Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of The Middle Jurassic Preuss Sandstonein Northern Utah And Eastern Idaho, Preston Scott Cook

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Middle Jurassic Preuss Sandstone and re-evaluate past sedimentological interpretations. The Preuss is located in northern Utah, western Wyoming and eastern Idaho and is stratigraphically equivalent to the Entrada Sandstone, which is Callovian in age (Dossett et al., 2014). This study is the first attempt at 1) a sequence stratigraphic framework, 2) a petroleum system analysis and 3) an extraterrestrial analog study for the Preuss. This study frames the Preuss within three broad facies groups: marine, coastal and terrestrial. The marine group includes the open marine and …

Low-Shield Volcanism: A Comparison Of Volcanoes On Syria Planum, Mars And Snake River Plain, Idaho, Amanda Olivia Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Volcanoes are key indicators of a planet's internal structure, mechanics, and evolutionary history. Consequently, understanding the types and ages of volcanoes on a planet's surface is an important endeavor. In an attempt to better understand the relationship between morphometry and volcanic processes, we compared low-shield volcanoes on Syria Planum, Mars, with basaltic shields of the eastern Snake River Plain. We used 133 volcanoes on Syria Planum that are covered by Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) elevation data and 246 eSRP shields covered by the National Elevation Dataset (NED) for this comparison. Shields on Syria …

In Situ Stress And Geology From The Mh-2 Borehole, Mountain Home, Idaho: Implications For Geothermal Exploration From Fractures, Rock Properties, And Geomechanics, James Andrew Kessler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geothermal energy is being explored as a supplement to traditional fossil fuel resources to meet growing energy demand and reduce carbon emissions. Geothermal energy plants harvest heat stored in the Earth’s subsurface by bringing high temperature fluids to the surface and generating steam to produce electricity. Development of geothermal resources is often inhibited by large upfront risk and expense. Successful mitigation of those costs and risks begins with efficient characterization of the resource before development. A typically successful geothermal reservoir consists of a fractured reservoir that conducts hydrothermal fluids and a cap rock seal to limit convective heat loss through …

The Kimama Core: A 6.4 Ma Record Of Volcanism, Sedimentation, And Magma Petrogenesis On The Axial Volcanic High, Snake River Plain, Id, Katherine Elizabeth Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snake River Plain (SRP) is one of the best-preserved examples of continental hotspot volcanis, with a continuous record of volcanism that extends over 16 Ma to the present. Yellowstone-Snake River Plain records the migration of plume-tail volcanism from inception at the Bruneau-Jarbridge caldera complex at 12.6 Ma to its present locus, under the Yellowstone Plateau.

Records kept by the Snake River Plain volcanic actions include rhyolite lavas and ignimbritesm minor coeval basalts, and an overlying veneer of younger basalts. The central SRP has received comparatively little attention in the past. The Kimama core hole was drilled as part of …

Evaluation Of The Geothermal Potential Of The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Based On Three Exploration Holes, Thomas G. Freeman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The work in this thesis was based on analyzing water samples collected from three exploratory boreholes drilled during Project Hotspot. The water samples were analyzed for their chemical properties. The chemical properties of the water samples were used as a basis for further analysis.

Geophysical logs, mainly temperature logs, were also analyzed for this project. Temperature logs measure temperature in relation to depth within a borehole.

All the analyses were made in order to estimate the geothermal potential of the project areas. The exploratory boreholes were all drilled in different areas and each had unique characteristics. The Mountain Home borehole …

Geothermal Alteration Of Basaltic Core From The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Christopher Joseph Sant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Snake River Plain is located in the southern part of the state of Idaho. The eastern plain, which this study focuses on, is a trail of volcanics from the Yellowstone
hotspot. Three exploratory geothermal wells were drilled on the Snake River Plain. This project studies basaltic core from the first well at Kimama, north of Burley, Idaho. The objectives of this project are to establish zones of geothermal alteration and analyze the potential for geothermal power production near the center of the Snake River Plain. Thirty samples from 1,912 m of core were sampled and analyzed. Mineral data, temperature …

Relationships Between Snake River Paleofloods, Occupational Patterns And Archaeological Preservation At Redbird Beach Archaeological Site In Lower Hells Canyon, Idaho, Tabitha Trosper

