fuller,
1931, p. 81).
Many legendary figures of the exploration and fur-
trading era followed. The most noteworthy events of
the exploration period were the arrival of Lewis and
Clark in the Northwest in 1805 (Fuller, 1931, p. 63),
and the Canadian Boundary expeditions of 1812 (Ful—
ler, 1931, p. 101). The fur-trading enterprise was
punctuated by the rivalry and feuds of the American
and Canadian fur companies.
Two of the earliest industries were lumbering and
gold mining. Small individual sawmills were operating
in the area by 1870 (Durham, 1912, p. 184), and gold
placering of gravel deposits began after the gold dis-
coveries of 1852 (Fuller, 1931, p. 304).
The U. S. Army established military Fort Colville in
1859 on the banks of the Columbia River near Kettle
Falls. Fort Spokans was established in 1880 on a ter-
race overlooking the confluence of the Spokane River
with the Columbia, and in 1882 Fort Colville was
abandoned (Western Hist. Pub. Co., 1904, p. 73—74).
Many settlers soon followed. They cultivated bench-
lands near the river and grazed stock on the uplands
along the valley sides. The lower part of the valley
had been extensively developed by 1933 When the con—
struction of Grand Coulee Dam was begun. Many of
the lower terraces along the Columbia had been irri-
gated and orchards had been planted on them; 4 saw-
mills were in operation in the valley between Lincoln,
Wash., and the international boundary; and the valley
was served by many miles of roads, 2 spur lines of the
Great Northern Railway, a bridge at Kettle Falls, and
6 ferries.
With the completion of Grand Coulee Dam in 1942 a
reservoir was created which averages about 4,650 feet
in width and contains about 9,600,000 acre-feet of water
(Hall, 1952). Approximately 70,500 acres of land was
flooded, and a lakeshore of more than 600 miles was
created. Within the reservoir area were 3,000 people,
2 railroads, 3 primary state highways, about 150 miles
of country roads, 14 bridges for rail and vehicular
traffic, 11 townsites, 4 sawmills, 4 telegraph and tele-
phone systems, and many powerlines and cemeteries.
Major developments were either purchased or relo-
cated by the US. Bureau of Reclamation. The relo-
cated Nelson Branch of the Great Northern Railway
(15.3 miles) now follows the left shore of the reservoir
from Kettle Falls northward to a point 4 miles south-
west of N orthport. The relocated Republic Branch
(13.1 miles) runs north along the right bank of the
reservoir to the Kettle River confluence and then skirts
LANDSLIDES 5
the left bank of the Kettle River to Boyds (fig. 1).
Relocated State Highway 22 now follows the left bank
of the reservoir from Fort Spokane to Northport, and
US. Highway 395 follows the right bank of the river
from the Kettle Falls bridge to Boyds. A relocated
highway follows the right lakeshore generally from
Kettle Falls to the mouth of the Spokane River (fig. 1).
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, the reservoir created
by Grand Coulee Dam, first reached its maximum
level in June 1942. There was little human activity
along the lakeshore for several years because of the
dislocation of roads and industries required by the
submergence. However, after a few years, private
development and land use increased noticeably near
the newly created lakeshore. As many terraces were
within easy reach of the reservoir, pumps were installed
at many locations to supply sprinkler irrigation systems.
Logging operations were accelerated by formation of
the lake, and lumber mills were reestablished. The
Great Northern Railway constructed a loading dock
at Kettle Falls to serve the lumber industry. This
loading dock connected 'lake transportation to the
railroad systems. The use of the lake for recreational
and industrial developments had hardly begun by 1955.
Chief Joseph Dam at Bridgeport, Wash., was under
construction in 1955. Its backwater, Lake Rufus
Woods, will extend throughout the area below Grand
Coulee Dam included in these investigations. Chief
Joseph Dam is a relatively low dam, and the resulting
cultural changes should be less pronounced than those
caused by the construction of Grand Coulee Dam.
On a smaller scale, there will be a movement away
from the river and then a movement toward it, as
lands adjacent to the reservoir shore are used for
agricultural and engineering purposes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors express their sincere appreciation for
the wholehearted interest and support they received
from so many individuals and organizations. The
following government agencies cooperated by furnish—
ing data, suggestions, and field facilities: Bureau of
Reclamation and National Park Service, Department
of the Interior; Corps of Engineers, US. Army; Coast
and Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce.
Other organizations that aided in the work are: the
Statistical Engineering Laboratory of the National
Bureau of Standards; officials of Ferry County, Wash. ;
Lincoln Lumber Co.; Marchant Transportation Co.;
Lafferty Transportation Co.; and the Great Northern
Railway Co.
Among those who generously assisted in this program
are the following: W. H. Irwin, A. S. Cary, C. E.
Erdmann, Karl Terzaghi, Arthur Casagrande, D. J.
Varnes, W. C. Krumbein, F. A. Banks, P. R. Nalder,
A. F. Darland, T. Torkelson, Thomas Mutch, L. C.
Russel, Wm. Cowals, W. R. Power, Jr., C. F. Erskine,
W. E. Davis, W. G. Schlecht, R. E. Wallace, Keith
Essex, H. H. Waldron, C. E. Greider, Hugh Peyton,
Robert Coombs, A. F. Bateman, Jr., A. E. Weissenborn,
W. J. Youden, Churchill Eisenhart, William Clat-
worthy, Neil Maxfield, Ralph Main, Hal Marchant,
Gale Beals, Cecil Houtz, W. L. Parrott, Arlene Penitte,
W. F. Ford, Frank Moore, Alice Hendrickson, and
Eula Thune.
LANDSLIDES
By FRED O. JONES and WARREN L. PETERSON
Landslides have been an important factor in the
removal of the Pleistocene deposits by the Columbia
River during the formation of its present terraced
valley. Many terrace slopes are scarred with the veg-
etation-covered forms of old landslides and some ter—
races are underlain by landslide debris. Landsliding of
surficial deposits apparently began with the first inci-
sion by the Columbia River and has continued to the
present. The frequency of landslides was increased by
the construction of Grand Coulee Dam, which ponded
the Columbia River in a 144-mile stretch of the upper
Columbia River valley and raised the water level at
the dam 350 feet. Many terrace slopes became unsta-
ble under saturation by the reservoir waters. Down-
stream from the dam, fluctuation in river level imposed
by the variable demands for power and housing devel-
opment in old landslide areas have apparently contrib-
uted to the reactivation of old landslide areas.
Most of the landslides described in this report have
occurred in the Pleistocene and Recent surficial de-
posits of the upper Columbia River valley. These
surficial deposits veneer the bedrock valley and have a
terraced surface. They consist of glaciolacustrine sand,
silt, and clay, glaciofluvial deposits, fluvial sand and
gravel, alluvial-fan deposits, and windblown sand.
TOPOGRAPHY ON THE SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
About 90 percent- of the shoreline of Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake is bordered by Pleistocene sediments.
On these deposits, there is a topography of terrace
remnants separated by stream-cut scarps. The flatness
of the terrace surfaces has been modified by deposition
of extensive alluvial fans from higher slopes so that a
terrace commonly rises gently away from the center
of the valley. The terraces and stream-cut scarps
have been extensively modified by gullying, landslid—
ing, and creep.
Some important factors that determine the morpho-
logy of the interterrace scarps and the gully slopes are:
(a) presence or absence of fluvial gravel on the terrace;
6 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
(b) type of sediment composing the terrace; (0) degree
of saturation of sediment by ground water; ((1) age;
and (e) erosive processes. Terraces underlain by dry
silt and clay tend to have steep scarps. Silt and clay
when dry are strong, and resist gravity movements
such as creep and landsliding. These scarps are modi-
fied primarily by gullying that, in places, has produced
spectacular badland topography. Wet silt and clay
are weaker, and subject to movement by creep and
landsliding. Creep makes a slope more gentle. Land-
sliding tends to make the lower part of a slope near the
foot of a landslide more gentle but the upper part
near the crown steeper. Commonly, however, slopes
on wet silt and clay are gentle.
Dry sand lacks cohesive strength and runs easily
downslope, so that stream-cut scarps underlain by sand
become more gentle until the angle of repose of the
sand is attained. Sand, being permeable, is commonly
dry and is not influenced by mass movements induced
by excessive ground water. However, where silt and
clay are interbedded with sand to form hydraulic
barriers, excessive ground water may accumulate in the
sediment and landsliding and related processes may
modify the terrace scarp.
Dry silt and clay tend to stand with the steepest
slopes and wet silt and clay with the gentlest slopes.
Slopes on sand are intermediate.
At the time of initial filling, shorelines along Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake ranged from unembayed along
scarps with minor gullies to deeply embayed along
severely gullied terraces. Generally, the most intri-
cately embayed shorelines occurred where dry silt and
clay had been severely eroded.
T YPES OF LANDSLIDES
Landslides that occurred in the entire area of investi—
gation before and during this investigation were
principally of four types: slump—earthflow, slip-off slope,
multiple-alcove and mudflow. These types are distin—
guished by the form of the scars and by the kinds of
movement in the sliding. The nomenclature of the
parts of a landslide used here is shown on figure 2.
In the data collected for the statistical analyses under
the heading “Landslide—type groups” (p. 35), the land-
slides have been divided into 10 type groups. However,
for the purposes of the discussion presented here the
fourfold subdivision will suffice.
SLIIMP-EARTI-IFLOW LANDSLIDES
Slump—earthflow landslides combine the processes of
sliding and flow. The upper part slides downward in
one or more blocks that commonly rotate slightly about
axes that are horizontal and parallel to the slope in
which the landslide forms; the lower part flows as a
FIGURE 2.—Nomenclature of the parts of a landslide (adapted from Varnes, 1958).
viscous liquid. The movement of the upper part is
similar to slump, as described by Sharpe (1938, p. 65).
The movement of the lower part corresponds to earth-
flow or lateral-spreading described by Terzaghi (1950)
and Varnes (1958). Slides of this type are illustrated
on figures 11, 13, and 14. The surface of rupture is
commonly concave toward the slip block in horizontal
cross section. The shape in vertical cross section varies
with the character of the materials. In fine grained,
almost horizontally bedded materials, the surface of
rupture cuts steeply from the surface to a bedding plane
and then follows the bedding plane—similar to the com-
posite surface of sliding described by Terzaghi and Peck
(1948, p. 191). In vertical cross section the steep upper
part of the surface of rupture in some slides shows curva—
ture; in others it is straight. Figure 3 shows the
composite surface of rupture of an ancient slide exhumed
by a more recent one. The surface of rupture in coarse—
grained, disturbed, and heterogeneous material in verti-
cal cross section commonly takes the form of of a circle,
an arc of an ellipse, or a logarithmic spiral.
Slump-earthflow landslides have been more frequent
and have affected more land in the area of investigation
than any other type of landslide.
These slump earthflows are similar to the deep de-
formational slides described by MacDonald (1947)
which plagued the construction of the Panama Canal.
MULTIPLE-ALCOVE LANDSLIDES
Multiple-alcove slides form large, basinlike features
by the repeated processes of sliding, flow, and fall.
This repeated action commonly results in an inter-
locking group of landslide alcoves. The movement
processes are chiefy those of slump-earthflow slides,
but they also include mudflows and headward caving
of the main scarp. When the vegetation-covered scars
of ancient multiple-alcove slides were first examined, it
was believed that their development took place over a
period of many years. However, in the spring of 1952,
LANDSLIDES 7
FIGURE 3.~An ancient slump—earthflow landslide exposed by recent sliding. Note that lower part of the surface of rupture follows a bedding plane. Fort Spokane area,
lake mile 42.3 left bank.
the only known recent multiple-alcove slide developed
in a few days (figs. 4, 5, Reed terrace landslide 261).
The large alcove continued to enlarge slowly for more
than a year.
In general multiple-alcove slides form in fine—grained
materials Where deep channels in the bedrock are filled
with deposits of surficial materials. They are similar
to the Riviere Blanche slide in Quebec described by
Dawson (1899), the Falles on the coast of Zeeland
described by Miiller (1898), and the landslides in south-
eastern Norway described by Holmsen (1929).
SLIP-OFF SLOPE LAN DSLIDES
Slip-off slope landslides combine in varying propor-
tions the processes of sliding, fall, and flow. They are
landslides in which the mass of material shows little
backward rotation but slides or rolls forward. Land-
slides of this type do not cut deeply into terraces.
They occur most frequently in materials of medium- and
coarse—grain size on slopes that lose support at the toe
due to undermining by stream erosion, wave action,
saturation, excavation, or similar causes. Unlike
most of the slump earthflows, these landslides seldom
reach their maximum development in one failure but
continue to enlarge by ravelling and caving for a long
period. Illustrations of this type are shown on figures
6, 7, 8. They are similar to the slope readjustments and
undermined strata defined by Ladd (1935), debris slides
and falls defined by Sharpe (1938), and include the sand
runs defined by Varnes (1958). Because slip—off slopes
have been numerous along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
in recent times, they form the next to the largest group
studied. Although damage and destruction from indi-
vidual slides are less than from individual slump earth-
flows, the slip-ofl' slope landslides are an important fac—
tor in determining land use.
M UDFLOWS
Mudflows are rapid failures in which the mass of
material moves like a thick fluid. Small slumps and
8 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 4,—Aerlal view of a recent multiple-alcove landslide. See cross section In figure 5.
1600'
Varved silt and clay inter-
bedded with thin beds
and lenses of fine sand.
Fine sand becomes
thicker at depth
Landslide surface
Maximum lake altitude 1290 ft
Underwater profile of slide from hydro-
graphic surveys September 1952
_________g<1_'W_SL5flfa_°L//
\‘___<:__
Old river channel
’_ ______._.._”
600 O 6OOFEET
| l l I | l l |
FIGURE 5.—Multiple-alcove landslide and cross section. Another View and details are given In figure 12. Rot-d terrace area, lake mile 98.65 right bank.
Roosevelt Lake in left foreground.
Franklin I).
LANbSLIDEs 9
FIGURE 6.—Photogtaph of a typical slip-off slope landslide. See cross section in figure 7
1700‘? —1700’
1600'— —1600’
\( Profile of original ground surface
1500'— . . —1500'
Profile of landslide
1400'—- ——1400'
Spokane River Bay
1300’— Maximum lake-surface altitude 1290 ft 1300'
\\,/
1200' 1200'
500 0 500 FEET
l l l I l l J
FIGURE 7.—S1ip—ofl slope landslide and cross section. Wave erosion or saturation of sediment by lake water caused a thin skin of
material to lose support and ravel off the terrace scarp. Cross section is exaggerated vertically 3 X. Slide 105, Spokane River
arm, mile 22.1 right bank.
10 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 8.—Slip-ofl slope landslide in sand.
Slide blocks show little or no backward rotation. Surface of rupture is at shallow depth beneath surface of the slide debris.
Slide 268, Kettle Falls area.
falls are common along the sides and upper part of
the surface of rupture. Only two mudflows have been
recorded in the area in recent years (figs. 9 and 18).
LANDSLIDES ALONG FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LAKE
Many landslides occurred along Franklin D. Roose-
velt Lake in terrace scarps that became unstable when
the reservoir was filled. Slides occurred in all sediment
types. One cause of landslide occurrence has been the
fluctuation of the surface of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Lake, necessitated by power demands at Grand Coulee
Dam. Consequently, the surface of the lake has been
lowered different amounts during the winter and spring
of each year, the maximum being 85 feet in 1955. The
lowering of the reservoir surface left saturated silt and
clay above the lake surface without the additional sta-
bilizing effect of the weight of water against the slope.
Ground water moved toward the scarp and seepage
pressures developed that made the scarps less stable.
The most important type of landslide on Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake has been the slump-earthflow, which has
developed in all sediment types. The feet of these
slides almost invariably occur well below the surface of
the lake, and the crown commonly cuts into the terrace
above the lake. A slide that develops in sand com-
monly consists of one failure that apparently stabilizes
the terrace scarp so that repeated sliding does not oc-
cur. In contrast, repeated sliding occurs in silt and
clay. Slides commonly have cut farther into silt and
clay terraces than into sand terraces.
Slip-off slope landslides have developed along much
of the shoreline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. This
type of landslide has occurred most frequently along
sand terraces. During the initial filling of the lake,
LANDSLIDES 11
saturation of terrace materials weakened the sediments
and caused failure. Subsequently, undermining by
wave erosion has been the principal cause. Along
most of the shoreline of the lake, low wave-cut clifl's
had formed by 1955, except where shorelines were bor-
dered by bedrock, were composed of Pleistocene sed—
iments with very gentle surface slope, were in protected
embayments, or had been recently modified by slump-
earthflow land slides.
One multiple-alcove landslide (fig. 4), at the Reed
terrace, has formed since the filling of the lake.
Landslides commonly aflect only the lowest terrace at
a given place on Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. Most
slides occurred in terraces at altitudes of 1,450 feet and
below, but a few occcurred in the 1,600—f00t terrace.
The deep lake standing against the scarps in which the
landslides originate provides an avenue of escape for
the slide debris from the site of a slide. Upon descend-
ing the slope, the debris enters the water and, mixing
with the water, moves as an underwater mudflow or a
turbidity current into deeper parts of the lake. This
action occurs in all sediment types. Sand, lacking
cohesion, forms a mixture of sand grains and water
which flows away across the underwater surfaces. Two
kinds of mudflow action probably occur with silt and
clay debris. Where silt and clay are dry, the chunks of
debris probably remain largely intact but are lubri-
cated by water and by some mud, which enables the
mass to descend the underwater slopes. Where the
silt and clay are saturated, the disturbance causes this
sediment to lose its form-retaining strength and in
part become a Viscous mud. Water is added to the
FIGURE 9.—Mudflow in Hopkins Canyon occurred on February 2, 1953, at about midnight; it lasted an estimated 7 minutes and destroyed a small house.
flow originated in the alcove in the background which before the mudflow was an area of seeps.
right of the alcove.
so mobile that a mudflow resulted.
581004 0—61 2
This feature is analogous to the slump-earthilow landslide with slumpblock above and earthflow at the toe.
Slide 295, N espelem River-Omak Lake valley area.
The mud-
A slump block which settled during or after the mudflow lies to the
In this instance, the earthflow was
12
mass as it enters the lake and the debris moves down-
slope as an underwater mudflow. The slide alcoves
are completely empty of slide debris along most of the
shore of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (figs. 12 and 14).
Notable exceptions occur in the Sanpoil valley where
large masses of slide debris remain in some slide alcoves.
AREAS OF EXTENSIVE LANDSLIDING
Five areas in the Columbia River valley were 'selec-
ted for detailed study and description because they
each contain many slides of considerable interest.
These are the Reed terrace, Cedonia, and Ninemile
areas along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, and the
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Seatons Grove-Koontzville and Nespelem River areas
downstream from Grand Coulee Dam (fig. 10).
RED TERRACE AREA
The Reed terrace area is on the right bank of Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake about 3.5 miles south of Kettle
Falls bridge (figs. 1 and 10; pl. 1). This area has been
one of the most active landslide areas along the upper
Columbia River valley in recent years and geologic
mapping suggests that landslides also occurred here in
the distant past. The area includes the Main terrace
at an altitude of about 1,480 feet and '3 smaller terraces.
Of these, the Sherman Creek terrace is the highest,
119°30’ 119°00’ 118°30' 118°00'
- _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _‘ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _
1440/ /
Northport—lnte
EXPLANATION
// Bos ‘
Area in which landslides were
Investigated Kettle River arm e;
*Marcus—Ev ans
,_ _ _ _ _‘ 0.0 /
: ; 104,0
: : //‘,l‘ r33 “ / |
4, Ancnent landslide mategal ///// KTTVAX¥$YT Seep area ‘ ”Tins Mm .m-
4 //// \:\ W/ t: / (’47—wa DAM / p f l\
///// . ////, // 414’“, $W‘T‘rT—rj. 7‘7: TT xSp'rim Granite .
//// \}§\:~ (fTTTT-r Line of section ”I: FT
// ‘ ‘ ‘ x (pl.4)
7 // i FTTTTTTTTTT Tr»
//' /- DDH ll *s~
\' STATE VOA
/ DDH yo
////’////’-
///////////§/7/Z7 9/ we
I I ’V Granite 777%
7/”th "I” , lllilllllll'
II” ‘ {/I‘lff'il l
/ Il”limi- l« l“
,W/l / ////
//// ////. .l Granite "I!
” «11mm %
Ill/v /////
l
//n
/ ///// ,
/////%¢, , Granite
2' 9/0 /' 57,
/’///; ,/ ,
’///.
Ancient landslide material
Seep area —/ EXPLANATION
DDH 12
Diamond-drill hole
TTTTT
Ancient slide scarp
‘l—‘l—‘l—‘l—fi—
Recent slide scarp
T‘PT‘V‘T
Ancient and recent slide scarp
in surficial materials
“WV—.—
Ancient and recent slide scarp
along bedrock
FIGURE 16.—Seatons landslide. An area of ancient landslides that was reactivated in 1948 and moved intermittently through. 1953. The diagram shows the major slide
scarps as of April 12, 1949, and the position of the cross section plate 4. Grand Coulee Dam-Belvedere area, river mile 5.1 right bank.
Many factors influenced the renewed landslide action
in this area, of which the following seem the most
important:
1. The unusually heavy rainfall during the spring and summer
of 1948.
2. The high water in the Columbia River during the flood of May
and June, 1948, undoubtedly resulted in a higher water table
throughout the entire slide area.
3. The flood eroded and unloaded the toe of the slide, which
is on the outside of a bend in the river where erosion would be
greatest.
4. Melt water from the heavy snowfall in the winter of 1948 and
1949 kept the slide lubricated and moving after sliding began.
5. Very deep freezing in the winter of 1948 and 1949 may have
had some effect in extending old slide cracks and in damming
ground water.
6. Seatons Lake was created in a key position at the head of the
ancient slide so that it kept much of the lower part of the ground
saturated. Springs on the lower slopes of the hill produced
more water when the level of Seatons Lake was higher, and
7.
the lake surface was raised purposely at times to make the
springs at lower altitudes flow at a greater rate for irrigation.
The material at the toe of the slide consisted of silt and clay
thinly mantled with sand, gravel, and boulders (fig. 17). Silt
and clay could be observed pushing through the gravels at
several places along the toe of the slide. Since the construction
of Grand Coulee Darn, a replacement supply of sand and gravel
to cover and protect the silt and clay from erosion had been
largely cut ofl’.
The extensive use of this area for homes, gardens, irrigated
tracts, and roads had undoubtedly been a factor in encouraging
the renewed activity of the slide. Renewed activity might
have been postponed if the natural cover of grass and sagebrush
had not been removed and if the streams had been kept in their
natural channels. The principal spring (fig. 16), which flowed
a full stream through a 2}é—inch pipe, supplied the entire area
with domestic water. The other two springs in the drainage
above were about the same size. The small stream, which
was seasonally diverted into Seatons Lake, flowed between
0.5 and 0.6 cfs, even in dry years. The stream probably flowed
about 1 cfs in the early spring and during unusually wet seasons
24 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
The supply of water to the main spring was cut ofl’ during the
slide of November 1948, but the flow of water was restored to
about normal by driving a pipe into a small seep which broke
out near the spring. The spring water was milky for several
days before it cleared.
In 1953, the Corps of Engineers drilled three test
holes in the slide to obtain undisturbed samples of the
underlying materials and to install gages to record the
pore—water pressures in the soils throughout the year.
The material penetrated in the test holes and the
ground-water data are shown on plate 4.
The main scarp of much of this slide exposes granite,
and the upper part of the surface of rupture follows
the contact between surficial deposits and this bedrock.
In the initial movement on November 29, 1948, the
FIGURE 17.—Slickensides showing the upward and riverward (right) movement of the downstream side of the Seatons landslide. Striations are on the moved block which
is composed of lacustrine silt and clay overlain by liver gravel (rock at top of the photograph is a large boulder). Undisturbed material in the foreground. Photo-
graph by H. W. Fuller for U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
LANDSLIDES 25
slide sank 12 inches at the scarp. During the winter SEATONS MUDnowmo'm)
and spring of 1950—51 the slide sank 9 inches; during On March 17, 1949, a mudflow occurred on the edge
the same season in 1951—52, 7 inches; and during 1952— of the Seatons landslide (fig. 18). The materials of
53, 3 inches. No movement was observed or recorded this mudflow were predominantly silt and clay that
during 1953—54. filled a steep-sided valley in granite. The mudflow was
FIGURE 18,—Mudflow at Seatons Grove, in the foreground, occurred March 17, 1949, at 6:30 p.m. Severalobservers were almost trapped by the advancing mud. Stria-
tions at extreme left were formed as the mudflow crossed undisturbed material. Slide 320, Coulee Dam-Belvedere area, river mile 5.1 right bank.
26
caused by the lowering of the main unit of the Seatons
landslide, which removed support, and by the high
ground-water already described. People had been
watching the bank for several hours, having been at-
tracted by the noises and small bursts of mud and
water. Suddenly, at 6:30 p.m., the whole mass burst
and flowed as soft mud over the area. A large quan-
tity of water was released from the materials as they
ruptured; simultaneously, a new spring broke out near
the top of the main scarp. Several observers were
almost trapped by the advancing mud and water. The
left foreground of figure 18 shows a mud—slickensided
surface over which a part of the mudflow flowed.
KOONTZVILLE LANDSLIDE (N0. 5)
The Koontzville landslide involved the entire village
of about 35 houses, one store, and a section of State
Highway 10A. The village was built in 1934 and 1935.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASIIINGTON
The general setting is shown on figures 19 and 20. Old
landslide materials extend from river level almost to the
top of the terrace, or to an altitude of about 1,600 feet.
Little or no landslide activity was noticed before the
1948 flood. There may have been some slight highway
settlements or minor movements owing to irrigation
and river-bank erosion below the highway, but no prop-
erty damage from landslides was reported. In the
fall of 1948 (about the time of the Seatons landslide
movement) one resident of the area had trouble with
water pipes parting and resorted to flexible hose con-
nections to keep his water system operating. So far
as is known, this marked the beginning of reactivation
of the ancient slide. The slide has moved many times
since. Movements are recorded on the following dates:
December 23, 1951; November 10 or 11, 1952; Novem-
ber 27, 1952; and January 10, 1953.
FIGURE 19.—Photograph showing the Koontzville landslide and its relationship to the Seatons landslide (see diagram, fig. 20).
LAN DSLIDES
27
Ancient landslide material
(”f-(111’
k
K
k
,\
3‘
X
x ‘A f
i J i ,3
i X 1 1%”:—
ii 1 Spring/(3; yyy
\ DDH 9 1 y)’
a} ;y*
Line of section X i}. r}
(0L4) * kg /
7 )1) F‘s 7’
ntzville/ llandslideyi /
/ 1 Spring area y”
»\ .9"
./ \/):'yy
>’ / . )a’»}
y }yy
y)’ ’Aa
4—”)
,v/ y” EXPLANATION
)’
)/ y)
X 2’ J.)— DDH 9
X A..Lm14¢4—
*“*’ Diamond-drill hole
TTTTT
Ancient slide scarp
T‘T-TTf
Recent slide scarp
\
'\ 3 TT‘l—TT
1 Ancient and recent slide scarp
A . t ' a n d 5 | i d e m a in surflcial materials
n c l e n
”(TTTT‘W‘FFF
Seatons landslide
,z‘bi
/
1‘ r// r I " \
IV/ 2/ Z/ 55x
riite Zl/ " 7 Ancient
«, Ali} " 7/ landslide
ill '
material
[27/
T'V_I_"‘_'—
Ancient and recent slide scarp
along bedrock
FIGURE 20.—The Koontzville landslide showed signs of reactivation in 1948 and movements occurred in 1951, 1952 and 1953 which damaged many houses and State High-
way 10A. Diagram shows the location of cross section plate 4. Coulee Dam-Belvedere area, river mile 4.6 right bank.
In contrast to the diminishing rate of movement
observed in the Seaton slide since 1948, the Koontz-
ville slide seemed to move more and at more frequent
intervals in successive years to and including the spring
of 1953. Local residents have noticed that their houses
cracked and moved each weekend during low stages of
the Columbia River, which corresponded to drops in
river level due to power operations at Grand Coulee
Dam. Many houses and the store have been severely
damaged, the springs have changed their courses, large
fisSures have crossed the village area, and each year the
slide has worked farther back into the hillside. In
1952, a fissure connected the Koontzville slide with the
Seaton slide along the silt-granite contact (fig. 20).
The displacement in 1955 extended all along the bed-
rock outcrops between Seatons Grove and Koontzville.
Vertical movement along this bedrock scarp ranges
from a few inches to 5 feet. Before the 1948 movement
581004 o—eL—a
there was a light-colored zone on the granite immedi-
ately above the contact with the surficial deposits which
ranged in width from 0 to 15 feet. Above this zone,
all the granite wall is much darker due to weathering
and organic growths. This light—colored zone may rep—
resent the amount these slides moved down following
an earlier Columbia River flood such as the one in 1896.
Geologically, Koontzville is in a setting Where the
sequence of Pleistocene deposits is the most favorable
for landsliding. A preglacial channel of Peter Dan
Creek underlies Koontzville and because of this geo-
logic setting ground-water conditions are very high.
Conditions similar to this have been described in the
Reed terrace area, and they can be anticipated, almost
without exception, where deposits of silt and clay now
occupy the area of confluence of preglacial valleys
with the main valley.
1
28
The causes of the initial reactivation of this ancient
landslide seem to parallel those outlined for the Seatons
landslide. The causes of the periodic movements, how-
ever, are not well understood. In 1953, the Corps of
Engineers drilled three test holes in the slide to obtain
undisturbed samples of the soil and to install gages to
record pore-water pressures throughout the year. The
materials found in the test holes and the ground—water
data are shown on plate 4.
NESPELEM RIVER AREA
The N espelem River area (pl. 5; fig. 10) contains
large masses of landslide debris and the scarps of many
ancient landslides. The area lies about 10 miles down-
stream from Grand Coulee Dam and is within the area
of the Chief Joseph reservoir.
GEOLOGY
Bedrock of the Nespelem River area is mostly the
granite of the Colville batholith, although in the south-
western part of the area the Columbia River basalt
crops out.
A granitic gravel which crops out in the lower part
of the valley is probably the oldest unconsolidated
deposit in the area (pl. 5). This gravel extended from
below present river level to an altitude of at least
1,200 feet. It was largely removed by erosion before
the deposition of the overlying sediments. Remnants
are composed of stratified angular to rounded fine
gravel and angular coarse sand consisting almost
entirely of granite and minerals derived therefrom.
The next younger sediment is a lower lacustrine
sequence of which 20 feet of fine sand overlain by at
least 100 feet of varved silt and clay is exposed in
Kaiser Canyon. The top of this exposure is at an
altitude of 1,400 feet. About 0.5 mile north of Kaiser
Canyon, in the SE1/4SW1/4 sec. 14, T. 30 N., R. 30 E.,
fine to very fine sand with minor thin beds of silt and
clay is exposed between altitudes of 1,400 and 1,520
feet. Still higher beds in the sequence crop out in
gullies in the SEl/4 sec. 11, T. 30 N., R. 30 E. Here the
following section is exposed.
(digiti-
mate)
Sand, fine-to coarse, with lenses of fine gravel (exposed up
to altitude of 1,700 ft) ____________________________ 20
Covered interval, probably sand ______________________ 80
Sand, fine to coarse, contains lenses of fine gravel 2 to 6 in.
thick with cut and fill bedding; beds are deformed- _ _ _ 10
Very fine to medium sand with minor silt and clay, con-
tains lenses of fine gravel 12 in. thick at an altitude of
1,550 ft __________________________________________ 70
Very fine to fine sand containing some silt and clay in beds
1/16 to 1/5 in. thick; base of exposure at an altitude of
1,500 ft _________________________________________ 20
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Immediately overlying the lower lacustrine sequence
is a basalt gravel a few feet to 50 feet thick that is over-
lain by 3 to 8 feet of silty gray compact till that contains
basalt stones.
After deposition of the basalt gravel and till, melt
water flowing southward along the wasting glacier
formed ice-marginal terraces and channels along the
east side of the Columbia River valley between altitudes
of 1,760 and 2,400 feet. These terraces are underlain
by sand and gravel of undetermined thickness.
Stream erosion occurred after the deposition of the ice-
marginal gravels and before the deposition of the next
younger deposit, an upper lacustrine sequence.
The upper lacustrine sequence consists of faintly
graded silt and clay varves 5 to 15 inches thick with a
distinctive yellowish-gray color. Scattered ice—rafted
pebbles and calcareous concretions occur in the se-
quence. Just south of the Nespelem River map area
the original thickness of the upper lacustrine sequence
must have been between 500 and 700 feet; in the map
area, however, the thickness probably does not exceed
50 feet.
Gravel in terraces at and below 1,400 feet in the
Columbia River valley was deposited by the river during
postglacial dissection of the upper lacustrine sequence.
This gravel ranges in thickness from a few feet to at least
7 0 feet and consists mostly of subrounded pebble gravel.
Overlying the fluvial gravel are alluvial fans of sand and
silt as much as 50 feet thick which have been built on
top of the terraces at the mouths of tributary valleys.
(menu. HISTORY
The first glacial event recorded in the Nespelem River
area is the deposition of the granitic gravel, which is
inferred to be of glaciofluvial origin. A subsequent ad-
vance of the Okanogan glacier lobe blocked the Colum-
bia River valley downstream from the Nespelem River
area and formed a lake in which the lower lacustrine se-
quence was deposited. Further advance of the glacier
lobe into the area caused overriding of the sequence and
deposition of basalt gravel and till. After the lobe re—
treated, the Columbia River cut down to the profile of
the modern flood plain. Later, the Okanogan lobe
again blocked the Columbia River valley and formed
the lake in which the upper lacustrine sequence was
deposited.
LANDSLIDES
An elongated area of ancient landslide topography
lies on the east side of the Columbia River valley from
the N espelem River southward to Kaiser Canyon (pl.
5). The southern part of this area is bounded on the
west by the Columbia River and the northern part is
separated from the Columbia by a terrace at an alti-
tude of about 1,160 feet. The slide topography in the
LANDSLIDES 29
northern part of section 10 consists of narrow north-
ward-trending ridges, suggesting that a series of slices
broke away from the scarp of the 1,400-foot terrace
and descended westward. Aerial photographs show
that the west edge of this higher terrace forms a scarp
slightly concave westward. Strongly disturbed lacus-
trine beds are exposed where the north ends of the
ridges are exposed in the N espelem River valley.
These slides in the northern part north of section 10
occurred during the cutting of the 1,160-foot terrace.
This inference is based on the interpretation that the
west edge of the slide topography is a stream-cut scarp.
Apparently the slide material became stable enough
to maintain a low scarp while the river still ran at its
toe. South of the center of sec. 10, T. 30 N., R. 30 E.,
the boundaries of the area of slide topography diverge
to the east and west. Exposures in the small south-
westward-trending stream valley in the NW% sec. 14,
show that the beds underlying the north-south trend-
ing ridges dip steeply eastward. Initial sliding here was
probably contemporaneous with the sliding to the
north, though the sliding cannot be dated any closer
than being younger than the cutting of the 1,400-foot
terrace. There has been movement since the cutting
of the 1,160-foot terrace.
The slides south of the middle of sec. 10, T. 30 N.,
R. 30 E., may have been caused largely by the abun-
dant ground water in the sediments that fill the buried
bedrock valley of the Nespelem River. Underground
water passing southward through the sediments in the
N espelem River valley reaches the surface in springs
that issue into gullies in the SE% sec. 11, and the N EM
sec. 14, T. 30 N., R. 30 E., at altitudes of 1,400 to 1,550
feet. This altitude range generally coincides with the
transition zone from silt and clay to sand in the lower
lacustrine sequence. The high concentration of ground
water combined with river erosion at the toes of slopes
on silt and clay has provided an ideal setting for land-
slides. Erosion of the gullies in the SEM sec. 11, and
the NE% sec. 14, T. 30 N., R. 30 E., has been accom-
plished largely by spring water since the development
of the slide topography north of Bailey Basin.
Bailey Basin, landslide 13 (figs. 21 and 22), in the
southern part of the map area is a huge ancient slump-
earthflow landslide, the finest example of its type in
the entire area studied. It is in the right bank of the
Columbia River, 11.86 river miles downstream from
Grand Coulee Dam in the Chief Joseph Dam reservoir
area (pl. 5). The altitude difference from the crown
of the slide to the estimated position of its foot is 700
feet, and the horizontal distance between these points
is 3,600 feet. The width along the terrace scarp is
3,000 feet. '
The Columbia River in this area begins a long sweep-
ing left turn. Bedrock outcrops in the left bank de-
flects the erosive power of the river into the bank of
surficial deposits at the toe of the slide. It seems likely
that this erosion, along with very high ground-water
conditions, set the stage for failure. Seismic studies
of the configuration of the bedrock surface beneath the
slide indicated that bedrock in the half of the basin
nearest the river is at about the same altitude as the
riverbed, 940 feet, and that near the bottom of the
main scarp it has an altitude of 880 feet (fig. 21).
Bedrock was indicated at an altitude of 1,315 feet in
the terrace just behind the crown, and on the terrace
east of the crown at altitudes between 1,100 and 1,516
feet. From these data it may be interpreted that the
upper part of the surface of rupture has been controlled
by a steep slope on the underlying bedrock and that
the lower part of the surface of rupture generally fol-
lows the contact between bedrock and the overlying
silt.
As can be seen from plate 5 and figures 21 and 22,
the river channel is now narrowed by landslide debris.
As the river erodes the toe, small new landslides devel-
op in the ancient slide material. The channel and
shoreline are dotted with large basalt erratics which
were carried down by the slide.
LANDSLIDES IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASALT
Scars from landslides that occurred during and after
Pleistocene time are numerous in the cliffs of the C0-
lumbia River basalt which forms the upper part of the
Columbia River valley downstream from the conflu-
ence of the Spokane River. Examples of landslides
that have occurred since the last invasion of glacial ice
are to be found at the following localities: (a) east end
of the town of Grand Coulee; (b) west side of the Grand
Coulee near its intake; (0) sees. 15, 22 and 23, T. 30 N.,
R. 28 E.; and (d) on the west side of the Omak Lake
valley near its junction with the Columbia River in
sec. 6, T. 30 N., R. 28 E., sec. 31, T. 31 N., R. 28 E.,
and sec. 36, T. 31 N., R. 27 E. These landslides defi-
nitely postdate the last glaciation, because the debris
retains its characteristic form and is not covered with
glacial deposits. Examples of landslide scars older
than the last glaciation occur at the following localities:
in sees. 20, 21, and 22, T. 28 N., R. 31 E.; and in the
left Columbia River bluff between 3% and 6% miles
downstream from the junction of the Omak Lake val-
ley with the Columbia River valley.
The basalt flows lie on a fairly even surface with
altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 2,200 feet, in the area
from Grand Coulee Dam to the Omak Lake valley.
Between and beneath the basalt flows are lacustrine
3O LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 21 .—-Aerial photograph showing landslide in Bailey Basin. Columbia River in foreground. Note recent landslides at the river's edge. Landslide 13, Nespelem
River area, river mile 11.86 right bank. Cross section shown in figure 22.
1700’ [— _
J Lacustrine silt and fine sand
é“‘Crossbedded basalt gravel
1500' —
1300'
1100’
'? Landslideedehr-is Sf s'a'nd,‘.5_,‘. ,-
‘ - gravel, silt, and Clay 3 . ' . ’ '
.a__.a‘
Columbia
Bed rock/
900' —
1200 0 1200 FEET
L |
700’
FIGURE 22.—— Ancient slump-earthflow landslide and cross section. This well-preserved ancient landslide is designated Bailey Basin on the Nespelem River geologic map
(pl. 5). Distance from side to side of the landslide scarp is about 3,000 feet. Several intermittent springs rise in the slide debris. Abundant ground water coupled
with river erosion set the stage for sliding.
LANDSLIDES \ 31
and fluvial sediments of silt, sand, and fine gravel.
These sediments are well exposed in the Grand Coulee
and in the Omak Lake valley and probably occur
throughout most of the area. They are more than 100
feet thick in the Omak Lake valley in sec. 25, T. 31 N.,
R. 28 E. The landslides that form huge alcoves in the
basalt have apparently failed on these sediments.
A notable feature of the Columbia River valley
between the mouth of the Spokane River and Bridge-
port is a steplike effect produced by the-recession of the
basalt clifl’s acoss the granite base away from the part
of the Columbia River valley incised in the granite.
Several explanations are possible but landslide scars
and masses of disturbed material suggest that much of
the retreat of the basalt cliffs was due to landsliding.
The sporadic nature of the widening indicates that some
localities were more susceptible to landsliding than
others.
SUMMARY OF POSSIBLE CAUSES OF LANDSLIDES
The principal cause of the landslides in the area was
the weakening of sediments by ground water. The
sediments generally have a lower shear strength when
saturated or partly saturated than when dry. During
the filling of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake the sediments
bordering the lake became saturated and many land—
slides occurred. Apparently, buildup of ground water
in certain areas downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
has been the principal cause of landsliding there.
In an attempt to determine if other factors could
have triggered the landslides, the dates of occurrence
of 50 landslides that were accurately known were plotted
on correlation charts against several possible influenc-
ing factors. These landslides occurred between 1941
and 1953. The factors considered were: (a) fluctua—
tions of the level of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake,
(b) riverflow, for slides in the part of the area down-
stream from Grand Coulee Dam, (c) barometric pres-
sure, (d) maximum and minimum temperatures, (e)
precipitation, (f) earth tides and (g) earthquakes.
Most of these factors showed no obvious correlation
with the times of landsliding. Some relations, however
were brought out. Landslides along Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake were most frequent during the filling
stage of the reservoir (fig. 23). Since the filling of the
reservoir, landslides have been most frequent during
periods of drawdowns and during or shortly after
periods when the temperature was below freezing.
Landslides, along the Columbia River downstream from
Grand Coulee Dam were most frequent following and
apparently related to a sharp reduction in riverflow and
following a 9-month period when precipitation was
above the 13-year average.
Reservoir
filling _ ,
(_A_‘3O~ft reservonr 65-ft reservmr
drawdown drawdowns
r—Kfi
1 , . .
60 Minor reservow fluctuatlons
r— _._—4__ ._ . _
150
100
50
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF SLIDES
1515 15 15.
1953
FIGURE 23.— Histogram showing esimated frequency of all landslides along Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake, 1941 to 1954. Number of landslides during this period estimated
to be about 500.
ECONOMICS
Landslides cost at least $20 million in the upper
Columbia River valley from 1934 to 1955. Most of
this cost has been paid by the taxpayers through
federal, State, and county agencies engaged in the con-
struction of engineering works. Some of the cost of
landslide damage has been borne by private companies
and individual property owners. The most skillful
geologic and engineering analyses and construction
practices could not have saved all of this money, but
a large part of it could have been saved had presently
known geologic facts been available and had engineers
applied them in designing and construction work. This
section briefly summarizes the landslides at the site of
Grand Coulee Dam and summarizes the cost of remedial
measures to correct landslide action for a few locations.
LANDSLIDES AT GRAND COULEE DAM2
The construction of Grand Coulee Dam was hindered
by a succession of major and minor landslides along
both banks of the river (fig. 24). More than 100 sep-
arate slide movements were recorded between January
1934 and January 1952, many of which caused damage
to structures or other features of the work. In the re-
cent geologic past, erosion and landsliding had reduced
3 Summarized from memorandum to Chief Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation,
Denver, Colo., from B. A. Hall, acting supervising engineer, Grand Coulee Dam,
Wash., Historical record of riverbank slides at Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia Basin
Project, Wash., 1952: published by permission of Bureau of Reclamation.
32 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 24.—Slump~earthflow landslide in lacustrine silt and clay. One of the many landslides that hindered the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. Located in what
is now the pumping plant area at the left abutment of the dam.
the surficial deposits at the damsite to slopes which
were relatively stable to the normal flow and fluctua—
tions of the river. This temporary stability was dis-
turbed by excavation of material at the toe of the
slopes, mechanical overloading of existing banks, shift—
ing of the river course, and controlled fluctuations of
the river level.
Landslides during the early years of construction
(1934—37) were caused primarily by excavation along
the toe of riverbank slopes. Many of the later slides
may have been due in part to earlier excavation or
overloading near spoil banks. To facilitate construc-
tion work, the river was often shunted from one side
of the channel to the other. Such diversions were
(Photograph by F. B. Pomeroy, Bureau of Reclamation.)
accomplished by the use of temporary closure gates
which, when lowered into position, sometimes caused
rapid drops in the water level below the dam and con-
Sequent landsliding. There were very few landslides
after the dam had been nearly completed and before
the time when the operation of the powerplants re—
quired sharp fluctuations of discharge to meet varying
powerload demands. There were no slides during
1944 and 1945. As the installed capacity of the power-
plants increased, greater regulation of turbine discharge
was necessary to meet varying power demands. Dur—
ing this time landslides in the tailrace area of the dam,
as well as those in the areas immediately downstream,
were closely related to the sharp fluctuations in the
STATISTICAL STUDIES
river level during periods of low discharge. Excessive
river scour due to the 1948 flood was probably also a
major cause of increased slide movements in 1948—52.
Frequency of recorded landslides at Grand Coulee Dam and in the
area just downstream
Year Number Remarks
of slides
1934 _____ 11 Excavation and construction; many di-
1935 _____ 16 versions of river from one side of the
1936 _____ 9 channel to the other and accompanying
1937 _____ 21 fluctuations.
1333 """ 1? Construction, fewer river, changes and fluc-
1940 """ 6 tuations than in 1934—37.
1941 _____ 1
1942 _____ 4
1943 _____ 2 Minor sharp river level fluctuations.
1944 _____ 0
1945 _____ 0
1946 _____ 2
l 947 _____ 1
1948 _____ 3 Period of increasing river fluctuations due to
1949 _____ 1 greater installed capacity of Grand Coulee
1950 _____ 7 powerplant. Columbia River flood of
1951 _____ 3 1948.
1952 _____ 5
1953 _____ 1
COSTS OF LANDSLIDES
Information on costs of remedial measures to correct
landslide activity is available for a few locations.
Left tailrace landslide area, Grand Coulee Dam?—
Landsliding of the Pleistocene deposits in the bluff near
the left tailrace of Grand Coulee Dam began on March
27, 1934, when as a result of excavation the hillside
dropped vertically about 100 feet. The cost of stabi-
lizing this landslide area was more than $6 million.
The initial failure required an estimated 1% million
yards of additional excavation. Movements and en-
largements of the slide continued to 1950, and although
renewed activity is not impossible, engineers of the
Bureau of Reclamation consider the area to be stabi-
lized. The stabilization was accomplished by extensive
excavation to unload the slope; by installation of a
system of underground drainage shafts, drifts, and
radiating weep holes; by the construction of a rock-fill
plug at the toe of the slope Where the slide mass was
confined in a narrow bedrock gorge; and by loading
and protecting the toe of the slope with a heavy blanket
of riprap.
Great Northern Railway slide 4, No. 272.——The Great
Northern Railway landslide near Marcus, Wash., cost
$239,000 for railroad relocation and the excavation of
slide material from the highway (fig. 25). This slide of
' Published by permission of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
4 Published ’by permission of Great Northern Railway.
33
Tabulation of costs of landslides at Grand Coulee Dam
[Less engineering supervision and costs]
1934—35 Excavation _________________________ $1, 500, 000
1936-40 Drainage shafts and tunnels ___________ 259, 000
1936 Rock dam at toe of part of slide _______ 215, 000
1936 Gravel blanket above rock dam at toe
of part of slide ___________________ 84, 000
1940—41 Unloading and resloping ______________ 668, 000
1948 Riprap and riverbank protection _______ 363, 000
1949—51 _____ do ____________________________ l, 390, 000
1951~53 _____ do ____________________________ 1, 580, 000
$6. 059. 000
February 23, 1951, destroyed several hundred feet of
track of the Nelson branch of the Great Northern Rail-
way, blocked State Highway 22 with slide debris, and
narrowly missed a school bus full of children. It was
necessary to excavate a bench in bedrock to restore rail-
road operations—the cost of which was $230,374.
Clearing the highway cost $8,719.
Deadman Greek slide 5 No. 271.——Relocation of Wash-
ington State Highway 3 around the Deadman Creek
landslide cost $112,000 (fig. 26). This slide is
located in the Kettle River valley 5.5 miles north of the
Kettle Falls bridge.
Sanpoil valley landslidesfi—Many landslides damaged
or destroyed parts of relocated Washington State High-
way 4 along the west side of the Sanpoil River bay of
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. The Washington State
Highway Commission estimates that landslides along
these 9 miles have cost $327,000, and that it will cost an
additional $500,000 to provide a permanent roadbed in
this section.
STATISTICAL STUDIES
During this investigation data were collected on more
than 300 landslides. Enough data were collected only
on recent slump-earthflow landslides to justify detailed
statistical treatment. Two formulas that apply to a
geologic environment similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt
Lake resulted from the statistical analysis: (a) a formula
predicting where slump-earthflow landslides will or will
not occur, and (b) a formula predicting how far into a
terrace a slump-earthflow landslide will cut.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND METHODS
BY FRED O. JONES
Studies were made on more than 300 landslides in the
Pleistocene deposits along the upper Columbia River
valley. Early examinations along Franklin D. Roose-
velt Lake revealed a wide range in the size and shape of
landslides. These differences seemed to be related to
the particular geologic settings of the slides. However,
5 Published by permission of Washington State Highway Commission.
0 Published by permission of Washington State Highway Commission.
34 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER
VALLEY NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 25.—Great Northern Railway slide near Marcus, Wash. This landslide occured from 7 to 9 a.m.. on February 23, 1951.
way track (roadbed shown at the crown of the slide).
up to 1949, studies were inconclusive as to why slides oc-
curred in one place and not in another, and as to why
slides out deeply into one terrace and shallowly into
another. A comprehensive study begun in 1950,
attempted to relate the occurrence, magnitude, and
location of the slides to the geologic environment.
The first field problem was to differentiate between
the various types of landslides. The second field prob-
lem was to establish a satisfactory breakdown of the
geologic controls.
A data card was devised on which all obtainable
information was catalogued. Figures 27 and 28 show
both sides of one of these data cards for a typical land—
slide case. This illustration shows the original classi-
fication categories and their subdivisions. As the work
of classifying and measuring progressed, it became ap-
It destroyed several hundred feet of rail-
Repair of the roadbed cost $230,374. Cost of removing slide debris from a highway shown at left side of the
photograph was $8,719. Photograph by courtesy of the Great Northern Railway Co.
parent that some classification subdivisions were unreal-
istic and some unnecessary. Early statistical analyses
indicated that others should be combined or expressed
in different forms; for example ground water was orig-
inally expressed in four classification categories. Pre-
liminary statistical tests indicated that 3 of these were
almost identical for all practical purposes, so the factor,
ground water, was divided into only 2 categories. The
factors—terrace height, original slope, and submer-
gence——were originally classified into arbitrary cate-
gories, but statistical studies indicated that a more
precise appraisal of these factors could be made by
using the true numerical value. This scheme was
adopted.
The definitions of classification categories given in
the following sections were revised many times during
STATISTICAL STUDIES
Slump-earthflow landslide that destroyed
several hundred feet of Washington State Highway 3 in the Kettle River valley.
Cost of relocation of the highway was $112.000.
FIGURE 26.—Deadman Creek landslide.
the investigations. All landslide data referred to or
used in any part of this report are tabulated on tables
1—9 under the heading “Tables of landslide data,” p. 74.
Each landslide was located by geographic subdivi-
ision, lake, or river mile distance from Grand Coulee
Dam and its position on the right or left bank of the
river or lake. Figure 10 shows the location and extent
of the geographic subdivisions. Theoretical lake mile
stationing was established along the center of Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake beginning with zero at the spillway
of Grand Coulee Dam. The same system of river mile
stationing was adopted downstream from Grand Coulee
Dam, again with the spillway as river mile zero. Land-
slides in bays of the lake were located by distances from
the mouths .of the bays and whether on the right or left
bank. Almost all these bays are at the mouths of trib-
utary streams.
Owing to the large number of landslides, numbers
have been assigned to all landslides mentioned in any
part of the report. The numbers are not necessarily
related to the order of occurrence of the landslides or to
the order in Which they were studied.
LANDSLIDE TYPE GROUPS
The landslides were classified into 10 type groups,
which is an expanded classification of the 4 general types
of landslides previously discussed. They conform only
in part with the general landslide classifications estab-
lished by Baltzer (1875), Terzaghi (1925), Ladd (1935),
Sharpe (1938), Varnes (1958), and other investigators.
The factors which were considered in establishing the
type groups were: age, relation to bedrock, and proc-
esses of movement (mainly sliding, flow and fall). The
35
term “recent” in type-group classifications and else-
where in the report refers to landslides whose times of
occurrence are recorded or can be recalled by local in-
habitants. The term “ancient” in type-group classi-
fication refers to landslides Whose times of occurrence
are not recorded or cannot be recalled by local inhabi-
tants and therefore presumably occurred long ago. All
slide scars classified as ancient are now covered with
vegetation indicating a great lapse of time since the
‘slide occurred. Almost all of the recent slides since
1940 have been due, either directly or indirectly, to the
effects of major engineering projects.
The nomenclature of the parts of the landslide used
here is shown on figure 2.
The 10 landslide type groups included in the study;
with the number of each are as follows:
Number
0 land—
: idea in
study
1. Recent slump earthflows ________________________ 184
2. Recent slump earthflows limited by bedrock _______ 4
3. Ancient slump earthflowe ________________________ 41
4. Slip-off slopes __________________________________ 51
5. Multiple alcoves _______________________________ 9
6. Landslides ofi bedrock ___________________________ 10
7. Talus slumps __________________________________ 3
8. Landslides in artificial slopes, including some natural
materials ___________________________________ 7
9. Mudflows _____________________________________ 2
10. Dry earthflows _________________________________ 3
Unclassified ___________________________________ 7
Total in study ________________________________ 321
Recent slump-earthflow landslides.—Slump-earthflow
landslides have been described in a foregoing section of
the text under the heading “Types of landslides” p. 6.
‘This type group includes slope failures in which the
surface of rupture intersects the slope at or above its
toe, and base failures in which the surface of rupture
lies at some depth below the toe of the slope. It has
been impossible to determine this difference from field
examinations for most of the landslides in this study;
consequently, it was necessary to group them together.
Landslides of this type have been found in about equal
number in all material categories.
Recent slump-earthflow landslides limited by bed-
rock—Many slump-earthflow landslides are limited in
their extent by bedrock (fig. 29). This group is similar
in every respect to the recent slump-earthflow group
except that the uppermost part of the surface of rup-
ture follows the contact between surficial deposits and
bedrock.
Ancient slump-earthflow landslides—The terraces of
the upper Columbia River valley show the scars of
innumerable ancient landslides, most of which appar-
ently date back to a time when river and lake levels
36
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASIEHNGTON
I | I I | I I | | l I | I I | I I
E 3 4 6 7 2| 22 23 2‘ 3| 32 33 ll 42 41 5| 5! 53 94
VERY WET DRY VERY 0'. I00: DVE’.‘ GOOD EMU POOR OVEN III ZII 3H ‘J ”NDEK
MATERIAL WET DIV I00 20° 200 III ZII SCI 41' 5] 5CI
GROUND WATER TERRACE HEIGHT DRAINAGE ORIGINAL SLOPE 0F
CONDITIONS OR ELEVATION TERRACE SCARP
DIFFERENCE
See/)5 6f sand 350' 2'5 ‘ /
members NAME QEED TEPPACE AIDE/I
LOCATION A M 98.4. Q6
TYPE
—-.A
_D
_C
—° Shape
SLIDE NUMBER
258
SURFACE WATER
RELATIONSHIPS
H above lake
2/0
H below lake
/4O
°/o submerqence
4O % s4 —-
37% w/ren as —
j/I'r/e occurred
CULTURE
NONE 1| —
IIMUI 7i —
MAM 1! ’-
MATERIAL
REMOVAL
A L on II -
'4 SY
mrzn— u -—
MEDIATE
VEIV I! —
LITTLE
TIME
Ancient 9| -
Pre-Reservoir 92 —
Recenf
FbsI-Reservoir s: -
Dene-how u —
IS known
Apri/ /6’. /944- 6 JJOAM
NOTES PHOTOGRAPH NO. 233
S/x'de w/I‘nessed by ME. H. E. Qeea’. [2‘ occurred in fwo (1/7/75 as
f/nz s/rape of #72 prof/72 surges/5. 777:2 fai/are of f/ze f/‘raf 00/7" was insfan—
faneous and #12 second fol/owed in ,/2/5f a maflar of acconds.
vc 350’ HC /520’
7 30' I00’ mo w' :00 I000'
I I I I II'
I
| I |lI|||I | I‘IIIIIIIIIIIII II IIIIIIIII
FIGURE 27.—Landsllde data card (front).
I2aaxssgsc
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
STATISTICAL STUDIES
37
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY BRANCH
COLUMBIA RIVER LANDSLIDE PROJECT —WASHINGTON
Nof'e .' 7?“ was observud by HE Qe ed /0 be
ap; roxi/pafe/y sfa/ion IZ fa /6 immed/a/e/g
afhr slit/e , and o’er/I79 fol/on ivy week
//7e free moved 5/ow/y across reservoir .
fo Dosifion 5/20 vn‘ EXP/5 aha/7 /6 00
- d d /
lVafeI Wave 0/7 appos/Ye sic/e of reservoir was - San Ian yralva
02/11/22” 25'any 30‘l7/gh. [El ’ S/Um/D mafW/a/
7772 reservoir 1': approx/Ina a/y 5000’ E - Van/ad 5/7/ and day
wide 51‘ fh/j p0 'nf.
- Sand l500
Org/rial 5 ”face? /
/F/'r5f pha
/ of o/ide
1m 1 I I
IrIOA/IIIuI/I l-OK‘L LVVIL
/
__LLW_/¢£- if/flefl'ié’L/éé‘fi’ _ _/_ __ _ __ __
’____/
Surface 07 s/fa’a debrs /
A; xf / I_/
\ M —— ——\ __ A / “xkffiimafed posif/on of
\ / /_ _- — " f .
\ “h __ ~ _____ __,_,.—- 30" ace of square/mp
//00
/000
VO/de of /a/705/Ue was esflmafza’la be b¢fwzzn
4 4 S‘m/Hior/ cul fc yards
C / 0 2 0 3 Ufeef
FIGURE 28,—Landsllde data card (back).
070 826300050“
38 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 29.—Slump-earthflow landslide limited by bedrock. Basalt crops out at the crown of the slide. The distance into the slope that this slide out was apparently
limited by the bedrock surface. The slide is in lacustrine silt and clay with some interbedded sand. Initial movement was in August 1941, and minor movements
occurred each year through 1953. Slide 63, Hawk Creek area, lake mile 37.2 left bank (Hawk Creek Bay 1,600 feet right bank).
STATISTICAL STUDIES
were much different from those of today. Many of the
slides are well preserved and can be studied from their
topographic form in almost as much detail as some of
the recent landslides. The processes involved seem to
have been the same as in recent slump-earthflows. The
best preserved slides of this type are in the finer sized
material categories. Figures 21 and 22 illustrate the
ancient slump—earthfiow group.
Slip-of slope landslides and multiple—alcove land-
slides.—Slip-off slope and multiple-alcove landslides
have been described in a foregoing section of the text,
pages 6—7.
Landslides 01f bedrock.—In landslides off bedrock,
the surface of rupture follows generally the contact be-
tween surfical deposits and bedrock. The processes
and characteristics of the surficial materials include
those described for both the recent slump—earthfiow and
slip-off slope type groups.
Talus slumps—Talus slumps sometimes appear to be
similar to the slump—earthflow landslides and, at other
times, to be similar to the slip-off slope landslides.
Talus accumulations in the investigation area are
commonly underlain by clay, silt, and sand, which are
veneered against steep bedrock cliffs in many places.
Landslides in artificial slopes, including some natural
materials.—Artificial-slope landslides consist of failures
in cut slopes or in fills where some of the underlying
formation also is included in the slide. They are spec-
ial cases of slump-earthflows because the same move-
ment processes are involved. An illustration is shown
on figure 30.
Mudflows.—Mudflows have been described in a fore-
section of the text, pages 7—8.
Dry earthfiows.—Dry earthflows are a combination
of fall and flow Where there are steep cliffs of silt and
clay materials. During prolonged dry seasons, large
chunks apparently break off the cliffs and fall. Upon
striking, the chunks burst apart and flow like water
The flow material is principally a light fluffy powder
that contains small fragments of silt and clay. Figure
31 shows a dry earthflow.
CLASSIFICATION UNITS AND MEASUREMENTS OF THE
GEOLOGIC ENVIRONMENT
The scheme of classification and analysis used in this
landslide study was conceived on the theory that by
subdividing the geologic environment into broad units
and categories, geologic factors related to groups of
landslides could be analyzed by field exmainations
and measurements. The classification units and cat-
egories are arbitrary. Probably no two investigators
would establish identical classifications, even for the
same locality.
~17. ~. »-.-. .
...,
Landslide induced by a roadcut in lacus-
Toe of landslide
FIGURE 30.—Failure of an artificial slope.
trine silt and clay (one-fourth mile southwest of Cedonia, Wash.).
was probably removed at intervals as it encroached on the road.
MATERIAL-CLASSIFICATION CATEGORIES
The surficial deposits were classified into six cate-
gories which are based primarily on the percentage of
lacustrine silt and clay as opposed to the percentage
of lacustrine and fluvial sand and gravel in the given
sediment and on whether or not the bedding is deformed.
Material category 1.—The materials in category 1
consist predominantly of silts and clays which are in
almost their original position of deposition. Terrace
deposits of these materials may or may not have a cap
of sand or gravel. The silt and clay may be inter-
bedded with lenses or beds of sand, gravel, or till. In
general the sand does not exceed 30 percent of the
materials lying below the terrace cap. Gravel and
till seldom constitute more than 10 percent of the ma-
terial in this category. They are characteristically
poor-draining deposits. Figures 32 and 33 illustrate
the materials of this category.
Material category 2,—The materials of category 2 are
similar to those in category 1 except that they are in a
disturbed or distorted position owing to previous land-
slide action, slumping, ice shove, or other glacial pro-
cesses. Figures 34 and 35 illustrate the materials of
this category.
Material category 3,—The materials in category 3
consist of alternating beds of silt, clay, and sand in
nearly their original position of deposition. Terrace
deposits may or may not have a cap of sand and
gravel. The silt, clay, and sand may be interbedded
with lenses of gravel or till. Gravel does not exceed
about 30 percent of the materials lying below the
40 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
It is believed that one or more blocks of dry lacustrlne silt and clay fell at the same time from a high bluff in the background and disinte-
grated upon striking the base of the blufi, forming a solid-in-air density current which flowed downslope. Common alluvial cones at left of dry earthflow. Nespelem
River area, river mile 9.7 right bank.
FIGURE 31.—Dry earthflow.
STATISTICAL
terrace cap. Till members seldom constitute more
than 10 percent of the materials. In general, materials
of this category may consist of as much as 60 percent
silt and clay or 60 percent sand and gravel. They are
partly free-draining and partly poor draining (fig. 36).
Material category 4.——The materials of category 4 are
similar to those in category 3 except that they are in a
disturbed or distorted position owing to previous land-
slide action, slumping, and ice shove or other glacial
processes (fig. 37).
Material category 5.——The materials in category 5
consist predominantly of sand and gravel. The depos-
its may be in their original position of deposition,
disturbed, or reworked. They may contain cemented
zones or sparse layers of silt and clay, but they are
free draining. Figure 38 illustrates the materials of
this category.
Material category 6.——These materials consist of talus
accumulations which may be made up in part of silt,
sand, gravel, and boulders. Talus deposits overlie
stratified silt, clay, and sand in many places in the
area. Material in category 6 is used only in the
FIGURE Ell—Sediments included in material category 1 (silt and clay in, or nearly in,
their original position of deposition). This photograph shows varved silt and clay
in the Reed terrace area. Ligrit-colored bands are silty, dark-colored bands are
clayey. Smooth surfaces of the exposure are vertical joints.
STUDIES 41
This photograph shows
These varves are
minutely sublaminated as are all varves in the area investigated. Hunters—Nez
Perce Creek area.
FIGURE 33.——Sediments included in material category 1.
thick varves of silt and clay with contortions in the clay zone.
materials classification of talus slumps—landslide types
which are special cases.
The material classification for each landslide case
was determined from an examination of the exposures
opened by the slide and from detailed study of the
adjacent area. Individual classifications recorded in
the tables of landslide data do not always correspond
to the map units on plates 1, 3, 5, and 6 because of
local variations in the lithology which are too limited
in extent to be depicted on these maps.
GROUND WATER
Ground-water conditions were classified into two
categories, high or low, based on observable field
criteria. The criteria consisted of the presence or
absence of springs, seeps, water-loving vegetation, and
high level sources of surface or ground water. The
nature and movement of ground water in surficial
deposits of the types involved in this study have been
adequately described by Terzaghi (1949), Baver (1949),
Meinzer (1949), and Meinzer and Wenzel (1949).
Ground-water conditions vary from season to season
4:2 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 34.—Sediments included in material category 2 (disturbed or distorted silt and clay beds). This photograph shows varved silt and clay deformed by the thrust of
glacial ice. Ninemile area.
STATISTICAL STUDIES 43
FIGURE 35.——Sediments included in material category 2. This photograph shows
lacustrine silt and clay deformed by overriding glacial ice. Wilmont-Jerome area.
and from year to year, but the two classification cate-
gories are so distinct that a locality would be classified
the same regardless of the season of the year it was
examined.
Ground water category 21 (high).~—Springs, seeps, and
abundant water-loving vegetation above the midpoint
of the exposed terrace slope; lakes or springs on the
terrace surface or situated at higher altitudes in a posi-
tion to feed ground water into the terrace deposits.
Ground water category 22 (low) .—Springs, seeps, and
abundant water-loving vegetation absent or limited to
zones below the midpoint of the exposed terrace slope;
terrace may have a faint line of water-loving vegetation
along the base of sand or gravel cap; no springs or lakes
on the terrace surface or at higher altitudes to feed
ground water into the terrace deposits.
TERRACE HEIGHT
Terrace height is the general altitude diiference
between the top and bottom of the slope in which the
landslide occurred. Commonly it is the altitude dif-
ference between two adjacent terraces. Terrace height
was originally divided into three categories, and data
for many of the slides are tabulated in that form.
581004 O——61)——4
Category Terrace height
(feet)
31 __________________________________________ 0—100
32 __________________________________________ 100——200
33 __________________________________________ 200 or more
These categories were abandoned as a result of pre-
liminary statistical study and the numerical value of
the terrace height was used instead.
DRAINAGE 0F TERRACE SURFACE
Drainage category 41.#Drainage lines on the terrace
are sufficiently well developed to channel rain and
snowmelt rapidly off the area.
Drainage category 42.—-Lines of drainage are less
well developed and have no significant closed depres-
sions on the terrace surface.
Drainage category 43.~Closed depressions are on the
terrace surface; drainage channels are so poorly devel-
oped that most of the rain and snowmelt infiltrates
the terrace deposits.
FiGURE 36.—Sediments included in material category 3 (alternating beds of silt, clay,
sand and gravel in nearly their original position of deposition). In the central part
of the photograph there are megavarves, composed of sand grading upward into silt,
which are overlain by many thin silt and clay varves. Hawk Creek area, lake mile
38.0 left bank.
FIGURE 37.—Sediments included in material category 4 (disturbed or distorted alter-
nating beds of silt, clay, sand and gravel). In the photograph, the beds of gravel,
sand and silt are tilted, faulted and fractured. Deformation was probably caused
by slump over melting glacial ice. Cedonia area.
ORIGINAL SLOPE 0F TERRACE SCARP
Six categories were initially defined to study the
effect of the original slope on the landslides.
Category Slopes
51 ____________________________________ Steeper than 1:]
52 ____________________________________ 1:1-2:1_
53 ____________________________________ 2:1—3:1
54 ____________________________________ 3:1—4zl
55 ____________________________________ 4:1—5:1
56 ____________________________________ Flatter than 5:1
These categories were useful in preliminary statisti-
cal studies, but it was possible to make a more detailed
analysis of this element by using the numerical values
expressed as the cotangent of the original slope angle.
The measurements were determined for each landslide
either from topographic maps made before the slide
occurred or by field measurements in the vicinity of
the slide.
SUBMERGENCE
Submergence is a measure of the percentage of the
mass of the terrace deposit that is submerged and,
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
therefore, subject to the hydrostatic conditions imposed
by the lake or river. Six categories of this classifica-
tion were initially defined.
Height
Category (percent)
60 No relation between lake (or river) level and the ter-
race or slope in which the slide occurred.
61 River running at the toe of the slope in which the
landslide occurred.
62 Slope submerged by lake at high-water level _______ 0—25
63 _____ do _______________________________________ 25—50
64 _____ do _______________________________________ 50-75
65 _____ do _______________________________________ more
than
75
Preliminary statistical studies demonstrated no
measurable differences between catergories 60 and 61
and the lake submergence percentages established in
categories 62, 63, 64, and 65 as they are related to the
landslide elements being considered. Consequently, a
more accurate evaluation of the submergence factor was
made possible by considering river and lake submer-
gence alike and by regarding category 60 as zero per-
cent submergence. The submergence value for each
case is the percentage of the terrace height of the slope
that is below river or lake surface at high-water level.
CULTURE
This factor was studied to determine the effect of
man’s cultural and engineering developments on certain
landslide elements. The following three categories
were established:
Category
71 ______________ None.
72 .............. Minor, on or near slide, such as farm build-
ings, plowed fields, farm access roads, or
logging trails.
73 ______________ Major, on or near slide, such as deep high-
way or railroad cuts and fills, irrriga-
tion systems, towns, or storage reservoirs.
Developments
MATERIAL REMOVAL
The landslides exhibit Wide differences in the amount
of movement of the mass of landslide material. In
some, particularly those along the lakeshore, practi-
cally all of the material slides out, leaving an empty
alcove resembling a glacial cirque. In others, the
material moves slightly, outlining the shape of the slide.
All degrees of movement of the slide material are in
between these two extremes. Where several landslides
occur side by side and the material is nearly all cleaned
out of the scarp, the resulting terrace slope may be
steeper than before the landslides. This situation may
induce another series of slides cutting farther back into
the terrace.
STATISTICAL
STUDIES 45
FIGURE 38.—Sedlments included in material category 5 (sand and gravel).
The slides were classified into one of the following
three categories:
Category Removal
81 ______________ All or most of the mass of landslide material
removed from the scarp.
82 ______________ Intermediate.
83 ______________ Very little movement of mass of landslide
material.
For illustrations of landslides in these categories see
figure 12, category 81, and figure 26, category 83.
TIME
To help determine the activating causes of landslides,
all data obtainable which related to the age of land-
slides have been recorded. The following gen eral cate-
gories were established, but where exact data were
available they also were recorded:
Cedonia area.
Category Time
91 ______________ Ancient.
92 ______________ Recent, before filling of reservoir.
93 ______________ Recent, after filling of reservoir.
94 ______________ Date of initial - sliding or re—movement
known.
LANI)SLIDE MEASUREMENTS HC: VC RATIO
The measurements made of each landslide were
designated: horizontal component (H0), vertical com-
ponent (V0), and length component (LO).
H0 The horizontal component is the horizontal dis-
tance from the foot of the landslide to the
crown, taken at midsection of the landslide
normal to the slope (figs. 2, and 39).
V0 The vertical component is the difference in alti-
tude between the foot and the crown, taken at
midsection of the landslide normal to the slope
(figs. 2 and 39).
46 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 39.—Cross section of a landslide showing H C’ and V0 measurements, which
are respectively the horizontal and vertical distances from foot to crown.
L0 The length component is the maximum horizontal
distance from side to side of the slide measured
parallel to the slope it descends.
The H0 and V0 for each landslide were determined
either from topographic maps and field measurements
or by field measurements alone. Frequently the foot
of the landslide was obscured by slide material or by
lake water. Its position was arbitrarily placed at the
topographic breakpoint (fig. 39) where examinations
produced no other criteria for placing it. The LC was
determined either by map measurements, field measure-
ments, or by estimation.
H02VC is the ratio of the horizontal component to
the vertical component of a landslide or the cotangent
of the angle of slope of a line between the foot and the
crown. Environmental factors have been analyzed
with relation to this ratio. For almost every landslide
HO 1V0 ratio has been determined independently from
the original slope value. In the tables of landslide
data (p. 74—93) very shallow slides may have a H0zVC
ratio less than the original slope owing to local slope
changes and inaccuracies of measurements.
STATISTICAL ANALYSES
By DANIEL R. EMBODY and FRED O. JONEs
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF LANDSLIDE DATA
Of the 10 landslide type groups, only 5 were repre-
sented by sufficient data to warrant statistical study
and interpretation. These five type groups were:
Group
Type 1 ________ Recent slump-earthflow landslides.
Type 3 ________ Ancient slump-earthflow landslides.
Type 4 ________ Slip-off slope landslides.
Type 5 ________ Multiple-alcove landslides.
Type 6 ________ Landslides off bedrock.
For only 3 of the 5 groups were enough data collected
to warrant consideration of a statistical analysis.
These three type groups were:
Group
Type 1 ________ Recent slump—earthflow landslides, 160 cases.
Type _3 ________ Ancient slump-earthflow landslides, 37 cases.
Type 4 ________ Slip-off slope landslides, 42 cases.
Statistical methods consisted of the analysis of vari-
ance and covariance and multiple regression. Each
important analysis is presented in a brief summary
with computational detail omitted. For the methods
used and the purposes which they were intended to
accomplish, the reader is referred to the section headed
“Statistical techniques” (p. 69) where an explanation
and references to the literature are given.
The analysis of variance method was used to test
the significance of the various geologic classifications
and to determine whether they could be used as a basis
for prediction. Some of the field classifications were
found to be significant, others were not; the classifica—
tions that were not significant were omitted in arriving
at the final analyses and interpretations.
Of the many classifications and measurements made
on landslides, the H OzVO ratio was the only one which
described the landslide itself in numerical terms.
Consequently, this ratio was defined as the dependent
variable. The other factors, both qualitative and
quantitative, were defined as independent variables.
The problems considered were:
1. Determining which factors were related to the
H0 1V0 ratio to a significant degree.
2. The derivation of formulas by which the H0:VC
ratio of an impending landslide could be predicted.
The first analyses were made to determine if any
real differences existed in the three larger landslide
groups—recent slump earthflow, ancient slump earth-
flow, or slip—off slope landslides. Preliminary studies
revealed that there were large interactions between
classifications of geologic materials and the three land—
slide groups, and between ground—water classifications
and the three landslide groups. The interactions in-
dicated that the effects of materials and ground water
on the HCzVC' ratio of the landslides were not con-
sistent in the three groups. It was judged, therefore,
that each group would have to be analyzed separately.
Only the recent slump-earthflow group of 160 land-
slides contained enough data to justify a detailed
statistical treatment. Classifications and measure-
ments of these landslides are tabulated in table 1.
RECENT SLUMP-EARTHFLOW LANDSLIDES
Classifications and measurements were made on
eight factors that were initially considered to be of
importance in controlling the H0:V0 ratio of land-
slides. These were as follows:
STATISTICAL STUDIES
Qualitative factors Quantitative factors
1. Materials 6. Terrace height
2. Ground water 7. Submergence
3. Culture 8. Original slope
4. Drainage
5. Material removal
Ideally, the statistical analysis would include simul-
taneous tests of main effects and interactions of all
eight variables. The absence of observations in some
of the combinations of factors indicated that such an
all-inclusive analysis was not practical since dispropor-
tionate subclass methods would be involved.
Preliminary analyses indicated that materials, ground
water, and original slope were correlated with the
H0:VO ratio of the landslides. The influence of the
above three factors had to be considered in testing the
significance of the remaining factors. Each of the re-
maining factors; namely, culture, drainage, material
. removal, submergence, and terrace height, were tested
individually in a series of analyses that included mate-
rials, ground water, and original slope. Had more than
one of the remaining factors shown significance in these
analyses, it would have been necessary to perform a
further analysis to insure that both factors have effects
which are independent of each other. The further
analysis, however, was not necessary.
Q UALITATIVE VARIABLES
The first analysis was made to determine whether
culture was associated with the H02V0 ratio of land-
slides. Observations of the 160 recent slump-earth-
flow landslides were arranged in a table which was clas-
sified according to material, ground water, and culture.
The original slopes and the H 0 :VC ratios of the land-
slides were the independent and dependent variables.
Statistical operations were made with logarithms. Ref-
erences to the method of analysis of covariance for
three classifications with disproportionate items in the
subclasses is given under the heading “Statistical
techniques” (p. 69).
Summary of the analysis
. Degrees Sums of Mean
Source of variance of squares squares Ratio Significance
freedom
Pooled interactions + 151 1. 49058251 0. 00987141
residual.
Interactions ........... 13 .16814048 .01293388 1.35 Not significant.
Residual ______________ 138 1. 32244203 . 00958291 ......
Culture + interac- 153 1.49695583 __________________
tions + residual.
Culture _______________ 2 .00637332 .00318667 .32 Do.
The pooled interactions of materials X ground
water, materials >< culture, ground water >< culture,
and materials >< ground water X culture were not
47
significant. The main effect for culture was also not
significant.
These results were interpreted to mean that within
the situation represented by these data, no relation
between culture and H01VO’ ratio of the landslides
was detected. Cultural developments may be related
to ground water or activating causes of landslides,
but they could not be judged to relate directly to the
HOzVC ratio of the landslides from these data. The
absence of significant interactions supports the con-
clusion. This may be interpreted to indicate that
within each culture classification the effects of materials
and ground water on the HC:VO’ ratio of landslides
may be accounted for by chance variation.
The second analysis was made by the same method
to determine whether drainage was associated with
the HOtVC ratio of the landslides. The following
table shows a summary of the statistical analysis:
Degrees Sums of Mean
Source of variance of squares squares Ratio Significance
freedom
Pooled interactions 151 1. 44284331 0. 00955525 ......
+ residual.
Pooled interactions. 12 .10416158 .00868013 0.90 Not significant.
Residual .............. 139 1. 33868173 . 00963080 ______
Drainage + inter- 153 1. 49695564 __________________
actions + residual.
Drainage ______________ 2 .05411233 .02705616 2.83 Do.
Neither the pooled interactions nor the main effect
for drainage was significant. It was judged, there-
fore, that the factor, drainage, was not associated with
the HOzVO ratio of the landslides, even though it
might be highly correlated with ground water.
The third analysis was made to determine whether
the factor material removal was associated with the
HOIVO ratio of the landslides. Data were classified
according to material removal, material, and ground
water. The original slope was the independent vari-
able. The HOZVC' ratio of the landslide was the
dependent variable.
Summary of the analysis
Degrees Sums of Mean
Source of variance of squares squares Ratio Significance
freedom
Pooled interactions 147 1. 43322298 0. 00979816 ______
+ residual.
Pooled interactions. 10 .08315798 .00831580 0.84 N 0t significant.
Residual ______________ 137 1. 35006500 . 00985449 ______
Material removal + 149 1. 46175654 .01051623 ______
interactions +
residual.
Material removal. 2 .02853356 .01426678 1. 46 Do
Neither the pooled interactions nor the main effect
for material removal was significant. It was judged,
therefore, that material removal was not associated
with the H C’ : VC' ratio of the landslides. The material-
48
removal factor was not expected to be related to the
HCzVC ratio of the landslides. This factor was
studied to determine in which geologic setting a series
of landslides would tend to load the toe area and con-
tribute to slope stabilization, and in which geologic
setting landslides would develop steep scarps and create
conditions conducive to additional landslide action.
The 160 observations of material removal which
were made on recent slump-earthflow landslides indi-
cated that it was correlated with submergence. Where
submergence was high the slide alcove was generally
emptied of material which spread over a large area on
the bottom of the lake. In places where slides occurred
side by side along a terrace,‘as they have in the Cedonia
and Reed terrace areas, this emptying of the slide al-
coves resulted in conditions which seemed conducive
to a second series of slides cutting deeper into the
terrace. This second series has started in the Reed
terrace area. The landslide material had a tendency
to load the toe area where submergence was lower.
Lake and river fluctuations may have caused many
re-movements of the material, but new landslides which
cut deeper into the terrace have seldom occurred where
much of material remains in the slide alcove.
The above analyses completed the simultaneous tests
of variables that can be expressed in qualitative terms.
Culture, drainage, and material removal were not sig-
nificant and were consequently judged to be of little
importance as they related directly to the H 0 :V0 ratio
of recent slump-earthflow landslides.
QUANTITATIVE VARIABLES
The three quantitative variables, terrace height, sub-
mergence percentage, and original slope 7 were next
considered. The analysis of covariance method was
used and the significance of the quantitative variables
was judged from the partial regression coefficients and
their standard errors. References to the technique of
analysis of covariance and the methods of computation
are given under the heading “Statistical Technique”
(p. 69.)
The regression equation used Was
Y = aii‘l’ bm + bzx2+ b33133
where
Y=log HCzVC’,
a.-,- (i=1, 2; j=1,2,3,4,5) =constants which represent the 10
sets of material (j) and ground water (1) conditions.
b,, b2, b3,=regression coefficients for the three independent
variables
x1=log terrace height
z2=submergence percentage expressed as equivalent angle
$3=log of original slope
" Original slopes and HC:VC ratios of landslides are identical geometric measure-
ments, to avoid confusion the term "HC:VC ratio" has been eliminated in describ-
ing original slope.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
The value for submergence is a true percentage in
that its value cannot be less than 0 percent nor more
than 100 percent. The transformation from percent-
ages to equivalent angles is often useful for variables
with this characteristic. References describing the
equivalent angle transformation and sources of pub-
lished tables are given under the heading “Statistical
Techniques” (p. 69).
In the correlation analysis to be described, the orig-
inal data were transformed as follows:
Variable Transformation
Terrace height ________________________ Logarithm
Submergence percentage _______________ Equivalent angle
Original slope ________________________ Logarithm
H C : VC ratio slide ____________________ Logarithm
Following standard procedures, regression coefficients
for the three independent variables were as follows:
Partial Standard
Variable regression error t Significance
coefficient
Terrace height ............. 0.051028 0.036416 1.40 Not significant.
Submergence percentage... .302550 .059582 5.08 Highly significant.
Original slope .............. . . 407675 .049948 8. 16 Do.
Coeflicient of determination R2=0.389.
The t-test of significance indicated that the partial
regression coefficient for terrace height was not signifi-
cant, while coefficients for submergence percentage and
original slope were highly significant. It was judged,
therefore, that in this situation submergence percent-
age and original slope were important controlling fac-
tors with respect to the H0:VC’ of slides and that
terrace height was not an important factor.
Another important consideration was the consistence
of the regression equation under the various combi-
nations of materials and ground water. The covari-
ance method requires that the true relation among the
variables be parallel for each set of conditions and that
any deviations from parallelism in the data be no
greater than might be expected from chance causes.
The test for parallelism among regression coefficients
is made by fitting separate regression equations to the
data of each of the 10 combinations of materials and
ground water. If the total sums of squares accounted
for by the individual regression are greater than the
total sums of squares accounted for by the combined
regression equation to a degree that is significant, then
the regressions are judged to be not parallel.
Of the 10 sets of data representing the 10 possible
combinations of material and ground water, 1 set con—
tained no slides; 2 other sets contained 1 slide each;
and a 4th set contained only 5 slides. The remaining
6 sets contained 17 or more slides. The test for depar-
tures from parallelism was made with the latter 6
classes, since including the 4 others would add very
STATISTICAL STUDIES 49
little new information and would greatly compllcate . Partialre_ Standard
the calculations. Variable grassion €o~ error t Significance
e cien
Test of significance
gubnlierlgelnce percentage... 0. 2373211 _0. 0:13:31 4. 34 Highly significant.
L a f M -t s" m rig. a sope .............. - . . 5 4. 72 Do.
Source 0‘ variance gfgggigr Egiiifirgs ”:2; f est 1gn canoe Original slope (quadratic).- 8. 067515 1.336 6.04 Do.
Pooled regressions _____ 2 0.677822 _ Coefficient of determination R3=0. 503.
Individual regressions- 12 . 033487
Depatiimmm 10 255665 Highlty 5mm. Submer ence ercenta and both li d d
aralie ism. can. 6 near 8.11 11 -
iiesidual ______________ 135 980200 g p g ‘1 a
A reference to the details for the test for parallelism
is given in the section on “Statistical Techniques,”
(p. 69).
The test for significance showed that the regression
equation derived from the combined data of the six
classes did not adequately represent the data in the
individual classes. It was necessary, therefore, to reex-
amine the interrelations among the two independent
variables (submergence and original slope) and the
dependent variable (H0:VO ratio of slide). Use of
a linear function to represent this relation implied that
for a given change in the logarithm of the original slope
a proportional change would be expected in the log-
arithm of the H 0 : VC ratio of the slide without regard
to the level of original slope. It can be easily under-
stood that such a relation is not realistic.
To develop a regression equation which properly
represented the data, a quadratic term for logarithm
of the original slope was added to the equation. The
new regression equation then became
Y: a’ ii+ 51,371+ 172,132 + 173'13
where
Y: log H CzVC,
al’, bl’, bz’, b;’=intercept and regression coefficients,
x1=submergence percentage (equivalent angles),
zz=log original slope,
I
23=a+go original slope (quadratic).
A new test of parallelism was then made using the new
function as follows:
Source of variance Degrees of Sums of Mean f-test Significance
freedom squares square
Combined regressions. 0.915676 ..................
Individual regressions. 18 1. 062212 ..................
Departures from 15 . 146536 0. 00976907 1. 3 Not significant.
parallelism.
Residual .............. 129 . 851475 00600581 ......
Using the equation with the quadratic component
for original slope, departures from parallelism were
not significant. We can assume that the regressions
are parallel in the six classes and that a single regression
relation is operating with respect to the landslides.
A new covariance analysis was made employing all
of the 160 observations of landslides. Estimates of the
partial regression coefficients are as follows:
ratic terms of original slope were highly significant.
Some idea of the overall gain in precision due to adding
the quadratic term is seen from the coefficient of deter-
mination (square of multiple correlation coefficient), in
the previous analysis R2=0.389, while in the last
analysis R2=0.503, or an increase of 0.11. The coefii—
cient of determination measured the proportion of
total sums of squares accounted for by the independent
variables. Adding the quadratic term brought about
a sizable increase in precision.
TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR. MATERIALS AND GROUND WATER
The final analysis of H0zV0 ratios devolved about
tests of significance for the two qualitative factors,
materials and ground water. These tests were made
from an extension of the above-described covariance
analysis. A summary of the test of significance for the
interaction between materials and ground water is as
follows:
Degrees Sums of Mean
Source of variance of squares square f-test Significance
freedom
Pooled interactions re- 151 1.015135 ................
sidual.
Residual ................ 148 1. 000239 0. 006758 ......
Pooled interactions ______ 3 .014896 .004965 0.73 Not significant.
The f-test showed that the interaction was not sig-
nificant. The absence of a significant interaction may
be interpreted to mean that the effect of ground water
on the H0zVC ratio of the slide is additive over the
entire range of material categories or that within each
materials classification the H0: V0 ratio of landslides
increases uniformly with increases in ground water.
The summary of tests of significance for main effects
is as follows:
Degrees Sums of Mean
Source of variance of squares square f—test Significance
freedom
Materials pooled inter- 155 1.101047 ________________
actions.
Pooled interactions re- 151 1.015135 0.006723 ......
siduals. >
Materials ............... 4 .085912 .021478 3.19 Significant.
Ground water pooled in- 152 1. 150310 ................
teractions residual.
Pooled interactions re- 151 1.015135 006723 ______
sidual.
Ground water __________ 1 . 135175
.135175 20.11 Highlysignifi-
cant.
50
The test of significance showed materials to be sig-
nificant and ground water to be highly significant. It
was judged that both of these factors are very impor-
tant in controlling the H 0 : V0 ratio of the landslides.
