Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Kinematics And Timing Of Orogen-Parallel Flow, Grouse Creek Mountains, Utah, Tonia Gail Arriola

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alternating contractional and extensional events in orogenic belts play a significant role in dynamically adjusting crustal thickness during regional contraction. Distinguishing between these two contrasting kinematic regimes is not only important for understanding the tectonic setting but also provides insights into the dynamics of evolving orogenic wedges. The earliest pervasive fabric, D ₁ , in the Grouse Creek Mountains of northwest Utah is interpreted to have played an integral role in accommodating such a dynamic adjustment. It is interpreted that focused crustal thickening led to differences in gravitational potential energy along strike, facilitating an episode of mid-Cretaceous synconvergent orogen-parallel extension. …

The Mayan Ice Cap: Glacial Geology And Paleoclimate Of The Northern Guatemalan Highlands, Alex Joseph Roy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes region of the northern Guatemalan highlands supported a large plateau ice cap with an area of -40 km2 along with a group of 5 cirque glaciers -1 to 2 km2 during the local last glacial maximum (LLGM). A comprehensive mapping reconstruction of the northern Guatemalan highlands is presented here, including glacial geology and an estimate of maximum ice limits from physical evidence and computer modeling. The glacial geologic map was produced via field mapping with global positioning system (GPS) surveying combined with aerial stereo photographic and topographic map analysis. This new field work on moraine …

Geology Of The Southern Reveille Range, Nye County, Nevada, Matthew Alan Mckelvey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Reveille Range in central Nevada provides a unique window into the mid-Miocene geology and volcanology of the central Great Basin during the "ignimbrite flare up." Although faulted along its margins, the interior of the range is relatively undeformed thus preserving volcanic centers. The Reveille Range contains three mid-Miocene caldera complexes. Previous studies have identified the Goblin Knobs caldera (25.6 Ma) in the central Reveille Range and the caldera of northern Reveille Range (25.3 Ma) to the north. These calderas are completely filled with intracaldera tuffs. This study has identified a younger third caldera located in the southern part of …

Imaging The Southern Trace Of The Black Hills Fault, Clark County, Nevada, Shelley A. Zaragoza

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Black Hills fault (BHF) is a SE-dipping normal fault forming the northwestern structural boundary of the Eldorado basin, ∼20 km southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada (Langenheim and Schmidt, 1996). The fault offsets Holocene strata and is thus considered to be active (Fossett, 2005). Therefore, the BHF poses a significant seismic hazard to the greater Las Vegas area.

Fossett (2005) estimated that the BHF is capable of producing a M _W 6.4 to 6.8 earthquake. However, this suggests a subsurface rupture length greater than the scarp length (Fossett, 2005). To test this hypothesis, remote sensing, geologic mapping, and high-resolution seismic …