All Master's Theses

The Snake River basin drains 282,000 km² of the northwestern U.S. and is the largest tributary to the Columbia River. Redbird Beach, an archaeological site located in the lower Hells Canyon reach of the Snake River, contains extensive vertical exposures of archaeological materials interbedded with Snake River flood sediments. Redbird Beach formed in the lee of the Redbird Creek debris fan, is composed of interfingering deposits from large floods on the Snake River and locally-derived alluvial sediments from Redbird Creek. Through stratigraphic analyses of slackwater deposits, this study compares the temporal and spatial patterns of human occupation at Redbird …

Chronostratigraphy And Paleontology Of The Mid-Cretaceous Wayan Formation Of Eastern Idaho, With A Description Of The First Oryctodromeus Specimens From Idaho, Laurel J. Krumenacker

Theses and Dissertations

The mid-Cretaceous Wayan Formation of Idaho consists of floodplain-deposited siltstones and mudstones, with subordinate fluvial sandstones and conglomerates. Deposition occurred in a tectonic foredeep at the toe of the Sevier thrust complex. Measurement of two incomplete and one complete section indicates a thickness of roughly 1,344 meters in the study area. No laterally extensive marker beds are present but the lower Wayan contains distinct chert pebble conglomerates, and the middle Wayan may contain a higher relative abundance of fluvial sandstone. Known fossil localities are limited to the lower and middle portions of the formation. The Wayan Formation, as currently defined, …

Investigations Into Mapping Lava Flows In The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Vinita Ruth Hobson-Broko

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The origin of the Snake River plain continues to be debated, but the plume model is most popular at the current time. Some theories, such as meteorite impact, have been excluded, but the remaining theories require more scrutiny.

Various methods of examining phenomena in the Snake River Plain were employed. Unsupervised classification of Landsat ETM data indicates that spectra can be used to differentiate between flows. However, photographs of flows at Craters of the Moon National Monument show wide variations in texture and color within a single flow. Vegetation grows preferentially on the smoother pahoehoe slabs and significantly impacting the …

Simulation Of Groundwater Flow In Cache Valley, Utah And Idaho, Barry Myers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A groundwater model of Cache Valley was created using MODFLOW. Steady-state calibration of the model demonstrated that recharge to the lower confined aquifer may occur along the margin of the valley that borders the Wellsville Mountains and the Bear River Range. Steady-state calibration also showed that discharge from the unconfined aquifer may occur along the eastern and western margins of the valley in both the Utah and the Idaho portions of the valley.

Two simulations were run with increased pumping of 3 5 cubic feet per second (1 cubic meter per second) from the principal aquifer. The first simulation was …

Factors Contributing To Landslide Activity In The Winter Of 1995-96, Clearwater County Near Orofino, Idaho, Aaron Paul Wisher

All Master's Theses

Significant landslide activity occurred in Clearwater County, Idaho in November 1995 and February-May 1996. Mass wasting in the study area consisted of debris slides and earthflows triggered by rain-on-snow weather events. It is important to determine what factors contribute to landsliding in this area so that reliable prediction can reduce the destruction of property. Through field observation and aerial photo analysis, the factors contributing to landslides were studied. The objectives included a study of the geology, soils, aspect, slope gradient, vegetation and slope position related to each slide. Also a goal was to assess the role of land use in …

Aminostratigraphy Of Thatcher Basin, Se Idaho: Reassessment Of Pleistocene Lakes, Amy Hochberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Quaternary geologic history of Lake Thatcher, southeastern Idaho, is pivotal in determining when the Bear River carved its through-flowing channel into the Bonneville Basin. Bright's reconstruction of the history of Lake Thatcher was based on ¹⁴C dates that are now known to be inaccurate. Lava Creek B ash found interbedded with lacustrine sediment suggests that Thatcher Basin contained a lake well before Bright's original estimate of 34 ka.