In the statistical analyses summarized above, 10 inde-
pendent variables were tested for possible correlation
with the HCIVC ratio. Four factors were highly
significant, and one factor was significant. They are as
follows:
f-test i-test Significance
Ground water _________ 20. 11 _ A _ _ Highly significant
Original slope (linear) r 1 ______ 4. 72 Do.
Original slope ______ 6. 04 Do.
(quadratic)
Percentage submergence ______ 4. 34 Do.
Materials _____________ 3. 19 - _ _ _ Significant.
All five significant factors exercised important control-
ling effects on the H O : V0 ratio. Perhaps other factors
were related to the H C’ : V0 ratio, but if relations existed
they were too small to be detected and therefore, were
not important.
EQUATION FOR THE PREDICTION OF HCZVC RATIOS OF LANDSLIDES
In the foregoing statistical analyses, the importance
of different factors affecting the landslides has been
studied. Five factors in particular were important in
controlling the H02VC ratio. The two qualitative
factors ground water and materials showed no inter—
action. The two quantitative factors original slope
and submergence showed no departures from parallelism
within the 160 slides studied. It has been established
with this information that the H 0 : V0 ratio is a predic-
table phenomenon that may be expressed in a single
unified equation.
If the predication equation is derived from the ana—
lysis of covariance used in making the tests of signifi-
cance, 10 independent variables are involved and the
algebra becomes somewhat unwieldy for field use.
Ground water, which contained only 2 levels, was
simple to quantify by merely assigning the value of 0.1
to the high level and 0 to the low level. By this device
the regression analysis gives an answer identical to that
of the analysis of variance.
It would be possible to quantify the five material
classifications using the method of least squares as
described by Fisher (1946, p. 299—306). The authors
were not in a position to conduct such an exhaustive
analysis as Fisher’s method would require. As an
alternative action, numerical values were arbitrarily
chosen as follows:
Material designation Assignment numerical level
+0. 1
MHBWNJH
HOOD
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Using the quantitative values for ground water and
materials combined with submergence, and original
slope, linear and quadratic, analysis folloeing the mul-
tiple regression pattern was made. The computational
pattern described by Fisher (1946) was followed. The
method of multiple regression is also described by Davies
(1954), Youden (1953), Goulden (1952), Mather (1943),
Snedecor (1946), and Kempthorne (1953).
Using the redefined variables in a new regression
analysis, the reduced prediction equation was developed:
Y: 0.6328+ 0.2460X1—1.4121X2+ 7.5583X3+1.0338X4
+0.4015X5
where
Y: Logarithm of predicted H 0’: V0 ratio of slide
X1=Submergence percentage (equivalent angle)
X 2: Original slope (logarithm)
X 3: Original slope (quadratic)
X4: Ground water (low takes value 0. High takes value 0.1)
X5=Materials (1 takes value +0.1; 2, 3, and 4 take value 0;
5 takes value —0.1)
An estimate of the loss in precision which occurred
by quantifying the two qualitative variables can be
obtained from the analysis of covariance as follows:
Source of variance Degrees of Sums of Mean
freedom squares square
Total._ : ______________________________________ 159 2. 919848 ............
Reduction due to fitting constants ____________ 8 1. 904713 0.238089
Resrdual ..................................... 151 1. 015135 . 006723
From the reduced regression analysis
Total ......................................... 159 2. 919848
Reduction due to constants .................. 5 1. 893696 0.378739
Resrdual _____________________________________ 154 1. 026152 . 00666332
Source of variance Degreesoi Sums of Mean Ratio Significance
freedom squares square
Residual from 154 1. 026152 __________________
regression.
Residual from 151 1. 015135 006723 ......
covariance.
Loss of precision ______ 3 .011017 003672 0 546 Not significant.
The analysis showed that the loss of precision brought
about in the simplification of the prediction equation
was not significant. For prediction purposes, therefore,
the reduced equation can be used in place of the com—
plete equation.
Tests of significance were made for the individual re-
gression coefficients as follows:
Partial Standard
Variable regression error t-test Significance
coefficient
Y intercept _______ —0. 6328 0. 1209 5. 23 Highly significant.
Submergence ........ . 2460 2 0538 4. 58 Do.
Original slope (linear) _ —1. 4121 .3036 4. 65 Do.
Original slope (quadratic)_. 7. 5583 1. 248 6. 05 Do.
Ground water ______________ 1. 0338 .2261 4. 57 Do.
Materials __________________ . 4015 . 1198 3. 35 Do.
STATISTICAL STUDIES 51
The final consideration concerned the precision with
which predictions can be made of H 0: VC' using the re-
duced equation. The 95-percent confidence limits for
the prediction was considered a satisfactory level of
precision. Such confidence limits for a six-variable
equation, however, require a somewhat involved cal-
culation and would be entirely impractical for field use
(see section headed “Statistical techniques”, for amplifi-
cation of this concept). A somewhat less exact meas-
ure of precision can be derived from the standard error
of estimate of the reduced prediction equation (8“,).
The standard error of estimate in the logarithm scale
s.,=0.08163
This statistic describes the distribution of observed
values of HOzVC’ ratio in logarithms about their
respective predicted values. If the data are normally
distributed (in this situation it is judged that the data
are normally distributed) approximately 95 percent of
the observed points will fall within the range described
by i (tsa).
The 95-percent confidence limits describe a range
which brackets the true value with a 95-percent prob—
ability. The standard error of estimate describes the
variation of the data about an estimated mean. The
two kinds of limits will be almost identical within the
normal range of the landslide data. The standard
error of estimate remains constant over the range of the
data, while the 95—percent confidence intervals increase
as predictions are made with data which depart from
their means.
As an example of the use of the reduced prediction
equation and the calculation of limits of variability,
consider slide 65. Values of the independent variables
for this slide have been estimated as follows:
Variable Numerical Transformed Transformation
value value
Xi Submergence percentage-, 31 0.338 Equivalent angle.
X: Original slope (linear) _____ 1.27 .230 Iioglarithm.
X 3 Original slope (quadratic). 91—30% . 151 (_}-Oo_g)
X4 Ground water ____________ Low (0) 0 None.
X5 Materials _________________ 1 .1 None.
The above values were substituted into the reduced
prediction equation as follows:
Regression Transformed
Variable coefiiciem value Product
Submergence ______________ 0. 2460 0. 338 0. 0831
Original slope (linear) ______ —1. 4121 . 230 —. 3248
Original slope (quadratic)-__ 7. 5583 . 151 1. 1413
Ground water _____________ 1. 0338 0 0
Materials ____________ / _____ . 4015 . l . 0402
Intercept (constant term in
equations) ______________________________ —. 6328
0. 3070
Estimated value of Y
Antilog (0.3070)=2.03
As indicated above, the standard error of estimate was
s,,,=0.08163
as estimated with 154 degrees of freedom. The value
of (t) for 154 degrees of freedom representing a 95-per-
cent probability in one direction was
t=1..65
and
ts,¢=0.1347
In using the equation to predict the H02V0 ratio,
interest was centered only on the upper limit, because
it was important to know the most probable value of the
H 0 : V0 ratio and an upper limit representing the great-
est extent to which the slide would cut.
Original values
Logs (anliloga)
Predicted log H 0: VC' ratio ________ 0. 3070 2. 03
(1. 65) 8x, _______________________ . 1347
Upper H 0: VC’ ratio limit . 4417 2. 76
For slide 65 the predicted H0tVC' ratio was 2.03
and the approximate upper 95—percent variability limit
was 2.76. The measured HOzVO ratio of the slide
was 2.5 and it cut back 1,150 feet into the terrace. The
predicted H0: V0 ratio of 2.03 estimated that the slide
would cut into the terrace only 920 feet. With the
confidence interval added, the approximate variability
limit for the slide was 2.76. Using this estimated ratio,
the slide would have cut into the terrace 1,260 feet,
or 110 feet farther than it did.
ANCIENT SLUMP-EARTHFLOW LANDSLIDES
Ancient landslides were studied to determine whether
the H0zVC’ ratio for these slides followed the same
general pattern in relation to the classification units
as the recent slump-earthflow landslides and to try to
evaluate how much HC:V0 might increase for the
recent landslides during a long period of weathering
and erosion.
The classification data of the 37 slides of this type
group are tabulated in table 3, page 80. An example
of the group is shown in figures 21 and 22. Classifica-
tion problems were immediately apparent in studying
these ancient features. Ground-water conditions at
the time of the slides were difficult to appraise. Only
two classifications were established, high and low, and
these were determined by the general physiographic
form of the area behind the landslide. If the shape
and trend of the bedrock valleys behind the landslide
seemed conducive to channeling an abundant supply
of ground water to the landslide area, the ground water
52
was classified as high and, if not, it was classified as
low. Only 9 of the ancient landslides were in the low
category, and they have a mean H02VC ratio of 3.1,
as compared to a mean HCiVO ratio of 3.7 for the 28
classified as having high ground water.
Surface-water relations or the submergence factor
of this group were also unknown. The factor, original
slope, which was determined to be important in the
recent slump—earthflow group, could not be determined
for the ancient landslides.
Preliminary statistical tests indicated that the
ancient slump-earthflow landslides could not be included
with the recent slump-earthflow landslides in a statisti-
cal analysis, because this group did not provide ade-
quate data for a detailed statistical analysis. A test
was made, however, of the material classifications as
they related to the H01VU ratio, and the f—test was
significant, indicating that in the different material
classifications represented the mean H 0 : VC ratios were
significantly different.
The minimum, maximum, and mean HCIVO ratios
of ancient landslides for the material and ground-water
groups represented in the data are as follows:
HC': V 0 ratios
Ground Number
Material water in group
Mini- Maxi- Mean
mum mum
19 2. 4 5. 1 3. 8
5 2. l 5. 9 3. 2
4 3. 6 6. 1 4. 8
0 ______________________________
5 1. 7 3. 2 2. 6
4 2. 6 3. 4 3. 0
The following is a comparison of the mean H01V0
ratios of recent and ancient slump-earthflow landslides
for all classes of materials and ground water contained
in the ancient type group:
Recent slump- Ancient land
Material Ground earthflow slides slides (arithmetic
water (estimated mean mean)
of HC:VC' ratio
3. 27 3. 8
2. 43 3. 2
2. 92 4. 8
2. 16 __________________
2. 87 2. 6
2. 13 3.0
In material category 1 and ground-water categories
high and low the general pattern of relation between
H C 2 V0 ratios was similar to that in the recent slump—
earthflow landslides. In the other groups, no similar
relation was found, but they were represented by such
a small number of landslides that conclusions were
probably unwarranted. Only the slide group having
material category 1 and high ground water contained
enough landslides (19) to give any validity to a com-
parison of the mean value with that of the recent slump-
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
earthflow slides. The mean value of the ancient slides
was 3.8 and of recent slides 3.27. This larger mean
HO: V0 ratio could be indicative of an increase in time
by weathering and erosion, but it could also indicate
that only the larger ancient landslides have been pre-
served in sufficient detail to be recognized in the field
and included in the study.
SLIP-OFF SLOPE LANDSLIDES
This group was the second largest included in the
study. The classification data of 42 landslides of this
group are tabulated in table 2. Figures 6 and 8
illustrate this group. The classifications and measure-
ments made of these landslides were the same as those
made for the recent slump-earthflow group.
Preliminary statistical tests indicate that the slip-off
slope landslides could not be included with the recent
slump-earthflow landslides but would have to be studied
independently. The group did not contain data on a
sufficient number of landslides to justify detailed
statistical treatment. However, a test of significance
was made of the material and ground—water classifica—
tion categories as they related to H0: V0 ratios.
Neither ground water, material classifications, nor their
interactions were significantly related to the HCzVC
ratio of the slip-ofl' slope landslides. The HCzVO
ratios for this group ranged from a minimum of 1.0 to
a maximum of 2.6 and the mean ratio of the 42 land-
slides was 1.78. The data showed a high degree of
correlation between original slope and the H C : V0 ratio
which, as explained in the description of type groups,
was an independent determination.
The mean value of the original slope was found
to be 1.62, or just 0.16 less than the mean HOzVC
ratio. This type of landslide rarely cuts deeply into
a terrace. The causes of these slides can generally
be attributed to undermining processes by lake,
stream, or excavation.
This type of failure occurs more frequently in coarser
grained and dry materials. Of the 42 slides classified,
only 4 were in silt and clay, or material category 1, and
the remaining 38 were in silt, sand, and gravel cate—
gories. Of these remaining 38 slides, 26 were in sand
and gravel. All 42 landslides were in the low ground-
water classification categories (22, 23, and 24).
Landslides of this type tend to stabilize at the angle
of repose of the material involved where a protective
wave bench has been built at the toe of the slope and
undermining processes are not operating. None of
these landslides in the area of investigation could be
considered stabilized because of the lack of a protective
wave bench in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake areas
and unusual river fluctuations in the areas below Grand
Coulee Dam.
STATISTICAL STUDIES 53
MULTIPLE-ALCOVE LANDSLIDES
Although small in number, this group of nine land-
slides warrants special attention. The particular
geologic setting in which slides of this type are found
is described in a foregoing section of the report (p. 7).
Perhaps all of these complex slides should be studied
individually. More detailed knowledge of them might
indicate that they should not be studied together; but
because of similarities in the geologic environment
they have been grouped in this study. Only one slide
of this kind occurred during the investigations (figs. 4,
5, and 12). A detailed description of this slide is
given on pages 16—18. The other eight are ancient
landslides which have generally a similar physio-
graphic form.
Landslides of the multiple-alcove type are indi-
vidually the most destructive of the 10 types of slides
because of the tremendous area and volume of material
involved. The HCIVC ratio in slide 276 reaches a
maximum value of 9.7; however, this measurement
may represent much postslide erosion which should
not be attributed to the sliding. The mean value of
the H02VC ratios for these 9 slides is 5.9, and the
HO: V0 ratio of the new multiple-alcove slide (No. 261)
which occurred in the Reed terrace in 1952 is 6.2.
The locations of multiple-alcove slides are limited
sharply to deep terrace deposits overlying channels
in. the bedrock. They are also probably limited to
fine—grained materials supersaturated by ground water.
Summary of multiple-alcove slide data
Slide N0. Material Ground H 0 VC H 0: V0 L 0
water
3 22 1 900 400 4. 8 3, 000
3 21 1 600 400 4. 0 1, 500
1 21 4, 700 510 9. 2 5, 500
1 22 4, 200 850 4. 9 5, 000
1 21 2, 600 600 4. 3 2, 000
1 21 1, 650 270 6. 1 l, 300
l 21 l, 650 400 4. l 3, 400
1 21 2, 100 340 6. 2 1, 400
1 21 3, 200 330 9. 7 4, 200
LANDSLIDES OFF BEDROCK
Landslides in which the surface of rupture generally
follows bedrock are common in the area. Summarized
below are six of the landslides studied:
Slide Material Ground Original H 0 VC H C: VC LC
No. water slope
59 ________ 5 24 1. 4:1 210 160 1 3 90
84 ________ 2 22 5. 7:1 230 42 5. 5 160
86 ________ 1 24 2. 1:1 95 45 2. 1 140
110 _______ 2 21 3. 5:1 570 163 3. 5 250
171 ....... 1 24 2. 1 :1 33 16 2. 1 43
240 _______ 1 24 1. 7:1 120 70 1. 7 100
H 0' : V0 ratio of these slides is nearly the same as the
original slope. The most important fact revealed
by this group is that the flattest slopes fail in a setting
where superficial deposits are shallowly underlain by
bedrock. The flattest slope to slide in all the investi-
gations was in slide 84, where the original slope was
5.7:1. It is interesting to note that ground—water
conditions here were dry. The mass of landslide
material in landslide 110 flowed around projecting
bedrock points which seemingly should have given
enough support to resist sliding. The mean H0zV0
ratio of this group was 2.7, but it has little significance
in studying the possible occurrence or extent of a
landslide of this type at other locations.
UNIFORMITY EXPERIMENT
All the basic data used in the statistical analysis
of landslides were collected by Mr. Jones. The ques-
tion arises, therefore, as to whether these data are
conditioned in some manner by his long period of ob-
servations and by personal methods of making the meas-
urements. If this is so, other workers might find it
difficult or impossible to get similar results. To gain
some insight into this problem, a uniformity experi—
ment was conducted to determine whether field obser-
vations of independent workers, using the same concept
of HCzVC ratio and the same classification categories
of ground water, original slope, material, and percent
submergence, would reproduce the results of Mr. Jones’
field observations.
The uniformity experiment was planned so that two
geologists who were not familiar with the Pleistocene
deposits or the landslides in the area were assigned to
make a series of measurements. The men were briefed
for 2 days before going into the field on the methods
used to secure the original data, definitions of the class-
ification categories, and the organization and purpose of
the test. Detailed explanations and answers to their
questions were given as they requested. All data and
results of the author’s measurements were withheld
until the fieldwork was completed. The first half day
in the field was devoted to practice measurements of
landslides not included in the experiment and to obser-
vations of a few exposures. After this the two geolo-
gists, Christopher Erskine and Warren Peterson, used
their notes and the definitions which had been estab-
lished by the author, but no further explanations or
guidance were given.
The experiment was conducted on recent slump-
earthflow landslides, 160 cases of which were analyzed
in the preceding section. Available resources limited
the investigation to a sample of 42 slides. The ideal
sample would have been 42 slides picked and measured
54 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
completely at random from the 160 slides available.
Under such conditions each of the 160 slides would have
had an equal and independent chance of getting into
the sample and, as such, it would have been represent-
ative of the area as a whole. However, it was imprac-
tical to measure 42 of the slides in a random order
since some of them were nearly 100 miles apart. Irre-
spective of the order of measurement, 7 areas were
arbitrarily choosen Where 6 or more landslides could be
measured in 1 day. A random sample of six slides was
chosen from each area for inclusion in the test, and the
order in Which the slides were chosen was the order in
which they were measured. The randomization was
performed with published tables of random permuta-
tions. Landslides Were selected for experimental ob-
servations for 7 days in the above manner.
GeologistsPeterson and Erskine made observations
on the 42 slides from April 13 to 23, 1953. Measure-
ments and classifications recorded for each slide were
the H0:V0 ratio or dependent variable and the four
independent variables determined to be important
controlling factors from the analysis of the recent
slump-earthflow landslides—ground water, original
slope, submergence, and material. Table 7 summar-
izes the data obtained from this test together with du-
plicate measurements taken from table 1 by the senior
author.
SUMMARY 0!" ANALYSIS 0]? H0: VC RATIO OF LANDSLIDES
The problem was to determine whether the means
of the H0:V0 ratio in the test differed significantly
from the originals. The results showed that the mean
values of the H0: V0 ratios did not differ materially;
consequently, they were found to be reproducible by
other geologists. Because H0: V0 ratios were contin-
uous variables, the statistical analysis followed the
standard pattern for the analysis of variance. The
computations and tests of significance were made with
the logarithmic form of the data. Sample computa-
tions, together with references, are given under head-
ing “Statistical Techniques” (p. 69).
Degrees Sum: of Mean
Source of variance of freedom squares squares f-test Significance
Total ___________________ 83 1. 9038
Landslides .............. 41 1.3954 0.0340 2. 86 Highly significant.
---. l .0207 .0207 1.74 Not significant.
Rheaesidualn .-___._.._'»_1. 41 .4877 .0119
In original
numbers
Mean H 0: VC' ratios In logarithms (antilogs)
Test ___________________________________________________ 0.2670 1. 850
Original measurements ................................ .2986 1.989
Difierence ............................................. . 0316 . 139
The tests of significance show that the difference
between slides is highly significant, while the difference
between men is not significant. It is judged, there—
fore, that the H0: V0 ratio is a sensitive measurement
of a landslide, and the ratio could be reproduced in
this situation by at least two other workers. The sen-
sitivity of the H0: V0 measurement is presumably due
to significant variations in the four classification fac—
tors—material, ground water, original slope, and sub—
mergence percentage, which are defined and analyzed
in preceding sections. Measurements and classifications
were made by Mr. Jones a few years before this test;
thus the lack of a significant difference between men
leads to the judgment that H02V0 values are stable
over a short span of time.
SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS OF ORIGINAL SLOPE
The problem for original slope was the same as for
the H0 : V0 ratio—to determine whether the means of
original slopes measured in the experiment differed to a
significant degree from the originals. It was found that
they did not and that this factor was reproducible by
the men in the experiment. Original slope, like the
H0: V0 ratio, was a continuous variable, so the analy—
sis and computation followed the same pattern.
Degrees Sum! of Mean of
Source of variance of freedom squares squares f-lest Significance
Total ___________________ 83 1. 6618
Landslides. - 41 1.3140 0.0321 4.05 Highly significant.
____________________ 1 .0229 .0229 2. 89 Not significant.
Residual ________________ 41 . 3248 . 00792
In original
numbers
Mean original-slope ratio: In logarithms (antilogs)
Test ................................................... 0. 3476 2. 227
Original measurements ________________________________ .3806 2. 402
Difference ............................................. . 0330 . 175
The difference between landslide means is highly
significant, whereas the difference between men is not
significant. It is judged, therefore, that original slope
is a controlling factor in the environment of a land-
slide and its measurement can be reproduced by other
geologists.
SUMMARY 0!" ANALYSIS OF SUBMERGENGE PERCENTAGE
Since submergence was also a continuous variable,
the problem and its solution were the same as in the
two previous analyses, except that the percentages were
transformed to equivalent angles instead of logarithms.
Degrees Sum: of Mean of
Source of variance of freedom squares squares f—teat Significance
Toat1._._._._.._______ 83 1.1263
Landslides. _ 41 1. 0274 0. 0251 14.2 Highly significant.
Men ____________________ 1 .0264 . 0264 14. 9 Do.
Residual ________________ 41 0725 . 00177
In original
numbers
Mean submergence values In angles (antilogs)
Test ___________________________________________________ 0. 4224 45. 2
Original measurements ________________________________ . 4579 51. 4
Difference _____________________________________________ . 0355 6. 2
Both landslides and men were highly significant. It
is judged, therefore, that submergence percentage is
also a controlling factor in the geologic setting of a
landslide. Statistically, the mean difference of 6.2 in
STATISTICAL STUDIES
submergence percentage indicates: (a) that submer-
gences were measured differently at the time of the ex-
periment than when they were measured originally, or“
(b) that the measurement for submergence is not re»-
producible among geologists. From a practical stand-
point this mean difference of 6.2 percent is probably
not large enough to be important.
SUMMARY OF GROUND-WATER ANALYSIS
The qualitative variable ground water, with two
categories, was reproducible by geologists Erskine and
Peterson. Of the 42 landslides classified, only 1 dif-
fered from the original. Had the‘ men in the experiment
been unable to duplicate the ground-water categories
at all, their results would have reflected chance vari-
ation. With 2 classifications where chance alone dic-
tated the choice, each classification would have a prob-
ability of 1 :2 of being correct or erroneous (assuming
the original classification to be correct), or it would
have been expected that on the average, of the 42
slides, 21 would be classified right and 21 wrong. The
results deviated from what would have been expected
by chance alone; therefore, it is judged that the men were
able to classify ground water in the same way as the
author.
Actual and expected results are:
Ezpected
(by chance alone) Actual
Classifications right _______________ 21 41
Classifications wrong ______________ 21 1
x2: 38. 1 Degree of freedom= 1 Probability = 0.01
The chi-square of 38.1 is greater than would occur on a
chance basis once in 100 times. Chance alone cannot
explain these data. Consequently, it is judged that
ground—water classifications are reproducible.
SUMMARY OF MATERIAL ANALYSIS
The qualitative variable material, with five catego-
ries was not reproducible by the men in the experiment.
The method of analyzing the material classifications
was the same as for ground water except that material
was divided into five categories. Here, if chance alone
operates in the classification, the probability of its being
correct is one—fifth and of its being incorrect four-fifths.
Actual and expected results are:
Expected
(by chance alone) Actual
Classifications right _______________ 8. 4 10
Classifications wrong ______________ 33. 6 32
x2 = 0.396 Degrees of freedom = 1 Probability = 0.30
The value of chi—square of 0.396 indicates that the test
results are about what would be expected by chance
alone; consequently, it must be judged that the men in
the experiment were not to classify materials into the five
categories. This is not surprising because of the com-
plex nature of Pleistocene deposits in the area and the
55
brief incomplete field review of the deposits given the
men in the test before their first attempt at this kind
of classification. Classification is one of the most dif-
ficult tasks for research workers in any scientific investi-
gation. Geologists Erskine and Peterson could prob-
ably have more nearly duplicated the original measure-
ments if the illustrations showing the different types of
material (figs. 32-38) had been available to them, and
if they hadbeen provided with a working knowledge
of all the pertinent material exposures in the investi-
gational area.
SUMMARY AND INTERPRETATION OF UNIFORMITY EXPERIMENT RESULTS
1.. The H02VC ratio was a precise measurement of a
landslide. It was also a measurement reproduc—
ible by other geologists unfamiliar with the details
of the landslide or the particular geologic setting.
2. The original slope of the terrace scarp was one of the
controlling factors in the environment of a land-
slide. It was also a reproducible measurement.
3. Submergence percentage was also determined to be
a controlling factor in the geologic setting of a
landslide but was not reproducible by the geolo-
gists in the test.
4. Ground-water classifications were reproducible, qual-
itative measurements.
. Material classifications were not reproducible in the
experiment. The geologists could probably have
more nearly duplicated the original classifications
if they had been provided with clear-cut defini-
tions, illustrative material, and a working knowl-
edge of the stratigraphy of the Pleistocene deposits.
While the uniformity experiment indicated that ma-
terial classifications may not be reproduced, the analysis
of recent slump-earthflow landslides showed that mate-
rial classifications were correlated with the HO: V0
ratio of the landslides. Since both of these variables
had demonstrated their usefulness in predicting the
slide ratio, they were not rejected. Because of the
results of the test, definitions of the material-classifica—
tion categories were painstakingly revised to include
many details which were not incorporated at the time
of the experiment.
01
SIDPE-STABILITY INVESTIGATION
In an effort to determine which sections of the banks
along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake were safe from land-
slides and which were unsafe, a slope-stability investi—
gation was undertaken. The study was designed to
combine the data of the 160 recent slump-earthflow
landslides with data for 160 representative locations
in which there were no landslides. The analysis
used the discriminant-function method, in which
quantitative and qualitative factors influencing slid-
56
ing were combined into an equation that provided
maximum discrimination between slopes that are likely
to fail by landsliding and those that are not. The 320
values of the discriminant function ranged from
—0.0019 to +0.0404. The lower values were generally
associated with stable slopes, and the higher values
with landslides. A value of 0.0106 was found to be
the theoretical lower 95 percent confidence limit for
slides, and although much overlapping of discriminant
values was found between slides and stable slopes, there
are clear-cut conditions where nearly all slopes have
slides and other conditions where nearly all slopes are
free of slides.
For the purpose of this study, a stable slope was
defined as a slope on which there was no recent slide.
The investigation of stable slopes was made by classi-
fications and measurements in the same manner as the
investigation of landslides. Locations were chosen so
that the group of 160 stable slopes represented as nearly
as possible a random sample of all slopes along Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake which have not been affected by
sliding in its first 14—year history. Measurements were
made of the slope of the terrace scarp, submergence
percentage, and terrace height. Classifications were
made of the qualitative variables, ground water and
material, following the same definitions and classifi-
cation categories used for the landslides. The locations
of the slopes studied and the classification data are
summarized in table 8 (see section headed “Tables of
landslide data”, p. 74).
SUMMARY 0!" ANALYSIS FOR THE DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION
The discriminant function employed in this experi-
ment is an equation designed to differentiate slopes that
are potential slide areas from slopes that are not po-
tential slide areas. The form is
y = bixi-l' bfl2+ bsxa‘l' bm+ bfls'l‘ boxa‘l’ 171137 + biz/178+ 179109
Where
y=the dependent variable or discriminant function
b1, b2 . . . b9=coefiicients derived from the analysis of
factors influencing sliding in 160 landslides and 1.60
stable slopes
x1, x2 . . . x9=independent variables determined to be sig-
nificant factors influencing sliding: original slope.
submergence percentage, terrace height, ground water,
and materials
The independent variables, original slope, submer-
gence percentage, and terrace height, are quantitative
and can be used in their numerical form. To use
multiple regression methods, the qualitative variables
ground water and materials must be quantified.
Ground water is a qualitative variable, and since it
has only two levels it presents no problem in quantifi-
cation. The number 0.1 was arbitrarily assigned to
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
high ground water and the number 0 to low ground
water.
Materials were represented by five independent var-
iables, with the following assigned values.
25:0.1 for material 1 and 0 for other materials
10:0-1 for material 2 and 0 for other materials
x7=0.1 for material 3 and 0 for other materials
$g=0.1 for material 4 and O for other materials
x.=0.1 for material 5 and 0 for other materials
Data for orignial-slope and terrace-height variables
were transformed to logarithms. Data for submer-
gence percentage were transformed to equivalent angles.
For the 160 landslides, the discriminant values are
listed in table 1; those for the 160 stable slopes in the
experiment are listed in table 8.
Regression coefficients and tests of significance for the
discriminant function are as follows:
Standard t—test
Symbol Variable Cbefficient error 1 Significance
b1 Original slope ........... -0. 0213 0.0016 13. 33 Highly significant.
1), Submergenoe... .0028 .0019 1. 44 Not signiflean cant
b; Terrace height._ .0102 .0013 7. 85 Highly significant
()4 Ground water. . .0616 . 0104 5.89 Do.
in Material 1.... ..... -. 0082 (I)
b. Material 2. .0106 .0066 1.60 Not significant.
b7 Material 3. .0037 .0070 . 53 Do.
bs Material 4. .. . 0186 .0076 2. 44 Significant.
be Materials ________________ -. 0247 .0071 3.46 Highly significant.
1 Not estimated.
The variables, original slope, terrace height, ground
water, and material 5, showed high significance. Mater-
ial 4 showed significance at the lower level. Submer-
gence percentage was not significant. The standard
error for the coefficient of material 1 could not be readily
estimated from the analysis, but since the standard
errors for the other materials were approximately
equal it was assumed that material 1 was not significant.
The analysis of variance for testing the significance of
the discriminant function was as follows:
Source of Degrees of Sum: of Mean
variance freedom squares square f—leat Significance
Total _______________ 319
Between groups..._ 9 0. 000710936 0. 00639842 24. 6 Highly significant.
Within groups ...... 310 . 00894317 .0000288488
The high degree of significance between groups may
be interpreted to mean that the variables included are
related in some manner to the stability of slopes in
this area. Nonsignificance of material classifications
in categories 1, 2, and 3 is not surprising because these
categories contain principally fine grained sediments
which when dry stand in clifflike slopes and when wet
rest on gentle slopes. When taken together as material
groups, both situations are combined. Some different
method of quantification based on grain size, amount of
compaction, cohesion, or shear strength might provide
a way of incorporating them into the slope-stability
formula, but this was not within the scope of the inves-
tigation. Because of the lack of significance of three of
STATISTICAL STUDIES
the material categories, it was decided to derive a re—
duced equation excluding all of the material categories.
The variables, original slope, terrace height, and
submergence percentage were all transformed to loga-
rithms. In the case of submergence percentage,
preliminary studies indicated that the logarithm trans-
formation would be more highly correlated than the
equivalent angle transformation used before. Ground
water was defined as 0.1 for high ground water and 0
for low ground water.
The reduced discriminant function and the summary
of the analysis of variance is given as follows:
(y=0.0216247 log x1+0.00334811 log z;+0.00944030 log Z3
+0.00673l26 x4)
where
y=Discriminant function
z1=0riginal slope
2:2: Submergence percentage
x3=Terrace height
2:4 = Ground water (high = 0.1) (low = 0)
SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE DISCRIMINANT
FUNCTION
Analysis of variance
Degrees of Sums of Mean
Source of variation freedom squares square f-test Significance
Total ______________ 319 0. 001519 .
Between groups... 4 0.006076 .0000277 54.90 Highly significant.
Within groups. _ - - 315 . 008715 ________
Coeflicients of the discriminant function and their standard errors
Variable Coefficient Standard t-test Significance
error
Original slope ................ —0. 021625 0 001531 14.12 Highly significant.
Submergence. . . .. . 003348 000791 4. 23 Do.
Terrace height. - .009440 001234 7. 65 Do.
Ground water... .006731 00988 6. 82 Do.
Nora—Degrees of freedom=315 t=2.6 for P=0.01
The high degree of significance between groups may
be interpreted to mean that the variables taken to-
gether are related in some manner to slope stability.
The fact that the ratios of the coefficients divided by
their standard errors exceed the value of (t) for a 1
percent probability warrants the judgment that each of
the 4 variables is related to slope stability in such a way
that prediction of potential landslide conditions is
possible.
use or THE DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION
The discriminant function may be used to differen-
tiate stable from potentially unstable slopes where any
combination of values of the four variables exists. Cal-
culations of the discriminant functions for the 320
57
landslides and stable slopes gave values ranging from
—0.0019 to +0.0404.
In general, the lower values of the discriminant func—
tion represented stable slopes, and the higher values
represented landslides. Less than one percent of the
landslides had a discriminant value below a theoretical
value of 0.0106; consequently, it will be safe to judge
that a slope will not be affected by sliding if its discrim-
inant value is below this level. Less than 5 percent of
the landslides had a discriminant value below 0.0142;
consequently, it will be relatively safe to judge that a
slope will not be affected by landslides if its discrim—
inant value is below 0.0142.
The mean value of the discriminant functions for the
two categories was
i
Landslides _______________________________________ 0. 02282
Stable slopes _____________________________________ . 01411
Midpoint value ___________________________________ 0. 01846
In theory, when the discriminant function is less than
the midpoint 0.01846, the slope will be classified as
stable, and when the discriminant function is greater
than 0.01846, the slope will be classified as unstable.
The difference between either mean and the midpoint
is 0.00435. From the analysis of variance the standard
deviation is 0.00526. The ratio of the difference to the
standard deviation gives a value of
_ .00435
t—
.00526
=0.827 for 315 degrees of freedom
From standard tables of Student’s t a value of 0.827
is exceeded about 21 percent of the time. Approxi-
mately 21 percent of slides will have discriminant values
below the midpoint 0.01846.
Table of actual frequences of landslides and stable
slopes for various levels of the discriminant function:
Frequency
Frequency of stable
Class limits for discriminant function 0] slides slopes
—0.0051—0.0000 ____________________________________________ 5
00001—00050. . ._ ______________
00051—00100. .
00101—00150. .
00151—00200. _
0.0%1—00250. .
00251—00300. _
00301-00350. .
00351—00400. _
00401—00450 ..................................
Total _____________________________________ 160 160 320
Total
Although there is much overlapping of discriminant
values for slides and stable slopes, there are clear-cut
levels where nearly all values represent landslides and
'other levels where nearly all values represent stable
slopes.
58 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
The use of the midpoint value of the discriminant
function 0.01846 as a theoretical dividing line between
landslides and stable slopes results in the following
misclassification: '
Landslides classified as stable slopes ___________________ 15
Stable slopes classified as landslides ___________________ 41
Total misclassifications ________________________ 56
Theoretically the misclassification in either direction
should be equal. A chi-square test of significance gives
a value of
X2: 15.9 degrees of freedom=1
According to tables of X2 (see references under heading
“Statistical techniques,” p. 69) a value of 15.9 will occur
by chance less than 1 percent of the time. It is judged,
therefore, that the discriminant function misclassifies
stable slopes as slides more frequently than it mis-
classifies slides as stable slopes. Since an important
use of the function is to identify stable slopes, the dis-
criminant function may err somewhat on the conserva- .
tive side.
The value of t for 315 degrees of freedom and a prob-
ability of P=0.01 in one direction is
t=2.326
Multiplying by the standard deviation
st: (0.00526) (2.326) =0.0122
The mean value of the discriminant function for slides
is
5:00228
and
5—st=0.0106 lower limit of the discriminant function
for slides
RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT
Of the 160 slopes selected for stability studies, anal-
ysis by the discriminant function method indicated
that: 39 were very stable, having discriminant function
values of 0.0106 or less; 36 were relatively stable, having
discriminant function values between 0.0106 and 0.0142;
85 were likely to be affected by landslides, having dis-
criminant-function values above 0.0142.
Of the 39 locations judged to be very stable because
of the low value of the discriminant function, the 5
listed below have the steepest slopes. The data for
the locations indicate that low values of submergence
percentage, terrace height, and ground water counter-
balance the steepness of the slope to such a degree that
the slope is stable. The photograph, figure 40, shows
a slope judged to be very stable, and the photograph,
figure 41, shows a slope judged to be relatively stable.
Five stable slopes with steepest measured slope
[LM, lake mile; RB, right bank; LB, left bank]
Discrim- Submer- Terrace
Slope Original inant gence height Ground
No. Location and area slope value (percent) (feet) water
9 LM 8.2 RB
Swawiila Basin.._- 2.8 0.0105 8 65 Low
122 LM 64.7 LB
Hunters-Nez
Perce .............. 2.8 .0097 10 50 Do.
43 LM 27.5 RB
Helgate-
Whitestone ........ 3.1 .0106 5 100 Do.
69 LM 43.7 LB
Fort Spokane ______ 3.3 .0056 0 60 Do.
38 LM 23.9 RB
Hellgate-
Whitestone ........ 4.3 .0104 50 90 Do.
Of the 85 locations judged to be susceptible to land-
sliding due to the high value of the discriminant func-
tion, the 5 listed below have the highest values. The
photograph, figure 42, shows a slope judged to be
susceptible to sliding.
Five stable slopes most likely to be afiected by sliding
[LM, lake mile; RB, right bank; LB, left bank]
Discrim- Submer- Terrace
Slope Original inant gence height Ground
No. Location and area slope value (percent) (feet) water
99 LM 51.5 RB
Ninemile .......... 2. 5 0. 0286 58 400 High.
24 LM 19.0 RB
Keller Ferry _______ 1. 8 .0278 50 220 Low
17 LM 14. 7 LB
Swawiila Basin.... 1. 5 .0254 30 370 Do.
64 LM 41.5 RB
Fort Spokane ______ 2. 9 .0246 30 270 High.
50 LM 34.6 LB
Hawk Creek _______ 1. 4 .0245 24 275 Low
APPLICATION OF LANDSLIDE AND SLOPE STABILITY
DATA
By FRED O. JONES and DANIEL R. EMBODY
Application of the methods and techniques developed
in this research may contribute to the practical useful-
ness of geologic studies of land stability. The relatively
uniform physical setting along the upper Columbia
valley not only provided an opportunity to develop new
geostatistical techniques for such studies but also
presented an ideal opportunity to apply and test the
results. This section illustrates the way these data may
be used to identify potential landslide areas and
estimate the extent of impending landslide action.
The most immediate application of this study should
be in land utilization along Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
and Lake Rufus Woods. In future land acquisition
programs along these lakes, both the Bureau of Recla-
mation and the Corps of Engineers may be better able
to determine just how much land needs to be withdrawn
from public use and just how much is safe for public use.
In managing federally owned lands along Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake, the National Park Service may use
these methods in its administrative decisions. When
STATISTICAL STUDIES 59
FIGURE 40.—A slope on sand judged to be very stable because of a discriminant function value of 0.0106. The lake is drawn down from its maximum level. Slope no.
43; lake mile 27.5 right bank; Hellgate-Whitestone area. See table 8 for classification data.
FIGURE 41 .—A slope on interbedded silt. clay and sand judged to be relatively stable because of a discriminant function value of 0.0138. The lake is drawn down from
’ its maximum level. Slope no. 131; lake mile 71.5 left bank; Cedonia area. See table 8 for classification data.
581004 0—61—5
60 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA
RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
FIGURE 42,—A slope on silt and clay judged likely to be affected by landslides because of a discriminant function value of 0.0242. Slope 160; lake mile 107.0 right bank;
Marcus-Evans area.
future landslides sever highways and railroads in
the area as they have in the past, these data may be
helpful in selecting relocations. Owing to the fact that
geologic conditions are so similar the data may be espe-
cially useful in the land acquisition and relocation work
on the Rocky Reach and Wells projects in Washington
and on the Libby project in Montana.
Pleistocene surficial deposits of the types studied are
not limited to the area of the present investigations.
Similar deposits are found along approximately a thou-
sand miles of river valleys in northern Washington,
Idaho, and Montana. They are also found along many
thousands of miles of valleys of British Columbia in
both the Columbia and Frazier River systems. The
Columbia River system alone has a potential hydro-
electric generating capacity of about 30 million kilo-
watts of electricity, of which only 10 million have been
developed. The dams, reservoirs, and other engi-
neering works related to this development will encounter
deposits similar ,to those in this investigational area in
countless places.
See table 8 for classification data.
RECOGNITION OF POTENTIAL LANDSLIDE AREAS
The recognition of natural slopes in which land-
slides may occur is of primary importance in land use.
By using measurable data and their own experiences
and observations, many geologists and engineers have
developed criteria for estimating stability. These sta-
bility analyses of natural slopes, for the most part,
result from personal judgment of a group of factors;
such as, steepness of slope, topography, ground water,
spring areas, material, and nearness to recent slides.
The discriminant—function method described in this
report uses the well-recognized criteria but goes a step
further. It provides a numerical value to aid in judging
whether or not a slope may slide by classifying the
significant factors, transforming them into quantified
units, and combining them into a formula. The
resulting numerical value cannot be any better than
the geologic classification from which it is derived.
The discriminant-function method of identifying poten-
tial slide areas and stable areas is not intended to
replace personal judgment but is offered as a tool to
assist the geologist and engineer whose responsibility it
is to appraise the stability of natural slopes.
STATISTICAL STUDIES 61
ESTIMATION OF LANDSLIDE EXTENT IN THIS AND SIMILAR
GEOLOGIC SETTINGS
An understanding of gelolgic and physiographic rela—
tions is fundamental to the estimation of landslide
extent and to a practical application of the landslide
data assembled in this report. The first step in apply-
ing the landslide data should be to determine the dif-
ferent types of landslides which could occur in a par-
ticular geologic setting, as in most places more than one
type may occur. Examination of the mean and maxi-
mum HC:VO ratios for these groups will provide a
basis for judging the average and maximum depths to
which a slide of any of the different types will cut. If
the slump-earthflow slide is the type having the greatest
possible H0zVC ratio, the formula in the preceding
section may be used to estimate how far a landslide
might cut back from the toe of the slope. The formula
cannot replace competent, experienced judgment, but
it should aid in arriving at appraisals which have more
basis in fact than a guess.
GENERAL APPLICATION OF METHODS
The system of collecting and assembling field data
employed here may be useful in landslide investigations
in other geologic settings. The statistical techniques
of testing geologic classifications and of combining
quantitative and qualitative variables in the develop-
ment of numerical formulas may prove effective in
other landslide areas. Statistical methods similar to
those developed in this landslide study should produce
worthwhile results in other fields of geologic engineering
research.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF APPLICATION OF LANDSLIDE AND
SLOPE STABILITY DATA
To illustrate the practical application of the slope
stability and landslide data, detailed landslide classi-
fication studies were made of lakeshore land in the
N inemile area along Franklm D. Roosevelt Lake and in
the Alameda Flat area along the reservoir behind Chief
Joseph Dam. The classification of the Ninemile area
(pl. 3) is presented according to sections of the lake-
shore which have a constant geologic setting. Some of
the analyses are based upon only a specifically selected
profile location, Whereas others are based upon com-
posite data where several hundred feet of the lake banks
have similar conditions. The classification data for
the Alameda Flat area (pl. 6) is presented in tabular
form (table 5).
Research investigations did not provide data to
predict when any Specific potential slide area will
slide, and it seems doubtful they ever could. The
following classifications were made on the premise that
in land—use problems we are concerned only with areas
which may fail in the foreseeable future—which future
might be defined as the next 50 to 100 years. From a
theoretical standpoint, landsliding may continue until
all of the surficial deposits are removed from the rock
valley of the Columbia, but consideration of time meas-
ured on the geologic scale was not thought to be a
practical premise for the landslide classification.
Where landslides are likely to affect the lakeshore
land under prevailing conditions, the estimated maxi-
mum extent of landslide action is shown on the maps
by a line designated A. This is an estimate based on
the best available data and applies to conditions of
maximum submergence by the reservoirs involved. In
certain areas the lakeshore land is suitable for develop-
ments such as irrigated farming, which could change
ground-water conditions from low to high. A study
has been made in these areas of the probable extent of
landslide action under these postulated changes. This
estimate of maximum landslide action is shown by the
line designated B.
Two mimeographed computation sheets were used in
the fieldwork—one for the prediction of slope stability
by the discriminant-function method, and one for the
prediction of HOzVO ratio of slump-earthflow land—
slides where it was applicable. Samples of both sheets
are shOWn below. All computations were made with a
slide rule in the field at the time of examination and are
considered sufficiently accurate for the use to Which
they were put.
NINEMILE AREA (FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LAKE)
The following is a detailed description of a landslide
classification on the shoreland along Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake in the Ninemile area using the data
and guiding formulas developed in the landslide and
Slope stability research. To aid in following the de-
scription, the reader is referred to plate 3. The classi-
fication begins at lake mile 49.7 on the left bank and
extends uplake along the left bank to lake mile 55.25.
It then begins at lake mile 49.7 on the right bank and
extends to lake mile 55.25.
Lake mile 49.7 to 50.8 left bank—The lakeshore land
in this section consists of a broad terrace which has a
surface altitude of 1,900 feet. The scarp of the ter-
race has been cut into a series of alternating ridges and
alcoves by ancient landslides and subsequent erosion.
Materials of the lower part of the terrace are predomi—
nantly silt and clay of material category 1; materials
of the upper 200 to 400 feet of the terrace are princi-
pally sand and gravel. Exposures of bedrock in the
area suggest that ancient sliding may have been limited
or controlled to some extent by bedrock. The ancient
sliding was of the slump—earthflow type, and several
small recent slump-earthflow slides have cut into the
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Example of slope stability field sheet
Sheet No. 5
Date 8/18/54
COLUMBIA RIVER LANDSLIDE PROJECT, WASHINGTON
Computation sheet for predicting slope stability (by the discriminant-function method)
Location. Ninemile area, lake mile 53.5 right bank
Formula. Y= —0.021625 log X1+0.003348 log Xz+ 0.00944 log X3+0.006731 X4
where
Y=the discriminant function
X1=original slope
X 2 = submergence percentage
X3=terrace height
X4=ground water: high=0.1 low=0
Tramforma- Transformed
Variable Numerical value hon value . Regression coefficient Product
X1 Original slope 2.0 : 1 Log 0.301 —0.021625 —0.0065
X 2 Submergence percent-
age 85 Log 1.930 .003348 .0065
X3 Terrace height 270 Log 2.430 .009440 .0229
X 4 Ground water low = 0 None 0 .00673 1 0
.0229
Should ground water be changed from low to high the discriminant-function value would be
0.0296
Slopes having discriminant-function values of 0.0106 or less are very stable.
Slopes having discriminant-function values of 0.0106 to 0.0142 are relatively stable.
Slopes having discriminant-function values of above 0.0142 are likely to be affected by land-
slides.
Types of landslides which could develop in this geologic setting slump-earthflow
Remarks: Terrace surface is smooth and favorable for development.
Example of HC:VC field sheet
Sheet No. 5
Date 8/ 1 8/54
COLUMBIA RIVER LANDSLIDE PROJECT, WASHINGTON
Computation sheet for predicting HC:VC ratio of landslides (slump-earthflow type)
Location. Ninemile area, lake mile 58.5 right bank
Formula. Y=—0.6328+0.2460 X1—1.4121 Xz+7.5583 X3+ 1.0338 Xvi—0.4015 X5
Where
Y=log HC: VC ratio of slide
X .=submergence percentage (equivalent angle)
X 2=log of original slope
X3: (X2+1)2/10
X4=ground water (takes value of 0.0 for low and 0.1 for high)
X 5=materia1s. Takes numerical values as follows:
1 = + 0.1
2, 3, & 4=0
5 = — 0. 1
Tramforma- Transformed Regression
Variable Numerical value lion value coefiicient Product
X 1 Submergence 85 Equivalent 0.672 0.2460 0.165
percentage angle
X2 Original slope 2.0 Logarithm .301 — 1.4121 ——.423
(linear)
X3 Original slope (1 +0.301)2 (1+log)2 .170 7.5583 1.285
(quadratic) 10 10
X4 Ground water Low=0 None 0 1.0338 0
X 5 Materials #2 = 0 None 0 .40 1 5 0
Intercept — .6328
.394
Y: Predicted HC:VC 0.894 2.5
95% confidence limit constant .134
Upper limit of HC:VC ratio .528 3.4
ihguld ground water be changed from low to high, upper limit of HC:VC ratio would be
Remarks: Under present ground water conditions it is estimated that slides could
cut back 400 feet from lake shore. If ground water conditions were changed to high
due to irrigation or other causes, slides may cut back 760 feet from lakeshore.
STATISTICAL STUDIES 63
banks. Slope—stability studies of the lakeshore land
from an altitude of 1,300 to 1,400 feet gave discrimi—
nant-function values ranging from 0.0166 to 0.0269,
which indicate that all of the lakeshore land is likely
to be affected by sliding.
A composite study of slope stability considering the
lakeshore land from the lake to the top of the high
terrace gave a discriminant-function value of 0.0194.
Basic data were: slope, 3.9:1; submergence, 25 percent;
terrace height 810 feet; ground water, low. Of the
160 slump—earthflow landslides studied in the statis—
tical work only 2 had original slopes as gentle as 3.9: 1,
and these were located where water conditions are nat—
urally high. These data and the suggestion that the
ancient sliding may have been limited by bedrock lead
to the conclusion that future sliding in the area should
be considered only insofar as it affects the land at lower
altitudes. The broad high-level terrace is favorable
for developing irrigation farming. Should ground-
water conditions be changed to high because of this or
other developments, sliding may extend to about the
present front edge of the terrace. Sliding has devel-
oped at other places similar to this where terraces have
been irrigated, but‘in no place has it been observed to
cut far back into the terrace surface. The B—line on
the map delineates the possible extent of sliding under
such postulated changed conditions.
At lower altitudes on the irregular terrace scarp, the
type of landslide expected in this setting is the slump
earthflow. A slope-stability study of the area at lake
mile 49.7 left bank gave a discriminant-function value of
0.0225, and the H0zVC’ prediction formula indicated
that slides in this area may cut back as far as 750 feet
from the present lakeshore. Basic data were: slope,
2.13:1; submergence, 65 percent; terrace height, 310
feet; ground water, low; material category, 1.
A slope—stability study in the small bay at lake mile
49.8, which has a spring area just above it, gave a
discriminant-function value of 0.0269. Basic data
were: slope, 2.85:1; submergence, 75 percent; terrace
height, 350 feet; ground water, high.
A similar study of the area between lake mile 49.85
and 50.0, left bank, resulted in a discriminant—function
value of 0.0204, and the H01VU prediction formula
indicated that slides may cut back as far as 975 feet
from the lakeshore. Basic data were: slope, 2.56:1;
submergence, 64 percent; terrace height, 310 feet;
ground water, low; material category, 1.
A composite slope-stability study of the area at lake
mile 50.15 left bank gave a discriminant-function value
of 0.0166, and the prediction formula indicates that
slides may cut back as far as 650 feet from the present
lakeshore. Basic data were: slope, 2.2 :1 ; submergence,
5 percent; terrace height, 200 feet; ground water, low;
material category, 1.
From these data the A—line was drawn on the map
to outline what is the maximum extent to which land-
slides are likely to cut into this area under present
conditions.
Lake mile 50.3 to 52.5 left bank—Along this section of
lakeshore, slopes are gentle both above and below full
lake level. The materials are silt, clay, sand, and gravel
disturbed by ancient landslides or glacial processes.
Slope-stability studies indicate that landslides are not
likely in this section under present conditions. Should
ground water be increased from low to high by irriga-
tion of the lakeshore land or other developments, the
slopes will probably remain stable.
Summary of four slope-stability studies
Location (lake mile, Submer- Terrace Ground Discrim-
left bank) Slope gence height water inant
(percent) (feet) function
50. 4 ___________________ 5. 7 42 120 Low ...... 0. 0087
51.2.... _._ 7.7 23 130 -._do _______ .0121
51.7.... ... 3.7 75 _..do _______ .0082
52.3 ................... 4.6 53 150 ...do ....... 0120
Wave banks are not present between lake mile 50.3
and 51.3, but they range in height from 2 to 10 feet
between lake mile 51.3 and 52.5.
Lake mile 52.5 to 53.55 left bank.— The lakeshore land
along this section has a rolling surface which ranges
from 20 to 90 feet above lake level. The topography
probably reflects ancient landsliding or glacial proc-
esses. Exposures along the entire section show dis-
torted and disturbed silt and clay mixed with varying
amounts of sand and gravel. For convenience the
area will be described in two parts—— the lakeshore land
paralleling the lake, and that part along the bay at
lake mile 53.55.
Nearly all the lakeshore land paralleling the lake has
been cut by landslides. Six of the slump-earthflow
landslides included in the research study are in this
stretch. The following table gives a summary of the
slope stability and H0: V0 data of those six slides:
Summary of the slope stabilily and HC:VC ratio
Sub- Dis- Pre-
Mate- Ground Ter- mer— crim- Actual dicted
Landslides rial water race gence Slope inant HC’:VC maxi-
height (per- func- mum
cent) tion HC:VC
2 Low__ 100 10 l 8 0.0167 2.4 2.4
2 _._Do__ 140 64 2.1 0193 2.3 3.2
2 .__Do._ 150 80 1.8 .0214 2.3 3.0
2 -._Do._ 110 82 1.7 .0207 3.3 3.0
2 ..-Do.- 80 62 1 8 .0185 2.0 2.8
2 ___Do._ 120 76 2 7 .0166 3.0 3.9
The discriminant-function value of each landslide indi-
cated that the lakeshore land would be affected by
sliding. Only one landslide, at lake mile 53.2, has cut
64
back farther than the H0: V0 prediction formula indi-
cated it would.
These slides all occurred soon after the lake was filled.
Beach erosion and caving are tending to waste the points
of land between them, and the banks are steeper than
they were originally. The landslide material tends to
flatten out on the bottom of the lake and has little effect
of loading the toe area or of creating a more gentle slope.
For these reasons it is believed that as the shoreline be-
comes straightened by erosion and sloughing, conditions
conducive for another series of landslides will form.
Consequently, the A-line on the classification map has
been drawn, using the H0: V0 prediction formula and
then doubling the computed distance slides may cut
into the bank. The tabulation below gives the esti-
mated distances landshdes may cut in the foreseeable
future. An estimate has also been made of the distance
back slides might out if ground-water conditions were
increased from low to high.
Distance from shore
Distance from present landslides may culif
ahoreline landslides ground water is in-
Location may extend creased to high
(lake mile, left bank) (A-line) (B—line)
52.6 ____________________ 300 375
52 .7 ____________________ 330 41 5
53 .1 ____________________ 31 0 3 80
53.2 ____________________ 100 1 40
53 .4 ____________________ 320 400
53.5 ____________________ 280 380
Small landslides have cut the banks of the bay at
lake mile 53.55 from its mouth to points‘on both banks
about 540 feet from the opposite end. Near this end
slopes become more gentle and submergence becomes
less, so a study was made to determine whether the
banks in this area are likely to fail. A composite
slope-stability study was made on the right bank 250
feet from the end and on the left bank 300 feet from
the end. The discriminant—function value was 0.0107,
which indicates that under present conditions the banks
are very stable. Should the ground~water conditions
be changed to high, the discriminant-function value
would be 0.0174, which indicates the likelihood of
slides. Basic data: slope, 2.35:1; submergence, 33
percent; terrace height, 30 feet; present ground-water
condition, low; material category, 2.
Slope—stability and H0zVO studies were made on
both sides of the bay to determine the probable extent
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
of landslide action in the outer part of the bay. The
classification data and results are:
Sub— ’I‘er-
mer- race Ground Matc— Discrim— HC’:VC
Location Slope genes height water rial inant H 0: VC (high
(per- (feet) function ground
cent) Water)
440 it from end
of bay on
right bank... 1.8 60 50 Low... 2 0.0164 2.8 3.5
700 ft from end
of hay on left
bank _________ 1 65 44 57 ..-do_.__ 2 .0174 2.4 3.1
At the location 440 feet from the end of the bay on
the right bank, slides under present conditions may af-
fect the land 90 feet back from shore. If ground--
water conditions were changed to high, they could affect
the land 125 feet back from shore. At the location
700 feet from the end of the bay on the left bank,
slides could cut back 85 feet under present conditions
and 125 feet under high ground-water conditions.
Lake mile 53.55 to 54.42 left bank—Slopes both
above and below water along this section are very gen-
tle and studies indicate that they will not be affected
by landslides. A measurement at lake mile 53.6 gave
a slope value of about 10:1, and no landslides have oc-
curred in the surficial deposits in the area on so gentle
a slope. A slope—stability study by the discriminant-
function method at lake mile 54.0 gave a value of
0.0127, which indicates a nearly stable condition.
Basic data: slope, 2.8:1; submergence, 29 percent; ter-
race height, 70 feet; ground water, low. A study at
lake mile 54.35 gave a discrimimant—function value of
0.0126 with basic data as follows: slope, 3.9:1; sub-
mergence, 42 percent; terrace height, 120 feet; ground
water, low.
Lake mile 54.42 to 55.25 left bank.—The lakeshore
land in this section consists of broad ridges and steep-
sided valleys alined normal to the lakeshore. Slope—
stability studies indicate that this area is likely to be
afl’ected by landslides, and a few minor ones have al-
ready occurred. The type of slides most likely to cut
these banks is the slump earthflow. At the upstream
end of the section they may be limited by bedrock or
slides off bedrock may occur.
The following is a summary of three slope-stability
studies which have been used as guides in drawing the
Summary of three slope-stability studies
H C : VC under pres- H 0: VC under wet
ent ground-water ground-water con-
Location Slope Submergence Terrace height Ground water Material Discriminant conditions and dis- ditions and distance
(Wrcent) (feet) function value tance back from back slides might
shore slides might cut (feet)
out (feet)
Lake mile 54.45—54.55 ________ 2. 2 30 100 Low _____ 4 0. 0164 2. 9—180 3. 6—250
5 . _______________ 3. 3 25 200 ___do _____ 4 . 0149 3. 9—600 5. 0—900
55.05—55.27 ________ 3. 0 28 320 ___do _____ 4 . 0181 3. 6—1, 050 4. 6-1, 400
STATISTICAL STUDIES
line on the classification map which delineates the area
of potential landslide danger under present conditions
and under high ground-water conditions should they be
changed by developments in the area.
Lake mile 49.7 to 50.33 right bank—The bank in this
section is a steeply dipping bedrock surface which is
covered thinly in places with talus and slope wash.
Bedrock gullies contain minor accumulations of sand
and gravel mixed with bouldery slope wash. There
have been minor talus slides and one small rock slide
along this section. Additional slides of this type will
occur but they are insignificant in relation to land use.
Lake mile 5033 to 50.70 right bank—In this section
the lakeshore land with which we are concerned consists
of two small areas of surficial deposits resting against
steeply dipping bedrock. A slope-stability study of the
larger area (lake mile 50.33 to 50.55) gave a discrimi-
nant-function value of 0.0200. Basic data: material,
category 2; disturbed silt and clay; original slope,
2.85:1; submergence, 61 percent; terrace height, 330
feet; ground water, low. These data indicate that the
point is likely to be affected by slides. Three types of
slides may develop in this setting—slump earthflow,
slump earthflow limited by bedrock, or slides off bed-
rock. Using the prediction formula for slump-earth-
flow slides, it was determined that the H0: V0 may be
as great as 3.9 : 1, which would cut back into the terrace
700 feet from shoreline. This is about 100 feet from
the bedrock line when measured at the broadest part
of the terrace point. It seems more likely that if
failures occur, a part of the surface of rupture will
follow bedrock; consequently, the entire area of sur-
ficial deposits is likely to be affected by slides.
A slope-stability study of the smaller terrace point
between lake mile 50.55 and 50.70 gave a discriminant-
function value of 0.0171, which indicated that it also
may be affected by slides. Slides off bedrock seem
most likely here, as they did in the larger terrace point.
Thus the entire section is likely to slide into the lake.
Lake mile 50.7 to 51.1 right bank—The lake bank
along this section is steeply dipping bedrock covered
thinly in places with talus accumulations. Minor talus-
slump landslides may occur, but they would not affect
use of the lakeshore land.
Bay at lake mile 51.05 right bank (lake mile 51.1 to
51.25), including Ninemile Bay.—Lake banks along
this area are alternating sections of steeply dipping
bedrock and thin patches of surficial deposits of silt,
clay, and sand resting on bedrock. Landslides have
cut the highway in two places. Future landslide action
will be of the following types: slides off bedrock, slip-off
slopes, and slump earthflows limited by bedrock. All
the surficial deposits in this section are expected to be
affected by slides from lake level to the A—line on the
65
map. Bedrock areas Will be free of slides generally,
but small areas of silty and clayey slope wash mixed
with talus and rubble will fail.
Lake mile 51.25 (silt-bedrock contact on left bank of
Ninemile Bay) to 51.8 right bank—The lakeshore topog-
raphy in this section contains the finest example of an
ancient multiple-alcove slide found in the entire invest-
igation. The slide overlies the deep preglacial channel
of N inemile Creek. Materials are principally silt and
clay of material category 1. Ground-water conditions
are high. Sections of the surface of rupture of the
ancient slide can be observed in new wave banks and
minor recent slides along the shore. The high-level
position of this part of the surface of rupture suggests
that the slide occurred before the Columbia River had
cut down to its present level. The probable base of
this old slide is at an altitude of 1,360 feet, or 70 feet
above maximum lake level. The river channel, which
averages 220 feet below maximum lake level, follows
close to this bank. Some new sliding of the slump-
earthflow and slip-off slope types has already taken
place. Slope-stability studies indicated that the entire
area is likely to be affected by future sliding. A study
of a part of the material within the slide scarp at lake
mile 51.5 gave a discriminant-function value of 0.0286.
Basic data: material category, 1; ground water, high;
slope, 2.511; terrace height, 400 feet; submergence, 58
percent.
A slope-stability study of the entire terrace taken
through the center of the ancient slide resulted in a
discriminant-function value of 0.0217. Basic data:
material category, 1; original slope (generalized), 6.221;
submergence, 29 percent; terrace height, 820 feet;
ground water, high.
There may be either slump-earthflow or new multiple-
alcove landslides in this setting. On the average,
multiple-alcove slides have a much larger H0 : V0 ratio
than the slump earthflow and, consequently, the pre-
diction formula cannot be used to estimate the extent of
landslide action. The average H0 : V0 ratio of the 9
multiple-alcove slides measured was 59:1 The ancient
multiple-alcove slide (133) in the Ninemile terrace has
a measured H0 : V0 ratio in excess of 9.2 : 1. (See table
4.) Neither of these ratios seems realistic in estimating
how far new slides could cut. It seems likely, however,
that new major sliding in which the foot of the slide is
lower than the ancient one might tend to rupture along
the same general scarp at higher altitudes. Following
this reasoning, the A—line delineating potential-
landslide action was drawn on the map.
Lake mile 51.8 to 52.75 right bank—An area of ancient
landslides which extends to an altitude of 1,925 feet
makes.up the shoreland topography along this section.
The area is thought to be underlain by channels in the
66
bedrock which extend beneath the broad fill in the
Ninemile Creek valley. Ancient sliding seems to have
been of the slump-earthflow and multiple-alcove types.
There is one recent slump earthflow at lake mile 51.8 to
52.0. Surface materials are disturbed silt and clay of
material category 2, but at depth and a short distance
back in the terrace at an altitude of 1925 feet, materials
are regarded to be in about their original position of
deposition, or in category 1.
Slopes which have been studied between lake mile
51.8 and 52.1 range from 0.7:] to 4.3:1. The under—
water slope is extremely steep down to the old riverbed,
a depth of 220 feet. The slopes are somewhat more
gentle between lake mile 52.1 and 52.75, and the water
depth is about 110 feet down to a submerged terrace.
A slope—stability study at lake mile 51.95 gave a
discriminant-function value of 0.0401. Basic data:
material category, 2; ground water, high; original slope,
0.7:1; submergence, 63 percent; terrace height, 350
feet. The predicted value of H02V0 ratio of a slump—
earthflow landslide at this point would be 3.10:1.
Thus a slide would extend 800 feet behind the present
shoreline.
A slope—stability study in the small bay at lake mile
52.2 showed the discriminant-function value to be
0.0149. The H 0 :VO prediction formula here indicated
that a slide could cut back on a slope of 4.621, or 100
feet from the back of the bay. Basic data: original
slope, 2.5:1; submergence, 72 percent; terrace height,
70 feet; ground water, low; material category, 2.
A composite slope—stability study was made of the
section between lake mile 52.3 to 52.65. The discrim-
inant-function value was 0.0154. The predicted
H 0 :VO’ ratio was 4.75:1, which indicates that landslides
could cut back 420 feet from the shore. Basic data:
material category 2; ground water, low; submergence,
71 percent; original slope, 3.4:1; terrace height, 155
feet. A study was also made of H0zVO' ratio should
ground water be changed from low to high, and it was
5.9 :1. In plotting these data to determine the distance
back from shore the slide could cut, it was found that
this slope did not intersect the upper surface of the
lower terrace made up of landslide debris, but passed
into the upper terrace at an altitude of 1,925 feet before
intersecting the surface. At this point a study was
made of the stability of the high terrace, using a gener—
alized slope, from altitude 1,925 to the toe of the scarp
at the bottom of the lake. Using an original slope of
4.3 :1, submergence, 15 percent, terrace height, 740 feet,
and low ground water, the discriminant-function value
was 0.0162, or 0.0020 above the mathematical dividing
line between relatively stable slopes and slopes which
are likely to be afiected by slides. Should ground-
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
water conditions be changed to high, the discriminant-
function value would be 0.0229.
Slides will not affect the upper terrace under present
ground-water conditions; consequently, the A—line
delineating the anticipated extent of landslides in this
area was drawn from the three studies of land at lower
altitudes. It seems entirely possible, however, that
development of the broad Ninemile terrace behind this
potential—slide area could change ground-water condi-
tions to high and induce sliding which would extend
from the lake to the terrace surface.
A study of the probable H0zVU ratio of slump-
earthflow slides showed that they might extend back
from the present lakeshore as much as 4,500 feet, or
on a ratio of 6.6:1. This is an even larger ratio than
the average for multiple-alcove slides of 5.9. Both
types have occurred here, and it seems likely that
under high ground—water conditions and new submer-
gence conditions they could recur. The B—line delin-
eating the possible-extent of slides under these condi-
tions was drawn from these data and reasoning.
Lake mile 52.75 to 53.6 right bank.—Lakeshore land
here consists of a gentle sloping terrace just above
maximum lake level. Its surface ranges from an alti-
tude of 1,290 feet at shoreline to 1,400 feet at a distance
of 1,000 to 1,500 feet back from the shore. The shore-
line is indented by several small bays which extend
back from the main shoreline 200 to 350 feet. Mate—
rials comprising the terrace are principally silt and clay
which are distorted and disturbed due to ancient land-
slide action or glacial processes or both (category 2).
Slopes of the terrace scarp which are mostly submerged
range generally from 2.021 to 3.521. Between lake
mile 53.25 and 53.60 the terrace scarp slopes generally
to the old river channel or to a depth of 200 feet.
Between lake mile 52.75 and 53.25 the terrace scarp
slopes evenly to a depth of 140 feet, the depth of an
underwater terrace.
A composite slope—stability study of the section
between lake mile 52.7 and 52.85 showed original slope,
2.32:1; submergence, 81 percent; terrace height, 155
feet; ground Water, low. The discriminant—function
value was 0.0191, which indicates that the terrace may
be affected by landslides. The type of slide in this
setting which would have the maximum HO: V0 ratio
is a slump earthflow. The prediction formula indi-
cates that the HC:VC ratio here would likely not
exceed 3.56 :1 or cut back more than 290 feet from shore.
A study at lake mile 53.1 resulted in a discriminant-
function value of 0.0167. Predicted H C : VC ratio of a
possible slide was 4.75:1. Thus a slide would cut back
350 feet from shore. Basic data: material category, 2;
ground water, low; submergence, 97 percent; original
STATISTICAL STUDIES
slope, 3.1:1; terrace height, 155 feet. A study at lake
mile 53.5 resulted in a discriminant—function value of
0.0229 and a predicted HC’IVO ratio of 3.4:1, which
indicates that slides could cut back as far as 400 feet
from shore. The A—line delineating the probable extent
of slide action was plotted on the map from these
three studies.
This terrace has a desirable lakeshore location. Its
smooth surface and nearness to a supply of water make
it seem favorable for an irrigated farm development;
consequently, the slide potential was studied, assuming
that such a development was made and that ground-
water conditions were to be changed from low to high.
The discriminant-function value at lake mile 52.75 to
52.85 would rise from 0.0191 to 0.0258; at 53.1 it would
rise from 0.0167 to 0.0234; at 53.5 it would rise from
0.0229 to 0.0296, which suggest a much greater likeli—
hood of landslide action with high ground water.
The HOW/O ratios and the distance slides would
likely cut back from the lakeshore are:
Distance slides
Predicted could cat back
HC: V0 from shore (feet)
Lake mile 52.7—52.85 _____________ 4. 51 480
53 __________________ 6. 0 750
53.5 __________________ 4. 3 760
Using these data, the B—line was drawn on the map to
indicate the probable limit of potential slides if for any
reason ground-water conditions Were changed from low
to high.
Lake mile 53.6 to 53.85 right bank—In this section a
narrow strip of surficial material rests on a steeply dip-
ping bedrock surface. Minor sliding of the slump-
earthflow and slip—off slope type has already taken
place. Its extent has been limited in places by bed-
rock. The principal materials are disturbed and
distonted silt and clay, although above high-water
sand, gravel, and slope wash predominate. For slope—
stability studies materials were classified as category 2.
A composite slope-stability study was made of the
bank between lake mile 53.6 and 53.7. The original
slope was 2.40:1; submergence, 83 percent; terrace
height, 205 feet; ground water, low. The discriminant-
function value was 0.0191. A second composite study
was made from lake mile 53.7 to 53.85, with the fol-
lowing basic data: original slope, 2.06:1; submergence,
87 percent; terrace height, 240 feet; ground water, low.
The value of the discriminant function was 0.0289.
Both parts of the section are likely to be affected by
future landsliding. The types of slides most likely in
this setting are slides off bedrock or slump earthflows
limited by bedrock. It was judged from these data
that the line delineating the extent of probable land--
slide sction should follow the contact between surficial
deposits and bedrock.
67
Lake mile 53.6 (altitude 1,600 feet) to lake mile 54.9
right bank—Landslides have already cut into about
two-thirds of the shoreland between lake miles 53.6
and 55.0 and will likely affect the remainder. Slide
types in this section are multiple-alcove, slump-earth-
flow, slump-earthflow limited by bedrock, slides off
bedrock, and slip-off slopes. These slides out into a ter-
race which averages 1,900 feet in altitude. Only the
multiple-alcove slide at lake mile 53.6 to 54.0 cuts into
terrace surface. This slide (145) enlarged in 1906
following the San Francisco earthquake, and slide
material partly dammed the flow of the river for about
45 minutes. This multiple-alcove feature is shown on
the geologic map (pl. 3) and on the Wilmont Creek
quadrangle map as “The Slide.” Surficial materials
of the high terrace are silt and clay interbedded with
sand and gravel (material category 1). Openwork
gravel just above an altitude of 1,290 feet shows crack-
ing and crushing Which suggest that a part of the terrace
has been overridden by ice. The terrace scarp betWeen
lake mile 54.5 and 54.9 becomes less steep and joins a
lower terrace which has an altitude of 1,300 to 1,400
feet. The materials in this transition zone and in the
lOWeI‘ terrace are predominantly disturbed silt and clay
of material category 2. Bedrock projects through the
surficial deposits at several places but neither in suffi-
cient amount nor in a position to limit future land-
sliding. The slope of the terrace scarp ranges from
1.3:1 to 2.921. The old channel of the Columbia
River followed the toe of the terrace scarp at an alti-
tude of 1,900 feet between lake mile 53.6 and 54.6
where the water is about 225 feet deep. Water depths
along the terrace scarp lessen to 80 feet between lake
mile 54.6 and 54.9. Ground water is high in the
multiple-alcove slide area where there are many springs
and seeps. There are seeps and wet areas as high as 30
feet above maximum lake altitude between the upstream
edge of the multiple-alcove slide between lake mile
54.0 and 54.4. Above this, on the terrace scarp, are
patches of water-loving vegetation.
Slope-stability studies indicated that all of this sec-
tion may be afiected by future sliding. A slope-
stability computation at lake mile 54.3, where original
slope is 1.5:1, submergence, 30 percent, terrace height,
755 feet, and ground water is high, gave a discriminant-
function value of 0.0350. A computation at lake mile
54.84, Where the slope is 2.9 :1, submergence, 61 percent,
terrace height, 130 feet, and ground water is low, gave
a discriminant-function value of 0.0159.
This entire section of surficial deposits overlies an
area of preglacial channels in the bedrock. One of
these channels leads directly to the multiple-alcove
slide at lake mile 53.6 to 54.0. The remaining part of
the section is probably underlain by the preglacial chan—
68
nel of Wilmont Creek. In this geologic setting, any of
the following types of slides may occur in the future,
and some form of all of them is presently recognizable—
multiple alcove, slump earthflow, slump earthflow
limited by bedrock, slides off bedrock, or slip-off slopes.
The type of slide which has the maximum H0:VC’
ratio that may cut into this lakeshore land is the
multiple alcove, so for this type the formula for pre-
dicting the H01VC ratio of slump-earthflow landslides
is of no assistance in judging how far back future slides
will cut.
Examination of table 8 showed that the average HO:
V0 ratio for multiple-alcove slides was 5.9 :1 and that the
only recent slide of this type had a ratio of 6.2 :1. Using
this as a guide, it was judged that slides in this area may
cut back as far as 6.0 :1 from the toe of the terrace scarp.
At lake mile 53.8 the distance is 3,200 feet from the
shoreline; at lake mile 54.2 it is 3,000 feet; at lake mile
54.3 it is 3,300 feet. The line delineating the area of
potential landslides in this section was drawn on the
map from the above data.
Lake mile 54.9 to 55 .25 right bank—Slopes along this
section are generally similar both above and below lake
level. One small bay indents the shoreline. The
terrace, which averages about 70 feet in height, is sub—
merged 86 percent at full lake level. The terrace scarp
has an average slope of 5.7 :1 except in the small bay at
lake mile 55.0 where slopes are more gentle. Present
ground-water conditions are low. Materials in this
section are not exposed at full lake level, but exposures
examined during stages of lake drawdown revealed that
they are principally disturbed silt and clay of category 2.
A composite slope-stability study resulted in a discrimi-
nant-function value of 0.0071 which indicates that the
terrace is very stable. This section of lakeshore terrace
is favorable for developing irrigation farming.
A study was made to determine whether this section
would remain stable if ground-water conditions were
changed from low to high. This composite slope-
stability study resulted in a discriminant function value
of 0.0138, which indicates that the terrace would be
relatively stable. Wave-cut banks along the lake front
range from 3 to 8 feet in height. Wave-cut banks in
the small bay are minor.
GEOLOGY AND LANDSLIDE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ALAMEDA FLAT AREA
(LAKE RUFUS WOODS)
The Alameda Flat area of Lake Rufus Woods was
also selected to illustrate the practical usefulness of
the landslide and slope—stability research. The land—
slide-classification data are summarized on table 5.
The results of the classification studies are shown on
plate 6 and the geology of the area is discussed below.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Bedrock of the Alameda Flat area is chiefly the
granite of the Colville batholith.
Interbedded till and angular basalt gravel are exposed
in secs. 7, 17, and 18, T. 30 N., R. 29 E. The till has
a matrix of sandy silt and is dark gray; stones in it
are predominantly basalt. Relations between the
deposit and the other map units are not known but
it is probably older, at least in part, than the fluvial
sand and gravel unit discussed below.
A fluvial sand and gravel is exposed in the bluffs
above the Columbia River between altitudes of 910
and 970 feet at the west end of the Alameda Flat
area. The gravel is composed of rounded pebbles and
cobbles in beds 2 to 4 feet thick that are foreset down-
stream. The stones are predominantly granite;
although a small percentage of basalt is present. They
are conspicuously fractured and crushed though gener—
ally unweathered. Coarse-grained to very coarse-
grained sand is interbedded in layers 6 inches to 10
feet thick; it is composed of unweathered fragments
of granite minerals. A few feet of undifferentiated
lacustrine silt overlies the fluvial deposit and immedi-
ately underlies the gravel surface on the 1,000-foot
terrace on the north bank at Mah—kin Rapids (pl. 6).
Lacustrine silt and clay is exposed in the bluffs
above the Columbia River and in the numerous trib—
utary gullies from river level to an altitude of 1,200
feet throughout most of the Alameda Flat area. Its
lower contact was not observed. The unit is com-
posed primarily of silt and clay in finely laminated
beds }6 to 2 inches thick. Varve structure generally
is not well developed though some grading is faintly
discernible. BetWeen altitudes of 1,000 and 1,200
feet, fine and very fine sand is interbedded with the
silt and clay. The sand almost invariably occurs in
graded beds; those measured range in thickness from
3 to 27 inches. In bulk, these graded sand beds prob-
ably make up less than 20 percent of the deposit.
Ice-rafted pebbles are scattered throughout the unit.
In parts of the lacustrine deposit the bedding is
greatly contorted. The contortion is commonly con-
fined to layers several feet thick that are overlain and
underlain with sharp contact by undisturbed beds.
This deformation was probably caused by slump or
flowage on a lake bottom when the distorted material
formed the lake bottom.
A lacustrine sand that occurs between altitudes of
1,200 and 1,300 feet overlies the lacustrine silt and
clay unit with abrupt contact. The sand is composed
almost entirely of fine- and medium-grained sand in
beds 1 to 4 inches thick although thin beds and lenses
of coarse-grained sand are present in the deposit
between altitudes 1,280 and 1,300 feet in the extreme
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
northwest corner of sec. 4, T. 30 N., R. 29 E. In con-
trast to the underlying sequence, the beds are undis-
turbed. The lacustrine sand is overlain, with erosional
contact, by the gravel of the 1,320- to 1,360-foot terrace
deposit. The upper surface of the sand deposit proba-
bly was never much higher than at present; only minor
erosion occurred during the deposition of the overlying
gravel.
Other surficial deposits in the Alameda Flat area
include channel gravel, alluvial-fan deposits, and wind-
blown sand. These deposits are included in one map
unit because contacts between them are not well ex-
posed. Channel gravel forms terraces at and below
1,400 feet and was deposited by the Columbia River
during postglacial dissection of the valley-fill deposits.
The gravel is a few feet to at least 70 feet thick and is
mostly of pebble size. Large areas of the terraces are
overlain by alluvial fans of sand and silt as much as 50
feet thick. Windb10wn sand that forms small dunes
and thin sheets also veneers the terrace deposits.
Some time after the cutting of the 1,120-foot terrace
in secs. 3 and 4, T. 30'N., R. 29 E. landslides occurred
along the scarp at the back of the terrace; the debris
of these slides forms long narrow ridges on the surface of
the 1,120-foot terrace.
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
By DANIEL R. EMBODY
In this investigation a particular group of landslides
was selected for study. Modern statistical methods
were used to solve the problems of indentification and
prediction. As far as the writers are aware, this in-
vestigation is one of the first attempts to study land-
slides by statistical methods. Very little recorded
experience has been available for guidance.
During this work many intuitive judgments were
made to obtain some of the answers. Only as later
investigators test these judgments in other situations
will their overall usefulness be appraised. This section
of the report discusses the overall experimental logic,
the statistical concepts employed, the assumptions
implied, and the interpretations drawn.
Statistical work was not begun until all the measure-
ments of the slides had been made and recorded. The
first attempts to analyze the data consisted of averaging
the H C : V0 ratios for the various classifications. From
preliminary analysis it appeared that a number of the
factors under study might affect the slides, and a series
of more comprehensive analyses were made. Grad-
ually the data were examined in greater detail until
the final analyses presented in the report were made.
The analysis of slides and stable slopes indicated that
both the occurrence of slides and their resultant H 0: V0
ratio could be predicted. In drawing conclusions from
69
the data an important factor is the reproducibility of
the field measurements. The uniformity experiment
was planned and executed to evaluate this reproduci-
bility.
ASSUMPTIONS MADE IN THE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE
The assumptions, logic, and numerical details of the
commonly used statistical methods are described by
Davies (1954), Fisher (1946), Fisher (1947), Goulden
(1952), Kempthorne (1953), Mather (1943), Snedecor
(1946), Youden (1953). No attempt will be made in
this section to give numerical details.
Generally the statistical methods used in the land-
slide inquiry were specific applications of the general
technique of analysis of variance originated by R. A.
Fisher in the late 1920’s. Briefly, this technique pro-
vides a uniform pattern for designing experiments,
analyzing data, and making statements of probability
regarding certain hypotheses. Scientists in nearly all
fields have accepted the analysis of variance as a proper
basis for constructing the various judgments which are
the products of their inquiry.
For data to be analyzed properly by the analysis of
variance, a number of requirements must be fulfilled.
Complete statements of these requirements and the
consequences to be expected if they are violated are
given by Cochran (1938), Cochran (1947), and
Eisenhart (1947).
In the landslide investigations careful attention was
given to the data so that the requirements for analysis
could be met. In this section a brief summary of
requirements will be given so that the landslide data
and the validity of the analyses made may be discussed.
The three major requirements for experimental ob-
servations are as follows:
1. Experimental errors must be distributed normally.
2. Experimental errors must be uncorrelated.
3. Experimental errors must form a homogeneous dis-
tribution with a single variance.
For detailed definitions of the ' term “experimental
errors,” see Cochran (1938), Cochran (1947), and
Eisenhart (1947).
A fourth requirement is generally mentioned at this
point; namely, that the effects of the classifications
ground water and materials must be additive over the
range of the data. This factor is extremely impor-
tant and was the subject of a detailed test with each of
the landslide analyses. As will be noted, with each of
the analyses for the H0: V0 ratio, a test for interaction
was made which indicated whether the treatments and
conditions were additive.
It is generally argeed that the requirement for nor-
mality of the experimental errors is the least important
70
of the three. Except Where departure from normality
is very large, the consequences can be ignored.
Correlation among experimental errors is a more
serious requirement. It can be seen that if the errors
for a particular treatment tend to be in one direction
(postively correlated) then part of the error will become
entangled with the treatment effect. As such, the
estimate of the treatment effect may be biased on the
high side, whereas estimate of experimental error may
be biased on the low side. The exact opposite would
be true if errors were negatively correlated; that is, if
one error in a series is associated with an error in the
opposite direction.
The requirement that the errors must form a single
homogeneous distribution with a single variance is also
a critical requirement. For the tests of significance to
be valid, this requirement must be fulfilled.
RECONCILIATION OF PROPERTIES OF FIELD DATA
AND THEORETICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR VALIDITY
Of the 12 combinations of ground water and material,
6 contained observations on 17 or more slides. The
table below shows the number of slides, the mean
HCzVC ratio, the standard deviation, and the low-
high extreme values.
Mean Lower Upper
Number E C : VC Standard eItreme extreme
of slides ratio deviation observation observation
17 _____________ 3. 35 0. 869 2. 0 5. 3
22 _____________ 2. 55 . 764 1. 5 3. 8
21 _____________ 2. 22 . 753 1. 1 4. 3
39 _____________ 2. 22 . 592 1. 5 3. 8
33 _____________ 2. 05 . 470 1. 2 3. 3
21 _____________ 1. 84 . 344 1. 3 2. 5
The method by which the means and standard devi-
ations were calculated is described by Snedecor (1946,
p. 17—20).
Means are slightly but consistently nearer the lower
extreme in each of the six groups, indicating that the
data are not normally distributed. Standard devi-'
ations are obviously correlated with means so that the
larger means have the larger standard deviations.
Thus, these rather primitive tests indicate that experi-
mental errors violate 2 of the 4 requirements listed and
statistical analyses made would not necessarily yield
valid results.
The question as to Whether errors are correlated
cannot be examined simply. Correlation among errors
might arise from two causes: first, the observations may
not have been obtained in a random order and slow
changes in measurement techniques may have brought
about similar errors in adjacent slides; second, several
slides with almost identical measurements may fre-
quently occur side by side. Such slides may not be
independent, and the experimental errors may tend to
be correlated.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
No formal randomizing was performed (except in the
uniformity experiment) in measuring the slides. How-
ever, some slides were measured and remeasured many
times. It is believed that by these repetitions in many
different orders, the methods of measurement were
applied vm'thout significant trends. The question of
the independence of adjacent slides must be left for
later investigations. It was judged, however, that the
effect was not serious.
The problem of heterogeneous errors was solved by
transforming the H0: VC observations to base-10 log—
arithms. The logarithm transformation and the kinds
of situations where it is useful are thoroughly described
by Bartlett (1947) and Cochran (1938). Data for the
6 groups with 17 or more slides are converted to log—
arithms as follows:
Mean log Standard Standard error
Number of slides HC:VO ratio deviation of estimate
17 _________________ 0. 512 0. 113 0. 1040
22 _________________ . 388 . 132 . 0844
21 _________________ . 323 . 146 . 0956
39 _________________ . 333 . 111 . 0662
33 _________________ . 300 . 099 . 0884
21 _________________ . 258 . 081 . 0534
The method by Which the standard errors of estimates
were calculated is described by Snedecor (1946, p.
274—285).
The observations in logarithms showed no apparent
correlations between means and standard deviations.
To further examine the situation, the independent
effects of original slope, both linear and quadratic, and
submergence percentage were removed by regression
methods to give standard errors of estimate for each of
the six groups. No correlation between means and
standard deviations was apparent. It was judged that
the variances of the transformed data were substan-
tially equal.
Deviations from the upper and lower extremes of the
data converted to logarithms are shown for the six
groups:
Mean log EC:VC
ratio
Deviation to upper
Deviation to lower eztreme extreme
0.211 __________________ 0.512 0.212
0. 212 __________________ . 388 . 192
0. 287 __________________ . 323 . 306
0. 144 __________________ . 258 . 140
0. 221 __________________ . 300 . 162
0. 157 __________________ . 300 . 247
The means appear to be approximately at the centers
of the ranges. Of the 6 groups, 3 show larger deviations
on the high side and 3 show larger deviations on the low
side. The distributions of errors are substantially
symmetrical.
Since no previous experience with landslide data was
available upon which to draw, it was arbitrarily judged
that the experimental errors of the landslide data when
converted to logarithms were approximately normally
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES 71
distributed with equal variances. It was further judged
that the data transformed to logarithms could be prop—
erly analyzed and interpreted by the method of analysis
of variance.
In forecasting the HCzVO ratio the regression equa—
tion gives the logarithm of the H 0 :VC ratio. The
antilogarithm gives the geometric mean of the estimate
rather than the arithmetic mean. The writers made no
effort to convert to arithmetic means but recognize that
such a step might be desirable. Finney (1941) discus-
ses this problem for those who wish to study it in further
detail.
EXPERIMENTAL LOGIC, TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE
AND PRECISION
Attention will now be directed toward the logical
patterns which were followed. In general, the experi-
mental logic as set forth by R. A. Fisher (1947) was
followed. In each analysis the problem at issue was
developed in specific terms to fit the pattern for the
analysis of variance. The null hypothesis became the
possible solution and the f-test provided the test of
significance. For a discussion of the concept of the
null hypothesis, the test of significance, and the basic
principles of inquiry, reference is made to the paper of
C. M. Mottley and Daniel R. Embody (1942).
The test of significance evaluates the probability that
our result (correlation, differences among means, and
other factors) could occur because of chance causes
alone. As a result of experiences by many scientists in
many fields it is customary to attach the term “signifi—
cant” to a result if it could occur by chance with a
probability of 1 to 20 or less. The term “highly signif-
icant” is attached to results where the explanation in
terms of chance causes is 1 to 100 or less. It is recog-
nized that these specifications are arbitrary conventions.
