Earth Sciences Commons^™

Latest Cenozoic Stratigraphy Of Lake Sakakawea Area, Northeast Mercer County, North Dakota, Donald Kieth Sackreiter

Theses and Dissertations

The latest Cenozoic in northeast Mercer County, North Dakota, is represented by five formations. They are, from bottom to top: the Charging Eagle Formation, the Medicine Hill Formation, the Snow School Formation, the Coteau Formation, and the Oahe Formation.

The Charging Eagle Formation is mainly fluvial sediment. Most of the sediment was derived from the west with only minor amounts from the northeast. It contains the first evidence of glaciation in the area.

The lower Medicine Hill Formation is mainly sediment deposited by a northeast-flowing ancestor of the Missouri River and by melt-water streams. The upp.er Medicine Hill Formation is …

High- And Low-Sinuosity Stream Deposits Of The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene) Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Victor B. Cherven

Theses and Dissertations

High-sinuosity channel deposits in the Sentinel Butte Formation occur as elongate, tabular beds of sand that fine upward from an erosional base. The sand beds contain epsilon cross-stratification, within which stratification changes upward from large-scale trough crossstratification to horizontal stratification and small-scale crossstratification, indicating upward decrease in flow regime due to accretion of laterally-migrating point bars. Inset in the sand beds are channelplug deposits that are narrow and arcuate in map view and asymmetrically trough shaped in cross-section, and consist of sandy silt and clay. Lowsinuosity channel deposits occur as elongate, trough-shaped sand beds that fine upward from a deeply-channeled …

Description And Origin Of Carbonate Minerals In The Upper And Lower Cherty Members Of The Biwabik Formation, Minnesota, Leslie R. Honeyman

Theses and Dissertations

This study was done for the Erie Mining Company after periodic problems with the quality of pellets from taconit2 of the Biwabik Formation had been linked to the presence of carbonate minerals. The carbonates found in the cherty members of the Precambrian Biwabik Formation are predominantly siderite, ankerite, and calcite. Siderite is the only primary carbonate mineral and occurs in three forms: microgranular, granular (oolitic), and crystalline aggregates (recrystallized). Ankerite is a secondary mineral occurring as crystalline aggregates and alteration rims on granular siderite. Calcite is found only in fractures and fault zones. Siderite formed from the original precipitate and …

Evaluation Of Nitrate Content Of Ground Water In Hall County, Nebraska, Rauf Piskin

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Water Resources Data For Nebraska Part 2-Water Quality Records

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Seismic Refraction Study Of Post-Pliocene Stratigraphy, Dismal Swamp, Virginia, William Brian Fraser

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study examines Pliocene-Pleistocene lithostratigraphy and the Yorktown unconformity within the Dismal Swamp by means of remote sensing analysis, Wyrobek-Gardner seismic refraction profiling and split-spoon coring. Pre-Sangamon fluvial/tidal channel deposits are not present and the Yorktown unconformity dips irregularly southeastward at 0.35 meters/kilometer (2 feet/mile) from a high at 4 meters above sea level to a low of -1 meter (+12 to -2 ft) below sea level. The marker velocity for the Yorktown Formation is 1600 mps (5250 fps) and regression of seismic depths of the Yorktown Formation with corresponding split-spoon depths yields a high correlation. Short line upper layer …

Paleozoic Stratigraphy As An Ore Control Of Hydrothermal, Base-Metal, Sulfide Deposits In New Mexico, John Samuel Sullivan Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

"Until now the concept or regional stratigraphic control of hydrothermal ore deposits has not received much attention in the literature as a possible exploration guide for locating additional ore bodies. This concept is applied on a regional scale to Paleozoic strata in thirteen mining districts with hydrothermal base-metal deposits in a 35,300 square mile area or southwest New Mexico.