D/L ratios, which measure the extent of racemization in fossil gastropods, in conjunction with paleosols and tephra, were used to correlate between four localities across Thatcher Basin to reassess lake-level …

Petrology And Mineralogy Of Tertiary(?) Volcanic Rocks Of Snowville Area, Utah, And Tertiary-Quaternary(?) Volcanic Rocks Of Table Mountain And Holbrook Areas, Idaho, Yunshuen Wang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Basalt flows occur in the Snowville area of north-central Utah and the Table Mountain and Holbrook areas of south-central Idaho. All basalt flows are aphanitic in groundmass, and contain olivine, plagioclase, augite, and opaque oxides. They can be distinguished by texture. Snowville basalt has predominantly subophitic to intergranular textures. Table Mountain basalt is fine grained, with stumpy groundmass plagioclase and equant ilmenite crystals. Holbrook basalt has pilotaxitic to intergranular textures, with the presence of plagioclase phenocrysts and characteristic exsolution lamellae in Fe-Ti oxides. The olivine grains in Holbrook area are intensely oxidized to Fe-Ti oxides.

Snowville basalt contains olivine phenocrysts …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Part Of Elkhorn Mountain, Bannock Range, Idaho, Stephen R. Crook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Northern Elkhorn Mountain was unmapped previous to this investigation. The mapped area is located north of Malad City, Idaho, in the Bannock Range. It is within the Basin and Range Province. The mapped area measures 5.4 mi. in the north-south direction and 8.9 mi. in the east-west direction.

The oldest exposed stratigraphic unit, within the mapped area, consists of orthoquartzite and is of Early Cambrian age. Cambrian formations of the mapped area, in ascending order, are as follows: Camelback Mountain Quartzite, Gibson Jack Formation, Elkhead Formation, Bloomington Formation, Nounan Formation, and St. Charles Formation. Units of Ordovician age are the …

Faunal Succession And Depositional Environments Within The Lodgepole Limestone (Early Mississippian) Of Samaria Mountain, Idaho, Gary Keith Hines

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Community succession, the orderly changes a community experiences with time, is considered to be the result of either autogenic or allogenic factors working singularly or in combination. It has been further suggested that, as communities undergo succession, certain biological parameters change in a predictable manner. Examination of members 2 through 4 of the Mississippian (Kinderhook-Osage) Lodgepole Formation of Samaria Mountain, Idaho provides a means to evaluate these concepts.

Within the study section comprised of 125 beds (61.5 m thick), four rock types are recognized. These include: (1) fossiliferous wackestone (78% of beds), which ranges in color from dark-gray (N3) to …

Growth, Morphology, Habit And Habitat Of Selected Brachiopod And Mollusc Species From The Meade Peak Member Of The Phosphoria Formation, Permian, Northeastern Utah - Southeastern Idaho - Southwestern Wyoming, Scott Lewis Russell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Permian Meade Peak Member of the Phosphoria Formation was examined at four localities in this investigation. Fossils were collected at each locality. The four collecting localities visited in this investigation are: Brazier Canyon, Utah, Montpelier Canyon, Idaho, Coal Canyon, Wyoming, and Cokeville, Wyoming.

The environment of deposition of the Meade Peak Member in the study area is inferred to have been an outer shelf or basin characterized by moderately deep and quiet water. This has aided reconstruction of life habits, population dynamics, and growth characteristics of the examined species.

The articulate brachiopod Leiorhynchoidea weeksi is inferred to have attached …

Petrology And Mineralogy Of Quaternary Basalts, Gem Valley And Adjacent Bear River Range, Southeastern Idaho, William D. Perkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quaternary basalts of Gem Valley, Idaho, are present as valley fill (Group 1) and as well defined flows in the Bear River Range (Group 2) east of Gem Valley. Minerals present in both groups of basalts include olivine (Fo₇₃ -Fo₃₉), augite (Wo₄₁ En₃₉ Fs₂₀), plagioclase (An₇₅ -An₄₀), and Fe-Ti oxides. Coexisting pairs of magnetite and ilmenite, and olivine and clinopyroxene in several samples indicate temperatures of crystallization from 958°c to 1167°c. The Group 2 basalts exhibit a cumulate texture with abundant large (2 cm) phenocrysts of plagioclase.

