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Surficial Geologic Map of the Spirit Mountain SE and part of the Spirit Mountain NE 7.5’ Quadrangles, Nevada and Arizona

Scientific Investigations Map 3448
Prepared in cooperation with Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology; Arizona Geological Survey; University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Geoscience; University of Oklahoma School of Geosciences; and National Park Service
By: , , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3448

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Abstract

This geologic map includes a trove of stratigraphic and geomorphic information that chronicles the inception and evolution of the lower Colorado River. The map area is located near the south end of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area about 80 km (50 mi) downstream from Hoover Dam. It spans parts of northwestern Arizona and southern Nevada near the south end of Cottonwood Valley. The map includes the Spirit Mountain SE 7.5' quadrangle and the southern part of the Spirit Mountain NE 7.5' quadrangle. The map area contains well-exposed Neogene and Quaternary strata and associated geomorphic features that record and are critical in dating the arrival of the Colorado River in the early Pliocene and the subsequent history of the river and its landscape through the Holocene. The valley is bounded on the west by the Newberry Mountains (Nevada) and on the east by the Black Mountains (Arizona) and includes part of Lake Mohave, a reservoir created by the completion of Davis Dam in 1951. This map does not include the geology of the reservoir floor and focuses only on surficial deposits.

Suggested Citation

House, P.K., Crow, R.S., Pearthree, P.A., Brock-Hon, A.L., Schwing, J., Thacker, J.O., and Gootee, B.F., 2020, Surficial geologic map of the Spirit Mountain SE and part of the Spirit Mountain NE 7.5' quadrangles, Nevada and Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3448, pamphlet 30 p., scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3448.

ISSN: 2329-132X (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Project Mapping
  • Previous Work
  • Overview of Neogene Extensional Tectonics and Structural Setting of Cottonwood Valley
  • Key Map Units Related to Arrival and Integration of the Colorado River
  • Summary of Late Neogene and Quaternary Evolution of Cottonwood Valley
  • Evidence for Faulting and Deformation
  • Description of Map Units
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Surficial geologic map of the Spirit Mountain SE and part of the Spirit Mountain NE 7.5' quadrangles, Nevada and Arizona
Series title Scientific Investigations Map
Series number 3448
DOI 10.3133/sim3448
Year Published 2020
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Description Pamphlet: iv, 30 p.; 1 Sheet: 38.50 x 43.00 inches; Database; Metadata; Readme file
Country United States
State Arizona, Nevada
Other Geospatial Spirit Mountain quadrangle
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details