The rocks at the stratigraphic position of the ore-zones are characterized as massive- to thick-bedded with less than 5 percent chert present. The rocks are abundantly to moderately fractured. Fine- to medium-grained dolomite is the dominant host-rock in the lower Paleozoic …

Corals Of The St. Louis Limestone In The Area Of Calhoun County, Illinois And St. Louis County, Missouri, William Earl Collins

Masters Theses

"The St. Louis Limestone and its equivalent formations crop out from Alaska south to Sonora and from Arizona east to Virginia. The St. Louis, in most cases, is fossiliferous and contains numerous species of foraminifers, echinoderms, bryozoans, molluscans, brachipods, arthropods and coelenterates. Algal mounds and mats are common. The rugose coral fauna of the Middle Mississippian (Meramecian) St. Louis Limestone of southern Calhoun County, Illinois and northern St. Louis County, Missouri was studied to determine first what corals were present and second the validity of the names assigned to the previously described species. It was found that the binomen for …

Geology Of The Country East Of The Santa Rita Mining District, Grant County, New Mexico: The San Lorenzo Area, Raymond S. Lambert Jr.

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The settlement of San Lorenzo is approximately 19 miles east of Silver City, New Mexico. The area consists of rolling hills, relatively steep slopes and the broad Mimbres River Valley. The land surface reflects partial erosion of Basin and Range fault blocks. The maximtun elevation is 7,170 feet, with relief of 1,400 feet.

The main structural feature is a northwest trending mountain range, which is a west-southwest-dipping fault block bounded on the northeast by the Mimbres fault. Vertical displacement ranges from 150 meters (500 feet) to 1,200 meters (4,000 feet). Rocks exposed along the steep northeastern escarpment range in age …

Heavy Minerals Of Glacial Sediments In The Area Of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, Howard Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

Pleistocene lithostratigraphic units containing glacial sediments in the Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, area and adjacent areas were studied to determine their heavy-mineral assemolages. Seventy-two samples of fine sand were studied by optical grain-count methods and 77 samples of fine sand were studied by x-ray diffraction methods. Most formations contain a hornblende-garnet-pyroxene-epidote assemblage; the Gervais Formation contains a pyroxene-hornblende assemblage. The mean proportion of the constituent minerals is different in each formation; however, there is overlap in the ranges of heavy mineral proportions among the formations. The Red Lake Falls Formation can be subdivided on the basis of garnet abundance.

Depositional Environments Of The Upper Part Of The Sentinel Butte Formation, Southeastern Mckenzie County, North Dakota, Robert Post Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The depositional environments of a 40 meter thick interval in the upper part of the Sentinel Butte Formation in southeastern McKenzie County, North Dakota have been determined from the sedimentary structures, geometry, distribution of grain· sizes, and stratigraphic relations of cyclic lithostratigraphic units. The top of the study interval is the top of the upper yellow marker bed.

An elongate, tabular sand bed was studied in detail. It is 12 meters thick and 3 kilometers wide and it is interpreted to have been deposited by lateral accretion in a high-sinuosity stream. Paleo current indicators are parallel to the long axis …

Pleistocene Stratigraphy Of The Red Lake Falls Area, Minnesota, Kenneth L. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Seven formations are present along a 50-mile stretch of the Red Lake River in Pennington, Red Lake, and Polk Counties, Minnesota. Five formations are largely glacial, sediment, and two are largely lacustr1ne sediment deposited during phases of Lake Agassiz.

The Gervais Formation (pre-Wisconsinan or early Wisconsinan) is mostly fluvial or lacustrine sediment modified by glacial ice of unknown source. The Marcoux Formation (pre Wisconsinan or Wisconsinan) is largely sediment deposited by glacial ice that advanced from the northeast over the Canadian Shield. The St. Hilaire. Formation (Wisconsinan) is mainly sediment deposited by glacial ice that advanced from a western or …

Depositional Environments Of The Lower Tullock Formation (Paleocene), Slope County, Southwestern North Dakota, William K. Hickey

Theses and Dissertations

The lower Tullock Formation (Paleocene), which consists of a section 5 to 30 feet thick, was studied in Slope County, southwestern North Dakota to determine its depositional environments. The lithol ogies present are sand, silt, clay and lignite. A bed of lignite or yellow silt marks the base of the Tullock Formation throughout the study area.