The test of significance is the evidence upon which the
scientific judgment is constructed. If the f-test shows
high significance, it becomes apparent that chance can—
not reasonably explain the results. If all other consid-
erations appear to be in proper form, then the scientist
makes the judgment that a real effect has in fact been
demonstrated. The judgment is based upon the test of
significance, but the scientist in charge must make the
judgment.
When significance but not high significance occurs in
the test then the judgment can be made, but the data do
not give as strong support. If no significance is indi-
cated, chance may then provide a satisfactory explana-
tion. The efl’ect may be real, but the experimental
observations do not have the capacity to demonstrate
its existence.
Further study can be made in these tests to determine
the power of the test of significance; that is, possible to
estimate the smallest difference that could be detected
with a specified probability. If this smallest difference
appears to be of no economic consequence, inquiry may
be terminated. If economic importance could be
attached to the smallest difference, then further inquiry
may be indicated. A detailed discussion of the subject
of the power of tests with tables and references is given
by Kempthorne (1953).
The desirable precision of H C :VO ratio predictions
is a 95—percent confidence limit. In designed experi-
ments where the correlations among independent vari—
ables are zero, the 95-percent confidence limits are
relatively simple to calculate. In the landslide investi-
gation, however, the independent variables were all
highly correlated and the calculation of 95-percent
confidence limits for a predicted value would be tedious.
For a complete discussion of the subject see Schultz
(1930.)
In the landslide study the standard error of estimate
was used to describe the precision of predictions. This
measure, although crude, would have immediate prac-
tical use in the field. A discussion of the standard
error of estimate is given in Snedecor (1946).
It should be strongly emphasized that the results of
the research in this investigation have not proved that
landslides are predictable by statistics. The statistical
analyses merely were used as tools to obtain probability
statements. The conclusions and judgments made in
the statistical parts of this report were made by the
writers and responsibility must rest on them. These
judgments can be considered as true and proper only
if the community of scientists tests and accepts them.
Other workers who plan to use the results of the in-
quiries must test and retest the various concepts
presented.
SPECIFIC METHODS AND SOURCES
The various statistical methods employed in the
landslide investigation are listed as follows:
1. Simple analysis of variance.
The uniformity experiment was patterned after
simple analysis of variance. Davies (1954),
Fisher (1946), (1947), Goulden (1952), Snedecor
(1946), and Youden (1953) describe this method.
2. Analysis of covariance with disproportionate num-
bers in the subclasses.
This technique was used in the analyses with the
H0:VO ratio. Patterns were obtained from
Kempthorne (1953), Snedecor and Cox (1935),
Tsao (1945)1, (1942), (1946), and Yates (1933).
1 Tsao, Fei, 1945, General solution of the analysis of variance and covariance in the
case of unequal or disproportionate numbers of observations in the subclasses: Unpub.
thesis, Univ. Minnesota, 115 p.
72
3. Multiple regression analysis.
Final prediction equations were developed by
this method.
Techniques were obtained from Fisher (1946),
Kempthorne (1953), and Snedecor (1946).
4. Discriminant functions.
References for this method are Durand (1941),
Fisher (1936; 1946), Goulden (1952), Mather
(1943), Park and Day (1942).
5. Transformations.
References, Bartlett (1947), Cochran (1938; 1947),
Snedecor (1946).
6. Tests for parallelism.
Reference Snedecor (1946).
SUMMARY OF RECONNAISSANCE SEISMIC SURVEYS
By ROBERT M. HAZLEWOOD
Refraction seismic surveys of four small areas in the
upper Columbia River valley were made to determine
the position of the bedrock surface underlying the
Pleistocene terrace deposits because landsliding in the
terrace deposits may be influenced by the position and
the configuration of that surface.
The terrace deposits are composed of clay, silt, sand,
and gravel which range in thickness from a few feet to
700 feet or more. Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamorphic
and igneous rocks form the bedrock. They consist
principally of quartzite, schist, gneiss, and granite.
The seismic-refraction method was applicable here
because of the contrast in velocities between the meta-
TRAVERSE 13
0.400
0.320
0.240
0.160
TIME, IN SECONDS
0.080
O. 000 l I I I I I l l I I | I I I I | l I l I L
Shell 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 Shot‘
pom
pm
26 DISTANCE, IN FEET 27
d GROUND SURFACE
:
i 1400—
3; 1300-
g1200- SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
g 1100-
‘ 1000/
E
u 900
u.
z 800-
:5 700.. BEDROCK
8 600~
+—
: 500
_J
<
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
morphic and igneous rocks and the surficial deposits
composed of clay, silt, sand, and gravel deposits.
Reconnaissance seismic measurements were made
along the shores of the northern part of Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake in the Reed terrace and Ninemile areas
and also along the Columbia River in the Nespelem
River area, which is 12 miles downstream from Grand
Coulee Dam (figs. 1, 10). Fieldwork was done from
July 15 to August 28, 1952, and additional work in the
Reed terrace area was done from June 8 to 26, 1953.
Fred 0. Jones, who was in charge of the geologic stud-
ies, selected the areas for investigation and furnished
the necessary maps and geologic information.
FIELD MEASUREMENTS
The survey was made with a portable 12-trace
refraction seismograph unit, and the reversed profile
method of shooting was used for bedrock depth deter-
minations. In this method the geophones are arranged
in a straight line and dynamite is detonated alternately
in shotholes at the ends of the line. Because the depth
to bedrock ranged from less than 50 to more than 750
feet, profiles were 500 to 2,400 feet in length to obtain
the necessary depth of penetration. Geophones were
spaced at 100-foot intervals along the 1,200-foot
profiles and at 200 feet along the 2,400—foot profiles.
The geophones were placed in shallow holes 4 to 6
inches in depth to reduce background noise caused by
wind. Because the material lying near the surface of
the ground was extremely dry, large charges of ex-
TRAVERSE 8
0.400
0.320
0.240
0160
TIME. IN SECONDS
0.080
000 I | I l I
Shot 200 400
point
15
I I I l l I | I I l | I l l l |
600 800 1000 1200 14001600 1800 2000 Shot
DISTANCE, IN FEET “I"?
GROUND SURFACE
1400 *—
1300 —
1200 —
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
BEDROCK
ALTITUDE. IN FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL
FIGURE 43.-—Sample time-distance curves and bedrock profiles for Reed terrace area, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, Wash.
SUMIMARY 0F RECONNAISSANCE SEISMIC SURVEYS
plosives were needed to send seismic impulses to distant
geophones. From 10 to 50 pounds of 60 percent dyna-
mite was used per shothole. Electric seismic blasting
caps were used to detonate the explosive. A power
auger mounted on a jeep was used where possible to
drill shotholes to depths from 10 to 25 feet. Where
it was not possible to use the power auger, shotholes
4 to 6 feet deep were dug by hand.
A total of 50 profiles were shot: 37 in the Reed terrace '
area, 9 in the Ninemile area, and 4 in the Nespelem
River area.
Depths were computed by a critical-distance formula,
assuming a single dipping layer, and were checked by
means of the time-intercept method. The measure-
ments were made over even ground and few altitude
corrections were necessary. A sample of travel-time
curves for Reed terrace area is shown on figure 43.
RESULTS
The terrace deposits varied greatly in their moisture
content. Where the deposits were dry or nearly so,
the velocity ranged from 1,500 to 3,500 feet per second.
Where the terrace materials were water soaked, the
velocity was uniformly 5,000 feet per second. The
velocities in the individual beds Within the terraces
were so similar that lithologic changes were not evi-
dent. The velocity in the bedrock ranged from 15,000
to 19,000 feet per second.
A bedrock contour map was prepared for the Reed
terrace area. In the Ninemile and Nespelem River
areas suflicient data were not available to prepare
contour maps, and only the location of the shotpoints
and the depths to bedrock are given.
REED TERRACE AREA
The Reed terrace area includes one large terrace and
several smaller terraces at higher and lower levels. The
surficial deposits are composed of clay, silt, sand, and
gravel (pl. 1). The bedrock is quartzite, gneiss, and
schist.
Depths to bedrock are shown in the table below.
Shotpoints and bedrock contours are shown on plate 1.
Measurements in the uppermost terrace in the north-
western part of the Reed terrace area (the Sherman
Creek terrace) show an old valley in the bedrock surface
draining southeast into the sediments underlying the
largest terrace (Main terrace). The velocity in the
material underlying the Sherman Creek terrace is
is 1,500 to 3,000 feet per second. This velocity is
lower than that in water-soaked material, and it
suggests that there is little or no movement of water
in the channel from the upper terrace to the lower
main terrace. The possibility of seasonal movement
of water is not excluded. In the other parts of the
Seismic results Reed terrace area
73
Depth to
Shotpoint Shotpoint Bedrock
bedrock altitude altitude
1 __________________ 90 1,490 1,400
2 __________________ 150 1,490 1,340
3 __________________ 422 1,490 1,068
4 __________________ 410 1,490 1,080
5 __________________ 597 1,470 873
6 __________________ 47 1,493 1,446
7 __________________ 53 1,496 1,444
8 __________________ 328 1, 496 1, 168
9 __________________ 439 1,491 1,052
10 _________________ 441 1, 482 1, 041
11 _________________ 2'15 1, 585 1, 370
12 _________________ 204 1,535 1,331
13 _________________ 220 1,601 1,381
14 _________________ 220 1,584 1, 364
15 _________________ 333 1,490 1,157
16 _________________ 765 1,450 685
17 _________________ 560 1,310 750
18 _________________ 144 1,310 1,166
19 _________________ 240 1,450 1,210
20 _________________ 237 1,450 1,213
21 _________________ 459 1,479 1,020
22 _________________ 553 1,470 917
23 _________________ 541 1,458 917
24 _________________ 520 1,470 950
25 _________________ 385 1,490 1,105
26 _________________ 576 1,478 902
27 _________________ 455 1,490 1,035
28 _________________ 175 1,515 1,340
29 _________________ 401 1,491 1,090
30 _________________ 170 1,455 1,285
31 _________________ 225 1,455 1,230
32 _________________ 245 1,795 1,550
33 _________________ 230 1,805 1,575
34 _________________ 66 1,780 1,714
35 _________________ 126 1, 790 1, 664
36 _________________ 155 1,700 1,545
37 _________________ 91 1,660 1,569
38 _________________ 91 1,650 1,559
39 _________________ 45 1,590 1,545
40 _________________ 525 1,340 815
41 _________________ 102 1, 325 1, 223
42 _________________ 226 1, 438 1, 212
43 _________________ 252 1,490 1,238
44 _________________ 37 1, 622 l, 585
45 _________________ 115 1,515 1,400
46 _________________ 220 1,470 1,250
47 _________________ 190 1,510 1,320
48 _________________ 185 1,475 1,290
49 _________________ 265 1, 475 1, 210
50 _________________ 632 1, 299 667
51 _________________ 305 1,290 985
52 _________________ 110 1,800 1,690
53 _________________ 221 1,790 1,569
54 _________________ 148 1,785 1,637
55 _________________ 218 1,802 1,584
56 _________________ 535 l, 450 915
57 _________________ 241 1,500 1,259
58 _________________ 390 1, 490 1, 100
59 _________________ 469 1, 485 1, 016
60 _________________ 425 1,485 1,060
61 _________________ 550 1, 479 929
385 1,490 1,105
504 1,470 966
64 _________________ 170 1,500 1,330
65 _________________ 320 1, 490 1, 170
66 _________________ 90 1, 490 1, 400
67 _________________ 221 1,455 1,234
68 _________________ 256 1,500 1,244
69 _________________ 539 1,470 931
70 _________________ 118 1,775 1,657
71 _________________ 255 1, 798 1, 543
72 _________________ 120 1, 800 1, 680
73 _________________ 88 1, 841 1, 753
74 _________________ 220 1, 800 1, 580
75 _________________ 220 1, 790 1, 570
74: LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
Reed terrace area, a uniform velocity of about 5,000
feet per second was observed in the surficial deposits,
indicating water-soaked material; and, in fact, the
silt and sand were saturated with water where holes
were drilled through the overlying dry surface. The
average velocity in bedrock throughout the area. was
17,000 feet per second.
NIN EMILE AREA
The seismic investigations were done on Ninemile
Flat (pl. 3) and in the ancient multiple-alcove land—
slide to the south. Pleistocene deposits, chiefly silt
and clay with some sand and gravel, overlie Paleozoic
and Mesozoic metamorphic rocks in this area.
Depths to bedrock are shown in the table below; the
locations of the shotpoints are shown on plate 3. The
depths to bedrock indicate that there is an old valley in
the bedrock beneath N inemile Flat. The line shot
west to east (shotpoints 3, 5, 6 and 7) shows the bedrock
surface to be dipping to the west into the valley. The
velocity of 3,500 to 4,000 feet per second in the over-
burden along this line indicates that these materials
were not water soaked. The velocity of 5,000 feet per
second in the overburden in the buried valley, however,
indicates water—soaked conditions and suggests that
the subsurface drainage probably follows the old valley.
Seismic results, Ninemr'le area
Shotpolnt Depth to Shotpolnt Bedrock
bedrock altitude altitude
599 l, 885 1, 286
630 l, 860 1, 230
477 1, 890 1, 413
475 1, 900 1, 425
275 1, 900 1, 625
278 1, 920 1, 642
265 1, 940 1, 675
361 1, 860 1, 499
315 1, 460 1, 145
406 1, 440 1, 034
385+ l, 390 l, 005—
1 Incomplete, at least 385+.
NESPELEM RIVER AREA
In the Nespelem River area, seismic profiles were run
across Bailey Basin (pl. 5). The overburden is com-
posed of clay, silt, sand and gravel. The bedrock is
granite. The east end of Bailey Basin is formed by a
landslide scarp; the floor is landslide debris. The sur-
face material was exceedingly dry sand with a large
amount of very coarse gravel, making it almost impossi-
ble to dig shotholes.
Depths to bedrock are shown in the table below;
the locations of the shotpoints are shown on plate 5.
On the floor of Bailey Basin velocities of 5,000 feet per
second indicated that the overburden was water soaked.
On the terrace above and to the east of the landslide
scarp, velocities of 2,700 to 4,000 feet per second indi-
cated that the overburden was dry.
Seismic results, N espelem River area
Shotpoint Depth to Shotpoint Bedrock
bedrock altitude altitude
l __________________ 140 1, 040 900
2 __________________ 210 1, 120 910
3 __________________ 74 1, 244 1, 170
4 __________________ 285 1, 600 1, 315
5 __________________ 164 1, 680 1, 516
6 __________________ 300 1, 560 1, 260
7 __________________ 440 l, 540 1, 100
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this investigation indicate that the
seismic-refraction method can, be used successfully
over terrace deposits to determine depths to bedrock.
This method was ideally suited to the area because of
the large contrast between the velocity of the overly—
ing material and the velocity of the bedrock. From
the observed velocities it was possible to determine
whether the terrace materials were dry, relatively dry,
or water soaked. The velocities in the individual beds
of the terrace were so similar that lithologic changes
were not evident.
TABLES OF LANDSLIDE DATA
All landslide and slope-stability data used or referred
to in any part of the study are tabulated in the following
tables (tables 1—9, inclusive). More complete defi—
nitions of classification categories are given in the section
on statistical studies under heading “Field observation
and methods” on page 33.
75
TABLES 0F LANDSLIDE DATA
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0F LANDSLIDE DATA
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TABLES OF LANDSLIDE DATA
79
TABLE 2.—Forty—two slip-of slope landslides used in statistical analysis
Classification and landslide data
Land- .
slide Area I 1 Location I Mate- Original Sub-
No. rial Ground Terrace Drain- slope of mer- Cul- Mate- Time
cate- water 4 height 5 age 0 terrace gence 9 ture 9 rial re- 0 LC” H013 VC 1‘ H0: V0 15
gory 5 (feet) scarp 7 (per- moval 1" slide 11
cent)
Columbia River downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
12 N espelem River ........... River mile (RB) 11.77 2 Low- _ 135 43 1. 2:1 5 71 81 92 200 70 60 1. 2
22 (LB) 15. 3 1 -__do_ _ 335 43 1. 6:1 3 71 81 92 200 400 300 1.3
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
23 Keller Ferry .............. Lake mile (RB) 16. 2 5 Low- - 500 41 1. 5:1 28 71 81 93 400 360 250 1. 4
52 Hellgate-Whltestone ...... (LB) 23. 4 5 .-.do_ _ 420 43 1. 5:1 72 72 81 93 1, 200 450 210 2. 1
53 24. 1 5 -..do- _ 420 43 1. 4:1 73 72 81 93 2, 000 740 360 2.1
54 (RB) 25. 3 5 ...do- . 785 43 1. 5:1 35 71 81 93 500 1,000 560 1. 8
67 Hawk Creek .............. (LB) 37. 5 3 ... 0. _ 440 42 1. 1:1 20 71 82 93 250 70 47 1. 5
68 37. 55 3 -..do- _ 510 42 1. 8:1 31 71 81 93 300 130 80 1. 6
69 37. 9 3 _.-do_ _ 480 43 1.7:1 52 71 81 93 200 200 110 1.8
70 38. 1 3 .-.d0_ _ 170 43 2. 1:1 53 71 81 93 200 100 40 2. 5
72 Spokane River arm ....... Mlle (BB) .2 5 ___do. - 115 43 2. 8:1 48 71 81 93 250 90 35 2. 6
73 (LB) . 5 5 ___do_ _ 480 42 1. 2:1 46 71 81 93 200 70 55 1. 3
75 . 8 5 --_do_ _ 400 42 1. 8:1 52 71 82 93 150 90 60 1. 5
76 .9 5 .-.d0. _ 230 42 1. 7:1 35 71 81 93 200 100 70 1. 4
85 10.8 5 190 42 1. 7:1 63 71 81 93 350 290 165 1. 8
89 (RB) 12. 5 3 300 42 l. 2: 1 17 71 81 93 300 130 105 1.2
92 (LB) 13. 2 5 210 43 1. 4:1 55 72 81 93 800 120 80 l. 5
105 (BB) 22.1 3 380 43 1. 5:1 12 71 81 93 1, 500 630 380 1. 7
106 28. 2 5 140 43 1. 3:1 14 71 81 93 150 200 120 1.7
138 N inemile .................. Lake mile (LB) 52. 9 2 180 43 1. 5:1 67 71 81 93 140 400 170 2. 4
139 53.0 2 170 43 1. 5:1 71 71 81 93 200 450 170 2. 6
169 Hunters-Nez Perce Creek. (RB) 64. 45 1 360 41 1. 0:1 53 71 81 93 900 350 350 N 1.0
174 65. 1 1 290 41 2. 0: 1 62 71 81 93 1, 650 740 290 2.6
189 Cedonla ................... (LB) 68. 2 5 290 43 1. 6:1 62 71 81 93 200 600 280 2. l
192 Cedonla (Bay 840 ft RB _ 68. 2 5 130 41 1. 7:1 38 71 82 93 220 260 130 2.0
203 Cedonia ................... 69. 1 5 340 43 .9:1 56 71 81 93 150 400 275 1.5
204 Cedonla (Bay 100 ft LB)_. 69. 2 5 190 42 1. 7:1 45 71 81 93 150 250 170 1.5
206 Cedonla (Bay 200 ft LB)._ 69. 2 5 180 42 1. 7: 1 39 71 81 92 75 260 170 1. 5
207 Cedonla (Bay 300 ft LB)-. 69. 2 5 180 42 1. 7: 1 39 71 81 93 180 290 165 1. 8
208 Cedonia (Bay 400 ft RB)_. 69. 2 5 170 42 1. 7:1 12 71 82 93 110 160 75 2. 1
209 Ceconia (Bay 500 ft LB) .. 69. 2 5 180 42 1. 7:1 33 71 81 93 150 255 135 1. 9
210 Cec 0111a (Bay 600 ft RB).. 69. 2 5 125 42 1.711 8 71 82 93 300 165 85 1. 9
218 Cec 0111a (Bay 400 ft LB)._ 70.0 2 155 43 1. 5: l 17 71 82 93 75 70 68 1.0
234 Cec. l 70. 9 5 300 43 1. 5:1 60 71 81 93 7 550 270 2.0
239 G111 (RB) 84. 8 l 110 43 2. 6: 1 55 71 81 93 1, 000 110 50 2. 2
245 Rice-Chalk grade ......... (LB) 88. 6 5 280 43 1. 8:1 68 71 81 93 700 220 105 2. l
247 (RB) 90. 3 5 210 43 1. 6:1 52 73 81 93 100 150 85 l. 8
254 Roper Creek .............. 96. 9 5 160 43 1. 7:1 28 71 81 93 700 210 124 l. 7
268 Kettle Falls (200 ft east of (LB) 103. 7 5 300 43 1. 6:1 13 71 82 93 100 270 160 l. 7
Coast and Geo~
detic Survey control
station “EAT” in Mar-
cus Bay).
270 Kettle Falls (1,200 ft west 103. 7 3 -.-do_ - 170 42 1. 5:1 35 71 81 93 300 150 100 1. 5
g “EAT" in Marcus
BY).
290 Ngthpgn-lntematlonal 124. 8 3 _-.d0- - 160 43 1. 5: 1 43 73 81 93 80 160 85 1.9
on ary.
291 125.6 5 .-.d0. . 165 43 1. 4:1 55 73 81 93 300 170 90 1.9
lSee figure 10.
2 River mile, miles along centerline of Columbia River downstream from Grand
Coulee Dam; Lake mile, miles along the centerline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
upstream from Grand Coulee Dam; Mile, miles from the mouth of a bay on Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake (bays commonly occur at the mouths of tributary streams);
RB, right bank as one is facing dowstream; LB, left bank as one is facing downstream;
a description such as “ (Bay 600 ft RB) Lake mile (LB) 69.2” means that 69.2 miles
upstream from Grand Coulee Dam, there is a bay on the left bank of Franklin D.
Roosevelt Lake and the site of the landslide is on the right bank of the bay 600 ft
from the mouth.
8 (1), Predominantly lacustrine silt and clay in its original position of deposition;
(2), predominantly iacustrine silt and clay with bedding disturbed by landsliding,
glacial processes; (3), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand in nearly their original
position of deposition; (5), predominantly sand and gravel.
4 High—springs, seeps and abundant water-loving vegetation above the midpoint
of the exposed terrace slope; lakes or springs on the terrace surface or situated at higher
altitudes in a position to feed water into the terrace deposits. Low—springs, seeps and
abundant water-loving vegetation absent or limited to zones below the midpoint of
the exposed terrace slope; no springs or lakes on the terrace surface or at higher
altitudes to feed water into the terrace deposits.
5 The altitude difference in feet from the top to the bottom of the slope in which
the landslide occurred, commonly the vertical distance between two terraces.
‘5 (41), Drainage lines on the terrace sufficiently well developed to channel rain
and snowmelt rapidly 011 the area; (42), lines of drainage less well developed with
no significant closed depressions on the terraced surface; (43), closed depressions on
terrace surface; drainage channels so poorly developed that most of the rain and
snowmelt infiltrates the terrace deposits.
7 The ratio of the horizontal distance from the top to the bottom of the slope to the
vertical distance from the top to the bottom. .
8 Percentage of the distance from the bottom to the top of a slope that 15 under
water.
0 (71), No cultural or engineering developments on or near slide; (72), minor devel-
opments on or near slide such as farm buildings, plowed flelds, farm access roads. or
logging trails; (73), major developments on or near slide, such as deep highway or
railroad cuts or fills, irrigation systems, towns or storage reservoirs.
1° (81), All or most of the landslide material removed from the scarp; (82), part of
the landslide material removed from the scarp.
H (92), Recent prereservoir landslides; (93), recent postreservoir landslides. _
12 The length component (LC’) is the maximum horizontal distance from Slde to
side of the slide measured parallel to the slope it descends.
13 The horizontal component (H0) is the horizontal distance from the foot of the
landslide to the crown.
'4 The vertical component (V0) is the difference in altitude between the foot and
the crown of a landslide.
lb The ratio of the horizontal component to the vertical component.
10 Major enlargement May 11, 1953, on slide 169.
80 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
TABLE 3.—Thirty-seven anoient slump-earthflow landslides used in statistical analysis
Classification and landslide data
Land-
slide Area 1 3 Location 3 Mate— Terrace Present Mate- Remarks and re—movement data
No. rial Ground heightD drain- rial re- LCs HC'n V010 HC’:VC'11
cate- water 4 (feet) age 6 moval1
gorya
Columbia River downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
1 Grand Coulee Dam-Bel- River mile (RB) 4.2 1 High__ 790 43 82 3, 500 3,350 790 4.2 Some renewed activity of material
vedere. near river level since 1948 flood.
3 Grand Coulee Dam-Bel- 4.3 1 _-.do_._ 400 43 82 1,800 1,220 400 3.0
vedere (Peter Dan
Creek 5,000 ft RE).
4 Grand Coulee Dam-Bel- 4.3 1 _-.do__. 260 43 82 400 560 230 2.4 Landslide 5, minor movements
vedere (Peter Dan . Dec. 23, 1951; Nov. 10 or 11, 1952;
Greek, 5,000 ft LB). ‘ Nov. 27, 1952; and weekend of
Jan. 10, 1953.
5 Grand Coulee Dam-Bel- 4.6 2 ._.do._. 250 43 82 2,700 1,400 230 6.1 Renewed activity following com-
vedere. munity development, irrigation,
and 1948 flood. Major enlarge-
ment Nov. 23, 1948.
6 4.4 1 _-.do... 820 43 82 2,100 3,900 790 4.9 Landslide 51s situated in landslide
material of the toe of this slide.
7 5.1 2 .-.do... 380 43 82 2,000 1,800 380 4.7 Renewed activity following com-
munity develo ment, irrigation,
and 1948 flood; ec. 23, 1951; Nov.
10 or 11, 1952; Nov. 27, 1952; and
weekend of Jan. 10, 1953. Major
flogement on slide 7, Nov. 23,
94 .
8 Nespelem River __________ 11.2 2 ...do..- 550 43 83 500 1,270 260 4.9
9 11.4 1 ._-do... 550 43 82 3,000 2,570 530 4.8
13 11.86 1 ._‘do_.. 735 43 82 3,000 3,600 700 5.1
15 12.1 2 _..do__. 150 43 82 900 430 120 3.6
18 Nespelem River (Nes— 14.2 1 ...do..- 230 43 82 900 600 230 2.6
pelem Creek, 7,900
ft LB).
19 Nespelem River .......... 13.2 1 _..do.-_ 210 43 82 600 680 200 3 4
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
47 Sanpoil River bay ________ Mile (RB) 8.15 1 High._ 125 43 82 500 450 125 3.6 Renewed activity following lake
filling and highway construction.
66 Hawk Creek (Hawk Lakemile (LB) 37.2 1 Low__ 470 43 81 850 1,270 380 3.3
Creek bay, 6,300 ft RB).
81 Spokane River arm ...... Mile 7.1 3 _._do,__ 280 43 82 1,200 920 270 3.4
96 17.15 3 H1gh-- 360 43 81 200 570 330 1.7
97 17.2 3 .-. o... 360 43 81 300 600 340 1.8
99 18.4 3 .-. o... 380 43 82 1,200 1,200 370 3.2
102 19.3 3 LOW__ 470 43 82 1,000 960 370 2.6
112 Fort Spokane ............ Lake mile 42.6 1 High-_ 670 42 81 1,400 1,940 670 2.9
123 Ninemile _________________ 48.3 1 ,--do.__ 670 43 82 1,300 2,600 670 3.9
124 48.8 1 ..-do... 800 43 81 700 2,450 580 4.2
126 49.2 1 -.-do._. 800 43 82 1,500 2,250 540 4.2
127 49.6 1 ..- o... 800 43 82 1,200 1,650 540 3.1
128 49.8 1 -.-do... 800 43 81 700 2,500 670 3.7 ' . _
162 Hunters-NezPeroeCreek. 62.5 1 --.do.__ 410 43 81 850 1,270 410 3.1 Renewed activity followmg irriga-
tion of terrace in 1920’s; addi-
tional re—movement when lake
was filled, and in years through
1953.
163 Hunters-Nez Perce Creek 64.8 1 --_do_.. 280 43 81 780 900 210 4.3 Renewed activity following irriga-
(Hunters bay, 1,000 tion of terrace in 1920’s.
It LB .
164 Hunters-Nez Perce Creek 64 8 1 .._do_-_ 270 43 81 720 850 180 4.7 Do.
(Hunters bay, 1,600
ft LB).
185 Cedonia .................. (RB) 67 9 3 Low” 400 42 81 500 960 320 3.0
194 68 3 3 _._do_.. 400 42 81 300 820 280 2.9
196 68 4 3 High- 500 42 81 500 1,200 370 3.2
197 685 3 .._do... 540 42 81 500 1,180 410 2.9
See footnotes at end of table.
TABLES
0F LANDSLIDE DATA
81
TABLE 3.— Thirty-seven ancient slump-earthflow landslides used in statistical analysis—Continued
Classification and landslide data
Land-
slide Area 1 1 Location 9 Mate— Terrace Present Mate- Remarks and re-movernent data
No. rial Ground height"j drain- rial re- LCB HOD V010 HO:VCH
cate- Water 4 (feet) age 6 mova17
gory '
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake—Continued
237 Gifiord-Inchefium (Hall Lake mile (RB) 79. 4 1 Low. _ 300 43 81 700 620 300 2.1 Renewed activity following irriga-
Creek bay, 1,000 RB). tion of terrace before Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake and minor
activity from the lake.
253 Roper Creek (Roper 95.2 1 ...do..- 150 43 82 700 890 150 5.9 Renewed activity of slide material
Creek bay,1.800ft LB). * following partial inundation by
Franan D. Roosevelt Lake.
275 Marcus-Evans ........... 106.0 1 ...do..- 140 43 82 200 360 140 2. 6 Do.
278 106. 8 1 High._ 320 43 82 1,670 1,130 320 3. 5 D0.
294 Hawk Creek (Hawk (LB) 37.2 1 Low-. 470 4.3 81 1.100 840 380 2. 2
Greek bay, 4,500 ft RB).
I See figure 10. the exposed terrace slope; no springs or lakes on the terrace surface or at higher alti
2 River mile miles along centerline of Columbia River downstream from Grand
Coulee Dam; Lake mile, miles along the centerline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
upstream from Grand Coulee Dam; Mile, miles from the mouth of a bay on Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake (bays commonly occur at the mouths of tributary streams);
RB, right bank as one is facing downstream; LB, left bank as one is facing down-
stream; a description such as “ (Bay 600 ft RB) Lake mile (LB) 69.2” means that 69.2
miles upstream from Grand Coulee Dam, there is a bay on the left bank of Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake and the site of the landslide is on the right bank of the bay 600 ft
from the mouth.
3 (l), Predominantly lacustrine silt and clay in its original position of deposition;
(2), predominantly lacustrine silt and clay with bedding disturbed by landsliding,
glacial processes; (3), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand in nearly their original
position of deposition.
4 High—springs, seeps and abundant water-loving vegetation above the midpoint
of the exposed terrace slope; lakes or springs on the terrace surface or situated at higher
altitudes in a position to feed water into the terrace deposits. Low—springs, seeps and
abundant water-loving vegetation absent or limited to zones below the midpoint of
tudes to feed water into the terrace deposits.
5 The altitude difference" in feet from the top to the bottom of the slope in which the
landslide occurred, commonly the vertical distance between two terraces.
6 (42), Lines of drainage less well developed with no significant closed depressions
on the terrace surface; (43), closed depressions on terrace surface; drainage channel so
poorly developed that most of the rain and snowmelt infiltrates the terrace deposits.
7 (81), All or most of the landslide material removed from the scarp; (82), part of the
landslide material removed from the scarp; (83), very little movement of the land-
slide material.
5 The length component (L C') is the maximum horsizonta] distance from side to side
of the slide measured parallel to the slope it desce n
9 The horizontal component (H0) is the horizontal distance from the foot of the
landslide to the crown.
I0 The vertical component (V0) is the difference in altitude between the foot and the
crown of a landslide.
H The ratio of the horizontal component to the vertical component.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
82
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0F LANDSLIDE DATA
TABLE S
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TABLES OF LANDSLIDE DATA
TABLE 7.—Um'formity experiment*rece’nt slump-earthflow landslides
[Landslides classified by Peterson and Erskine (P&E) and Jones (J )]
87
Landslide groltqlp and landslide Classified H 0': V0 1 Material Ground Original slope Submergence 0
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scarp
Sanpoil River bay area
Group 1
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J 2. 4 3 _ _ _do _____ 2. 2 66
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J 2. 5 3 ___do _____ 2. 4 74
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J 3. 5 1 _ _ _do _____ 2. 6 61
27 _______________ (LB) . 8 P&E 2. 8 5 -_-do _____ 2. 4 74
J 2. 0 5 _-_do _____ 2. 6 69
33 _______________ 2. 4 P&E 1. 6 1 _-_do _____ 1. 3 40
J 3. 2 3 ___do _____ 3. 0 68
29 _______________ 1. 6 P&E 1. 6 1 _-_do _____ 1. 3 40
J 2. 1 3 ___do _____ 2. 1 68
Group 2
42 _______________ 6. O5 P&E 4. 2 1 _--do _____ 2. 6 21
J 5.3 1 High _____ 3. o 45
36 _______________ 3. 2 P&E 3. 2 3 Low ..... 3. 0 65
J 3. 8 1 _ _ _do _____ 3. 7 71
40 _______________ 3. 8 P&E 2. 7 1 __ -do _____ 2. 2 54
J 3. 4 1 ___do _____ 2. 8 62 .
43 _______________ 6. 7 P&E 2. 8 2 __-do _____ 3. l 17
J 3. 6 1 _ _ _do _____ 2. 9 33
41 _______________ (RB) 4. 3 P&E 2. 9 3 ___do _____ 2. 5 76
J 3. 2 1 _ _ _do _____ 2. 3 82
44 _______________ 6. 8 P&E 3. 7 1 High _____ 3. 7 13
J 4. 0 2 _ - _do _____ 3. 9 22
Ninemile are:
Group 3.
143 ______________ Lake mile (LB) 53. 5 P&E 2. 4 5 Low _____ 1. 7 71
J 3. 0 2 _ - _do _____ 2. 7 76
125 ______________ 49. 0 P&E 1. 9 3 -__do _____ 1. 7 73
J 1. 9 4 _ _ _do _____ 1. 6 73
131 ______________ (RB) 51. 4 P&E 2. 2 5 ___do _____ 1. 6 15
J 2. 3 1 _ _ -do _____ 1. 8 16
150 ______________ Wilmont Bay (RB) 1, 750 ft P&E 2. 5 3 ___do _____ 1. 7 45
J 2. 0 1 _ _ _do _____ 1. 8 43
152 ______________ 3, 700 P&E 2. 0 3 ___do _____ 1. 2 24
J 2. 0 1 _ _ _do _____ 1. 8 25
141 .............. Lake mile (LB) 53. 2 P&E 2. 7 5 ___do _____ 1. 4 64
J 1. 7 2 _ _ -do _____ 3. 3 82
Cedonia area
Group 4
193 ______________ Lake mile (LB) 68. 2 P&E 1. 4 3 Low _____ 1. 6 42
(Bay 360 ft LB) J 1. 9 2 ___d0 _____ 1. 5 53
195 ______________ (LB) 68. 3 P&E 2. 0 5 ___do _____ 2. 0 71
J 3. 3 4 _ _ -do _____ 2. 7 73
183 ______________ 67. 75 P&E 1. 7 5 ___do _____ 1. 7 35
J 1. 8 3 _ _ _do _____ 1. 8 30
187 ______________ 68. 0 P&E 1. 6 5 ___do _____ l. 6 33
J 1. 8 4 _ _ -do ..... 1. 4 33
190 —————————————— 68. 2 P&E l. 6 5 _-_do _____ l. 5 33
(Bay 800 ft RB) J 1. 2 2 _--d0 _____ 1. 8 27
186 .............. Lake> mile (LB) 67. 9 P&E 1. 9 5 __-do _____ 1. 6 19
J 2. 0 4 --_do _____ l. 3 33
See footnotes at end of table.
88
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
TABLE 7.——Uniformity experiment—recent slump-earthflow landslides—Continued
[Landslides classified by Peterson and Erskine (P&E) and Jones (1)]
Landslide gro§p and landslide . Classified H0: V0 1 Material Ground Original slope Submergence '
0. Location 1 by— ratio category 3 water 4 of terrace (percent)
scarp 6
Cedonia area—Continued
Group 5
217 ______________ Lake mile (LB) 69. 9 P&E 1. 7 5 Low _____ 1. 3 53
J 2. 0 4 - _ -do _____ 1. 6 43
212 ______________ 69. 3 P&E 1. 5 5 _-_do _____ 1. 5 50
J 1. 6 4 - _ -do _____ 0. 7 55
202 ______________ 69. 0 P&E 1. 7 5 _--do _____ 1. 9 56
J l. 7 5 -_-do _____ 1. 7 54
213 ______________ 69.4 P&E 1. 5 5 ___do _____ l. 5 50
J 2. 9 4 _ _ -do _____ 1. 3 59
215 ______________ 69. 6 P&E 1. 7 4 ___do _____ l. 4 53
J 1. 7 4 _ _ -do _____ 1. 3 59
222 ______________ 70. 1 P&E 3. 0 4 ___do _____ 1. 6 67
l. 4 2 __-do _____ 1. 4 60
Group 6
22 ______________ 70. 45 P&E 2. 2 5 __ -do _____ 1. 4 50
J l. 9 4 - - _do _____ 1. 5 47
231 ______________ 70. 6 P&E 1. 9 5 __-do _____ l. 6 52
J 2. 6 4 ___do _____ 1. 3 66
232 ______________ 70. 65 P&E 2. 0 5 ___do _____ 1. 6 52
2. 4 4 _ _ _do _____ 1. 3 63
229 ______________ 70. 5 P&E 1. 6 5 ___do _____ 1. 5 56
J 1. 9 4 ___do _____ 1. 8 56
230 ______________ 70. 55 P&E 1. 8 5 ___do _____ 1. 5 57
J 2. 3 4 _ - -do _____ 1. 3 66
225 ______________ 70. 25 P&E 2. 0 5 ___do _____ 1. 4 49
J 1. 8 4 - _ _do _____ 1. 3 49
Roper Creek—Reed Terrace are.
Group 7:
252 ______________ Lake mile (RB) 95. 2 P&E 1. 8 4 Low _____ 1. 7 27
(Bay 1300 ft RB) 1. 4 2 __-do _____ 1. 7 25
250 ______________ Lake mile (RB) 95. 2 P&E 2. 6 4 ___do _____ 1. 9 10
(Bay 800 ft RB) J 2. 4 2 ___do _____ 2. 2 37
251 ______________ Lake mile (RB) 95. 2 P&E 3. 5 4 High _____ 3. 5 22
(Bay 900 ft LB) J 3. 8 2 -__do _____ 3. 7 28
259 ______________ Lake mile (RB) 98. 5 P&E 3. 1 1 _-_do _____ 3. 0 41
2. 9 1 _ _ _do _____ 2. 3 38
271 ______________ Mile (RB) 2. 0 P&E 2. 3 4 Low _____ 1. 2 11
J 4. 3 2 - _ -do _____ 3. 5 18
257 ______________ Lake mile (RB) 98. 37 P&E 3. 8 1 High _____ 2. 3 45
J 4. 5 1 _ _ _do _____ 2. 5 50
1 Lake mile, miles along the centerline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake upstream
from Grand Coulee Dam. Mile, miles from the mouth of a bay on Franklin D. Roose-
velt Lake (bays commonly occur at the mouths of tributary streams); RB, right bank
as one is facing downstream; LBY left bank as one is facing downstream; a description
such as“(Bay 600 ft RB) Lake mile (LB) 69.2" means that 69.2 miles upstream from
Grand Coulee Dam there is a bay on the left bank of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
and the site of the landslide is on the right bank of the bay 600 ft from the mouth.
2 The horizontal component H C, is the horizontal distance from the foot of the land-
slide to the crown; the vertical component V0, is the difference in altitude between
the foot and the crown of a landslide; HC:VC’, the ratio of the horizontal component
to the vertical component.
' (1), Predominantly lacustrine silt and clay in its original position of deposition;
(2), predominantly lacustrine silt and clay with bedding disturbed by landsliding,
glacial processes; (3), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand in nearly their original
position of deposition; (4), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand disturbed by land-
sliding and glacial processes; (5), predominantly sand and gravel.
4 High—springs, seeps and abundant water-loving vegetation above the midpoint
of the exposed terrace slope; lakes or springs on the terrace surface or situated at higher
altitudes in a position to feed water into the terrace deposits. Low—springs, seeps and
abundant water-loving vegetation absent or limited to zones below the midpoint of
the exposed terrace slope; no springs or lakes on the terrace surface or at higher alti-
tudes to feed water into the terrace deposits.
5 The ratio of the horizontal distance from the top to the bottom of the slope to the
vertical distance from the top to the bottom.
0 Percentage of the distance from the bottom to the top of a slope that is under water.
TABLES 0F LANDSLIDE DATA
TABLE 8.—Slope-stab2'lity investigation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
89
Slope N 0. Location I
Classification and measurement data
Discriminant
function values 7
Material Ground water 3 Terrace height 4 Original slope of Submergenoe ‘5
category 9 (feet) terrace scarp ‘5 (percent)
Gland Coulee Dam
1 Lake mile (RB) 0. 5 5 Low _________ 130 8. 8: 1 85 0. 0060
2 (LB) 2. 5 2 _____ do _______ 120 11. 6:1 50 . 0023
Swawilla Basin
3 Lake mile (LB) 4. 5 1 Low _________ 155 3. 4:1 6 0. 0118
4 5. 5 1 _____ do _______ 150 2. 3: 1 7 . 0155
5 6. 3 2 _____ do _______ 110 15. 3: 1 73 —-. 0001
6' 7. 5 2 _____ do _______ 110 2. 6: 1 55 . 0161
7 (RE) 7. 5 1 _____ do _______ 330 4. 7:1 3 . 0108
8 8. 0 1 _____ do _______ 80 1. 8:1 0 .0125
9 8. 2 1 _____ do _______ 65 2. 8: 1 8 . 0105
10 8. 6 1 _____ do _______ 85 6. 0:1 13 . 0051
11 (LB) 9. 6 1 _____ do _______ 290 5. 2:1 66 . 0139
12 ’RB) 10. 1 1 _____ do _______ 155 5. 7:1 73 . 0106
13 (LB) 11. 3 2 _____ do _______ 45 12. 4: 1 67 —. 0019
14 (RB) 11. 9 5 _____ do _______ 285 2. 7:1 70 . 0200
15 12.8 1 _____ do ______ 235 2. 8: 1 83 .0191
16 14. 1 5 _____ do _______ 30 5. 1:1 50 . 0043
17 (LB) 14. 7 5 _____ do ________ 370 1. 5: 1 30 . 0254
18 15. 0 3 _____ do _______ 200 1. 8: 1 75 . 0225
19 15. 8 1 _____ do _______ 25 5. 7:1 20 . 0012
Keller Ferry
20 Lake mile (LB) 16. 8 2 Low _________ 25 6. 8:1 52 0. 0010
21 17. 5 2 _____ do _______ 40 3. 5:1 20 . 0077
22 17. 8 2 _____ do ______ 230 3. 4:1 83 . 0172
23 (RB) 18. 3 5 _____ do _______ 350 2. 6:1 14 . 0189
24 19. 0 3 _____ do _______ 220 1. 8:1 50 . 0278
25 20.0 3 _____ do _______ 130 2. 5:1 31 . 0163
26 20. 3 3 _____ do _______ 270 3. 5:1 67 . 0173
27 (LB) 20. 8 4 High _________ 150 8. 3: 1 43 . 0129
Sanpoil River boy
28 Mile (RB) 0. 9 3 Low _________ 80 2. 0: 1 0 0. 0163
29 1. 0 3 _____ do _______ 92 2. 0:1 13 . 0206
30 1. 1 3 _____ do _______ 130 1. 5:1 31 . 0211
31 4. 5 l _____ do _______ 170 2. 7: 1 82 . 0181
32 (LB) 5. 2 2 _____ do _______ 240 5. 0:1 50 . 0130
33 (RB) 7. 5 1 _____ do _______ 40 4. 5:1 20 . 0054
Hellsate— Whilestone
34 Lake mile (LB) 21. 0 4 High _________ 300 9. 3:1 57 0. 0151
35 21. 3 4 Low _________ 260 2. 4: 1 13 . 0183
36 21. 6 4 _____ do _______ 320 2. 7:1 16 . 0184
37 22. 3 5 _____ do _______ 190 3. 0:1 95 . 0178
38 (RB) 23. 9 5 _____ do _______ 90 4. 3:1 50 . 0104
39 24. 3 5 _____ do _______ 100 2. 1:1 10 . 0153
40 24. 4 5 _____ do _______ 100 1. 4:1 10 . 0191
41 (LB) 24. 8 5 _____ do _______ 300 3. 4:1 77 . 0182
42 25. 1 5 _____ do _______ 340 6. 5: 1 65 . 0124
43 (RB) 27. 5 5 _____ do _______ 100 3. 1:1 5 . 0106
44 28. 0 5 _____ do _______ 90 2. 6: 1 11 . 0130
45 28. 7 5 _____ do _______ 125 3. 2:1 28 . 0137
46 29. 0 5 _____ do _______ 90 3. 3: 1 22 . 0117
47 31. 7 5 _____ do _______ 220 3. 8: 1 27 . 0144
48 32. 7 5 _____ do _______ 110 6. 1:1 9 . 0055
See footnotes at end of table.
90 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
TABLE 8.——Slope-stability investigation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake—Continued
Classification and measurement data
‘ 1 f Diiicrlminimt 7
Slope No. Location Material Ground water 3 Terrace height 4 Original slope of Submergenoe 0 uric on Va ues
category 2 (feet) terrace scarp 5 (percent)
Hawk Creek
49 Lake mile (LB) 34. 0 5 Low _________ 270 1. 4:1 41 0. 0252
50 34. 6 5 _____ do _______ 275 1. 4:1 24 . 0245
51 35. 1 5 _____ do _______ 260 2. 5:1 35 . 0194
52 35. 4 5 ..... do _______ 280 1. 8: 1 40 . 0230
53 35. 5 5 _____ do ....... 280 2. 5: 1 65 . 0206
54 (RB) 37. 0 3 _____ do _______ 190 1. 7:1 21 . 0210
55 38. 0 5 _____ do _______ 230 5. 5:1 26 . 0110
56 (LB) 38. 8 3 _____ do _______ 280 2. 8: 1 75 . 0197
57 38. 9 3 _____ do _______ 200 2. 4:1 60 . 0195
58 (RB) 38. 9 3 _____ do _______ 210 3. 8: 1 5 . 0117
Fort Spokane
59 Lake mile (RB) 39. 6 3 Low _________ 60 2. 8: 1 17 0. 0112
60 40. 5 3 High _________ 40 12. 0:1 25 . 0032
61 (LB) 40. 8 3 Low _________ 170 2. 2: 1 53 . 0194
62 (RB) 41. 1 1 High _________ 170 2. 5:1 0 .0192
63 (LB) 41. 3 3 Low _________ 170 2. 1:1 53 . 0199
64 (RB) 41. 5 1 High _________ 270 2. 9: 1 30 .0246
65 (LB) 42. 3 1 Low _________ 220 2. 3:1 68 . 0204
66 (RB) 42. 9 5 _____ do _______ 100 5. 7:1 80 . 0089
67 43. 2 5 _____ do _______ 210 8. 2:1 91 . 0087
68 (LB) 43. 4 1 _____ do _______ 270 3. 6:1 78 . 0173
69 43. 7 1 _____ do _______ 60 3. 3:1 0 . 0056
70 (RB) 43. 8 5 _____ do _______ 250 2. 0:1 68 . 0223
71 (LB) 44. 0 1 _____ do _______ 70 1. 8: 1 l4 . 0157
72 44. 5 1 _____ do _______ 210 3. 5:1 5 .0125
73 44. 8 2 High _________ 120 10. 7:1 50 . 0098
74 (RB) 44. 8 2 Low _________ 250 4. 6: 1 60 . 0143
75 45. 3 2 _____ do _______ 160 3. 7:1 82 . 0146
76 45. 9 2 _____ do _______ 50 2. 9:1 30 . 0110
77 46. 9 2 _____ do _______ 120 6. 7: 1 92 . 0083
Spokane River arm
78 Mile (RB) 0. 5 1 Low _________ 105 2. 7: 1 38 0. 0151
79 (LB) 1. 1 3 _____ do _______ 240 2. 9: 1 42 . 0179
80 (RB) 5. 8 5 _____ do _______ 80 4. 3: 1. 25 . 0089
81 6. 7 5 High _________ 40 6. 4: 1 0 . 0044
82 (LB) 7. 1 4 Low _________ 220 3. 1:1 23 . 0161
83 (RB) 7. 6 5 _____ do _______ 365 1. 7:1 4 . 0212
84 (LB) 7. 7 4 _____ do _______ 210 2. 7:1 5 .0149
85 (RB) 7. 8 4 High _________ 70 5. 4:1 29 . 0132
86 (LB) 9. 7 3 Low _________ 160 1. 8: 1 43. . 0208
87 (RB) 10. 2 3 _____ do _______ 460 3. 4:1 30 . 0186
38 (LB) 10. 9 5 _____ do _______ 80 2. 6:1 75 . 0153
89 11.8 1 _____ do _______ 160 3.8:] 75 .0145
90 (RB) 11.9 1 _____ do _______ 140 2. 3:1 14 .0163
91 (LB) 12.8 5 _____ do _______ 105 2. 4:1 28 .0157
92 (RB) 13. 5 5 _____ do _______ 130 2. 1:1 85 . 0195
93 (LB) 13. 9 5 _____ do _______ 210 1. 8:1 62 . 0224
94 16. 7 3 ______ do _______ 320 1. 8:1 12 .0217
95 (RB) 17. 8 5 _____ do _______ 170 10. 5:1 41 . 0044
See footnotes at end of table.
TABLES 0F LANDSLIDE DATA 91
TABLE 8.—Slope—stability investigation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake—Continued
l Classification and measurement data
1 f Distal-11111218111; 7
slope No. Location ‘ Material Ground water 8 Terrace height 4 Original slope of Submergenoe 6 one on v ues
category 3 (feet) terrace scarp 5 (percent)
Ninemileueu
96 Lake mile (LB) 48 0 2 165 4. 4:1 64 0. 0131
97 (RB 48. 4 2 150 5. 7: 1 87 . 0174
98 (LB) 51.2 2 130 7. 7: 1 23 .0121
99 (RB) 51. 5 1 400 2. 5:1 58 . 0286
100 (LB) 51.6 2 75 1. 7:1 7 .0156
101 (RB) 51. 7 2 125 3. 0:1 44 . 0217
102 (LB) 52. 3 2 150 4. 6: 1 53 . 0120
103 (RB) 52. 6 2 450 5. 1 :1 49 . 0154
104 53. 1 2 155 3. 1:1 97 . 0167
105 53. 5 2 270 2. 0:1 85 . 0229
106 (LB) 54. 0 2 70 2. 8:1 29 . 0127
107 54. 45 2 130 2. 2:1 54 . 0184
108 (RB) 54. 84 2 130 2. 9:1 61 .0159
Wilmont-Gerome
109 Lake mile (RB) 55. 5 2 Low _________ 100 4. 4: 1 60 0. 0109
110 56. 0 2 _____ do _______ 90 4. 2:1 56 . 0108
111 56. 4 2 _____ do _______ 95 3. 4:1 95 .0138
112 56. 5 2 _____ do _______ 140 6. 0: 1 _ 86 . 0099
113 57.0 2 _____ do _______ 130 3. 8:1 46 . 0130
114 (LB) 57.5 4 _____ do _______ 90 1. 6: 1 33 . 0191
115 57. 9 4 _____ do _______ 210 3. 0:1 95 . 0182
116 58. 3 4 _____ do _______ 140 3. 5:1 21 .0129
Hunters-Nez Perce
117 Lake mile (LB) 59. 0 4 Low _________ 470 3. 0:1 38 0. 0202
118 (RB) 59. 9 5 _____ do _______ 60 10. 7: 1 33 . 0004
119 62.8 2 _____ do _______ 80 3. 6:1 62 .0119
120 63. 6 1 _____ do _______ 230 2. 9:1 52 . 0181
121 (LB) 64. 1 1 _____ do _______ 190 2. 4:1 79 . 0197
122 64. 7 1 _____ do _______ 50 2. 8:1 10 . 0097
123 (RB) 64. 9 1 _____ do _______ 155 3. 2:1 29 .0147
Cedonia
124 ' Lake mile (RB) 66. 2 3 Low _________ 80 3. 6:1 50 O. 0116
125 (LB) 66. 9 1 ______ do _______ 500 2. 5:1 40 . 0222
126 (RB) 67. 0 3 _____ do _______ 100 2. 1:1 50 . 0176
127 67. 8 1 _____ do _______ 130 4. 0:1 77 .0133
128 68 3 ' 1 _____ do _______ 170 6. 0:1 35 . 0094
129 68. 45 1 _____ do _______ 120 2. 7: 1 50 . 0160
130 68. 6 1 _____ do _______ 120 4. 7:1 66 .0112
131 (LB) 71. 5 4 _____ do _______ 110 2.8:] 18 .0138
132 (RB) 72. 4 2 _____ do _______ 250 8. 5:1 24 . 0072
133 (LB) 72. 5 4 _____ do _______ 95 9. 5: 1 84 . 0040
134 (RB) 72. 6 2 _____ do _______ 135 8. 4:1 41 . 0055
135 (LB) 72. 7 4 ..... do _______ 75 10. 4:1 80 . 0021
See footnotes at end of table.
681004 0—61 ——7
92 LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
TABLE 8.——Slope-stability investigation, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake—Continued
Classification and measurement data
Discriminant
Slope No. Location 1 function values 7
Material Ground water I Terrace height ‘ Original slope of Submergence 0
category a (feet) terrace scarp 5 (percent)
Gill'ord—Inchelium
136 Lake mile (RB) 73. 0 * 2 Low _________ 170 6. 7:1 41 0. 0086
137 73. 3 2 _____ do _______ 190 7. 8:1 53 . 0080
138 73. 6 2 _____ do _______ 200 4. 5: 1 35 . 0128
139 73. 8 2 _____ do _______ 90 5. 1:1 55 . 0090
140 74. 2 2 _____ do _______ 370 3. 4:1 62 . 0187
141 74. 4 2 _____ do _______ 150 2. 3:1 13 . 0164
142 75. 7 2 _____ do _______ 90 3. 0:1 78 . 0145
143 76. 4 2 _____ do _______ 200 2. 8:1 95 . 0187
144 (LB) 76. 8 2 _____ do _______ 110 14. 5:1 54 —. 0003
145 (RB) 77. 0 2 _____ do _______ 60 12. 0:1 67 —. 0004
146 77. 5 2 _____ do _______ 50 4. 6:1 60 . 0077
147 (LB) 77. 5 2 _____ do _______ 210 11. 6:1 43 . 0044
148 77. 9 2 _____ do _______ 85 6. 0:1 35 . 0066
149 (RB) 78. 3 2 _____ do _______ 210 3. 3:1 0 . 0107
150 78. 8 1 _____ do _______ 270 1. 9: 1 19 . 0212
151 79. 2 1 _____ do _______ 85 4. 2:1 ’ 59 .0107
152 81. 2 1 _____ do _______ 95 2. 1:1 95 . 0183
153 81. 4 1 _____ do _______ 95 3. 2:1 95 . 0144
154 82. 3 1 _____ do _______ 100 3. 2:1 60 . 0139
155 82. 7 1 _____ do _______ 120 1. 9: 1 92 . 0202
Rice—Chalk Grade
156 Lake mile (RB) 86. 0 1 Low _________ 100 1. 7:1 50 0. 0196
157 (LB) 89. 6 5 _____ do _______ 185 2. 5: 1 19 . 0171
158 (RB) 94. 6 2 _____ do _______ 70 1. 9: 1 86 . 0179
Reed terrace
159 Lake mile (RB) 99. 4 1 Low _________ 70 2. 8:1 86 0. 0142
Marcus—Evans
160 Lake mile (RB) 107. 0 1 High _________ 130 2. 3:1 , 38 0. 0242
1 River mile, miles along centerline of Columbia River downstream from Grand
Coulee Dam; Lake mile, miles along the centerline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake up-
stream from Grand Coulee Dam; Mile, miles from the mouth of a bay on Franklin
D. Roosevelt Lake (bays commonly occur at the mouths of tributary streams); RB,
right bank as one is facing downstream; LB, left bank as one is facing downstream;
a description such as “(Bay 600 ft RB) Lake mile (LB) 69.2" means that 69.2 miles
upstream from Grand Coulee Dam, there is a bay on the left bank of Franklin D.
gloosiaveltii1 Lake and the site of the landslide is on the right bank of the bay 600 ft from
c mou .
7 (l), Predominantly lacustrine silt and clay in its original position of deposition;
(2), predominantly lacustrine silt and clay with bedding disturbed by landsliding,
glacial processes; (3), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand in nearly their original
position of deposition; (4), alternating beds of clay, silt and sand disturbed by land-
slitding, glacial processes, etc.; (5), predominantly sand and gravel; (6), talus accumu-
ia ons.
3 High—springs, seeps and abundant water-loving vegetation above the midpoint
of the exposed terrace slope; lakes or springs on the terrace surface or situated at
higher altitudes ina position to feed water into the terrace deposits.» Low—springs,
seeps and abundant water-loving vegetation absent or limited to zones below the
midpoint of the exposed terrace slope; no springs or lakes on the terrace surface or at
higher altitudes to feed water into the terrace deposits.
4 The altitude difference in feet‘ from the top to the bottom of the slope in which the
landslide occurred, commonly the vertical distance between two terraces.
5 The ratio of the horizontal distance from the top to the bottom of the slope to the
vertical distance from the top to the bottom.
0 Percentage of the distance from the bottom to the top of a slope that is under water.
7 Value of the discriminant function for the terrace scarp.
TABLE 9.—Landslide date and time data
Land-
slide No.
Area Location or name 1
Date and hour | Time of slides and remarks
Major landslides 2 { Minor landslides and re-movements 3
Columbia River downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
5 Grand Coulee Dam-Belve-
dere.
7 Seatons slide“- _________
Hopkins Canyon mudflow- __ _
295 Nespelem River—Omak Lake
valley.
See footnotes at end of table.
Koontzville slide ________
Dec. 23, 1951 (initial).
Nov. 10 or 11(?), 1952.
Nov. 27, 1952.
Weekend, Jan. 10, 1953.
Nov. 23, 1948 _____________
Feb. 2, 1953, 12 p.m___--__
TABLES
OF LANDSLIDE DATA
TABLE 9.—Landslide date and time data—Continued
93
Date and hour
Time of slides and remarks
Land- Area Location or name 1
Slide N ' Major landslides a Minor landslides and re-movements ’
Columbia River downstream from Grand Coulee Dam—Continued
297 Grand Coulee Dam-Belve- Tail Tower slide _____________ Sept. 6, 1949 ______________
dere.
298 East tailrace slide ____________ ' ......................... Aug. 25, 1943.
_____ do_______---_--__-_-___ ____-___-___--_____-_____- Aug. 31, 1943.
1, _____ do _______________________________________________ Sept. 8, 1950.
299 Elmer City slide ______________________________________ Do.
; _____ do _______________________________________________ Sept. 26, 1950.
§ _____ do _______________________________________________ Aug. 11, 1952 (midnight to
daylight).
_____ do_______-_--_-_-______ __-__-__-----___-____-__-_ Sept. 1, 1952.
300 Washington Flats slide _______ Sept. 8, 1950 ______________
301 Main west slide _______________________________________ Oct. 16, 1941.
_____ do_________--___--____- __________-------____-____ Oct. 8, 1942.
_____ do--______--____--____- __--_------_-_-______---_- Sept. 8, 1950.
302 Lone Pine slide ______________ Nov. 20, 1946 (initial) ______
_____ do____-__-_-____-______ ___---___--___---_________ Oct. 7, 1950, 3, 6 a.m.
_____ do_-___________________ __-_______________-_______ Nov.10,1952.
303 Downstream launching ramp__ Feb. 5, 1951 ______________
_____ do_-__-____-___-_______ -_____-_____---_-_________ Dec. 17, 1951.
307 Drydock ____________________________________________ Mar. 10, 1942 (re-move-
ment) .
_____ do___-__________-__-___ ______________-___-_______ Nov. 24, 1947 (re-move-
ment).
308 CBI machine shop _____________________________________ Apr. 27, 1942 (re-move-
ment) .
320 Seatons mudflow ____________ Mar. 17, 1949, 6:30 p.m__ - _
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake
34 Sanpoil River bay __________ Sorimpt slide _______________ Apr. 13, 1953 (major en—
largement).
36 Mile (LB) 3.2 _________________________________________ Apr. 13, 1953 (re-move-
ment) .
37 3.7 _________________________________________ Do.
42 Hughes slide ________________ Nov. 8, 1942, 5, 7 am _____
64 Hawk Creek ______________ Lake mile (LB) 37.2 _________ July 26, 1949, 5 :30 p.m- _ _ _
Hag}; Creek bay 4,200 ft
65 4 Lake mile (LB) 37.2 _________ July 27, 1949, 10:00 a.m----
‘ (HavBVI; Creek ba-y 5,000 ft
R .
131 Ninemile __________________ Lake mile (RB) 51.4 _________ July 3, 1949, 2, 4 p.m ______
169 Hunters-Nez Perce Creek- _ _ 64.45 __________________________________ May 11, 1953 (enlargement).
257 Reed terrace ______________ 98.37 ________ Mar. 12, 1952, 1 1:30 a.m- -
98.37 ________ Sept. 12, 1952, 2:00 p.m__-
. 98.37 __________________________________ Oct. 13, 1952, 5, 6 a.m.
258 i 98.4 _________ Apr. 8, 1944 ______________
259 98.5 _________ Apr. 1, 1944 ______________
261 Multiple-alcove slide _________ Apr. 10, 1952, 3:00 a.m.
» (particularly active first
. 4 days).
272 Marcus-Evans _____________ Great Northern Railway Feb. 23, 1951, 7, 9 a.m-- _ _ -
slide.
296 Coulee Dam _______________ Lake mile (LB) 2.05 _________ June 3, 1952, 9 :30,
. 10:00 a.m.
304 Reed terrace ______________ Main terrace____ _ ___________ Feb. 14, 1953, 8:15 p.m- _ _ _
305 i _____ do _____________________ Feb. 16, 1953, 3:43 a.m- _ - _
306 Spokane River arm ________ Mile (RB) 9.1 _______________ Mar. 30, 1953 _____________
312 Hunters-Nez Perce Creek- _ _ Lake mile (RB) 64.3 ___________________________________ May 1)3, 1953 (re-move-
, ment .
321 Reed terrace ______________ Center of Farm terrace____ _ _ _ __________________________ Aug. 19, 1953, 11:00 a.m.
1 Lake mile, miles along the centerline of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake upstream
from Grand Coulee Dam; Mile, miles from the mouth of a bay on Franklin D. Roose-
velt Lake (bays commonly occur at the mouths of tributary streams); RB, right
bank_ as one is facing downstream; LB, left bank as one is facing downstream; a
description such as “ (Bay 600 ft RB) Lake mile (LB) 69.2” means that 69.2 miles up-
stream from Grand Coulee Dam, there is a bay on the left bank of Franan D. Roose-
velt Lake and the site of the landslide is on the right bank of the bay 600 it from the
mouth.
2 New landslides in areas which have been stable in the known past or major en-
largements of recent landslides; in general, both of above involve more than 5,000 on
yds of material.
5 Slight movements and displacements of a few feet in large masses of material: or
small enlargements involving less than 5,000 cu yds of material.
94
SELECTED REFERENCES
Baltzer, A., 1875, Ueber einen neuerlichen Felssturz am Rossberg,
nebst einigen allgemein n Bemerkungen iiber derartige Er-
scheinungen in den Alpen: Neues Jahrb. Mineral. p. 15—26.
Bartleet, M. S., 1947, The use of transformations: Biometrics,
v. 3, no. 1, p. 39—52.
Baver, L. D., 1949, Retention and movement of soil moisture,
in Meinzer, O. E., Hydrology (Physics of the earth IX),
New York, Dover Pubs. p. 364—384.
Bretz, J H., 1923, Glacial drainage on the Columbia Plateau:
Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 34, no. 3, p. 573—608.
1932, The Grand Coulee: Am. Geog. Soc. Spec. Pub. 15,
Chap. 4, 89 p.
Cochran, W. G., 1938, Some difficulties in the statistical analysis
of replicated experiments: Empire Jour. Expt. Agri., v. 6,
no. 22, p. 157—175.
1947, Some consequences when the assumptions for the
analysis of variance are not satisfied: Biometrics, v. 3, no.
1, p. 22—38.
Culver, H. E., 1936, The geology of Washington, pt. 1, General
features of Washington geology: Washington Dept. Conserv.
and Devel., Div. Geol. Bull. 32, 70 p.
Daly, R, A., 1906, The nomenclature of the North America
Cordillera between the 47th and 53d parallels of latitude:
Geog. Jour., v. 27, p. 586-606.
1912, Geology of the North American Cordillera at the
49th parallel: Canada Geol. Survey, Mem. 38, pt. 2, p. 577-—
598.
Davies, 0. L., and others, 1954, The design and analysis of indus-
trial experiments: London, Oliver & Boyd.
Dawson, G. M., 1891, On the later physiographic geology of the
Rocky Mountain region in Canada, with special reference to
changes in elevation and to the history of the glacial period:
Royal Soc. Canada Proc. Trans., v. 8, sec. 4, p. 3—73.
1899, Remarkable landslip in Portneuf County, Quebec:
Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 10, p. 484—490.
Durand, David, 1941, Risk elements in consumer installment
financing: Nat. Bur. Econ. Research, Studies in consumer
installment financing, no. 8, 163 p.
Durham, N. W., 1912, Spokane and the Inland Empire: Spokane,
Wash., S. J. Clarke.
Ehrenhard, P. E., 1945, Foundation investigations for the North
Coulee Dam: U.S. Bur. Reclamation, Coulee Darn, Wash.
Eisenhart, Churchill, 1947, The assumptions underlying the an-
alysis of variance: Biometrics, v. 3, no. 1, p. 1—21.
Elliot, T. C., 1918, David Thompsons journeys in the Spokane
country: Washington Hist. Quart., v. 9, no. 1, p. 14.
Fenneman, N. M., 1931, Physiography of western United
States: New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 534 p.
Finney, D. J ., 1941, On the distribution of a variate whose log-
arithm is normally distributed: Supp. Jour. Royal Statis-
tistical Soc., v. 3, no. 2, p. 155-161.
Fisher, R. A., 1936, The use of multiple measurements in taxo-
nomic problems: Annals Eugenics, no. 7, pt. 2, p. 179—188.
1946, Statistical methods for research workers: 10th ed.,
London, Oliver & Boyd.
1947, The design of experiments: 4th ed., London, Oliver
& Boyd.
Flint, R. F., 1935, Glacial features of the southern Okanogan
region: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 46, no. 2, p. 169—194.
LANDSLIDES ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WASHINGTON
1936, Stratified drift and deglaciation of eastern Wash-
ington: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 47, no. 12, p. 1849-1884.
1937, Pleistocene drift border in eastern Washington:
Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 48, no. 2, p. 203—232.
Flint, R. F., and Irwin, W. H., 1939, Glacial geology of Grand
Coulee Darn, Washington: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 50,
no. 5, p. 661-680.
Fuller, G. W., 193], A history of the Pacific Northwest: New
York, Alfred A. Knopf.
Goulden, C. H., 1952, Methods of statistical analysis: 2d ed.,
New York, John Wiley & Sons.
Hall, B. A., 1952, Final construction report on Lake Roosevelt
reservoir: U.S. Bur. Reclamation, Coulee Dam, Washington.
Holmsen, Gunnar, 1929, Lerfaldene ved Kokstad, Gretnes 0g
Braa [English summary—Landslides of Kokstad, Gretnes,
and Braa]: Norges geol. unders¢ke1se, no. 132, p. 41—45.
Johnston, W. A., 1926, The Pleistocene of Cariboo and Cassiar
districts, B. 0., Canada: Royal Soc. Canada, Proc. Trans.,
3d ser., v. 20, pt. 2, sec. 4, p. 137—147.
Karpofl, K. P., 1952, Stabilization of the slide area at the right
switch-yard of Grand Coulee Dam: U.S. Bur. Reclamation
Rept. SP—32, Denver, Colo.
Kempthorne, 0., 1953, Design and analysis of experiments: New
York, John Wiley & Sons.
Ladd, G. E., 1935, Landslides, subsidences, and rock-falls. Am.
Railway Eng. Assoc. Bull., v. 37, no. 337.
Landes, Henry, 1902, An outline, of geology of Washington.
Washington Geol. Survey, v. 1, p. 11—35.
MacDonald, D. F., 1947, Panama Canal slides, the Panama
Canal, Third locks project: Dept. Operation & Maint. [re-
printed August 1947], p. 27.
Mather, K., 1943, Statistical analysis in biology. New York,
Interscience Pubs.
Meinzer, O. E., 1949, Occurrence, origin, and discharge of ground
water in Meinzer, 0. E., Hydrology (Physics of the earth
IX); New York, Dover Pubs, p. 385-443.
Meinzer, O. E., and Wenzel, L. K., 1949, Movement of ground
water and its relation to head, permeability and storage in
Meinzer, O. E., Hydrology (Physics of the earth IX), New
York, Dover Pubs, p. 444—477.
Mottley, C. M., and Embody, D. R., 1942, The effect of the full
moon on trout fishing. Am. Statistical Assoc. Jour., v. 37,
p. 41-47.
Muller, Friedrich, 1898, Das Wasserwesen der Niederlandischen
Province Zeeland: Berlin, W. Ernst.
Pardee, J. T., 1918, Geology and mineral deposits of the Colville
Indian Reservation, Washington: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull.
677.
Park, B. C., and Day B. 8., 1942, A simplified method for deter-
mining the condition of whitetail deer herds: US. Dept. Agr.
Tech. Bull. 840, 60 p.
Schultz, Henry, 1930, The standard error of a forecast from a
curve: Am. Statistical Assoc. Jour., v. 25, p. 139—185.
Sharpe, C. F. S., 1938, Landslides and related phenomena: New
York, Columbia Univ. Press. 136 p.
Snedecor, G. W., 1946, Statistical methods, 4th ed.: Ames, Iowa
Iowa State Coll. Press.
Snedecor, G. W., and Cox, G. M., 1935, Disproportionate sub-
class numbers in tables of multiple classification: Iowa State
Coll. Research Bull. 180, p. 234—272.
SELECTED REFERENCES 95
Terzaghi, Karl, 1925, Erdbaumechanik, Leipzig and Vienna,
Franz Deuticke, 391 p.
1949, Soil moisture and capillary phenomena. in soils. in
Meinzer, O. E., Hydrology (Physics of the earth IX), New
York, Dover Pubs, p. 331L363.
1950, Mechanics of landslides, in Application of geology
to engineering practice, (Berkey volume): Geol. Soc. Amer-
ica, p. 83—123.
Terzaghi, Karl, and Peck, R. B., 1948, Soils mechanics in engi-
neering practice, art. 31, New York, John Wiley & Sons.
Tsao, Fei, 1942, Tests of statistical hypotheses in the case of
unequal or disproportionate numbers of observations in the
subclasses: Psychometrica‘, v. 7, no. 3, p. 195—212.
1946, General solution of the analysis of variance and
covariance in the case of unequal or disporportionate num-
bers of observations in the subclasses: Psychometrica, v. 11,
no. 2, p. 107—128.
Walker, F. C., and Irwin, W. H., 1954, Engineering problems
in Columbia Basin: Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Proc., v. 80, Sep-
arate no. 515.
Weaver, C. E., 1918, Geological history of Washington: North-
west Mines Handb., v.1, p. 143-145.
1920, The mineral resources of Stevens County: Wash-
ington Geol. Survey Bull. 20.
Western Historical Pub. Co., 1904, History of the Big Bend
Country, p. 73—74. '
Varnes, D. J ., 1958, Landslide types and process, in Landslides 7
and Engineering Practice: Washington, D.C., Highway Re-
search Board, Spec, pub. 29, chap. 3, p. 20—47.
Yates, 15"., 1933, The principles of orthogonality and confounding
in replicated experiments: Jour. Agr. Sci., v. 23, no. 1, p.
108—145.
Youden, W. J., 1953, Statistical methods for chemists: New
York, John Wiley & Sons.
INDEX
Page
Acknowledgments ____________ . . . . . . 5
Age of landslides. - . . . . 45
rock units ........ 3
Alameda Flat area. .............. 68
geology ................... 68-69
landslide classification- __-. 84; pl. 6
slope-stability data. ._ ....... . 61, 68-69
Altitude at which landslides occur.. _.__ 11
Analysis, discriminant function 56
variance . 56, 69-70
original slope ____________________________________________________________ 54
reduced regression..- .-. _. 50
submergence percentage __________________________________________________ 54
material.. _.._ ...... --_ 55
Ancient landslides . .. . 29, 30, 35, 51, 61, 65
Artificial-slope landslides ..................................................... 39
Bailey Basin, landslide in .................................................... 29, 30
seismic survey..
Bedrock profiles. . -.
Cedonia area, landslides.
Chief Joseph Dam .......... .._- 5, 29
Chronologic order of landslides. .- 14—19
Classification categories_._. .................. 34, 39—41, 74
environmental factors in._ . . .. ............. 3
material. -_. .. ..- 39—41
landslides. . ..__-. . 2, 3
landslide type groups--. -_. 35
Columbia glacier lobe. . .. 3, 14
Columbia River basalt. . . ......... 29
landslides in._ 29-31
Colville batholith. . .._. _- 3, 28, 68
Conclusions. . .. 74
Cost of landslides ........... .. 31,33
Covariance analysis. . 49
Culture ..... ---. 4—5, 13, 44
Data card___.-._ 34,36,37
Deadman Creek slide 33, 35
Discriminant function, analysis for ........................................... 3, 56
use... 57
Drainage categories _____ _- 43
terrace surface... 43—44
Dry earthflows. . .. ..... 39, 40
Equation, prediction of H 0: VC .............................................. 50
Farm terrace, altitude ............. 13, 14
ground-water condition: 13,14
landslides. . . . ..... 14—19
lithologic description. . . _..- 14
Field observations._ ._ _ .. .. 33
Field sheet, slope stability... ______ 62
Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, landslides along ............. . ..._ 10
Frequency of landslides ................................................... 1, 5, 31, 33
Geologic setting .......................................................... 3—4, 33, 61
Glacial geology. . _______ 3, 4, 14, 28
Grand Coulee Dam, landslides at ........................................... 5, 31—33
left tailrace landslide area... 33
Great Northern Railway slide ................................................ 33, 34
Ground-water categories ................................................ 34, 41, 43, 52
conditions .......... 14
test of significance of ...................................................... 49
H C : V0 ratio _______________________________________________________ 46, 47, 48, 49, 50
Hopkins Canyon, mudflow in ________________________________________________ 11
Page
Ice lobes 3
Industries. . 4, 5
Kettle Falls area, landslide in 10
Koontzville landslide 26—28
Lake Rufus Wood. See Alameda Flat area.
Landslides, chronologic order. 14—19
data card 34, 36, 37
frequency of occurrence 1, 5, 31,33
interpretation of data 46
lithologic description. . . p 5
numerical designation. . . 35
011 bedrock. .. 39, 53
relation of geologic conditions to. 2
relation of topographic conditions to ...................................... 2
types 5—10
type groups 35, 46
Location of landslides 14—19
Main terrace, altitude. 12, 14
ground-water conditions 13, 14
irrigation 13
land lidn 14—19
lithologic description. . . .. 14
Material categories. . 39—41, 56
removal. . 44-45, 47
Measurements, geologic envirnnment 39
landslides... 45—46
Methods, of analysis . _. -- - 71
investigation ........ - . 33, 34, 46, 61
seismic-refraction ..... . . . 74
Methods, statistical. - - . 71
Morphology of scarps 5, 6
Movement of slide material.... 44, 45
Mudflows. 6, 7—8, 10, 11, 39
Multiple-alcove landslides .................................. 6, 7, 8, ll, 21, 39, 51, 53, 65
Nespelem River area. . . 28, 29
geology .- 28
glacial history of .......................................................... 28
landslides in 28—29, 30
seismic surveys 72, 73,74
topography... . 28, 29
Ninemile area. . . -. 21
extensive landsliding in _.._ 20
geology of 20—21, 28
landslides in._ 21, 65
seismic surveys 72, 73, 74
slope-stability data in 62—62
Nomenclature of parts of landslide 6, 35
Okanogan glacier lobe. . . .-- .-_ 3, 4, 14, 28
Orchard terrace, altitude ..... 13,14
irrigation on .............................................................. l3
ground-water conditions in. . . 14
Original slope 44, 48, 54, 56
Physiography. . . ...... 3—4
Potential landslide areas ._ 60—61
Prediction equation ..... 50, 51
Qualitative variables. _. _____ 47, 56
Quantitative variables ........................................................ 48, 56
Recent slump-earthflow landslides 35, 40
limited by bedrock..- 35,38
Reduced regression analysis __________________________________________________ 50
97
98 INDEX
Pale
Bred Terrace area 12
culture. . 13
1 extensive landsliding in-.. 12
‘ geologic history 13-14
geology of ..... 13-14
ground-water mndiflnns 14, 27
, initial movement of a landslide ___________________________________________ 15,16
‘ lake fillin..._ 19
landslides 14—19
lnoaflnn __ 12
multiple-alcove landslide in.. 8,11
number of landslides in 14
seismic surveys- 72, 73
surface-water conditions _______ '14
Regression equation. . 48
Sanpoil ice lobe. . 3
Sanpoil Valley landslide 33
Seatons Grove area, ancient landslide in ______________________________________ 21
Seatons landslide, description of ..... 21-26
‘ mudflow -... 25—26
Sediment, types of.... .-- 5
Seismic surveys ..... 72—74
Selkirk Trench. . 3
Sherman Creek terrace, altitude.. 12, 13
ground—water onndifinne 14
Page
Slip-oi! slope landslides 6, 7, 9, 10, 39. 52
Slope ‘ ‘lt-‘s 44
Slope stability, application of data 61
field sheet- . 62
results of experiment 58
studies. . . 55, 61—64, 74
Slump-earthflow landslides ............................... 6, 10, 19, 21, 29, 30, 32, 33, 51
Sources of analyses. . . . 71, 72
Statistical analyses. 33, 46, 47
methods 3
Stratigraphic “Mn“ 28
Submergence 44, 48, 56
Surface-water. conditions... 14
Surficial deposits, classification N" ies , 39—41
topography of. . . 5
Talus 5111mm 39, 41
Ten-ace height 43, 48, 56
Tests of preann 71
significance. 71
for ground water.... 49
for materials 49
The Slide 21; pl. 3
Time not in 45
Types of landslides 6, 35, 46
Uniformity experiment 53—54, 55, 69
:U. 5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961 O - 581004
U_ONOmm:>_ AKOV
>K\ ‘
. . ~..-_--3--*- ~—~--- —— Details of geology and landslides in Reed
prelandsllde proflle‘ \x.‘ terrace area shown on plate 1
' an... ,
1100’ 4......“ ‘ ...~.~........... _ 1100’
a a
5
C $ w 0'
1300'— Maximum lake-surface altitude 1290 ft r1300,
Profile of landslide fill
1200’- 1200'
_ _ _ JETS ‘°_V°'__. _____
1 100'
HYDROGRAPHY AND LANDSLIDE FILL IN FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LAKE, REED TERRACE AREA, SEPTEMBER 1952
581004 0 -61 (In pocket)
1 000 O
L
l l | l l
UNDERWATER CONTOUR
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
lNTERVAL 10 FEET
3000 FEET
l
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 367
PLATE 5
R. 35 E. 118°20’ R. 36 E.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
118° 25’
.....
Pleistocene and
Recent
A
Pleistocene
A
b“
. II
>: ° > I" g'xab' M
i: "f" 'o ' @fW/gf—f ; 7 \GT\
' . I a i
.i L/v )> ”3 \‘z
x -- - ,rféi-a:;I\:‘fi1s//K’/LL3I=I:
98 /‘ A 7m WILL-WI
118°-00’ fl ' '-. - “ ‘ ‘ ' ‘ 4““ A 48°OO’
118°25’ R. 35 E. 118° 20’ R. 36 E.
Base from. U. 8, Geological Survey Wilmont Creek Geology by W: L. PQIEISOI‘: 1954- Bedrock-surficial
topographic quadrangle. Underwater contours contact on right bank by W. R. Power, Jr, 1951.
interpreted from hydrographic survey by the Landslide classification by F. 0. Jones, 1954
U- S coaSt and GeOdEtiC sun/9y INTERIOR-~GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON. D, 0710206
GEOLOGIC MAP AND LANDSLIDE CLASSIFICATION OF THE NINEMILE AREA,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LAKE, WASHINGTON
SCALE 131680
1 O 1MlLE
|
CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
UNDERWATER CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
EXPLANATION
SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
AVQDA
<7 4
646‘ A
V AA
Channel gravel and Landslide debris
alluvial-fan debris
-Qi.
Glaciolacustrine deposits
Bedded silt, carved silt and
clay, lesser amounts of
fine lacnstrine sand.
Dashed pattern where
inferred to be present
beneath slope wash
Undifferentiated
Outwash sand and gravel terrace deposits
Undifferentiated drift
Commonly thinly mantling
bedrock ,I
BEDROCK
\ L
\:\:I7 \/\/I/
, ..
Contact
Dashed where approximately located
Lake mile upstream from Grand Coulee Dam
O 2
Seismic shot point
_———. A———_
__.__ B ...____
Landslide classification
A, estimated extent of landslide action under present conditions.
B, estimated extent of landslide action should ground-water con-
ditions in the area be changed from low to high
TRUE NORTH
APPROXIMATE MEAN
DECLINATION,196O
QUATERNARY
PALEOZOIC
AND (OR)
MESOZOIC
UNITED STATES DEPARTENT OF THE INTERIOR
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 367
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE 4
—-—1 100’
EXPLANATION
Granite
DDH' diamond—drill hole Ground-surface alt 1058.9 ft
. . DDH 12. Top-of-casing alt 1060.92 ft
Water table denotes apprOXimate water table in
pervious overburden at time of drilling _ _ Seatons Lake alt 1071-0 ft Sept. 16- 1953
Irrigated field (é
P, denotes zone of material from which pore pressures . . F '
are obtained by piezometers Irrigated field 1060
Gravelly sand Slide scarp
Ditch 3 ft wide 1 ft deep
Silty sand with basalt cobbles
Ground-surface alt 1004.9 ft _
DDH 11. Top—of—casing alt 1006.83 ft way-tame 3” 1030 ft
\ Gravelly sand — 1020'
Ground-surface alt 1003.6 ft
DDH 10. ‘ Top-of—casing alt 10051Wx.1 fi ,
— Sand _ Gravelly sand with boulders
_ _ Piezo metric —Sandy gravel, with cobbles and boulders
_;— Gravelly, Silty sand surface alt
—— Silty gravel, sandy, QER— Piezometric-surface alt 977 ft
Water-surface open-hole alt 9735 ft W;::;:T:;;SQ72 ft ’ " / Water—table alt 976 ft Sandy, lean clay, With basalt boulders _ 980’
4 ~—————————— — Coarse, sandy gravel
— Very fine silt, sandy. " ‘
Water—surface alt 939-0 ft - , with boulders —— Coarse, sandy gravel, With cobbles
Sept. 15, 1953 .,
'— . — Sandy gravel i— 940'
F»— Fine sand p{ :— Clayey gravel
__ Fine, silty sand " —— Silty, sandy gravel
. , ' s — Slit
[— Silt I —P ;-— Lean clay .
_ . 4 .7' _ ‘ \ Fat clay
900’ ' . . c. , , - . l 900,
H - 50 0 100 150 200 FEET-
}, l l l l J
! See figure 16 for location
1100,? . fwd,“ , ' » ‘ Ground-surface alt 10772 ft _1100r
Piezometric-surface alt 1091.7 ft DDH 9‘ Top-of—calsmg alt 1079'31 ft
—— Sandy silty gravel
1060’ ! j Piezometric-surface alt 1072 ft F
_ :17 , _ . —1060'
‘ . '» DDH (group: 2:223: 12531-326; 78 ft Slide scarp 1.5 ft Water—table _ Coarse gravel, sandy,
~. ' p g ' alt 1057 ft with boulders
Slough—surface water 7
Slide scarp 1 ft
1020'- 'A Ground-surface alt 980 1 ft - I d '| — Sandy Silt With —1020’
' - *—-— t ravel
DDH 7. Top-of-casing alt 982.08 ft Sliced scarp 4 ft l /San y SI y g // boulders down
I Water-tab e alt 1007 ft — / to 50 ft
+Coarse sandy gravel
/
' ,, " L ‘—— ‘ d 'It
Water-surface alt 939.9%ft STATE IOA *- Very fine san y 5'
Sept, 16, 1953 _ ‘ —— Silty gravel, sandy, with boulders
980"" Waterltab‘le alt 966 ft —- Finej‘é‘iltysand Clean fine sand — 980’
> , » _ =/ Jointed lean clay
Piezometric—Surfacealt gaffl —— Clean véw'mse sand _ . Jointed silt ~> Clean fine sand
, 7 . . ,2 ‘1 : ———Fine sandy Silt
l , . . _ _, Varved clay
:— Crumbled-Jean clay _ xe’y :ine sang 'It Silt —:> Clean fine sand
_\ . g» ‘3 :/ ery ine san y si —
girliemstflgglsilt _r— Crumbled gray sandy silt _ Eat clafy d
940, _ _ . . 1 . -— ean ine san
_/ Very fine silty sand Silty sand With gravel as much as 1/2 in. P{-i— Fat clay ,_ 940'
_—/ Medium-fine sand :_ Silty sand
2* Silt - - _
~\ Crumpled lean clay Very fine sandy 5'” Fat clay
P \ Medium-fine silty sand — Lean clay
_'— Varved lean clay _/ Very fine silty sand :_ Silt
_— Very fine Sllty sand 3— Very fine sandy silt __ Fat clay
P{j— Sand
900’ 900’
Based on investigation by Seattle District,
Corps of Engineers, U. 8. Army, 1953
581004 0 -61 (In pocket)
50 O
200 FEET
100 150
l l
l
See figure 20 for location
SECTIONS OF SEATONS AND KOONTZVILLE LANDSLIDES, WASHINGTON
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR . PROFESSIONAL PAPER 567
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE 5
S 00°: :éogo avogoé) ‘
E E) 000° °g0°aou
8 8 00m °'°¢o°'3
N
fag: ‘31 Channel gravel and
S . a
g alluv1al- fan debris
“ Upper lacustrine sequence
, " 3- Glaciolacustrt'ne varved silt
“(Ki/Q and clay
'1 ' M‘ ‘\ . . ’ .
lflg‘ . ‘ ~ ‘ ‘ . - . le
ki ‘ i. . o ' - .-‘ .> _ _
' 3 ‘3 Ice marginal sand
3 and gravel
Q)
s
.E Till and basalt gravel
N
E
Lower lacustrine sequence
Glaciolacustrz’ne clay, silt,
and sand
‘ Qgs
w ' ,
Jilly-l Granitic gravel
"Ill Glacioflum‘al sand and
"' gravel composed offrag-
ments of granite and
‘ g granite minerals
.‘ ’7 filfii b, A
. 4 1- flier . / o
: ‘/V/ f?‘ 6 b /"
r 4 . \
veer/444 -- .‘a
‘i\?’Ji/Z£€-.‘ ro
«$4,432, ‘ é“
,. ’y’ , t W
’444. s
E
48°05’
119°OO’
Base from U. 8. Geological Survey Alameda Flat , Geology by W. L. Peterson, 1954—55. Bedrock-
ur .u find Nespelem topographic quadrangles 7;: as» ewe“ ' surficial contact by W, R. Power, Jr., with -...,..,. ,.
slight modification by W. L, Peterson
A/
1800’
271359
1300' T
VERTICAL EXAGGERATION x 4 I 3
1 g e0
GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE NESPELEM RIV ER AREA 3
3 5
LAKE RUFUS WOODS, WASHINGTON Wmfm
DFCLINATIDN,1960
SCALE 1:31680
1 O IMILE
LI I I I | l I l I l
CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
EXPLANATION
SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
Landslide debris Basalt talus
,Qlu
Undifferentiated lacus—
trine deposits
Includes upper and lower
lacustrine sequences and
perhaps other unrecog- .. ‘ .. .
s u n-
23:02:55.,:3;":;;?acio_ Undifferentiated drift
lacustrlne clay, silt, and
sand
V
QUATERNARY
Ground moraine
B E D R O C K
>_
[I
S
l.—
(I
Columbia River basalt E
2
O
N
. O
Crystalline rocks 5'
<
E].