Chemically, the Gem …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Part Of Oxford Quadrangle, Idaho, Jerrold N. Mayer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The northern part of the Oxford Quadrangle, Idaho, includes parts of the Bannock Range to the west and the Portneuf Range to the east. These ranges are separated by Marsh Valley to the north and Cache Valley to the south. Red Rock Pass, the outlet of glacial Lake Bonneville, divides the two valleys. The mapped area is north of Preston, Idaho, and south of Downey, Idaho. The north-south dimension of the mapped area is 5.2 miles and the east-west dimension is 6.4 miles.

The stratigraphic units, within the mapped area, are Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Cenozic in age. The oldest rock …

Geology Of North Craters Of The Moon National Monument, Idaho, William C. Sidle

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the investigation was to map the geology of the north end of Craters of the Moon National Monument and surrounding area. A stratigraphic sequence of Late Paleozoic sedimentary and Tertiary volcanic rocks was compiles and the structures of these rocks and contact relationships with intrusions were delineated. Grade and facies of contact metamorphism were defined. The Snake River Plain basalts were also mapped. The sources of these flows were determined where possible. Preexisting structures and relationships of vents to earlier faulting were explored in ascertaining extensions of the Great Rift Zone into the Pioneer Mountains. Petrographic descriptions …

Surficial Deposits And Geologic History, Northern Bear Lake Valley, Idaho, George C. Robertson Iii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detailed geologic mapping and subsurface study of late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments in northern Bear Lake Valley show at least four episodes of deposition of fluvial, marsh, bay, and lacustrine sediments. from oldest to youngest, these are the Ovid, Liberty, Wardboro, and Lifton episodes. These episodes are substantially different than those proposed by previous investigators. The informal term Bear Lake Formation is formally redefined here as the Bear Lake Group, and includes the newly defined Ovid Formation, Liberty Formation, Lanark Formation, and Rainbow Gravel. The overlying Wardboro Loess, also defined here, provides a probably age of 11,000 to 8,000 years …

Structural Geology Of The Southern Part Of Elkhorn Mountain, Bannock Range, Idaho, George A. De Vries

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The area of southern Elkhorn Mountain, a previously unmapped area, is located north of Malad City, Idaho, in the Bannock Range. The mapped area is within the Basin and Range province. The mapped area measures 5.9 miles in the north-south direction and approximately 8.8 miles in the east-west direction.

The oldest stratigraphic unit, in the mapped area, is the Ute Formation of Middle Cambrian age. Other units of Cambrian age, in ascending order, are: Blacksmith Formation, Bloomington Formation, Nounan Formation, and St. Charles Formation. The units of Ordovician age are the Garden City and the Swan Peak Formations. The youngest …

Some Aspects Of Geochemistry Of The Water And Sediment Of Bear Lake, Idaho-Utah, Richard H. Fuller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Development by man through the last half century has caused a number of changes in Bear Lake. These changes include the diversion of Bear River water into Bear Lake, the pumping of lake water back into the river, and the building of breakwaters and other obstructions along the shore of Bear Lake.

The diversion of Bear River water into the lake has resulted in a yearly addition of an estimated 36,000 metric tons of calcium into the lake, which has caused the precipitation of an estimated minimum 90,000 metric tons of aragonite. The pumping of Bear Lake water back into …

Geology And Mineralization Of The Southeastern Part Of The Black Pine Mountains, Cassia County, Idaho, Don E. French

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The southeastern part of the Black Pine Mountains is located in the southeastern part of Cassia County, southern Idaho. The Utah-Idaho state line is three miles south of the studied area and the Cassia-Oneida county line bounds it on the east. The area is nearly square and encompasses about 30 square miles.

Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary rocks are exposed within the area. Limestone, dolomitic limestime, quartzite, and bedded chert represent the Jefferson (?) Formation of Devonian age. It is 400 feet thick, however, the base is not exposed. The Milligen Formation is Early Mississippian in age …

Structural Geology Of Eastern Part Of Richmond And Western Part Of Naomi Park Quadrangles, Utah-Idaho, Arthur J. Mendenhall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area, which includes the eastern part of the Richmond and the western part of the Naomi Peak quadrangles, Utah-Idaho, is located in the central part of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho. It is located along the eastern side of Cache Valley and western side of the Bear River Range. Cache Valley is in the Basin and Range province and the Bear River Range is in the Middle Rocky Mountain province. The mapped area is about 8.6 miles long, in the north-south direction, and 7.8 miles long, in the east-west direction.