The silt beds are interpreted as having been deposited as natural levees because they are wedge-shaped and contain climbing ripple cross-stratification, interbedded sand lenses and lignitized paleo-raot systems. Well-drained swamp deposits are difficult to distinguish, but are probably located in the silt beds.

There …

Quaternary Geology Of Sargent County, North Dakota, Dennis N. Neilsen

Theses and Dissertations

Sargent County, in southeastern North Dakota, was glaciated during the Pleistocene Epoch. Objectives of a study of Sargent County were to (1) describe the surface sediment and interpret its origin, (2) correlate, where possible, this sediment with that of adjacent areas, and (3) recon struct the general geologic history of the county for the Quaternary Period.

A geologic map of the county was prepared using field data, topo graphic maps, aerial stereopairs, and soil maps. A map showing surface sediment origin was subsequently made using the available field and laboratory information.

Most of Sargent County is typical rolling prairie underlain …

Quaternary Stratigraphy Of The Lake Sakakawea Area, Mclean County, North Dakota, James H. Ulmer

Theses and Dissertations

The Quaternary stratigraphy of central North Dakota is best exposed along the nearly continuous, 20-meter-high, vertical bluffs of Lake Sakakawea in the Missouri River trench. The following lithostratigraphic units (in ascending order) are exposed just north of Riverdale, North Dakota, and can be correlated for tens of kilometers along the bluffs: (1) Sentinel Butte Formation (lignite-bearing sediment of Paleocene age), (2) lower Medicine Hill Formation (fluvial sand and gravel), (3) upper Medicine Hill Formation (massive pebble loam with silt and gravel inclusions> glacial sediment), (4) lower Horseshoe Valley Formation (fluvial sand and gravel), (5) upper Horseshoe Valley Formation (jointed pebble-loam, …

Stratigraphy And Sedimentary History Of Middle Cenozoic (Oligocene And Miocene) Deposits In North Dakota, William J. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

Middle Cenozoic (Oligocene and Miocene) continental deposits of North America have been most studied in southwestern South Dakota and western Nebraska where the White River Group constitutes a fairly complete Oligocene record, and the Arikaree Group of early Miocene age is commonly the sole remaining record of that epoch. Isolated outcrops in adjacent states also offer opportunities for studying the middle Cenozoic history of the Midcontinent but disagreement as to the physical stratigraphy of such deposits has hindered further work in these areas. The main purpose of this study is to present a viable stratigraphic framework for the middle Cenozoic …

Investigation Of Present Thermal Regime Of Missouri River In Missouri, James C. Maxwell

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The applicability of power spectral density techniques, Fourier series analysis, and linear regression to the mathematical modeling of river water temperature is demonstrated. Consideration is also given to the problem of estimating thermal inputs to rivers from man-made sources such as electrical power plants. First, power spectral density techniques are used in the time-series analysis of water temperature records which were taken from the Missouri River. Two spectral ranges are then studied from the standpoint of their applicability to (1) mathematical model building and (2) detection and identification of cyclic thermal inputs. Next, a Fourier regression fit to the time-series …

The Dacites Of The Washakie Needles, Bunsen Peak, And The Birch Hills, Wyoming, And Their Relationship To The Absaroka-Gallatin Volcanic Province, Linda Lou Anderson Love

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

ABSTRACT

TI1e Washakie Needles, Bunsen Peak, and Birch Hills dacites are three of many plugs which intrude the Eocene flows and volcaniclastic rocks of the Absaroka-Gallatin volcanic province. The dacites contain phenocrysts of plagioclase (oligoclase to andesine), biotite, and resorbed quartz. The dacites of the Washakie Needles and Bunsen Peak also contain phenocrysts of hornblende. The rocks of Bunsen Peak and the Birch Hills have two feldspar phases (oligoclase to andesine and sanidine) and quartz in the groundmass. The Washakie Needles dacite groundmass is composed of one feldspar (andesine to anorthoclase) and quartz. The fission track ages of the dacites …