Contact
Dashed where approximately located
e
River mile downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
04
Seismic shot point
AND (OR)
MESOZOIC
ES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
UNITED STAT
' ‘ ' GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 567
PLATE 6
Base from U. 8. Geological Survey Alameda Flat 29 E. 119010, Geology by W. L, Peterson, 1954. Landslide
topographic quadrangle Classification by F. 0. Jones, 1954
[NTERIORiGEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON, D. C.~ 10206
GEOLOGIC MAP AND LANDSLIDE CLASSIFICATION OF THE
ALAMEDA FLAT AREA, LAKE RUFUS WOODS, WASHINGTON
SCALE 1:31680
o lMILE
| l | l
CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
Pleistocene and
Recent
Pleistocene
A
EXPLANATION
SURFICIAL DEPOSITS
r V- q V V v
A q ,Ql8 Va v
.7 v D 7
Channel gravel, alluvial- Landslide debris
fan deposits, and wind-
blown sand
K
r- N
Glaciolacustrine sand
Dashed pattern where
inferred to be present
beneath slope wash
QISC;
Glaciolacustrine silt
and clay f
Undifferentiated drift
Fluvial sand and gravel
L J
BEDROCK
Contact
Dashed where approximately located
@
River mile downstream from Grand Coulee Dam
._.—___ A -_.____
_._.__ B __...._
Landslide classification
A, estimated extent of landslide action under present conditions.
B, estimated extent of landslide action should ground-water con-
ditions in the area be changed from low to high
TRUE NORTH
APPROXIMATE MEAN
DECLINATION, 1960
Ffi'
PALEOZOIC
QUATERNARY
AND (OR)
MESOZOIC
7:75“
’ %
Hall and MacKevett—GEOLOGY AND.0RE DEPOSITS OF THE DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, GAME—Geological Survey Professional Paper 368 a? .\
(so
7%”:
Geology and Ore Deposits
of the Darwin Quadrangle
Inyo County, California
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 368
Preparea’ in cooperation wz'tfl t/ze
State of Ca/zform'a, Department of
Natural Resources, Dz'w'rz'orz of Mine:
«"
Geology and Ore Deposits
of the Darwin Quadrangle
Inyo County, California
By WAYNE E. HALL and E. M. MACKEVETT, JR.
l
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER ‘368
PrepareaI in cooperation wit/E tne
‘State of Calzfornz'a, Department of
Natara/ Reroarces, Dz'w'yz'on of Miner
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1962
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Thomas B. Nolan, Director
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D.C.
CONTENTS
Abstract ___________________________________________
Introduction _______________________________________
Location ______ : ________________________________
Purpose and scope _______________________________
Climate and vegetation __________________________
Topography ____________________________________
Water supply ___________________________________
Previous work and acknowledgments _______________
Fieldwork ______________________________________
Paleozoic rocks _____________________________________
General features ________________________________
Ordoviciansystem ______________________________
Pogonip group ______________________________
Eureka quartzite ____________________________
Ely Springs dolomite ________________________
Silurian and Devonian systems ____________________
Hidden Valley dolomite ______________________
Devonian system _______________________________
Lost Burro formation ________________________
Mississippian system ____________________________
Tin Mountain limestone _____________________
Perdido formation ___________________________
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian(?) systems ________
Lee Flat limestone __________________________
Pennsylvanian(?) system _________________________
Rest Spring shale ___________________________
Pennsylvanian and Permian systems ______________
Keeler Canyon formation ____________________
Lower unit _____________________________
Upper unit _____________________________
Owens Valley formation _____________________
Lower unit _____________________________
Middle unit ____________________________
Upper unit _____________________________
Undifferentiated Paleozoic silicated limestone _______
Gneiss _________________________________________
Mesozoic rocks _____________________________________
Intrusive rocks _________________________________
Biotite—hornblende-quartz monzonite __________
Leucocratic quartz monzonite ________________
Aplite and leucogranite ______________________
Dikes __________________________________________
Altered andesite porphyry dikes ______________
Diorite _____________________________________
Cenozoic rocks ______________________________________
Pliocene (?) ____________________________________
Pyroclastic rocks ____________________________
Lower pyroclastic unit ___________________
Upper pyroclastic unit ___________________
Andesite ___________________________________
Old fanglomerate from the Inyo Mountains- _ __
Coso formation _____________________________
"d
p
In
a:
wmczmo‘musthuaoowmmw
Cenozoic rocks—Continued
Pleistocene _____________________________________
Olivine basalt _____________________________
Old fanglomerate marginal to Darwin Wash- __ _
Lakebeds __________________________________
Recent ____________________________________ _ _ _ _
Unconsolidated gravels and alluvium ______ _ _ _ _
Structure _____ 1 ________________________________ _ _ _ _
Structure of the pre-Tertiary rocks ____________ _ - - -
Unconformities _________________________ _ _ _ _
Folds __________________________________ _ _ - _
Darwin Wash syncline _______________ _ _ _ _
Darwin Hills overturned syncline _____ _ _ _ _
Talc City Hills syncline _____________ - _ _ _
Santa Rosa Hills warp _______________ _ _ - _
Faults _________________________________ _ _ _ _
Thrust faults _______________________ _ _ _ _
Talc City thrust ________________ _ _ _ _
Davis thrust ___________________ _ _ _ _
Strike-slip faults ____________________ _ _ _ _
Mineralized steep strike faults ________ _ _ _ _
Foliation ______________________________ _ _ _ _
Summary ______________________________ _ _ _ _
Cenozoic structures _________________________ _ _ _ _
Metamorphism_____________-__; ________________ ____
Igneous metamorphism ______________________ _ _ _ _
Metamorphism within the igneous rocks- - _ _ _ _ -
Metamorphism of limestone __________________
Recrystallization to marble ______________
Dolomitization _____________________ ‘_ _ _ _
Alteration to calc-hornfels, calc-siliicate
rock, and tactite __________________ 1- _ _ _
Alteration to feldspathic rock ________ _ _ _ _
Alteration to amphibolite ____________ _ _ _ _
Geologic history ________________________________ _ - _ _
Ore deposits ____________________________________ _ _ _ _
History and production ______________________ _ _ _ _
Lead-silver-zinc deposits _____________________ _ _ _ _
Distribution ___________________________ _ _ _ _
Character of ore ________________________ _ _ _ _
Forms of ore bodies _____________________ _ _ _ _
Bedded deposits ____________________ _ _ _ _
Irregular replacement ore bodies ______ _ _ _ _
Vein deposits _______________________ _ _ - _
Ore bodies in flat-lying fractures ______ _ _ _ _
Ore controls ____________________________ - _ _ _
Nearness to intrusive contacts ________ - _ _ _
Relationship of ore deposits to stratigra} hy-
Relationship of ore to folds __________ _ _ _ _
Relationship of ore to faults __________ _ _ _ _
III
Page
IV CONTENTS
Page Page
Ore deposits—Continued Ore deposits—Continued
Lead-silver-zinc deposits—Continued Tungsten deposits ______________________________ 76
Mingalogy ..... ""i —————————————————————— 58 Distribution ________________________________ 76
y pg:n:n‘31:$g:é;lifiéglé ““““““““ :3 Previous work and acknowledgments __________ 76
Gangue minerals___-___::::::::::::: 62 Deposits in the Darwin district ............... 76
Supergene minerals _____________________ 63 Geology. """"""""""""""""" 76
Sulfide zone ________________________ 63 Ore bodles """""""""""""""" 77
Oxide zone _________________________ 63 Grade- ' ' ' ' ' ' -’ """"""""""""" 77
Paragenesis ____________________________ 64 01:6 contrds """"""""""""""" 77
Primary zoning _____________________________ 66 Mineralogy """"""""""""""""" 77
Oxidation and enrichment ___________________ 66 D 813081175 111 the 0030 Range ------------------ 79
Classification and origin _____________________ 68 Other deposits ---------------------------------- 79
Darwin lead-silver-zinc district _______________ 69 Nonmetallic commodities ____________________________ 79
Geochemical prosiiecting _________________ 71 Steatite-grade talc ______________________________ 80
Future of the district ____________________ 72 Geolo 80
Zinc Hill district ............................ 73 gy‘ """"""""""""""""""
. . Talc ore bodies _____________________________ 80
Lee district ________________________________ 74 Origin 81
Deposits in the Inyo Mountains and Talc City . ___.' """"""""""""""""""""""""
Hills ____________________________________ 75 Chlorlte depos1ts ________________________________ 81
Santa Rosa mine _______________________ 75 Literature cited _____________________________________ 81
Deposits in the Talc City Hills ___________ 76 Index _____________________________________________ 85
FIGURE 1.
,«rcscn encore
ozooo
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
ILLUSTRATIONS
[Plates are in pocket]
. Geologic map and sections of the Darwin quadrangle Inyo County, Calif.
. Geologic map of the Talc City Hills.
. Geologic map and sections of the Darwin mine area.
. Map of part of 400 level and section of the 430-stope ore body of the Defiance workings.
. Maps of the No. 6 and No. 10 levels of the Christmas Gift mine, showing localization of ore.
. Map showing distribution of total copper-lead-zinc from soil samples over the Defiance and Bernon workings of the
Darwin mine.
. Map showing distribution of antimony, bismuth, and silver in residual soil over the Defiance—Bernon workings of the
Darwin mine
. Maps and section of upper workings of the Zinc Hill mine.
. Geologic map and sections of the Main stope of the Silver Reid mine.
. Geologic map of the Durham, Fernando, and St. Charles mines, Darwin district, Calif.
Page
Index map showing location of the Darwin quadrangle __________________________________________________ 2
, Index map showing the locationof Inyo County lead-silver-zinc deposits __________________________________ 3
. Simplified geologic map of the Darwin quadrangle showing the geologic setting of the ore deposits ____________ 7
. Photograph of the Tale City Hills near the Viking mine showing the overturned Paleozoic section of the Pogonip
group, Eureka quartzite, Ely Springs dolomite, and Hidden Valley dolomite _____________________________ 9
. Lee Flat limestone viewed south from the Lee mine _____________________________________________________ 18
, Correlation of Carboniferous formations of the Quartz Spring area and Darwin quadrangle ___________________ 20
. Photograph showing the folded, incompetent nature of the Pennsylvanian and Permian strata in contrast to the
throughgoing nature of the adjacent Lost Burro formation of Devonian age ______________________________ 21
. Owens Valley formation at Conglomerate Mesa in the northwest part of the quadrangle _____________________ 25
. Triangular diagram showing percentages of essential minerals in the biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite ______ 30
. Partial sections of Pliocene(?) pyroclastic basaltic rocks in the Inyo Mountains 1% miles southwest of the Santa
Rosa mine _______________________________________________________________________________________ 34
Lower well-bedded unit of Pliocene(?) pyroclastic rocks in the southern Inyo Mountains ____________________ 34
Agglomerate in the poorly bedded upper unit of Pliocene(?) pyroclastic rocks in the southern Inyo Mountains- __ 34
Photograph of a sawed volcanic bomb of olivine basalt showing its internal structure __________________________ 35
Local angular unconformity in the lower unit of the Owens Valley formation in Darwin Canyon _________________ 39
View looking south 1,800 feet southeast of the Christmas Gift mine showing the tight folds of the calc-hornfels of
the lower unit of the Owens Valley formation on the east side of the Darwin stock ___________________________ 41
Photograph of an overturned isoclinal syncline in the Lucky Jim mine area____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __________ 41
Talc City thrust at the Alliance talc mine _______________________________________________________________ 42
CONTENTS
FIGURE 18. View of the west flank of the Argus Range from Darwin Wash showing a step-faulted basalt flow ___________
19. Photomicrograph of medium-grained light-gray calc-silicate rock from the inner zone of contact-metamorp osed
limestone from the Defiance area ___________________________________________________________________
20. Photomicrograph of light-green tactite composed predominantly of garnet __________________________________
21. White fine-grained calc-hornfels _______________________________________________________________________
22. Photomicrograph of light-greenish—gray tactite composed of coarse-grained wollastonite that is partly relilaced
by andradite garnet ______________________________________________________________________________
23. Photomicrograph of specimen of low=grade ore showing replacement of garnet and idocrase tactite by sulfide
minerals _________________________________________________________________________________________
24. Photomicrograph of partly feldspathized calc-hornfels ____________________________________________________
25. Photomicrograph of kalisyenite dike from the Defiance workings of the Darwin mine __________________________
26. Photomicrograph of andorite that contains inclusions of bismuth __________________________________________
27. Photomicrograph of sphalerite from the Thompson workings of the Darwin mine ____________________________
28. Exsolution pattern of chalcopyrite in sphalerite from the Darwin mine _____________________________________
29. Galena and its alteration product cerussite with elongate inclusions of matildite _____________________________
30. Photomicrograph of ore from the Darwin mine. Pyrite occurs as corroded relicts in pyrrhotite and galena- _ _ _ _
31. Photomicrograph of zinc-rich ore from the Darwin mine showing replacement of garnet by sulfide ore ___________
32. Photomicrograph of ore from the Darwin mine. The paragenesis is pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena ____________
33. Photograph of partly oxidized ore from the Lee mine- _____________________________________________________
34. Maps of underground workings and vertical projection of the Durham mine _________________________________
TABLES
TABLE 1. Sequence of rocks exposed in the Darwin quadrangle ____________________________________________________
2. Correlation of late Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks _____________________________________________
3. Analyses of limestone and calc-hornfels from the Darwin Hills ____________________________________________
4. Gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc produced from the Darwin quadrangle _________________________________
5. Talc produced from the Talc City mine _______________________________________________________________
6. Analyses of bismuth, selenium, and silver in galena from the Darwin mine _________________________________
7. Paragenesis of principal primary ore and gangue minerals _______________________________________________
8. ZnS-FeS content of sphalerites from the Darwin quadrangle ________________________________________ j _____
9. Geologic column of the Zinc Hill district _______________________________________________________________
10. Assay data of ore shipped from the Lee mine, 1951 to 1955 ______________________________________________
33
50
54
55
61
64
69
75
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE DARWIN OUADRANGLE,
INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
By WAYNE E. HALL and E. M. MACKEVETT, JR. ‘
AB STRACT
The Darwin quadrangle encompasses 240 square miles in
the west—central part of Inyo County between long 117°30’ W.
and 117°45’ W. and between lat 36°15’ N. and 36°30’ N. It
includes parts of the Inyo Mountains, Coso and Argus Ranges,
and Darwin Hills.
Paleozoic rocks range in age from Ordovician to Permian in
a conformable sequence more than 13,000 feet thick. They
are predominantly carbonate rocks that in large part correlate
with widespread formations in the eastern part of the Great
Basin. Pre-Devonian rocks are predominantly dolomite and
quartzite; Devonian rocks are limestone, dolomite, quartzite,
and shale; and Mississippian and younger Paleozoic rocks are
chiefly limestone.
Silurian and Ordovician rocks are restricted to the Talc City
Hills. Ordovician strata are about 3,000 feet thick and include
the Pogonip group, Eureka quartzite, and Ely Springs dolomite.
The Ely Springs is overlain by about 1,000 feet of massive
light-gray Hidden Valley dolomite of Silurian and Devonian
age. Devonian and Mississippian strata are best exposed in
the Santa Rosa Hills and include 1,700 feet of Lost Burro for—
mation of Devonian age, 435 feet of Tin Mountain limestone
and 330 feet of Perdido formation of Mississippian age, and
more than 960 feet of Lee Flat limestone of Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian(?) age. Part of the Lee Flat limestone is a
time—stratigraphic equivalent of the Rest Spring shale, which
occurs only within or adjacent to major fault zones in the
northwestern part of the quadrangle. Pennsylvanian and Per-
mian strata are more than 6,000 feet thick and are the most
widespread Paleozoic rocks. They are divided into the Keeler
Canyon formation of Pennsylvania and Permian age and the
Owens Valley formation of Permian age; both consist pre-
dominantly of thinly bedded calcilutite and calcarenite. The
Paleozoic rocks are intruded by several plutons of quartz mon-
zonite of Mesozoic age. Limestones are commonly altered
to calc-hornfels, calc-silicate rock, and tactite near intrusive
contacts.
Cenozoic rocks include sedimentary and volcanic rocks of
Pliocene(?) and younger age. The sedimentary rocks are
divided into the Coso formation, fanglomerate from the Inyo
Mountains, fanglomerate marginal to Darwin Wash, lake beds
in Darwin Wash, and Recent alluvium. Volcanic rocks in-
clude a basaltic pyroclastic section as much as 920 feet thick
that locally contains andesite interbedded near the top of the
unit and younger olivine basalt flows that cover most of the
northern half of the quadrangle. As the different lithologic
units occur in separate areas with little interfingering or inter-
layering between the units, their relative ages are nft definitely
known. .
The Paleozoic rocks are deformed into broad open folds
except near plutonic bodies where the structure ‘is complex
owing to forcible intrusion. The Paleozoic strata about the
northeast margin of the biotite—hornblende-quartz onzonite in
the Coso Range are tightly folded and are disrupt, d by many
faults. Left-lateral strike~slip faults and thrust faults are both
structurally important. The extensive volcanic c ver in the
northern part of the quadrangle prevents a study of the defor-
mation around the quartz monzonite in the north ‘astern part
of the quadrangle.
Formation of the basin-range topography began, before late
'Pliocene as shown by the fanglomerates of that age marginal
to the Inyo Mountains and Coso Range. The Inyo Mountains,
the Argus Range, and possible the Coso Range ar east-tilted
fault blocks. Extensive basalt covers on the e t flanks of
both the Inyo Mountains and Argus Range dip 5° to 15" E.
Step faults are conspicuous features on the west ank of both
ranges.
The quadrangle contains important deposits of lead-silver;
zinc and steatite-grade talc, and some tungsten, copper, gold,
and antimony. The total value of the mineral production up
to 1952 was $371/2 million. The Darwin lead-silverizinc district
produced $29 million and the talc deposits about $5 million.
Tungsten mines and small lead-silver-zinc mines produced $31k
million.
Nearly all of the lead-silver-zinc deposits occur in limestone
or altered limestone. The most productive deposits surround
quartz monzonite in the Darwin Hills in thinly bedded Penn-
sylvanian and Permian strata that are largely alt red to calc-
hornfels and tactite. Individual ore bodies occur as bedded
replacements, vein deposits, and as steep pipe-shaped ore bodies
in or near feeder fissures that strike N. 50° to 70° E. The
hypogene ore consists of galena, sphalerite, pyrit , pyrrhotite,
chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, scheelite, andorite, m tildite, and
clausthalite. Near the surface the ore is in large part oxidized
to a crumbly mass of limonite, jarosite, cerussite, and hemi-
morphite.
The talc deposits occur as elongate pods or lenses in massive
dolomite and to a lesser extent in quartzite peripheral to leuco-
cratic quartz monzonite in the Tale City Hills. Shear zones
in dolomite or contacts between quartzite and olomite may
localize talc.
Tungsten ore has been mined in the eastern parl of the Dar-
win Hills and from the Thompson workings of the Darwin mine.
The deposits are in calc-hornfels, tactite, and mainle of Penn-
, 1
2
sylvanian and Permian age close to the contact of the biotite-
hornblende-quartz monzonite in the Darwin Hills. Scheelite
replaces pure limestone or tactite close to intersections with
mineralized faults that strike N. 70° E. Most of the ore is
within three limestone beds locally known as the Durham,
Frisco, and Alameda beds. The ore bodies are mostly small.
INTRODUCTION
LOCATION
The Darwin quadrangle is in eastern California in
the central part of Inyo County. The area is between
long 117°30’ and 117°45’ W. and lat 36°15’ and 36°30’
N. (fig. 1). Darwin, a small mining town in the south-
ern part of the quadrangle, has a population of several
hundred. A large modern mining camp is maintained
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
by The Anaconda Co. at the Darwin mine 1 mile north
of Darwin, and residences are maintained at some of
the smaller mines and at the principal water supplies
in Darwin Wash and at China. Garden Spring.
Lone Pine, 27 miles northwest of the quadrangle, is
the principal marketing center for the area. It is on a
branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad from Mo-
jave to Owenyo. Paved State Highway 190, extending
from Lone Pine to Death Valley, passes through the
center of [the quadrangle. A paved road extends from
State Highway 190 to Darwin and to the Darwin min—
ing camp. An improved dirt road leads from State
Highway 190 through the northern part of the quad—
rangle to Saline Valley. Many secondary roads lead to
mines and prospects from these main roads.
/ NEw YORK BUTTE \\ UBEHEBE PEAK N
QUADRANGLE \\ QUADRANGLE
o l’
/
//l
”7 I5‘
0 \\ “\\
\
0 \\ \\
’1’ //\\ \\
N/ \\
// \\ sg
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—/’/ 7’ “Sss \\
(—EERRO \S‘ [I \§\\ §=jll
A GORDO Conglomerate\\ /¢¢
fi’ 1
36530' 44 [Mesa \\ ___/¢/
I KEELER / 2/5? W PANAMINT BUTTE
Keelei' OUADRANGLE §§\SANTA\\\ // DARW'N QUADRANGLE
o \\\ ROSA \\// OUADRANGLE A
\\ \‘1 4
\\\H|LLS \\ Lee Flat
\\ /» \‘Fe ’1’
“ \v
ll /¢fi’ \"‘\ql‘?e’/"'é’~ 7
=\ / "
a" \\ ll/x II Darwin a
SANTA \\,/ ll Pl 1:
ROSA V \\ a eau
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// ll \\ “"?-”>o
// // 1
//// Talc City////
/// Hills // Panamint A
//// // i, Springs
4’ SIERRA Darwin China //
//// // TALC Hills Garden . TO DEATH VALLEY»
// // Ophir Spring .- I8 ZINC HILL 4
// // ~ \
//// / Mountain 1 J} '7
I/ O 6/ A Darwin {xv 1) 7
Olancha .— l/ O a DAR W’ N 5 O
6‘ SD . c r
o §§s====§ /¢ "
36.15. 55/ AV )4? m r
HAIWEE RESERVOIR coso PEAK \lF “
,. OUADRANGLE ’9 QUADRANGLE\\§§\JJ x m
‘\\\K ‘7 \\
DD ”’ \l\ 3, 4
Upper Haiwee 0 \\ Z
Reservoir ll Cactus « \\ O
u Flat \ m
118°00’ 117°45' 117°30'
5 o 5 10 15 MILES
g. 4. . . I 1 I J
FIGURE 1.—Index map showing location of the Darwin quadrangle.
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The investigation of the Darwin quadrangle is part
of a long-range program by the US. Geological Survey
in cooperation with the California Division of Mines to
study the Inyo County lead-silver-zinc deposits that
occur between the Cerro Gordo district in the Inyo
Mountains on the northwest and the Resting Springs
district on the southeast (fig. 2). As part of this pro-
gram the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle was mapped by
McAllister (1952, 1955), the New York Butte quad-
rangle is being mapped by C. W. Merriam and W. C.
Smith, and the Darwin quadrangle has been mapped
by the writers (fig. 1).
The Darwin investigation is published in two reports.
Detailed descriptions of the mineral deposits and large-
scale maps of most of the principal mines were pub-
lished in an earlier report (Hall and MacKevett, 1958).
In the present report, emphasis is given to a descrip-
tion of the general geology of the Darwin quadrangle
and to scientific aspects of the mineral deposits.
118°
1 3
CLIMATE AND VEGETATION ‘
The climate in the Darwin quadrangle is typically
desert, and is characterized by scant rainfall, frequent
strong Winds, and/a wide range in tempera ure. The
climate of the closest weather station, at an ltitude of
3,830 feet at Haiwee Reservoir 14 miles southwest of
the Darwin quadrangle, is probably representative of
most of the quadrangle except for the lower altitudes
in P'anamint Valley where the temperature‘is uncom-
fortably hot in the summer. The US. Weather Bu-
reau’s publication “Climatological Data” (A‘ on,, 1948,
p. 350-362) lists the following data for t e Haiwee
Reservoir station: ‘
Annual rainfall ______________________________ inches" 6. 06
Average January temperature__(degrees Fahrenhbit)“ 40.4
Average July temperature ______________________ do---- 81.7
Maximum recorded temperature in 1948 __________ 30-“- 102.0
Minimum recorded temperature in 1948 ---------- --__ 14. 0
Vegetation is mostly sparse. Sagebrush, Mormon tea
(Ephedm), creosote brush (Larrea) , J oshra (Yucca
117° ‘ 116.
«‘49
\
.rge
NEW YORK BUTTE 1
QUADRANGLE; r“ ,0,
Ubehebe district
4
UBEHEBE PEAK
” OUADRANGLE
x
X
K
R A
n \I\?OSA\/,D’ Ltee‘
IS I'IC
X j X
X
Darwin
0' t .
IS ricé¢
Quartz Spring
area
i311"
(-1
flinc Hill
District
a
$0
6‘
36°
1
\ EXPLANATION
Stovepipe
Wells
Panamint
\
\s X i
Mine
Distri
KERN COUNTY I
X
X _INYO C_OUNTY _
Shosh ne
; Resting
Spfing
District
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY ‘
10 O
10 20 MILES ‘
I
FIGURE 2.—Index map showing the location of Inyo County lead-silver-zinc deposits. ‘
4 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
brevifolz'a) , and cacti cover all except the northwestern
part of the quadrangle near Conglomerate Mesa and
the higher altitudes in the Coso Range, where pifion
pines and junipers are prevalent. Joshua trees grow
abundantly on Lee Flat.
TOPOGRAPHY
The Darwin quadrangle is in the western part of the
Basin and Range physiographic province. Altitudes
range from a maximum of 7,731 feet in the Inyo Moun-
tains to a minimum of 1,960 feet in the canyon 2 miles
north of Rainbow Canyon, which drains into Panamint
Valley (fig. 1). The south end of the Inyo Mountains
occupies most of the northwestern quarter of the quad—
rangle. The north end of the Coso Range extends into
the southwestern part and the northwest end of the
Argus Range extends into the southeastern part of the
quadrangle. The rest of the area is mainly an alluvial
and lava-capped plateau with altitudes of 4,500 to 5,500
feet. The most rugged topography is in the eastern
part of the quadrangle where narrow, deeply incised
canyons draining into Panamint Valley are cut into the
lava—capped Darwin Plateau. Rainbow Canyon has
steep walls that are in places more than 1,000 feet high.
The principal drainage is into Panamint Valley.
Darwin Canyon drains the southeastern part of the
quadrangle, including the Argus Range, the Darwin
Hills, and the alluviated area west of Darwin. The
east. slope of the Inyo Mountains and the west slope of
the Santa Rosa Hills are drained by Rainbow Canyon,
and Lee Flat and the east slope of the Santa Rosa Hills
are drained by Lee Wash. Drainage of the southwest-
ern part of the quadrangle is to the west into Owens
Valley.
WATER SUPPLY
Darwin Canyon provides the principal water sup-
ply. Small quantities of water have also been obtained
from Black Spring in the Coso Range and from Mill
Canyon in the northeastern part of the quadrangle.
Shallow wells or springs in Darwin Canyon provide the
water supply for the Darwin mine, a small tungsten mill
in Darwin Canyon, a small mill and residence at China
Garden Spring, and the motel at Panamint Springs.
The Darwin mill and mining camp are supplied by 3
wells less than 60 feet deep in Darwin Canyon from
which about 180 gpm (gallons per minute) of water
are pumped, with a lift of about 1,840 feet. The water
is supplied from a drainage basin of 165 square miles
on the west flank of the Argus Range and the northeast
flank of the Coso Range, and is funneled into the nar-
row mouth of Darwin Canyon. Water for the town
of Darwin is piped 8 miles from springs in the Coso
Range and must be trucked from Lone Pine, Keeler, or
Darwin to the Santa Rosa mine, the Talc City district,
and the Lee district.
PREVIOUS WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The earliest discussions of the geology of the Darwin
area are in reports of the California State Mineralogist
(Crawford, 1894 and 1896; De Groot, 1890, p. 209—
218; and Goodyear, 1888, p. 224—309) and by Burchard
(1884) and Raymond (1877, p. 25—30). These reports
deal primarily with discussions of mining activity, but
they also have notes on the geology of local mine areas.
Knopf (1914) visited the Darwin area in May 1913 dur—
ing his reconnaissance study of the Inyo Mountains, and
in a separate report he discusses the geology and ore
deposits of the Darwin Hills. The first comprehensive
study of the Darwin district was made by Kelley (1937;
1938) during the summers of 1935—36. He made a
geologic map of the Darwin Hills on a scale of 1,000 feet
to the inch and mapped a few of the mines on a larger
scale. In 1937 Schultz described some late Pliocene or
early Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from the Coso Range,
but most of his work was west of the quadrangle. Hop-
per (1947) mapped about 90 square miles across the
southern part of the quadrangle in his study of a strip
6 miles wide from the Sierra Nevada to Death Valley.
The US. Geological Survey had geologists working
in the Darwin quadrangle during World War II in its
commodity-study program. C. W. Merriam and L. C.
Craig studied the lead-zinc deposits; D. M. Lemmon
and others studied the tungsten deposits of the Darwin
Hills; and B. M. Page (1951) and L. A. Wright studied
the tale deposits of the Talc City Hills. T. E. Gay, Jr.
and L. A. Wright (1954) mapped the Talc City dis-
trict. Several mine geologists have published reports
on the Darwin district. L. K. Wilson, (1943), former
resident geologist for the Pacific Tungsten Co., dis—
cussed the geology and tungsten deposits on the east side
of the Darwin Hills. D. L. Davis (Davis and Peterson,
1948), former resident geologist of the Anaconda 00.,
described the geology and ore deposits of the Darwin
mine. Work in the field was greatly benefited by dis-
cussions with J. F. McAllister and C. W. Merriam of the
US. Geological Survey, M. P. Billings of Harvard Uni-
versity, and C. E. Stearns of Tufts College.
The writers especially wish to express their thanks
for the wholehearted cooperation of the mining people
in the area. Dudley L. Davis and Malcolm B. Kildale
of the Anaconda Co. particularly facilitated the work
in the Darwin district, and the writers greatly benefited
from many discussions of the geology with them. Spe-
cial thanks are also due to John Eastlick, Reginald
Skiles, Joel Teel, and Fred Tong of the Anaconda Co.;
PALEOZOIC ROCKS
E. H. Snyder of Combined Metals Reduction C0,; A1-
fred Glenn, lessee of the Lee mine; and Mrs. Agnes Reid
of Panamint Springs.
FIELDWORK
The fieldwork began in April 1951 when E. M. Mac-
Kevett, J r., and L. A. Brubaker mapped the Santa Rosa.
mine and several smaller mines in the quadrangle and
wrote preliminary reports on their work (MacKevett,
1953). W. E. Hall and E. M. MacKevett, J r., mapped
the quadrangle on a topographic base at a scale of
1: 40,000 from January to October 1952 and from May
to October 1953 and the mines between May and Sep-
tember 1954 and in March 1955. The writers were ably
assisted for short periods by Santi das Gupta, José
Hernandez, Victor Mejia, E. H. Pampeyan, Dallas
Peck, H. G. Stephens, and D. H. Thamer.
PALEOZOIC ROCKS
GENERAL FEATURES
The Paleozoic motion in the Darwin quadrangle con—
sists predominantly of carbonate rocks similar to forma-
tions in the eastern part of the Great Basin. Pre-
Devonian rocks are mainly dolomite and quartzite, De-
vonian rocks are dolomite, limestone, quartzite, and
shale, and Mississippian and younger Paleozoic rocks
are mainly limestone (pl. 1). No volcanic or phos-
phatic material, and only minor carbonaceous material
was recognized in the Paleozoic rocks. Most formations
are well exposed and some units form bold, clifl’like out-
crops.
The Paleozoic rocks have an aggregate thickness
greater than 13,000 feet. Poor exposures in parts of
the section preclude a more accurate appraisal of the
total thickness. The Paleozoic rocks are similar to
those described by McAllister (1952, 1955) from the ad-
jacent Ubehebe Peak quadrangle and Quartz Spring
area, and Merriam (1954), Bateman and Merriam
(1954, map 11), and Merriam and Hall (1957) from
the southern Inyo Mountains. ,
Outcrops of Paleozoic rocks are confined largely to
five areas within the quadrangle. These areas, which
are separated by alluviated or volcanic terrane, are:
the Conglomerate Mesa area, the Santa Rosa Hills, the
Tale City Hills, the Darwin Hills, and the Argus
Range—Zinc Hill area (fig. 1). Pre-Devonian rocks
are confined to the Tale City Hills. Devonian and Mis-
sissippian rocks crop out in the Santa Rosa Hills, the
Talc City Hills, and locally in the northwestern part
of the Darwin Hills. Pennsylvanian and Permian
rocks, which constitute the thickest and most wide-
spread sequence, occur in each of the five areas.
5
Formation names used by McAllister ( 952, 1955)
for the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle and Qu rtz Spring
area are generally applicable and have b en utilized
(table 1). Thick continuous stratigraphic Tections are
lacking because of volcanic or alluvial cove
structure.
probably represent short-time intervals.
r or complex
Unconformities are apparently limited to
Pennsylvanian and Permian parts of the Tection and
Lee Flat
TABLE 1.—Sequence of rocks exposed in the Darwin quadrangle
Age
Name
Character
Thick-
uess
(feet)
Recent
Alluvium
Unconsolidated alluvium,
playa deposits, fanglomerate,
landslide debris.
Pleistocene
—7—?—?—
Pliocene
Lakebeds
White to light-gray fine-
grained pumiceous ash silt,
clay, and diatoma..eous
earth.
58+
Fanglomerate marginal
to Darwin Wash
Gravels composed mainly of
subrounded fragments of
Pennsylvanian and Permian
limestone, quartz monzon-
ite, and basalt in a sandy
matrix. ‘
25+
Olivine basalt
Mainly flows 10—100 it t ick.
Aiewundifferentiated ows
in Darwin Oanyon‘ are
younger than fanglomerate
marginal to Darwin Wash.
0—600
Fanglomerate from
Inyo Mountains
and .
Coso formation
Gravel. Angular to sub-
rounded fragments of rdo-
vician and Silurian rocks
up to 18 in. in diameter in
a clay and silt m trix.
Probably is contempoiane-
ous with the 0050 form ‘ tion.
Arkose and clay, poorly bed-
ded, white to buff, fine- to
medium-grained.
30+
30+
Andesite
and
Pyroclastic rocks
Forms broad dome in upper
pyroclastic unit; conains
phenocrysts and clusters of
plagioclase and hornblende
in an aphanitic groundIEass.
Upper unit: poorly bed ed,
mainly tufi-breccia an ag-
glomerate and cinders.
Lower unit: well-bedded lap-
illi-tufl, scoriaceous b salt,
and tufi-breccia. 1
0—1, 230
0-910+
Cretaceous ('I)
Cretaceous
Hypabyssal rocks
Andesite porphyry, diorite,
alaskite porphyry, anc al-
tered quartz 1atite(?) dil es.
Aplite and leucogranite
Includes aplite,
and leucogranite.
pegmatite,
Amphibolite
Includes amphibolite, epidote
amphibolite, hornblende
gabbro, and diorite.
Biotite -horn b1 ende-
quartz monzonite
and leucocratic
quartz monzonite.
Mainly quartz monzonite With
other granitic rock types.
Permian
Owens Valley forma-
tion
Upper unit: limestone hon-
glomerate 60 it thick over-
lain by siltstone, calcarenite,
and orthoquartzite ‘
180+
Middle unit: brick-red Land
yellowish-brown shale, ub-
ordinate siltstone and lime-
stone.
200
Lower unit: mainly ne-
grained calcarenite in eds
l to 2 ft thick; some t ick
limestone lenses, shale and
siltstone. ‘
2, 800
6 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN
TABLE 1.——Sequence of rocks exposed in the Darwin
quadrangle—Continued
Thick-
ness
(feet)
Age Name Character
Upper unit: calcilutlte and
fine-grained calcarenite with
lesser pink fissile shale and
limestone pebble conglom-
erate.
l, 700
Permian and Keeler Canyon forma-
Pennsylvanlan tion
Lower unit: thin-bedded lime-
stone with intercalated lime-
2, 300
stone pebble conglomerate.
Thin-bedded dark-medium-
gray limestone that is equiv-
alent to Rest Spring shale
and upper part of the
Perdido.
Rest Spring Lee Flat
shale lime~
0—50+ stone
Pennsylva-
nian (‘1)
960+
Mississippian Perdido formation Limestone and bedded chert 330
Fossiliferous thin- to thick-
bedded limestone with chert 435
lenses and nodules.
Tin Mountain
limestone
Coarse-grained white and
light-gray marble; dolomite
Devonian Lost Burro formation
and limestone in lower part
of formation; minor quart- 1, 770+
zite. Brown fissile shale
locally in upper part.
Devonian and Hidden Valley Light-gray massive dolomite- _ 1,0005:
Silurian dolomite
Upper Ely Springs dolomite Dark-gray dolomite with chert
Ordovician beds and lenses; lesser light- 920:}:
gray dolomite
Middle Eureka quartzite Light-gray to white vitreous 440
Ordovician orthoquartzite
Lower Pogonip group Light- and medium-gray
Middle(?) and thick-bedded dolomite; 1. 570+
Lower lesser thin—bedded dolomite
Ordovician and limestone.
Unknown Gneiss
limestone, a time-stratigraphic equivalent of part of
McAllister’s (1952, 1955) Perdido formation and his
Rest Spring shale, was described as a new formation
by Hall and MacKevett (1958). Part of the Lee Flat
limestone correlates with the Chainman shale in the
southern Inyo Mountains (Merriam and Hall, 1957,
p. 4). Nomenclature used by Merriam and Hall (1957,
p. 4) has been adopted for the Pennsylvanian and
Permian formations.
Most of the formations are fossiliferous, but large
barren stratigraphic thicknesses occur between many
collections in pre-Carboniferous rocks. The paleon-
tologic record is best documented by an abundant Penn-
sylvanian and Permian fusulinid fauna and by corals
and brachiopods in the Tin Mountain limestone of Mis-
sissippian age. '
Three sedimentary rock names used in this report
follow the usage of Pettijohn (1949). These are:
Orthoquartzite (Pettijohn, 1949, p. 237)—a sedi-
mentary quartzite.
Calcarenite (Pettijohn, 1949, p. 300)—“* * * de-
trital carbonate rocks of sand-grain size (1/16 to
2 mm in diameter) that are with or without
calcite cement and are composed mainly (more
than 50 percent) of carbonate detritus.”
QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
Calcilutite (Pettijohn, 1949, p. 307 )—detrital car-
bonate rock of grain size less than sand-grain
size.
ORDOVICIAN SYSTEM
POGONIP GROUP
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The name Pogonip limestone was originally applied
by King (1878, p. 187—195) to all beds on Pogonip Ridge
at White Pine (Hamilton), Nev., between Prospect
Mountain quartzite (Lower Cambrian) and Eureka
quartzite (Middle Ordovician). The name was sub-
sequently revised and restricted by Hague (1883, p.
253~263) to include beds between the Dunderberg shale
(Upper Cambrian) and the Eureka quartzite, but some'
Upper Cambrian beds were still included in the Pogo-
nip. Walcott (1923, p. 466) proposed restricting the
formation further, but his proposal was not generally
accepted and the US. Geological Survey continued to
use the name as defined by Hague (Wilmarth, 1938, p.
1689). Merriam and Anderson (1942, p. 1683) pro-
posed that the Pogonip be elevated to a group status,
with inclusion of both the Upper Cambrian and the
Ordovician. Hintze (1951, p. 11) proposed that the
Pogonip be elevated to a group status to include only
Ordovician rocks. Nolan and others (1956, p. 24) in
their Eureka section accepted this and subdivided the
Pogonip group into three formations—the Goodwin
limestone, the Ninemile formation, and the Antelope
Valley limestone listed from oldest to youngest. The
Pogonip group is undifferentiated in our mapping and
follows the usage of McAllister (1952, p. 11) for the
rocks above the Nopah formation (Upper Cambrian)
and below the Eureka quartzite (Middle Ordovician).
The Pogonip has been described by McAllister (1952,
p. 10—12) from the Quartz Spring area, and from the
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (McAllister, 1955, p. 10)
and equivalent rocks were described in the Inyo Moun-
tains by Kirk (in Knopf, 1918, p. 34),,Phleger (1933,
p. 1—21), Merriam (1954, p. 10) and Langenheim and
others (1956). Pogonip group in the Darwin quad-
rangle occurs only in the Talc City Hills (pls. 1, 2).
Most outcrops of the Pogonip are faulted and folded;
the thickest and most continuous exposures are about
a mile northeast of the Alliance talc mine (fig. 3). The
thick-bedded strata are erosion resistant and form bold
outcrops. The thin-bedded strata form smooth,
rounded slopes and in places slight topographic
depressions.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIO RELATIONS
An almost complete section of Pogonip is probably
present in the Darwin quadrangle, although the base
PALEOZOIC ROCKS
EXPLANATION
Cenozoic terres r deposits
Inc/miss allay/um, like blds,
m1 fang/omen):
Cenozoic volcanic rocks
Inc/odes base/I, ewes/re,
and pyroc/asfl'c rocks
\
Mesozoic plutonic rocks
Mat/14y quartz Moran/lite
Mississippian and younger Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks
Devonian and aloe! Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks
Contaci
Mines and prospects
o I 0
Lead-zinc-silver Talc Tungsten
A I y
Gold Copper Antimony
‘
lceiand spar
' Cactus .
I' V ovwenfl'
F.4I E.
4 MILES
Geology by W. E. Hall and E. M. 1952—54
FIGURE 3.—Simplifled geologic map of the Darwin quadrangle showing the geologic setting of the ore deposits.
8 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
of the formation is not exposed. The measured over-
turned section northeast of the Alliance talc mine is
about 1,560 feet thick, but parts of this section lack
good exposures and the base is faulted. McAllister
(1952, p. 11) reports a thickness of 1,440 feet for a
composite section of Pagonip in the Quartz Spring area.
The Pogonip group is conformably overlain by Eureka
quartzite.
LITHOLOGY
The Pogonip group in the Darwin quadrangle is
characterized by a prevalence of light- and medium-
gray thick-bedded dolomite and lesser amounts of thin-
bedded dolomite and limestone. Crossbedded sandy
dolomite is common at the top. The upper part of the
Pogonip contains several conspicuous brown siliceous
zones 8 to 178 feet thick that contain thinly interbedded
sandy dolomite, limestone, and iron—stained chert re-
ferred to as having crepe structure by McAllister ( 1952,
p. 10) because of their wavy nature. At some places in
the measured section the crepe beds are folded and have
a pronounced slip cleavage that produces marked crenu-
lations. A zone of large gastropods is present 100 to
250 feet below the base of the Eureka quartzite nearly
everywhere in the Pogonip. The crepe beds, the zone of
large gastropods, and the conspicuous overlying Eureka
quartzite distinguish the Pogonip from similar appear-
ing younger dolomite in the section.
Section 5,000 feet N. 40° E. of the Alliance talc mime
Eureka quartzite.
Conformable contact.
Pogonip group :
Feet
(1 Dolomite, light— and medium-gray; and sandy
dolomite, both thick bedded. Minor light-gray
limestone. Contains two brown-weathering
siliceous beds 10 and 25 ft thick. Crossbed-
ding common near the top. Palliseria. robusta
Wilson is present 150 ft below top _____________
c Dolomite, brown-weathering silty and sandy,
and limestone with abundant thin limonitic-
stained chert interbeds. Crenulations abundant.
Referred to as crepe beds _____________________ 178
b Dolomite, light- to dark-medium-gray, sandy in
upper part. Locally contains lens-shaped brown-
weathering chert nodules. Contains 4 beds 8
to 45 ft thick of gray thinly bedded limestone
and dolomite with abundant thin siliceous, limo-
540
nitic interbeds _______________________________ 393
a Dolomite, medium-gray and light-gray, thick-bed-
ded to massive. Contains minor sandy medium-
gray dolomite _______________________________ 448
Total _________________________________ 1, 559
Base unexposed.
Unit a, the lowermost 448 feet exposed, consists pre-
dominantly of thick—bedded light-medium-gray and
medium-gray dolomite interbedded with some thick-
bedded sandy medium-gray and light-gray dolomite.
Reuben J. Ross, J r., suggests that this unit may belong
to the Upper Cambrian Nopah formation (written
communication, 1962), but fauna] evidence is lacking.
Unit b is 393 feet thick and consists mainly of light-
medium-gray to dark-medium-gray dolomite. Sandy
dolomite is abundant in the upper part. Lens-shaped
medium-gray brown-weathering chert nodules as much
as 6 inches long are abundant in some of the thick-
bedded dolomite. Unit b contains four zones of crepe
beds; the maximum thickness is 45 feet. This unit cor-
relates roughly with units 4 and 5 of McAllister (1952,
p. 11).
Unit 0 is a conspicuous crepe bed 178 feet thick. It
consists of brown-weathering silty and sandy dolomite
and thinly bedded highly iron stained irregular chert
beds. Locally slip cleavage is well defined and produces
conspicuous crenulations.
Unit (1, the upper 540 feet of the Pogonip, consists of
light- and medium-gray thick-bedded dolomite and a
few beds of light-gray limestone 1 to 2 feet thick.
Sandy dolomite that is locally crossbedded is increas-
ingly abundant high in the section. Brown-weather-
ing erosion-resistant zones of crepe beds are present; the
highest of these forms conspicuous outcrops about 100
feet below the top of the Pogonip. Chert nodules are
numerous locally, and remnants of large gastropods are
abundant in a zone 150 to 260 feet below the contact of
the Eureka quartzite. The genus Giwanella is common
at the Viking mine (fig. 3). This unit includes Mc-
Allister’s units 7 and 8 (1952, p. 11). Abundant sandy
crossbedded dolomite in the upper part of the formation
marks a transition between Pogonip group and Eureka
quartzite.
AGE
The Pogonip group is Early and possibly very early
Middle Ordovician in age. The only fossils found in
the Darwin quadrangle in the Pogonip group are in unit
(1 from a zone above the highest crepe beds of unit c,
and stratigraphically 150 to 260 feet below the top of
the formation; they are late Early or early Middle Ordo-
vician age. Fossils were observed nearly everywhere
this zone is exposed. Collections were made at the
Viking talc mine and at the same stratigraphic zone
5,000 feet N. 40° E. of the Alliance talc mine. They
were studied by Reuben J. Ross, J r., of the US. Geolog-
ical Survey, who reported as follows (written communi-
cation, 1954) :“Pogonip limestone—high Lower or very
low Middle Ordovician Pallisem'a robusta (Wilson).
Unidentified cystoid plates belonging to Paleocystites,
“Receptawlites”? sp.”
Nolan and others (1956, p. 25) consider the fossils
from the upper Pogonip group a Chazy fauna and Mid-
PALEOZOIC ROCKS i 9
die Ordovician in age. Helen Duncan (1956, p. 215),
however, stated that G. A. Cooper and Edwin Kirk
considered the fauna in the upper part of the Pogonip
to be pre-Chazy and of Early Ordovician age. McAl-
lister (1952, p. 11) reported fossils from his shaly unit
5, below the Pallisem zone, were identified by Josiah
Bridge, in consultation with G. A. Cooper, who wrote:
“This fauna * * * is definitely of Lower Ordovician
(Canadian) age.” R. J. Ross, Jr. (in McAllister, 1956)
studied a collection of McAllister’s from another local-
ity in the same shaly unit and reported the collection
of fossils to be equivalent to the fauna of his J zone of
the Garden City formation in northeastern Utah, and
that the age is probably very late Early Ordovician.
EUREKA QUARTZITE
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
Hague (1883, p. 253, 262) named the Eureka quartz—
ite from exposures near Eureka, Nev. ,Lone Mountain
was designated the type locality by Kirk (1933, p. 34),
because the section is easily accessible and is the nearest
satisfactory section to the town of Eureka. The forma-
tion crops out in the Tale City Hills mainly in faulted
areas and as blocks and slivers in fault zones (pls. 1,
2). The most extensive exposures are at the north end
of the Talc City Hills where the Eureka is exposed in
a discontinuous band 31/2 miles long along the flanks of
a southward-plunging syncline. The most accessible
complete section is north of the White Swan mine.
The Eureka quartzite is widely distributed through—
out southeastern California and Nevada. It was de-
scribed by McAllister (1952, p. 12, 13; 1955, p. 11; 1956)
from the Quartz Spring area and the Ubehebe Peak
quadrangle, by Merriam (1954, p. 10) from the Inyo-
Death Valley region, and by Langenheim and others
(1956, p. 2092) from the Inyo Mountains. Hopper
(1947, p. 407) described the Eureka quartZite on the
west side of Death Valley and Hazzard (1937, p. 324)
described it at the north end of the Nopah Range. The
formation is erosion resistant and commonly makes
sharp and precipitous outcrops; where strongly jointed
it weathers to large angular blocks.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPI-IIG RELATIONS
A thickness of 440 feet of Eureka quartzite was
measured in a northeastward-trending section from a
point 1,200 feet N. 40° E. of the White Swan mine
(pl. 2). This thickness is slightly greater than the
400 feet measured by McAllister (1952, p. 12—13) in the
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle and Quartz Spring area and
the 250 feet measured by Hopper (1947, p. 407) on the
west side of Death Valley. Both upper and lower con-
tacts of the Eureka quartzite are apparentlyi conform-
able depositional contacts. The lower contact is marked
by a change from light-gray sandy dolomite and lime-
stone to very light gray vitreous orthoquaftzite that
weathers brown. Although the contact is well defined,
the increase in arenaceous detritus near the op of the
carbonate rocks of the Pogonip group indicat a transi-
tion prophetic of Eureka deposition. The pper con-
tact is denoted by a sharp lithologic change f om light-
brown weathering vitreous orthoquartzite to dark-gray
cherty Ely Springs dolomite. ‘
LITEOLOGY
The Eureka quartzite, which is the best marker zone
in the Paleozoic section, is a distinctive orthoquartzite
characteristically light-gray to white and with a glis-
tening vitreous luster. The orthoquartzite is well in-
durated and cemented 'by secondary silica.‘ Despite
thorough cementing and local minor metambrphic ef-
fects, individual quartz grains are megascopically dis-
cernible in some specimens. The distinctive (lithology,
luster, and light color, especially when contrasted with
the overlying dark-gray Ely Springs dolomite, make it
a reliable mappable unit (fig. 4). i
FIGURE 4,—Photograph of the Tale City Hills near the Viking mine
showing the overturned Paleozoic of the Pogonip group (Op). Eureka
quartzite (0e). Ely Springs dolomite (Gas), and Hidden JValley dolo-
mite (Dsh). The Eureka quartzite and the overlying d rk-gray Ely
Springs dolomite are the most conspicuous Paleozoic stratigraphic
horizon markers. View looking northwest.
The lowermost 120 feet of the formation ciinsists of
yellowish-brown to dark-brown-weatheri g iron-
stained orthoquartzite in beds 1 to 6 feet t ick that
range from white to light gray on fresh surfaCes. Less
abundant bluish-black stains are probably nianganese
oxide. Very thin crossbedding is conspicuo s in this
unit. Joints, spaced at about 5-foot intervjls, inter-
10 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
sect stratification at high angles locally in the basal
unit. The uppermost 30 feet of the unit is marked by
a zone of irregularly streaked and blotched bluish-gray,
white, and brown orthoquartzite. The streaks, which
are commonly less than an inch thick, are probably sec-
ondary features.
Thick-bedded white vitreous orthoquartzite and mi-
nor light-gray orthoquartzite in beds 1 to 2 feet thick
constitute the middle 250 feet of the Eureka. This or-
thoquartzite weathers white and buff and to a lesser
extent light brown and bluish gray. The uppermost
70 feet is locally thin—bedded light-gray vitreous orthov
quartzite that weathers to sandy surfaces of variegated
brown.
Section 1,200 feet N. 41° E. of the White Swan mine
Ely Springs dolomite.
conformable contact.
Eureka quartzite :
Feet
(1 Orthoquartzite, light-gray, vitreous, thin-bedded.
Brown with sandy appearance on weathered
surface. The contact with the Ely Springs is
sharp_-__ ___- _ 70
c Orthoquartzite, white and light-gray, vitreous,
thick-bedded. Weathers white, light brown, or
bluish gray ___- 250
b Orthoquartzite, irregularly streaked white, bluish-
gray, and brown _____________________________ 30
a Orthoquartzite, white to light-gray; weathers yel-
lowish brown to dark brown. Beds 1 to 6 ft
thick. Crossbedding is common _______________ 90
Total ___ __
Conformable contact.
Pogonip group.
440
Thin—section study shows that the Eureka quartzite
consists of well-rounded and sorted quartz grains that
are tightly packed and cemented with silica. Individ—
ual quartz grains are fine- to medium-sand size and
range mostly from 0.2 to 0.4 mm in diameter. Second-
ary overgrowths are indicated by thin peripheral rims
of clear quartz grains in optical continuity with the
original quartz grains. The quartz grains have strain
shadows and are dotted with submicroscopic specks.
Minor amounts of zircon and of late calcite and limo-
nite are in most sections.
AGE
No fossils were found in the Eureka quartzite, but
its age is fairly well substantiated by stratigraphic
position. The upper part of the underlying Pogonip
group is late Early or early Middle Ordovician in age;
the overlying Ely Springs dolomite contains Richmond
(Late Ordovician) fossils. It is reasonable to conclude
that the Eureka quartzite is mainly if not entirely
Middle Ordovician. The basal Eureka quartzite in
the southern Inyo Mountains locally contains fossils of
Black River or Trenton age (Merriam, 1954, p. 10).
Langenheim and others (1956, p. 2092) correlate the
Barrel Spring formation of Phleger (1933) in Maz-
ourka Canyon in the Inyo Mountains with the lower
part of the Eureka quartzite and consider it to be Mo-
hawkian in age.
ELY SJPRINGS DOLOMITE
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
Ely Springs dolomite was named by Westgate and
Knopf (1932, p. 15) from exposures in the Ely Springs
Range about 12 miles west of Pioche, Nev. In the
Darwin quadrangle the formation is mainly in the
northwestern part of the Tale City Hills where it is one
of the most widespread formations (pls. 1, 2). It crops
out at the northernmost workings of the White Swan
mine, and occurs in a continuous band 2 miles long on
the flanks of the overturned syncline west of the Hard
Scramble talc prospect (fig. 3). Most exposures of the
Ely Springs are bounded by one or more faults, and
the west flank of the Talc City Hills north of the White
Swan mine is the only place where a complete section
is present.
Ely Springs dolomite has been described in the
Quartz Spring area and the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle
(McAllister, 1952, p. 15), in the Inyo-Death Valley
area by Merriam (1954, p. 10), and in Mazourka Can-
yon in the Inyo Mountains by Langenheim and others
(1956, p. 2095). Hazzard (1937, p. 325) and Hopper
(1947, p. 407) provisionally correlated dolomite over-
lying Eureka quartzite in the Nopah Range and on the
west side of Death Valley with the Ely Springs (fig.
2). Like most dolomitic rocks of the area, the Ely
Springs dolomite forms bold, rough outcrops. The
dark-gray color of the cherty dolomite overlying white
vitreous quartzite renders the lower part of the Ely
Springs readily recognizable.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIO RELATIONS
A measured section of Ely Springs dolomite 2,200
feet northeast of the White Swan mine is approximately
920 feet thick (pl. 2). The accuracy of this section is
somewhat impaired by a minor fault and a small basalt
plug. McAllister’s (1952, p. 13) measured sections of
Ely Springs dolomite in the Quartz Spring area are
940 and 740 feet thick.
The contact between Ely Springs dolomite and
Eureka quartzite is conformable and is marked by a
sharp change in lithology and color. The upper con-
PALEOZOIC ROCKS
tact is conformable but transitional with the Hidden
Valley dolomite. The Ely Springs—Hidden Valley con-
tact is placed at the top of a dark-medium-gray dolo-
mite band about 40 feet thick that overlies light-gray
Ely Springs dolomite and is overlain by massive light-
gray Hidden Valley dolomite.
LITHOLOGY
Ely Springs dolomite is largely dolomite and a les—
ser amount of chert. The lower unit of the Ely Springs,
320 feet thick in the measured section, consists mainly
of dark-gray thick—bedded dolomite but includes
abundant black chert. The chert in this distinctive
unit occurs as conspicuous beds 1/2- to 2-inches thick
separated by 1/2- to 2—foot thicknesses of dolomite and
as thin lenses and irregularly shaped nodules. Brown-
weathering sandy dolomite about 15 feet thick is in the
lower part of this unit.
Light-gray dolomite and minor amounts of medium-
gray dolomite constitute most of the massive-appearing
upper unit, which is about 600 feet thick. A dark—
medium-gray dolomite band about 40 feet thick is at
the top of t e formation. Chert is rare in the upper
unit, but a few chert nodules are in the basal part.
Locally the olomite is mottled by different shades of
gray, but ost of the unit is uniformly light gray.
Outcrops of he light-gray massive-appearing dolomite
that lack st atigraphic continuity are difficult to dis-
tinguish fro similar dolomite in the Pogonip group
and Hidden alley dolomite.
AGE
The lower unit of the Ely Springs is Late Ordovician
in age; palebntologic evidence is lacking in the upper
unit. The best preserved and most diversified fossil
assemblage donsists of silicified specimens in the dark-
gray dolomite that forms the prominent hill half a mile
N. 30° E. of the Viking talc mine. C. W. Merriam
(oral communication) collected and provisionally
identified the following fauna from this site.
Brachiopods:
H eterorthis sp.
Glyp torthis cf. imculpta
Thwerodonta sp.
Lepidocyclus n. sp. (probably at least two species, one
large)
Platystrophiw sp.
me’ella cf. quadrata Wang
Zygospim 11. ID.
Strophomem n. sp.
POpikma n. sp.
Plaesiomys sp.
Corals:
H alysites, large form
Columnam'a cf. wlveolata (Goldfuss)
Several solitary streptelasmid types both large and small
620626 0—62—2
l 11
Another collection of brachiopods mad in cherty
dark-gray dolomite about 15 feet strati aphically
above the base of the Ely Springs on 3. sm ll exposure
6,300 feet N. 18° W. of the White Swa mine was
studied by Reuben J. Ross, Jr. (written communica-
tion, 1954) of the U.S. Geological Survey wlio reported:
f130:D142
Resserella aft. R. corpulemta ‘
This is the only species present but it is dbundant and
nicely silicified. The specimens at hand are not strictly
R. corpulenta and bear some resemblance‘to R. multi-
secta. The former is a Maquoketa and tihe latter an
Eden form. It therefore is clear that the collection comes
from Upper Ordovician rocks but these may not be upper-
most Ordovician. i
Ross also studied a collection from the upper unit
3,000 feet N. 15° E. of the Viking mine. his collec-
tion was in light—gray massive dolomite of the upper
unit of the Ely Springs. Ross reported (w‘ritten com-
munication, 1954) : ‘
f132=D143 ‘
Thaeromlonta cf. T. digmztw Wang ‘
Daniella cf. 0. quad/rate Wang
Silica cast of a shell, possibly referable to Parastropht—
nella. Small silicified shell similar in shape to Zygoepim
but not referable to that genus. The same or a very
nearly identical species is known but is as ye undescribed
from the uppermost Bighorn formation niear Buffalo,
Wyoming.
Numerous tetracorals.
There is a strong suggestion that this colleciiion is essen-
tially correlative with the Late Ordovician Maquoketa
beds of Iowa, with the Stony Mountain formation of
Manitoba, and with the uppermost Bighorn beds on the
east flank of the Bighorn Mountains.
SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN SYSTEiMS‘
HIDDEN VALLEY DOLOMITE ,
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION ‘
Hidden Valley dolomite was named by McAllister
(1952, p. 15) for exposures on the east side (of Hidden
Valley in the Quartz Spring area. Outcrops of folded
and faulted Hidden Valley dolomite are in the Tale
City Hills, and the largest and most westerly exposures
are the core of a syncline that forms the ridge south-
west of the Hard Scramble mine (pl. 2). The forma-
tion is also exposed at the Victory prospect, and near
the Alliance, Talc City, and Trinity talc mines (fig. 3).
Regionally the formation is exposed in e Quartz
Spring area (McAllister, 1952, p. 15), the Ubehebe
Peak quadrangle (McAllister, 1955, p. 11), (and in the
Inyo Mountains (Merriam, 1954, p. 11).
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIO RELATIjNS
Probably most of the Hidden Valley olomite is
represented within the quadrangle, but continuous out-
12 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
crops are lacking because of faulting. Lack of distinc—
tive lithologic units and the massive character of the
rocks preclude an accurate measurement of the thick-
ness. The formation is 1,365 feet thick at its type local-
ity in the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (McAllister, 1952,
p. 16). No satisfactory section of the Hidden Valley
was found for measurement, but it has a probable thick-
ness of about 1,000 feet on the hill half a mile north of
the Viking talc mine where the top of the formation
is eroded.
Hidden Valley dolomite conformably overlies the
dark-gray dolomite at the top of the Ely Springs. The
only exposures of the upper contact are at the Talc City
mine, where the contact is placed at the base of a bed
of interbedded orthoquartzite and sandy limestone 65
feet thick. The contact also marks a change from light-
gray massive Hidden Valley to the prevalent mottled,
dolomite and limestone characteristic of the lower part
of the Lost Burro formation.
LITHOLOGY
Within the Darwin quadrangle the Hidden Valley is
uniformly light-gray massive to very thick bedded dolo-
mite with little diversification in lithology or color.
Two sandy quartzite beds 5 and 20 feet thick are inter—
bedded in the massive dolomite on the ridge west of the
Hard Scramble mine. A few calcite aggregates 2 to 3
inches in diameter are widely scattered in parts of the
formation. A representative thin section of Hidden
Valley dolomite is made up of a granoblastic mosaic of
dolomite crystals that average about 0.3 mm in diame-
,ter. Quartz occurs in small quantities as rounded sand
grains and along grain boundaries of dolomite.
AGE
The only Hidden Valley fossils found are in massive
light-gray dolomite a few hundred feet northwest of
the Alliance talc mine. The fossils are poor in quan-
tity and state of preservation, and consist of an orna-
mented solitary coral and a colonial coral, probably a
favositid. McAllister (1952, p. 16) reported the lower
fossiliferous part of the Hidden Valley dolomite in the
Quartz Spring area is Silurian, probably equivalent in
age to the top of the Clinton group in the Niagaran
series. McAllister (1952, p. 17) also reported that fos-
sils from the upper part of the Hidden Valley from a
zone 50 feet thick lying 15 to 65 feet below the top of
the formation in the Andy Hills were identified by
G. Arthur Cooper and determined as Lower Devonian
in age. The zone was correlated with the Oriskany
part of the restricted Nevada limestone (Merriam, 1940,
pp. 52—53).
DEVONIAN SYSTEM
LOST BURRO FORMATION
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The name Lost Burro formation was applied by
McAllister (1952, p. 18) to exposures at Lost Burro
Gap in the northeastern part of the Ubehebe Peak
quadrangle. In the Darwin quadrangle the Lost Burro
is present at the southeast end of the Santa Rosa Hills,
at the Talc City mine in the Tale City Hills, and locally
on the west side of the Darwin Hills (pl. 1). A belt
of Lost Burro crops out as a discontinuous band of
white marble on the east side of the Santa Rosa Hills
for 21/2 miles near the Lee mine. The Lost Burro for-
mation forms a northwestward-trending band 1,000
feet wide and 2 miles long at the Talc City mine, and a
small outcrop of marble of the Lost Burro is on the
west side of the Darwin Hills 2.2 miles N. 24° W. of
Darwin. Two small enclaves of marble about 3.7 miles
S. 27° W. of the northeast corner of the quadrangle
lithologically resemble the Lost Burro, and are assigned
to it.
Outside of the Darwin quadrangle the formation is
well exposed near the Cerro Gordo mine in the New
York Butte quadrangle according to Merriam (oral
communication, 1954) ; it is abundant in the Ubehebe
Peak quadrangle and Quartz Spring area (McAllister,
1952, p. 18; 1955, p. 11) and Hall and Stephens (1962)
have mapped the formation on the south side of Towne
Pass in the Panamint Range and at the Modoc mine in
the Argus Range. The Lost Burro formation generally
is erosion resistant, and is well exposed.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS
A stratigraphic thickness of 1,773 feet was measured
for an incomplete Lost Burro section that trends north-
eastward from a point 2,000 feet S. 14° W. of hill 5525
near the southeast end of the Santa Rosa Hills begin-
ning at a conformable contact with the overlying Tin
Mountain limestone. The lower part of the formation
is not exposed. The accuracy of the measured thickness
is impaired by apparently minor faults in the middle
part of the section. The only exposure of the base of
the formation in the quadrangle is in the Tale City
Hills on the east side of the Talc City mine where the
formation contact is placed at the base of a 65-foot-
thick band of interbedded orthoquartzite and sandy
limestone that conformably overlies massive light-gray
Hidden Valley dolomite. The folded and faulted ex-
posures in the Talc City Hills are not amenable to
stratigraphic measurement.
McAllister’s (1952, p. 18) section of Lost Burro at
the type locality in the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle is
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 13
1,525 feet thick, but he also reported a section from the
Quartz Spring area that is questionably 2,245 feet thick
(McAllister, 1952, p. 19).
LITHOLOGY
The Lost Burro formation consists of white and light-
gray medium- to coarse-grained marble, light- and
dark-gray dolomite, shale, orthoquartzite, and silty
limestone. The lower part of the formation is mainly
dolomitic, and the upper part is mainly limestone.
Almost all the formation is exposed in the Talc City
Hills, although the upper contact is eroded. The basal
part of the Lost Burro formation is exposed only on
the east side of the Tale City mine where it conformably
overlies light-gray massive dolomite in an overturned
section. The lowermost 65 feet of the formation con-
sists of thinly bedded silty gray limestone and light-
gray Vitreous orthoquartzite, both of which weather
light brown. The lower 40 feet of this unit consists
of quartzite beds 1 to 4 inches thick interbedded with
gray sandy limestone that weathers brown. The upper
25 feet is vitreous light-gray quartzite that resembles the
Eureka quartzite, and it is apparently repeated by
faulting. This unit is correlated with the Lippincott
member in the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (McAllister,
1955, p. 12).
The Lippincott member is overlain by about 300 feet
of light—gray massive— to thick-bedded dolomite and
has a faint mottled appearance due to irregular relicts
of dark-gray dolomite. Several discontinuous beds of
dark-gray fine—grained limestone about 40 to 50 feet
thick are interbedded in the dolomite. The beds are
discontinuous because of local dolomitization, partic-
ularly at the crests of folds. The dark-gray fine-
grained relicts of dolomite in the light-gray medium-
grained dolomite are probably relicts of the original
dolomite that was recrystallized during intrusion of
leucocratic quartz monzonite. The mottled effect of the
dolomite distinguishes it from the Hidden Valley dolo-
mite.
The mottled dolomite unit is overlain by light-gray
fine- to medium-grained limestone that has a strong,
steep lineation. Locally the limestone has abundant
fragmentary masses of stromatoporoids and cladopo-
roid corals. The limestone is estimated to be 450 to 500
feet thick. A brown-weathering fissile shale about 150
feet thick overlying the limestone is the uppermost unit
exposed in the Talc City Hills.
The middle and upper parts of the Lost Burro forma—
tion are exposed in the Santa Rosa Hills near the Lee
Mine in a section more than 1,700 feet thick; the base of
the formation is not exposed. Dolomite is absent in the
Lost Burro formation here in contradistinction to the
predominantly dolomitic section at the type locality
(McAllister, 1952, p. 18—19). The lower 300 feet of
the exposed section in the Santa Rosa Hills consists
predominantly of interbedded white marble and
medium-gray limestone in beds about 1 foot thick that
locally/contain stromatoporoids and cladoporoid corals.
The upper part of the Lost Burro consists almost en-
tirely of white and light-gray banded and streaked
marble, but contains a few thin quartzite beds. The top
of the formation is a 2-foot—thick light-gray sandy
quartzite bed that conformably underlies dark-gray Tin
Mountain limestone. The limestone and marble beds of
the formation are generally free of sand, silt, and clay.
Partial section of the Lost Burro formation measured north-
eastward from a point 1,280 feet N. 65" W. of the main shaft of
the Lee mine
Tin Mountain limestone.
Conformable contact.
Lost Burro formation :
Feet
Marble, white, streaked and locally banded, bedding
generally poor _____ 760
Marble, massive, mottled light- and medium-gray--- 140
Limestone, medium-gray, fine-grained. Streaked with
thin calcite veinlets and tremolite rosettes ________ 53
Marble, coarsegrained, white, in beds about 3 ft.
thick; locally handed and streaked by gray marble- 190
Limestone, medium-gray, fine-grained ______________ 12
Marble, white, coarse-grained; locally streaked with
light-gray hands 48
Marble, mottled white and light-gray; calcite vein-
lets 72
Marble, white, coarse-grained, thick—bedded ________ 89
Limestone, medium-gray ___________________________ 5
Marble, white, banded, coarse-grained ______________ 6
Limestone, medium-gray, fine-grained ______________ 2
Marble, white, coarse-grained _____________________ 8
Limestone, medium-gray, fine-grained, a few chert
nodules 2
Marble, white, coarse-grained, locally banded, beds
1 to 4 ft thick ___ 69
Limestone, light-gray, poorly preserved corals and
bryozoa--- 6
Orthoquartzite, light-gray, light-brown-weathering,
subvitreous 1
Marble, banded white and medium—gray; cladoporoid-
bearing beds 1 to 3 ft thick; a few stromatoporoids- 69
Limestone biostrome, mottled medium- and light—
gray; consists mainly of stromatoporoids and
cladoporoid corals ______________________________ 12
Marble, White and medium-gray, interbedded coarse
grained- 49
Limestone, medium-gray ; contains calcareous
nodules 6
Limestone, medium—gray, fine-grained; in beds about
1 ft thick. Poorly preserved gastropods(?) in
lowermost exposure _____________________________ 174
Total ________________________________________ 1, 773
Base unexposed.
14 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
The shale unit is exposed near the top of the Lost
Burro formation in a tight syncline in the Talc City
' Hills northwest of the Tale City mine. The ‘unit is
about 200 feet thick and consists of green and brown
thinly bedded shale and small amounts of siltstone.
Examination of thin sections of the white marble
shows that the rock consists almost entirely of an inter-
locking mosaic of calcite that ranges from 0.5 to 3.0
mm in maximum dimension. Subordinate constitu-
ents that generally constitute less than 1 percent of
the sections are an opaque mineral, probably graphite,
and in one section highly calcic scapolite (meionite),
and wollastonite.
AGE
Stromatoporoid and cladoporoid corals, the most
abundant Lost Burro fauna in the Darwin quadrangle,
help to establish the Devonian age of the formation, but
are inadequate for precise dating within the system.
Most specimens of these genera, particularly those from
the Tale City and Darwin Hills, are stretched and
poorly preserved. McAllister (1952, p. 19) believes
that the Lost Burro formation in the Quartz Spring
area and Ubehebe Peak quadrangle is Upper Devonian
and in part questionable Middle Devonian. Stroma-
toporoids and cladoporoid corals are associated with
Stringocephalus in the lower part of the Lost Burro
formation in the New York Butte quadrangle according
to C. W. Merriam (oral communication, 1954) and are
upper Middle Devonian. It is likely that the Lost
Burro formation is, by lithologic correlation with dated
units in adjacent areas, both Middle and Late Devonian
in age.
MISSISSIPPIAN SYSTEM
TIN MOUNTAIN LIMESTONE
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
Tin Mountain limestone was named by McAllister
(1952, p. 20) from exposures at the northernmost peak
in the Panalmint Range, but as this site is somewhat
inaccessible, he designated the type locality on the
southern slope of the hills about 21/2 miles southeast of
Quartz Spring.
The formation crops out in the Darwin quadrangle in
two bands along the crest and east flank of the Santa
Rosa Hills, near the Lee mine, and locally in the north-
western part of the Darwin Hills (pl. 1). It is also
part of a thrust plate in the eastern Talc City Hills
about three-quarters of a mile north of the Silver Dollar
mine (pl. 2). Tin Mountain limestone was described
by McAllister (1952, p. 20—22; 1955, p. 12) from the
Quartz Spring area and the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle
and by Merriam (1954, p. 11) in the Inyo Mountains.
It has been mapped by Hall and Stephens (in press) in
the Argus Range at the Surprise mine (fig. 2). The
cliff—forming propensity of the lower part of the forma-
tion is well displayed on the eastern face of the Santa
Rosa Hills. Except for a few beds, the remainder of
the formation is moderately erosion resistant and is well
exposed.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS
A stratigraphic thickness of 435 feet of Tin Mountain
limestone was measured in the southern part of the
Santa Rosa Hills from a section trending S. 16° W. from
a point 1.5 miles N. 51° W. of the main shaft at the Lee
mine. The abnormal apparent thickness of more than
500 feet at the Lee mine is due to repetition of part of
the section by faulting. The Tin Mountain limestone
is 475 feet thick at its type locality in the Quartz Spring
area and 425 feet thick where measured in the Ubehebe
Peak quadrangle (McAllister, 1952, p. 21).
Contacts with the underlying Lost Burro formation
and overlying Perdido formation are conformable.
The Lost Burro-Tin Mountain contact is distinct and
marked by lithologic and color changes, whereas the
Tin Mountain-Perdido contact is gradational and rep-
resented by the inception of bedded chert in the lower-
most part of the Perdido formation in contrast to
lenticular and nodular chert in the Tin Mountain
limestone.
eronoer
Tin Mountain limestone consists predominantly of
pure fine-grained, medium- to dark-gray limestone.
Most of it is calcarenite and calcilutite. Some limestone
beds consist almost entirely of crinoid fragments—en-
crinite of Pettijohn (1949, p. 301) ; they are abundant
in the upper part of the formation. Chert lenses and
nodules are common throughout most of the Tin Moun-
tain limestone, but bedded chert is absent; these features
distinguish the Tin Mountain from the overlying Per-
dido formation. Veinlets of white calcite are locally
abundant. Tremolite and actinolite as individual crys-
tals and aggregates are commonly formed in the lime-
stone as a result of low-grade metamorphism. Near
fault zones the limestone is commonly bleached and
recrystallized and resembles the Lost Burro formation,
but it generally lacks the banding characteristic of the
Lost Burro.
The formation is divisible into two major units. The
lower unit, 130 feet thick, is mainly dark—medium-gray
limestone in beds 6 inches to 2 feet thick intercalated
with iron-stained shaly partings 1%“; to 1 inch thick. A
few scattered chert nodules are in this unit.
The upper unit is 305 feet thick and consists mainly
of light- to dark—medium-gray limestone in beds rang-
ing from 6 inches to 12 feet in thickness. Chert lenses
as much as 4 feet long and 6 inches thick are present,
and crinoid-rich beds are abundant.
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 15
The band of dark-gray fine-grained limestone at the
Lee mine and on the east flank of the Santa Rosa Hills
6,500 feet N. 54° W. of the Lee mine can definitely be
assigned to the Tin Mountain limestone on the basis of
lithology and stratigraphic succession. The limestone
1 mile S. 80° W. of the Lee mine and in the band at the
north end of the Santa Rosa Hills 3.2 miles N. 45° W.
of the Lee mine is less certainly assigned to the Tin
Mountain. Lithologically the limestone is similar to
Tin Mountain. It is mainly a fine- to medium-grained
medium-gray limestone that locally contains chert lenses
and nodules. Individual beds are a few inches to sev-
eral feet thick. Crinoid stems, solitary corals, and
syringoporoid corals are abundant in the limestone.
However, the‘beds are isoclinally folded and are cut by
many faults so that no continuous stratigraphic succes-
sion is present and the correlations are mainly lithologic.
The fauna] evidence is inconclusive.
Section trending S. 16° W. from a point 1.5 miles N. 51° W.
of the main shaft of the Lee mine
Perdido formation.
Conformable contact.
Tin Mountain limestone:
Feet
Limestone, light—gray crinoid-rich, with thin iron-
stained partings; chert in lenses attaining .a maxi-
mum length of 4 ft and thickness’of 4 in increas-
ingly abundant near top of section _______________ 19
Limestone, medium-gray, in beds about 6 in thick;
some iron-stained partings and chert lenses _____ 20
Limestone, light-gray, crinoid-rich, in beds 1% to 2
ft thick; small amounts of chert in lenses as much
as 4 ft long and 6 in thick ______________________ 31
Limestone, dark-medium-gray; in beds about 1 ft
thick; abundant medium-gray, dark-brown weath-
ering chert lenses as much as 4 ft long and 4
in thick 41
Limestone, light-gray; a few interspersed crinoidal
remnants___ 12
Limestone, medium-gray; abundant chert lenses 3 to
4 ft long and 2 to 4 in thick; moderately abundant
crinoids, solitary corals, and brachiopods _________ 14
Limestone, light-gray, crinoidal; moderately abun-
dant brown-weathering chert lenses ______________ 43
Marble, white, medium—grained; chert lenses altered
White 63
Limestone, light-medium-gray, crinoid-rich; contains
dark—gray, dark-brown weathering chert lenses and
nodules; maximum dimensions of lenses 18 in long
and 2 in thick 62
Limestone, dark-medium-gray; in beds 176 to 2 ft
thick; iron-stained reddish-brown shaly partings
1,4 to 1 in thick; widely scattered chert nodules;
some syringoporoid corals, solitary corals, and
brachiopods 130
Total 435
Conformable contact.
Lost Burro formation.
Microscopic examination of thin sections shows that
the rock is partly recrystallized fine-grained calcarenite.
Calcite, which constitutes between 95 and 99 percent of
the rock, occurs as subrounded grains of fine-sand size,
as subangular recrystallized crystals as large as 0.5 mm
in maximum dimension, and as cementing material.
Some opaque minerals are generally present. Quartz
occurs in very small amounts as cementing material.
Randomly oriented tremolite laths that attain maximum
dimensions of 5.0 mm in length and 0.2 mm in width
are abundant in the bleached white limestone.
AGE AND CORRELATION
Tin Mountain limestone is Mississippian and prob-
ably at least in part equivalent to the Madison group.
Numerous corals and brachiopods are in the formation,
but the internal structures of most specimens have been
obliterated by silicification and recrystallization. Mc-
Allister (1952, p. 21), on the basis of paleontologic
evidence cited in his Quartz Spring area report, pro-
poses that the Tin Mountain limestone is equivalent to
the lower part of the Madison group.
Several collections of Tin Mountain fossils from the
Santa Rosa Hills were examined by Helen Duncan and
Mackenzie Gordon, J r., and their findings substantiate
an Early Mississippian age for the formation. Col-
lections USGS 17 564 and 17567 are from the limestone,
band about 3,000 feet S. 25° E. of the Lee mine that can
definitely be correlated with the upper unit of the Tin
Mountain on the basis of stratigraphic succession. A
report by Mackenzie Gordon, Jr. (written communica-
tion, May 26, 1953) on brachiopods in collection USGS
17564 is given below:
Two of the brachiopod species are represented by at least
one well preserved specimen each. These may represent un-
described species or variants of known species and appear to
have affinities with late Kinderhook or early Osage forms. No
definite age determination can be made on these few brachio-
pods, but it can be said that they appear to be of Early
Mississippian age. The containing rocks are probably referrable
to the Tin Mountain limestone of the Quartz Spring area.
USGS 17564, Santa Hills, 3,100 feet S. 27° E. of the main shaft
of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,130 feet.
Rhipidomella aff. R. dalyaha (Miller)
Schizophoriasp.
Oleiothyridimt cf. 0. hirsute
aff. 0'. mouti (Swallow)
The following are excerpts of a report by Helen Dun-
can (written communication, June 12, 1953) :
The corals in USGS 17564 and USGS 17567 are comparable
to genera and species that occur in the Tin Mountain lime-
stone. ‘ ‘ ‘
The specimens in USGS 17564 are crudely silicified. The
small horn coral cannot be identified because internal structures
16 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
are destroyed. The corallites of the Syrmgopara have about the
same size and spacing as those of S. sweater-ta Girty, a species
that is widespread in Lower Mississippian rocks of the West.
USGS 17567. Santa Rosa Hills, 2,300 feet S. 25° E. of the Lee
mine along the saddle in the ridge.
Syringopom cf. S. aculeata Girty
cf. S. surcularta Girty
Yavorslcta? sp. indet.
Vemlophyllum sp. indet.
* * * The Syringoporas are types common in the Lower
Mississippian of the West. Vesiculophyllum seems to be diag-
nostic of the Lower Mississippian in the Great Basin and the
Southwest. This coral assemblage is appropriate for the Tin
Mountain.
Several collections of corals and brachiopods were
made from the limestone beds about 1 mile S. 80° W.
and 3.2 miles N. 45° W. of the Lee mine, which are as-
signed to the Tin Mountain on the basis of lithology.
Several collections from the limestone in the area 1 mile
S. 80° W. of the Lee mine were reported on by Macken—
zie Gordon, Jr. (written communication, Feb. 25, 1953) :
This report is based on 20 partly silicified and fragmentary
fossil brachiopods from limestones collected at three localities
in the southern part of the Santa Rosa Hills * * ". The corals
and bryozoans were examined by Duncan. Taken as a whole,
the fossils indicate an Early Mississippian age for the contain—
ing rocks.
USGS 144418. South end of Santa Rosa Hills 1 mile S. 80° W
of the Lee mine.
Horn corals, indet.
Brachiopod
Spirife'r sp. A
USGS 14419. Santa Rosa Hills 6,100 feet S. 85" W. of the main
shaft of the Lee mine.
Horn corals, indet.
Bryozoan
Ertdopom? sp. indet.
Brachiopods
Rhipidomella? sp. indet.
Camamtoeeht'a? sp.
Oyrtma n. sp.
Composite? sp. indet.
USGS 14421. Santa Rosa Hills, 1 mile S. 80" W. of the main
shaft of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,380 feet.
Horn corals
Brachiopods
Leptaena analoga (Phillips)
Productid, genus and species indet.
Rhiptdomella cf. R. owem? (Hall)
Schizophom‘a sp. indet.
Tetracamem? sp.
Sptm'fer sp. A.
The three collections appear to represent approximately the
same faunal assemblage. The small narrow Spirifer sp. A, with
rather long dental plates and about 5 ribs on each side of a
narrow sinus in the pedicle valve, occurs both in USGS 14418
and USGS 14421 along with poorly preserved horn corals that
have a general Early Mississippian aspect, according to Miss
Duncan.
Oyrtma and Leptaena are genera that range through Silurian
and Devonian rocks and into the Lower Mississippian. In the
western United States Leptaena analoga, (Phillips) is typical
of the rocks of Madison age but at one locality is known to
range slightly higher. In the mid-continent this species and
several Cyrtmas are known in rocks of Kinderhook and Osage
age and are not known to range as high as uppermost Osage.
Rhtptdomella oweni (Hall) with which several partly crushed
silicified specimens are here compared is a widespread lower
Osage form. The presence of the large productid, though too
poorly preserved to identify even as to genus, precludes a De
vonian age for the assemblage. The rest of the specimens are
not well preserved or entire enough to add any evidence to that
discussed above.
In summary, the fossils can be said to represent an Early
Mississippian (Madison) fauna. In terms of mid-continent
stratigraphy they are believed to be not younger than Osage in
age and may be Kinderhook in age.
Regarding the corals in USGS 14421, Helen Duncan
(written communication, Feb. 25, 1953) reported:
This collection contains several specimens and fragments
of horn corals. The smaller forms appear to be zaphrentoids.
The two larger corals show indications of dissepiments and
are probably either caninoids or clisiophyllids. Corals of this
general type occur in the Tin Mountain limestone of the Pana-
mint Range.
Three collections of corals were reported on from
the band 3.2 miles N. 45° W. of the Lee mine. Fossils
collected by J. F. McAllister from this band were ex-
amined by James Steele Williams and Helen Duncan.
Williams (written communication, Jan. 18, 1949)
reported:
USGS 17663. Four miles N. 39° W. of the Lee mine on the
south side of the first gully south of the basalt capping.
Zaphrentoid horn corals, small, indet.
Lithostrotion sp. indet. (phaceloid type)
Crinoid columnals
Composite? sp. indet.
Of the corals, Miss Duncan says: “The small horn corals
are fragmentary and silicifled and indeterminate but they seem
to be the zaphrentoid types that are common in Early Mississip-
pian faunas. The'presence of Lithostrotion in this collection
is a strong support for a Mississippian age assignment. Al-
though the specimen is recrystallized and not specifically iden-
tifiable, there can be little doubt that it is a simple lithostro-
tionoid type with a styliform columbella. Such corals first ap-
pear in the Lower Carboniferous. Phaceloid lithostrotionoids
‘seem to have developed somewhat later than the massive forms,
which occur sporadically in assemblages of late Kinderhook
age.”
Two other collections from the same band but prob-
ably higher in the formation were examined by Miss
Duncan (written communication, June 12, 1953).
USGS 17566. 3.45 miles N. 46° W. of the main shaft 01' the
Lee mine at an altitude of 6, 080 feet. ’ ~
This collection consists of several pieces of lithostrotionoid
corals and a single fragment of a zaphrentoid. The material
is so thoroughly recrystallized that sections are useless. The
weathered surfaces indicate that one of the species is a phace-
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 17
loid Lithostrotion. The other colonial coral is a massive form
that belongs to either Lithostrotion or Lithostrotionella.
The presence of lithostrotionoid corals suggests that the rocks
are probably Mississippian * * *
USGS 17565. 3.7 miles N. 44° W. of the main shaft of the
Lee mine at an altitude of 6,080 feet.
This collection consists of a number of silicified and frag-
mentary corals and bryozoan. Silicification is so crude that
structures needed to identify the corals are obliterated. In
addition to the bryozoan Custodietya sp. indet, this lot contains
a small piece of a lithostrotionoid coral that is probably either
Eithostrotionella or Thysanophyllam and at least three types
of zaphrentoid corals.
USGS 17565 and 17566 appear to have come from beds of
approximately the same age. The corals, however. are difier-
ent from any that I have previously studied from this region.
The fauna is apparently of Mississippian age, and might even
be from the Tin Mountain, though it could be later.
Although this limestone at the north end of the Santa
Rosa Hills lithologically resembles Tin Mountain lime-
stone most closely, it can not be ruled out that it is not
part of the Perdido formation or Lee Flat limestone.
It does not resemble beds as young as the basal Keeler
Canyon formation (Atoka).
PERDIDO FORMATION
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The Perdido formation was named by McAllister
(1952, p. 22) from exposures in the Quartz Spring area.