The Mutual Formation of Precambrian age is the …

Mineralization In The Bear River Range, Utah-Idaho, John C. Chappelle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis is t o describe the occurrences, interrelationships, and possible origin of the metallic mineral deposits of the Bear River Range. In this study, 21 mineral deposits containing minerals of lead, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc with quartz and carbonate gangue minerals, are described and classified as low temperature epigenetic hydrothermal deposits. The deposits predominantly occur in Cambrian limestone and dolomite formations located below formations with a high shale content. The deposition occurred as fracture filling and replacement along fractures associated with Teritary Basin and Range normal faults and joints which generally trend northerly in the …

Petrology Of The Ordovician Swan Peak Formation, Southeastern Idaho And North-Central Utah, Warren J. Schulingkamp Ii

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Swan Peak Formation in southeastern Idaho and north-central Utah is a sedimentary unit consisting of orthoquartzite, sandstone, siltite, shale, and limestone. The formation is divisible into three members, and the lower two members each are divisible into two informal lithologic subunits.

The lower member consists of a lower subunit of gray, calcareous sandy siltite composed of subangular to subrounded quartz grains cemented by quartz overgrowths, calcite, or iron oxide, and an upper subunit of black shale with minor interbedded silty quartzose sandstone and biomicrite (limestone).

The middle member consists of a lower subunit of interbedded pale green shale and …

Structural Geology Of The Oxford Peak Area, Bannock Range, Idaho, Larry C. Raymond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mapped area, in southeastern Idaho, includes part of the Bannock Range, on the west, and Cache Valley, on the east. It is centered about 13 miles northwest of Preston, Idaho, and measures 12 miles in the north-south direction and 8.5 miles in the east-west direction.

The Bannock Range, in the western part of the mapped area, consists of Precambrian and Cambrian stratigraphic units. The Precambrian units are as follows: (1) lower Precambrian argillite, (2) Precambrian quartzite, and (3) upper Mutual Formation. The Brigham Formation, which overlies the Mutual, is probably of Cambrian age; however, the lower part may be …

Source Rocks And Sediments In Drainage Area Of North Eden Creek, Bear Lake Plateu, Utah-Idaho, Larry W. Mcclurg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bear Lake Plateau extends north-south across the north central corner of Utah and the southeastern corner of Idaho. North Eden Creek drains westward through part of the plateau and is crossaxial across both strikes of beds and other structures in the area. The formations in the area mapped are of Triassic, Jurassic, and Tertiary age, although only Jurassic and Tertiary rocks contribute sediments to North Eden Creek. The formations consist of sandstones (Nugget), limestones (Twin Creek), and conglomerates (Wasatch). A local extrusion of basalt occurs in the southwestern part of the drainage area.

Particle-size analyses of 15 samples from …

Environmental Analysis Of The Swan Peak Formation In The Bear River Range, North-Central Utah And Southeastern Idaho, Philip L. Vandorston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Swan Peak Formation in the Bear River Range of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho varies in thickness from 0 feet to over 400 feet. It consists of three units: (1) a lower unit of interbedded quartzites, shales, and limestones; (2) A middle unit of interbedded quartzites and shales; (3) An upper unit of nearly homogeneous quartzites. The different sedimentary structures, ichnofossils, body fossils, and mineral compositions of each unit represent different environments of deposition. The lower unit probably was deposited in a shallow-shelf environment, and its sediments grade upward into probably shoreface-, tidal-flat-, and lagoonal deposits of the middle …

Structural Geology Of Southeastern Margin Of Bear River Range, Idaho, Clinton L. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Seven Cambrian formations and two Ordovician formations, with a total thickness of 9,000 feet, crop out west of the Paris thrust fault and comprise the upper plate. Slices of three Ordovician formations, one Silurian formation, two Mississippian formations, and one formation each of Pennsylvanian and Permian age comprise the low plate. Mesozoic units are not present in the mapped area. Two Tertiary formations and unconsolidated Quaternary deposits are also present.

The major structural feature is the Paris thrust fault which extends north-south throughout the area. It was active during the Laramide orogeny. This fault involved eastward movement and placed Cambrian …