Epeirogenic And Climatic Controls Of Early Pleistocene Fluvial Sediment Dispersal In Nebraska, K. O. Stanley, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The change from Pliocene to Pleistocene fluvial sedimentation in Nebraska is denoted by gravel with relative enrichment of mechanically weak rock species and a two-fold increase in largest clast size. These changes in fluvial sediments suggest modification in degradational energy affecting detritus apparently related to deterioration of climate in the early Pleistocene. Cooler Pleistocene climates with increased moisture resulted in greater discharge and carrying capacity for streams headed in the Rocky Mountains and flowing across Nebraska. These streams carried granitic detritus eastward toward the continental glacier margin in easternmost Nebraska. There, streams flowing off ice sheets carrying sedimentary and metamorphic …

Gravity Survey Of The Mogolion Plateau Volcanic Province, Southwestern New Mexico., Douglas Hugh Krohn

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

A regional gravity survey has been conducted over the Mogollon Plateau, a mid-Tertiary volcano-tectonic complex 125 km in diameter located in southwestern New Mexico. The complete Bouguer gravity map (3 milligal contour interval) shows gravity values ranging form -167 milligals over an outcrop of Precambrian rocks near Silver City, on the southern rim of the Plateau to -251 milligals over an alluvium filled graben east of Reserve, in the northwestern part of the Plateau giving a maximum relief of 84 milligals. Gravity data show that in general the Mogollon Plateau is an area of low density rocks: gravity values within …

The Structural And Metamorphic History Of The Oakhurst Roof Pendant, Mariposa And Madera Counties, California, Lee R. Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Oakhurst roof pendant, near Oakhurst, California, consists of three pre-Cretaceous clastic metasedimentary rock units, surrounded and intruded by rocks of the Sierra Nevada batholith. Two zones of probable "sheared granitic" and "ultramafic" rocks trend northwesterly and are approximately aligned with the Foothills fault system farther north.

The dominant mesocopic feature of the pendant is a northwesterly striking foliation which forms a downward converging fan. Earlier-formed hornblende lineations have been transposed into this foliation plane, as shown by Schmidt-net projections.

Rocks comprising the three unites show three textural stages:

1) Early amphiboles and diopside overgrown by later static amphibole pophyroblasts. …

The Geology Of The Pittsburg Landing Area, Snake River Canyon, Oregon-Idaho, David L. White

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of the study was to map, describe, and correlate the pre-Tertiary rocks. Accessible and excellent exposures at Pittsburg Landing enabled the writer to make a somewhat detailed study of the stratigraphy. The thesis area also offered an opportunity to study in a reconnaissance manner, the Tertiary Columbia River Basalt as described by Waters, and more recently y Ozier.

A New Species Of Menoceras From The Marsland Formation Of Nebraska, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Further study indicates that the Menoceras remains collected from the "Bridgeport Quarries" (lower port:on or the Marsland Formation, Middle Miocene, of the Hemingford Group) are of a new species.

In 1962, these dicerathere remains were considered to be a geologic variety of Diceratherium niobrarensis (Stecher, Schultz, and Tanner). However, later (Tanner, 1969) a generic distinction was revived, separating the Menoceras Troxell from Diceratherium Marsh. Diceretherium niobrarensis was then placed in synonymy with Menoceras arikarense (Barbour).

The new species is an intermediate between Menoceras arikarense (Barbour) from the Harrison Formation and Menoceras marslandensis Tanner, from the upper portion of the Marsland …

Two Lynx-Like Cats From The Pliocene And Pleistocene, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species (Lynx stouti) of small felid is described from the lower Pliocene of Colorado. This form has several characters in common with the modern Lynx and may be ancestral to that genus. A new subspecies of Lynx issiodorensis Croizet and Jobert is described as L. i. kurteni from the Mullen Assemblage, Cherry County, Nebraska. The relationships of this form to other lynxes are discussed along with the paleo-distribution of the genus.