Rocks of the formation are best exposed in the Darwin
quadrangle on the two prominent hills less than a mile
south of the Lee mine. They are also in the northern
part of the Santa Rosa Hills and in a narrow belt ex—
tending southeastward from the southern part of the
Talc City Hills to the northwestern part of the Darwin
Hills (fig. 2). McAllister (1952, p. 23—24; 1955, p. 12)
described Perdido rocks from the Quartz Spring area
and Ubehebe Peak quadrangle, and Merriam (1954,
p. 11) described them in the Inyo Mountains. The
Perdido formation crops out at the north end of the
Argus Range in the Modoc district and on the west
flank of the Panamint Range in the Panamint Butte
quadrangle (Hall and Stephens, in press).
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIG RELATIONS
The Perdido formation ranges in thickness from 177
to more than 334 feet in the Darwin quadrangle. Most
contacts of the Perdido are faulted, but the maxi-
mum thickness seems to be about 334 feet. A thickness
of 610: feet was measured for the Perdido formation
at its type locality in the Quartz Spring area by Mc-
Allister (1952, p. 24), Who stated that the formation
varies greatly in thickness.
The Perdido formation conformably overlies Tin
Mountain limestone, and in the Darwin quadrangle is
conformably overlain by Lee Flat limestone. The con-
tact With the underlying Tin Mountain limestone is
gradational and is placed at the first bedded chert in
the section. The contact with the overlying Lee Flat
limestone is sharp. The Rest Spring shale, which over-
lies the Perdido formation in the adjacent Ubehebe
Peak quadrangle and Quartz Spring area (McAllister,
1952, p. 25; 1955, p. 13) is present only in fault zones
in the Darwin quadrangle.
LITEOLOGY
The Perdido formation consists predominantly of
gray medium-bedded limestone and interbedded chert.
The lower part of the Perdido is predominantly lime-
stone and thin beds of chert, whereas chert is prevalent
at many places in the upper part. The limestone is
mostly fine grained, although coarse elastic beds com-
posed mainly of crinoid columnals are common. The
color ranges from bluish-gray to dark-gray, and near
intrusive rocks the limestone is bleached White. The
lower part of the Perdido resembles the upper part of
the Tin Mountain limestone. However, the Tin Moun-
tain contains lenses and nodules of chert, and the Per-
dido contains thin chert beds. The chert is gray on
fresh surfaces and weathers dark brown.
Chert is in beds generally less than 4 inches thick
interbedded with limestone in the lower part of the
Perdido. In the Santa Rosa Hills near the Lee mine,
A partial section of the Perdido 331, feet thick measured from
a southward-treading traverse from a point 0.90 mile S. 39“
E. of the main shaft at the Lee mine
Lee Flat limestone :
Conformable contact.
Perdido formation:
Feet
Metamorphosed zone consisting of marble and white
calcsilicate rock, some interbedded chert in beds 1
to 4 in thick, and 1-ft-thick beds of unsilicated
medium-gray silty limestone _____________________ 62
Siltstone, medium-brown, dark-brown weathering; in
beds 1 to 2 in thick ______________________________ 9
Limestone, medium gray, in beds 1 to 4 in thick, and
interbedded chert in beds that average about 1 ft
in thickness; a few limestone lenses within the
chert ___________________ 21
Chert, white, in beds 1 to 2 ft thick ________________ 61
Limestone, medium-gray, in beds commonly 2 to 8 in
thick with interbedded dark-gray, dark brown
weathering chert 1 in to 1 ft thick; limestone in
upper part of unit locally silty ___________________ 117
Limestone, medium- and light-gray, bleached; in beds
2 to 4 in thick and containing interbedded chert
2-in-thick, chert is pinkish white and limestone
partly silicated _____ 64
Total ____________________________________
Fault contact with Tin Mountain limestone.
334
18 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN
chert beds as much as 61 feet thick and some siltstone
are more abundant than limestone in the upper part.
However, most stratigraphic sections of Perdido lack
thick beds of chert in the upper part, and the forma-
tion mostly has a uniform appearance of limestone and
thin beds of chert.
The Perdido band that trends southeastward from
the southern part of the Talc City Hills into the Darwin
Hills consists of thinly bedded chert and limestone
(pl. 1) . The limestone and chert, which weather brown,
are thinly bedded. No thick beds of chert are present.
The upper clastic siltstone, sandstone, shale, and lime-
stone unit of the Perdido at the type locality (McAl—
lister, 1952, p. 22) is not present in the Darwin quad-
rangle except for one fossiliferous locality in the eastern
part of the Tale City Hills. The Darwin Perdido sec-
tion correlates well lithologically and in thickness with
the lower limy part of McAllister’s type Perdido section.
Thin sections of limestone from the Perdido forma-
tion consist largely of irregular and rounded calcite
crystals 0.02 to 0.03 mm in diameter that are in part
recrystallized to coarser calcite rhombohedrons. Chert
partly replaces calcite in all sections. Iron oxides,
pyrite, and late calcite veinlets occur in small quanti-
ties. Tremolite in crystals as much as 3.0 mm long and
0.3 mm wide is interspersed throughout most sections.
AGE
The only Perdido fossils found in the Darwin quad-
rangle besides ubiquitous fragmentary crinoid colum-
nals are in the eastern Talc City Hills in an area com-
plicated by thrust faulting. The fossils are in a 2-foot-
thick limestone bed within a predominantly siltstone
unit, which includes large solitary corals, crinoid
columnals, and brachiopod fragments. The fauna is
too poorly preserved to provide diagnostic age infor—
mation. McAllister (1952, p. 24, 25) presents evidence
that the formation is Mississippian and includes rocks
ranging in age possibly from Osage or late Kinderhook
into Chester.
MISSISSIPPIAN AND PENNSYLVANIAN(P) SYSTEM
LEE FLAT LIMESTONE
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The Lee Flat limestone was named for exposures on
the southwest side of Lee Flat (Hall and MacKevett,
1958, p. 8). The type locality Of the formation trends
southward from an altitude of 5,280 feet near the top
of the prominent hill 0.9 miles S. 36° E. of the main
shaft of the Lee mine to the contact with alluvium at
the foot of the hill at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The
most accessible good exposure of the formation is on
the hill 3,000 feet south of the Lee mine where a section
QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
FIGURE 5.—Lee Flat limestone (PMI) viewed south from the Lee mine.
The Lee Flat limestone conformably overlies the Perdido formation
(Mp).
This is the most accessible section of Lee Flat limestone, but was
not designated as the type locality because of the interruption of
the section by steep faults (f).
which, in turn overlies the Tin Mountain limestone (th).
from the Lost Burro formation to Lee Flat limestone is
exposed. This exposure was not designated as the type
locality as the section is faulted (fig. 5). The Lee Flat
is also exposed in a strip 4% miles long along the north-
east slope of the Santa Rosa Hills, and in a band that
extends from the northwestern part of the Darwin Hills
into the southern part of the Talc City Hills, generally
in fault-bounded outcrops (pl. 1) . The formation is
in a horst at the Zinc Hill and Empress mines in the
Argus Range. Calc-hornfels exposed in Rainbow Can-
yon and adjacent canyons in the eastern part of the
quadrangle is probably mainly metamorphosed Lee Flat
limestone.
The formation commonly weathers to smooth surfaces
that retain the dark-medium-gray of the unaltered rock.
Locally, parts of the formation form craggy outcrops
and minor cliffs.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIG RELATIONS
Lee Flat limestone conformably overlies the Perdido
formation, but its upper contact is not exposed in the
Darwin quadrangle. The contact between the Lee Flat
limestone and Perdido formation is marked by a change
from interbedded limestone and chert near the top of
the Perdido formation to thin-bedded Lee Flat lime-
stone. The formation is at least 520 feet thick at its
type locality—this thickness represents an incomplete
section that was measured southwestward from the
apparently conformable contact with the Perdido for-
mation to a point where alluvium conceals the bedrock.
The formation has an estimated maximum exposed
thickness of 960 feet in the Santa Rosa Hills 4,7 00 feet
N. 67° W. of the main shaft of the Lee mine, and the
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 19
thickness is at least as great 3,000 feet south of the Lee
mine on hill 5594. Owing to complex folding and
faulting in both places, however, the section was not
designated as a type locality.
LITEOLOGY
Lee Flat limestone consists mainly of thin-bedded
fine-grained dark-medium-gray limestone admixed with
small amounts of silt and clay. The formation is gen-
erally uniform in appearance and consists largely of
calcilutite. Locally the limestone contains iron-stained
partings or small lenses or thin beds of chert.
The formation is divisible into two units at the type
locality. The lower unit, 136 feet thick, is predomi-
nantly thin—bedded, dark-medium-gray limestone but
includes a few dark—gray, brown-weathering chert
lenses and nodules and locally crinoid—rich beds. Iron—
stained partings are moderately abundant near the top.
The upper unit, which is at least 384 feet thick, differs
from the lower unit by its absence of chert and the
moderate abundance of 11/2- to 3-inch.thick iron-stained
partings in parts of the section. The prevailing dark—
medium-gray thin-bedded limestone of this unit is 10-
cally cut by narrow veinlets of white calcite.
Thin section study of the Lee Flat limestone shows
that the rock is calcilutite and consists chiefly of small
subrounded calcite grains that are less than 0.05 mm in
average maximum diameter but that attain maximum
diameters of 0.10 mm. Quartz, opaque minerals, and
limonite make up about 1 to 2 percent of most sec-
tions. Elongate tremoli-te crystals as much as 4.0 mm
long are abundant.
AGE, CORRELATION, AND ORIGIN
Crinoid fragments are the only fossils found in the
Lee Flat limestone. The formation is probably a time-
stratigraphic equivalent of the upper elastic part of the
Perdido formation and the Rest Spring shale of the
Ubehebe Peak quardrangle (McAllister, 1956) and is
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian(?) in age (fig. 6).
Time equivalence is indicated by Rest Spring shale con—
formably overlying the Perdido formation in the Quartz
Spring and Ubehebe Peak areas (McAllister, 1952, p.
23; 1955, p. 13) and the Lee Flat limestone conform—
ably overlying limestone and bedded chert that corre-
lates with the lower unit of the Perdido formation at
the type locality (McAllister 1952, p. 23). The Rest
Spring shale in the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle is con-
formably overlain by thinly bedded limestone of Atoka
or early Des Moines age (McAllister, 1956). The upper
contact of the Lee Flat is not exposed in the Darwin
quadrangle, but in the adjacent Panamint Butte quad-
rangle the writers have mapped'Lee Flat limestone that
is conformably overlain by thinly bedded limestone of
Atoka or early Des Moines age. The lower rocks of the
Perdido are Mississippian and probably are Osage or
late Kinderhook (McAllister, 1952, p. 24). The Lee
Flat limestone therefore is younger than late Kinder—
hook or Osage (early Mississippian) and older than
Des Moines (Middle Pennsylvanian).
In a reconnaissance of parts of the Argus Range south
and east of the Darwin quadrangle in the Modoc district
the writers observed marble of the Lee Flat limestone.
The marble underlies the Keeler Canyon formation and
overlies limestone and bedded chert of the Perdido
formation. No shale is present between the Perdido
formation and the Fusulinella zone at the base of the
Keeler Canyon formation. The lithology of the Lee
Flat limestone is transitional between the elastic Upper
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian( ’4’) section in the
Ubehebe Peak area and the massive, cliff-forming upper
Monte Cristo limestone of the Nopah-Resting Springs
area (Hazzard, 1954, p. 880). The cliff-forming Lee
Flat limestone observed by the writers in‘ the Argus
Range lithologica'lly resembles the Bullion limestone
member of the Monte Cristo limestone described by
Hazzard (1954, p. 881).
PENNSYLVANIAN ( P) SYSFI‘EM
REST SPRING SHALE
Rest Spring shale was named by McAllister (1952, p.
25) in the Quartz Spring area. Shale in the Darwin
quadrangle that is mapped as Rest Spring on the basis
of lithologic similarity is found only in several small
outcrops in fault zones at the north end of the Santa
Rosa Hills, at four places in the thrust fault in the Talc
City Hills, and in a fault in the hills south of State
Highway 190 about 2 miles N. 57° E. of the Silver Dol-
lar mine (pl. 1). In the Tale City Hills 0.7 miles south
of the Talc City mine both Rest Spring shale and Lee
Flat limestone are present, but the exposures are poor;
so the nature of the contacts is not known. It is likely
that the association of Rest Spring shale with Lee Flat
limestone indicates interfingering of the two formations.
The Rest Spring shale in the Darwin quadrangle is
at least in part equivalent to the Chainman shale north-
west of the Darwin quadrangle in the Inyo Mountains
(Merriam and Hall, 1957, p. 4). The Chainman in the
Inyo Mountains is the same unit as the black shale
referred to the upper part of the White Pine shale
of the Inyo Mountain (Kirk, in Knopf, 1918, p. 38;
Merriam, 1954, p. 11).
In the Darwin quadrangle the Rest Spring shale
consists predominantly of dark-brown fissile argillace-
ous shale and minor siltstone. Discoidal siliceous con-
cretions that have a maximum dimension of about 6
inches are in the shale in the thrust fault at the Silver
Dollar mine and at the northwest end of the Tale City
20
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
QUARTZ SPRING AREA
CALIFORNIA
McAIlister (1952)
PENNSYLVANIANl?) PENNSYLVANIAN
MISSISSIPPIAN
DEVONlAN
Lower (?) Mississippian
Tihvipah limestone
Fossils of late Atoka or
early Des Moines age
Rest Spring
Upper unit
Perdido f/ormation
/
/
/
r:
c
3
L
a:
3
o
_l
Tin Mountain
limestone
Lost Burro
formation
@
Limestone,
thick bedded
Bedded chert
%
Limestone.
thin bedded
Slltstone
DARWIN QUADRANGLE
CALIFORNIA
This report
Keeler Canyon formation
Fossils of Atoka or }'
Lee Flat limestone
Perdido
formation
Tin Mountain
limestone
Lost Burro
formation
EXPLANATION
Sandy limestone Shaly limestone Limestone containing
chert nodules
Kv 9‘0,
“ - E
3“.)
Shale and sulty shale Marble Dolomite
qunm 6.—Correlatton of Carboniferous formations of the Quartz Spring area and Darwin quadrangle.
PENNSYLVANIAN
MISSISSIPPIAN AND PENNSYLVANIANC’)
MISSISSIPPIAN
DEVONlAN
200
400 FEET
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 21
Hills 1.3 miles north of the northernmost workings of
the White Swan mine (pl. 2).
The Rest Spring shale may be allochthonous in the
Darwin quadrangle. Wherever Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian rocks are exposed in normal strati-
graphic sequence in the quadrangle, the Lee Flat lime-
stone is below the Fusulinella. zone of the Keeler Canyon
and shale is absent. Several major faults trend N. 20°
W. in the Santa Rosa Hills; they are probably left-
lateral strike-slip faults. Except for a small outcrop
at the north end of the Talc City Hills the Lee Flat
limestone is either east of the westernmost strike-slip
fault (the Santa Rosa Flat fault) in the Santa Rosa
Hills or south of the Darwin tear fault, and the faulted
exposures of Rest Spring shale are all west of the Santa
Rosa Flat fault. Although the Rest. Spring shale
is found only in fault zones, so many faulted slivers of it
are exposed in the Tale City Hills that it probably oc-
curs in the northwestern part of the quadrangle under
a deep cover of younger rocks. The shale and limestone
facies may be contiguous in the Santa Rosa Hills be-
cause of left-lateral strike—slip faulting on the Santa
Rosa Flat fault (pl. 1).
AGE AND CORRELATION
The Rest Spring shale is the time equivalent of part
of the Lee Flat limestone of the Darwin quadrangle
(fig. 6). The upper black shale of the Chainman in
the Inyo Mountains is also correlative with the Rest
Spring shale (McAllister, 1952, p. 26).
The age of the Rest Spring is equivocal. No fossils
were found in it in the Darwin quadrangle. Kirk (in
Knopf, 1918, p. 38), Merriam (1954, p. 11), and Mer-
riam and Hall (1957, p. 5) considered the dark shale
beds of the Chainman in the Inyo Mountains to be Late
Mississippian. McAllister (1952, p. 26) considered the
Rest Spring shale to be Pennsylvanian( ?). In this
report the Rest Spring in the Darwin quadrangle is
considered Pennsylvanian ( ?) .
PENNSYLVANIAN AND PEBMLAN SYSTEMS
Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks predominate in
the northwestern and southeastern parts of the quad-
rangle and constitute the most widespread and thickest
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks; they have an aggregate
thickness greater than 5,900 feet. These rocks are
mainly silty limestone but include pure limestone, shale,
siltstone, arenaceous limestone, and conglomerate.
Well—defined lithologic changes that could be used as
formational boundary markers are lacking. Pennsyl-
vanian and Permian rocks are similar to those described
by Merriam and Hall (1957) from the southern Inyo
Mountains, and their names—Keeler Canyon and
Owens Valley formations—are used in this report.
Because of the gradational nature of the rock types,
some contacts may not be precisely at the same strati-
graphic position as at the type locality. Lateral varia-
tions in lithology in parts of the Pennsylvanian and
Permian section are also a deterrent to precise strati-
graphic correlation. McAllister (1955, p. 13) provi-
sionally used the name Bird Spring( ‘9) formation for
similar Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks in the
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle.
The Keeler Canyon and Owens Valley formations
consist largely of clastic and limy deposits whose con-
stituent particles range in size from silt to boulders.
Characteristics indicative of shallow-water, nearshore
deposition, such as crossbedded calCarenites and coarse
conglomerate with subangular limestone fragments,
are common. Disconformities in the Keeler Canyon
and Owens Valley section are indicated by recurrence
of fossiliferous pebble conglomerates that contain
limestone pebbles of the Keeler Canyon in the lower
part of the section and coarse conglomerate at Con-
glomerate Mesa. Local angualr unconformities are
present but are not common.
Broad undulatory folds and moderate relief char-
acterize most exposures of the Keeler Canyon and
Owens Valley formations. Where the rocks are sili-
cated, the relief is more rugged. The formations can
commonly be recognized from a distance by the folded
nature of the incompetent rocks in contrast to the
throughgoing nature of the older strata (fig. 7).
FIGURE 7.—Photograph showing the folded, Incompetent nature of the
Pennsylvania and Permian strata (PP K) in contrast to the through-
going nature of the adjacent Lost Burro formation (le) of Devonian
age. The contact is a fault. View looking west at the east side of
the Talc City Hills near the Silver Dollar mine.
22 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
HELER CANYON FORMATION
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The name Keeler Canyon formation was proposed
by Merriam and Hall (1957, p. 4) for the thick sequence
of rocks east of the Estelle tunnel portal at the head of
Keeler Canyon in the New York Butte quadrangle 2
miles southwest of CerroiGordo Peak. Exposures of
the formation in the Darwin quadrangle are on the west
flank of the‘northern part of the Santa Rosa Hills, in
the adjacent low hills to the northwest, and in the Talc
City Hills and Darwin Hills (pl. 1). Conspicuously
folded Keeler Canyon strata crop out in the eastern
Talc City Hills and northwestern Darwin Hills and can
be readily seen from State Highway 190. Generally the
formation weathers to smooth slopes, but locally re-
sistant beds form riblike outcrops and shaly parts form
subdued topography.
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPEIC RELATIONS
There is no complete Keeler Canyon formation sec-
tion suitable for stratigraphic measurement in the quad-
rangle. Partial sections were measured east of the
Conglomerate Mesa road in the northwestern part of
the quadrangle, in the Darwin Hills northeast and
southwest of the Darwin Antimony mine, and on the
west flank of the Santa Rosa Hills west of hill 6170
(pl. 1). These sections indicate a minimum thickness
of 4,000 feet for the formation. The contacts with the
underlying Lee Flat limestone or with the Rest Spring
shale are faults. The conformable upper contact is
gradational and difficult to define accurately. It is
placed at the top of a predominantly pinkish shale unit
stratigraphically below the inception of a chiefly silty
and shaly limestone containing lenses of pure limestone
or limestone conglomerate.
LITI-IOLOGY
The Keeler Canyon formation is divided into two
units, a lower unit at least 2,300 feet thick consisting
mainly of bluish—gray limestone and limestone pebble
conglomerate, and a 1,770-foot-thick upper unit com-
posed largely of pinkish shales and shaly limestone.
Limestone pebble conglomerate, although not confined
to Keeler Canyon rocks, is sufficiently abundant to be
a characteristic of the formation.
LOWER UNIT
The 500 feet of the lower unit is best exposed in the
northern part of the Santa Rosa Hills. Thinly bedded
dark-gray limestone and intercalated 1- to 4-foot—thick
gray limestone pebble conglomerate beds containing
small fusulinids about 2 mm long and minor chert ’
nodules constitute the lowermost 100 feet of the mem-
ber. Spheroidal, black chert nodules about 1/2 to 2
inches in maximum diameter are conspicuous in the
thicker limestone beds near the base. This zone is a
reliable stratigraphic marker and is referred to as the
“golfball” horizon. The superjacent 400 feet of sec-
tion consists mainly of medium-gray shaly limestone
intercalated with medium-gray limestone pebble con-
glomerate in beds 1 to 4 feet thick that contain fusuli-
nids 3 to 5 mm long. Some of the pebbles are com-
posed of subrounded chert. Minor iron-stained part-
ings and scattered crinoid debris are in parts of the
thinly bedded limestone.
West of the Darwin Antimony mine and southwest
of the Darwin tear fault, strata of the lower member
appear to be at least 2,300 feet thick, but the section is
folded and faulted. It consists mainly of thin-bedded
medium- and light-medium-gray limestone but includes
local chert nodules, iron-stained partings, and crinoidal
beds. Light-gray, brown-weathering silty limestone
and calc-hornfels are abundant in the upper part of the
member. The contact between the lower and upper
units is gradational and is marked mainly by prevalent
interbedded limestone and pink shale in the overlying
unit. Pink shale is present but is not abundant in the
lower unit.
Metamorphosed rocks in the central part of the Dar-
win Hills at the Darwin mine are correlated with the
lower part of the Keeler Canyon formation ontpale-
ontologic and lithologic evidence. Thinly bedded
bluish-gray limestone and calc-hornfels containing
spheroidal chert nodules '15 to 1 inch in diameter are
interbedded with calc-hornfels in the inverted syncline
on the south slope of Ophir Mountain (pl. 3). Locally
poorly preserved tiny fusulinids were observed in the
limestone. This limestone and calc-hornfels zone,
which is in fault contact with limestone lithologically
identical to the Lee Flat limestone, is undoubtedly the
golfball horizon at the base of the Keeler Canyon
formation.
UPPER UNIT
The upper unit of the Keeler Canyon formation crops
out in the Darwin Hills on hill 5979 east of the Darwin
Antimony mine, in the low hills for 3 miles northwest
of hill 5979, and in the northwestern part of the quad-
rangle 3 miles east of Conglomerate Mesa (pl. 1). It
consists of thinly bedded bluish-gray calcilutite, fine-
grained calcarenite, and pink shale and forms pinkish-
gray slopes where unmetamorphosed in contrast to the
grayish hue of slopes underlain by the lower member.
This is particularly apparent in the low hills north of
the Darwin Antimony mine. In the eastern part of the
PALEOZOIC ROCKS , 23
rphosed to calc—
orown on weath-
{Xg aces. The dark-
e‘o‘cia" ‘1”, in sharp contrast
€96 ‘0?)9 “s 09 pholsed lower unit.
. \ea. $9 a 4it a on a traverse
‘2") $296 €$e90140 feetg east of the
X9 9 . .
.564 \‘b‘b' 009 gQ .¢;§\Viony mine are sum-
9 ’6’» a?» 0 \x .
.9049 60‘ a)?” $9 (35:36 1s overturned; the
e ' - '
Q; 0‘19 «‘9‘ KO sage west, but their tops
‘0‘ ‘92) \0‘59 ‘Q
0" ”€90 5% :15;
X)‘ e9 gs, the south ahwft at Darwin
’8‘ sp.
a“ $9 eV'w
’39 .39 ‘0
\3 . e,3 n
90 {b \E
‘0 35’ V Feet
e 0V
6-" :mation:
‘5 (filly and silty limestone;
fa $°°:stone and pebble con-
39/ ‘ istitute about 60 percent
'32-. 0». _______________________ 410
2% C; . .h-gray, 2 to 10 ft thick
6 ‘9‘ nkish-gray, locally brown-
‘j‘ 50 ft thick. Crossbedding
one ______________________ 175
«my __________________________ 100
., pinkish-gray, containing a 10-ft
.ale; section cut by minor faults ______ 135
light-pinkish-gray, massive; locally cut
.icite veinlets 200
.estone light- and medium-gray, sandy and silty;
in beds 1 to 2 ft thick; minor shaly partings ______ 190
Limestone and fusulinid—bearing limestone pebble
conglomerate containing a 15-ft thick pink limy
shale 190
Limy shale, largely pink, and shaly limestone; brown
and grayish-brown-weathering silty limestone and
locally crossbedded fusulinid-bearing limestone
pebble conglomerate are interbedded with pink
shale in lower part of the section _________________ 300
Total ___ 1, 700
Gradational contact.
Lower unit of the Keeler Canyon formation :
The upper part consists mainly of light-mediums
gray limestone with iron-stained partings and
medium-gray fusulinid—bearing limestone pebble
conglomerate in beds 1 to 2 ft thick. Shaly lime-
stone is progressively more abundant near the
upper contact.
The higher parts of the upper unit are well exposed
3 miles east of Conglomerate Mesa where pink shale
and subordinate brownish-gray-weathering silty lime—
stone of the upper unit of the Keeler Canyon forma-
tion grade into a conformable sequence of predom-
inantly brown-weathering platy and silty limestone
and subordinate shale of the lower part of the Owens
Valley formation. Pink shale makes up about two-
thirds of the upper 800 feet of the Keeler Canyon
formation; the remainder is brown-weathering shale
and silty limestone in beds 6 inches to 2 feet thick, and
minor fusulinid-bearing limestone pebble conglomer-
ates. The pink shale is underlain by 150—foot-thick
light-gray to buff, tan-weathering siltstone. Below the
siltstone the Keeler Canyon formation consists mainly
of medium-gray and pinkish-gray, light-brown weath-
ering thin-bedded silty limestone interbedded with
lesser amounts of pink shale for an exposed thickness
of 450 feet.
AGE AND connnurrox
The Keeler Canyon formation ranges in age from
probable Atoka or Des Moines (Middle Pennsylvanian)
to Wolfcamp (early Permian). Fusulinids are the
most abundant fossils, but in many places their struc-
tures are obscured by silicification and deformation.
The lower unit of the Keeler Canyon formation con—
tains fossils that range in age from probable late Atoka
or early Des Moines to Wolfcamp. The lowermost ap-
proximate 200 feet of the formation is in part equiv-
alent to McAllister’s (1952, p. 26—27) Tihvipah lime-
stone and paleontologically is characterized by small
fusulinids of probable Atoka age.
The following is a summary of a report by Lloyd
G. Henbest (written communication, 1953) on a col-
lection made near the base of the Keeler Canyon for-
mation in the Santa Rosa Hills.
£9591. Pennsylvanian, Atoka or Des Moines age. Locality 1.65
miles S. 79° W. of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,270 feet.
Calcareous algae
Olimacammim sp.
Endothym sp.
Millerella? sp.
Fusulinella or Wedelamdellma sp.
Fueulmella or possibly an early form of Fusulma sp.
The specimens are poorly preserved. The fusulinids are
identified generically with only fair assurance and indicate
Atoka or possibly very early Des Moines age. The other
foraminifers listed give support but of very limited value to
this age determination. The species of calcareous algae that
seems to be represented here is a fossil of common occurrence
in rocks of Atoka and Des Moines age. Though all of the species
listed agree in indicating Atoka or possibly early Des Moines
age, it is not certain that they are not of early Permian age.
A collection made about 400 feet stratigraphically
above the base of the formation in the Santa Rosa Hills
is considered to be probable late Wolfcamp in age by
R. C. Douglass (written communication, 1953) in a
summarized report as follows:
£9647. Permian. Locality in Santa Rosa Hills 3.60 miles N.
50° W. of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,650 feet.
Olimacammmw sp.
Schubertella?
Stafellahp.
Triticites?
Schwagefim spp. at least two forms
The material in this collection is poorly preserved.
mian, probably late Wolfcamp, in age.
It is Per-
24 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, 1.
The occurrence of Wolfcamp and probable Middle
Pennsylvanian fossils within a stratigraphic interval of
a few—hundred feet in the northwestern part of the
quadrangle compared with a much thicker Pennsyl-
vanian section elsewhere in the southern Inyo Moun-
tains (Merriam and Hall, 1957, table 2) and Darwin
quadrangle suggests a hiatus within the lower unit
of the Keeler Canyon. The possibility of an un—
conformity cannot be ruled out, but the only physical
evidence for it is the limestone pebble conglomerate beds
that are concordant in the stratigraphic sequence and
show no effects of erosion.
TWO collections from near the upper contact of the
Keeler Canyon formation were examined by R. C. Doug-
lass (written communication, 1954). These collections,
which are from the rolling hills northwest of the Santa
Rosa Hills, contain Ulimaoammz'm sp., Schwagem'na‘,
probably two or three fairly advanced species, and
Pseudoschwageri’na. sp. Douglass believes this fauna is
probably late Wolfcamp. Douglass (written communi-
cation, 1954) studied a collection from the northern Dar—
win Hills from the upper unit and provided the follow-
ing faunal list and comment:
f9746. Locality in Darwin Hills 1.70 miles N. 48“ W. of the
Darwin Antimony mine at an altitude of 5,200 feet.
Small indeterminate forams.
Climacamxmi/rw sp.
Tetratamfis sp.
Schubertella!
Sehwagem‘na spp. at least three species
This collection contains a fauna characteristic of the upper-
most part of the type Wolfcamp, but it may be as young as early
Leonard.
Two collections from the transitional zone between
the Keeler Canyon and the lower part of the Owens
Valley formation in the northern Darwin Hills were
examined by Douglass (written communication, 1954) :
F9748. Locality 0.93 miles N. 15° W. of the Darwin Antimony
mine at an altitude of 5,290 ft and 1.20 miles N. 33° W. of
VABM 5979.
Oltmacammina sp.
Tetratawis?
Endothyra?
Schwagerina spp.
One aff. S. compacta (White)
Douglass believes this fauna probably represents
Wolfcamp, possibly middle to late Wolfcamp.
F9749. Locality at north end of Darwin Hills at an altitude
of 5,400 ft. Located 660 feet north of VABM 5979.
Calcitornellids
Climacammma sp.
Tritim’tes sp.
Schwagerma spp. (possibly 3 species)
One aff. S. diverstformis Dunbar and Skinner
Another aff. S. linearis Dunbar and Skinner
Pseudoschwagerma sp.
Parafusu'lma ?
Douglass states :OOQV
?7
This assemblage cox. 1
most part of the Wolft
formations. -It can proba.
with fair certainty.
The Keeler Canyon fo<‘oQ
Q
correlates reasonably well '01. 012 t
in the Inyo Mountains (Men or o [be
However, because of lateral véoo be 0.01,
0’ o 91-.
the contact between the Keeler . <99, 09,0,
ley formations cannot be place 800.9
graphic horizon on the basis of 11%.]
Canyon is partly equivalent to the 16‘
of the Quartz Spring area (McAll.
and to part of the Bird Spring( ?) _
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (McAlliste
Pennsylvanian rocks that correlate with t
yon formation were recognized in the Ar
Hopper (1947, p. 411).
0
4
£11,:
OWENS VALLEY FORMATION
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The Owens Valley formation was named by Me
and Hall (1957, p. 7) for strata of Permian age that
exposed in the foothills of the Inyo Mountains abou
miles north of Owenyo (fig. 2). The Owens Valle
formation near the type locality includes two forma-
tions previously described by Kirk (in Knopf, 1918,
p. 42—43)——the Owenyo limestone and Reward con-
glomerate, now considered local members of the Owens
Valley.
The formation is well exposed in the northwestern
part of the Darwin quadrangle east and southeast of
Conglomerate Mesa, in the southeastern part of the
quadrangle in the Argus Range, and at the north end
of Darwin Wash between the Argus Range and Darwin
Hills (pl. 1).
The formation is subdivided informally into three
units. The lowest unit is the thickest and is the most
widely distributed. It is the only formation in the
southeastern part of the quadrangle, and it underlies
most of the low rolling hills east of Conglomerate Mesa.
The middle unit occurs as a narrow band surrounding
Conglomerate Mesa, while the upper unit forms the
resistant capping and cliff exposures Of Conglomerate
Mesa (fig. 8).
LOWER UNIT
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIO RELATIONS
Where best exposed east of Conglomerate Mesa, the
lower unit is about 2,800 feet thick. This thickness was
computed from a measured stratigraphic section east of
Conglomerate Mesa, but many minor folds and faults
PALEOZOIC ROCKS . 23
Darwin Hills,'the member is metamorphosed to calc-
hornfels and hornfels that are dark-brown on weath-
ered surfaces and gray on fresh surfaces. The dark-
brown metamorphosed upper unit is in sharp contrast
to the white and light—gray metamorphosed lower unit.
Lithologic details of the upper unit along a traverse
that trends N. 70° E. from a point 140 feet east of the
south shaft at the Darwin Antimony mine are sum-
marized below. The section here is overturned; the
beds strike north and dip steeply west, but their tops
are to the east.
Section of upper unit 140 feet east of the south shaft at Darwin
Antimony mine
Lower part of Owens Valley formation.
Conformable contact.
Feet
Upper unit of the Keeler Canyon formation:
Limy shale, pink and gray; shaly and silty limestone;
and fusulinid-bearing limestone and pebble con-
glomerate. Shaly rocks constitute about 60 percent
of section
Silty limestone, light-pinkish—gray, 2 to 10 ft thick
inter-bedded with light-pinkish-gray, locally brown-
weathering shale 10 to 20 ft thick. Crossbedding
present locally in limestOne ______________________
Limy shale, pinkish-gray __________________________
Limestone, massive, pinkish-gray, containing a 10-ft
thick pink shale; section cut by minor faults ______
Limestone, light-pinkish-gray, massive; locally cut
by calcite veinlefs
Limestone light- and medium-gray, sandy and silty;
in beds 1 to 2 ft thick; minor shaly partings ______
Limestone and fusulinid—bearing limestone pebble
conglomerate containing a 15-ft thick pink limy
shale
Limy shale, largely pink, and shaly limestone; brown
and grayish-brown-weathering silty limestone and
locally crossbedded fusulinid—bearing limestone
pebble conglomerate are interbedded with pink
shale in lower part of the section _________________
410
175
100
135
190
190
300
1, 700
Total
Gradational contact.
Lower unit of the Keeler Canyon formation :
The upper part consists mainly of light-mediumu
gray limestone with iron-stained partings and
medium-gray fusulinid-bearing limestone pebble
conglomerate in beds 1 to 2 ft thick. Shaly lime-
stone is progressivgly more abundant near the
upper contact.
The higher parts of the upper unit are well exposed
3 miles east of Conglomerate Mesa where pink shale
and subordinate brownish-gray-weathering silty lime-
stone of the upper unit of the Keeler Canyon forma-
tion grade into a. conformable sequence of predom-
inantly brown-weathering platy and silty limestone
and subordinate shale of the lower part of the Owens
Valley formation. Pink shale makes up about two-
thirds of the upper 800 feet of the Keeler Canyon
formation; the remainder is brown-Weathering shale
and silty limestone in beds 6 inches to 2 feet thick, and
minor fusulinid-bearing limestone pebble conglomer-
ates. The pink shale is underlain by 150-foot-thick
light-gray to bufl', tan-weathering siltstone. Below the
siltstone the Keeler Canyon formation consists mainly
of medium-gray and pinkish—gray, light-brown weath-
ering thin-bedded silty limestone interbedded with
lesser amounts of pink shale for an exposed thickness
of 450 feet.
AGE AND comnurzox
The Keeler Canyon formation ranges in age from
probable Atoka or Des Moines (Middle Pennsylvanian)
to Wolfcamp (early Permian). Fusulinids are the
most abundant fossils, but in many places their struc-
tures are obscured by silicification and deformation.
The lower unit of the Keeler Canyon formation con-
tains fossils that range in age from probable late Atoka
or early Des Moines to Wolfcamp. The lowermost ap-
proximate 200 feet of the formation is in part equiv-
alent to McAllister’s (1952, p. 26—27) Tihvipah lime—
stone and paleontologically is characterized by small
fusulinids of probable Atoka age.
The following is a summary‘of a report by Lloyd
G. Henbest (written communication, 1953) on a col-
lection made near the base of the Keeler Canyon for-
mation in the Santa Rosa Hills.
f9591. Pennsylvanian, Atoka or Des Moines age. Locality 1.65
miles S. 79° W. of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,270 feet.
Calcareous algae
Oltmacam/mxmasp.
Endothyra sp.
Mtllerella? sp.
Fusultnella or Wedelaindelltna sp.
Fusulinella or possibly an early form of Fusultna sp.
The specimens are poorly preserved. The fusulinids are
identified generically with only fair assurance and indicate
Atoka or possibly very early Des Moines age. The other
foraminifers listed give support but of very limited value to
this age determination. The species of calcareous algae that
seems to be represented here is a fossil of common occurrence
in rocks of Atoka and Des Moines age. Though all of the species
listed agree in indicating Atoka or possibly early Des Moines
age, it is not certain that they are not of early Permian age.
A collection made about 400 feet stratigraphically
above the base of the formation in the Santa. Rosa Hills
is considered to be probable late Wolfcamp in age by
R. C. Douglass (written communication, 1953) in a
summarized report as follows:
f9647. Permian. Locality in Santa Rosa Hills 3.60 miles N.
50° W. of the Lee mine at an altitude of 5,650 feet.
Oltmacammtna sp.
Schubertella?
Stafietlakp.
Trtttcttes?
Schwager'i/na spp. at least two forms
The material in this collection is poorly preserved. It is Per-
mian, probably late Wolfcamp, in age.
24 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
The occurrence of Wolfcamp and probable Middle
Pennsylvanian fossils within a stratigraphic interval of
a few hundred feet in the northwestern part of the
quadrangle compared with a much thicker Pennsyl-
vanian section elsewhere in the southern Inyo Moun-
tains (Merriam and Hall, 1957 , table 2) and Darwin
quadrangle suggests a hiatus within the lower unit
of the Keeler Canyon. The possibility of an un-
conformity cannot be ruled out, but the only physical
evidence for it is the limestone pebble conglomerate beds
that are concordant in the stratigraphic sequence and
show no effects of erosion.
Two collections from near the upper contact of the
Keeler Canyon formation were examined by R. C. Doug-
lass (written communication, 1954) . These collections,
which are from the rolling hills northwest of the Santa
Rosa Hills, contain Olimaoammz'na sp., Schwagerina,
probably two or three fairly advanced species, and
Psewfloschwagem'na sp. Douglass believes this fauna is
probably late Wolfcamp. Douglass (written communi—
cation, 1954) studied a collection from the northern Dar—
win Hills from the upper unit and provided the follow-
ing faunal list and comment:
£9746. Locality in Darwin Hills 1.70 miles N. 48° W. of the
Darwin Antimony mine at an altitude of 5,200 feet.
Small indeterminate forams.
Olimacamrmma sp.
Tetratamfis sp.
Schubertella!
Schwagem’na spp. at least three species
This collection contains a fauna characteristic of the upper-
most part of the type Wolfcamp, but it may be as young as early
Leonard.
Two collections from the transitional zone between
the Keeler Canyon and the lower part of the Owens
Valley formation in the northern Darwin Hills were
examined by Douglass (written communication, 1954) :
F9748. Locality 0.93 miles N. 15° W. of the Darwin Antimony
mine at an altitude of 5,290 ft and 1.20 miles N. 33° W. of
VABM 5979.
Olimacammma sp.
Tetratams?
Endothyra?
Schwagem’na spp.
One afi. S. compacta (White)
Douglass believes this fauna probably represents
Wolfcamp, possibly middle to late Wolfcamp.
F9749. Locality at north end of Darwin Hills at an altitude
of 5,400 ft. Located 660 feet north of VABM 5979.
Calcitornellids
Olimacammina sp.
Triticites sp.
Schwagerina spp. (possibly 3 species)
One aft. S. diversiformis Dunbar and Skinner
Another afi. S. linearis Dunbar and Skinner
Pseudoschwagem’na sp.
Parafusu'lina ?
Douglass states :
This assemblage contains elements common to the upper-
most part of the Wolfcamp and lower part of the Leonard
formations. It can probably be correlated with boundary zone
with fair certainty.
The Keeler Canyon formation in the Darwin Hills
correlates reasonably well With that at the type section
in the Inyo Mountains (Merriam and Hall, 1957, p. 4).
However, because of lateral variations in the formation,
the contact between the Keeler Canyon and Owens Val-
ley formations cannot be placed at a precise strati-
graphic horizon on the basis of lithology. The Keeler
Canyon is partly equivalent to the Tihvipah limestone
of the Quartz Spring area (McAllister, 1952, p. 26)
and to part of the Bird Spring( ‘9) formation in the
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (McAllister, 1955, p. 13).
Pennsylvanian rocks that correlate with the Keeler Can-
yon formation were recognized in the Argus Range by
Hopper (1947, p. 411).
OWENS VALLEY FORMATION
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
The Owens Valley formation was named by Merriam
and Hall (1957 , p. 7 ) for strata of Permian age that are
exposed in the foothills of the Inyo Mountains about 3
miles north of Owenyo (fig. 2). The Owens Valley
formation near the type locality includes two forma-
tions previously described by Kirk (in Knopf, 1918,
p. 42—43)——the Owenyo limestone and Reward con-
glomerate, now considered local members of the Owens
Valley.
The formation is well exposed in the northwestern
part of the Darwin quadrangle east and southeast of
Conglomerate Mesa, in the southeastern part of the
quadrangle in the Argus Range, and at the north end
of Darwin Wash between the Argus Range and Darwin
Hills (pl. 1).
The formation is subdivided informally into three
units. The lowest unit is the thickest and is the most
widely distributed. It is the only formation in the
southeastern part of the quadrangle, and it underlies
most of the low rolling hills east of Conglomerate Mesa.
The middle unit occurs as a narrow band surrounding
Conglomerate Mesa, while the upper unit forms the
resistant capping and clifl' exposures of Conglomerate
Mesa (fig. 8).
LOWER UNIT
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS
Where best exposed east of Conglomerate Mesa, the
lower unit is about 2,800 feet thick. This thickness was
computed from a measured stratigraphic section east of
Conglomerate Mesa, but many minor folds and faults
25
PALEOZOIC . ROCKS
638:8 933 h¢=d> 3530 23 no mnmmouauofi 05 £033 Scum ad“ 3:32 wniawnflmma mm 03 as 53:2: «momma—0.3 0:8 6:59.533
05 E hnmdnmonou M55...— 05 was“ :35 in: .533 2—H. Asian: #5— 0833 5.23 unwuwafioofl one age Mafia—do 339395 a mun—.8“ «a5 wuduofiofinoo anon—moi: E323.—
.ofinaucdnv c5 no «.23 53335.8: 25 5 dmcfi ouauefioumnoo ad :oflafihcu 3:5? meBOld “553%
a E 2505 2:: him: 25 A5398 0.: “83958 05 no BE: 8.5» 2:.
26 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
in the section make this figure only an approximation.
Lower strata of the Owens Valley in the southeastern
part of the quadrangle are deformed into broad un-
dulatory folds and are not amenable to stratigraphic
measurements.
The upper and lower contacts of the lower unit are
gradational. The contact with the Keeler Canyon
formation is generally marked by the lithologic change
from predominantly pink shale in the upper part of the
Keeler Canyon to predominantly silty and sandy lime-
stone with lenses of pure limestone and limestone brec-
cia in the lower unit of the Owens Valley formation. In
the Darwin Hills the contact of the base of the Owens
Valley formation was placed at the base of a 450-foot-
thick, brown-weathering siltstone 2,500 feet east of
the Darwin Antimony mine. The contact of the lower
and middle units of the Owens Valley formation is at
the base of predominant fissile shale.
LITHOLOGY
The lower unit of the Owens Valley formation con-
sists mainly of fine-grained calcarenite commonly in
beds 1 to 2 feet thick. Shaly limestone, lenses of pure
limestone and limestone breccia, shale, and siltstone are
common. Lenses of massive bluish-gray limestone and
limestone breccia as much as 40 feet thick are character-
istic of the unit; these lenses are probably bioherms
and are commonly highly fossiliferous. Limestone peb-
ble conglomerates are not as abundant as in the Keeler
Canyon formation. A poorly sorted limestone breccia
along the Darwin Wash road 114 miles S. 33° E. of
China Garden Spring is interpreted as formed by sub-
marine slump. The limestone breccia contains rounded
and subrounded fragments of dark-gray limestone in a
light—brown sandy and silty limestone matrix. Frag-
ments are mostly 1 to 3 inches in diameter, but some
reach a maximum length of 2 feet. Fragments consti-
tute about 20 percent of the rock.
The fine- grained calcarenite is commonly crossbedded.
It is generally light or medium gray on fresh surfaces
and weathers light brown. Associated thick, massive
lens-shaped limestones are bluish gray on both fresh
and weathered surfaces. Shale beds in the formation
are variegated in pinks, grays, greens, and browns. The
buff and brown siltstone weathers medium brown.
Algal nodules 2 to 3 inches long are present in calcare-
nite in Darwin Canyon near Millers Spring, and meta-
morphosed ellipsoidal forms in calc—hornfels east of the
Christmas Gift mine probably are metamorphosed algal
nodules. The nodules contain abundant sponge spic-
ules( ?) and fusulinids, although the enclosing calcare—
nite is nearly devoid of fossils.
Summary of an eastward-trending stratigraphic section of the
lower unit measured from the base of the middle unit of the
Owens Valley formation east of Conglomerate M esa about half
a mile south of the quadrangle boundary
Owens Valley formation:
Middle unit.
Conformable contact.
Lower unit:
Thickness 1
(feet)
Limestone and siltstone, largely yellowish gray,
silty and sandy; massive bluish-gray limestone
lenses in lower part Of section as much as 40 ft
thick ; most thick limestone lenses are fusulinid
bearing; some contain brachiopods, gastropods,
and crinoidal debris; thin beds of greenish—
brown shale and limestone pebble conglomerate
high in section
Limestone, interbedded thin-bedded, gray, sandy
and silty; and gray and yellowish-brown shale;
minor pure gray limestone in beds 2 to 4 ft
think 822
Limestone, mainly brown-weathering, silty and
platy; moderately abundant fusulinid-bearing
medium-gray limestone beds and lenses 2 to 30
ft thick; some contain limestone fragments;
minor amounts of pink and brown silty fissile
shales with cleavage transecting bedding _____
Limestone, brown-weathering, platy and silty;
and minor amounts of interbedded brown-
weathering shale and fusulinid-bearing lime-
stone pebble conglomerate ___________________ 1,440
265
300
Total
Conformable contact.
Keeler Canyon formation.
1 Approximate.
_ 2, 827
In the Darwin Hills a 450-foot-thick brown-weather—
ing siltstone bed is at the base of the formation. This
siltstone and its metamorphosed equivalent crop out
abundantly on the eastern slopes of the Darwin Hills.
Shaly and silty limestone containing lenses of massive
bluish-gray limestone and limestone breccia overlies the
siltstone.
AGE AND CORRELATION
Paleontologic evidence indicates that the lower unit
ranges in age from late Wolfcamp into Leonard. The
faunal assemblage consists largely of fusulinids, but
includes large brachiopods, corals, ammonites, and
gastropods. Most specimens are poorly preserved.
Five collections of fusulinids from the lower unit of
the Owens Valley in the area east of Conglomerate Mesa
were studied by R. C. Douglass. He reported a range
in age from late Wolfcamp into Leonard. A collection
from near the base of the Owens Valley was identified
by Douglass (written communication, 1954) as follows:
PALEOZOIC ROCKS 27
f9645 Permian.
California, Inyo County, Darwin quadrangle. Locality 2.85
miles S. 86° E. of the NW. corner of the quadrangle.
Schubertella sp.
Tritim‘tes ? sp.
Schwagermc spp.
Pseudoschwagerim? sp.
The material in this collection is fractured and silicified. It
is of Permian age, probably late Wolfcamp.
Concerning a collection at the top of the lower unit
of the Owens Valley, Douglass reports:
f9650 Permian.
California, Inyo County, Darwin quadrangle. Locality 1.20
miles S. 70° E. of the northwest corner of the quadrangle.
There are many small forms in this collection, most of which
seem to be immature individuals of the following genera, but
some of which may be Endothym and Schubertella.
Schwagem‘m spp. advanced forms related to S. guembeli
iDunbar and Skinner
Parafusulma sp.
This sample is the youngest of the lot studied for this report.
It is Permian in age and is probably equivalent to the Leonard.
The lower unit of the Owens Valley does not corre-
late precisely with the lower fauna] zone of the Owens
Valley given by Merriam and Hall (1957, p. 11). The
lower unit in this report includes the thick sequence of
silty limestone, sandy limestone, shale, and siltstone that
underlies the predominantly shaly varicolored unit at
the base of Conglomerate Mesa. Parafusulz'm sp.,
which is placed in the middle faunal zone of the Owens
Valley formation, is in the upper part of the lower unit
of the Owens Valley as mapped by the writers.
James Steele Williams summarized results of paleon-
tologic studies of a megafossil assemblage collected
about 200 feet stratigraphically below the top of the
lower unit near Conglomerate Mesa. This collection
was made from a thick, lenticular, craggy bioherm.
Williams’ summarjy follows:
USGS 17569 Darwin quadrangle, 1.32 miles S. 58° E. of the
NW. corner of the quadrangle.
Byrozoa (identified by Helen Duncan)
Stenodiscus? sp. indet. {no close age significance)
Brachiopoda
M eekella sp. indet. large to rm
Dictyoclostus sp. indet., re lated to D. West basst’ McKee
Dictyoclostus? sp. indet., possibly related to D. ivesi
(Newberry)
Enteletes? sp. indet.
Gastropods
Three specimens of gastro pods were reported on sepa-
rately by Ellis Yochelso: 1.
Two are indeterminate and one represents an undeter-
mined species of the gems Peruvispim which was de-
scribed from beds said to be Lower Permian age
in Peru but has been found in beds that range from
Wolfcamp to Word in age.
The large Dictyoclostus in the above list is crushed and in-
complete but as nearly as one can tell it is probably a D. West
620626 0—62——3
variety bassi McKee. The smaller one is related to D. West
(Newberry) as restricted by McKee but it appears to have
coarser costate and a deeper sulcus than are typical of that
species. The Meekella in mature individuals is larger than
most Pennsylvanian species. On these rather slender grounds
I believe that the collection is probably of Leonard or younger
Permian age. It is not the typical Owenyo fauna but appears
to me to be older than that fauna. I do not believe it is as old
as typical McCloud. It may however be an unusual facies of
one of these faunas ‘ * *.
Poorly preserved solitary corals, crinoid columnals,
and fragments of brachipods are in several thicker lime-
stone lenses near Conglomerate Mesa. One lithostro-
tionoid coral was collected near the top of the lower
unit.
Twelve collections of fusulinids from the lower unit
in the southeastern part of the quadrangle were ex-
amined by Douglass. Pseudoschwagerina, Schwage-
rim, or both, are present in all the collections. Olim-
camnm'm is in eight. Other less widespread genera rep—
resented in the collections are Schubertella, Pam-
schwagem'na, Parafusuli’na?, and P8eud0fusulina?.
Tm'ticites sp. is present in only one collection from near
the base of the formation.
Douglass believes that these collections indicate late
Wolfcamp or early Leonard age. Pseudoschwagerim
is the prevailing fusulinid in collections from the lower
unit from the Talc City Hills and the extreme southern
part of the Inyo Mountains.
Additional megafossils were found in the Owens
Valley formation, but they were either badly preserved
or were not diagnostic for age determination. Ammo-
nites, which are too poorly preserved for generic deter-
mination, occur in sandstone on the east slope of the
Darwin Hills. Bernard Kummell (written communi-
cation, 1954) reported they might be either Permian or
Triassic. Solitary corals and crinoid colunmals are
abundant in fusulinid—bearing limestone in the Argus
Range. Owing to the poor state of preservation, the
corals were not studied.
MIDDLE UNIT
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS
The middle unit is exposed only around the base of
Conglomerate Mesa in the northwestern part of the
quadrangle. Because of tight folds and poor outcrops
resulting from the incompetence of this unit, a good
section could not be measured. The mapped outcrop
pattern indicates that the thickness is about 200 feet.
The contact with the silty and sandy limestone of the
lower member is gradational and conformable.
LIT HOLOGY
The middle unit consists predominantly of shale but
contains subordinate siltstone and limestone. Most of
28 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
the shale is brick red or yellowish brown on fresh and
weathered surfaces. Other shale beds are dark gray to
nearly black, greenish gray, and light gray; these beds
commonly weather to several shades of green and
brown. The minor intercalated siltstone is yellowish
gray on fresh surfaces and weathers yellowish brown.
It is generally thinly bedded and contains abundant
siliceous silt. Interbedded limestone layers are medium
gray and weather brownish gray. They range from
1 to 4 feet in thickness and commonly contain abundant
siliceous silt and sand. The cleavage’of the fissile
shales dips steeply westward across bedding. Quartz
veins, which are less than 100 feet long, fill tension
fractures in the shale.
UPPER UNIT
THICKNESS AND STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONS
A minimum thickness of 180 feet of limestone con-
glomerate of the upper unit of the Owens Valley for—
mation crops out at Conglomerate Mesa. The unit is
restricted to this area in the Darwin quadrangle. Its
present distribution is probably close to its original
extent. The lower contact with the shale of the middle
unit is sharp and disconformable. Local angular dis—
cordance along this contact mainly reflects minor slip-
page between the competent limestone conglomerate and
incompetent shale, but at the south end of the mesa. the
discordance may be a local angular unconformity.
LITH OLOGY
The lower part of the upper unit consists of a 60-foot-
thick limestone conglomerate that is overlain by a 30-
foot—thick light-gray fine-grained orthoquartzite. The
upper 90 feet of the unit is made up mainly of light-
yellow and yellowish-brown-weathering siltstone and
light—gray calcarenite with minor yellowish-weathering
pebble conglomerate.
Clastic fragments greater than sand size generally
constitute 40 to 60 percent of the yellowish-brown— and
brown-weathering conglomerate—a unique rock in the
Darwin quadrangle ‘Paleozoic section. Coarse frag-
ments that range in size from 1 to 4 inches in maximum
diameter are most abundant but a few larger fragments
are present. Gray silty limestone and, to a lesser extent,
pink and light-gray chert form most of the rudaceous
material. The limestone fragments commonly are sul}
rounded to rounded and the chert fragments are sub-
angular. The sand-size matrix constituents are mainly
siliceous. In places the conglomerate has been largely
replaced by chert.
Several small isolated outcrops of coarse-grained
sandstone south of Conglomerate Mesa near the western
boundary of the quadrangle are stratigraphic equiva-
lents of the limestone conglomerate. The light-gray
locally crossbedded sandstones are composed largely
of subangular and subrounded siliceous and limy
grains.
AGE AND CORRELATION
No fossils were found in the upper unit within the
Darwin quadrangle. The upper unit of the Owens Val-
ley at Conglomerate Mesa is correlated with the upper
part of the Owens Valley at the type locality in the
Inyo Range (Merriam and Hall, 1957, p. 11), where it
contains Neospz'm'fe'r- psewiocamemtus and Puncto-
spirifer pulcher and is probably Word (middle Per—
mian) 0r Guadalupe (late Permian) in age.
UNDIFFERENTIATED PALEOZOIC SILICATED
LIMESTONE
Calc-hornfels that cannot be correlated definitely in
the stratigraphic column occurs near the eastern border
of the quadrangle in Rainbow and nearby canyons and
as inliers surrounded by basalt (pl. 1). The calc horn—
fels is mainly a white to light-gray, dense diopside-rich
rock, but locally some relict bluish-gray limestone with
tremolite needles remains. It occurs between a small
inlier of probably the Lost Burro formation to the
north in an unnamed canyon 3.70 miles S. 63° W. of
the northeast corner of the quadrangle and the lower
unit of the Owens Valley formation to the south in the
Argus Range (pl. 1). The calc-hornfels is probably
both Carboniferous and Permian in age.
GNEISS
Gneiss crops out only in the southwestern part of the
quadrangle as several small r’oof pendants or screens
marginal to biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite (pl.
1). The rock is a fine- to medium-grained gneiss con-
sisting mainly of biotite, quartz, and feldspar. Folia-
tion strikes north to northwest and dips steeply. The
gneiss is cut by some sills of biotite-hornblende-quartz
monzonite. Its age is not known.
MESOZOIC ROCKS
INTRUSIVE ROCKS
Plutonic rocks are exposed in about 10 percent of the
quadrangle, and possibly an additional 10 percent of
plutonic rocks underlie a cover of basalt or alluvium.
The plutonic rocks are divided into two lithologic
types—biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite and leuco—
cratic quartz monzonite. Minor leucogranite, aplite,
and pegmatite are common in small bodies at the border
of bodies of quartz monzonite and as thin dikes intrud-
ing it. Quartz monzonite as used in this report is a
granitoid rock that contains essential quartz, potas-
MESOZOIC ROCKS 29
sium-feldspar, and plagioclase; the ratio of potassium-
feldspar to plagioclase is between 1 to 2 and 2 to 1.
Otherwise names of plutonic rocks in this report follow
the definitions of Johannsen (1939, p. 141—161).
BIOTITE—HORNBLENDE-QUARTZ MONZONITE
Biotite—hornblende-quartz monzonite is the predom-
inant plutonic rock type in the northeastern part of the
quadrangle, in the Coso Range and in the central Dar-
win Hills. Unaltered biotite-hornblende-quartz mon-
zonite crops out in the northeastern part of the
quadrangle in steep, eastward-trending canyons where
the rock has been exposed by faulting or by erosion of
the overlying basalt. The quartz monzonite extends
northward into the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle where
itis called the Hunter Mountain quartz monzonite by
McAllister (1956). The name Hunter Mountain
quartz monZonite may be extended to the biotite-horn-
blende—quartz monzonite in the northeast quarter of
the quadrangle. The name has not been applied to the
other bodies of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite
because of the uncertainty of correlating widely sepa-
rated intrusive bodies whose age cannot be closely dated,
and because the intrusive bodies have a heterogeneous
appearance owing to the assimilation of a large amount
of silty limestone.
Biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite is the most
easily weathered rock in the Darwin Hills and Coso
Range, where it forms gentle grus—covered slopes.
slopes are marked by outcrops of resistant leucogranite
or aplite that does not reflect the composition of the
grus-covered areas. Therefore few fresh quartz mon-
zonite specimens were found for petrographic study.
PETROGRAPHY
The biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite is a light-
gray rock that has a specked appearance produced by
scattered mafic minerals. The texture ranges from
equigranular, with an average grain size of 2 to 3 mm,
to porphyritic, Where 10 to 20 percent phenocrysts
of pink potassium feldspar as much as 1% cm long
occur in a finer grained light-gray equigranular ground-
mass. The uncontaminated rock is predominantly
quartz monzonite, but it ranges in composition from
granodiorite to quartz monzonite. Essential minerals
are quartz, potassium feldspar, plagioclase, and more
than 5 percent hornblende and biotite (fig. 9).
F eldspar makes up 62 to 76 percent of the rock with
nearly equal amounts of plagioclase and potassium
feldspar. Plagioclase ranges from calcic oligoclase
(Ann) to andesine (Ana) ; it connnonly shows normal
zoning. The potassium feldspar is microperthitic,
and some of it has microcline twinning, particularly
the phenocrysts. The quartz content ranges from 5 to
The '
30 percent. It is more abundant in the quartz monzo-
nite from the Coso Range than that in the northeastern
part of the quadrangle. The mafic minerals include
biotite, hornblende, and, in the northeastern part of the
quadrangle, augite; they range from 8 to 30 percent by
volume. Hornblende is predominant in the biotite-
hornblende—quartz monzonite from the Coso Range and
the northeastern part of the quadrangle, and biotite is
predominant in the quartz monzonite underlying the
low hills west of Darwin. Minor accessory minerals
are sphene, apatite, magnetite, and tourmaline. Tour-
maline is particularly abundant in the quartz monzon-
ite at the south end of the Santa Rosa Hills.
The stock in the Darwin Hills is a heterogeneous
intrusive mass compOsed predominantly of biotite-
hornblende-quartz monzonite and granodiorite, but the
rocks are deeply weathered and few unaltered speci-
mens were found for study. Near the Definance and
Thompson workings of the Darwin mine the intrusive
mass is hybrid and consists largely of granodiorite,
quartz diorite, and diorite.
Megascopically the biotite-hornblende—quartz mon-
zonite from the northeastern part of the quadrangle,
Coso Range, and the least contaminated parts of the
stock in the Darwin Hills are similar in color and tex—
ture. However there are some overall differences be-
tween quartz monzonite from the various bodies. The
quartz monzonite in the Coso Range contains more
quartz and less mafic minerals than the quartz monzon-
ite from the northeastern part of the quadrangle. Aug-
ite is common in the quartz monzonite in the northeast—
ern part of the quadrangle but was not observed in the
quartz monzonite in the Coso Range. Hunter Moun-
tain quartz monzonite in the Ubehebe Peak quadrangle
(McAllister, 1956) is also low in quartz, and it is prob-
able that the exposures of the ‘batholith are closer to the
former roof than the exposures of biotite-hornblende-
quartz monzonite in the Coso Range. The border facies
of the Hunter Mountain quartz monzonite are quartz-
poor rocks that include monzonite, syenodiorite, and
gabbro. Generally the border facies rocks are slightly
coarser grained and are darker than the typical biotite-
hornblende-quartz monzonite, but in some exposures
the two are indistinguishable. The border facies rocks
are not distinguished on our map (pl. 1). These quartz-
poor rocks probably formed by assimilation of the silty
limestone and dolomite country rock by the biotite-
hornblende-quartz monzonite.
Except for the low quartz content, monzonite is
similar to quartz monzonite in mineralogy and texture.
Syenodiorite megascopically also is similar, except for
containing more plagioclase than the monzonite. Lo-
cally syenodiorite also contains small amounts of tour-
30
EXPLANATION
0
Normal granitoid rock
X
Border facies rock 80
Length of line indicates percent of mafic and
accessory minerals; top of line is percent of
total feldspar and bottom of line is percent
of quartz, For example sample No. 1 con-
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
tains 59 percent feldspar, 30 percent quartz,
and 11 percent mafic and accessory minerals
60
\s
90
Potassium
feldspar
‘55 70 ”5 ‘90 "a Plagioclase
FIGURE 9.—Triangular diagram showing percentages of essential minerals in the blotlte-hornblende-quartz monzonite (after Johannsen, 1939,
v. 1, p. 152.)
maline and scapolite, variety dipyre, in veinlets tran-
secting and replacing plagioclase.
AGE
The granitoid rocks in the Darwin quadrangle in-
trude Permian strata and are overlain by late Cenozoic
rocks. In the Inyo Mountains they intrude shale and
volcanic rocks of Late Triassic age (Knoff, 1918, p. 60).
Two intrusions of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite
in the Argus Range several miles east of the Darwin
quadrangle were dated by the lead-alpha and potas-
sium—argon methods as 180 million years (T. W. Stern
and H. H. Thomas, written communication, 1961).
Thus they are very Early Jurassic (Kulp, 1961).
These dated intrusions are correlated by the writers
with the biotite-hornblende—quartz monzonite in the
Darwin quadrangle. They are considerably older than
the Sierra Nevada batholith with which they were
previously provisionally correlated by Hall and Mac-
Kevett (1958). The geologic quadrangle map was com-
piled before these age determinations were made, and
the biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite is shown as
Cretaceous( ?) on the maps for this report.
The two dated samples of biotite-hornblende-quartz
monzonite were collected from the east side of the Argus
Range a few miles east of the Darwin quadrangle.
Sample DW—l was collected in Darwin Canyon 1 mile
west of Panamint Springs at an altitude of 2,120 feet.
MESOZOIC ROCKS 31
The locality is at the north end of the Argus Range in
the Panamint Butte quadrangle. Sample TC—l is from
Thompson Canyon 1.4 miles S. 85° W. of the Modoc
mine at an altitude of 3,910 feet on the east side of the
Argus Range in the Maturango Peak quadrangle. It is
from the north end of the large mass of quartz mon-
zonite that underlies Maturango Peak.
Herman H. Thomas (written communication, 1961)
dated sample DW—l as 182 million years and sample
TC—l as 178 million years by potassium—argon. Data
for the calculations are given below:
Radiogenic
argon Age (million
Sample No. Arm (ppm) K“J (ppm) Arm/K40 (percent) years)
DW—l __________ 0.0915 8.07 0.0113 94 182
TC—l __________ . 0671 6. 07 . 0110 93 178
Potassium analysis is by C. O. Ingamells, Pennsylvania
State University. Constants used :
xp=4.76 >< 10-‘°/year
ke=0.589>< 10'1°/year
K“°/ K =0.000120qg./ g.
Possible error about 5 percent of determined value.
T. W. Stern (written communication, 1961) dated the
zircon of the same samples by the lead-alpha method.
Sample TC—l was determined as 1801-20 million years
and sample DW—l as 210:25 million years. Data for
the samples are given below :
Sazcnple Pb Calculated age 2
o.
a/mg per hr (ppm)1 (million years)
DW—l ___________________ 134 11.1 210 i 25
TC—l ____________________ 188 13.7 180 i 20
1 Analysts: Charles Annell and Harold Westley.
aThe lead-alpha ages were calculated by T. W. Stern from the follow-
ing equation:
T=0 Pb/a
where T is the calculated age in millions of years, 0 is a constant based
upon the U/Th ratio, Pb is the lead content in parts per million, and
a is the alpha counts per milligram per hour. The following constants
were used :
Assumed U/Th ratio 0
1 2485
Age is rounded off to nearest 10 my. The error quoted
is that due only to uncertainties in analytical tech-
niques.
LEUCOCRATIC QUARTZ MONZONI’I‘E
DISTRIBUTION
Leucocratic quartz monzonite crops out in stocks in
the Talc City Hills and at Zinc Hill in the Argus
Range. Most slopes underlain by leucocratic quartz
monzonite in the Tale City Hills are grus covered, and
only a few shallow gullies expose relatively unweath-
ered rock. Leucocratic quartz monzonite at Zinc Hill
is in an area of rugged relief, and is well exposed.
PETROGRAPHY
Leucocratic quartz monzonite is a medium- to coarse-
grained light-grayish-pink rock that generally contains
less than 5 percent mafic minerals. The texture ranges
from equigranular to porphyritic; locally the rock con-
tains pink feldspar crystals as much as 11/2 cm long in a
medium-grained equigranular groundmass. Dark fine—
grained inclusions less than 11/2 inches long are dis-
seminated sparsely through the quartz monzonite. The
leucocratic quartz monzonite is lighter colored and
coarser grained than the more widespread biotite-horn-
blende-quartz monzonite.
Essential minerals in the rock are quartz, sodic oli-
goclase, and orthoclase. F eldspars constitute 70 to 75
percent of the rock and occur in about equal quantities.
Orthoclase is microperthitic and commonly forms
phenocrysts that poikilitically enclose all other min-
erals. Biotite, the predominant mafic mineral, gen-
erally constitutes less than 5 percent of the rock,
although as much as 7 percent has been observed; it is
in part altered to chlorite. Hornblende may be present
in small quantities. Minor accessory minerals are
allanite, apatite, magnetite, pyrite, sphene, and tour-
maline.
AGE
The relative age of the biotite-hornblende-quartz
monzonite and the leucocratic quartz monzonite is un-
certain, but the leucocratic quartz monzonite probably
is the younger rock. They are in contact only in the
low grus-covered hills west of Darwin where the rocks
are poorly exposed. The shape of the southeast end
of the stock in the Talc City Hills suggests a tongue of
a younger leucocratic quartz monzonite intruding the
biotite-hornblende—quartz monzonite. The more sodic
composition of the plagioclase and the smaller mafic
mineral content of the leucocratic quartz monzonite sug-
gests from the Bowen reaction series that it is a later
differentiate and hence the younger rock.
Lithologically the leucocratic quartz monzonite most
closely resembles in texture and mineralogy the ortho-
clase-albite granite at Rawson Creek in the Sierra
Nevada (Knopf, 1918, p. 68). According to P. C. Bate— -
man (oral communication, 1957) this is a widespread
rock type along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada.
APLITE AND LEUCOGRANITE
The youngest ‘batholithic rocks are leucogranite,
aplite, and minor pegmatite. They are concentrated in
small bodies near the borders of quartz monzonite in-
trusions and in thin dikes cutting quartz monzonite
(pl. 1). Leucogranite is most common in the north-
eastern part of the quadrangle where the largest body
is 4,200 feet long and 900 feet wide. Aplite and peg-
32 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
matite are in dikes mostly less than 100 feet long and 1
inch to 3 feet wide. Aplite and leucogranite are com-
mon in dikes and small irregular bodies in the Coso
Range and Talc City Hills, and a body of leucogranite
is 2,500 feet northeast of Darwin on the west side of the
stock of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite in the
Darwin Hills.
The leucogranite is a pinkish—white fine-grained rock
that consists predominantly of feldspar and quartz.
Minor accessory minerals are apatite, biotite, horn-
blende, magnetite, and sphene. Tourmaline is locally
abundant in the bodies in the northeastern part of the
quadrangle. The rock contains 50 to 58 percent
orthoclase, 30 to 33 percent quartz, 9 to 15 percent
plagioclase of composition An8 to An“, 1 to 2 percent
biotite, and less than 1 percent each of the other acces—
sory minerals. Biotite is in large part altered to
chlorite. Orthoclase is microperthitic; some is re-
placed ‘by albite.
The leucogranite and aplite in the Darwin Hills
contain more plagioclase than most of the other bodies.
Plagioclase and orthoclase are present in about equal
quantities and make up about 70 percent of the rock.
Plagioclase is albite (Ang) ; orthoclase is microperthitic. '
Hematite coats the feldspar and produces a light-pink
or purplish color. The feldspar is in large part hydro-
thermally altered to sericite, and pyrite is sparsely dis-
seminated through the rock. Within the weathered
zone pyrite is altered to limonite.
BIKES
ALTERED ANDESITE PORPE‘YRY BIKES
Highly altered fine-grained, porphyritic greenish-
gray dikes of andesitic composition crop out in the San-
ta Rosa mine area, the eastern part of the quadrangle
south of Rainbow Canyon, and near Conglomerate
Mesa (pl. 1). Similar dikes have been described from
the U‘behebeyPeak quadrangle as altered porphyritic
dikes by McAllister (1956). The dikes are part of an
extensive swarm that extends at least from the north
end of the Argus Range in the Panamint Butte quad—
rangle northwestward across the Darwin Plateau and
Inyo Mountains to the Sierra Nevada—a distance of
more than 50 miles (fig. 1). This dike swarm was
described recently by Moore and Hopson (1961).
The andesite porphyry dikes range from 2 to 6 feet
in thickness. They strike predominantly between N.
70° W. and west, and dip about vertically. They are
greenish gray on freshly broken surfaces and weather
to several shades of brown. The dikes exposed at low
altitudes develop dark-brown desert-varnished surfaces
similar to that on basalt.
The andesite porphyry dikes consist mainly of saus-
suritized plagioclase phenocrysts in a fine-grained pilo-
taxitic groundmass composed largely of elongate saus-
suritized plagioclase. The plagioclase phenocrysts
average about 1 by 2 mm, and the groundmass plagio-
clase is about 0.2 mm long and 0.03 mm wide. The
rock is altered mainly to albite, epidote, calcite, and
chlorite. Quartz, limonite, sericite, clay minerals, and
stilbite are less common secondary minerals. The
meager assemblage of primary minerals includes a few
skeletal remnants of augite phenocrysts, and very Small
amounts of apatite, sphene, magnetite, and pyrite.
The dikes cut granitic rocks in the northeastern part
of the quadrangle. Elsewhere they cut Paleozoic rocks.
The dikes were emplaced after consolidation of the
batholithic rocks and before late Tertiary volcanic
activity, and they probably are Cretaceous or early
Tertiary in age.
DIORITE
Dikes of several compositions crop out in the south-
ern part of the quadrangle. These are mainly diorite
but include altered quartz latite, syenite, and one alas—
kite porphyry. They are grouped with diorite dikes
on the map. The most abundant are altered dark
greenish-gray diorite dikes that cut biotite-hornblende-
quartz monzonite in the low hills west of Darwin and
Paloezoic rocks near Darwin Falls. The dikes are re—
stricted to the margins of plutonic bodies or to contact
metamorphosed zones about plutons. A porphyritic
texture is common. The least altered are fine-grained,
porphyritic dikes that consist mainly of hornblende,
oligoclase, epidote, and magnetite. Most are com-
pletely altered to chlorite, albite, calcite, clinozoisite,
and magnetite.
Felsic dikes are present both in the Darwin Hills and
in the Talc City Hills. Dikes in the Darwin Hills in-
clude both alaskite porphyry and syenite. An alaskite
porphyry dike 3 feet thick, which crops out half a mile
east of Ophir Mountain, contains phenocrysts of quartz
and albite about 2 mm long in a, light—gray aphanitic
groundmass composed mainly of albite and quartz and
minor accessory magnetite, apatite, and sphene. Syen-
ite is common in the Darwin mine area, and it is probab-
ly formed by feldspathization (pl. 3). It is described
under rock alteration.
Felsic dikes are exposed in the pit at the Frisco talc
mine and at the surface at the Tale City mine in the
Talc City Hills. They are light-gray fine-grained dikes
that are partly to wholly replaced by chlorite and minor
tale. The dikes probably were quartz latite. They
have a pilotaxitic texture and consist of quartz, ortho-
clase, and oligoclase. No primary mafic minerals re-
CENOZOIC ROCKS 33
main. The feldspar is partly to completely replaced
by chlorite. The alteration of these dikes is closely re—
lated to talc ore bodies.
CENOZOIC ROCKS
Late Cenozoic deposits include both sedimentary and
volcanic rocks. Sedimentary deposits are mainly fan-
glomerates, but also include lacustrine deposits in
Darwin Wash and on Darwin Plateau. Volcanic rocks
include andesite, minor pumice, basaltic pyroclastic
rocks, and basalt flows and dikes. The probable cor-
relation of the late Cenozoic rocks is given in table 2.
TABLE 2,—Correlation of late Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary
rocks
Age Volcanic rocks Sedimentary deposits
Alluvium including fanglomerate, playa
deposits, landslide deposits, and
slope wash.
Recent
Olivine basalt: Lake deposits
Old fanglomerate
marginal to
Darwin Wash.
Olivine basaltic flows
some tufi and small
basalt intrusive rocks.
Pleistocene
Old tanglomerate
from the Inyo
Mountains.
0050 formation
Upper pyroclastic unit
and andesite:
Basaltic agglomerate
and tuft-breccia;
minorpumice. Ande-
site is interbedded in
this unit.
Pliocene(?) Lower pyroclastic unit:
Well-bedded basaltic
tuft, lapilli tail, and
tufl-breccia, mainly
yellow and yellowish-
brown.
Unconformity
PLIOCENE ( P )
PYROCLASTIC ROCKS
Pyroclastic rocks are distributed extensively
throughout the northern half of the quadrangle. Par-
ticularly good sections of pyroclastic rocks are exposed
in the Inyo Mountains west and north of the Santa Rosa
mine and in the large canyon 11/2 miles southwest of
the Santa Rosa mine. They are exposed in many places
on Lee Flat and in most of the deep canyons that drain
eastward into Panamint Valley in the northeastern part
of the quadrangle. '
The pyroclastic rocks are readily eroded except lo-
cally near cinder cones, where they are very permeable
and are resistant to erosion as they have little or no sur-
face runofi'. In places spires 3 to 4 feet high are formed
that commonly are capped by bombs or fragments of
basalt. Cavernous erosional features are locally formed
in the agglomerate and tuif—breccia.
THICKNESS AND RELATION TO OTHER ROCKS
The thickness of the pyroclastic section ranges from
0 to more than 910 feet and is greatest at local vents;
it thins quaquaversally from them. The maximum
thickness of 910 feet was measured on the north side
of the canyon 11/2 miles southwest of the Santa Rosa
mine. A partial section 730 feet thick was measured
on the south side of the canyon. The bottom of the
pyroclastic section is not exposed at either place.
The pyroclastic rocks rest nonconformably on sili-
cated limestone of Paleozoic age and on granitic rocks
in Rainbow Canyon in the eastern part of the quad-
rangle. The andesite south and southeast of the Santa
Rosa mine is interbedded near the top of the pyroclastic
section. The base of the andesite is conformable upon
bedded pyroclastic rocks 2,200 feet S. 30° E. of the
Santa Rosa mine and small concordant bodies of ande-
site are interbedded with pyroclastic rocks near the
main body of andesite south of the Santa Rosa mine
and on the east slope of hill 557 2 in the central part of
the quadrangle.
The pyroclastic rocks are overlain unconformably by
olivine basalt and a few intercalated thin lapilli-tufi'
beds. Most of the rocks dip less than 25°, probably rep-
senting initial dips away from volcanic centers. How-
ever, in the basin 11/2 miles southwest of the Santa Rosa
mine dips up to 41° were measured in pyroclastic rocks
underlying nearly horizontal basalt; these dips indicate
a period of tilting between the deposition of the pyro-
clastic rocks and the extrusion of the basalt.
LITHOLOGY
The pyroclastic rocks include agglomerate, tuft—
breccia, lapilli-tufl', scoria, and volcanic Cinders—all of
basaltic composition—and some intercalated olivine
basalt flows, andesite, and pumice. The pyroclastic
section is divided into two units. The lower unit is
well-bedded tuff, lapilli-tuff, and tuff—breccia; the upper
unit is poorly bedded basaltic agglomerate, Cinders, and
lapilli-tufl' and varies greatly in thickness, ranging
from 0 to more than 500 feet. It is localized near the
volcanic vents, Whereas the lower unit is more wide-
spread. Two partial sections of pyroclastic rocks in a
canyon 11/2 miles southwest of the Santa Rosa mine are
shown in figure 10; these sections are 7 20 and 910 feet
thick. The base of the pyroclastic rocks is not exposed
in either section.
LOWER PYROCLASTIC UNIT
Light-brown and yellowish-brown well-bedded tufl',
lapilli-tuff, and tufl-breccia in beds mostly 2 to 5 feet
thick make up most of the lower pyroclastic section
(fig. 11). The tufi' and lapilli-tufl" are yellowish brown,
34 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE,
ALTITUDE North side South side
(FEET) of basin of basin
>7000
+ + + Ollvme basalt
9: Loose cinders and Iapilli-tulf
g . _. . . _. Dark red. Poorly bedded
.. <3 '3 DO ‘
a, 9005 Agglomerate. Dark red to redr
& A dish-purple. Bombs up to 3
> 3 feet in diameter
\ \
6600 t +
\ + Olivine basalt
Red lapilIi-tull and
unconsolidated
cinders. Poorly
bedded
x
Lower unlt
A
.A.
/ /
/ Upper uml
Yellowish-brown
Iapillitufl
Dark- red tuN-breccia
/
’41
. 6200
ish-brown Iapilh-tuff. well
bedded
Light-brown, well
bedded tuff and
tulf»breccia
- 5800
FIGURE 10.——Partial sections of Pliocene”) pyroclastic basaltic rocks
in the Inyo Mountains 1% miles southwest of the Santa Rosa mine.
light brown, or grayish brown. The most abundant
tufl‘aceous rock is lapilli-tufi' with rounded fragments
of scoria, red basalt, and cinders from ‘1/8 to 1 inch in
diameter that is somewhat indurated though may be
crumbled easily in the hand. Lapilli-tuff is inter-
bedded with tuff-breccia that contains irregular to
rounded fragments and bombs of olivine basalt and
scoria in a tuff or lapilli-tufl' matrix. The fine—grained
interbedded tuifs are composed mainly of fragments of
basalt and cinders, but also contain some fragments of
quartz, augite and olivine crystals, and volcanic glass.
FIGURE 11.-—Lower well-bedded unit of Pliocene(?) pyroclastic rocks
in the southern Inyo Mountains. The pyroclastic rocks consist of
tuif-breccia and lapilli-tutf of basaltic composition. View looking
south from the basin 11/2 miles southwest of the Santa Rosa mine.
INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
FIGURE 12.—Agglomerate in the poorly bedded upper unit of Pliocene( ?)
pyroclastic rocks in the southern Inyo Mountains. The agglomerate
contains bombs and ropy and irregular fragments of basalt as much
as 3 feet long in a lapilli-tuff matrix. View looking north in the
basin 1% miles S. 70" W. of the Santa Rosa mine.
They are more indurated than lapilli-tufl', and are
cemented with calcite and chalcedony.
UPPER PYROCLASTIC UNIT
The upper proclastic unit is composed of agglomer-
ate, cinders, volcanic breccia, tuff-breccia, and red
scoriaceous basalt; the color is red, reddish brown, or a
deep reddish purple. Bedding in this unit is mostly
indistinct.
The agglomerate consists of volcanic bombs, loglike
masses of ropy lava, and irregular fragments of basalt
and scoria in a lapilli—tufl matrix (fig. 12). The ag-
glomerate is poorly indurated and has poor to indistinct
bedding; it occurs only near vents. Volcanic breccia
and tufl-breccia are interbedded with the agglomerate.
The tuff—breccia consists of 10 to 20 percent bombs and
fragments of basalt in a lapilli—tuff matrix. It is gen-
erally moderately indurated and well bedded. Figure
13 is a photograph of a sawed volcanic bomb, which
shows its internal structures. The bulk specific gravity
of the bombvis 2.33 compared to 2.76 for the dense part
of an olivine basalt flow in the same area. Very little
of the bomb is scoriaceous. The center of the bomb is
dense, and, in general, it becomes more vesicular out-
ward. Nearly all the vesicles are less than 0.5 mm in
diameter. The vesicular parts form discontinuous con-
centric bands. Volcanic breccia contains fragments of
scoria and basalt mostly ranging from 1 to 6 inches in
diameter with little or no matrix material. The frag-
ments are mainly subrounded. Small cinder cones are
present locally on top of the pyroclastic section. The
cinders are mostly bright red, but some are gray to red-
dish gray. They are uncemented and show no bedding.
CENOZOIC ROCKS 35
FIGURE 13.——Photograph of a sawed volcanic bomb of olivine basalt
The center of the bomb is dense and
The vesicles are mostly less than 0.5
Specific
showing its internal structure.
the border is more vesicular.
mm in diameter and form discontinuous concentric bands.
gravity of the bomb is 2.33.
A few thin lenticular pumice beds are near the top of the
pyroclastic section. They range from 3 to 8 feet in
thickness and can be traced only a few hundred feet.
The pumice is impure and contains as much as 20 percent
rounded grains of quartz and fragments of basalt.
ANDESITE
Andesite is exposed south and southeast of the Santa
Rosa mine over an area of 3.square miles; several smaller
bodies are in the central part of the quadrangle on hill
5572. Andesite is resistant to weathering and com-
monly forms bold reddish-colored cliffs. Joints are
sharply defined, and in areas of moderate relief bouldery
outcrops are formed. Cavernous weathering occurs in
places on north slopes.
Andesite south of the Santa Rosa mine forms a broad
dome interbedded in the upper pyroclastic unit. The
base of the dome is exposed resting concordantly on tuff—
breccia 2,200 feet S. 65° E. of the Santa Rosa mine.
Elsewhere the base of the dome is not exposed as the
flanks are covered by basalt or alluvium or, in places,
the contacts are faults. Flow structures are well de-
fined in places and suggest the presence of a dome-
shaped mass. The maximum exposed thickness of
andesite is 1,230 feet on hill 6950, 11/2 miles southeast of
the Santa Rosa mine, but the base is not exposed there.
The andesite is a porphyritic rock that contains
phenocrysts and clusters as much as 10 mm long of
plagioclase laths and euhedral phenocrysts of horn-
blende up to 4 mm long in an aphanitic groundmass.
There are two color varieties of the rock. One is light
gray on fresh surfaces and weathers dark gray; the
other is reddish to reddish gray on fresh surfaces and
weathers reddish brown. The two color varieties occur
throughout the dome and have no recognized strati-
graphic significance within the dome.
PETROGRAPHY
The gray porphyritic andesite contains phenocrysts
of plagioclase, hornblende, and minor biotite, augite,
and quartz in a fine—grained and in part glassy ground-
mass. Plagioclase constitutes 60 to 65 percent of the
rock as subhedral phenocrysts of andesine that are
normally zoned from A1146 to A113. and as microlites of
composition A1135 to Ame. Carlsbad twinning is pre-
dominant, although some phenocrysts have broad albite
twinning. Hornblende, the main mafic mineral, forms
as much as 30 percent of the rock and occurs as euhedral
lath-shaped phenocrysts that are strongly pleochroic
With X=yellowish green, Y =brownish green, and
Z=dark olive green. Biotite phenocrysts up [to 1 mm
long constitute as much as 7 percent of the rock; they
are extremely pleochroic from light brown or greenish
brown to very dark brown. Augite, quartz, and ortho-
clase may be present in small quantities as phenocrysts.
The groundmass consists predominantly of plagioclase,
hornblende, and volcanic glass and contains minor
quartz, orthoclase, biotite, augite, apatite, and zircon.
The groundmass has a trachytic texture. The andesite
has a few small vesicles that are in part filled with
calcite and chabazite.
Texturally and mineralogically the reddish andesite
resembles the gray andesite except that'oxyhornblende
and hematite occur in the reddish andesite instead of
common green hornblende. The oxyhornblende occurs
as euhedral lath-shaped phenocrysts similar in size and
shape to the hornblende in the gray andesite. The
oxyhornblende is extremely pleochroic from light
brown to very dark reddish brown and has thin opaque
borders of hematite. Hematite occurs as euhedral thin
plates and as tiny disseminated specks through the
groundmass, giving the rock its reddish color.
AGE
The andesite is probably late Pliocene in age. It is
interbedded in the upper unit of pyroclastic rocks, is
overlain by flows of olivine basalt, and is cut by basin-
range faults in the Darwin quadrangle. In the Haiwee
Reservoir quadrangle, southwest of the Darwin quad-
rangle, the andesite appears to be identical with the
porphyritic andesite in the Darwin quadrangle. Hop-
per (1947, p. 414) states that the andesite in the Haiwee
Reservoir quadrangle unconformably underlies the
tufl’s and lakebeds of the C050 formation of late Plio-
cene or early Pleistocene age, and he suggests that the
andesite may correlate with the andesite of late Mio-
cene age described by Hulin (1934, p. 420) in the
36 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
Searles Basin quadrangle. The writers made a recon-
naissance traverse over the andesite in the Coso Range
between Cactus Flat and Haiwee Reservoir (fig. 1),
and they believe that the andesite is interbedded in the
Coso formation. The Coso formation west of the
andesite body contains andesite fragments, but at Cac-
tus Flat beds identical with and contiguous with beds
known to be part of the Coso underlie the andesite.
Therefore the andesite at Cactus Flat is contempora-
neous with beds low in the Coso formation and is prob-
ably of late Pliocene age.
OLD FANGLOMERATE FROM THE INYO MOUNTAINS
Erosional remnants of fans marginal to the Inyo
Mountains occur southwest of the Talc City Hills near
State Highway 190 (pl. 1). They form small hills
that rise 15 to 30 feet above the surrounding Recent
alluvium. The fans are composed of angular to sub-
rounded fragments as much as 18 inches in diameter of
sedimentary rocks of Silurian and Ordovician age in a
clay and silt matrix. The fragments are limestone,
bufl' to dark—gray dolomite, and quartzite from the
Pogonip group and the Eureka, Ely Springs, and
Hidden Valley formations. A quarry at the Frisco
talc mine in the Talc City Hills exposes similar older
fan material containing an indurated lens of well-
bedded elastic limy shale and siltstone faulted against
Hidden Valley dolomite. The limy shale probably
formed in a small pond on the alluvial plain. South
of State Highway 190 the fanglomerate is overlain by
5 to 20 feet of basaltic tuff, minor pumice, and olivine
basalt flows.
The source of the fanglomerate must have been the
Inyo Mountains and Talc City Hills to the north and
northwest. No other remnants of fanglomerate remain
in that direction, but this is the only direction for a
local source of Silurian and Ordovician rocks. In addi-
tion south of State Highway 190 fragments in the
fanglomerate are smaller and more rounded than those
in remnants north of the road, closer to the Tale City
Hills.
The fanglomerate underlies olivine basalt of Quater-
nary age and is probably the same age as the nearby
Coso formation.
COSO FORMATION
The Coso formation so designated by Shultz (1937)
is exposed locally in the west-central and southwestern
parts of the quadrangle northeast and east of the Coso
Range, where it is part of extensive fans west of the
quadrangle marginal to the Coso Range. Early
writers described these deposits as lake-beds (Fair-
banks, 1896, p. 69; Campbell, 1902, p. 20; Trowbridge,
1911, p. 726), but later writers demonstrated that the
beds are in large part alluvial fans, the lower reaches
of which interfinger with or are overlain by lacustrine
deposits (Schultz, 1937, p. 78; Hopper, 1947, p. 415).
In the mapped area the Coso formation forms low,
w‘hite hills that rise 5 to 30 feet above the Recent allu-
vium. The beds are predominantly white to buff fine-
to medium-grained arkosic sand and clay in indistinct
beds 1 to 2 inches thick. These materials were de-
rived nearly entirely from disintegration of granitic
rocks of the Coso Range. At the north end of the
Coso Range in the Darwin quadrangle the Coso forma-
tion is overlain by a 5- to 15-foot-thick bed of fine-
grained light—brown basaltic tufl', which, in turn, is
overlain by olivine basalt. Elsewhere in the quadrangle
the formation is dissected and in part covered by Recent
alluvium.
The Coso formation dips 1° to 8° NE. away from
the Coso Range. No volcanic material was seen in the
arkosic beds within the mapped area, but fragments of
agglomerate are present in the Coso formation on the
west side of the Coso Range between Cactus Flat and
Haiwee Reservoir. Therefore the Coso formation is
younger than at least some of the pyroclastic rocks, but
is older than the Quaternary olivine basalt and asso-
ciated thin tufl' beds;
Schultz (1937, p. 98) found vertebrate fossils in
coarse-grained arkosic beds in the Coso formation west
of the Darwin quadrangle that are late Pliocene or
early Pleistocene in age.
PLEISTOCENE
OLIVINE BASALT
Basalt covers a large part of the surface of the north-
ern two-thirds of the quadrangle as thin flows on a
mature erosion surface and as dikes that cut all the
older rocks; it occurs in several isolated patches in the
southern third of the quadrangle. Thin dikes, which
are in part feeders for the basalt flows and are in part
contemporaneous with the underlying pyroclastic rocks,
out all the older rocks but are especially abundant
around vents. Basalt probably at one time covered all
the northern part of the quadrangle, but in the south-
ern part it is localized around vents and probably orig-
inally did not cover a much larger area than at present.
The flows range from 10 to about 100 feet in thick-
ness, and the aggregate of flows totals a maximum
thickness of about 600 feet in the east-central part of
the quadrangle. Some lapilli-tufl' beds 5 to 10 feet
thick are interbedded with the basalt. Basalt flows
unconformably overlie a thick sequence of pyroclastic
rocks, or where the pyroclastic rocks are missing, basalt
nonconformably overlies granitic rocks or Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks. Individual basalt flows commonly
CENOZOIC ROCKS 37
have a systematic internal structure. A rubble zone
at the base is 6 inches to 2 feet thick. Above the basal
rubble zone the basalt flows have a platy structure over
a thickness of 2 to 4 feet, and this grades upward into
massive basalt that contains a few stretched vesicles.
The massive basalt ranges from a few feet to 50 feet
in thickness; locally it has columnar jointing. Mas-
sive basalt grades upward into scoriaceous basalt and
scoria at the top of a flow. Overlying flows repeat
the sequence.
PETRO GRAPHY
The basalt is a finely porphyritic rock containing
phenocrysts of olivine, plagioclase and augite in an
aphanitic groundmass. It is dark gray on fresh sur—
faces and weathers to dark yellowish brown; in many
places it is blackened by desert varnish. Vesicles are
common near the top and bottom of flows; those near
the" bottom are elongated parallel to the direction of
flow.
Thin sections show that the phenocrysts are predomi—
nantly olivine, but include small amounts of plagioclase
and augite in a groundmass of plagioclase, olivine,
augite, biotite, and glass. The olivine phenocrysts are
euhedral to subhedral crystals 1 to 2 mm in diameter
and are partly altered to iddingsite, antigorite, or
goethite. Near the Santa Rosa mine the basalt contains
fragments of quartz surrounded by thin reaction rims
of sphene. The quartz fragments are probably xeno—
crysts.
The groundmass mainly has a trachytic texture, but,
where much glass is present, it has an intersertal tex-
ture. Plagioclase constitutes at least 60 percent of the
groundmass. It is in elongate laths 0.1 to 0.3 mm long
of labradorite of composition An57 to Aneo. Tiny sub—
hedral olivine grains and glass each constitute about 20
percent of the gréundmass and are interstitial to plagio-
clase. Augite is the predominant pyroxene mineral,
although pigeonite was observed in some thin sections.
AGE
The extensive cap of olivine basalt flows is early
Pleistocene or younger in age. The basalt sheets may
be of several ages. Olivine basalt overlies the Coso
formation of late Pliocene or early Pleistocene in the
Coso Range. Kelley (1938, p. 513) and Hopper (1947,
p. 417) consider that the olivine basalt is older than
the lakebeds of middle or late Pleistocene age in Darwin
Wash. The writers agree although the evidence is not
conclusive. The contact between basalt and lakebeds
is masked by talus, and lakebeds east of the road in
Darwin Wash contain no basalt fragments although
they are only 200 feet from basalt and lie 60 feet lower
in elevation.
Some olivine basalt definitely is older than the lake-
beds because older fanglomerate marginal to Darwin
Wash contains fragments of olivine basalt. The fan-
glomerate is the same age or slightly older than the
lakebeds. In Darwin Canyon a flow of olivine basalt
also overlies older fanglomerate and is probably
younger than the lakebeds.
OLD FANGLOMERATE MARGINAL TO DARWIN WASH
Remnants of large fans are widespread marginal to
Darwin Wash. The fans have been broken into isolated
patches by uplift along basin-range faults and erosion
from the rejuvenated streams. Gullies cut the fan east
of Darwin Wash on the west flank of the Argus Range
and expose as much as 25 feet of fanglomerate, but the
base is not exposed. The fanglomerate is overlain by
a few feet of lakebeds in secs. 16 and 21, T. 19 S., R.
41 E. F anglomerate may in part interfinger with the
lakebeds but the gullies are not deep enough to show
whether it does.
The fanglomerate is composed mainly of subrounded
fragments of limestone of Pennsylvanian and Permian
age, quartz monzonite, red basaltic agglomerate, and a
little olivine basalt in a pebbly sand matrix. The frag-
ments are mostly 1 to 4 inches in diameter, although a
few fragments reach a maximum length of 2 feet.
The fanglomerate marginal to Darwin Wash is
probably middle Pleistocene in age. Locally it is tilted
eastward by basin-range faults. It is older or possibly
in part contemporaneous with the lakebeds of middle
to late Pleistocene age, but is younger than the basaltic
pyroclastic rocks of probable late Pliocene age and
younger than at least some of the flows of olivine basalt.
LAKEBEDS
Conspicuous White medium-bedded lakebeds crop out
in Darwin Wash 11/2 miles east and southeast of Lane
mill. A thickness of 58 feet of nearly horizontal lake-
beds is exposed in gullies, but the base is not exposed.
In Darwin Wash the lakebeds interfinger to the south
with older fanglomerate, and to the west they mainly
underlie but also interfinger near the top with older
fanglomerate. On the east 25 feet of lakebeds are ex-
posed overlying the fanglomerate on the west flank of
the Argus Range, but gullies do not cut sufficiently deep
into the fanglomerate to determine if the lakebeds also
interfinger in part with the fanglomerate. Recent
fans from the Darwin Hills cover the lakebeds on the
west side of Darwin Wash, and on the east side of the
Wash the lakebeds have been uplifted and tilted by
basin-range faults and are at present being eroded.
The lakebeds consist of a mixture of White to light-
gray fine-grained pumiceous ash, silt, clay, and diato-
maceous earth in beds 6 inches to 4 feet thick. The
38 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
grains range from 0.05 to 0.1 mm in diameter. One bed
18 inches thick and 5 feet below the top of the exposure
of lakebeds in the SE14 sec. 20, T. 19 S., R. 41 E. on
the east side of the main gully in Darwin Wash re—
sembles tufa but is a bentonitic clay that shrank and
cracked in drying. At the surface the bed has a porous,
cellular texture, but on freshly broken surfaces the cells
are seen to be filled with clay balls. The cells are 1 mm
to 11/2 cm in diameter. Cross sections of the cells are
mostly rectangular with rounded corners, but some are
irregular. The cell partitions are fine-grained calcium
carbonate. The clay balls are friable and easily eroded
away, leaving a cellular texture at the surface.
Kenneth E. Lohman of the US. Geological Survey
made 11 collections of diatoms from the lakebeds in
Darwin Wash and concluded that the beds were middle
to late Pleistocene in age. His report of June 15, 1954,
is given below :
Diatoms from lakebeds 1'11 Darwin Wash
[Relative abundance .is indicated by A, abundant; 0, common; F, frequent; and R, rare.
Asterisk (*) indicates Darwin species that also occur in the Utah formations]
Uses diatom locality 4225 4224 4226 4227 4228 4229 4233
Stratigraphic interval in feet below Ice. 4225 0 7 9 14 19 25 58
Amphora ovalis Kiitzing* ____________________________________________________________________________________ C
Anomoeoneis polygramma (Ehrenberg) Pfitzer* _________________________________________________________________ A
sculpta Ehrenberg _______________________________________________________________________________________ C
sphaeropom (Ehrenberg) Pfitzer __________________________________________________________________________ F
sp ____________________________________________________________________________ R ____________ R
Caloneis bacillum (Grunow) .Mereschkowsky* _________________________________________________ F R ______
schumam'ana (Grunow) Cleve* _______________________________________________________________ R ......
s1'l1'cula var. truncatula Grunow ___________________________________________________________________________ F
Campylod1'squs clypeus Ehrenberg-___________________________‘ _________________________________________________ F
cf. 0. clypeus Ehrenberg _________________________________________________________________________________ F
Cocconeis placentula Ehrenberg* __________________________________________________________________ R ______
Cymatopleura solea (Brebisson) Wm. Smith* ___________________________________________________________________ F
Cymbella mexicana (Ehrenberg) Schmidt* ______________________________________________________________________ R
parva (Wm. Smith) Cleve* _______________________________________________________________________________ F
n. sp. A* ______________________________________________________________________________________________ F
turgida Gregory* _______________________________________________________________________________________ F
sp __________________________________________________________________________________ R ____________ F
Dent1cula cf. D. tenm’s var. mesolepta Grunow ______________________________ F ______________________________
thermal’is Kiitzing ___________________________________________________ A F C F A F C
Diploneis ovalis (Hilse) Cleve* ____________________________________________ R R ______ R ____________
Epithemia argus (Ehrenberg) Kiitzing* ____________________________________ C F F F F ______ F
zebra var. saxom'ca Kiitzing* _________________________________________ R ______ R R F ______
Fragilaria brevistriata Grunow* _________________________________________________ ' R R __________________ R
Gomphonema angustatum (Kiitzing) Rabenhorst _____________________________ R __________________ R ______
bohemicum Reichelt and Fricke _______________________________________ R ______________________________
lanceolatum Ehrenberg* ________________________________________________________________ R F ______
lanceolatum var. insignis (Grunow) ____________________________________________________________ R ______
Huntzschia amphioxys Grunow* __________________________________________ F ____________ F F R F
Mastogloia elIl‘1rpt1'ca (Agardh) Cleve* ______________________________________ F ______________________________
N av1cula cf amphibola Cleve __________________________________________________________________ R ______
car1' Ehrenberg _____________________________________________________ R ______________________________
cf. N. eusp1data var.amb1'g11a (Ehrenberg) Cleve ____________________________________________________________ R
guatamalensis Cleve and Grunow _________________________________________________________ . ________________ C
oblonga Kiitzing* _______________________________________________________________________________________ A
peregrina (Ehrenberg) Kiitzing ___________________________________________________________________________ R
cf. N . radiosa Kiitzing* __________________________________________________________________________________ F
cf. N.s1'mple:1 Krasske _______________________________________________ R ______________________________
Sp _______________________________________________________________ R ____________ R R ______ F
N e1d1um 1'r1'd1's (Ehrenberg) Cleve _____________________________________________________________________________ R
N 1tzsch1a amphibia Grunow ______________________________________________ R ______________________________
angustata (Wm. Smith) Grunow __________________________________________________________________________ R
tryblionella Hamtzsch* ___________________________________________________________________________________ R
Pinnularia microstauron (Ehrenberg) Cleve* _______________________________ R ______ F ______ F ______ R
microstauron var. brebissonii (Kiitzing) Hustedt _________________________ R __________________ F ______ F
viridis (Nitzsch) Ehrenberg* _________________________________________ R ____________ R F ______ C
Rhopalodia gibba (Ehrenberg) Muller* _______________________________________________________ R F ______ C
gibberula (Ehrenberg) Muller* ________________________________________ F F F ______ C R
gibberula var. succincta (Brebisson) Fricke _____________________________ F ______________________________
gibberula var. margaritifera Rabenhorst ________________________________ R ______________________________
Scol1'opleura pe1'son1's Grunow* ______________________________________________________________ R ____________ C
Stauroneis cf. S. phoenicenteron Ehrenberg ___________________________________________________ R ____________
Stephanodiscus astraea (Ehrenberg) Grunow ___________________________________________________________________ F
astraea var. intermedia Fricke ____________________________________________________________________________ R
carconensis var. pusilla Grunow ___________________________________________________________________________ R
Surirella spp _______________________________________________________________________________________________ C
STRUCTURE 39
Lohman reported,
This assemblage of nonmarine diatoms is indicative of a lake
basin in which the earliest beds (loc. 4233) were deposited in
water having a fairly high salinity, possibly as high as 1,000—
2.000 parts per million of NaCl, culminating in much fresher
water at the top of the section, representing the last recorded
level of the lake at this locality. The relatively high frequen-
cy of several species characteristic of hot springs, such as
Denticula thermalis, throughout the section strongly suggests
that hot springs were active in the vicinity during the time
represented by the 58 feet of sediment studied. It is entirely
possible that the hot-spring activity was localized near the
site of the collections, but as all the collections came from an
area not exceeding a few acres, nothing regarding the areal ex-
tent of such activity is indicated. The lake as a whole was
certainly not a hot-spring basin, as many diatoms not character-
istic of hot springs are also present. The hot-spring assemblage
was merely contributed to a normal lake of moderate tempera-
ture and may have come from hot springs feeding a small stream
which emptied into the lake basin not too far from the site
of the collections. A considerable quantity of calcium carbonate
(another common byproduct of some hot springs) is present
in all the collections (they all effervesced with hydrochloric
acid) and this also may have been contributed by hot springs,
but, of course, not necessarily so.
The best age assignment that can be made for this assemblage
is middle to late Pleistocene, based in part upon the high per-
centage of species still represented in living assemblages and
in part upon a comparison with very similar assemblages from
the Provo and Bonneville formations in Utah. The Darwin
species that also occur in the Utah formations are indicated in
the list of species by an asterisk (*). Cymbella n. sp. A. has
been described from the Provo formation in a manuscript I now
have in preparation. The Provo and Bonneville formations are
considered to be late Pleistocene in age by Charles Hunt and
others who have worked in that area. It should be mentioned
that one diatom hitherto known only from late Pliocene rocks,
Stephanodiscus carcanensis var. pusilla, was found in the low-
est diatomaceous bed in the Darwin Wash section, but only one
individual was found. and its battered condition suggests that
it was reworked from older beds.
A small area of dissected lakebeds is exposed on the
Darwin Plateau in secs. 1 and 12 (projected), T. 18 S.,
R. 40 E. The beds are composed of fine—grained light-
gray silt and clay and have a minimum thickness of 15
feet. The beds grade westward into fanglomerate to-
ward a group of low hills of quartz monzonite. The
sediments were deposited in a basin behind a flow of
olivine basalt.
RECENT
UNCONSOLIDATED GRAVELS AND ALLUVIUM
Recent deposits consist mostly of alluvial fan mate-
rial, but include slope wash and stream gravels. The
largest areas of alluvium are Lower Centennial Flat,
Santa Rosa Flat, Lee Flat, and Darwin Wash (pl. 1).
Recent alluvium includes some older alluvial fan mate—
rial on Lee Flat that has been uplifted and is currently
being dissected.
STRUCTURE
Structurally the Darwin quadrangle consists of
folded Paleozoic rocks that are intruded by several
plutons and interrupted by many faults (pl. 1). Bed-
ding strikes north t0.N. 30° W. except in the central
part of the quadrangle from the Talc City Hills east-
ward to Panamint Valley where bedding trends N.
60° to 85° W. and has been tightly folded. Faults
have broken the Paleozoic rocks into several structural
units. Thrust faults and steep faults, some with pos-
sible large strike-slip movement, were formed during
the late Mesozoic orogeny. Normal faults of late
Cenozoic age were important in tilting the beds and
forming the present basin and range topography.
STRUCTURE OF THE FEE-TERTIARY ROCKS
UNCONFORMITIES
No major unconformities were recognized within the
Paleozoic section, although owing to the discontinuous
outcrop pattern due to faulting and erosion the nature
of some of the contracts was diflicult to evaluate. Bed-
ding was conformable wherever unfaulted contacts
were observed. The only recognized major uncon-
formity in the area truncates Paleozoic rocks and in-
trusive rocks of late Mesozoic age.
Local unconformities and disconformities occur
within the Pennsylvanian and Permian strata (fig. 14).
A local unconformity in crossbedded calcarenite in the
lower unit of the Owens Valley formation can be seen
from the road 3,000 feet north of Millers Spring. This
unconformity can be traced only several hundred feet
FIGURE 14,—Local angular unconformity in the lower unit of the Owens
Valley formation in Darwin Canyon. View looking north from the
road 3,000 feet north of Millers Spring. The unconformity is within
a block between two branches of the Darwin tear fault.
40 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
as it is within a block between two strands of the Dar-
win tear fault (pl. 1).
The contact between the middle and upper units of
the Owens Valley formation is disconformable. The
limestone conglomerate of the upper unit at Conglom-
erate Mesa contains limestone pebbles and boulders
as much as 8 inches in diameter that have been eroded
from the underlying Permian rocks. Locally at the
south end of Conglomerate Mesa near the western bor—
der of the quadrangle the contact is probably an angular
unconformity although the contact is poorly exposed.
Minor hiatuses may be represented by pronounced
changes in lithology, particularly in the change from
massive dolomite and limestone to pure quartzite, as
between the Pogonip group and the overlying Eureka
quartzite. The stratigraphic sequence from Lower Or-
dovician to Permian is virtually complete, however,
judging from the incomplete fossil record, but a hiatus
may exist between the Pennsylvanian and Permian.
The faunal zones in the Pennsylvanian strata have a
wide range in thickness. This may be due both to cut-
ting out of part of the section by faults and to original
variations in thickness. For example, the Tm'm'cites
zone (Upper Pennsylvanian) in the Keeler Canyon
formation at the type locality in the New York Butte
quadrangle is about 2,000 feet thick (Merriam and Hall,
1957, p. 6—7), but on the west flank of the Santa Rosa
Hills in the Darwin quadrangle the Twlticites zone is
only several hundred feet,,thick. The Tm’ticites zone in
the Darwin Hill is possibly as much as 4,000 feet thick,
but this figure is uncertain as the fossils are not abun-
dant, and the structure is complex. The writers believe
that this variation in thickness of Upper Pennsylvanian
strata is due to local nondeposition in a nearshore en-
vironment as no evidence of erosion at the top of the
Triticites zone was found in the Darwin quadrangle.
FOLDS
Paleozoic strata were deformed into a series of broad
open folds with axes trending north to N. 20° W. during
the early stages of the late Mesozoic orogeny. This
folding is reflected in the Paleozoic rocks east of Con-
glomerate Mesa in the northwestern part of the quad-
rangle, in the Santa Rosa Hills, and in the southeastern
part of the quadrangle in Darwin Wash and the Argus
Range (pl. 1). The Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks
are thinly bedded incompetent strata that formed many
small drag folds superposed on the limbs of the major
folds (fig. 7), but the drag folds are not reflected in the
underlying strata. The axial planes of the drag folds
in general parallel those of the major folds.
DARWIN WASH SYNCLINE
The major fold in the southeastern part of the quad-
rangle is a broad open syncline with an axis trending
northward in Darwin Wash (pl. 1, section 0—0’) . The
east limb of the syncline is approximately a dipslope on
the west slope of the Argus Range except for several
minor folds. The west limb is largely covered by
alluvium in Darwin Wash, but it is exposed in the low
hills at the north end of Darwin Wash. The west limb
is tightly crumpled adjacent to the biotite-hornblende-
quartz monzonite in the Darwin Hills, and most of the
beds are overturned. The axis of the syncline is hori-
zontal south of the Darwin tear fault, and north of the
fault to Darwin Falls the syncline plunges northward
(pl. 1). North of Darwin Falls the syncline loses its
identity, and the rocks probably become progressively
older northward, although silication of the limestone
makes correlation uncertain (pl. 1) .
DARWIN HILLS OVERTURNED SYNGLINE
The major structural feature in the Darwin Hills is
an overturned syncline that was intruded near its axis
by a stock and is cut by many faults (pl. 1, section
C—Cl). This fold is a complex crumple on the west
limb of the Darwin Wash syncline, and is caused by
forceful intrusion of the batholith of the Coso Range.
West of the stock the dips are generally homoclinal to
the west, but the beds are overturned. North of the
Darwin tear fault on the north side of hill VABM 5979
abundant crossbedding in thin—bedded limestone in the
upper part of the lower unit and the upper unit of the
Keeler Canyon formation show that the westward-
dipping beds are overturned.
South of the tear fault the Keeler Canyon formation
is mostly altered to calc-hornfels, and all internal struc-
tures have been destroyed. However, the strata can be
shown to be progressively younger toward the east
(pl. 1). “(hite marble on the hill 4,000 feet N. 45° W.
of Ophir Mountain is identical with marble of the Lost
Burro formation and contains fragmentary remains
that. resemble cladoporoid corals. The gray medium
to thickly bedded limestone band adjacent on the east
is lithologically similar to the Lower Mississippian Tin
Mountain limestone. It contains poorly preserved
syringoporoid and solitary corals, which are compatible
with correlation to the Tin Mountain. The next lime—
stone band to the east on bill 5654 is a medium—gray
limestone that includes abundant bedded chert and is
mapped as the Perdido formation. This is followed to
the east in strata on ()phir Mountain by limestone
similar to the Lee Flat limestone and then by the golf-
ball horizon that contains sparse tiny fusulinids at the
STRUCTURE
FIGURE 15.-—View looking south 1,800 feet southeast of the Christmas Gift mine showing the tight folds in the calc-hornfels of the lower
unit of the Owens Valley formation on the east side of the Darwin stock.
length of the Darwin Hills.
base of the Keeler Canyon formation. Strata on the
east side of the Darwin Hills at the Lane mine are calc-
hornfels of the lower unit of the Owens Valley forma-
tion. F usulinid collections from near the Lane mine
and south of the Keystone mine are considered by R. C.
FIGURE 16.—Photograph of an overturned isoclinal syncline in the
Lucky Jim mine area. Strata in the lower left (a) are right-slde-up;
bedding is nearly horizontal at (b); strata overturn at (c); and are
overturned in the upper right (d). View looking south in Lucky Jim
Canyon 550 feet N. 57° E. of the Lucky Jim main shaft
A belt about 800 feet wide of tight folds can be traced the
The belt is transitional between gently folded strata to the east and overturned. strata to the west.
Douglass (written communication, 1954) to be char
acteristic of the latest Wolfcamp (Permian).
The axis of the overturned syncline in the Darwin
Hills is in a belt of tight folds on the east side of the
Darwin stock (pl. 1, section C—C’; fig. 15). At some
places the most westerly fold in the belt is readily recog-
nizable as an overturned syncline, but in other places
the folds are not well exposed, and it is difficult to
demonstrate convincingly that the strata on the west
limb are overturned. The folds are difficult to photo-
graph, and figure 16 is given mainly to show a locality
Where overturning can be demonstrated. It shows an
overturned syncline in the Lucky Jim mine area involv-
ing partly silicated thinly bedded limestone of the
Keeler Canyon formation. Fracture cleavage that dips
steeper than bedding is sharply defined where the. beds
are right side up and is an aid in determining the struc-
ture. Where bedding is overturned the cleavage is
much more poorly defined and tends to parallel bedding.
A similar overturned syncline is well exposed in the
Fernando mine area 250 feet southeast of the eastern-
most workings (fig. 3). This is the westernmost fold
recognized in the belt of isoclinal folds, and all the
strata west of this fold are considered overturned.
Several small open folds are superposed on the over-
turned limb of the syncline, for example, the open an-
ticlinal folds in the Defiance mine area and on the
42 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
southwest flank of Ophir Mountain (pl. 3). Both folds
have younger beds in the center and older beds on the
flanks and are actually inverted synclines on the basis
of relative ages of the rocks as described, for example,
by White and J ahns (1950, p. 196).
TALC CITY HILLS SYNCLINE
Ordovician and Silurian rocks at the north end of the
Talc City Hills form an overturned syncline plunging
southeastward that is broken by many faults (pl. 2).
Hidden Valley dolomite is in the core of the syncline
and Ely Springs dolomite, Eureka quartzite, and Pogo-
nip group are in successive bands on the flanks. The
syncline loses its identity in many fault blocks and tight
folds at the southeast end of the Talc City Hills between
the Homestake mine and the Alliance talc mine (fig. 3;
pl. 2). The axis of a second faulted syncline 1,800 feet
south of the Alliance talc mine passes through the Talc
City mine. Devonian limestone and shale are in the
core of the syncline, and Ordovician quartzite and dolo-
mite and Silurian dolomite are on the flanks. South of
the Silver Dollar mine the overturned syncline bends
toward the south and is warped into several steeply
plunging folds. The folds are shown on plate 2 by the
trace of the contact of limestone and dolomite in the
Lost Burro formation. As the main syncline is over-
turned, folds superposed on the overturned limb have
overturned bedding. Thus anticlinal folds superposed
on the overturned limb of the syncline have younger
beds in the core and are inverted synclines.
smminosn mus wear
The Paleozoic rocks in the Santa Rosa Hills and in
the low rolling hills east of Conglomerate Mesa dip
mainly west or southwest except for small open folds in
the area east of Conglomerate Mesa (figs. 2, 16A).
Devonian and Mississippian rocks in the Santa Rosa
Hills strike about N. 30° W. and dip to the southwest.
Southeast of the Lee mine the strike changes from N.
30° W. counterclockwise to about N. 80° W., and the
strata dip southerly. Marble of the Lost Burro forma-
tion crops out in a canyon 3.7 miles S. 27° W. of the
northeast corner of the quadrangle under a basalt cover.
This marble, which probably is a continuation under the
volcanic cover of the band of Lost Burro marble in the
Santa Rosa Hills, shows a swing or warp in the pre-
volcanic structure. This swing in structure is inter-
preted as warping of beds concordantly around the
south end of the pluton of Hunter Mountain quartz
monzonite by forcible intrusion.
FAULTS
Faults are largely responsible for breaking up of the
Paleozoic strata into many isolated blocks that are sepa-
rated by alluvium or volcanic cover. The faults can be
divided into four groups as follows: thrust, strike-slip,
mineralized strike, and basin-range faults. The last
group is late Cenozoic in age while the others are of late
Mesozoic age.
rnnus'r mums
Thrust faults are localized along the margin of the
biotite-hornblende-quarte monzonite in the Coso Range.
Two thrust faults have been mapped—the Talc City
thrust in the Talc City Hills (pl. 2) and the Davis thrust
in the Darwin Hills (pl. 3). The thrusting along both
faults was toward the east or northeast away from the
intrusive mass.
TALO CITY THRUST‘
In the Talc City Hills rocks of Mississippian to
Ordovician age have been thrust principally over folded
Pennsylvanian and Permian strata. The thrust sheet
originally was at least 5 miles long in a northwesterly
direction and 2 miles wide, but it subsequently was
broken by many steep faults trending N. 70° to 80° W.,
and it has been in part removed by erosion (fig. 4).
The thrust is exposed at only a few localities. The most
accessible exposures are at the Alliance talc mine and
at the Silver Dollar mine (pl. 2). At the Alliance talc
mine Eureka quartzite and Ely Springs dolomite are
thrust over folded thinly bedded limestone of the Keeler
Canyon formation (fig. 17). Two klippen of Eureka
quartzite and Ely Springs dolomite thrust over Penn—
sylvanian limestone of the Keeler Canyon formation
are exposed a few hundred feet south of the Alliance
talc mine. The thrust is also exposed at the Irish lease
FIGURE 17,—Talc City thrust at the Alliance talc mine. Two klippen
of Ely Springs dolomite (Oes) and Eureka quartzite (09) over Penn-
sylvanian and Permian Keeler Canyon formation (PPk) are exposed
near the center of the picture several hundred feet south of the
AllianCe talc mine. At the Irish lease the thrust fault is displaced
locally by a steep fault; so the contact in the workings is steep, but
it continues as a flat-lying thrust contact east of the workings as
shown by its sinuous trace. View looking north at the Alliance talc
mine.
STRUCTURE 43
in the southeast part of the Alliance mine where shale
lithologically similar to Rest Spring shale is present
in the fault zone. A steep fault has displaced the thrust
' fault in the workings of the Irish lease but the trace of
the fault is flat-lying to the east of the mine.
At the Silver Dollar mine, massive bufl' dolomite of
the Devonian Lost Burro formation is thrust over the
Keeler Canyon formation. The thrust is exposed 300
feet north of the main pit of the lead-silver workings.
Rest Spring shale is also present here in the fault zone.
About 3,000 feet north of the Silver Dollar mine an
imbricate structure is exposed. Medium-bedded gray
Tin Mountain limestone is thrust over the Perdido
formation, which, in turn, is thrust over Rest Spring
shale and the Keeler Canyon formation. At the north
end of the Talc City Hills 1.3 miles north of the north-
ernmost workings of the White Swan mine the Pogonip
group and Eureka quartzite are thrust over Rest Spring
shale, Lee F lat( ?) limestone, and the lower unit of the
Owens Valley formation of Permian age.
The thrust sheet moved toward the northeast, but
as the area southwest of the Talc City Hills is covered
by alluvium, the net slip cannot be measured. The
stratigraphic throw of the fault is locally as much as
5,900 feet where the Pogonip is thrust over the Keeler
Canyon formation. The net slip is probably about 3
miles, but this is not much more than a guess based on
projecting the geology from the southern Inyo Moun-
tains (Bateman and Merriam, 1954, map 11).
DAVIS THRUST
A thrust fault that strikes northerly and dips 23° to
60° W. crops out in the Darwin mine area (pl. 3).
Where exposed it involves only strata of the lower
part of the Keeler Canyon formation. The fault is
exposed at the surface at the Essex and Independence
workings of the Darwin mine, 500 feet west of the
portal of the Thompson adit, and 600 feet west of the
portal of the Defiance adit (pl. 3). Many drag folds
are localized in thinly bedded limestone in the hanging
wall of the thrust. The largest and more conspicuous is
the open anticlinal shaped fold in the southwest side
of Ophir Mountain (pl. 3). The drag folds have a
dextral pattern and most plunge gently to the north.
They indicate a thrust movement toward the north-
east, but the net slip is not known.
All the contacts between formations on the west side
of the Darwin Hills are faults that are parallel to
but above the Davis thrust (pl. 1). The limestone and
marble within a few feet of the faults are intensely drag
folded, but the drag folds have a sinistral pattern in-
stead of a dextral pattern like those near the Davis
thrust. Most of the drag folds plunge gently to the
820628 0—62——-—4
north. A strong lineation that plunges steeply down
dip in the a direction is developed in some of the drag
folds (pl. 3). The lineation is shown by stretching
of rounded chert nodules in the golfball horizon and
by the disruption of sandy limonitic beds 14 to 1/2 inch
thick into pencillike units 6 to 8 inches long. Drag
folds bordering the faults overlying the Davis thrust
indicate that they are normal faults. The Davis thrust
was caused by forceful intrusion of the batholith of the
Coso Range, which overturned the Keeler Canyon and
thrust it up and toward the northeast. The overlying
normal faults probably indicate minor readjustments
upon relaxation of the push from the intrusion, but they
could be formed if each footwall block was thrust up
farther than the corresponding hanging—wall block.
STRIKE-SLIP FAULTS
Strike-slip faults are present both in the Santa Rosa
Hills and in the Darwin Hills. The faults characteris-
tically have a left-lateral displacement. Those in the
Santa Rosa Hills trend about N. 30° W. parallel to
the strike of bedding and dip 55° to 60° SW., whereas
those in the Darwin Hills are steeply dipping trans-
verse faults (pl. 1).
The two major faults in the Santa Rosa Hills are
the Lee and the Santa Rosa Flat faults (pl. 1). Both
trend about N. 30° W. parallel to the strike of bedding
and dip about 60° SW. Small calcite-filled gash frac-
tures that strike about N. 80° W. and dip steeply north
are localized near the faults. The block of Mississip-
pian Tin Mountain limestone between the two faults
is tightly folded and has axial planes that dip steeply
westward. The folds are poorly exposed except in a few
gullies as the limestone in the crests of the folds is
shattered. The plunge of the folds could not be de-
termined.
The amount and direction of displacement on the
Santa Rosa Flat and Lee faults are not known, but a
left-lateral strike-slip displacement with the east block
moving N. 30° W. is postulated. The faults must have
a reverse component also as older beds are brought up
to the west. The strike-slip movement is postulated
on the basis of near juxtaposition of the Lee Flat lime-
stone and Rest Spring shale on opposite sides of the
faults. Part of the Lee Flat limestone in the Darwin
quadrangle is a time-stratigraphic equivalent of the
Rest Spring shale. It occurs only on the east side of
the Lee fault in the Santa Rosa Hills, Whereas Rest
Spring shale occurs locally in the Santa Rosa Flat
fault zone and to the southwest in fault zones in the
Talc City Hills. Reconnaissance work has shown that
Lee Flat limestone is present and shale is absent in the
Argus Range to the southeast. The facies change from
Rest Spring shale to Lee Flat limestone on opposite
44 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
sides of the faults in the Santa Rosa Hills is abrupt,
and the Lee Flat limestone probably was faulted from
the southeast to near juxtaposition with the Rest Spring
shale. The gash veins along the Santa Rosa Flat and
Lee faults also indicate a left-lateral displacement for
these faults. The Tin Mountain limestone between the
two faults was tightly drag folded. The limestone,
which probably was under shallow cover at the time of
faulting, shattered like a brittle rock at the crest of
folds instead of flowing plastically.
Two systems of transverse strike-slip faults occur in
the Darwin Hills. The major set strikes N. 60° to 80°
W.; the minor set strikes N. 60° to 80° E. Faults of
both systems have left-lateral displacement. The
major fault is the Darwin tear fault, which was de-
scribed previously by Kelley (1938, p. 518) and Hopper
(1947, p. 420). It trends N. 70° to 80° W. from the
Argus Range at the south end of the stock of leucocratic
quartz monzonite at Zinc Hill to the Talc City Hills,
where it merges with the local N. 60° to 80° W. struc-
tural trend in the tale district (pl. 1). The displace-
ment of the Darwin tear fault is 2,200 feet, with the
north block moving westward relative to the south
block. The direction of movement is shown by drag,
nearly horizontal slickensides, and mullion structures.
The displacement is shown by the following displaced
units: the contact between the Keeler Canyon and
Owens Valley formations, the axis of the syncline in
Darwin Wash, and a conspicuous limestone bed 10 feet
thick that contains abundant solitary corals and cri-
noidal debris that crops out 2,200 feet N. 28° W. of
Millers Spring. The vertical displacement is negligi—
ble as both steeply dipping and horizontal beds in flat
topography have the same offset. Another left-lateral
transverse strike-slip fault—the Standard fault—is
between the Darwin tear fault and the Independence
workings of the Darwin mines (pl. 1). The Standard
fault is a mineralized fault zone as much as 50 feet
thick that cuts biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite in
the Darwin Hills; the fault passes through the Stand—
ard group of claims in sec. 18, T. 19 S., R. 41 E. The
long adit on the Standard claim is along this fault
(fig. 3). The displacement on the fault apparently is
several hundred feet, north side west.
The second set strikes N. 60° to 80° E. These faults
are abundant at all the principal lead-silver-zinc and
tungsten mines in the Darwin Hills south of the Dar-
win tear fault. They are mineralized faults that cut
biotite—hornblende-quartz monzonite, and they are one
of the important ore controls for both tungsten and
lead—silver-zinc ore bodies. Displacement is small on
these left-lateral faults. The north block has moved
west less than 200 feet relative to the south block on all
of them. Faults in this set include the Copper, Water
tank, Lane, Bernon, 434, and Defiance faults (pl. 3)
and northeastward-striking faults near the Fernando
and St. Charles mines (fig. 3). The direction of move—
ment is shown by offset of biotite—hornblende-quartz
monzonite and by abundant nearly horizontal slicken-
sides. Most of the faults that strike N. 60° to 80° E.
are cut off by the Davis thrust, but some faults displace
the thrust (pl. 3). The Copper fault displaces the
Davis thrust 90 feet, north side west.
The two sets of transverse strike-slip faults cannot
be complementary shears as both are left-lateral faults;
one set would have right-lateral displacement if they
were complementary. Nor does it appear likely that
the faults that strike N. 60° to 80° E. are tension frac-
tures, as the displacement is mainly strike-slip and the
fault zones are too sheared to be formed under tension.
McKinstry (1953, p. 404) in his report on shears of the
second order used the Darwin faults as one of his ex-
amples, and he called the faults that strike N. 60° to
80° E. shears of the second order. He defined a shear of
the second order as one caused by change in orientation
of the planes of maximum shearing stress due to fric-
tion during movement along a shear plane. The maxi-
mum shearing stress changes from 45° before move-
ment to an approximate angle given by the formula
(we
where ¢ is the angle of kinetic friction. A shear of the
second order seems a reasonable explanation for these
faults.
mnmmznn sun? STRIKE mum's
Steep mineralized strike faults are in both the Darwin
Hills and the Talc City Hills. In the Darwin mine,
ore is localized in steep north-striking faults. The
faults are concentrated near the faults that strike N.
60° to 80° E. and die out away from these transverse
faults. Displacement on the northward—striking faults
is negligible. They are probably tension fractures
formed at about the same time as the transverse N. 60°
to 80° E. faults.
In the Tale City Hills the overthrust sheet is dis—
placed by several N. 60° to 80° W. faults that are
parallel to‘the strike of the beds in the thrust sheet.
These faults are mineralized and commonly localize talc
ore bodies. The Talc City thrust is displaced vertically
by the faults, but the north side may have been either
raised or lowered (pl. 1, section B—B’). The vertical
displacement of the thrust could be caused by strike-
slip movement, vertical movement, or by a combination
of both.
STRUCTURE 45
FOLIATION
Foliation is poorly defined in the Paleozoic rocks in
the Darwin quadrangle. Locally the Keeler Canyon
and Owens Valley formations have a fracture cleavage.
It is well-defined in the middle unit of fissile shale in
the Owens Valley formation on the east side of Con-
glomerate Mesa (pl. 1). The fracture cleavage is as
much as 90° to bedding, and the shale must be examined
closely for bedding. Fracture cleavage is also locally
developed in the belt of tightly folded rocks on the east
side of the Darwin stock. At the Lucky Jim mine the
fracture cleavage is an aid in working out the structure.
SUMMARY
The probable sequence of events during the late Meso-
zoic orogeny is summarized below. The Paleozoic
strata were first deformed into a series of broad open
folds that formed the Darwin Wash syncline and tilted
the Paleozoic rocks in the Santa Rosa Hills homoclin—
ally westward. These folds have flat-lying axes that
trend northward. The gently folded Paleozoic strata
were then forcefully intruded by biotite-hornblende-
quartz monzonite in the Coso Range and in the north-
eastern part of the quadrangle during the Jurassic
period. In the Darwin Hills older strata brought
up by the intrusion in the Coso Range were overturned,
tightly folded, and faulted. With release of pressure
by cooling and crystallization of the batholith, minor
adjustments took place onthe west limb of the Darwin
syncline and formed normal bedding plane faults (pl.
1, section C—Cl). The Paleozoic rocks were folded and
faulted before silication of the limestone around the in-
trusive body. The tight folds spatially are directly re—
lated to the periphery of the batholith, but the folding
cannot be due to a buttressing effect of a large intru-
sive body during late compression. The tightly folded
structures in calc-hornfels reflect plastic deformation
of incompetent beds and indicate that the folding pre-
ceded silication of the limestone.
The Paleozoic strata in the Tale City Hills and south—
ern Santa Rosa Hills were squeezed between the two
major intrusive masses (pl. 1). The beds were rotated
from a northerly to a N. 60° to 80° W. strike. Defor-
mation caused rupture along the Darwin tear fault and
Standard fault. The Darwin tear fault must have
moved both before and after silication. It controlled
in part the silication of the limestone in the Darwin
Hills, but the silicated limestone has also been sheared.
After rotation of the beds, older Paleozoic rocks were
thrust northeast over Carboniferous and Permian beds
in the Talc City Hills, and the thrust sheet was broken
by steep strike faults.
CENOZOIC STRUCTURES
The Darwin quadrangle is on the east flank of a broad
regional warp of probably late Pliocene age that had an
axis along the east side of Owens Valley. All the
mountain ranges and basins in both the Darwin quad—
rangle and adjacent Panamint Butte quadrangle on the
east are east-tilted fault blocks. This includes the
southern Inyo Mountains, Coso Range, Darwin Hills,
Argus Range, and Panamint Range. The Sierra Ne-
vada is the west side of the warp. Although the broad
warp is the principal Cenozoic structural feature, it is
only evident where late Cenozoic basaltic flows form
extensive dipslopes. Examples of basaltic dipslopes
are in the southern Inyo Mountains northwest of the
talc mines and on Darwin Plateau, which slopes toward
Panamint Valley.
The warp has been broken by north—trending faults
into a series of east-tilted blocks that form basins and
ranges. The faults may have either normal or reverse
movement, although in the area as a whole normal faults
are more abundant. The observed displacement on
most faults is only a few tens of feet, although a few
have displacements of hundreds of feet.
Northward-striking late Cenozoic faults form con-
spicuous topographic features in the eastern part of the
quadrangle. A swarm of steep faults, most of which
are downthrown on the east, displace the extensive ba-
saltic capping in the northeastern part of the quad-
rangle and in part caused the depression of Panamint
Valley. The displacement of basalt on most of the
faults is less than 50 feet, but the basin-range fault that
passes through Darwin Falls is downthrown more than
400 feet on the east. Another swarm of steep faults
south of these faults is on the west flank of the Argus
Range, but this swarm has the opposite displacement
with the east side up. Blocks between these faults,
though, are tilted toward the east. The faults in the
Argus Range cannot be traced north of the lower
reaches of Darwin Wash, and they probably are not
continuations of the faults in the northeastern part of
the quadrangle.
The Argus Range is an east-tilted fault block. Oli-
vine basalt on the west flank of the Argus Range has
been displaced about 1,600 feet in a series of step faults
(fig. 18). The basalt on the east flank dips mostly 10°
to 15° E. and basin-range faults are much less common.
Most of the faults on the tilted east side are normal
faults that are downthrown on the mountain side.
The south end of the Inyo Mountains is also an east-
tilted fault block. Knopf (1918, p. 88) described the
step faults on the west flank of the range. The total
displacement of the step faults on the west flank of the
46 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
«29%.
FIGURE 18.—View of the west flank of the Argus Range from Darwin
Wash showing a step-faulted basaltic flow. The range is an east-
tilted fault block.
Inyo Mountains in the Keeler quadrangle is about 2,000
feet. Basalt flows on the east flank of the southern
Inyo Mountains are tilted to an average dip of about
10° E. and are broken by a few basin-range faults (pl.
1). The most conspicuous fault on the east flank, the
Santa Rosa fault, drops the east side about 400 feet.
Other faults on the east flank show only small displace—
ment of the basaltic flows, but most of them are down-
thrown on the mountain side. North of the Keeler and
Darwin quadrangles, late Tertiary and Quaternary up-
lift of the Inyo Mountains on both the east and the
west sides must be much greater, but basalt is absent,
so no readily recognizable displaced marker bed is
present.
Some of the strike faults in the Santa Rosa Hills have
had renewed movement of late Tertiary or Quaternary
age. The fault zones are jumbled masses of breccia. and
gouge in contrast to the healed fault zones of the older
faults, and they have excellent topographic expression.
Remnants of basalt flows in the Santa Rosa Hills have
been uplifted about 500 feet relative to the flows on Lee
Flat by late Cenozoic movement.
The Coso Range extends only slightly into the Dar-
win quadrangle, and owing to the lack of an extensive
basalt cover the structure is not definitely known. The
most conspicuous fault is a fault downthrown on the
west along the northeast front of the range. Such
faults are common at the foot of east-tilted fault blocks.
METAMORPHISM
Most of the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks and a few of
the Mesozoic intrusive rocks are somewhat altered.
The alteration has been caused mainly by igneous meta-
morphism and to a lesser extent by regional metamor-
phism. The recrystallization of the Hidden Valley
dolomite and the limestone of the Lost Burro formation
may have been done by regional metamorphism, but
both formations in the quadrangle are located near
borders Of areas affected by igneous metamorphism.
Only igneous metamorphism is described.
IGNEOUS METAMORPHISM
Igneous metamorphism includes all' the physical,
mineralogical, and chemical changes induced in a rock
by intrusion of a plutonic body. The changes are
either endomorphic, induced within the intrusion, or
exomorphic, induced within the invaded rock. Alter-
ation of the igneous rocks has been on a small scale, but
changes in limestone near intrusive bodies are wide-
spread. The most important exomorphic change is the
contact metamorphism and contact metasomatism of
limestone—the formation of calc-hornfels and tactite.
METAMORPHISM WITHIN THE IGNEOUS ROCKS
The major intrusive bodies in the Darwin quadrangle
are not altered. The northern part of the biotite-horn-
blende-quartz monzonite in the Darwin Hills, however,
probably was intensely altered at or slightly after the
time of emplacement. Quartz monzonite at the surface
near the Thompson workings of the Darwin mine is a
highly iron-stained, deeply weathered rock, whereas at
the south end of the stock the quartz monzonite is unal—
tered (pl. 3). Because of the deep weathering, it was
impossible to find fresh specimens to study. It is prob-
able that the weathering was'due to previous argillic
alteration of the quartz monzonite.
METAM ORPHI‘SM 0F LIMESTONE
The various limestones of post-Silurian age have re-
acted difl'erently to metamorphism. The Lost Burro
formation of Devonian age was bleached and nearly
completely recrystallized to marble, but the Tin Moun-
tain limestone and the Perdido formation were only
slightly affected by metamorphism. The Lee Flat lime-
stone, Keeler Canyon formation, and the Owens Valley
formation were extensively altered to calc-hornfels and
tactite near intrusive bodies. The original composition
of the limestone is chiefly responsible for the type of
alteration. Limestone in the Lost Burro formation is
clean and recrystallized to marble, whereas the lime-
stone beds Of the Lee Flat, Keeler Canyon, and Owens
Valley formations are mostly silty, sandy, or argil-
laceous and formed silicated limestones.
RECRYSTALLIZATI ON TO MARBLE
The Lost Burro formation of Devonian age was the
most susceptible limestone for recrystallization to
marble. The upper 1,100 feet of the Lost Burro forma-
METAMORPHISM 47
tion in the Darwin quadrangle is entirely recrystallized
to white or light-gray marble. About half of the lower
650 feet of the exposed section of the Lost Burro forma-
tion northeast of the Lee mine is bleached and recrystal—
lized.
The Tin Mountain limestone is bleached and
recrystallized to marble in a band about 1,000 feet wide
on the west side of the Lee Flat fault 5,000 feet S. 70°
W. of the Lee mine. The Lee Flat limestone is also
bleached and recrystallized to marble in a band 500 to
600 feet wide north of the Darwin mining camp along
the west side of the Darwin Hills. In the Argus Range
the Lee Flat limestone north and south of the stock of
leucocratic quartz monzonite at Zinc Hill is bleached
and recrystallized to white marble for 500 to 900 feet.
Locally, pure limestone lenses in the Owens Valley for-
mation are recrystallized to marble. On the whole re-
crystallization to marble in the Mis'sissippian and
younger limestones is on a small scale and is limited to
strong fault zones and close to contacts with igneous
bodies.
DOLOMITIZATION
Dolomitization is not widespread in Paleozoic rocks
in the Darwin quadrangle. Most of the dolomite in the
quadrangle is in Devonian, Silurian, and Ordovician
strata in the Tale City Hills. Regional mapping by the
US. Geological Survey in adjacent areas (McAllister,
1952, 1955; Merriam, 1954) has shown that these strata
are sedimentary dolomite. However, the dolomite over
much of the Talc City Hills is recrystallized and does
not resemble its counterpart in less altered areas. The
Silurian and Devonian dolomite is massive and buff
colored in the Tale City Hills but is more commonly
medium-bedded, light- to medium-gray dolomite where
unaltered. At some places in the Talc City mine area
relicts of light- to medium-gray dolomite remain in the
massive buff dolomite, and several beds of limestone can
be traced discontinuously in the dolomite. The original
Lower Devonian and Silurian strata were light-gray
medium—bedded dolomite but included thin beds of
medium-gray limestone in the Devonian. The dolomite
was recrystallized near the stock of leucocratic quartz
monzonite to bufi' massive dolomite, and the thin lime-
stone beds were in part dolomitized, particularly at the
crests of folds.
In the Darwin mine area and at the Zinc Hill mine,
limestone locally has been dolomitized along faults. At
the Darwin mine 2,500 feet south of Ophir Mountain,
the Lee Flat limestone is altered to massive buff dolo-
mite along a bedding plane fault for about 150 feet
(pl. 3). At the Zinc Hill mine Mississippian limestone
is also altered to dolomite along or near faults.
All the dolomite in the Talc City Hills was consid-
ered by Page (1951, p. 8) to have formed by hydro-
thermal alteration of limestone. Quadrangle mapping
by McAllister (1955), C. W. Merriam and W. C. Smith
(Bateman and Merriam, 1954, map 11) in the New
York Butte quadrangle, and by the writers, however,
has shown that most of the dolomite in the Ordovician,
Silurian, and lower part of the Devonian has a regional
distribution. Peripheral to the stock of leucocratic
quartz monzonite in the Talc City Hills much of the
stratified dolomite is recrystallized to a massive, buff
dolomite that does not resemble dolomite in equivalent
stratigraphic positions in unaltered sections. Relicts
of the unaltered dolomite in the massive buff-colored
dolomite commonly give it a mottled appearance. The
limestone-dolomite contact in the Lost Burro formation
is well exposed 2,500 feet east of the Talc City mine;
it is virtually conformable but is locally irregular owing
to the dolomitization at the crests of folds (pl. 2).
Several limestone beds less than 50 feet thick that are
interbedded with the dolomite are in part dolomitized
and have a discontinuous outcrop pattern.
ALTERATION T0 CALG-HORNFELS, CALC-SILICATE ROCK,
TACTITE
AND
Alteration of limestone and impure limestone to calc-
hornfels, calc-silicate rock, and tactite has been wide-
spread about the major intrusive bodies. The altera-
tion is shown by an overlay pattern on the regional map
(pl. 1). C‘alc-hornfels is a dense aphanitic light-
colored rock generally considered to form by the vir-
tually isochemical recrystallization of impure limestone.
The mineralogy of calc-hornfels varies, but it contains
some or all of the following minerals: diopside, wol—
lastonite, idocrase, garnet, relict calcite, plagioclase,
orthoclase, quartz, tremolite, and epidote. Tactite
(Hess, 1918, p. 378) is a rock formed by contact meta-
morphism of limestone or dolomite into which foreign
matter has been introduced by hot solutions or gases
from the intruding magma. In the Darwin Hills light-
colored tactite, composed predominantly of wollaston-
ite, idocrase, and garnet, and calc—hornfels have grada-
tional contacts, and they are not everywhere distin-
guished on the mine maps. Light-colored tactite is
shown as medium-grained calc-silicate rock on the Dar-
win mine map (pl. 3) ; however, a dark-colored tactite
composed of epidote, idocrase, or andradite that is local-
ized at intrusive contacts or along faults, especially at
intersections with pure limestone beds within several
hundred feet of an intrusive contact, may readily be
distinguished (pl. 3).
The Lee Flat limestone and Keeler Canyon and
Owens Valley formations were particularly susceptible
48
to alteration to calc-hornfels and tactite minerals. The
largest area of calc-hornfels is in the Darwin Hills as
a contact metamorphic alteration around biotite—horn-
blende-quartz monzonite. Impure limestone beds of
Pennsylvanian and Permian age are altered to calc-
hornfels and locally to tactite in an area 41/; miles long
and 1 mile wide (pl. 1) . The Darwin tear fault is the
approximate northern limit of the alteration. Parts of
a. large area of calc—hornfels are exposed under basalt
in the eastern part of the quadrangle near Darwin Falls
and in all the canyons draining into Panamint Valley
from Darwin Canyon to the canyon 2 miles north of
Rainbow Canyon. Calc-hornfels must underlie much
of the extensive basalt cover in this area. Calc-hornfels
also crops out around the intrusive body at the south
end of the Santa Rosa Hills and in the southern Inyo
Mountains at the Santa Rosa mine (pl. 1) .
In the Darwin Hills the altered rock ranges in gen-
eral from medium-grained light-colored calc-silicate
rock and minor dark tactite close to the contact of
biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite through dense
white, light—gray, brown or greenish-gray calc-hornfels
to partly silicated limestone at the outer margins of the
altered zone (pl. 3) . Although the alteration generally
is more intense and the altered rock is coarser grained
near the intrusive body, many exceptions occur because
of differences in composition of the original beds and
because of more intense alteration close to ore bodies
and faults. For example, at the Defiance workings of
the Darwin mine (pl. 3) dense white calc-hornfels is
in a band 50 to 100 feet wide adjacent to the biotite—
hornblende-quartz monzonite, and medium-grained
calc-silicate rock occurs westward for the next 500 feet
to the Davis thrust. West of the Davis thrust the calc-
hornfels is dense and grades into partly silicated lime-
stone interbedded with unaltered limestone.
Samples of silicated limestone were taken at 25-foot
intervals away from the Defiance ore body on the 570,
700, and 800 levels and at irregular intervals over the
surface for a study of the alteration (pl. 3). At the
outer margin of the altered zone silication is selective;
impure limestone beds are partly or completely altered
to calc-hornfels but purer limestone beds are unchanged.
Differences in color, grain size, and mineralogy occur
between adjacent thin calc-hornfels beds. The silty
limestone beds are readily converted to calc-hornfels.
The grain size is commonly 0.02 to 0.05 mm. Tremolite,
orthoclase, scapolite, clinozoisite, and sphene may be
present.
In the Defiance area east of the Davis thrust, the
alteration is more intense (pl. 3). The calc-hornfels
and calc-silicate rock here typically is a white to light
greenish gray rock that consists predominantly of wol-
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
FIGURE 1,9.—.Photomicrograph of medium-grained light-gray calc-silicate
rock from the inner zone of contact-metamorphosed limestone from
the Defiance area. The rock consists almost entirely of wollastonite
(we) and diopside (dl). A veinlet of calcite (ct) cuts the rock. The
initial stage of replacement of diopside and wollastonite by garnet
(gn) is shown. Plane polarized light, 40 X.
lastonite and diopside (fig. 19). Garnet idocrase,
orthoclase, clinozoisite, oligoclase, forsterite, tremolite,
sillimanite, sphene, and apatite may be present. Grain
size is mostly 0.5 to 2 mm, but locally it is coarser. Gar-
net and idocrase replace diopside and wollastonite (fig.
20) as the grade of metamorphism increases. The dense
White calc-hornfels in the inner zone of contact meta-
morphosed limestone at the Defiance workings (pl.
3) is composed nearly entirely of wollastonite (fig. 21).
It forms felted masses of laths less than 0.1 mm long
with diopside in dense calc-hornfels. Near intrusions
wollastonite forms megacrystalline radial masses and
a few large crystals as much as 6 inches long that are
replaced by garnet and idocrase (fig. 22). As the
amount of garnet and idocrase increase, the rock be-
comes greenish gray to light green. Garnet and ido-
crase, the principal late minerals formed during the
period of silication, are common gangue minerals in
the replacement ore bodies (fig. 23). The garnet is
light-green andradite. It is slightly birefringent and
very commonly it is zoned. The specific gravity ranges
from 3.627 to 3.872, and the index of refraction is 1.826
to 1.885. Garnet is Widespread through the calc-silicate
rock and tactite, but it increases in grain size and abun-
dance near ore bodies and intrusive contacts. Locally
tactite composed entirely of garnet is found along in-
trusive contacts or in faults near them. Idocrase is
generally‘associated with garnet but is much less abun-
dant. It occurs as euhedral to subhedral prisms in the
medium-grained calc-silicate rock (pl. 3).
METAMORPHISM 49
FIGURE 20,—Photomicrograph of light-green tactite composed predomi-
nantly of garnet (gn). Corroded relictl of diopside (di), wollastonite
(wo) and calcite (ct) are in the garnet. Specimen from the 800 level
of the Defiance workings. Crossed nicols, 44 X.
v v
.112»,
i
’é‘..
3
‘53:)
. ’4" ‘
‘ .
FIGURE 21,—White fine-grained calc—hornfels.
The rock is composed of
tabular and radial crystals of wollastonite (wo) with interstitial
calcite (dark). Only one diopside (di) crystal is present in the
photomicrograph, but the mineral is disseminated in small amounts
throughout the rock. Plane polarized light, 22 X.
Some material was added to the medium-grained
Gale-silicate rock that is so widespread in the Darwin
mine area. Two analyses of unaltered limestone from
the Fairbanks mine and from an area near the Lead
Hope mine (fig. 3) were compared with one analysis
of oak—silicate rock from the surface between the Ber-
non and Defiance workings of the Darwin mine (pl. 3).
These samples were taken from strata believed to be
the approximate unaltered equivalent of the medium-
grained Gale-silicate rock in the Defiance area of the
Darwin mine. The calc—silicate rock consists predomi—
FIGURE 22.———Photomicrograph of light-greenish-gray tactite composed
of coarse-grained wollastonite (wo) that is partly replaced by andra-
dite garnet (dark mineral). Specimen from the inner zone of meta-
morphosed limestone in the Defiance workings of the Darwin mine.
Crossed nicols, 22 X.
FIGURE 23.—Photomicrograph of specimen of low-grade are showing
replacement of garnet (ga) and idocrase (id) tactite by sulfide min«
erals (dark). Some relict calcite (ct) is present in the garnet.
Specimen from the 800 level of the Defiance workings. Plane
polarized light, 30 X.
nantly of wollastonite but contains some garnet, ido-
erase, and diopside. The results of the analyses are
given in table 3. The most pronounced chemical
changes during silication are an increase in silica and
50 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
decrease in carbon dioxide. It is probable also that
some alumina was added. Iron, magnesia, lime, and
alkalies remained Virtually unchanged.
TABLE 3.—Analyses of limestone and calc-hornfels from the
Darwin H ills
[Rapid analyses by P. L. D. Elmore, K. E. White, and P, W. Scott, U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey 1954-55]
:2.
US
0
A1203 .....
Total Fe as
MgO _____
N“ 2".”
fiwpafi
p—I (glob-‘QQD-IWH
“cmgmm
.5
.10
.10
34.8
.40
S??fi...
Total _________________________________________ 99 100
A. Limestone of the Keeler Canyon formation from the Lead Hope mine.
B. Limestone of the Keeler Canyon formation from the Fairbanks mine.
0. Medium-grained calc-silicate rock from the surface between the Bernon and
Defiance workings of the Darwin mine.
Dark-green tactite locally replaces calc—hornfels and
medium—grained calc-silicate rock along faults near
intrusive contacts. Garnet generally is the predominant
mineral and may be the only mineral present, forming
the rock garnetite. Tremolite, garnet, epidote, zoisite,
and coarse-grained calcite are commonly present. The
dark tactite forms mainly as a replacement of pure
limestone and marble. It is in small bodies a few inches
to several feet wide and generally less than 50 feet long.
ALTERATION TO FELDSPATEIC ROCK
Locally calc—hornfels is altered to a feldspathic rock
at the margins of the stock of biotitehornblende-quartz
monzonite in the Darwin Hills and around some of the
small satellitic bodies. The most conspicuous felds-
pathic rock is in the Defiance workings of the Darwin
mine and along the crest of the ridge 600 feet southwest
of the Defiance inclined shaft (pl. 3). It is exposed on
the 800 level of the Defiance workings 185 feet N. 15° E.
of the main shaft in a dike. It probably formed by
replacement and contains perthitic orthoclase, pyrite,
fluorite, and sphalerite.
The feldspathic rock ranges from a porphyroblastic
rock that contains euhedral porphyroblasts of perthitic
orthoclase as much as half an inch square in a ground-
mass of orthoclase 11/2 to 1 mm in diameter, to calc-
hornfels containing diopside, garnet, and calcite or
wollastonite, diopside, and calcite that is partly replaced
by feldspar (fig. 24). Where the replacement is com-
plete, orthoclase makes up nearly 100 percent of the
rock, and the rock is a kalisyenite. Kalisyenite occurs
as thin dikes of probable replacement origin that cut
calc-hornfels and as irregular zones within masses of
partly feldspathized calc—hornfels. Sulfide minerals
FIGURE 24.—Photomicrograph of partly feldespathized calc-hornfels. 0n
the left side of the photomicrograph is a fine-grained mixture of
wollastonite (we) and calcite (ct). Perthitic orthoclase (for) cor-
rodes and replaces the fine-grained calcite and wollastonite and
coarsely crystalline calcite. A veinlet of sphalerite (s1) (dark min-
eral on the lower right) cuts the rock and is the youngest mineral.
Crossed nicols, 30 X.
and fluorite are abundant (fig. 25). Pyrite and sphal-
erite are the most abundant sulfide minerals and com-
monly constitute more than 10 percent of the rock.
Galena may be present. Fluorite is a deep purple
variety and may constitute several percent of the rock.
ALTERATION T0 AMPHIBOLITE
Amphibolite crops out for 2 miles in Darwin Canyon
near Darwin Falls, for 0.2 miles in the canyon three-
FIGURE 25,—Photomicrograph of kalisyenlte dike from the Defiance
working of the Darwin mine. The dike consists of coarse-grained
orthoclase (or) that is partly replaced by purple fluorite (f), pyrite
(py), and sphalerite (sl). Minor calcite (ct) is a relict mineral
between grains of orthoclase. Crossed nicols, 30 X.
GEOLOGIC HISTORY 51
fourths of a mile north of Darwin Canyon, and for
1 mile in the canyon 1% miles north of Darwin Falls
(pl. 1). It nonconformably underlies olivine basalt
in the canyons, and it probably underlies basalt in most
of the area between the canyons. A few small areas of
amphibolite are present around the Christmas Gift and
Darwin mines.
Amphibolite is characterized by its nonhomogeneity.
'Most of it is a fine-grained greenish-gray rock that is
cut by stringers and lenses of epidote. It grades locally
into a porphyritic rock but includes porphyroblasts of
hornblende in a fine-grained groundmass. The
weathered surface is dark green to dark brown. Small
pegmatitic lenses of hornblende and plagioclase are
irregularly distributed through the diorite; the con-
tacts of the pegmatite lenses are gradational. Bedding,
which is readily recognized in the adjacent calc-horn-
fels, locally can be recognized in the amphibolite.
Amphibolite grades outward in a transition zone ‘10
to 20 feet wide into calc-hornfels in Darwin Canyon
below Darwin Falls. Near the contact of amphibolite
the calc-hornfels contains small irregular masses of
epidote and thin veinlets of amphibolite that are mostly
parallel to bedding. Abundant dikes and small plugs of
amphibolite cut calc-hornfels and limestone close to the
main body of amphibolite at Darwin Falls.
The amphibolite map unit is composed principally of
amphibolite, epidote amphibolite, hornblende diorite,
and hornblende gabbro. They are fine-grained rocks
composed of hornblende, plagioclase, and clinozoisite
and small amounts of quartz, calcite, scapolite,
apatite, and magnetite. The amount of plagioclase
ranges from zero in some of the amphibolites to a maxi-
mum of about 50 percent in diorite and gabbro, and it
ranges in composition from albite to labradorite. The
calcic plagioclase fOrms euhedral crystals with promi-
nent albite twinning; the sodic plagioclase is anhedral
and lacks twinning. Hornblende forms porphyro—
blasts commonly 6 to 8 mm long that poikilitically en-
close all other minerals. Clinozoisite is finely dissemi-
nated through the groundmass and also forms large
porphyroblasts. Hornblende is the predominant mafic
mineral in the rocks with calcic plagioclase; clino-
zoisite is more abundant where the plagioclase is albite.
Highly calcic scapolite is common in epidote amphibo-
lite but is much less abundant in the diorite and gabbro.
Epidote amphibolite contains hornblende, clinozoisite,
zoisite, and scapolite, and it differs from the diorite
mainly in the lack of plagioclase.
Some relict textures and structures of the silty lime—
stones are recognizable. Locally relict bedding struc-
tures can be recognized in the amphibolite near the
contact with calc-hornfels. Corroded calcite grains dis-
seminated through the groundmass of the epidote am—
phibolite and some of the diorite are interpreted as
relicts. The paragenosis is interpreted as follows:
1. Intrusion of quartz monzonite into silty limestone.
2. The impure limestone is altered to epidote amphi-
bolite with clinozoisite, albite, scapolite, and minor
hornblende and chlorite. Some relict calcite is present.
3. Epidote amphibolite is further altered to amphi-
bolite and diorite. Clinozoisite is converted to horn-
blende; plagioclase becomes more calcic. The grain
size is increased and locally becomes pegmatitic.
Epidote amphibolite is believed to be the first step
in the alteration of calc—hornfels to amphibolite. The
epidote amphibolite is finer grained and more hetero-
geneous than amphibolite and diorite. It contains
abundant corroded relicts of calcite disseminated
through the groundmass. Clinozoisite locally has a
network of amphibole through it, which is interpreted
as replacement of clinozoisite by amphibole. The
groundmass of the epidote- and clinozoisite—bearing
rocks is much finer grained than the diorite. If the
epidote andclinozoisite were formed by saussuritic al-
teration of a diorite, the granularity of the original
rock should have been somewhat preserved.
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
The Paleozoic era was marked by nearly continuous
deposition of marine sediments from the Early Ordovic-
ian to well within the Permian; no major unconformi—
ties or hiatuses were recognized. Lithology and fossils
of the Lower Ordovician Pogonip group, the oldest
rocks in the quadrangle, indicate that the predominantly
carbonate rocks were formed in a deepwater marine
environment. Local admixing of sand grains and cross-
bedding near the top of the formation manifest a transi-
tion from deepwater deposition for the older dolomites
and limestones to shallow-water conditions during the
Middle Ordovician. Littoral subzone or beach condi-
tions probably prevailed during Middle Ordovician
time and resulted in the deposition of well-sorted quartz
sand of the Eureka quartzite, probably a second cycle
orthoquartzite. Ely Springs dolomiteand Hidden Vale
ley dolomite were formed in seas that covered the area
during Late Ordovician time and during the Silurian
and Devonian. Marine deposition continued through
the Devonian, mainly forming limestone in contrast to
the preponderance of dolomite in pre-Devonian seas.
Marine sedimentation continued throughout the
Mississippian. The limestone units of the Tin Moun-
tain limestone and Perdido formation were largely
formed in placid seas devoid of foreign detritus. Cal-
cilutite of the Lee Flat limestone records marine deposi-
tion that was likely derived from a low-relief landmass.
52 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
Continued marine deposition in a nearshore environ—
ment formed the calcarenite and calcilutite character-
istic of the Pennsylvanian and Permian. Recurrent
emergences are indicated by intercalated limestone con-
glomerate and minor unconformities, and widespread
crossbedding indicates a nearshore environment. Most
of the emergences probably were short lived and of
limited extent, but locally folding was concomitant
with uplift. The coarse limestone conglomerate of the
upper part of the Owens Valley formation probably
accumulated in a local basin as a result of rapid local
differential uplift. .
Orogeny was the dominant feature of the Mesozoic
era, although the exact age of the diastrophism is not
well documented. The Paleozoic rocks were uplifted
and folded before the advent of the Mesozoic intrusions.
The Paleozoic rocks were then regionally warped in
response to the forceful intrusion of the Hunter Moun-
tain batholith and the Coso batholith. Faulting and
fracturing, some subsequent to the partial solidification
of the granitic rocks, preceded the deposition of ore
and gangue minerals during the late stages of orogeny.
Subareal erosion probably was active throughout most
of the era.
There is a gap in the geologic record between the
Mesozoic intrusions and ore deposits and the advent
of volcanism during the late Pliocene. This gap prob-
ably represents a period mainly of erosion. By late
Pliocene time the land surface had been eroded to a ma-
ture surface of low relief. This surface has been corre-
lated by Hopper (1947, p. 400) with the late Pliocene
Ricardo erosion surface of Baker (1912, p. 138; Mer-
riam, 1919, p. 529) out across tilted lower Pliocene beds
in the El Paso Range about 75 miles to the south. The
Darwin senesland of Maxson (1950, p. 101) between the
Argus Range and the Inyo Mountains contains part of
this mature surface.
The present basins and ranges had their inception at
least as far back as late Pliocene time when uplift of
the Coso Range and Inyo Mountains caused the forma-
tion of extensive piedmont fans that interfinger with
lacustrine deposits in Owens Valley. Volcanic activity
was common during the iPliocene, and it continued
intermittently into the Quaternary. Pyroclastic rocks
of basaltic composition are abundant in the lowermost
beds of the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene Coso
formation at Cactus Flat on the west flank of the Coso
Range in the Haiwee Reservoir quadrangle. Andesite,
which locally is interbedded in the Coso formation at
Cactus Flat and is interbedded in basaltic pyroclastic
rocks in the Inyo Mountains near the Santa Rosa mine,
was extruded as domes during the late Pliocene or early
Pleistocene. The pyroclastic rocks were tilted locally
before the outflow of the extensive olivine basalt flows
that cap most of the northern part of the Darwin
quadrangle.
Uplift of the Argus and Coso Ranges, and the Inyo
Mountains continued through the Pleistocene and 8
Recent. The olivine basalt flows of Pleistocene age
have been tilted and step faulted. A lake was formed
in Darwin Wash during middle or late Pleistocene.
Headward erosion of Darwin Canyon subsequently
captured the drainage of Darwin Wash and in this
way lowered the base level of erosion to Panamint
Valley and caused dissection of the lakebeds. Erosion
and intermittent uplift have continued in the Recent.
‘ORE DEPOSITS
The Darwin quadrangle contains commercially im-
portant deposits of lead-silver—zinc and steatite—grade
talc, and some tungsten, copper, gold, and antimony
(fig. 3). Large deposits of limestone, dolomite, and
quartzite are known, but they have not been exploited
owing to remoteness from market and railroad trans-
portation. The total value of mineral production to
1952 is about $371/2 million. The Darwin lead-silver-
zinc district has accounted for $29 million and the talc
deposits for about $5 million. The remainder of the
production has come from other lead-silver-zinc de-
posits scattered throughout the quadrangle and from
the tungsten deposits in the Darwin Hills. The major
lead-silver—zinc deposits are in the Darwin Hills, but
smaller deposits have been developed at Zinc Hill in the
Argus Range, the Lee district in the northeastern part
of the quadrangle, and the Santa Rosa mine in the
Inyo Mountains. Steatite—grade talc has been mined
continuously since 1917 from the Talc City Hills, prin-
cipally from the Talc City mine. Scheelite was first
mined in 1940 from deposits about 1 mile east of Dar-
win, and production has been intermittent since then.
Small amounts of copper, gold, and antimony have
been recovered from deposits in the Darwin Hills.
HISTORY AND PRODUCTION
The following history of mining before 1945 was
compiled entirely from the literature. The following
references supplied most of the information: Burchard
(1884), Chalfant (1933), Kelley (1938), Norman and
Stewart (1951), and Robinson (1877). Statements of
history'prior to 1945 not otherwise credited originally
came from one of these articles. Mining in the Darwin
quadrangle dates back to November 1874 when rich
silver ore was discovered in the Darwin Hills by a Mex—
ican reportedly searching for a lost pack mule (Chal-
fant, 1933, p. 274). During the ensuing decade the
ORE DEPOSITS 53
rich silver ores were extensively exploited, and by 1883
more than $2 million in bullion had been recovered.
During this time Darwin is reported to have had a pop-
ulation of 5,000. The Christmas Gift, Lucky Jim,
Defiance, and Independence mines produced most of
the ore the first few years. The New Coso Mining Co.
obtained the Lucky Jim and Christmas Gift mines in
May 187 5, and they developed both properties rapidly
during the following few years. A report to the stock-
holders, dated April 1, 1877, gives the production from
the two properties as 226,672 ounces of silver and 1,920,-
261 pounds of lead worth $410,350. The Defiance and
Independence mines were in production by 187 5 as re-
ported in the Coso Mining News of December 24, 1875,
and by 1883 they produced $1,280,000 of bullion (Bur-
chard, 1884, p. 164). The ores in the district were
treated at Darwin in three smelters—the capacity of
the Cuervo was 20 tons per day, the Defiance 60 tons,
and the New Coso 100 tons (Goodyear, 1888, p. 226).
Bullion was hauled by teams of horses to Los Angeles.
At the time of Goodyear’s visit in 1888, the district was
nearly dormant, and the smelters were permanently
closed owing to exhaustion of the easily mined, high-
grade near-surface ores (Goodyear, 1888, p. 226).
From 1888 until World War I the Darwin mines
were operated intermittently on a small scale by the
New Coso Mining Co., Inyo County Mining and De—
velopment Co., Independence Mining Co., and- others.
From 1915 until 1928, when the price of lead and zinc
was too low to be mined profitably, the district was
fairly active. In 1915 the Darwin Development Co.,
later called the Darwin Lead and Silver Mining and
Development Co., and finally the Darwin Silver Co.,
consolidated the Lucky Jim, Promontory, Lane, and
Columbia mines and about 1918 obtained control of
the Defiance and Independence mines. In 1925, C. H.
Lord leased the properties and operated them from 1925
to 1927 as the American Metals, Inc. In 1928 the
Lucky Jim mine was gutted by a fire and rendered in-
accessible. The district was idle from 1928 until 1936.
From 1937 until August 1, 1945, the properties were
controlled by the Darwin Lead Co., the Imperial Smelt-
ing and Refining Co., Imperial Metals, Inc., and Dar-
win Mines.
On August 1, 1945, The Anaconda Co. purchased the
Bernon, Defiance, Driver, Essex, Independence, Lane,
Lucky Jim, Promontory, Rip Van Winkle, and Thomp—
son mines, and other small properties in the Darwin
quadrangle and the Columbia mine at the south end
of the Darwin Hills in the Coso Peak quadrangle, and
they have operated some of them continuously since
1945 except for brief shutdowns in 1948 and from
March 1954 to January 1955. The Defiance, Essex, In-
dependence, and Thompson mines produced most of the
ore. The Lucky Jim mine was rehabilitated in 1948 but
did not produce any ore.
Talc was probably first mined in the Talc City Hills
in 1915. Waring and Huguenin (1919, p. 126) de—
scribed operations at the Talc City mine under the
name Simonds talc mine in their biennial report for
1915—16. In 1918 the Simonds talc mine was purchased
by the Inyo Talc Co., which later was renamed the
Sierra Talc and Clay Co. They have operated the
Talc City mine and several smaller deposits continu—
ously since then.
Scheelite was first described in the Darwin Hills by
Hess and Larsen (1922, p. 268) ; Kelley (1938, p. 543)
mentioned scheelite at the Bruce mine in the Darwin
Hills, but the tungsten deposits remained undeveloped
until 1940 when Frank Watkins, C. W. Fletcher, and
others organized the Darwin Consolidated Tungsten
Co. to develop them. The Pacific Tungsten C0. leased
the claims in 1941, and the following year they pro-
duced 30,940 tons of ore that averaged about 1 percent
W03 (Wilson, 1943, p. 544). The ore was treated at
a mill near Keeler owned by the West Coast Tungsten
Corp. Howard Miller and Louis Warnken operated
the Durham-Fernando, Hayward, and St. Charles
mines from 1951 to 1953 and the Hayward and St.
Charles mines during 1954—55. Location of mines are
shown in figure 3. The ore was treated in a mill in
Darwin Wash. The Ajax Tungsten Corp. obtained a
lease on the Durham-Fernando property in 1954, and
they shipped their ore to Bishop for treatment. The
lead—silver ore at the Thompson mine of the Darwin
group contains some scheelite. At present it is not re—
covered, except for local high-grade concentrations that
are stockpiled.
The total metal production from the Darwin quad-
rangle through 1951 was approximately 6,300 ounces
of gold, 8 million ounces of silver, 1,000 tons of copper,
65,000 tons of lead, 23,000 tons of zinc, and 35,000 short
ton units of W03. Norman and Stewart (1951, p. 29)
gave the production of antimony from the Darwin
Antimony mine as “50 to 100 tons of ore assaying more
than 30 percent antimony.” The annual production
from 1875 to 1951 excluding tungsten and antimony
is given in table 4.
Talc is the only nonmetallic commodity produced in
the area. No record was found of the total production
from the Tale City Hills. The production from the
Talc City mine, which has produced most of the talc
in the district, is given in table 5. The total produc-
tion of the Talc City mine from 1915 through 1947
is 218,485 tons.
54
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
TABLE 4.—G’old, silver, copper, lead, and zinc produced from the Darwin quadrangle 1
See footnote at end of table.
Year Gold (ounces) Silver (ounces) Copper (pounds) Lead (pounds) Zinc (pounds) Operators
1875-83 ________________ 1, 571, 000 ________________________________________ Defiance, Independence, New Coso Mining
‘ (estimated) Co.
1888—92 ______ 23. 51 ____________________________________________________ Phoenix.
1893 _________ 7. 26 26, 759 ________________________________________ Custer mine, J. A. McKenzie, H. Mettler,
Phoenix.
1894 ___________________ 70, 095 ________________________________________ Christmas Gift mine, Henry Mettler.
1895 ___________________ 19, 362 ________________________________________ Custer mine, J. . McKenzie, Henry
Mettler.
1897 ___________________ 5, 517 ________________________________________ J. A. McKenzie and W. W. Boswell.
1898 _________ 64 54, 800 ________________________________________ R. C. Troeger.
1899 ___________________ 37, 349 ________________________________________ Custer, Last Chance Mining Co., J. A.
McKenzie, Phoenix.
1900 _________ 741 13, 178 ________________________________________ W. W. Boswell, J. A. McKenzie, Phoenix
1901 _________ 591 14, 333 ________________________________________ Do.
1902 ___________________ 4, 360 _________________________________________ J. A. McKenzie, Phoenix mine.
1903---- _-__ _ 39 14, 814 ______________ 11, 905 ______________ J. A. McKenzie.
1904 --------- 25 12, 276 ______________ , 20 ______________ Inyo County Mining & Development Co.,
J. A. McKenzie. .
1905 _________ 24. 19 5, 036 2, 600 2, 042 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, Inyo County Mining
& Development Co.
1906 ___________________ 3,970 ______________ 36,842 ______________ C. R. Bradford, Inyo County Mining &
Development Co., New Coso Mining Co.
1907 ___________________ 12, 600 ______________ 100, 000 ______________ New goso Mining Co.
1908 _________ 4 17, 785 ______________ 182, 405 ______________
1909 _________ 23. 87 3,271 462 75, 235 ______________ ChrisDtmas Gift mine, New Coso Mining
Co., S. H. Reynolds.
1910 _________ 75 16,718 904 277, 609 ______________ New Coso Mining Co , S. H. Reynolds,
Silver Dollar mine.
1911 _________ * 9. 80 24,494 4,760 427,467 ______________ C. A Bradford, Custer mine, New Coso
Minin Co., S. H. Reynolds, Santa Rosa
mine, ilver Dollar mine.
1912 _________ 38. 32 11, 210 13, 210 215, 710 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, Independence Min-
ing Co., New Coso Mining Co.
1913 _________ 64. 44 29, 291 6,097 475, 998 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, Custer mine, New
Coso Mining Co., J. C. Roeper, M. J.
Summers.
1914 _________ 6. 02 13,043 1,256 195, 667 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, New Coso Mining
0.
1915 _________ 3 10, 998 543 122, 713 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, Darwin Develop-
ment Corp. ., Theo Peterson.
1916 _________ 38 132, 836 38, 658 2, 046, 618 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, Darwin Mines Corp. .,
Santa Rosa mine.
1917 _________ 339 221, 634 374, 222 4, 063, 758 78, 586 Christmas Gift mine, Custer mine, Darwin
Mines Corp., Theo Peterson, Santa
Rosa mine, M. J. Summers, Zinc Hill
m1ne.
1918 _________ 202. 61 145, 381 76, 741 3, 614, 161 1,040,000 A. A. Belin, Custer mine, Darwin Silver
Co., Rooney and Bradford, Santa Rosa
mine, Zinc Hill mine.
1919 _________ 40. 97 46,082 39,926 980, 945 291,540 Custer mine, Darwin Silver Co. ., Theo
Peterson, Santa Rosa mine, J.
Summers, Zinc Hill mine.
1920 _________ 19. 66 31, 773 23, 313 683, 436 669, 140 Buckhorn, Custer mine, Darwin Silver
Co., Jackass, Lee, Theo Peterson, Santa
Rosa mine, M. J. Summers, Zinc Hill
. m1ne.
1921 _________ 2. 15 3, 886 2, 791 109, 613 ______________ Darwin Silver Co., A. G. Kirby, Santa
Rosa mine.
1922 _________ 61. 6 89, 736 8, 097 957, 815 83,540 A. G. Kirby, Santa Rosa mine, Zinc Hill
m1ne.
1923 _________ 154. 8 127, 716 19, 088 2, 087, 763 ______________ Christmas Gift mine, A. G. Kirby, Santa
Rosa mine.
1924 _________ 69. 68 49,102 17,617 1,048,588 76, 947 A G. Kirby, Santa Rosa mine
1925 _________ 3 23, 723 18, 218 573, 648 150, 430 A. A. Belin, L. D. Foreman & Co., Santa
Rosa mine, Zinc Hill mine.
1926 _________ 44. 25 39, 745, 10, 803 1, 202, 855 86, 060 American Metals, Inc. ., Christmas Gift
mine, Santa Rosa mine, Zinc Hill mine.
1927 _________ 53. 44 41, 004 10, 156 1, 301, 323 ______________ American Metals, Inc. ., Christmas Gift
mine, L. D. Foreman & Co., Santa Rosa
mine.
1928 _________ 13. 11 7, 209 13,050 202, 459 ______________ American Metals, Inc.
1929 _________ 4. 01 3, 568 4, 509 117, 228 ______________ Santa Rosa mine.
1930 --------- 7. 65 904 .1, 631 25, 285 -------------- D0.
1931 _________ 0. 45 1, 349 270 31, 650 ______________ Do.
1932 _________ 9. 35 22, 515 6, 835 572, 164 ______________ Do.
ORE DEPOSITS 55
TABLE 4.—G’old, silver, copper, lead, and zinc produced from the Darwin quadrangle 1——Continued
Year Gold (ounces) Silver (ounces) Copper (pounds) Lead (pounds) Zinc (pounds) Operators
1933 _________ 4. 20 2, 609 1, 325 104, 112 ______________ Do.
1934 _________ 6. 39 7, 777 8, 364 242, 415 ______________ Do.
1935 _________ 95. 14 5, 575 10, 290 155, 457 ______________ Custer mine, Santa Rosa mine.
1936 _________ 14. 25 9, 755 16, 563 .269, 850 ______________ Santa Rosa mine.
1937 _________ 174 70, 526 14, 417 1, 240, 741 ______________ Custer mine, Darwin Keystone Ltd.,
Darwin Lead Co., L. D. Foreman & Co.,
Santa Rosa mine, Louis Warnken, Jr.
1938 _________ 26 7, 860 2, 846 143, 756 ______________ Darwin Keystone Ltd., Darwin Lead Co.,
Santa Rosa mine, Louis Warnken, Jr.
1939 _________ 5 146 ________________________________________ J. B. Anthony.
1940 _________ 7 748 170 32 712 ______________ Custer mine, Keystone mine, Theo Peter-
son.
1941---" _ ___' 81 32, 915 16, 501 1, 434, 884 383, 720 Imperial Metals, Inc., Keystone mine,
Zinc Hill mine.
1942 _________ 185 54,935 4,422 1,543, 824 650, 400 Im erial Metals, Inc., L. D. Foreman &
0., Zinc Hill mine.
1943 _________ 0. 31 138, 880 ______________ 4, 901, 412 38, 760 Darwin Mines, Zinc Hill mine.
1944__-_ ______ 4. 00 252, 900 10, 327 5, 218, 000 1, 110, 000 Darwin Mines, L. D. Foreman & Co.,
Wonder mine.
1945 _________ 377 575, 069 130, 931 10, 428, 000 1, 992, 000 The Anaconda Co., L. D. Foreman & Co.
1946 _________ 443 871, 621 200, 340 15, 450, 891 1, 720, 539 The Anaconda Co., Empress mine, L. D.
. Foreman & Co. '
1947 _________ 557 1, 126, 906 148, 949 14, 055, 988 1, 231, 641 The Anaconda Co., Custer mine, Empress
mine, L. D. Foreman & Co., Santa
Rosa mine, Wonder mine, Zinc Hill
mine.
1948 _________ 495 418, 263 165, 708 12, 773, 984 9, 016, 300 The Anaconda Co., Custer mine, Empress
mine, L. D. Foreman & Co., Santa
Rosa mine, St. Charles mine.
1949 _________ 232 354, 861 131, 583 9, 994, 337 8, 148, 444 The Anaconda Co., Custer mine, Em-
press mine, Santa Rosa mine, Zinc Hill
mine.
1950 _________ 365 602, 263 208, 118 16, 991, 027 10, 474, 000 The Anaconda Co., Santa Rosa mine.
1951 _________ 422 ' 574, 765 223, 091 14, 395, 209 9, 441, 670 The Anaconda Co., Empress mine, Lee
mine.
6, 296. 43 8, 089, 256 1, 989, 702 131, 122, 098 46, 683, 717
994. 9 65, 561 23, 341. 9
(tons)
1 Compiled from records of the US. Bureau of Mines and from Minerals Yearbook. The data for the Darwin district from 1888 to 1942 was compiled by Charles W.
Merrill of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (from Hall and MacKevett. 1958).
TABLE 5.—Talc produced from the Talc Olly mine ‘
Year Tons Year Tons
300 1 4, 398
428 3, 402
620 3, 640
2, 000 3, 766
3, 398 6, 667
7, 087 9, 829
4, 300 8, 800
5, 325 7, 640
5, 685 9, 691
5, 202 5, 890
4, 517 12, 600
5, 462 15, 526
5, 273 13, 325
6, 195 14, 908
6, 370 11, 113
5, 561 15, 169
4, 398
218, 485
1 Published with the permission of the Sierra Talc and Clay Co. Compiled by
1195?. VV'711i)ght of the California State Division of Mines (from Hall and MacKevett,
p. .