The classification of the felinae has always been somewhat controversial, especially at the generic level. One fairly homogenous group of cats which has been separated …

Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Southwest Nacimiento Range, Sandoval County, New Mexico, Otto L. Schumacher

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The mapped area is in Sandoval County, New Mexico, 4 miles east of La Ventana. Precambrian rocks in the core of the Nacimiento uplift in this area consist mainly of quartz monzonite gneiss which has been intruded by granite. Hornblende schist xenoliths, zones of sheared quartz-plagioclase schistose gneiss, and mafic and leucocratic dike rocks are less abundant. Strata totaling 6200 feet, ranging from the Pennsylvanian Madera Formation through the Cretaceous Mancos Formation, are exposed in the area. Overlying the marine Madera Formation is 3400 feet of continental, marginal marine, and evaporite deposits consisting in ascending order of the Permian Abo, …

Phyletic Trends In Certain Lineages Of Quaternary Mammals, C. Bertrand Schultz, Lloyd G. Tanner, Lary D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Evolutionary trends in certain carnivores, rodents, bovids, and proboscideans are examined. Chronoclines are demonstrated for muskrats, beavers, mammoths, and bison. The Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary and Quaternary climatic fluctuations are also discussed.

The University of Nebraska State Museum contains a large stratigraphically controlled collection of Pleistocene animals. This collection provides a unique opportunity for the study of phyletic trends in certain lineages of mammals. Although a few phylogenetic lineages have been proposed (Schultz and Frankforter, 1946; Hibbard, et al., 1965), this has not been done for the vast majority of Pleistocene mammals. However, there is much more data available than this would …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Part Of The East Helena Quadrangle, Lewis And Clark County, Montana., Jon A. Durham

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The map-area is located along the northwest flank of the Big Belt Mountains, Montana and includes the Eldorado thrust which marks the zone of frontal breakthrough where thrusts of the Cordilleran foldbelt are in contact with the Rocky Mountain foreland. Sedimentary rocks range in age from Precambrian to Cretaceous. Two formations of the Precambrian Belt Series, the Greyson Shale (Oldest) and Spokane Shale are present. Overlaying the Spokane Shale are five formations of the Cambrian; Flathead Quartzite (oldest), Wolsey Shale, Meagher Limestone, Park Shale, and Pilgrim Limestone. Their total aggregate thickness is about 1200 feet.

A Geochemical Study Of Distribution Of Elements In Ores And Limestones From New Jersey Zinc Mines, Hanover, New Mexico, Dasharatham Sayala

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Limestone samples (424) from both surface and subsurface horizons in the New Jersey Zinc mines at Hanover have been analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for Ag, Cd, Mn, Pb, Zn, Cu and Sn. The lead­zinc ore bodies, occurring in Paleozoic limestones are a typical example of hydrothermal deposits; and are related to the Hanover intrusive. The distribution of trace elements in surface limestones was mainly due to primary dispersion, partly due to secondary dispersion. The depth of ore mineralization, concentration of element in ore solutions, porosity of limestones, diffusion coefficients of element, and the chemical nature of elements in the …

The Microtine Rodents Of The Mullen Assemblage From The Pleistocene Of North Central Nebraska, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The University of Nebraska State Museum has had an active collecting program in Hooker and Cherry counties, Nebraska, since the 1930's. The following University of Nebraska State Museum collecting localities have been extensively excavated: Cr-10, Cr-102, Cr-11, Ho-101, Ho-102, and Ho-103. These localities have produced a large vertebrate fauna described by Jakway as the Mullen Local Fauna which he considered for the most part to be Early lllinoian. Further study of this local fauna now demonstrates that assemblage does include Early as well as Middle Pleistocene animals. The purpose of this paper is to report on the evidence regarding the …

Use Of Groundwater For Irrigation In Clay County, Nebraska, 1970, Eugene K. Steele Jr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.