2 Estimate.
LEAD-snyEazmc DEPOSITS
DISTRIBUTION
The lead-silver-zinc deposits are concentrated in
Paleozoic limestone close to intrusive contacts. The
largest deposits are adjacent to the stock in the Darwin
Hills in the southern part of the quadrangle. The prin—
cipal mines are the Darwin, Lucky Jim, Christmas Gift,
Lane, Custer, and Promontory. Other ore deposits are
near the stock at Zinc Hill at the north end of the Argus
Range, the Santa Rosa mine in the Inyo Mountains, the
Lee mine on the east side of the Santa Rosa Hills, and a
few small deposits in the Talc City Hills (fig. 3) . The
name “Darwin mine” is used in this report to include all
the properties through Which the Radiore tunnel passes
(pl. 3). This includes the former Bernon, Defiance,
Essex, Independence, Rip Van Winkle, and Thompson
mines, and each of these properties will be referred to
as workings of the Darwin mine.
CHARACTER 0F ORE
Both primary and secondary lead-silver—zinc ore is
mined in the Darwin quadrangle. Prior to 1945 mainly
oxidized lead-silver ore was mined, but since then more
primary than oxide ore has been produced. ‘ In the Dar-
win district sulfide minerals generally constitute more
than 75 percent of the primary ore. The ore consists
56 . GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
principally of galena and sphalerite and lesser amounts
of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite. The average
grade of ore is about 6 percent lead, 6 percent zinc, 6
ounces of silver per ton, and a small amount of copper.
Gangue minerals are calcite, fluorite, jasper, and the
relict host-rock minerals garnet, idocrase, diopside,
wollastonite, quartz, and feldspar. Jasper and calcite
are the abundant gangue minerals in most of the fissure
deposits and relict host-rock minerals in the replace-
ment ore bodies.
The texture of the primary ore ranges from very fine
grained steel galena to coarsely crystalline ore contain-
ing galena and sphalerite crystals 1/2 to 1 inch in diam-
eter. Steel galena is particularly abundant in the Essex
vein. Banded ore, although not characteristic of the
Darwin district, occurs in some of the mines where
pyrrhotite is abundant.
The oxidized lead-silver ore in the Darwin district,
except where jasper is the principal gangue mineral, is a
soft friable mass consisting principally of cerussite and
limonite, and most of it can be disintegrated easily by
hand.
Silver ore containing a little galena occurs near the
margins of some of the lead-silver-zinc ore bodies in
the Darwin mine. The silver ore contains andorite,
clausthalite, galena, matildite, and pyrite in a gangue
of calcite and relict host rock. Matildite and claustha-
lite are in exsolved laths in galena. Whereas sulfide
minerals are predominant in the lead-silver-zinc ore, the
silver ore commonly contains only several percent of
metallic minerals.
The ore in the Zinc Hill district contains more zinc
than that at Darwin. Primary ore from the Zinc Hill
mine averages 22 percent zinc and 1.3 percent lead.
The ore consists of medium- to coarse-grained sphal-
erite, galena, and minor pyrite in a calcite gangue.
Most of the ore mined from the Santa Rosa and Lee
mines was oxidized. Oxidized ore at the Lee mine is
much harder than that from Darwin and consists of a
hard light— to dark-gray porous mass composed mainly
of hemimorphite, and includes thin coatings and
crystals of cerargyrite. Some relict primary ore is
present that consists of coarse galena and small amounts
of sphalerite in a gangue of calcite and barite.
FORMS OF ORE BODIES
The ore bodies occur as bedded deposits, irregular re-
placement bodies close to major faults, fissure or vein
deposits, and small ore bodies in flat—lying fractures.
BEDDED DEPOSITS
Bedded deposits economically are the most important.
They are common in the Darwin and Zinc Hill districts.
Notable examples in the Darwin district are the bedded
ore bodies in the Independence workings (pl. 3) ; the
430 stope ore body; the Blue and Red veins in the De-
fiance workings; and the ore bodies at the Custer,
Jackass, and Promontory mines. Small bedded ore
bodies are also at the Empress and Zinc Hill mines in
the Zinc Hill district. The ore bodies contain from
a few tens to more than half a million tons of ore.
The contacts between the bedded deposits and barren or
slightly pyritized wallrock are sharp. However the
grade within the ore body is not uniform along strike,
and some lower grade parts have been left behind as
pillars.
13.3mm.“ REPLACEMENT on: 30mm
The only important irregular replacement ore body is
in the Defiance workings of the Darwin mine (pl. 3).
It is a vertical pipe-shaped zone about 250 by 350 feet V
in horizontal section and contains many isolated ore
bodies. It has been mined vertically for about 550 feet.
The downward extent has not been determined. Ore
bodies within the zone have gradational contacts with
barren or pyritized calc-silicate rock.
VEIN DEPOSITS
Fissure or vein deposits are present in the Darwin dis-
trict, at the Santa Rosa mine in the Inyo Mountains, and
at a few small deposits in the Talc City Hills. In the
Darwin district the veins are as much as 460 feet long;
they average 2 to 8 feet in thickness and are as much as
35 feet thick. The Essex vein has been mined for 800
feet downdip (pl. 3) ; the Lucky Jim vein for 920 feet.
All the other veins apparently have a lesser length
downdip. Contacts of the veins with barren country
rock are sharp. Minable high-grade ore is commonly
localized in ore shoots within the veins. At the Christ-
mas Gift and Lucky Jim mines, the ore is localized in
the parts of the veins that have approximately a north-
east strike, and the parts that have a more easterly
strike are nearly barren. These ore shoots plunge to-
ward the west.
ORE BODIES IN FLAT-LYING FRACTURES
Small silver-rich ore bodies are localized is flat-lying
fractures in the Lee district at the Lee mine and Silver
Reid prospect (pl. 9). The flat-lying fractures are in
part parallel to bedding and in part transect bedding;
they are localized between steep faults. The largest.
known ore body was about 40 feet long, 35 feet Wide, and
averaged about 6 feet in thickness. Most of the ore
bodies mined in the past 20 years were smaller and
yielded 50 to 100 tons of ore each.
ORE DEPOSITS . 57
ORE CONTROLS
Most of the lead-silver-zinc ore bodies in the Darwin
quadrangle are in calc-hornfels close to intrusive con—
tacts with quartz monzonite. A few smaller deposits
are in limestone or marble. Anticlinal structures are
important in localizing some ore bodies in the Darwin
mine. A fault control is evident for nearly all the de-
posits. Thrust faults, steep strike-slip faults, and high—
angle normal faults have each played a part in localiz-
ing certain ore bodies.
NEARNESS T0 INTRUSIVE CONTACTS
Deposits in the Darwin and Zinc Hill districts are
generally within a few hundred feet of an intrusive con-
tact. In the Defiance and Independence workings of
the Darwin mine, much of the ore is adjacent to the
stock of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite, and all
the ore is close to quartz monzonite as the workings cut
many small satellitic offshoots of the stock. The mines
on the east side of the stock, in general, are farther from
the intrusive mass than those on the west side. The
Lane mine is 2,500 feet from the stock, the Keystone
1,000 feet, the Wonder 600 feet (fig. 3). Two excep—
tions, the Custer and Fernando mines, are within 100
feet of quartz monzonite offshoots of the stock (fig. 3).
The deposits in the Zinc Hill district are clustered about
the stock of leuoocratic quartz monzonite at Zinc Hill
(fig. 3). The Empress mine is on the contact of the
stock, and the Zinc Hill mine is 2,300 north of it.
At the Santa Rosa mine, quartz monzonite does not
crop out, but a plutonic mass probably lies a short dis-
tance below the surface. The original limestone is
metamorphosed to calc-hornfels, and an inclusion of
quartz monzonite is in an andesite porphyry dike; both
the calc-hornfels and the inclusion indicate proximity to
a plutonic mass. The deposits in the Lee district are
the farthest from a known intrusion. The Lee mine
is in unaltered limestone 6,500 feet northeast of the
closest exposure of quartz monzonite, and the Silver
Reid prospect is 7,600 feet distant.
RELATIONSHIP OF ORE DEPOSITS 1'0 STRATIGRAPHY
No one formation in the Darwin quadrangle seems
to be especially favorable for lead-silver-zinc deposits.
In general, limestone is favorable and dolomite,
quartzite, and shale are unfavorable. No lead-
silver-zinc deposits in the quadrangle are in beds older
than Devonian (pl. 1; 3). The Silver Reid prospect in
the Lee district and the Cactus Owen and Homestake
prospects in the Talc City Hills are in the Lost Burro
formation of Devonian age, as is the Cerro Gordo mine
in the New York Butte quadrangle 31/2 miles northwest
of the Darwin quadrangle. In the Talc City Hills small
lead—silver-zinc deposits are in limy parts of the Lost
Burro formation; the more extensive dolomite contains
only talc deposits. The Lee, Zinc Hill, and Empress
mines are in Mississippian limestone. The Silver Dollar
mine in the Talc City Hills is in the Keeler Canyon
formation of Pennsylvanian and Permian age. The
deposits in the Darwin district are in calc-hornfels of
the lower unit of the Keeler Canyon formation. The
Santa Rosa mine is in calc-hornfels of the lower unit
of the Owens Valley formation of Permian age.
Dolomite seems to be unfavorable for lead-silver-zinc
deposits in the Darwin quadrangle, but it is the host
rock for at least two lead-silver—zinc deposits 9 and 17
miles north of the Darwin quadrangle in the Ubehebe
district (McAllister, 1955, p. 23, 32). Ore at the
Ubehebe mine is in Ely Springs dolomite and that at
the Lippincott mine is in dolomite of the Lost Burro
formation.
Although lead-silver—zinc deposits occur in all forma-
tions from Devonian to Permian in age and no one
formation is particularly favorable, within mineralized
areas certain beds are favorable. Generally one or more
other favorable ore controls are instrumental in localiz—
ing ore within a favorable bed. At the Zinc Hill mine
all the known ore is in a favorable marble bed 200 feet
thick and the overlying and underlying limestone is
only slightly mineralized. The favorable marble bed
is replaced by ore close to steep faults, and these faults
are only slightly mineralized where they cut the over-
lying and underlying limestone beds. At the Darwin
mine the ore deposits are restricted to a favorable
stratigraphic zone between the Davis thrust and the
stock of biotite-hornblende—quartz monzonite (pl. 3).
The ore is in a medium-grained, light—colored idocrase-
garnet-wollastonite rock formed by contact metamor-
phism of a fairly pure limestone bed, whereas the dense
gray and white calc-hornfels west of the Davis
thrust is unfavorable for ore. Folds and faults play
an important role in localizing ore within this favor-
able zone.
RELATIONSHIP OF ORE T0 FOLDS
In the Darwin district, anticlinal—shaped folds (in-
verted synclines in part) are important in localizing
some bedded ore bodies. An inverted synclinal axis
that plunges gently northwestward extends from the
main opencut near the Defiance shaft N. 30° W. to the
Bernon mine (pl. 3). The Blue and Red veins are
along the crest and west flank of the fold, An inverted
syncline localizes the large bedded ore body in the Inde-
pendence mine between the 200 and 3A levels (pl. 3).
Steep north-striking faults localize ore along the crest
58 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
of the fold. Anticlinal structures are evident at the
Custer mine and the Wonder mine on the east side of
the stock of biotite—hornblende-quartz monzonite in the
Darwin Hills (fig. 3).
annnnonsmr or on: T0 mums
A fault control is evident for all the ore bodies in the
Darwin quadrangle. In the Darwin district four
groups of faults have been instrumental in localizing
ore. They are: (a) steep N. 70° E. faults; (b) steep
N. 70° W. faults; (c) the Davis thrust, which strikes
north and dips west; and (d) steep north-striking faults
that have little displacement. Steep N. 70° E. faults
apparently served as feeder channels for the ore solu-
tions, and all ore bodies in the Darwin district. are
localized along them or close to them by other favorable
controls. Ore at the Lucky Jim and Christmas Gift
mines and in the Darwin mine in the Bernon, 434, and
Water tank faults (pl. 3) is localized in these faults.
The bedded ore bodies and the irregular replacement '
ore body in the Defiance workings are localized close
to the N. 70° E. Defiance fault (pl. 3).
The Essex is the only ore body localized in a N. 70° W.
fault (pl. 3). The other two major N. 70° W. faults——
the Darwin tear fault and the Standard fault—are
mineralized but contain very little ore.
The Davis thrust fault is a premineralization fault
that apparently confined the ore solutions between it
and biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite. All the
known ore bodies in the district lie below the thrust,
and premineralization faults above the thrust are only
slightly mineralized.
Steep north-striking faults are an important ore con-
trol in the Thompson and Independence workings in the
Darwin mine. The northward-striking faults are most
intensely mineralized close to a major N. 70° E. fault.
Commonly the ore replaced a favorable bed that is
transected by a steep north-striking fault, as in the
Independence ore body (pl. 3).
At the Zinc Hill mine ore replaces a favorable bed
near a series of steep north- to northeastward-striking
premineralization faults that probably were instru-
mental in localizing ore (pl. 8).
Flat-lying fractures localize ore between major steep
faults in the Lee district. The flat-lying fractures are
tension fractures that have had little or no displace-
ment and were probably formed by differential dis-
placement on the major steep faults.
At the Santa Rosa mine in the Inyo Mountains ore
is in northward-striking faults that dip mostly 30° to
65° W., although a few dip to the east. Pinching and
swelling of the faults localizes some of the ore shoots.
MINERALOGY
A list of the minerals identified or reported in the
lead—silver-zinc deposits of the Darwin quadrangle is
given below. The list is divided into two major
groups—hypogene minerals and supergene minerals.
The hypogene minerals are subdivided into (a) Ore
and sulfide minerals and (b) Gangue minerals. The
supergene minerals are subdivided into minerals in
the sulfide zone and those in the oxide zone. The
minerals are listed alphabetically under each heading.
The identification of the more uncommon minerals
was verified by an X-ray diffraction pattern .if the
mineral was sufficiently abundant and could be sepa—
rated. The X-ray spectrograph was utilized to deter-
mine qualitative compositions of some minerals and of
minute inclusions that are common in the steel galena
and in some of the sulfosalts. Minerals identified by
previous workers but not verified by the writers are
listed and credit or reference for the identification
is given under description of the mineral.
Hypoame minerals
Ore and sulfide minerals:
Andorite _________________ PbAngsso
Arsenopyrite _____________ FeAsS
Bismuth (?) ______________ Bi
Bismuthinite _____________ BiaS3
Bornite __________________ CusFeS4
Chalcopyrite _____________ CuFeSa
Clausthalite ______________ PbSe
Enargite (?) ______________ CU3A584
Galena __________________ PbS
Guanajuatite (?) __________ BiaSe3
Matildite ________________ AgBiSz
Pyrite ___________________ Fesg
Pyrrhotite _______________ Felfls
Scheelite _________________ CaWO.
Sphalerite ________________ ZnS
Stannite _________________ CuzFeSn84
Tetrahedrite—Tennanite- __ _ (Cu,Fe) ”Sb4sla-(Cu, Fe) ”A1548”;
Gangue minerals:
Barite ___________________ BaSO;
Calcite __________________ CaCOa
Chalcedony-----_____l_-_ SiO;
Deweylite ________________ Mg4Si3010. 6H 20
Diopside- _ _ _‘ _____________ CaMgSizos
Fluorite _ _' _______________ Can
Garnet sp (andradite) _____ Ca3(Al, Fe) ZSi3012
Idocrase _________________ Cam (Mg, Fe) 2(OH) 2Al4SioO 34
(OH) 2
Jasper ___________________ SiOz
Montmorillonite __________ (A1, Mg)3(Si40m) 3- (OH) 10- 12H 20
Orthoclase _______________ KAlSi303
Quartz __________________ Si02
Sericite __________________ (H , K) AlSiO4
Wollastonite _____________ CaSiOa
ORE DEPOSITS 59
Superaene Minerals
Sulfide zone :
Argentite ________________ Agzs
Chalcocite _______________ Cuzs
Covellite _________________ CuS
Oxide zone
Anglesite ________________ PbSO;
Antlerite _________________ Cu; (OH)4SO4
Aurichalcite ______________ (Zn, Cu) 5(OH)3(003) z
Autunite _________________ C3(U02)2(P04)2-10-12H 20
Azurite __________________ Cua (OH) 2 (003) z
Bindheimite ______________ Pngb;Oo(0,0H)
Bismutite ________________ (BiO) a( 003)
Bro chantite ______________ Cu; (804) (OH) 0
Cale donite _______________ Cusza ($04) 3 (00;) (OH) 0
Cerargyrite ______________ Ag Cl
Cerussite ________________ Pb CO;
Chalcanthite _____________ CuSO4- 5H 20
Chrysocolla ______________ CuSiOg-2H20
Creedite _________________ Ca3A12F4(OH,F)a(SO..) -2H 20
Crocoite _________________ Pb Cr04
Cuprite __________________ 01120
Goslarite ________________ ZnSOy7H 20
Gypsum _________________ CaSOyZHzo
Hematite ________________ Fe203
Hemimorphite ____________ HaZn,Si05
Hydrozincite _____________ ZD5(OH)3(003) 2
Jarosite __________________ KF63(SO4) 2(0H)o
Leadhillite _______________ Pb4(804) (003) (OH) 2
Limonite _________________ Hydrous iron oxide
Linarite _________________ Pb Cu (80;) (OH) 2
Malachite ________________ CU2(OH) 2(003)
Melanterite ______________ FeSO4- 7H 20
Mimetite ________________ (Pb Cl) Pb, (AsO;) 3
Plumboj arosite ___________ PbFea ($04) 4 (OH) , 2
Pseudomalachite __________ Cu,o(P04)4(OH)s-2H20
Pyrolusite _______________ MnOz
Pyromorphite ____________ Pbs (P04, As04) 301
Silver (native) ____________ Ag
Smithsonite ______________ ZnCOa
Stolzite __________________ PbWOa
Sulfur ___________________ S
Tenorite _________________ CuO
Vanadinite-- _ _ -; _________ Pb5(VO4)3Cl
Vi vianite ________________ F63P203'8H 20
Wulfenite ________________ Pb MO,
HYPOGENE MINERALS
ORE AND SULFIDE MINERALS
Andom'te (PbAnggse) .—Andorite was identified by
Charles Milton (written communication, 1954) of the
US. Geological Survey from specimens from the A437
stope above the 400 level of the Thompson workings of
the Darwin mine (X-ray film 6794). It forms a silver-
rich ore‘with pyrite and minor Chalcopyrite and sphal-
erite at the margin of a galena-rich ore body. The
andorite occurs in thin tabular crystals generally less
than 2 mm long that are conspicuously striated. In
polished section the colorof the andorite is galena white,
and it is moderately anisotropic in shades of gray. The
andorite is in a gangue of coarsely crystalline calcite
620626 0—62—5
and less abundant garnet and idocrase. Minute irregu-
lar, white strongly anisotropic inclusions of native bis-
muth( ’9) are disseminated through the andorite (fig.
26). Andorite( ’9) has been provisionally identified by
Milton (written communication, 1954) from the Round
Valley mine in the Bishop district, Inyo County.
Arsenopym'te (FeAsS).—Small amounts of arseno-
pyrite occur in the ore at the Darwin and Santa Rosa
mines. It is associated with pyrite and pyrrhotite and
was one of the first sulfide minerals deposited. It is in
diamond—shaped grains that are less than 0.5 mm long.
BismutM .9) (Bi) .—Assays and spectrographic anal-
ysis show bismuth minerals to be present in the Darwin
ores, but the mineralogy is not well known. Steel ga-
lena from the Essex workings gives distinct bismuth
peaks on the X-ray spectrometer. Minute white,
strongly anisotropic inclusions in the galena and in
andorite may be native bismuth.
Bismuthz'nite (Bizsa) .—Bismuthinite associated with
scheelite was identified at the north end of the Durham
ore body near the Fernando fault (fig. 2, 2A). The
mineral is mostly altered to bismutite. The bismuthi-
nite is in bladed masses as much as 1 inch long that are
coated with powdery green bismutite.
Bomite (Cu5FeS4).——Small amounts of bornite are
in the Darwin and Santa Rosa mines. At the Darwin
mine bornite occurs as a rim about some pyrrhotite
inclusions in sphalerite and as inclusions in galena
(fig. 27).
Chalcopyrite (CuFesz) .—Most lead-silver—zinc de-
posits contain small amounts of Chalcopyrite; it is the
principal mineral in copper prospects on the east side
of the Darwin Hills. Chalcopyrite occurs as minute
blebs in sphalerite that undoubtedly formed by exsolu-
tion, and commonly occurs with pyrite and pyrrhotite
in the Darwin mine (fig. 28).
Clausthalite (PbSe) .—Clausthalite was identified by
X-ray diffraction pattern in a “galena” from the Darwin
mine that contained 7.8 percent selenium, 6.13 percent
silver, 20.67 percent bismuth, and 2.4 percent tellurium.
Clausthalite and matildite had exsolved from the
“galena”, but a homogeneous galena solid solution was
formed by heating at 500°C for 5 hours.
Enargite(?).——(Cu3AsS4)—Enargite( ?) was identi-
fied by Charles Milton (written communication, 1954)
from specimens of silver-rich ore from the 534 stope of
the Thompson workings of the Darwin mine.
Galena (PbS).—Galena is the predominant sulfide
mineral in the Darwin district and at the Santa Rosa
mine. It ranges in texture from steel galena to coarsely
crystalline masses that average as much as half an inch
in diameter. Some coarse-grained galena in the De-
fiance workings of the Darwin mine has warped cleav-
60 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
FIGURE 246.—\Phobomicro‘graph of andnrite that contains inclusions of bismuthfl). Specimen from the 437 stope of the Thompson workings,
of the Darwin mine, Plane polarized Fight, 60 X.
B. Some of the pyrrhotlte inclusions have rims of bornite (bo).
Plane polarized light, 250 X .
A. (the sphalerite contains corroded relicts of pyrite (py), and is in
turn, veined by gale‘na' (gn). Pyrrhotite (po) inclusions form a
triangular pattern in the sphalerite. This is interpreted as an exsolu-
tion pattern. Plane polarized light, 40 x.
FIGURE 27.—PHor0MICROGRAPHs or SPHALERITE (SL) FROM THE THOMPSON WORKINGS OF THE DARWIN MIN E-
A.
ORE DEPOSITS 61
FIGURE. 28.—Exsolution pattern of chalcopyrite (light) in sphalerite
(medium gray). from the Darwin mine. Chalcopyrite occurs as ori-
ented segregation veinlets and blebs in the sphalerite. Plane polar
ized light, 40 X.
age faces. ' The warping is apparently due to transla-
tion gliding. The (II-values and relative intensity of the
lines in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the warped
crystal agree precisely with those given in the “ASTM
Diffraction Data Cards” for galena.
The galena is all argentiferous, and chemical analyses
_ show that some of it contains appreciable amounts of
bismuth, selenium, and tellurium (Hall, 1959, p. 940).
Analyses of 12 galena samples from the Darwin mine
are given in table 6.
In general, selenium, silver, and bismuth are most
abundant in galena from ore bodies in the northern part
of the Darwin mine area in the Essex and Thompson
TABLE 6.—-Analyses of bismuth, selenium, and silver in galena
from the Darwin, mine 1
‘ Location Unit cell
Name of workings o Selenium Silver Bismuth (pure
sample (percent) (percent) (percent) galena=
(level) 5.936A)
1200 0.018 0. 14 0.48 5. 9313i. 001
570 .025 . 12 .080 5. 9307
400 . 030 . 12 . 06 5. 9298
700 . 0088 . 26 <. 004 5. 9387
700 .39 .76 .26 ______________
700 1.16 .018 .018 5. 9452
500 011 . .035 5. 9422
500 74 .058 <. 004 5. 9440
3A 39 . ll . 16 5. 9350
200 1 24 2.47 4.65 5.9146
200 2 11 3.79 7.86 5.923
400 1 7 8 6.13 20. 67 5. 88
1 Analyst S. M. Berthold Joseph Budinsky, Esma Campbell, M. K. Can-on, and
Janet D. Fletch her.
1 In addition there IS 2.4 percent tellurium in this galena.
workings (pl. 3). Minute inclusions of matildite
(AgBiSz) were identified by X-ray diffraction pattern
in the last three galena samples listed in table 6. A min-
eral count was made of matildite in the galena contain-
ing 2.11 percent selenium, 3.79 percent silver, and 7.86
percent bismuth. This galena contains 1.8 percent
microscopic inclusions of matildite, which account only
for about 20 percent of the silver and bismuth. The
rest of the silver and bismuth is either in solid solution
in the galena or is in inclusions too small to be seen under
the microscope. The “galena” containing 7.8 percent
selenium, 6.13 percent silver, 20.67 percent bismuth, and
2. 4 percent tellurium is a mixture of 3 phases—galena,
clausthalite (PbSe) , and matildite. The identification
is based on X-ray- -defraction pattern, polished- -seCtion
study, and on chemical analysis. Megascopically this
“galena” looks like a sulfosalt and is the mineral listed
by Hall and MacKevett (1958, p. 16) as an unknown
lead-bismuth-selenium sulfosalt. It forms thin tabular
crystals as much as 1 centimeter long that are commonly
warped and are conspicuously striated parallel to its
- long dimension. By heating the “galena” with 3 phases
for 5 hours at 500°C and quenching in water, a homo-
geneous galena was obtained. It is evident that the
three phases—galena, matildite, and clausthalite in
what megascopically looks like one mineral—originally
crystallized at a high temperature as a homogeneous
galena but included abundant bismuth, selenium, tellu-
rium, and silver in solid solution and exsolved into three
phases on cooling.
Guanajuatite( ?) (BiZSea) .-——Spectrographic and
chemical analyses show that both bismuth and selenium
are present in andorite and in some of the galena from
the Thompson and Essex workings of the Darwin mine.
Both minerals contain minute blebs that are white in
polished section and have strong anisotropism and may
be guanajuatite.
Matildite (AgBiSZ) .——Tiny oriented lamellar in-
clusions of matildite are intergrown with galena in ore
from the Essex vein of the Darwin mine. The lamellae
‘ are gelena white in polished section and are moderately
anisotropic. They are not visible in plane polarized
light, but are readily seen under cressed nicols or When
the section is etched with nitric acid (fig. 29). The
identification is based on similarity to matildite de-
scribed by Palache, Berman, Frondel (1944, p. 429)
and by Edwards (1954, p. 111), on X-ray-defraction
pattern, and on chemical analyses of galena showing the
presence of silver and bismuth. The lamellae probably
formed by exsolution from a bismuthian and 'argentian
galena stable at high temperature, as the matildite
readily goes into solid solution in the galena when
heated at 500°C.
62
FIGURE 29.—Galena (gn) and its alteration product cerussite (ce‘) with
elongate inclusions of matildite (AgBiSa) (ma). The polished section
is etched with nitric acid to show the matildite, as the inclusions are
not visible in plane polarized light in unetched specimens. Specimen
from the Essex workings of the Darwin mine. Crossed nicols, 50 X.
Pyrite (FeSz).—Pyrite is abundant in all the lead-
zinc deposits in the Darwin district and at the Santa
Rosa mine, but it is a minor constituent of the ores at
the Lee and Zinc Hill mines. Pyrite is also widely dis-
seminated in the biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite
and in the calc-hornfels near the Darwin mine. , It oc-
curs both as cubes and pyritohedrons as much as 1 inch
in diameter, and is the earliest sulfide mineral deposited.
Some pyrite has an exploded bomb texture, and the
fractures are filled with later sulfide minerals.
wa'hotz'te (Fe1_xS).—Pyrrhotite is common in the
primary ore in the Darwin mine; it commonly forms a
banded ore. It replaces pyrite but is replaced by
sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite. It also forms
irregular blebs oriented along cleavage in sphalerite
and probably formed by exsolution (fig. 27).
Scheelz'te (CaWOg) .—Scheelite is common in the
lead—silver-zinc ore bodies in the Darwin district and as
discrete tungsten ore bodies that contain little or no
sulfide minerals. It is associated with galena in the
Thompson workings of the Darwin mine and at the
Jackass mine. In the Thompson workings subhedral to
euhedral scheelite crystals commonly 3/8 to 1/2 inch in
diameter are embedded in fine-grained galena. In the
oxided zone the scheelite is loosely embedded in a
crumbly mass of cerussite, limonite, and jarosite.
Sphalem'te (ZnS).—Sphalerite is present in about
equal quantities as galena in most of the primary ore
in the deeper ore bodies being mined at the Darwin
mine in 1956, and it is the predominant mineral in the
primary ore at the Zinc Hill mine. The sphalerite is
generally coarser grained than galena and is commonly
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
in crystals as much as 11/2 inches in diameter. The
color of the sphalerite in calc-hornfels and tactite is
dark grayish brown at the Santa Rosa mine and in the
Darwin district. At the Zinc Hill mine, where the ore
is in marble, the sphalerite is a much lighter color—~
being pale brown. It is lightest in color at the Lee
mine—a light grayish yellow—where it is in unaltered
limestone. The color of sphalerite darkens as the FeS
content increases. The dark iron-rich sphalerites
formed at a higher temperature than the light-colored
sphalerite. Iron analyses of 20 sphalerites and their
significance are given on page 69.
Stannite (CuzFeSnS4).—Stannite was identified by
Charles Milton (written communication, 1954) from
silver-rich ore containing matildite and galena from
the Thompson workings of the Darwin mine.
Tetrahcdwlte- temantite (Cu,Fe) 12‘Sb4Sm— ( Cu,Fe) 12
AsiSlg.—Small amounts of tetrahedrite or tennantite
are in galena in the Darwin mine. The mineral is
most commonly near the border of galena in grains
too small to determine whether arsenic or antimony is
predominant (fig. 31). Kelley (1938, p. 544) reports
tennantite in the ore, and Carlisle and others (1954,
p. 46) report tetrahedrite.
GANGUE MINERALS
Barite (BaSO4) .—-Barite is one of the predominant
gangue minerals at the Lee mine and the Silver Reid
prospect. It was not identified in ore from the Darwin
or Zinc Hill districts.
Calcite (CaCOS) .—Calcite is one of the predominant
gangue minerals in most of the lead-silver-zinc deposits
in the Darwin district. It is abundant at the Custer
mine, the Defiance workings of the Darwin mine, and
at the Darwin Iceland Spar prospect. It ranges in
color from milky white to brownish gray, and rhombo-
hedrons as much as 18 inches on a side are common.
Calcite also occurs as an interstitial mineral in the calc-
hornfels and as late veinlets that cut the ore.
Chalcedony (SiOz).—Chalcedony is a common
gangue mineral at the Santa Rosa mine. It forms light-
tan to light-gray cryptocrystalline masses in the veins
associated with ore minerals.
Deweylite (Mg4Si3010-6H20).—Deweylite was iden-
tified from the 570 level of the Defiance workings. The
identification was based on an X-ray study by Fred A.
Hildebrand (written communication, 1953). It forms
pale greenish-yellow amorphous masses that are inter-
grown With montmorillonite. Pyrite in the form of
pyritohedrons as much as 11/2 inches long that have
thin black coatings of chalcocite is disseminated
through the deweylite.
ORE DEPOSITS - 63
Diepside (CaMg‘Sizos).—Diopside is a common
gangue mineral in the replacement lead-silver-zinc ore
bodies in the Darwin mine and it is a major constituent
of the Gale-silicate country rock.
Fluorite (Can) .-——Fluorite is associated with galena
in many deposits in the Darwin district. It is in anhe-
dral to subhedral grains mostly a few millimeters in
diameter that range in color from white to shades of
blue, green, and rose. The mineral is most abundant
in ore bodies close to igneous contacts.
Garnet sp. ardradite (Ca3(Al,Fe)2Si3012).—Garnet
is a characteristic gangue mineral in the lead—silver
deposits in the Darwin Hills. It is a pale-green variety
that occurs in dodecahedrons a few millimeters in diam-
eter. The garnet is slightly birefrigent, and it has an
index of refraction of 1.848 to 1.850. The specific grav-
ity averages about 3.75, and ranges from 3.583 to 3.885
as determined on a Berman balance. The garnet is
near the andradite end of the grossularite-andradite
series. '
I docrase (Ca.10 (Mg,Fe)2 (OH) 2Al4Si9034 (OH)2) .—
Fine- to medium-grained idocrase is common in the
lead—silver-zinc deposits in the Darwin district, and it
is abundant in calc—silicate rock. It occurs in subhedral
to euhedral prismatic grains mostly 2 to 4 mm long that
are light olive in color. The idocrase is coarser grained
and more abundant near intrusive contacts.
Jasper (SiOz) .—Jasper is a common gangue mineral
in the veins at the Santa Rosa mine and in the veins
that trend N. 70° E. in the Darwin district.
Montmorillonit e (A1,Mg)8(Si4Om)3- (OH)10
-12H20) .—Montmorillonite, intergrown with dewey—
lite in a fault zone in the irregular replacement ore body
in the Defiance workings of the Darwin mine, was
identified by Fred A. Hildebrand (written communica—
tion, 1953). It forms amorphous pale greenish—yellow
masses.
Orthoclase (KAlSigos) .—Orthoclase is abundant
locally in the replacement ore in the Darwin mine, and
it is present in coarse-grained masses near intrusive con-
tacts southwest of the Defiance workings.
Quartz (SiOz).—Q,uartz is not abundant in most of
the lead—silver-zinc deposits, but some is present with
calcite and garnet in the ore at Darwin.
Seriez'te ((H,K)AlSiO4) .—~Sericite is a common
alteration product along fault zones in the Darwin
mine. Plumbojarosite is commonly associated with it.
Wollastomlte (CaSiOa).—Wollastonite is one of
the most abundant minerals in the calc-silicate rock close
to intrusive contacts, and locally coarsely crystalline
aggregates consist of prismatic crystals as much as 6
inches long. The grain size decreases rapidly away
from intrusive contacts.
SUPERGENE MINERALS
Most of the near-surface, high-grade supergene ore
was mined out in the 1870’s so little of this ore was seen
in place. The minerals were identified in specimens
kindly given to the writers by The Anaconda Co. or in
specimens collected from dumps. Specimens of low—
grade oxidized ore were collected in the Darwin and
Santa Rosa mines. The occurrences of the supergene
minerals are not well known and, therefore, the writers
have not described each mineral separately as they have
with the primary minerals.
SULFIDE ZONE
Very little supergene enriched ore remains in the ore
deposits in the Darwin quadrangle, but small amounts
of chalcocite, covellite, and sooty argentite are present
locally. Chalcocite and covellite form black coatings
on pyrite, and thin veinlets of the minerals replace the
primary ore minerals. Some of the high-grade oxidized
silver ore contains sooty argentite. It undoubtedly was
abundant in the rich oxidized ore mined in the 1870’s.
OXIDE ZONE
The zone of oxidation is deep at most places in the
Darwin quadrangle, and the ore is largely oxidized to
a crumbly mass composed mainly of cerussite, limonite,
and hemimorphite except where protected by an im-
permeable zone or in the deep levels of a few mines.
At the Lucky Jim mine, the ore is oxidized and only a
few relicts of galena remain in the deepest working on
the 920 level. At the Darwin mine the ore is largely
oxidized to the 400 level, and both primary and sec-
ondary minerals are present to the deepest level (in
1955)—the 1100 level of the Defiance workings.
Cerussite, the principal secondary lead mineral, forms
radial aggregates of euhedral crystals as much as 1-
inch long that rest upon porous finer grained masses
of limonite, cerussite and other oxidized lead minerals.
The larger crystals are White and have a vitreous lus-
ter; the smaller crystals are yellowish or brownish owing
to surface coatings of iron oxides. Anglosite, crocoite,
mimetite, plumbojarosite, pyromorphite, vanadinite,
and wulfenite are less abundant secondary lead min-
erals in the Darwin mine. Anglesite commonly forms a
thin dense zone between relict galena and cerussite.
Clusters of stolzite in oxidized lead ore at the Thompson
mine are reported by Tucker and Sampson (1941, p.
567) and by Dudley L. Davis (oral communication,
1955). The occurrence was not verified by the writers.
Leadhillite was questionably identified from the Santa
Rosa mine, but was not observed in the Darwin district.
Secondary copper minerals are common in the oxi-
dized lead-silver ore at the Darwin mines, and Santa
64 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
Rosa, and formerly both linarite and caledonite were
common ore minerals from Darwin. Antlerite, aurich-
alcite, azurite, brochantite, chalcanthite, chrysocolla,
cuprite, malachite, and tenorite were also identified.
Pseudomalachite has been reported by Woodhouse (in
Murdoch and Webb, 1956, p. 260).
Oxidized near-surface ore mined during the early
history of the Darwin district is reported to have con-
tained as much as 950 ounces per ton in silver (Ray-
mond, 1877, p. 30). Native silver, cerargryite, and
sooty argentite are reported in the oxidized ore at Dar-
win (Kelley, 1938, p. 546; Davis and Peterson, 1948,
p. 2; Carlisle and others, 1954, p. 46).
Gypsum, hematite, jarosite, and limonite are common
gangue minerals in the oxidized lead-silver ore, and
bismutite, creedite, goslarite, melanterite, pyrolusite,
and sulfur are less abundant minerals. Vitreous white
prismatic crystals of creedite line cavities in partly oxi-
dized lead ore containing galena and fluorite. Vivian-
ite crystals on quartz have been reported by Woodhouse
(6m. Murdoch and Webb, 1956, p. 343). Goslarite and
melanteriteare in some of the workings in the Darwin
mine. Bismutite was observed in the Fernando
mine as coatings on bismuthinite crystals, but it may
have been in the oxidized ore from the Essex vein of
the Darwin mine as this vein contained a large amount
of bismuth.
Hemimorphite is the predominant secondary mineral
in the oxidized zinc ore at the Zinc Hill and Lee mines.
It has a mammillary habit, and the color ranges from
colorless to white, pink, green, gray, or brown. The
local pink color at the Zinc Hill mine is due to a thin
coating of hematite. Hydrozincite and smithsonite are
near the borders of the secondary zinc ore bodies and in
fractures below them. Cerargyrite and bindheimite are
associated with hemimorphite at the Lee mine. Euhe-
dral crystals of cerargyrite 1 to 2 mm in diameter in the
form of cubes commonly modified by octahedral faces
locally are abundant in cavities in the hemimorphite.
Autunite occurs in small pockets in oxidized ore in the
Zinc Hill district, but none was found in the Darwin
district.
PARAGENEsm
The paragenesis of the principal ore and gangue
minerals is shown diagramatically in table 7. The
mineralization is divided into an early stage of silication
of limestone and a later stage of sulfide mineralization.
A period of fracturing separates the two stages.
Limestone was first altered to dense, aphanitic calc-
hornfels. The composition of the calc-hornfels de-
TABLE 7.—Pamgenesis of principal primary ore and gangue minerals
Early
Stage of silication
Plagioclase
Orthoclase __ _ _
Diopside
Wollastonite
Idocrase
Garnet
Epidote
Scheelite
Fluorite
Pyrite
Arsenopyrite
Pyrrhotite
Bornite
Sphalerite
Chalcopyrite
Galena
Matildite and clausthalite
Tetrahedrite-tennantite
Andorite
Late
Stage of sulfide mineralization
ORE DEPOSITS 65
pended upon the purity of the original limestone. Im-
pure limestones recrystallized to a very fine grained
rock containing orthoclase, oligoclase, diopside, and
quartz. Purer limestones were altered to fine-grained
wollastonite-diopside calc—hornfels (fig. 19). Silica
was added and carbon dioxide lost by this alteration.
As the intensity of alteration increased, wollastonite in-
creased in grain size and was replaced by andradite gar-
net and by idocrase, forming a coarse—grained idocrase—
garnet—wollastonite calc-silicate rock (fig. 22). Locally
orthoclase replaces calc-silicate rock (figs. 24, 25).
Scheelite, the earliest ore mineral, is in part later than
the period of silication as shown by its common occur-
rence along fractures, but at the Jackass mine scheelite,
disseminated in calc-silicate rock, formed during the
last stage of silication. Pyrite is the earliest sulfide
mineral.
is later than scheelite as shown by its veining of filling
between euhedral scheelite crystalsin scheelite ore from
the Thompson workings. Pyrite occurs as corroded
relicts or is veined by all the other sulfide minerals.
It is corroded by pyrrhotite (fig. 30) but apparently is
contemporaneous with rare arsenopyrite. Sphalerite,
chalcopyrite, and galena contain corroded relicts of
pyrite (fig. 31). Pyrrhotite contains corroded relicts
of pyrite (fig. 30), and occurs as oriented blebs in
sphalerite (fig. 27A). Bornite forms thin borders on
some pyrrhotite blebs (fig. 273). Chalcopyrite occurs
mainly as oriented inclusions in sphalerite. Sphalerite
and chalcopyrite are replaced by galena (figs. 31, 32),
but galena and tetrahedrite-tennantite show mutual
boundaries and are contemporaneous. Matildite occurs
only as oriented laths within galena, possibly exsolved
FIGURE 30.—Photomicrograph of ore from the Darwin mine.
(py) occurs as corroded relicts in pyrrhotite (po) and galena (gn).
Pyrite
Pyrrhotite is corroded by andoccurs as relicts in galena.
polarized light, 44 x.
Plane
It replaces garnet and idocrase (fig. 23) and .
FIGURE 31.—-Photomicrograph of zinc-rich ore from the Darwin mine
' showing replacement of garnet (ga) by sulfide ore. Partly corroded
garnet occurs as relicts in a groundmass of galena (gn), sphalerite
(sl) pyrite (py ), and minor tetrahedrite (tet). Pyrite is the earliest
sulfide mineral as it is in corroded relicts in sphalerite and galena.
Sphalerite is veined and corroded by galena. Galena and tetra-
hedrite have a mutual pattern and are contemporaneous. Plane
polarized light, 40 X.
from it (fig. 29). Clausthalitevalso exsolved from
galena.
The relative ages of andorite and galena are not
known definitely but andorite is probably younger.
Small galena ore bodies show a primary zoning with
galena and sphalerite in the center and andorite and
galena with abundant bismuth, selenium, and silver on
The para-
Pyrite is
corroded by and occurs as relicts in chalcopyrite and galena and the
FIGURE 32.—Photomicrograph of ore from the Darwin mine.
genesis is pyrite (jpy'), chalcopyrite (up), and galena (gn).
chalcopyrite in turn occurs as irregular relicts in galena. Plane
polarized light, 40 x.
66 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, IN'YO COUNTY, CALIF.
the borders. On the nebulous basis of this zoning
andorite is considered the younger.
PRIMARY ZONING
The hypogene mineralization within the Darwin
area shows a general zonal distribution, which probably
can be correlated with an overall temperature gradient
at the time of ore deposition. In general the near-
surface ore contains more lead and silver, but with
depth, the zinc-to-lead content increases and the silver
content decreases. The Defiance workings of the Dar-
win mine will be used as an example (pl. 3). The near-
surface primary ore in the bedded deposits consisted
mainly of galena with an above-average content of
silver. The gangue minerals are largely calcite, fluo-
rite, and jasper. The upper part of the steep pipelike
Defiance ore body in the vicinity of the 400 level con-
sisted predominantly of galena that contained less silver
than the bedded deposits. Some sphalerite is present
in this ore. With increasing depth in the pipelike ore
body the ratio of zinc to lead increases and the silver
content decreases slightly. Pyrite markedly increases
in the deeper levels of the mine, and chalcopyrite locally
is abundant. The gangue minerals are predominantly
garnet, wollastonite, and calcite. It must be empha-
sized, however, that many local variations occur within
this general zonal distribution.
The relative position of the lead-silver and tungsten
ore bodies on the east side of the Darwin'stock also
suggests zoning. The lead-silver ’ore bodies are farther
out along the same faults that control tungsten ore
bodies.
Scheelite with little or no associated galena is found
along the Fernando fault in calc-silicate rock and calc-
hornfels in the Fernando adit as far as 660 feet from the
contact of the stock of biotite-hornblende-quartz mon-
zonite (pl. 1; fig. 3). Lead—silver ore is found along
the same fault 450 feet farther from the stock than
scheelite, although it is close to a small satellitic in-
trusion. Similarly the scheelite ore at the St. Charles
No. 3 workings is close to the biotite-hornblende-quartz
monzonite and the lead-silver ore on one of the same
fractures at the Custer mine is farther from the in-
trusive contact. In Lane Canyon, scheelite in calc-
silicate rock along the crest of an anticline is 450 feet
from the intrusive contact but silver-lead ore at the
Lane and Santa Ana mines to the east is even farther
from the intrusion.
The Jackass mine, where both scheelite and lead-
silver ore are found Within a few feet of each other, is an
exception to the spatial zoning on the east side of the
stock. Scheelite is disseminated in calc-silicate rock,
whereas the lead-silver ore with no scheelite is in a
bedding plane fault at the footwall contact of the tactite
with calc-hornfels and is undoubtedly later.
OXIDATION AND ENRICHMENT
Prior to 1942 mainly oxidized lead-silver ore had
been produced from the mines in the Darwin quad-
rangle. At most places the zone of oxidation is deep
except where local conditions restrict the circulation
of groundwater, and oxidized ore is known to a depth
of more than 1,000 feet. All northeast—striking faults
have permitted deep circulation of groundwater, and
the ore in or near them is mostly oxidized. In the
Darwin district some oxidized ore is present on the
deepest levels of all the mines. At the Lucky J im_mine
nearly all the ore is oxidized to the deepest level on the
920 level. In the Darwin mine most ore below the
570 level in the irregular replacement ore body in
the Defiance workings is hypogene, but along or near
the Defiance fault the ore is partly oxidized to the
bottom workings (the 1,100 level in 1955). On the
other hand, sills have restricted the circulation of
groundwater in the Darwin mine, and the ore under
them is mainly primary.
Most of the ore at both the Santa Rosa and Lee mines
in the northern part of the quadrangle is oxidized. At
the Santa Rosa mine the ore is oxidized at the bottom
of the Hesson workings 350 feet below the surface.
Oxidation is shallow in the Zinc Hill district. The
upper ore body at the Zinc Hill mine was oxidized for
20 to 40 feet below the surface, and at the Empress
mine primary ore extends to the surface. TWO factors
are responsible for the shallow depth of oxidation in
the Zinc Hill district. First, the topography is rugged
and rapid erosion prevents deep weathering. Second,
strong basin—range fault zones uphill from both the
Empress ore body and the upper ore body at the Zinc
Hill mine drain of]? a large part of the descending sur-
face and groundwater before it reaches the ore zone
and thereby inhibits oxidation of the ore.
Residual enrichment by leaching of calcium, iron,
sulfur, zinc, and probably silica has been important in
the Darwin district and at the Santa Rosa mine. The
oxidized ore consistent-1y averages less zinc and more
lead and silver than the primary ore. At the Darwin
mine the primary ore during 1950 to 1954: averaged
about 6 ounces of silver per ton, 6 to 6% percent lead,
and 61/2 to 7 percent zinc. The oxidized ore mined from
the same general area during the same period averaged
about 7 ounces of silver per ton, 71/2 percent lead, and
41/2 to 5 percent zinc. Old records and the early
literature both indicate that the near-surface oxide ore
was much richer in lead and silver. Complete smelter
returns of the New Coso Mining Co. from 1875 to 1877
ORE DEPOSITS 67
show that they recovered 20.5 percent lead and 47 ounces
of silver per ton of ore from the Christmas Gift and
Lucky Jim mines (Robinson, 1877, p. 38). Burchard
(1884, p. 164) states that the Defiance and Independence
ore averaged 30 percent lead and$40 (31 ounces) of
silver per ton. The zinc content of this high-grade
oxide ore was low. Small pods of high—grade ore ob-
served in the Darwin mine by the writers consist pre-
dominantly of cerussite, relict galena, and small
amounts of gangue. The grade is erratic, but typically
the ore assays 12 to 25 ounces of silver per ton, 20 to 25
percent lead, and 3 to 4 percent zinc.
The mineralogy of the oxide ore depends upon the
nature of the primary ore. The lead-silver—zinc depos-
its with abundant pyrite, which liberates sulfuric acid
when oxidized, are enriched in lead and silver and lose
zinc in weathering. Examples are the deposits in the
Darwin district and the Santa Rosa mine. There is
little transportation of lead, and the oxide ore, com-
monly with relict galena through it, has the same struc-
tural control as the primary ore. Galena altered first
to anglesite and then to cerussite, Which is insoluble and
formed virtually in place. Sphalerite was attacked by
the ground water, and much of the zinc was removed
in solution, although some was precipitated as hemi-
morphite and hydrozincite.
The oxidation of the ore at the Zinc Hill and Lee
mines, where the ore is in limestone and contains little
pyrite, apparently was done by ground water that con-
tained no free acid, and the stability relationships of the
supergene minerals are different from those prevailing
at Darwin where oxidation was done by acid ground
water. The stable zinc mineral, hemimorphite, forms
high-grade zinc—rich ore bodies virtually in place. The
silver mineral is cerargyrite. Very little lead—mostly
as relict galena—is present in the ore. This is in
marked contrast to Darwin where zinc is leached, and
the oxidized ore is rich in lead and silver and is low in
mm.
The oxidized ore at the Lee mine consists mainly
of hemimorphite, chalcedony, bindheimite, cerargyrite,
and relict galena. Cerussite and anglesite are in thin
bands surrounding relict galena, and very little is pres-
ent in the cellular oxide ore admixed with hemimorphite
(fig. 33). Evidence indicates that under the environ-
ment prevailing at the Lee mine that hemimorphite and
cerargyrite are stable minerals and formed virtually
in place. Very little sphalerite is found in the ore as
it is unstable and readily alters to hemimorphite
whereas galena is less readily altered and remains as
corroded relicts.
Similarly at the Zinc Hill mine the supergene ore
consists predominantly of hemimorphite. The Zinc
FIGURE 33.—Photograph of partly oxidized ore from the Lee mine.
Galena (gn) and calcite (ct) occur as reiicts in a cellular mass of
hemimorphite (hm), chalcedony (cl), bindheimite (bn) [Pngszn
0,0H)], and cerargyrite listed in order of decreasing abundance.
Cerargyrite is present locally in vugs in hemimorphite but cannot
be distinguished in the photograph. Cerussite (ce) and anglesite
are limited to a thin rim about galena.
Hill ore difl’ers from that at the Lee mine; it has a low
content of silver. The primary ore from the upper ore
body at Zinc Hill averaged 22.28 percent zinc, 1.33
percent lead, and 1.43 ounces of silver per ton (Hall and
MacKevett, 1958). Oxide ore from the same ore body
averaged 36.9 percent zinc, but the lead and silver con-
tent of the ore is not known. Oxide ore that was mined
from 1917 to 1920 averaged approximately 45 percent
zinc, 1 percent lead, 3 ounces of silver per ton, and 11/2
percent iron, but this ore came from different ore bodies
and no primary ore remains. Hemimorphite is the
principal supergene mineral in all the oxidized ore
bodies. It formed virtually in place as the oxide ore
has the same structural control as the primary ore and
relict galena remains in most places. Hydrozincite
and smithsonite are also present. Hydrozincite is
mainly concentrated near the borders and the bottom
of the flat-lying ore bodies. Smithsonite is rare, but
is found in thin veinlets beneath the ore bodies and was
transported farther than the other supergene zinc min-
erals. Cerussite and anglesite occur only in small
quantities.
68 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
CLASSIFICATION AND ORIGIN
The ore deposits in the Darwin district occur in light-
colored calc-silicate rock and calc-hornfels as irregular
replacement ore bodies, bedded replacement ore bodies,
and as fissure fillings. Other lead-silver-zinc deposits
in the quadrangle are in veins or bedded deposits in
calc-hornfels, marble, and limestone. The Darwin dis-
trict lead-silver—zinc deposits were considered by Knopf
(1914, p. 7) to range from contact metamorphic de-
posits to fissure fillings of hydrothermal origin at mod-
erate temperature, and by Kelley (1937, p. 1007; 1938,
p. 550) to be mesothermal deposits.
The distribution of deposits shows a close spatial
control between ore deposits and intrusive bodies.
However, the ore deposits are younger than both the
intrusive rock and the surrounding contact metamor-
phic aureole, as shown in the Darwin district where
ore is localized in fractures that cut both the Darwin
stock and calc-hornfels. Because the sulfide minerali—
zation is younger than the silication in the contact
aureole and because some of the deposits are fissure
fillings that have a regularity in strike and dip, Kelley
(1937, p. 1007) considered all the deposits to be meso
thermal and to be genetically identical.
The writers, however, agree with Knopf that the
deposits were deposited throughout a range in tempera-
ture. In places a mineral zoning can be demonstrated,
as on the east side of the Darwin stock where chalcopy-
rite and scheelite bodies are nearly adjacent to the stock
and lead—silver ore bodies are more distant. Ore in the
Defiance workings shows a vertical zoning. The near—
surface ore is in bedded deposits that contain coarsely
crystalline calcite, jasper, and fluorite as common
gangue minerals. On the deeper levels the ore is in an
irregular replacement ore body that has andradite, wol—
lastonite, idocrase, orthoclase, and calcite as common
gangue minerals. In the replacement ore body the ratio
of zinc to lead, the chalcopyrite content, and the pyrite
content increase with depth.
The writers believe the irregular replacement ore
body in the Defiance workings should be classified as
a pyrometasomatic deposit on the basis of mineral
association. Andradite and idocrase are the princi-
pal gangue minerals. Pyrite is widely disseminated
through the calc-silicate rock, but the other Sulfide
minerals are late in the sequence and are controlled
by brecciated zones in the silicated limestone. There
appears to have been a nearly continuous sequence of
mineralization. The limestone was first altered to calc-
hornfels and light-colored calc-silicate rock, and this
resulted mainly in an increase in silica and decrease in
carbon dioxide. Scheelite was deposited during the
last phase of the silication. A period of fracturing
separated the silication of the limestone from the intro-
duction of sulfide minerals. The early formed lead-
zinc ore bodies are replacement ore bodies that have
mainly a silicate gangue, as the pipelike vertical re-
placement ore body in the Defiance workings (pl. 3).
With falling temperature the hydrothermal solutions
apparently became less reactive, and the resultant meso-
thermal deposits filled fissures. Calcite and jasper are
the main gangue minerals in these mesothermal deposits.
Examples are the Blue and Red veins exposed at the
surface of the Defiance workings, the Essex vein, and
ore at the Lucky Jim, Christmas Gift, and Santa Rosa
mines (pl. 3; fig. 3).
Ore at the Zinc Hill and Lee mines was deposited
under even less intense pressure-temperature condi-
tions, and they might be considered leptothermal de-
posits. Ore at the Lee mine is in faults in unaltered
limestone. Calcite and barite are the main gangue
minerals. Galena, light—colored sphalerite, and a lit-
tle tetrahedrite are the principal ore minerals. Pyrite
is rare. Possibly the antimony deposit in unaltered
limestone at the north end of the Darwin Hills is a still
weaker phase of the sequence of late Mesozoic miner-
alization. However, this is an isolated deposit, and it
is not known whether or not it belongs in the miner-
alization sequence related to the Darwin stock.
In order to get further data on the temperature of
deposition of the lead—silver—zinc ores, 20 samples of
sphalerite were analyzed for the iron sulfide content,
which might be used as a temperature indicator as
shown by Kullerud (1953) and as applied by Fryklund
and Fletcher (1956) to sphalerite from the Star mine
in the Coeur d’Alene district. Kullerud (1953) has
shown that under equilibrium conditions with pyr-
rhotite the amount of iron sulfide in sphalerite is a
function of temperature, and can be used as a geologic
thermometer. Sphalerite deposited in equilibrium only
with pyrite is not a useful geologic thermometer as
shown by Barton and Kullerud (1958, p. 228), because
sphalerite with a definite percentage of iron sulfide
formed in equilibrium with pyrite can be deposited
under a large range in temperature. Much of the
sphalerite in the Darwin quadrangle is deposited in
equilibrium only with pyrite.
Sphalerite deposited in equilibrium with pyrite in
the Darwin quadrangle has an iron sulfide content of
0.24 to 6.98 molecular percent (table 8). This sphal-
erite may be deposited from less than 200°C to about
600°C (Barton and Kullerud, 1958, p. 228). The lowest
iron sulfide content of sphalerite is 0.24 molecular per-
cent from colorless sphalerite from the Lee Mine. The
lead-silver—zinc ore is in unaltered fine-grained lime-
ORE DEPOSITS 69
stone, and the temperature of deposition was probably
less than 125°C.
TABLE 8.—ZnS-FeS content of sphalerites from the Darwin
quadrangle
Mole Indicated
Sample No. Mine Level percent Mineral association tempera-
1 FeS ture of
deposition
Dsl—l ........ Lee _____________________ 0.24 Calcite, barite, ga— Not deter-
lena. minate.
Dsl-2 ........ Zinc Hill ________________ . 74 Calcite ______________ Do.
Dsl—3 ........ Santa Rosa _____________ 6. 46 Pyrite, galena, jas- Do.
per.
2 _________ Defiance work- 1,100 3 6. 4 Pyrite, galena, diop- Do.
ings, Darwin side.
mine.
4 .............. do ........... 1 100 6. 98 Pyrite, garnet, di- Do.
opside.
5 _________ Defiance work- 1,000 3 3. 4 Pyrite, galena, cal- Do.
ings. cite.
6 .............. do .......... 1,000 3 92 Pyrite, diopside, Do.
garnet.
7 ______________ do ........... 1,000 4 83 Pyrite, galena _______ Do.
10 ______________ do ___________ 00 6 25 Pyrite, diopside, Do.
garnet.
14 .............. do“ 800 5. 09 _____ do _______________ Do.
15 .............. do.. 700 3 4. 6 Pyrite, galena ....... Do.
23 ______________ do ___________ 250 5 44 Pyrite, diopside, Do.
garnet.
3479 _________ Thompson 200 7. 88 Pyrrhotite, pyrite, 285°C.
workings, galena.
Darwin mine.
3481 ______________ do ___________ 100 3. 90 Pyrite, calcite, Not deter-
diopside. minate.
3482 ______________ do ___________ 3A 8 8. 7 Pyrrhotite, galena... 320°C.
3483 ______________ do ___________ 3A 2.45 Pyrite, calcite, di— Not deter-
opside. minate.
3489 .............. do ........... 700 2320 Magnetite, pyrrho- 560°C.
tite, galena,
pyrite.
3491 .............. do ........... 600 1 14. 2 Pyrrhotite, pyrite, 480°C.
galena.
3505 .............. do ........... 700 “19.6 Pyrrhotite, pyrite, 560°C.
galena, magnetite.
3508 .............. do ........... 600 3 17. 5 Pyrrhotite, magne- 520°C.
tite, pyrite, ga-
lena, garnet, tetra-
hedrite.
1 Analyst: L. E. Reichen.
1 Contains exsolution blebs of pyrrhotite.
‘ Analyzed by H. G. Stephens and W. E. Hall by fluorescent X—ray spectrographic
analysis.
Six samples of sphalerite from the Defiance workings
of the Darwin mine contained 3.92 to 6.98 molecular
percent iron sulfide. The sphalerite in the Defiance
replacement ore body was deposited in equilibrium with
pyrite, and no pyrrhotite is present. This sphalerite
could be deposited at a temperature between approxi-
mately 500° and 650°C (Barton and Kullerud, 1958,
p. 228).
Much of the sphalerite in the Thompson and Essex
workings of the Darwin mine was deposited in equilib-
rium with pyrrhotite and can be used as a geologic
thermometer. Some of the sphalerite has oriented
pyrrhotite blebs as shown in figure 27, and this is inter-
preted as an exsolution texture. Two samples of sphal-
erite from the 700 level of the Essex and Thompson
workings contained 19.6 and 20 molecular percent iron
sulfide. Two samples 100 feet higher on the 600 level
contained 14.2 and 17.5 molecular percent iron sulfide.
A sample 447 feet higher in the Thompson workings
contained 7.88 molecular percent iron sulfide.
The range in temperature indicated by the range from
7 .88 to 20 molecular percent iron sulfide is about 300°C
in the upper part of the Thompson mine to 550°C on
the 700 level. The iron sulfide content of the sphalerite
in the Thompson and Essex workings indicates that the
ore in the Darwin mine was deposited under a consider-
able range in temperature. However most of the
sphalerite in the mine is deposited in equilibrium with
pyrite, and not enough is deposited in equilibrium with
pyrrhotite to get a good idea of the range in temperature
for the whole mine. The temperatures indicated by
the sphalerite confirm Knoff’s (1914) early statements
that the Darwin ores were deposited under a consider-
able range in temperature, and the deposits Should be
classified as contact metasomatic ranging to meso-
thermal.
Description of pyrometasomatic lead-silver—zinc de-
posits are not abundant in the literature. Knopf (1933,
p. 552) lists only the Darwin district as an example of
a lead-silver-zinc pyrometasOmatic‘ deposit. Lindgren
(1933, p. 724—725) includes the Magdalena mine in New
Mexico, zinc deposits at. Hanover, N. Mex., the Sirena
mine near Zimapan, Mexico, and the Darwin district.
More recently Simons and Mapes (1956) have described
the deposits of the Zimapan district which, like the Dar-
win deposits, grade from pyrometasomatic replacement
deposits in a silicate gangue to mesothermal deposits in
a carbonate gangue. Jasper is not as common as it is
in the mesothermal deposits at Darwin. In addition to
a change of gangue minerals, the mesothermal deposits
at Zimapan contain less arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and
pyrrhotite and the sulfide minerals are coarser grained
than the pyrometasomatic deposits. The lower tem-
perature deposits in the Darwin quadrangle, like those
at Zimapan, are coarser grained and show an approxi-
mate similar zonation of ore and sulfide minerals.
DARWIN LEAD-SILVER-ZINC DISTRICT
The Darwin lead-silver—zinc district comprises the
area of the Darwin Hills in the south-central part of the
Darwin quadrangle. It lies within the organized New
Coso mining district. The district has produced an
estimated $29 million in lead, silver, zinc, and minor
copper. Most of the ore came from the Darwin mine,
which consists of consolidation of the former Bernon,
Defiance, Essex, Independence, Intermediate, Rip Van
Winkle, and Thompson mines.
GEOLOGY
The Darwin Hills are underlain by a thick sequence
of limestone, silty and sandy limestone, shale, and
siltstone that ranges in age from Devonian on the west
side of the Darwin Hills to Permian on the east (pls. 1,
3). The formations represented are Lost Burro forma—
tion, Tin Mountain limestone, Perdido formation, Lee
70 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
Flat limestone, Keeler Canyon formation, and Owens
Valley formation. The Paleozoic rocks are intruded by
a stock of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite in the
central part of the district and in the Coso Range. The
Paleozoic rocks dip predominantly to the west except
for local folds. Within 4,000 feet of the stock of the
Darwin Hills the sedimentary rocks are mostly meta-
morphosed to calc-hornfels. A description of the
unaltered rocks is given under “Paleozoic rocks,” and
the alteration is described under “Metamorphism.”
STRUCTURE
Structurally the Darwin Hills are an overturned
syncline with an axial plane that dips about 50°‘ W.
A stock of biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite in-
truded Paleozoic rocks near the axis of the syncline.
The Paleozoic rocks west of the stock strike northward
and dip mainly 30° to 70° W. in an overturned section
on the west limb of the major syncline.
Small open folds are superposed on the overturned
limb of the syncline, and these folds localize some of the
principal ore bodies in the Darwin mine. The folds are
all inverted structures. One is on the west flank of
Ophir Mountain and can readily be seen from the
Darwin mining camp. Similar inverted folds are be-
tween the Defiance and Bernon workings, in the In-
dependence workings, and on the west side of the
Darwin Hills adjacent to the Darwin mining camp.
The Paleozoic rocks in the Darwin district are broken
by four sets of faults. The strongest set is left-lateral
strike-slip faults that strike N. 70° W. and dip steeply
(pls. 1, 3). Examples are the Darwin tear fault and
the Standard fault. Another set of left-lateral strike-
slip faults strikes N. 70° E. and dips steeply. These
faults are the feeder fissures for the lead-silver-zinc and
for the tungsten deposits of the Darwin district. The
horizontal displacement is shown by offset of beds,
axial planes of folds, and by abundant nearly hori-
zontal slickensides and mullion structures.
The other two sets of faults strike north. One set
dips steeply and the other dips 30° to 55° W. The
steep faults have little displacement but are important
in localizing ore in some of the mines. The west-dip-
ping faults include both thrust faults and normal faults.
The most important is the Davis thrust, which is ex-
posed along the side of the hill above the Independence,
Essex, and Bernon workings and at the water tanks
near the Water tank fault (pl. 3). The net slip is
not known. The Ophir fault is parallel to, but west
of, the Davis thrust. It is a bedding-plane fault that
probably has little displacement.
ORE DEPOSITS
Three of the four structural types of lead-silver-zinc
ore bodies in the Darwin quadrangle are in the Darwin
district. They are bedded deposits, irregular replace-
ment ore bodies, and vein deposits in fissures. Bedded
deposits are the most common. Notable examples are
the bedded ore bodies in the Independence workings,
the 430 stope ore body and Blue and Red veins in the
Defiance workings, and the ore bodies at the Custer,
Jackass, and Promontory mines.
The largest bedded ore body is in the Independence
workings between the 200 and 400 levels along the
crest of an anticlinal-shaped fold between two quartz
monzonite sills, and directly below the Davis thrust
(pl. 3). This ore zone is 400 feet along strike, a maxi-
mum of 160 feet thick, and 700 feet across the crest and
down the west limb of the fold. It must be emphasized
that this zone is not all ore. Individual stopes within
the zone have maximum dimensions of about 140 feet
in length, 60 feet in width, and 40 feet in height. The
contacts of individual ore bodies in this ore zone are
mostly sharp, and only barren calc-hornfels or highly
pyritized calc-hornfels lies between individual ore
bodies.
Two readily accessible bedded ore bodies—the Blue
and Red veins—are well exposed at the surface of the
Defiance workings of the Darwin mine. The shapes
of the ore bodies may be inferred from the surface
stopes, which have remained open since the ore was
mined in the 1870’s (pl. 3). The bedded veins are
along the crest and west limb of an anticlinal-shaped
(inverted syncline) fold between two sills of quartz
diorite (pl. 3). On the Defiance tunnel level the Blue
vein is about 300 feet long, 2 to '8 feet thick, and has
been mined discontinuously for 400 feet downdip. The
Red vein is exposed intermittently by stopes for a strike
length of 400 feet. It is 2 to 6 feet thick and has been
mined 500 feet downdip. The contacts of the veins and
pyritized calc-hornfels country rock are sharp. The
grade of ore within the veins, however, is erratic.
The ore body mined from the 430 and 520—12 stopes
is another important. bedded deposit in the Defiance
mine (pl. 4). The ore body was about 150 feet long,
40 feet thick, and extended about 360 feet downdip.
The shape, nature of the ore, and method of minlng of
this ore body is described in detail by Davis and Peter-
son (1948, p. 3—6). It extended from the 110 to the 520
level. Below the 520 level the ore occurs as a steep
irregular replacement of calc—silicate rock.
The only important irregular replacement ore zone
in the Darwin district is in the Defiance workings .ad—
jacent to the Defiance fault (pl. 3). It is a vertical
mineralized zone that has been developed from the bot-
ORE DEPOSITS 71
tom of the bedded ore bodies at the 520 level to the
1000 level. The average cross sectional area of the
mineralized zone is about 350 feet long and 200 feet
wide. On the 700 level 12 percent of an area 400 feet
long and 130 feet wide is ore, and on the 800 level 15
percent of an area about 320 feet long and 220 feet wide
is ore. Contacts of individual ore pods within this
zone are gradational. The premineralized Defiance
fault, which strikes northeast and dips steeply to the
northwest, cuts diagonally through the mineralized
area, and many small faults are localized close to this
fault and formed a strongly brecciated zone that served
to localize later ore solutions.
Vein deposits are in persistent faults in many mines
in the district. Three sets of faults have localized ore—
they are steep N. 70° E. faults, steep N. 70° W. faults,
and steep north-striking faults. The most notable N.
70° E. veins are at the Christmas Gift, Darwin, Lane,
and Lucky Jim mines. At the Christmas Gift mine an
ore shoot has been mined from the Christmas Gift vein
between the surface and the No. 6 level, a vertical dis-
tance of 146 feet (pl. 5). The ore shoot has a strike
length of 160 feet and an average thickness of 3 feet;
it plunges steeply southwestward. The ore shoot at
the Lucky Jim mine has a maximum strike length of
460 feet on the 200 level, and it plunges steeply to the
southwest. The ore shoots at both mines are localized
in parts of the faults that strike nearly northeast, and
the parts of the faults with more easterly strike are
mostly barren (pl. 5). Other smaller northeastward-
striking veins are the 229 and 235 ore bodies in the
Thompson workings, ore bodies along the Mickey Sum-
mers and Water tank faults (pl. 3) and the Lane vein
in the Lane mine (fig. 3).
The only economically important steep northwest-
striking vein is the Essex vein in the Darwin mine (pl.
3). This high-grade vein has a maximum length of
about 500 feet, an average thickness of 8 feet, and has
been mined 650 feet vertically. The other two major
northwestward-striking faults—the Darwin tear fault
and the Standard fault—contain very little ore.
Steep north—striking faults have had some effect in
localizing ore. The bedded ore bodies commonly make
out along bedding from an intersection of a steep fault.
GEOCHEMICAL PROSPECTING
The distribution in residual soil over calc-hornfels of
lead, zinc, copper, silver, antimony, and bismuth in re-
lation to lead-silver-zinc ore bOdies in the Defiance-Ber-
non area of the Darwin mine was investigated in August
1954. About 400 residual soil samples were collected
011 a grid at 50-foot intervals by James Prentice, of the
US. Geological Survey, in the Bernon and Defiance
area, and about 100 chip samples were collected on the
Defiance tunnel level and the 570, 700, and 800 levels
of the Defiance workings by the authors. Each sample
was analyzed for lead, zinc, and copper and about a
third were analyzed for antimony, bismuth, and silver;
these trace analyses were made by H. E. Crowe of the
US. Geological Survey.
The area around two veins that crop out in the open-
cuts in the Defiance workings along the crest of an open
inverted syncline near the Defiance fault was sampled
as a known control area (pl. 6). The fold is continuous
between the Defiance and Bernon workings, but little
ore is known in this geologically favorable area, and it
was sampled as an area favorable for undiscovered
hidden ore. It is cut by two N. 70° E. faults—the 434
and Bernon. Some ore was mined from the Bernon
workings, but it does not crop out at the surface. Very
little ore is known along the 434 fault.
Soil samples were taken on a 50-foot grid system over
the Bernon and Defiance area. The samples were
taken at a depth of about 4 inches. Each sample was
screened through an 80-mesh screen and the coarse ma—
terial was rejected. Each sample weighed about 2
pounds. Chip samples were taken at 25-foot intervals
in the underground workings of the Defiance ore body.
Small chips were collected from the back if possible or
from the wall over a radius of 3 feet. About 15 grams
was collected for each rock sample.
Distribution of Zead—zz'nc-copper.—The distribution
of total lead-zinc—copper in residual soil is shown in
plate 6. The distribution of the plutonic rocks and the
location of the principal faults are also given. The
strongest anomaly of total lead-zinc-copper, expressed
in parts per million (ppm), is over the Defiance work-
ings. This anomaly is probably much greater than
7,000 ppm, but the maximum quantities determined in
the laboratory at the time of the exploration was 4,000
ppm for lead and 3,000 ppm for zinc and all the samples
within the 7,000 contour were more than the maximum.
The copper assays were mostly less than 200 ppm.
Near the Defiance workings the 7,000 ppm contour
outlines the area over the known ore bodies, and the
anomaly is elongated along the Defiance fault, which
probably is the feeder channel. The anomaly decreases
in about 300 feet to a background in the mine area of
1,000 to 2,000 ppm. The background of soil over un-
altered limestone several miles from the mine area is
only 120 ppm of total heavy metals.
Most of the area near the 434 fault is low in total
lead-zinc-copper. A small high anomaly is near the
west end of the fault near the intersection with the
Davis thrust, but no ore is known in this area. As a
72 GEOLOGY AND ORE 'DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
whole the 434 fault has much less lead-zinc-copper than
the other N. 70° E. faults that were sampled.
The hidden Bernon ore body 70 feet below the collar
of the Bernon shaft is reflected by a geochemical high,
which extends farther south than known ore. Two geo-
chemical anomalies between the Bernon and Copper
faults have not been explored. ' One anomaly is 300 feet
N. 5° W. of the Bernon shaft in an area that has a large
quantity of disseminated limonite at the surface. The
other anomaly is at the contact of biotite-hornblende-
quartz monzonite midway between the Bernon and Cop-
per faults. The whole Copper fault is another geo-
chemical high, similar to the Defiance fault, but only a
small amount of exploration work has been done along
it.
Antimony, bismuth, and silver were determined on
about a third of the samples (pl. 7). The bismuth con-
tent of the residual soil ranges from less than 10 to 250
ppm. The bismuth anomalies agree in general with the
anomalies shown by total lead—copper-zinc. Adjacent
to the Defiance ore bodies, bismuth ranges from 100 to
250 ppm, and it drops off to 10 to 15 ppm beyond 80 feet
from ore. Another bismuth high, 260 feet S. 80° W. of
the Defiance shaft, is about 300 feet above the 430 and
520—12 stope ore body in the Defiance workings and may
be an anomaly reflecting it.
Most of the area between the Defiance and Bernon
workings contains less than 10 ppm of bismuth. The
bismuth increases to 70 to 90 ppm over the Bernon ore
body. Several analyses of samples from the north-
eastern part of the area tested suggest that the bismuth
is greater than above background, but the data are
sparse. The total lead—zinc-cop-per anomaly is high in
this area also, but no ore is known.
Antimony and silver seem to be unsatisfactory in
reflecting ore. The content of antimony and silver in
the ore is high, but the content of each in residual soil
falls off to background values generally within a few
feet of ore. The antimony content of the Defiance ore
is 45 to 100 ppm. Twenty feet from ore in residual
soil the antimony content falls off to less than 15 ppm.
Most of the soil between the Bernon and Defiance work-
ings contains less than 4 ppm of antimony. Over the
Bernon embody the antimony content increases to 15
to 40 ppm. The ore in the Defiance pit assayed from 4
to 9 ounces of silver (140 to 315 ppm), but the silver
content dropped to less than 3 ppm in soil a few feet
from ore. No anomaly in silver was apparent over the
Bernon ore body. Throughout most of the tested area
the silver content was less than 2 ppm.
In conclusion, geochemical prospecting of soil could
be a useful tool 1n the Darwin district. Heavy metals
(total lead- -zinc-copper) and bismuth tests both gave
promising results in the Defiance-Bernon area. The
two known ore bodies in the tested area were reflected '
by pronounced anomalies. Two anomalies were also
found in unexplored areas. Antimony seems less prom-
ising than bismuth in reflecting ore. The antimony
content decreased rapidly away from the Defiance ore
body, so it provided very little larger target‘ than that
of the ore body itself. The antimony was more satis-
factory 1n reflecting the Bernon ore body. Silver gave
unfavorable results. Nearly all the residual soil has less
than 2 ppm of silver, and only the ore itself has a high
silver content. .
Rock chip samples were not as satisfactory in re-
fleeting ore as the soil samples. Some rock chip sam-
ples taken as a comparison with residual soil samples
in general contained less total heavy metals and gave
more erratic results. The underground rock chip sam-
ples, in general, increased in total heavy metal content
toward ore bodies, but the analyses were erratic and
many samples gave anomalous results.
i FUTURE OF THE DISTRICT
New ore in the Darwin district has been found in the
past mainly by following downward ore bodies exposed
at the surface or in the upper workings of the mine.
This procedure has proved highly successful, but dur-
ing the past few years most of the major ore bodies
have bottomed. The future of the district lies in finding
new major ore bodies rather than extensions of old ones."
The possibilities for finding new ore bodies have not
been exhausted. A mastery of the stratigraphy, struc-
ture, and rock alteration and their relationship to ore
is essential for a successful program. Many areas re-
main to be explored from the present workings of the
Darwin mine, but enough drilling has been done to
make chances of discovery of another large ore body
like the Defiance seem dim. Ore in the Darwin mine
is in a medium-grained idocrase-garnet-wollast0ni’oe
rock; dense dark calc-hornfels like that west of the
Davis thrust and unaltered limestone are unfavorable.
Nearness to an intrusive body is important, and the
largest ore bodies are within a few hundred feet of
granitic rock. Faults play a part in localizing all the
known ore—even the bedded deposits are localized close
to N. 70° E. faults, whichappear to be feeder faults.
Anticlinal structures are particularly favorable, al-
though Ore is not restricted to them. Recognition and
intelligent use of these ore controls will undoubtedly
result in the discovery of new, probably small, ore
bodies near the present workings in the Darwin mine.
In the, Thompson-Essex-Independence workings the
Davis thrust is an important ore control, and little or
no ore has been found on the west or hanging-wall side
ORE DEPOSITS
of it. The ore above the thrust shown on plate 3 is
projected and actually is on the footwall of the thrust.
To the south in the Defiance workings the contact of
the Darwin stock and the Davis thrust diverge, and the
fault seems to be less important in localizing ore except
near the satellitic body of quartz monzonite southwest
of the,Defiance_ workings. At present the shape of the
Darwin stock is'not known, and the writers only use
the term “stock” because it has been used extensively.
However, the west side of the intrusive body ends in
a series of sills that bottom in the Defiance workings
(pl. 3r),'and a diamond-drill hole extending 700 feet
east from the 800 level" did not cut granitic rock. The
writers feel that the intrusive mass may have a floor
and be a laccolith. If so, a large area under the out-
crop of the intrusive mass may contain undiscovered ore
bodies.
Little exploration has been done southeast of the
Defiance mine along the Water tank and Mickey Sum—
mers faults near the intrusive mass (pl. 3) where the
alteration is similar to that in the Defiance area, and
much of the outcrop is iron stained. A few prospect '
pits have been dug, but no exploration has been done
at depth.
Another area of extensive garnet-idocrase-wollasto-
nite rock that may be favorable for ore is north of the
Standard fault on the footwall side of the westward-
dipping fault that passes through the Belle Union mine
and the west side of the Lucky Jim mine (pl. 1; fig. 3).
This fault is similar to the Davis thrust in that it local.
ized intense silication of limestone below it. A geo—
chemical prospecting program similar to the one de—
scribed in this report for the Defiance area might help
pinpoint areas favorable for further prospecting!
ZINC HILL DISTRICT
‘ The Zinc Hill district is 31/; miles N. 65° E. of Dar-
win on the west slope of the Argus Range. Relief in
the area is rugged, and access to some places is difficult.
The average slope in the district is about 30°. Indi-
vidual properties are described in a previous report by
the writers (Hall and MacKevett, 1958), and only a
generalized description of, the district is given here.
The Zinc Hill and Empress mines are the only prop-
erties with a recorded production up to 1952. The Dar-
Win Zinc mine has several hundred feet of workings,
but no record of production was found for it. The re—
corded production for the district from 1917 to 1951 is
about 3,560,000 pounds of zinc, 285,000 pounds of lead,
8,500 ounces of silver, and 14,000 pounds of copper?
1Compiled from Hall and MacKevett (1958, p. 41—45).
GEOLOGY
73»
The Zinc Hill district is underlain by limestone and
marble of Mississippian and Permian age that is in-
truded by leucocratic quartz monzonite and by dikes
and small irregular plugs of diorite (pl. 1). The stra-
TABLE 9.—Geologz‘c column of the Zinc Hill district .
Age
Name
Lithology
, Thickness
(feet)
Cretaceous(?)
Diorite dikes and .
plugs.
Leucocratic quartz
monzonite.
Permian
Pennsylvanian(?)
and
Mississippian
Owens Valley
formation
Limestone, thinly bedded,
silty.
~Fau1t contact
Lee Flat limestone
Marble white
Limestone, bluish-gray,
thinly bedded. Con-
tains interbedded chert.
Marble (ore zone at Zinc
Hill mine).
130+
130
180
Mississippian
Perdido formation
Marble with 2- to 4-inch
chert beds. '
20
Limestone, bluish-gray, 100
containing bedded
chert.
Limestone, bluish-gray 20+
Tin Mountain(?)
and mar 1e.
limestone .
tigraphy of the area is given in table 9. Both the
Empress and the Zinc Hill mines are underlain by mar-
ble and limestone of Mississippian age in a northward-
trendinghorst about 1,000 feet wide that can be traced
from the Darwin tear fault north for 2 miles (pl. 1).
A minimum thickness of 580 feet of unfoss-iliferous
marble and limestone crops out in the horst. The sec-
tion is correlated with the Mississippian on the basis of
lithologic similarity to Mississippian formations found
elsewherein the quadrangle. The upper part of the
Tin Mountain limestone, the Perdido formation, and
the Lee Flat limestone are probably represented within
the horst, but it is all mapped as Lee Flat as most
of the marble within the horst resembles it. I
The Owens Valley formation of Permian age crops
out on the east and west sides of the horst. It con—
sists of thinly bedded silty bluish-gray limestone and
shale.
.- The Zinc Hill stock, a small intrusive mass 5,000 feet
long and 2,000 feet wide, crops out between theEm-
press mine and the Darwin tear fault (pl. 1). It is
medium-grained leucocratic quartz monzonite. Locally
close to the stock the Mississippian limestone is altered
to calc-hornfels and dark-brown tactite. Dikes and
irregular plugs of fine-grained greenish—gray diorite
and quartz diorite intrude the Mississippian marble
and limestone in many places between the Empress and
Zinc Hill mines, but most of these intrusive masses are
too small to show on the quadrangle map (131- 1)-
74 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
STRUCTURE
The horst containing the productive mines is bounded
by steep north-trending faults. Bedding within the
horst strikes predominantly northwest to west and
dips 10° to 40°N., and that in the Permian limestone on
either side strikes mainly N. 45'0 to 75° E. and dips 17°
to 63° NW. The Zinc Hill fault, which bounds the
horst on the west, and the major fault that bounds the
horst on the east each have a stratigraphic displacement
of more than 2,700 feet. Within the horst the lime-
stone and marble are cut by many steep faults that
trend N. to N. 45° E. and N. 45° to 70° W. These
faults have had several periods of movement and many
of them are mineralized or dolomitized. The latest
movement on the northwestward-trending faults is very
young. These faults displace the Zinc Hill fault (Hall
and MacKevett, 1958) which has late Tertiary or Qua-
ternary displacement.
The leucocratic quartz monzonite is within the horst
and is cut off on the West by the Zinc Hill fault. The
Empress mine is in a roof pendant of Mississippian
limestone.
ORE DEPOSITS
Ore occurs as small replacement bodies parallel to
bedding and to a lesser extent along faults where they
cut a favorable limestone or marble bed. Both primary
and oxidized zinc ore is present. The primary ore from
the Zinc Hill mine is predominantly sphalerite but in-
cludes small amounts of galena, pyrite, and chalcopy—
rite in a predominantly calcite gangue containing some
quartz, jasper, and gypsum. The oxidized ore con-
sists mainly of hemimorphite, but hydrozincite is
abundant locally near the margins of some ore bodies,
and smithsonite is rare in veinlets below a few. Ore
at the Empress mine consists mainly of galena, but con-
tains lesser amounts of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and
pyrite in a quartz-rich gangue. Secondary ore min-
erals are anglesite, azurite, cerussite, chrysocolla, mala-
chite, and wulfenite.
At the Zinc Hill mine a favorable marble bed 180
feet thick crops out for 1,500 feet in a northwesterly
direction. It is cut ofl" on the east and west by the
faults bounding the horst. Minable ore bodies are in
four localized areas within the favorable bed. Inter-
sections of north to N. 45° E. faults with the favorable
bed are apparent ore controls.
The largest ore body is shown in plate 8. It is a
bedded replacement of the favorable marble bed, called
the Colorado bed by the owners. The lower stope in
the upper workings is about 80 feet long, 60 feet wide,
and 10 to 16 feet high. The outline of the stope reflects
approximately the shape of the flat-lying, disk-shaped
ore body. Approximately 9. third of the ore removed
from this stope was primary and the rest was oxidized
zinc ore. Primary ore extends to within 40 feet of the
surface. Several smaller bedded deposits were mined
from the lower, westernmost workings on the property.
Small oxidized zinc ore bodies in the lower workings
of the Zinc Hill mine are localized along northwest-
ward-trending faults (Hall and MacKevett, 1958, p.
49) . The most strongly mineralized fault, which
strikes N. 60° W. and dips 30° to 50° NE., is stoped
discontinuously for 200 feet along strike and 50 feet
downdip for a thickness of 3 to 12 feet.
The lead—zinc ore body at the Empress mine is a
bedded replacement of limestone near the contact with
leucocratic quartz monzonite, and the deposit extends
into the intrusive mass as a quartz vein. Ore can be
traced on the surface about 400 feet, where it ranges
in thickness from a few inches to 6 feet. The north end
of the ore body within the quartz monzonite is thicker
and higher grade than the more discontinuous south
end, which is in limestone.
Locally the ore in the Empress and Zinc Hill mines is
slightly radioactive. At the Empress mine local radio—
activity ranged from 0.04 to 0.15 mr per hr compared
to a background of 0.02 mr per hr. At the Zinc Hill
mine ore containing hydrozincite in the lower workings
had a local radioactivity of 4 to 10 times background.
The source of the radioactivity was not definitely deter-
mined, although one specimen contained a small amount
of a micaceous orange mineral, probably autunite.
LEE DISTRIGI‘
The part of the Lee district in the Darwin quadrangle
comprises a small area in the southern part of the Santa
Rosa Hills (fig. 2). The Lee-mine (formerly known as
the Emigrant mine) and the Silver Reid prospect are
the only properties that have been developed. Produc-
tion, which is recorded only from the Lee mine, was
mainly during the 1870’s and early 1880’s. De Groot
(1890, p. 213) mentioned that activity in the district
was waning by 1888. Since then the Lee mine has been
operated only intermittently on a small scale by lessees.
The total ”“production of the district is not known.
Tucker and Sampson (1938, p. 443) reported that 250
tons of ore shipped during 1927 averaged $49 (64
ounces) per ton in silver. L. D. Warnken shipped 226
tons of dump material in 1938 that contained 750 ounces
of silver.2 The production since 1951 was furnished by
the mine owners and is given in table 10.
2Published with permission of the mine owners.
ORE
TABLE 10.—-Assay data of are shipped from the Lee mine, 1951
to 1955 1
Copper Lead Zinc Silver Gold
Year Tons (percent) (percent) (percent) (ounces (ounces
per ton) per ton)
41 0.45 2. 4 16. 3 61. 3 0.025
35 . 1. 5 l7. 6 48. 0 .025
44 45 l. 5 22. 75 89. 76 .035
35 425 9.85 21. 05 93. 95 . 037
42 24 7. 9 17. 75 59. 6 .025
49 2 4.5 24.0 53.9 ..........
1 Published with permission of the mine owners.
GEOLOGY
The south end of the Santa Rosa Hills in the Lee dis-
trict is underlain by a conformable sequence of lime—
stone and marble of Devonian and Mississippian age.
The Silver Reid prospect is in the Lost Burro formation,
which crops out in a narrow band along the east flank
of the Santa Rosa Hills. The formation consists of
1,770 feet of white and light-gray medium— to coarse-
grained marble. The Lost Burro is conformably over-
lain by the Tin Mountain limestone, which underlies
most of the Lee mine area. The formation is about 400
feet thick and consists of medium-gray cherty limestone
in beds 1/2 to 2 feet thick.
STRUCTURE
The Paleozoic rocks strike N. 45° W. to west and dip
mainly southwest in a concordant sequence. They are
cut by two sets of faults. One set strikes N. 70° W. ap-
proximately parallel to the strike of bedding and dips
steeply. The other set strikes N. 20° to 70° W. and dips
, gently southwest. The low-angle faults have no ap-
preciable displacement and occur between the major
steep faults. In the Lee mine the beds dip gently and
the flat—lying faults are approximately parallel to bed—
ding. At the Silver Reid prospect they transect the
steeply dipping bedding.
ORE DEPOSITS
Small discontinuous ore bodies are localized along the
flat-lying faults that are in part cOntrolled by bedding.
Most of the steep faults are only slightly mineralized
except at the intersection with the mineralized flat-lying
faults. Locally the ore bodies steepen adjacent to the
major steep faults. At the Lee mine the largest ore
body was about 40 feet long, 35 feet wide, and averaged
6 feet in thickness. Most of the ore bodies mined during
the past few years are much smaller and have produced
less than 100 tons of ore. ,
At the Silver Reid prospect the largest known ore
body in 40 feet long, and 20 feet wide, and averages 2
feet in thickness (pl. 9). The ore body is localized in a
nearly horizontal fault between two steep N. 70° W.
620626 0—62——6
DEPOSITS 75
faults that are 22 feet apart. At least five other flat
veins are exposed on the property, but they are not
extensively developed.
The workings at both the Lee mine and the Silver
Reid prospect are shallow; most of the ore is oxidized,
and only relicts of the primary minerals remain. The
ore at the Lee mine consists mainly of hemimorphite
and cerargyrite. Angelsite, aurichalcite, azurite, bind-
heimite, native copper, cerussite, and chrysocolla have
also been identified. Gangue minerals are principally
barite, calcite, chalcedony, and quartz. Cerargyrite
occurs as euhedral cubes less than 1 mm on a side modi-
fied by octahedral faces. Galena is the most abundant
remaining primary mineral. It occurs as coarsely crys-
talline relicts in masses of hemimorphite. Cerussite
and anglesite occur mainly as thin rims a few milli-
meters thick between the galena and cellular oxide ore.
Small amounts of sphalerite, pyrite, and tetrahedrite
remain. Sphalerite probably was originally an abun-
dant ore mineral, but it is more readily attacked by
ground water than galena, and little of it remains.
DEPOSITS IN THE INYO MOUNTAINS AND TALC CITY
HILLS
The only lead—silver-zinc deposits in the Inyo Moun-
tains and Talc City Hills are the Santa Rosa mine and
several small deposits in the Tale City Hills, including
the Cactus Owen, Homestake, and Silver Dollar mines
(fig. 3). The Santa Rosa mine was described by Mac—
Kevett (1953, 9 p.) , and the other deposits are de-
scribed by Hall and MacKevett (1958).
The Santa Rosa mine is an isolated lead-zinc deposit
in the Inyo Mountains (fig. 3). It is in an inlier of
calc-hornfels of Permian age in an area almost com-
pletely covered by andesite and basaltic flows and pyro-
clastic rocks of Cenozoic age. The mine was discovered
in 1910, and was operated continuously until 1938, ex-
cept during 1912—15. It has been operated only inter—
mittently since 1938. Total production is 36,854 tons
of ore from which 11,990,792 pounds of lead, 487,347
pounds of copper, 4,105 pounds of zinc, 426,543 ounces
of silver, and 479 ounces of gold were recovered (Mac-
Kevett, 1953, p. 4). The Silver Dollar mine is the only
lead—silver-zinc deposit in the Tale City Hills that has
a recorded production. It produced 469,782 pounds of
lead and 19,694 ounces of silver during 1910—15 (Hall
and MacKevett, 1958, p. 57).
SANTA ROSA MINE
The Santa Rosa mine is a vein deposit in an inlier of
the lower unit of the Owens Valley formation that is
metamorphosed to calc-hornfels. The inlier is about
2,000 feet long and 600 feet wide and is encompassed
by Cenozoic volcanic rocks of andesitic and basaltic
76 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
composition. The calc-hornfels is intruded by steep
andesitic porphyry dikes that are 2 to 6 feet thick and
strike about N. 70° W. The calc—hornfels and the sur-
rounding pyroclastic rocks are cut by basalt dikes.
Structurally the Santa Rosa mine is in a horst that
is bounded by steep north-trending faults. The calc-
hornfels within the horst strikes northward and dips
30° to 70° E. It is cut by three sets of mineralized
faults (MacKevett, 1953, p. 1), two of which strike
north. Most of these dip 30° to 60° W., but a few dip
55° to 80° east. The third set strikes east and dips about
vertically.
Ore occurs in veins in the three sets of faults within
the horst. The veins are 100 to 700 feet long and aver-
age 3 to 4 feet thick. Those that dip west are the most
important economically. The ore is mostly oxidized
and consists mainly of cerussite and hemimorphite in
a gangue of limonite, jasper, and calcite. Some pri—
mary ore is in the lower crosscut, and locally relict
primary minerals are in oxide ore. The primary ore
contains galena, sphalerite,’ pyrite, chalcopyrite, and ar-
senopyrite listed in order of decreasing abundance.
DEPOSITS IN THE TALC CITY HILLS
The lead-silver-zinc deposits in the Talc City Hills
are small (fig. 3). They are all in limestone, and dolo-
mite and quartzite are unfavorable host rock. The de-
posits are in steeply dipping faults that strike N. 40°
to 75° W. At the Silver Dollar mine, the only mine
with a recorded production, the Lost Burro formation
of Devonian age is thrust over the Keeler Canyon for-
mation of Pennsylvanian and Permian age (Hall and
MacKevett, 1958 p12). The thrust fault is exposed 300
feet north of the main pit where a sliver of Rest Spring
shale has been dragged along the fault. The ore is in
the Keeler Canyon formation in a shear zone that strikes
N. 50° W. and dips steeply northeast. The size of the
ore body, estimated from the size of the main pit, was
about 35 feet long, 30 feet thick, and was mined 90 feet
down dip. The nature of the ore is not known as little
remains in the workings.
The Cactus Owen and Homestake prospects are in
thin-bedded bluish-gray limestone of the Lost Burro
formation that is in part bleached and recrystallized to
marble. Steep strike faults are abundant in the lime-
stone. The faults are iron stained and locally contain
pockets of cerussite, hemimorphite, and oxidized copper
minerals in a gangue of quartz and calcite.
TUNGSTEN DEPOSITS
DISTRIBUTION
Tungsten has been recovered from the Darwin quad-
rangle principally from [mines in the eastern part of
the Darwin Hills 1 to 11/2 miles east and northeast of
Darwin (fig. 3). The deposits are all contact metamor-
phic. Scheelite is the principal tungsten mineral. It
has also been recovered from the Darwin mine from
small high-grade concentrations in lead-silver-zinc de-
posits, and stolzite has been reported in the oxidized ore
by Tucker and Sampson (1941, p. 567) and by Dudley
L. Davis (oral communication, 1955). A small amount
of scheelite has also been mined from small deposits on
the northeast slope of the Coso Range about 8 miles west
and southwest of Darwin, mainly just south of the Dar-
win quadrangle. One deposit—the Lone Pinyon—lies '
within the quadrangle in sec. 26, T. 19 S., R. 39 E.
PREVIOUS WORK AND ACKNOWLCEDGMENTS
Hess and Larsen (1922, p. 268) first mentioned the
occurrence of scheelite in the Darwin district. The
tungsten deposits were mapped by a US. Geological
Survey party under D. M. Lemmon from November 3,
1941, to March 4, 1942. Their maps are published in
the report on the ore deposits of the Darwin quadrangle
by Hall and MacKevett (1958, see section on tungsten
deposits by Hall, MacKevett, and Lemmon). L. K.
Wilson (1943, p. 543—560), geologist for the Pacific
Tungsten Co., described the tungsten deposits and the
operations of the Pacific Tungsten Co. from 1941 to
1943. The US. Bureau of Mines trenched and sampled
nine properties in the Darwin district from November
1941 to January 1942 and published assay maps of their
results (Butner, 1949). Bateman and Irwin (1954, p.
34) briefly described the deposits.
DEPOSITS IN THE DARWIN DISTRICT
GEOLOGY
Contact metamorphic tungsten deposits in the Darwin
district are peripheral to the Darwin stock of biotite-
hornblende—quartz monzonite. Most of the deposits are
in the eastern part of the Darwin Hills in the lower unit
of the Keeler Canyon formation of Pennsylvanian and
Permian age. The tungsten deposits are localized
mainly in the pure limestone beds interbedded with silty
and sandy limestone that is metamorphosed to calc-
hornfels.
The relatively pure limestone beds are in part unmeta-
morphosed and in part recrystallized to marble. Lo-
cally the marble and limestone are altered to tactite
within a few hundred feet of the intrusion. The tactite
consists mainly of garnet (grossularite—andradite) and
idocrase, but some contains epidote, orthoclase, diopside,
wollastonite, and calcite.
The Paleozoic rocks are tilted into an overturned sec-
tion that strikes north and dips 30° to 78° W. The
Paleozoic and plutonic rocks are broken by several pres
ORE DEPOSITS 77
mineralization left-lateral strike-slip faults that strike
N. 70° E.
can BODIES
Scheelite locally replaces pure limestone and tactite
beds close to and within faults that strike N. 7 0° E. (pl.
10). Most of the ore is found within three limestone
beds known as the Durham, Frisco, and Alameda beds.
Only the Durham ore body extends more than 60 feet
vertically (fig. 34). The Durham and Alameda ore
bodies replace pure limestone and tactite near the
Fernando shear zone. The Durham ore body is a re-
placement of the Durham limestone bed near the contact
with the underlying calc-hornfels. The ore body is 350
feet long at the surface and has been mined to a depth
of 350 feet where the ore body is only 30 feet long (pl.
10). Its thickness ranges from 21/2 to 35’ feet.
Three replacement ore bodies have been mined from
the Alameda beds near N. 70° E. faults (pl. 10). Two
are at the intersection of the Alameda beds with the
Fernando shear zone; the third is 1,000 feet northwest
of the Fernando shear at the Alameda shaft ('pl. 10).
The largest of these ore bodies is at the intersection of
the Alameda beds with the Fernando shear 950 feet S.
80° W. of the Fernando adit. It has been developed
by an opencut 50 feet long parallel to the strike of the
enclosing limestone, 60 feet wide, and about 20 feet
deep. A drift was being driven in 1955 under the pit
to develop ore that remained at the bottom.
The)ore in the St. Charles-Hayward area is in N. 70°
E. faults that dip steeply to the northwest (pl. 10).
The largest ore body is developed by the St. Charles
No. 1 workings. The ore shoot was 140 feet long, 2 to
10 feet thick, and was mined from the surface to an
average depth of about 45 feet. Most of the scheelite
exposed in the Sthharles No. 2 and No. 3 workings is
in thin veins or streaks along N. 7 0° E. faults, and no
scheelite is disseminated in the wallrock between faults.
The streaks range from a fraction of an inch to 6 inches
in thickness and can be mined only by highly selective
methods or where fractures are sufficiently close that
several can be mined together. Some streaks contain
10 to 30 percent W03, but the grade of ore over a mining
width would probably average only about 0.2 to 0.3
percent W03.
GRADE
The grade of ore mined from the district has av-
eraged about 0.75 percent “703. Wilson (1943, p. 558)
reports that from 1941 to 1942 about 32,000 tons of ore
averaging more than 1 percent WO3 was mined from
the Darwin Hills. The ore at the Durham mine av-
eraged 1 percent W03 for an average width of 15 feet
on the 200 and 300 levels (Wilson, 1943, p. 558). The
grade of ore at the St. Charles No. 1 mine was high and
ranged from 2 to 10 percent W03. Ore in the district
mined from 1951 to 1955 averaged about 0.5 percent
WOS.
Submarginal ore is present at the Fernando mine
and to a lesser extent at the St. Charles N0. 3 mine.
The submarginal ore at the Fernando mine is exposed
in the main Fernando adit along the Fernando fault
(pl. 10). Scheelite is localized along fractures for a
length of 610 feet and a width up to 50 feet; some parts
of this area are estimated to contain 0.2 to 0.5 percent
W03.
ORE commons
The ore controls for scheelite are both stratigraphic
and structural. Pure limestone, and tactite formed as
an alteration of it, are more favorable for ore than dense
calc-hornfels. However, the dense c-alc-hornfels cannot
be eliminated as a possible host rock as some ore has
been mined from it. The bedded replacement body at
the Durham mine selectively replaced tactite and pure
limestone. Most other occurrences of scheelite in the
district are along faults that strike N. 7 0° E.‘; scheelite
may be present whether the wallrock is tactite, lime-
stone, or calc-hornfels. Commonly the scheelite zone is
widest where a fault cuts tactite and thins to a narrow
stringer where the fault cuts calc-hornfels. In the St.
Charles No. 1 workings and in the Hayward mine, ore
has been mined from veins in calc-hornfels. At the
Hayward mine the ore is widest in tactite, and the vein
thins to a stringer to the east where the wallrock is
calc-hornfels. The ore body rakes to the west parallel
with bedding.
Granitic rocks must be nearby to form either tactite
or scheelite. The most favorable places for ore are
where small satellitic intrusive bodies crosscut structure.
The tactite and scheelite do not necessarily form on
the intrusive contact, but are within a few hundred feet
of intrusive rocks. The deposits are commonly localized
by faults.
MINERALOGY
The primary tungsten ore contains scheelite in a
gangue of marble or calc-silicate rock containing gros-
sularite-andradite, calcite, fluorite, idocrase, wollaston-
ite, diopside and pyrite. Bismuthinite is present at the
Fernando mine. At the Thompson workings of the
Darwin mine, scheelite is associated with galena, spha-
lerite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, fluorite, and calcite in light-
colored calc-silicate rock composed of idocrase, garnet,
wollastonite, diopside, and epidote.
78
DURHAM INCLINED
SHAFT
0 LEVEL
_ —
100 LEVEL I
Altitude 4523 ft
200 LEVEL
Akitude 4423 ft
FERNANDO
SHAI-‘l'
200 LEVEL
\\\\\\
\\
\\\\¥\~\
\\\\\\\ \
\
DURHAM INCLINED SHAFT
300 LEVEL Altitude 4323 ft
Vertical projection looking east
Mapped by D. M Lemmon and M R. Klepper, 1942
40
4o 0 80 FEET
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
FIGURE 34.—Map of underground workings and vertical projection of the Durham mine.
GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
EXPLANATION
Canyon formation
Limestone and marble
Keeler
Tungsten ore, 0.5—1.5
percentWO3
/—"“\
l
\ t y‘
Tactile with minor tungsten
:2!
Collar of shaft
m
Shaft going above
and below level
W
Foot of shaft
Projection of slope
FENNSYLVANlAN
AND PERMIAN
NONMETALLIC COMMODITIES 79
The scheelite is commonly in euhedral crystals as
much as 2 inches in diameter. At the Darwin mine
euhedral to subhedral crystals of scheelite predomi-
nately 1% to 34 inch in diameter are surrounded and in
places veined and slightly corroded by sulfide minerals.
Davis and Peterson (1948, p. 2) described euhedral
scheelite crystals in a powdery matrix of limonite, j aro-
site, and clay minerals from the oxidized ore in the
Thompson mine. At the Durham, Fernando, and St.
Charles mines tungsten ore bodies contain only small
amounts of galena and sphalerite, but they occur else-
where along the same ore controlling structures farther
from the Darwin stock.
The Durham ore body contains bismuthinite and py-
rite near the intersection of the Durham bed with the
Fernando fault (pl. 10). The bismuthinite is in tabular
crystals as much as 2 inches long in calcite veinlets that
cut the tactite. It is mostly pseudomorphously replaced
by light-green powdery bismutite. The tungsten ore
mined from the Durham ore body had an average bis-
muth metal content of approximately 0.05.percent, but
none was recovered.
Most of the ore is oxidized and consists of euhedral
to subhedral crystals and grains of scheelite in a crum-
bly matrix of limonite, calcite, and partly decomposed
calc-silicate minerals. Chrysocolla, azurite, malachite,
and gypsum coat some of the fractures. The scheelite
in- the upper stopes of the Thompson workings of the
Darwin mine is embedded in a crumbly matrix of limo-
nite, j arosite, cerussite, and clay minerals. The scheelite
remained virtually unaltered, but all the other minerals
were oxidized or partly leached; thus, the ore has un-
dergone residual enrichment of tungsten.
DEPOSITS IN THE 0080 RANGE
A few small tungsten deposits are on the northeast
slope of the Coso Range 8 to 10 miles southwest of
Darwin, but only the Lone Pinyon prospect near Black
Springs lies Within the quadrangle (fig. 3). The de-
posits are within roof pendants or screens of metasedi—
mentary rocks in quartz monzonite of the Coso batho-
lith. None are extensive.
OTHER DEPOSITS
A small amount of antimony and copper have been
mined from the Darwin district. The only antimony
produced is from the Darwin Antimony mine, which is
about 31/2 miles north of Darwin (fig. 3). The produc-
tion from the mine is reported by Norman and Stewart
(1951, p. 29) as “50 to 100 tons of ore assaying more
than 30 percent antimony.” Ore is localized along
a bedding-plane fault in thinly bedded limestone of
the Keeler Canyon formation of Pennsylvanian and
Permian age. Stibnite is exposed intermittently at the
surface and in the underground workings over a strike
length of 120 feet. Ore consists of stibnite containing
minor secondary antimony minerals in sheared lime-
stone and ranges from a few inches to 3 feet in thick-
ness. Calcite and limonitenare the main gangue min-
erals. All the ore was mined from a small stope in
the footwall between the 100 and 150 levels about
40 feet south of the main shaft. Small discontinuous
seams and pods of stibnite less than 1 inch thick are
exposed on the 100 and 150 levels north of the main
shaft.
Copper minerals are associated with nearly all the
lead—silver-zinc deposits and some of the tungsten de—
posits. In a few deposits in limestone, copper minerals
are the principal ore minerals. The copper prospects
are in the vicinity of the Giroux mine about half a mile
east of Darwin. Mining activity was mostly during the
late 1890’s and the first few years of this century. A
blast furnace was built at the Lane mine in 1898, and
a small amount of copper matte was recovered (War-
ing and Huguenin, 1919, p. 99). Chalcopyrite is the
primary ore mineral, but it is mostly oxidized to azu-
rite, chrysocolla, and malachite. All the prospects are
small and have not been worked for many years.
NONMETALLIC COMMODITIES
Nonmetallic commodities in the Darwin quadrangle
include steatite-grade talc, massive chlorite (which
locally is called pyrophyllite), limestone, dolomite, and
quartzite. Only steatite-talc and chlorite are important
commercially at present. The term “steatite” is used
herein in the restricted sense of Engel (1949, p. 1018)
for virtually pure, massive, compact talc containing
less than 1.5 percent CaO, 1.5 percent combined FeO
and F8203, and 4 percent A1203 and that is suitable for
the manufacture of certain ceramics. Massive chlorite,
associated with some of the talc deposits, is used in cor-
dierite ceramics and in insecticides.
The deposits of limestone, dolomite, and quartzite
have not been exploited, owing to remoteness to rail
transportation and market and because similar ma-
terials are more readily available on the east side of
Owens Valley adjacent to a branch line of the Southern
Pacific railroad. The upper part of the Eureka quartz-
ite is very pure and could be used for super refractory
silica brick. Limestone is prevalent in the Santa Rosa
and Darwin Hills. The Lee Flat limestone and lime-
stone of the Keeler Canyon and Owens Valley forma-
tions are predominantly silty. Two analyses of lime—
stone in the Darwin Hills are given in table 3. The Tin
Mountain limestone and upper part of the Lost 'Burro
formation are purer limestones, but no analyses are
80 GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS, DARWIN QUADRANGLE, INYO COUNTY, CALIF.
available. Massive dolomite in the Devonian and older
formations is abundant in the Talc City Hills, but no
analyses of it are available.
STEATITFrGRADE TALC
Steatite-talc deposits are restricted to an area of
about 6 square miles in the Talc City Hills about 6 miles
northwest of Darwin (pl. 2). One of the deposits, the
Talc City mine, has been one of the principal domestic
sources of steatite-talc since 1915. From 1915 to 1948
the Tale City mine produced 218,485 tons of ore (table
5). The production of the other deposits is not known,
but is much smaller than that of the Talc City mine.
The tale deposits were studied by B. M. Page and
L. A. Wright for the US. Geological Survey in 1942,
and Page (1951) subsequently published a comprehen-
sive report describing steatite-talc deposits in Inyo
County. T. E. Gay, J r., and L. A. Wright (1954, map
sheet 12) mapped the geology of the Talc City Hills,
and briefly described the stratigraphy and structure.
GEOLOGY
The Tale City Hills are underlain by sedimentary
rocks of Early Ordovician to Permian age that are in-
truded by leucocratic quartz monzonite of Creta-
ceous( ?) age and by felsic dikes. Silurian and Ordo-
vician rocks are mainly dolomite and quartzite;
Mississippian and younger Paleozoic rocks are predom-
inantly limestone. The lower part of the Devonian
rocks consists of dolomite, limestone, and quartzite; the
upper part is limestone and shale. The Devonian and
older rocks are thrust over younger Paleozoic rocks.
The most important deposit—the Talc City—is in the
Lost Burro formation of Devonian age. It is in the
basal siliceous and limy Lippincott member, which is
described from the type locality in the Ubehebe Peak
quadrangle by McAllister (1955, p. 12). At the Talc
City mine the Lippincott member is highly faulted so
the thickness is not known, but it seems to be about 75
feet thick and is repeated by faulting. This member is
shown as stratified dolomite and limestone and as silica
rock on the large-scale surface map of Page (1951, pl.
1). The talc is localized in the massive dolomite close
to quartzite of the Lippincott member. The Lippincott
member is overlain by about 300 feet of light-gray to
buff massive dolomite. A few beds of limestone are
within the dolomite, and these beds are in part dolo-
mitized, particularly at the crests of tight folds. The
dolomite is overlain by light gray fine- to medium—
grained limestone, which is exposed at the north and
east sides of the hill containing the Tale City mine.
The Paleozoic rocks are intruded by a stock of leuco-
cratic quartz monzonite at the south end of the Talc
City Hills. At the Frisco mine thin highly altered
light-colored dikes are exposed in the main chlorite pit.
The dikes are completely altered to clay minerals, chloi-
rite, and sericite; they originally probably were quartz
latite. Fine-grained highly altered dark-green dikes
2 to 6 inches thick also intrude Devonian rocks at the
Talc City mine.
TALC ORE BODIES
The talc deposits are only briefly described here, as
excellent descriptions and maps of individual proper-
ties are given by Page (1951) from whom much of the
following description is taken. The writers mapped
the surface geology of the Talc City Hills on a scale of
1: 40,000, but did not map the tale deposits.
The talc deposits are localized mainly in shear zones
in massive buff dolomite and to a lesser extent in quartz-
ite and along contacts between dolomite andcquartzite
or dolomite and dolomitic limestone near leucocratic
quartz monzonite. Dolomite of the Lost Burro forma—
tion is the principal host rock, although some deposits
are in dolomite of the Pogonip group, the Ely Springs,
and the Hidden Valley. Both the Eureka quartzite
and the quartzite in the Lost Burro are replaced by talc
at some places.
The steatite-talc bodies are irregular elongate lenses
and pods that dip steeply. The largest ore bodies are
at the Tale City mine where two are exposed for a
length of about 500 feet and have a maximum width of
50 feet. One extends about 400 feet below the surface
and the other about 100 feet. The other talc deposits
are much smaller, and most of them have yielded only a
few thousand tons each. In general, the size of the
ore bodies diminishes with increasing distance from the
stock of leucocratic quartz monzonite. Tale in the
Alliance mine (pl. 2) is in a sheared zone about 200 feet
long and a maximum of 30 feet thick; at the Trinity
mine the glory hole, which probably represents the ap—
proximate size of the ore body, is about 150 feet long,
50 feet wide, and 50 feet deep. The walls of most of
the ore bodies are irregular, and horses of unreplaced
country rock are common in some of the tale bodies.
Page (1951, p. 13, 16) reported that gradational con-
tacts and false walls are common and that large olf-
shoots containing hundreds of tons of ore extend from
the main talc masses following joints and shears.
The steatite-talc is grayish green, pale green, gray,
or dull white. Some is massive, but much of it is highly
sheared. Fractures commonly are lightly limonite-
stained or contain small dendrites of manganese oxides.
The run—of—mine ore is exceptionally pure. The follow-
ing analyses are from Klinefelter, Speil, and Gottlieb
(in Page, 1951, p. 12).
LITERATURE CITED
Sample Theoretical
Ignition loss ______________________
Total ______________________
1A. Probably from Talc City mine.
1B. From Talc City mine.
1E. From Talc City mine.
ORIGIN
The talc deposits replace dolomite and quartzite and
were formed by thermal waters traveling along shears
and, contacts. Spatially the deposits are peripheral to
the stock of leucocratic quartz monzonite, and the size
of the deposits is approximately proportional to near-
ness to the intrusive contact. Both suggest that the
thermal waters were given off by the intrusive body dur-
ing a late stage of crystallization and explain the dis-
tribution of deposits around the stock and the diminish-
ing size of deposits with increasing distance from the
pluton. It is also possible, however, that the intrusive
mass was the source of heat and the alteration was
caused by recirculation of heated ground water. It is
not necessary to postulate a large-scale introduction of
magnesia or silica. Most of the deposits and, without
exception, all the large talc bodies, have both dolomite
and quartzite in close proximity, so that a local source
of magnesia and silica is at hand. No talc alteration
was observed in limestone or shale, and only small pods
of talc were found in massive dolomite that has no local
source of silica. On the negative side, the quartzite
does not show evidence of large-scale corrosion or
replacement. At most places the quartzite is massive
and only slightly replaced, and talc is restricted to
places where it is fractured.
CHLORITE DEPOSITS
A large part of the production of the Frisco mine is
massive green chlorite that locally is called pyrophyllite.
The chlorite occurs in shear zones 2 to 15 feet thick in
dolomite and in felsic dikes that are altered to chlorite,
sericite, and clay minerals.
Chemical analysis of the chlorite
[Analyzed by P. L. D. Elmore and K. E. White of the U.S.
Geological Survey]
Percent Percent
Si02 ___________________ 29.0 K20 ___________________ .02
A1203 __________________ 25. 0 TiO: __________________ . 40
F6203 __________________ . 7 P 205 __________________ - 22
FeO ___________________ . 82 MnO __________________ .01
MgO __________________ 30 6 H20 ___________________ 12. 6
CaO ___________________ .36 002 ___________________ <. 05
N320 __________________ 0.04
81
The chemical analysis suggests that the chloritic rock
is a mixture of approximately 87 percent amesite and 13
percent talc.
Optical, X-ray, and differential thermal analysis
data show that the chlorite is amesite with a chlorite
structure. The chlorite has the following optical prop-
erties: optic Sign +, 2V small, m: 1573:0003; m3
= 1.574 i 0.003; nu: 1.583 i 0.003. This closely fits the
optical properties of amesite given by Winchell (1936,
p. 643).
X -ray diffraction pattern
dA I ntensity dA Intensity
1. 397 __________________ 10 2. 44 __________________ 16
1. 537 __________________ 12 2. 54-; _________________ 20
1. 57 ___________________ 10 2. 85 __________________ 20
1. 82 ___________________ 5 3. 56 ___________________ 83
1. 88 ___________________ 8 4. 745 __________________ 83
2. 00 ___________________ 16 7. 14 ___________________ 100
2. 26 ___________________ 8 14. 255 __________________ 45
2. 38 ___________________ 8
The X—ray data confirm that the mineral has a chlorite-
type structure. It has a strong 14A series of basal re-
flections and is not similar to amesite from the type
locality, which has a kaolin—type structure (Gruner,
1944, p. 422). Nelson and Roy (1953, p. 1458) have
shown the existence of both types of amesite—the 7A
kaolin type and the 14A chlorite type. The differential
thermal analysis curve also fits a 14A chlorite.
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A
Acknowledgments ................
Actinolite ........
Agglomerate ........................ .. 33,34
Ajax Tungsten Corp ................ 53
Alameda beds....
Alliance talc mine .................... 8, 11, 42, 43, 80
Alluvium ................................... 5, 36, 39
Alteration. Se'c Metamorphism.
Altitude of area ............................... 4
American Metals, Inc ........................ 53, 54
Ameslte ............ 81
Ammonites ................................... 26, 27
Amphibolite .................................. 50, 51
2, 53, 55
Andeslne ..................................... 29,35
Andesite, age ................................ 37
petrography.. 37
Arsenopyrite ................................. 59,76
Antler-its ..................................... 64
Argus Range .......................... 4, 5, 17, 18,24,
28, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, 44,45, 52, 55, 73
_- 29, 32, 34, 35, 37
Azurite ................................. 64, 74, 75, 79
B
Butte ..................................... 62, 68, 75
Basalt. 5,33, 34, 36, 37,45, 46, 52, 75, 76
Belle Union mine..
.._ 53, 55, 58, 69, 70, 72
_____________ 64, 75
29, 30, 31, 32, 35 .
_____________ 21
...... 59,60, 61, 65, 72
Blsmuthlnite ................ 59, 77, 79
Blsmutlte ................... 59, 64, 79
_________ 56, 57, 68, 70
Bornite ...................................... 59, 65
Brachiopods ................... 11, 15, 16, 18, 26, 27, 28
Breccia .................................... 26, 33, 34
Brochantite ....................... 64
53
Bryoman .................................. 16, 17, 27
Buckhorn mine ............................... 54
C
Cactus Owen mine ........................... 75,76
Calcarenite .............................. 6, 22, 26, 52
Calcite .............................. 56, 62, 68, 76, 77
Calcilutite .................. 6, 22, 52, figs. 21 and 24
Calc-hornfels ................................. 28,
46, 47, 48, 50, 57, 64, 65, 68, 73, 75, 76, 77
Cale-silicate rock ................. 47, 48, 50, 65, 68, 70
Caledonite ................................... 64
Carboniferous formations ............... 18, 19, 20, 21
INDEX
Page
Cenozoic rocks. . ............ 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
andesite ...... ... 5, 35, 36, 75
Coso formation. ...... 5, 36
lakebeds ............... .. 5,37, 38, 39
old fanglomerate from the Inyo Moun-
tains ............................. 5, 36
old fanglomerate marginal to Darwin
Wash ............................. 5, 37
olivine basalt... 5, 36, 37, 75, 76
pyroclastic rocks .................. 5, 33,
34, 35, 75, 76, figs. 11, 12 and 13
structural features of ___________________ 45, 46, 74
unconsolidated gravels and alluvium. . .. 5, 39
Cerargyrite ............................
Cerro Gordo mine.
Cemssite ......
Chabazite . _ .
Chainman shale.
Chaleanthite. ._-
Chalcocite. . _
Chalcedony .................
-- 35
Chalcopyrite.._..--....-
Chert .............
China Garden spring ..........
Chlorite .......................
deposits _______
Christmas Gift mine ....... 26, 41, 54, 55, 58, 67, 68, 71
Chrysocolla.........._..-..-. .......... 64, 74, 75, 79
Cinders ........................ 33, 34
Classification of ore deposits .................. 68
Clausthalite ............................ 56, 59, 61, 65
Climate ....... 3, 4
Clinozoisite ............................. . 32,48, 51
Columbia mine _______________________________ 53
Combined Metals Reduction 00 ............. 5
Concretions ................................. 19
Conglomerate ....................... 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Copper ................... 52, 53, 54, 55, 71, 72, 75, 79
Copper fault ................................ . 44, 72
Corals ...................... 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Coso formation ............................. 5, 35, 36
Coso Range ................................ 4, 29, 36
tungsten deposits ......................... 79
Covellite ..................................... 63
Creedite ...................................... 59,64
Crinoids ............................... 14,15,16,18
Crocoite... . 63
Cuprite . . . ............................. 64
Custer mine ___________________ 54, 55, 56, 57, 62, 66,70
Cystoids ..................................... 8
D
Darwin ............................... 2, 4, 31, 32, 52
Darwin Antimony mine ............. 22,23, 26, 53, 79
Darwin Canyon .......... 4, 26, 30, 32, 39, 48, 50, 51, 52
Darwin Consolidated Tungsten Co.. 53
Darwin Development Co ............. 53
Darwin district .................. 56,57, 64,66, 68,79
tungsten deposits in .................... 76, 77
Darwin Falls ..........
Darwin Hills ..............
5,,,,,,,,,:1,2l42224262932374142
43,44,,,,,,,.48505253697079
Darwin Hills syncline ........................ 40
55
55
Page
Darwin Lead 3: Silver Mining and Develop-
ment Co ___________________________________ 53
Darwin lead-silver-zinc district 52, 69, 70
future of mining in ....................... 72
ore deposits ........ . ..................... 70
structure" 70
Darwin mine ................................. 2,
43,44,4849,,,,,,,,,5051535556575860
61, 62,,63,64 65, 66,69, 71, 72, 73, 77.
Darwin Plateau ............................ 4,33, 39
Darwin Silver Co ____________________________ 54
Darwin stock ............................. 20,68, 73
Darwin tear fault ............. 21, 22, 40, 44, 45, 48, 73
Darwin Wash.. _ ___________ 24, 33, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 52
Darwin Wash syncline ....................... 40
Darwin zinc mine ............................ 73
Davis thrust _______________ 42, 43, 48, 57, 58, 70,71, 72
Defiance fault ................................ 71, 72
Defiance mine.... 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62,
66, as, 69, 70, 71, 72
Devonian rocks, distribution ............... 5,11, 12
lithology ............................ 5, 13,51, 80
stratigraphic relations ................. 11, 12, 13
thickness ____________________________ 5, 11, 12, 13
Deweylite ........ 62
Diatoms ..................................... 38, 39
Dikes, basalt ____________
andesite porphyry.
diorite ...........
felsic _ _ . .
Diopside . . . .
Dolomite. . . .
Dolomitization ________
Douglass, R. 0., quoted.
Driver mine .............
Duncan, Helen, quoted-
Durham mine .......................... 53,77, 78, 79
E
Ely Springs dolomite, age .................... 11
lithology ........................
stratigraphic relations ...........
thickness ............
Empress mine .................... 55,56, 57, 66, 73,74
Encrinite .............................. _ 14
Enargite.. 59
Epidote ................................... 24, 47, 51
Erosion ....................................... 52
Essex mine .......... 53,55, 58, 61, 64, 68, 70, 72
Eureka quartzite, age ......................... 10
distribution ............................... 9
lithology ......... 9,10,80
stratigraphic relations ....................
thickness ................................. 9
F
Fairbanks mine .............................. 49, 50
Fanglomerate ..... . 5,36, 37
Faults- 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 58, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79
Fernando fault. .-- ........... 66,77
Fernando mine_- 53, 57,64, 77, 79
Fieldwork .................................... 5
Flow structures .............................. 35
Fluorite ............... 56, 63, 64, 68
Folds ................. 21, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 52, 57, 58
Foliation ..................................... 45
85
86
, Page
Foreman, L. D., And Co ...................... 54, 55
Forms~of ore bodies...
Forsterite ..........
Fossils ....................... 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14,15, 16,
17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 38, 39, 41
Frisco talc mine ..................... 32, 80, 81
Fusulinids ........................ 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 41
G
Gabbro ....................................... 51
Galena ............ 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 74, 75, 76
Gangue minerals. ............ 52, 56, 74, 75
Garnet ........................ 47, 48, 49, 50, 63, 65, 68
Gastropods ............................... 8, 9, 26, 27
Geochemical prospecting. - . - 71, 72
Geologic history .............................. 51, 52
Giroux mine .................................. 79
Glass. volcanic. .
Golfball horizon .............................. 22,43
Gordon, Mackenzie, Jr., quoted .............. 15, 16
Goslarite ...................... - 59,64
Granodiorite ................................. 29
Graphite. ..J ................................. 14
Gravels 1: 5, 39
Guanajuatite ................................. 61
Gypsum .............. ' .................... 5 9, 64, 74
H
Hayward mine ............................... 77
Hematite ________
Hemimorphite ................ 59, 63, 64,67, 74, 75, 76
Henbest, L. 0., quoted ............ 23
Hidden Valley dolomite, age 12
distribution .............................. 9, 11
lithology ................................. 6, 12
stratigraphic relations. . ll. 12
thickness _______________________________ 6, 11, 12
History of mining ............................ 52, 53
Homestake prospect- 57, 75, 76
Homblende ............................... 29, 35, 51
Horsts ..................................... 73, 74, 76
Hunter Mountain quartz monzonite. 29
Hydrozincite ___________________________ 59, 64, 67, 74
Hypogene minerals ________________________ 58, 59, 66
I
Iddingsite .................................... 37
Idocrase ___________ . 47, 48, 63,65
Imperial Metals Inc ______________________ 53, 55
Imperial Smelting and Refining Co ___________ 53
Independence mine _______________ 53, 55, 58,69, 70, 72
Intermediate mine ............................ 69
Intrusive rocks ___________________ 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36
Inyo County Mining and Development Co._- 53,54
Inyo Mountains ............. 4, 10, 19, 21, 24, 45, 46, 52
ore deposits in ............................ 75, 76
J
Jackass mine ______________________________ 56, 66, 70
J arosite.. . .
Jasper-..
Joints ...................................... 9, 35, 37
K
Kalisyenite ................................... 50
Keeler Canyon formation, age ............. 23, 57, 70
correlation ................................ 23
distribution ........................ 22, 70, 76, 79
lithology ........................... 22, 46, 47, 79
lower unit ............................. 22
stratigraphic relations ......... 17, 21,22, 70, 75
structure ........................... 41, 42, 43, 76
thickness
INDEX
L Page
Labradorite .................................. 37
Mad deposits, distribution. . 3, 52, 55, 57, 66, 71, 75, 76
production and grade ..................... 52,
53, 54, 55, 66,67, 69, 70, 75, 76
Leadhillite ................................... 59, 63
Lead Hope mine ....................... 49
Ice district, geologic setting ...... - 56, 74, 75
structure ........................... 58, 75
are deposits in ................ 75
Lee Flat ____________________ -.- - 4, 18,39
Lee Flat limestone ............. 6, 18, 20, 51, 69, 70, 73
age ....................................... 19, 73
correlatiom-.. 19
distribution .............................. 18
lithology ................................. 19, 79
stratigraphic relations-.. -- 17, 18, 19, 69, 70, 73
thickness ............................... 6, 18, 19
Lee mine ............. 15, 16, 55, 56, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 75
Lee Wash ...................... -.-_ 4
Leuoocratic quartz monzonite ---------------- 28, 31
Leucogranite ............................... 5, 31, 32
Limestone ________ 5, 6, s, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21,22,
2‘], 26, 27, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 64, 65, 73, 76
Limonite-._ .-.- 32, 43,59, 64, 76, 79
Linarite.- .......... 59, 64
Lineation ..................................... 43
Lin- ‘ “ mine _ 57
Literature cited ------------------------------ 81—83
Location of area .............................. 2
Lohman, K. E., quoted ---------------------- 38,39
Lippincott member_ . .
lithology .......... --- 6,13,14, 28, 75, 79. 80
ore in ------------------- 57,69
stratigraphic relations-- _---- ...... 12, 13, 69
thickness.--...-. ............. -.-- 6,12,13,69
Lower Centennial Flat ______ 39
Lucky Jim mine ...... 41, 45, 53, 55, 56, 58, 62, 67, 68, 71
M
Madison group ------------------------------- 15
Magnetite--. - 32,51
Malachite - _ .
Marble...-
Matildite..
Melanterite.
Mesothermal deposits-
Mesozoic rocks ------
aplite .....
biotite—hornblende quartz monzonite
dikes ..............................
gabbro _ -
leucocratic quartz monzonite
leucogranite .................
monzonite"-
- 59, 64
, 13, 15, 42, 46
syenodionte-
Mesozoic orogeny ............................. 45
Metamorphic rocks -------------------- 22, 28, 46—51
Metamorphism .............................. 46—51
dolomitization ............................ 47
46
recrystallization to marble ................ 46, 47
to amphibolite ---------------------------- 50, 51
to ealc-hornfels, calc—silicate rock, and
tactite ............................. 47, 48, 49
to feldspathic rock ........................ 50
within igneous rocks ...................... 46
Mickey Summers fault ....................... 71, 73
Page
Mill Canyon ................................. 4
Millers Spring ................................ 26, 39
Munptm 59
Mineralogy ....................... 56, 58-67, 74, 75, 77
Mines and prospects--._ 53—58, 66-71, 73, 75—77, 79, 80
Mining history .................... 52, 53, 75
Missisflppian rocks.-. .. 5,6, 14-19, 57,73
Montmorlllonite ........
New Coso Mining Co ......
New York Butte quadrangle ...... 3, 12, 14, 22, 40,47
N
N onmetallic commodities ..................... 79-81
0
Oligoclase ................................. 29, 31, 32
Olivine 37
Olivine basalt ........................ 5, 33, 34, 36, 37
Ophir Mountain ....................... 22,40, 42, 47
Ordovician rocks ....... . 6,18, 9, 10, 11, 51
distribution ............................. 6, 9, 10
lithology ........................... 6, 8, 9, 10, 11
stratigraphic relations. --- 6, 7, 9,10
thickness ------------------------------ 6, 7, 9, 10
Ore controls, lead-zinc-silver deposits ........ 57, 58
nearness to intrusive contacts". 57
relationship of ore to faults --------------- 5s
relationship of ore to folds ................ 57
relationship of ore to stratigraphy- 57
Ore deposits, antimony ....................... 79
copper .................................... 79
lead-zinc-silver - -- 3. 52
bedded deposits.... 56
character- . . . ....... . 55
classification 68
controls ...................... 57, 58
distribution ---------------- 55
forms of ore bodies 56
gangue minerals ...... ._ 62,63
geochemical prospecting .. 71,72
geothermometry ...... ...- 68, 69
grade --------- 53 67, 74, 75
history ......... ---- 52, 53
hypogene minerals .............. 59, 60, 61, 62
in Darwin lead-silver-zinc district ..... 69,
70, 71, 72
in the Inyo Mountains and Talc City
Hills ............................ 75,76
in the Lee district- -. 74, 75
in Zinc Hill district ........ -- 73,74
irregular replacement bodies 56
mineralogy ------------------ 58, 59, 60, 61, 62
ore bodies of flat-lying fracture..
origin ........................
oxidation and enrichment-
paragenesis ..............
primary zoning.-
production .................
supergene minerals, oxide none ._ 63, 64
sulfide zone ------------------ 63
veins- . 56
talc ---------- 79,80
geology oi _ - - 80
are bodies. - . 80
origin of ------- 81
steatite-grade talc__ .- 80
tungsten ................. . 76 77, 78,79
controls_ - - ------- 77
d1stribution ------------------ 76
form of _______________________________ 77
grade ------------------------------ - _ . 77
in the Coso Range -------------------- 79
in the Darwin district ................ 76, 78
mineralogy --------------------------- 77
Orthoclase ........................ 31, 32, 35, 48, 63, 76
Orthoquartzite.-....----_.- -------------- 6, 9, 10,13
Page
Owens Valley formation .............. 5, 24—28, 43,73
26, 27, 28, 43,73
correlation. ........................ 26, 27, 28
distribution. . _________________________ 24, 25
lithology _______________ 21, 26,27, 28, 46, 47, 73, 79
lower unit ................... _ . 24
middle unit ................. .__. 27,28
stratigraphic relations ______________ 24, 26, 27, 28
structural features ..................... 39, 40, 44
thickness ______________ 24, 26, 27, 28
upper unit. ...... _._ 28
Oxide zone . . . ...... 59, 63, 64, 66-69
Oxidized ore _______________________________ 66, 67, 79
Oxyhornblende _______________________________ 35
P
Pacific Tungsten Co. ________________________ 53
Paleozoic rocks ............................... 5—28,
39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52, 55,
70, 73, 75, 80.
Panamint Butte quadrangle ............ 17, 19, 31, 45
Panamint Range .......................... 12, 17,45
Panamint Springs. ........... 4
Panamint Valley. ...... 3,4,33,39,48
Paragenesis- . .-- ...... _.._ 64
of amphibolite ............................ 51
of ore and gangue minerals ............... 64
Pegmatite ......................... __ 28, 31, 51
Pennsylvanian rocks. .. 5, 6, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 73
distribution . . . .......... 5, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24
lithology ........................... 19, 21, 22,23
structural features ........................ 21
thickness ...... 5, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24
Perdido formation. ........ ..- 17, 18,69, 73
age ................ _. 18
distribution .............................. 17
lithology .............................. 17, 18, 73
stratigraphic relations ....... 14, 15, 17,69, 73
thickness ................................. 17
Permian rocks ...................... 5, 6, 21, 24—28, 73
distribution .............................. 5, 21
lithology ..................... 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28
structural features. 21
thickness ............................ 5, 21, 22, 24
Petrography .................... 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36
mstocene rocks ........................ 5, 36-39, 52
Pliocene rocks ............................. 33—36, 52
Plumbojarosite
Pogonip group.
age .........
distribution .............................. 6
lithology ................................. 8
stratigraphic relations ..... .. 6, 7, 8
thickness ...................... ._ 6, 7, 8
Potassium-argon age determinations. __ 30, 31
Previous work .............................. 4, 5, 76
Production ....................... 53, 54, 55, 73, 75, 77
antimony ................... 53
copper . . ....... 53, 54, 55, 73, 75
gold.. ...... _-._ 53, 54, 55
lead ................... . ......... 53, 54, 55, 73, 75
silver ............................ 53, 54, 55, 74, 75
talc-.-- _.._ 53,55
tungsten. ........................... 53, 77
zinc ....................... 53, 54, 55, 73, 75
Promontory ............................ 53,55, 56, 70
Prospecting, geochemical ..................... 71, 72
Prospects. See Mines and Prospects.
Pseudomalachite . .
Purpose of report ............................. 3
Pyroclastic rocks ........................ 5, 33, 34, 52
33
lithology ............................... 5,33, 34
l Page
Pyroclastic rocks—Continued ‘
lower unit.........__-___._1 ............... 33,34
relation to other rocks .................... 33
thickness ................................. 33, 35
upper unit.. ._ 34, 35
Pyrite ....... 31,32, 50, 56, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 74,75, 77
Pyrometasomatic deposits.- .. 68,69
Pyrolousite ................................... 59, 64
Pyromorphite ................................ 59
Pyrrhotite ........................... 56, 50, 62, 65, 69
Q
Quartz ............. 9, 10, l2, 15, 19, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34,
35, 37, 47, 51, 56, 58, 63, 64, 74, 75
Quartz diorite ................................ 29
Quartzite .......... ' ........... 6, 12, 13, 76, 79—81
Quartz latite ................................. 32
Quartz monzonite ___________ 5, 28—31, 46, 57, 73, 79, 80
Quartz Spring area ......... , ....... 6, 8—12, 14, 17, 19
R
Radioactive minerals ......................... 64, 74
Radiore tunnel ............................... 55
Rainbow Canyon. 4, 28, 48
Recent rocks ................................. 33, 39
Red vein ............................... 56, 57, 68, 70
Rest Spring shale. ...... 6, 17, 19, 20, 21, 43, 76
...... .. 21
...... 19, 20, 21
lithology ______
stratigraphic relations .................... 19
Rip Van Winkle mine ............ 53, 55,69
Ross, R. J. Jr., quoted ........................ 8,11
S
St. Charles mine .......................... 44, 77, 79
Sandstone ............... ... 18,28
Santa Ana mine. ........ . 66
Santa Rosa fault ........ _ 46
Santa Rosa flat ............................... 39
Santa Rosa Hills- . . 4, 12, 14, 17, 18, 22, 23, 46, 48, 75, 79
Santa Rosa Hills warp ........................ 42
Santa Rosa mine ......
35, 48, 52, 54—58, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 75, 76
Scapolite .................................. 30, 48, 51
Scheelite ................... 52, 53, 62,65,436, 76, 77, 79
Selenium.. ..- 61,65
Sericite-.-- ..... 32, 63
Shale .......... 5, 6, 13, 14, 18, 19,21, 22, 23, 26,27, 28, 36
Silicated limestone .................. 28, 45,49, 50, 68
Sillimanite ................................... 48
Sills ....... 66
Siltstone. .. 5,17,18,19,21,26,27,28,36
Silurian rocks. .................... 11, 12
Silver ...................... 52, 55, 59, 66,68, 70, 71, 72
distribution ..... _.._ 52, 55, 57,68, 71, 72, 75,76
native ....... 64
production ...................... 52-55, 69, 73-76
Silver Dollar mine ....... 14, 19,21, 42, 43, 54, 57, 75,76
Silver Reid prospect .................... 56, 57, 74, 75
Smithsonite .................................. 67
Sphalerite. _. 56, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 74, 75, 76, 77
Sphene ................................. 29, 31, 32, 48
Standard fault ....................... 44, 58, 70, 71, 73
Stannite ................. 62
Steatite talc... ....... 52, 79, 8D
deposits ............... 80
production ............................... 55, 80
Stibnite ...................................... 79
Stilbite ........ _.._ 32
Stolzite ................ .. 76
Strike-slip faults..- . 4.2 43,44
Stratigraphic sections ......................... 5,
6,8,,,101113,15,1617,2326,73
Structure ............. .. 39—46
Zinc Hill district. . . 74
87
Page
Sulfide minerals._ ..... 54-62, 68, 69
Sulfur ....................... 59, 64
Supergene minerals ........................ 59,63, 67
Syenite ....................................... 32
'1‘
Tactite ......... 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 73, 77
Talc City Hills ..................... 5, 6, 9—14, 17—19,
21, 22, 36, 39, 42—45. 47,53, 55, 56, 75, 76,80
Talc City Hills district, ore deposits .......... 75,76
Talc City Hills syncline ...................... 42
Talc City mine. ........ 11-14, 32, 47, 52, 53,55, 80, 81
Talc City thrust. ................... 42,44
Talc deposits ........................... 52, 79,80, 81
origin ..................................... 81
production ..... . 52,55
structural features ..... 80
Tenorite ...................................... 59, 64
Tertiary rocks ........................ 32, 33, 52
Tetrahedrite-tennantite ................... 62, 65, 75
Thompson mine ......... 53,55, 58, 60—62, 69, 72,77, 79
Tin mountain limestone.. .. 13—17, 40, 43, 47, 69, 73, 75
age ....................................... 15—17
distribution 14
lithology ........................ 14, 15,47, 73, 79
stratigraphic relations. . . . _ 14, 69
thickness ................................. l4
Thrust faults ................................. 42,43
Topography_. 4
Tourmaline. _ ............ 29, 31, 32
Tremolite. . . _ 14, 18, 19,28, 47, 48,50
Trinity mine ................................. 11
Tuff ....................................... 33,34, 36
Tufl-breccia ...... _ 33,34
Tungsten deposits, 0030 Range._ .. 76, 79
Darwin district .......... -. 52,53, 66, 76,78
distribution .............................. 76
grade ..................................... 77
mineralogy- - 77, 79
production. . . 52
U
Ubehebe mine ................................ 57
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle ............. _.._ 3,
5,,,,,69101112,14,17,,,,19212932
Unconformities ............. 21, 24, 28, 33, 39 40, 51, 52
V
Vanadim’te ................................... 59, 63
Vegetation ....... __ 3, 4
Vein deposits, lead-zinc-silver .............. 56, 75, 76
Victory prospect.... 11
Viking mine.......- 9
Vivianite ...................................... 59, 64
Volcanic bombs 33, 34, 35
Volcanic rocks ............................. 33—37, 52
W
Water supply of area ......................... 4
Water tank fault ....................... 44, 58, 70, 71
West Coast Tungsten Corp __________ 53
White Swan mine ....................... 9, 10, 11, 21
Williams, James Steele, quoted _______________ 16
Wollastonite ............................... 47—50, 63
Wonder mine ................................. 55,57
Wulfenite .................................... 59
Z
Zinc deposits ........................ 52, 55,56, 66—72
distribution .............................. 55
production ...................... 54, 55, 69, 75, 76
Zinc Hill district. ......... 52,57, 73,74
geologic setting ........................... 57,73
ore deposits ............................ 57,73, 74
structural features ................. 74
Zinc Hill fault ................................ 74
Zinc Hill mine.. 54—58, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 73, 74
Zircon ..................................... 10, 31, 35
SEA LEVEL _
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
117°45’
36°30’ -
25
7
20'
N
30’
(UBEHEBE PEAK)
420 000
(PINAMINT BUTTE)
36°30’
AIIuvium
Fan deposits, stream gravels, wash
deposits, and slope wash
Recent
Ql
FEET
Lake deposits
Mainly white, medium-bedded pumi—
ceous ash that interfingers with
older gravel in the Argus Range;
diatoms of middle to late Pleisto-
cene age locally present
Pleistocene
Qb
Olivine basalt flows
Thin tuff beds are shown by dots. A
few undifferentiated flows in
Darwin Canyon are younger than
Qof
Coso formation
Arkosic sand, silt and clay
Tpu
Tpl ”Sm
Pyroclastic rocks
Tpu, uppw unit, agglomerate, lapilli
tuff, and tuff breccia of basaltic
composition; includes some basalt
flows, intrusive basalt, and minor
pumicc
Tpl, lower unit, bedded lapilli tuff;
includes olivine basalt flow, Tb.
Pliocene(?)
/.
Andesite porphyry dikes
EXPLANATION
le
Landslide deposits
Qof
Old fanglomerate marginal to
Darwin Wash
F anglomerate in Darwin Wash and
Argus Range, overlain and under-
lain by olivine basalt flows
We
Intrusive basalt
Dikes, sills, and irregular plugs
localized near Or in vents
Old fanglomerate from the Inyo
Mountains
Contains fragments of Paleozoic
rocks in a clay and silt matrix
Tan
Andesite
Interbedded near top of
pyroclastic rocks
MAJOR UNCONFORM/TY
Diorite dikes
Includes aplite, pegmatite, and leucogranite
Jimphibolite
Includes amphibolite, epidote, amphibolite horn-
bleMe gabbro, and diorite
qul qu2
TABS.
2 370 000 FEET
A Conglomerate Mesa
6000'
Mp
2000' _
2000'
‘ h . 39 E.
117045, Base from U. 8. Geological Survey map of
Darwin quadrangle, California, 1950
Qal QTI Qal
qu2
sandstone.
Rest Spring shale
Dark—brown and dark greenish-gray
fissile shale and minor siltstone.
Occurs only in fault zones
Perdido formation
Interbedded thin- to medium-bedded
gray limestone and brown—weath-
ering chert. Some limestone beds
consists predominantly of crinoid
columnals. Correlates with lower
part of type Perdido formation
(Mo Allister, 1952) except in east-
ern part of Talc City Hills, where
equivalents of upper part of type
Perdi' i0 are present. Silicated zones
shown by overlining
Quartz monzonite
qu., biotite—hornblende-quartz monzonite. Border
facies are medium-grained quartz-poor rocks that
include monzonite, syenite, syenodiorite, and gabbro,’
not differentiated on map. Includes Hunter Mountain
quartz monzonite in northeast corner of quadrangle.
Kq m2, light—colored quartz monzonite
MAJOR UNCONFORMITY
Paleozoic Silicated rocks, undifferentiated
Owens Valley formation
Pou, upper unit, limestone conglomerate, siltstone, and
Po, middle and lower units, undifferentiated, Middle
unit, brick—red and yellowish-brown shale, siltstone
and blue-gray limestone. Exposed only around base
of Conglomerate Mesa. Lower unit, mainly thin to
medium bedded bluish—gray calcarenite. Contains
lenses of pure limestone and limestone breccia that
are abundantly fossiliferous, and lesser siltstons and
shale. Silicated zones shown by overlining
Keeler Canyon formation
Pku, upper unit, interbedded gray, thin- to medium-
bedded calcarenite, calcilutite, pink fissle shale, silt-
stone, and limestone pebble conglomerate.
PlPkl, lower unit, thin- to medium-bedded calcarenite,
containing some limestone pebble conglomerate beds
with abundant fusulinids; in basal part of unit,
spheroidal chert nodules 1/.) to 11/2 inches in diameter
and sparse Fusulinella of Middle Pennsylvanian age.
Silicated zones shown by overlining
Lee Flat limestone
Thinly bedded, dark-gray limestone
with thin sandy iron-stained part—
ings. Locally contains chert lenses
and thin beds. Lee Flat is a time-
stratigraphic equivalent of the Rest
Spring shale and the upper part of
the Perdido formation in the
Ubehebe Peak quadrangle (Mc-
Allister, 1956). At Zinc Hill,
includes Tin Mountain limestone
and Perdido formation. Silicated
zones shown by overlining
A‘
Upper
Ordovician
h
QUATERNARY
Middle
Ordovician
Lower and M iddle( ?)
Ordovician
TERTIARW?)
CRETACEOUS l?)
CRETACEOUS(?)
PERMIAN
V
PENNSYLVANIAN
AND PERMIAN
PENNSYL-
VANIAN(?)
MISSISSIPPIAN
, 36°19
ooso PEAK)
Geology by W. E. Hall and EM. MaCKevett, Jr., 1952—54
117°30’
A!
w 6000’
4000'
2000'
SEA LEVEL 0‘0
Talc City Hills
BEND IN
d Dll D's Oe
Darwin Hills 4\
PM! PlPkl 0T
Tin Mountain limestone
Predominantly dark-gray fine—grained limestone in
beds 1% to 12 feet thick; chert nodules and crinoid
columnals common throughout the formation. Lime-
stone is bleached white at south end of the Santa Rosa
Hills. Siliciated zones shown by overlining
I ,aDls
" p'Du
Did
‘u qu
Lost Burro formation
DIS, shale unit, brownfissile shale restricted to upper
part of Lost Burro formation in the Talc City Hills.
DH, limestone and marble unit, thinly bedded white and
light-gray limestone and marble, characteristically
banded by streaks and thin beds of gray marble.
Dark-gray limestone beds near base of unit contain
cladoporoid corals and stromatoporoids
Dld, dolomite unit, light-gray, massive to thickly bedded
dolomite with a mottled appearance and minor quartz-
ite. Contains several dark-gray limestone beds 40 to
50 feet thick that are partly dolomitized.
qu, white, vitreous quartzite at the base of the
formation. Correlates in part with the Lippincott
member described by McAllister (1955)
g.—
\F
DEVONIAN
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
PLATE I
\ a
(Z: 2
08h S
. Z z
S 0
Hidden Valley dolomite g:
Light—gray massive dolomite -J D
U)
Ely Sprlngs dolomite
Thickly bedded'dolomite, dark-gray in lower part and
lighter gray in upper part. Black chert nodules and
thin beds are in the lower part
Z
. 5
Eureka quartzite 9
White to light-gray vitreous quartzite; lower part is 5
stained dark brown Q
0:
O
Pogonip group
Mainly light to medium gray, thickly bedded dolomite
and minor limestone. Upper part contains several
dark-brown siliceous units 8 to 178feet thick that
contain interbedded iron-stained chert, sandy lime-
stone, and dolomite. Dolomite in upper part contains
abundant large gastropods (Palliseria robusta
Wilson)
Z
w E
0 z
4 x
Gneiss Z
3
Contact
Dashed where approximately located;
Indefinite contact
Includes gradational contacts and indefinite boudaries
of surficial deposits
4— U
_’ D I 60
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approximately located. U, upthrown side;
D, downthrown side. Arrows show relative movement
90
Vertical fault
Concealed fault
Thrust fault
Saw teeth on side of upper plate
Anticline
Overturned anticline
Synbline
Showing direction of plunge of axis
Overturned syncline
25
_1._
Strike and dip of beds
41.
7O
Strike and dip of overturned beds
90
—l——
Strike of vertical beds
63
Horizontal beds
__fi
70
Strike and dip of fracture cleavage
at
Strike of vertical fracture cleavage
T
50
Strike and dip of joints
+
Strike of vertical joints
_V_
5
Strike and dip of flow banding
Horizontal flow banding
TRUE NORTH
APPROXIMATE MEAN
DECLINATION,196]
4000'
2000’
SEA LEVEL
2000’
MAP OF THE DARWIN QIADRANGLE AND SECTIONS, INYO
GEOLOGIC
1
l—-ll--ll—-ll—-—l
CONTOUR INTERVAL 40 FEET
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
3M|LES
[NTERIORgGEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON. D, c 110212
COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROFESSIONAL PAPER 368
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE 2
g , , ,.. a , , EXPLANATION
g Qal Oes
Q: Alluvium Ely Springs dolomite z
E s
<
§ Qb //b 2 0e ‘3)
8 . . 33 8
1,3, 011v1ne basalt 2 Eureka quartzite a:
‘3 Flows, Qb; dikes, b. Tu)?“ bed shown by dots 8 O
N l
m I ‘ 1131'. ' p Op
I QTf - I E
| . . [ Pogonip group
' Fanglomerate | 5 __
«S. E Contact
§ Tp S Dashed where approximately located
m +—
8 . Ir __________
.s m . .
E P y roclastlc rocks I— Indeflmte contact
Includes tufl~breccia, agglomerate, and basalt cinders
A 75
2 an % Overturned contact, showing dip
_ 3 £50
. . O —
Ande31te porphyry dlke 8 Fault, showing dip
< Dashed where approximately located
qu2 E
90
r ‘ , 1 l , 5 U _I—_
; > -, l. ‘ > y . ,‘i m x ‘ .. I“ . . , \,\ Quartz monzonite Vertical fault
, , _ 7, , 4 . , 022
ES I32
' " . 2 Thrust fault, showing dip
Owens Valley formatlon j Z Saw teeth on side of upper plate
>- Z <
m ”- , Inverted anticllne
3 Showing direction and dip of plunge
> 2
U)
2; «Ja—
‘ ‘ u 5 <>t Inverted syncline
Rest Spring IPMI EL Showing direction and dip of plunge
W
1Lee Flat 2 Syniline
1mestone 3 Showing trace of axial plane
Perdido formation 3‘
Silicated zones shown g —
by overlmmg a Overturned syncline
APPROXIMATE MEAN @345th 9 Showing trace of axial plane and direction ofdip of
DECLINATION, 1960 Qbimk’ DH 2 limbs. Dashed where approximately located
\ 'h'
\ /
. rDld - . . J i2
Qb 4.1 . Tm Mountam llmestone N Strike and dip of beds
./ 1 w W} x / I I /V
T h d'f' ' l G | b W E E M K t J 1953 ‘DIS 7%"
opogrfag y mo iéed trorti'] U. Sa Geol'ogulcgsiurvey e0 ogy y . . Hall and .M, ac evet, r., DH 2 Strike and dip of overturned beds
map 0 arwm’ -mlnu equa rang 6" INTERIOR-rGEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON,D. c.7710212 <_(
Dld z 90
, o . ‘l— .
GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE TALC CITY HILLS, IN YO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA mq r5 Strike of vemcal beds
' D is
SCALE 132400 Lost Burro formation Mine
1 O :i MILE Shale, Dls; limestone, DII; dolomite, Dld;
l—_—l l"——l l ' quartzite, qu J X
CONTOUR INTERVAL 100 FEET z 2 Prospect
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL 4: E .'.'.'.'.
DSh E E Z Talc
T 3/\l_\/ l/ \
/\//l//\/ \vaf \ PlPk1
\ /\/\\/\/ /~\ \ . ~5400’
\ //\”c/\\,\L \ 3/:k
’ \Z‘l \/\\\/ \/ \ l\/\ I
/ ‘l\l/\l/l \//I“\/I" \’ l 1\’\\/\T/ i \/ /
L L / , L - / , \ ,
(CA) /\\/‘\/\I/\/;/\’/ \///\/\l\/::\/_\/_}/\ /// /)/’I<‘/l’: $4, \//\I, 7’“
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/ \ , \, \ \/ \ \/\\ / _ / \ \ /I/\/~_ \\ \/\/ l/h—i \I\ /i\\’ \/ _ ’ I
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P|Pk IZCT/T’CT—K‘JKIT/F/k \\/~\: >D/_\//\7\.‘\/\:I:I> ,‘ V/f/l// / // ,, £I\/\/i\I/\/\'\_/\qu1\,//:(;\\/\/\1\/\\/“\/\\ \/\ \ ,v /‘ ,II/ 3A LEVEL
\\\ //\_’ \\ /\/7 /\| \ w ‘\T\\ ~.I \-,-.r x/Tx /\~_—\~ \ '
6 I/ \I/.\ \/\/, . /,l I, a, ,,_ ‘\/ ,\ \ \\ \
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_ \T” T/\’/‘f/“\\‘/' ‘/ E‘ \\ \Ll/\/ /:l\/ \TI\ ’/\1/ \\ /\ \ \‘
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1‘ "f 7/ .I7T\\/\ —‘//\/\/\\\/ \"\C\“\/\ ';I\ ’C/il/ /\\/I\§\TI\/\\I— ’ "38 LEVEL
/ , g L \/ l" \/ \/ ’ \‘ I
\/ KI \ \/ l\\\l / _I/ / / \
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:;/ /\/\/—/’\l\\/I~—/_;1\_,‘\//\I/\_/\l\ ~4OO LEVEL
/ ~ \ — , _
\ L ,3 \ /_, I.’\/.:/\/,I /\’ \/\,\\
\\'I'//,— do,”
/\/ l\ \I\,\/ ‘ \’
/\, /\ ,\l,/\ \'
\ _ /\ .
L “\ ‘ \ _ \
/\I/\1C\\I,/:,\ ,I \ /\,\ ' 7—500 LEVEL
I- \/\ / \ -
‘_. Jr \ l/
l\l\II, l/\ _\
/\/:/;I\l\’\l I,
,:/'/\\/\ \\_ “‘4800'
/I\/\’, /\/\I/‘ t
//l,/’\/\/I\l\/ ‘ ~600 LEVEL
/:]\l/\\i/\/
////\/I:I
Underground geology and outline of underground >
workings from maps ofThe Anaconda Co. PublIshed
with permission of mine owners ESSEX W0 R Kl NGS
B I ,
I" __ I
1 "ill, 5800
:I'
I II’
l "
Is 1’ If"
\ i
T y]? 3" IS -
I n W /
< ”if I!" a? Is
Z ,I// / 0/ p??-
0 II '1 / / "v
__ I 39.0
T 5 ”if? I" I x???” — 5600'
% qul ' l“?;; I ll, /// ”I“: PlPka
I I I z —
‘57], ”fig/5’ " "I «new roams/s
\ \ . _.
01”” zI—//\l \CCl/‘T\
// 4’ / ’é‘f" \17>QL<')\/Vl\l\\:/:L‘_ I00 LEVEL
‘l”/ I;¢/§l I" /|\’\\I/\’/I\I‘C/—\”\<\/‘I\
/ I .~ l \ /\ \/\- ///‘/_:l:/ \l/’7\’l:‘\
" 173%; ’ /'/ ' 41M4‘i—)I\>\I<\/:K' "’PV‘I‘V / 7/}; /“J ‘ V“\‘!'K\L\_7I"1\7 \‘/\\\7\’\’\I/I\/’\>\/‘—’I”WWW/C7“’I>I\/Ti‘\/’ qu l\}/‘:V|\-/\T/:/I\\\I:\: <"l7\
y — _L /’\I»i - ‘3‘ ‘ \\__//_\ '\\\\,\\,-‘ ’ j \ ,' / , , /| I-
‘l\ -l./\"\‘_fl:\ FNMA/frond ,5/1/ ’ «EEDN‘ xI/‘
\, /\ / ,I I \\ I /_, I L / L / _ \ __
PlPkl — I "I” /\/\///I , .\/, [/I \4 \\/ /\/l I \ \ / I l ,\ / \\/ / 1\ l/\\/ \ _\/ QOOLEVEL
/\:\;/\,‘\-/.,\/\z\\\\\.x/ /[\/\\\: / “43"; I \\~L1«LH\’I7\\/ ~11 \\\\ :l/LLIg/hIT a” /[\,, a» 7\/\,\/ —\\l’/\l//|\l\/’\\\/
Ll\/.\/\/L\/ ’\/l’/ / ’// y/ 1 '\/ /‘/ /;/ \//l\/\\/\, /_,- 7\ \ \\—\/,—/ /\ HEX, \\
»\’\/\ —(\/\l\"/‘/’l"~l"IVV/ II” EN\L\\*\—. \/\- \/- III L\,\ /\\\/,'\l /\l,\\ _ ._ ,—\/l\/\ I
”P" x’l/ ’I"E\/>//\‘ ll” \/\/\/’\/ -\/‘\’\/ —I“ ”I \ //‘\ , \’\’\‘/\~I" /\
_- ICLU“ \‘L"\/ I,\ ‘LI [’1’ ‘\\l ~\\L\/\\7I\ /_l/‘/,\/\/\/\~ Q/IJ lpi \/i\l/\_l’\‘
/l/,///<,\’/\/_\/l/\/\—~/\l \ PPM {55’ PIPk2 (LIV:MIDI»,L'\/\/’\,\,\/\I/\l‘:I\I\/C/\I>\//I;I:(T(/Ix),(/\_
‘. \- \ J/ / \. ’\/—~\ I//\/
— fish/v ’7?” \2,7<:~’\'\:”LVN/lax‘I’-'I<‘<»>l’\7v?~‘/"35200
/\ //// /\>\ \—/' —‘\/\/~ ‘x/Il /\/\/\l/ 3ALEl/EL
, 1 I x / - / — -— -—l - \— ’ _.
/\7‘:/ I??? \/ T: \\\/\/:/l/\l/\——/l/\/’\l\/\\/\\/‘\\l:€/:\i/\\\/fi\/\/\l/\
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’5’, .. /. V\,\//\/:‘>/§_x \Lq/\|’l:\‘/\/\/~\/l \//\/\\/\\\///\\\)A
x1; """ a . :; \\/“/\/\l’/\>K //’/r\/\/\" x/‘\l~\‘\/\-/\/\~\/ \_3B LEVEL
///v / \\ / I\\l ,\/-\\\\-‘ \>/\ \\,,\/\/_\I /‘\\\l\/\_ \\/\//\\//\‘“/
///’ x I E \/\/l\/\ /,—- / \/\// /\///\~\5\\T K /\\ \’\ pI/ \/// \ \/ I / ,
”7/ av; X’/\“/>_\/1L7l2<,// ‘smv’P—‘R/‘le’fiw" 'II
I/ ‘V /’ \xrzi-i \ \ -/_\//\‘\‘\// \ ~\\/ L/—/\ \/\/ ‘\
4/; (403/ ‘Dlx 95 1/ ’ (l/l7\\ \\ l/J/J: —‘—‘ \|\/[—I ‘I/lsxl/‘/1‘\)l\L/i\/l\ /l\/:L\/‘
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\ — ~ , ‘ l/\ \ \/ / _~|\ \ .
/l>:/:\l\Tl\l,l/\l\~:\/l—-l/\:l/\\"/\:\:l’\:\\’/\\\Ll/\<‘//l/‘\/l/I\
\\ \ -— I —— —- L a / l
'— ~ /\\/‘l/\I/ /I,\/\I“/ \/\//\// :l:\\/l\\L‘\/l‘\/’\I:\//\/\/~\3>i:/:/’\\ x/l\/_4800
______________________ \ I |\\/ l///\/\;\\,\/\‘\ /\\ \/I\’\/\\//“ l, \ ’\/\l/ l\\l/ /I\]/l\\I////\I7
\\//\_/:/\///.—\/\//\// :\/§r_\//I\/—\\I/_\l//,//\l/\‘_‘//)~/\I://\ —600 LEVEL
1 E \ ’ ‘ \\ — / /
ll:/:.\\\/\/\\l\/I\/\\/L\/l\\‘\(\/V\\\I\’ ‘//I «QC/MUM /T\—\\7
/ ‘\ —l‘\’,”\'~ \» :\’\\//—-,T/\*/\ _ a / \\/ /
-IT/ /\/I\/\ L\ ,\/—,/\1\/l’////I\/’\\/TL//‘/\l\ll\\/\/\/\/\\//\/\/\’/\\/\
Underground geology and outline of underground
workings from maps of The Anaconda Co.
with permission of mine owners
Published
INDEPEND
ENCE WORKINGS
C I
.1 —-5600
l~5400’
I—52oo'
\,
/ / "
\ \ l l/I/ _ \ ‘l/~ ,
\ /\ l , , / / \
/\‘ T I [/II \ '/\’\i§/\\/lvl\\é\7\l_ lax/200 \L\IT\\/:
/ \ / \ , ’ /
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I>I>:\'7\/ \/’/1\/,\’l
*— L"’/ \’> —_/\L
\I\_C/)J/\\_/l\.
l\l__/\:/‘l<\ 9’1 ~ 700 LEVEL
APPROXIMATE MEAN $\\/1\\//\(7i\\/_\’/\,
\\ ~/ /\’
DECLINATION, 1960 /—I\\/_\r/\l
l :I(\\/\< «,
E ,l\\//\\,\'\/_l/\/:—4600'
_ 4 ,/>:I\\,/:/(I/\~T\eoo LEVEL
. ‘\ . \ 1/\—~ _
'/l\\\\, \/\/\1/\l/l
/ I‘ 9\ l3 \l"\/\\\
’I' ~ *K " " \ “(Ln-A
// \ qml — 900 LEVEL
_ —-4400'
1/000 LEVEL
l J
Underground geology and outline of underground
workings from maps ofThe Anaconda Co. Published
1’ with permission of mine owners DEFlANCE WORKINGS
RAD/ORE TUNNEL/l,
400 LEVEL j(
INTERIORE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON. D c 10212 Geology by W, E, Hall, 1954
Topography by E, M. MacKevett. Jr.,
and W. E. Hall
GEOLOGIC MAP AND
SECTIONS
OF THE DARWIN MINE AREA,
200
I—II—II—II—II—I
O 200 400
CONTOUR INTERVAL 25 FEET
DATUM Is MEAN sEA LEVEL
600 FEET
IN YO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Keeler Canyon formation
L
Medium-grained idocrase calc—silicate rock
Includes PlPk in section CAC’
Light-gray dense calc-hornfels
Brown and gray dense calc-hornfels
Thinly bedded limestone, PlPkl.
EXPLANATION
l ,Eiiifl
A ”W", l
Amphiholite
Includes diorite and hornblende gabbro
l L
7fiifirk, \ \,I
I ‘\ /. ‘
.7x’ / I\,'ll
L ,qu1, II
ly‘ \;\,',\’/‘5
l__\7/- . I\'
Biotite-hornblende—quartz monzonite of Darwin stock
PIPkl Units with no stratigraphic significance
White dense caIc-hornfels
L:
PIPk3
PlPk4
PlPks, siltstone
Bluish-gray limestone
Sandy and silty
limestone, PlPks
Limestone containing 1-inch chert nodules
Golfball horizon
Lee Flat limestone
Contact
Dashed where approximately located
55
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approximately located
(4
Aha—g“; _A__A_—A—_A—
Thrust fault, showing dip
Dashed where approximately located; saw teeth on
side of upper plate
, :y ____
Inverted anticline
Showing trace of axial plane and plunge of axis,“
dashed where approximately located
<___:[:_
Inverted syncline
Showing trace of axial plane and plunge ofaxis;
dashed where approximately located
fl:
Strike and dip of inverted beds
£55
Strike and dip of overturned beds
(9
Horizontal inverted beds
/
Dip of overturned beds, in section only
85
Strike and dip of foliation
2E?
Strike and dip of axial plane sinistral drag fold,
showing bearing and plunge of axis of fold
4/ 531
Strike and dip of axial plane dextral drag fold,
showing bearing and plunge of axis of fold
469—7"
Bearing and plunge of Iineation
Sb
._l .
Strike and dip of joints
4...
Strike of vertical joints
‘ 30
Vein or ore beds, showing dip
Disseminated limonite
f § r; $0
$Q6°:flo 1:.Q
Feldspathic alteration
§4
U o o o
Go
00000
Dolomitized limestone
7,
Vertical shaft
Inclined shaft
\___._L
x— r
Portal of adit
X
Small mine workings
W
Open pit
Z, y/I‘ji \\\\\:‘\
”U l m\\'\
Dump
: ::(:): ;
Mine workings cut by section
Dashed where projected
Stope
Dotted where projected
Outline of area tested for
geochemical anomalies
L,, ,,L -LLLLLLL ,1
Diamond—drill hole, projected
Thinly bedded shaly limestone
‘LLLJJLALL
Bluish—gray sandy limestone
Thinly bedded bluish—gray limestone
MISSISSIPPIAN AND
V
CRETACEOUS(?)
fi/
PENNSYLVANIAN AND PERMIAN
PENNSYLVANIAN (I?)
a“;
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
PLATE 4
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT'OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
A, EXPLANATION
Aden
/
/ _
/
,/
.—LL_1T_
Psz LI>II>IsL
:“r
Keeier Canyon formation
PPls, Siiicated limestone
mi
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approximare/y locared
j " f .1 ‘k W 7 -, ’ ' T532273: 1:2?
40% LEVEL j ‘ '~ ‘ IN’smps ,
________________________ _
___________________ fl__~_L_/__- 57o LEVEL
From'map ofThe Anaconda Cb. Published
with permissign of the mine owners
32MA OF PART OF 400 LEVEL AND SECTION OF THE 430 STOPE ORE BODY OF
' THE:_DEFIANCE WORKINGS, INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
,' . 8.0 g 89 ISO FEET
, g h .
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
n 7 'v_"QEGLOGi§1AL'_SURVEY
.' ‘
PROFESSIONAL“ PAggR 568
[PLATE 5 . .
rEXPLANATION 7.
, I
Biotite-hornblendu quart; mpnzbn'rte
' ' .23
{Sitopgdaabb‘Ve-I'Sezo It];
.1 » ‘ ‘ ' -. ,
3 _ . , .
KeeleiCan‘yofi fgrmafio
Calc-A‘orgzz‘els~ -_ 2 fl
:5 \
PENINSYLVANIAN CR'ETACEOUSU)
'. AND PERMIAN
V Minerafizgg rat;
I' Mar/y djsseminé’red'
- .. ;
,L 43go
. a‘pd‘dii‘p of overturned I ‘
. I!
Shaft going above and-wow:
J... ,vv'v’
K1
Foot of raise
... .1»
.I Hr
(Ia-3»... n“ n
a
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
) GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE 8
w 77 Mapped at altitude 3896 feet 1515"
" E
J APPROXIMATE MEAN
DECLINATION,1961
.J ,A'
‘ . I A,
Altitude of workings 3907 feet
I
' Mapped by E. M, MacKevett, Jr., 1953
MAP OF‘ UPPER STOPE
I. v
I EXPLANATION
‘r- o ;
2 ~ ________
< z
I Z S _______
l g i Workings at altitude 3893 feet
I [L .
L Lee Flat limestone ,% é __ .........
‘ Limeslone in parf wffh bedded char! 1‘ ‘Q _ .........
I 25 P‘ Q a Workings at altitude 3875 feet
I a -1_-\ z E
‘W _ ...........
/ Approximate outline of are showing dip Workings at altitude 3857 feet
at map level in stope
: , 27 m
L Mapped by W. E. Hall, 1953 + Opencut
’ COMPOSITE MAP. SHOWING GEOLOGY Zinc are, showing dip VVVVV
I AT ALTITUDE 3875 FEET 333—)—
l t :l Inclined workings
I A A, Chevrons poml down
F m
3940" ' Contact, approximately located Foot of raise or winze
I __I:‘_ _ _ m
Fault, showing dip Head of raise or winze
- Dashed where approximately localed
so at :5:
—— — —- r v ?
Vertical fault Rock debris
Dashed where appraxzmafe/y located
3900’-
Workings‘ at altitude 3907 feet
3860’
INTERIOR eBEDLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTDN‘ D, c IOZIZ
INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
If T 1‘ I
0
40 80 FEET
I
DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL
MAPS AND SECTION OF UPPER WORKINGS OF THE ZINC HILL MINE
I~\
A
iii A‘x
UNITEDVSTATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ’ , » PROFESSIONAL PAPER 368
5420" . ,. . “ ‘ ' A ‘ \ I ' .
'_ GEOLOGICAL SURVEY" . _ , ' ‘ ‘ , PLATE 9
9r; 3‘ », ' . f . . __ ., EXPLANATION
le
DEVONIAN
Main/Jr marb/e
TRUE NORTH
3‘?
’ a: L , I Lost Burro formation
S
‘14
Q
(7
q
75
‘\ , APPRoxmns MEAN 2 ‘ Contact. approximateiy located,
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approxzmaIe/y locafed
I
Quartz,calcite, barite vein containing
, minor, galena
W
Stoped vein
.30
Strike and dip of beds
Opencut and outline of stone
._ > _ , { . ‘ ‘3 , V ‘ _ ,2 , ,; .Nrgm.‘_‘jsgoios.mwoz Mapped byWIE.Ha|l,1953
’ GEOLOGIC MAP SAND'SEETIONS‘ OF THE MAIN STOPE OF
' [ THE SILVER REID MINE, INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
20 », . . O 20 40 FEET
F———[ » ~. ‘I
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
PLATE IO
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Keeler Canyon formation
EXPLANATION
Biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite
Calc-hornfels
16PM
Limestone, in part altered to tactite
For full description of mapped units see
plate 1
’
Scheelite
Contact
Dashed where approximately located
”T77— —
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approximately located
\58
Strike and dip of beds
X2
70
Strike and dip of overturned beds
I]
Shaft
X
Portal of adit
é?
Opencut
X
Small pit or mine workings
TRUE NORTH
APPROXIMATE MEAN
DECLINATION,1960
PENNSYLVANIAN CRETA- ‘
AND PERMIAN CEOUS(?)
Mapped by D. M. Lemmon and M. P. Erickson,December 1941.
Minor additions by W. E. Hall and E. M. MacKevett, Jr., 1953
INTERIORriGEOLOGICAL SURVEY, WASHINGTON, D. C. , 10212
MAP OF THE DURHAM, FERNANDO, AND ST. CHARLES MINES, DARWIN DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA
200 O 200 400 600 800 FEET
b—H +—-———u l————{
CONTOUR INTERVAL 20 FEET
DATUM IS SEA LEVEL
(K
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PLATE 6
zi/IV,‘
THOM‘F/fiSO/N‘ ADIT
EXPLANATION
O ,x l >
L~__ . 0;];41 1
Biotite—hornblende quartz monzonite J
Keeler Canyon formation
Ca/cesmtai‘e rock j
CRETACEOUS l7!
PENNSYLVANIAN
AND PERMIAN
Contact
W—— _ _
Fault, showing dip
Dashed Where apprOX/mafefy /ocaieo/
'——V"—V'—
Thrust fault
Saw feet/7 on upper p/afe
:30
Vein, showing dip
\ ,—r ‘ ’ i
, {A/QIA/é/C 'K/ in! "\CXAJVT /
Area salted by blasting
«15/ $212: a v’ a :1" , I
Disseminated ore minerals
rrrrr 4000 7",,
Total copper—lead—zinc expressed
in parts per million
x
Soil sample
m
StOpe at surface
1m
x ”A
“Luv-I
Opencut
m
Shaft
Portal of adit
I
”i l i\\\ ~
1 \
"MN“
Dump
I x Q
)6”? L\(/ \\\\\\\\\
(x \\\ \\\\ DEF/ANCE
G) \S WORKINGS
‘ \\\\\|////
)6 \\\|i//’l:/;
7 :7;
C? 72/9 E 2/,
A mix/47“"; TO
\A.:~zTDARW/N
X CAMP
UJ
E
, T
API’ROXIMAH: MEAN “ , *
Ilt(‘,iIN/\TICN,19I>I
INTERIORV GEOLOGICAL sLiRVEW'JNASi—HNGTON D C 10212 Geo|0gy by W‘ E_ Ha” 1954
MAP SHOWING DISTRIfiUTIONOF' TOTAL-COPPER-LEAD-ZINC FROM SOIL SAMPLES OVER THE
DEFIANCE ‘AND‘BERNON WORKINGS OF THE DARWIN MINE, INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
300 l IfET
Vii—l
' 100 I O _ lOO
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 568
PLATE 7
/ /»_://\'
/.\//
. nd, nd, 55 _ . . 71 THOMPSON AD/T
I I x\’ ;l/\‘_\\‘¥//:/|/\ //\\I \l“/‘,
,\\’\'/\\:\/\\\\/\l:i:,/\/ I" /,/{{
1>\/l/~1’\/1\’\ /l 90// ’ ’
\7\\"/\/'\ ’ Own \NT,‘ ’
\ /’ ‘ __ a /,\‘,‘ / l / /
\ir),\/’;/:,f"\'m 011/)!
, g ‘ . _ :, ' ' ' ‘ 1‘ \T’ I .
, , .‘ .1 g 1.2, 25, 50 ’\\/\ \:i;(’»nd, @855; 11”
.‘ ’ - \ Xnd, nd, 65 IL; _<>>\7\’.‘xnd- ndv 50 +5» *15, 5, <10
7. x1, 4,”’<1‘0_
‘ \, .’ L '4", x
10, 30, 704A“. ,\ , x0-8-1,31,10 98’ 3' 10
V \ C‘ x,
x X06, 3, <10 ‘ . 15.151 <10
(1, nd, 65 X f 'X”. _
1 0.2, 3, 65 , "nd, nd, 40 0.8, 4,_<10 ,
7nd, rid, 70,»< 0/{2 3 ’ 0.8, 3, <10X , x1, 4, <10
5 /' ’ - 0.4, 5,<10 . ‘
PlPk' / ' 36 x " ' x- ' x0-5v4"<1°
_, j~ ' // 0.2, 4, <10 , M x ,
. ' ' x 1, 5, <10 3,
/0.2, 3, <10 ‘ x 1 ~10
0.2, 4, <10x . x 0.4, 3, <10,
// _ ., 0.6,3, <10 ,V _
. , x x .
XO-Zv 3' <10 0.8, 4’ <10 9, 1.5, 5, <10
: .‘,x0.2, 3, <10 x0-4r 4. <10 5'” x1.5, 5, <10
« 1.5, 5, <10
x X4, 4, <10
1.5, 5, 10
, x < 2, 12, <10
0.2, 3, <10x
O
74/ .
w H 3
PlPk
222'
U \I/\ \2 x :5;
«:1» (ax /
470 1, 3, 25x 17/: 3,15,2551 7?’
\/ \ / \, \ \/l T
< ,/\‘,/)//V‘ ww’, :5
/\ 1,4, 250“’/»\/\; 1,5,1. 15,5,15 x FEE
1,8, 55X X 2:316:71?“ 7, 35, 110‘
1'2,“
’31,,
‘ 2, 4, 15 ’,
A ‘lélsa 1, 3, sex x ’
I s ’\
E 3 ‘
o g . 0‘“
E s ., x O 6,x5, nd x212, nd («F
3 W 1.5, 5, 0.6, 5, _'1.5, 8, nd
F 5 nd, nd 2:2. 9
s - $0
. . Q\?‘
X X ‘. 3 Q/
0.6, 8, <10 0'8' 8' 30 2 "-. O
APPROXIMATE MEAN 0 6 8 10 > '
DECLlNATION, 1961 1.2, 3‘ 80" ‘ ’ ’X< X ~ x2, 4, 25
1, 4, 15 1, 3. 35
4, 13, 20X
PIPk
m“
I”
EXPLANATION
Biotite—hornblende quartz monionite
CRETACEOUSI71
PlPk
Keeler Canyon formation
Ca/c-sx/lcafe rock
PENNSYLVANIAN
AND PERMIAN
Contact
TIT— _ ’—
Fault, showing dip
Dashed where approx/mafe/y beefed
g—fi—nH—
Thrust fault
Saw reef/7 0/7 upper p/afe
T—T
Vein, showing dip
Disseminated ore minerals
50—-
Bismuth in parts per million
nd, nd, 60 x
Soil sample
Sf/ver, emf/many, and [2/5/77th fn parfs per m////on.
Where under/med, sf/ver [s m ounces per fon
170', n01 deter/77m 50’
m
Stope at surface
€211?
, Opencut
.5
///
\7\_l H
E Shaft
f:
\<
Portal of adit
,’H.H\\\
’Hmn“
Dump
DEF/ANCE
WORK/N63
PlPk
MAP SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF ANTIMONY, BISMUTH, AND SILVER
lNTERIORgGEOLOGlCAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON, D. 07710212 Geology by W E Hall 1954
IN RESIDUAL SOIL OVER THE
DEFIANCE—BERNON WORKINGS OF THE DARWIN MINE, INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
100 O 100 200 300 FEET
l-—l l—l l--—-l l