Geology Commons^™

Using Geologic Principles And Data To Create A Symphony For Wind Ensemble, Thomas J. Davis

2022 Symposium

Geology and geologic processes have featured in many pieces of classical music such as Alan Hovhaness’ symphonic works after Mt. St. Helens and Glacier Peak but these pieces are impressionistic and only take general inspiration from the geology of their subjects. This paper describes the creation of Tectonics (2021) a piece which incorporates and describes many geologic principles and processes, such as mantle convection, through the musical form of cannon, the formation of fold and thrust belts whose cross sections are directly visually recreated in the score, and the physical dynamics of earthquake waves demonstrated through variations of pitch and …

Naturally Occurring Acid Rock Drainage In The Anaconda-Pintler Mountain Range, Montana: A Case Study Of Geochemistry In Two Streams Flowing From Mount Evans, Margaret Doolittle

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Mount Evans is located in the Anaconda-Pintler mountain range of southwest Montana approximately 22 km southwest of Anaconda, Montana. Mount Evans appears reddish orange on Google Earth amongst the rest of the mountain range which is a grey white color, indicating the presence of limonite staining and probable sulfide mineralization. In addition, two streams draining opposite sides of the mountain, and either side of the continental divide have conspicuous white coatings on boulders that are clearly visible with Google Earth. During a mineral resource assessment in the 1980s, the USGS suggested that the Mount Evans area could be the top …

Hazardready – A Geographically Based Natural Hazard Education And Preparedness Web Application, Carson C. Macpherson-Krutsky Ms.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and other natural disasters are inevitable and costly both in terms of lives lost and money spent on recovery. Scientific research on natural hazards is widely shared within the scientific community, but is less often made more widely accessible, as methods or pathways for providing scientific natural hazard information and data in non-technical language are limited. Priorities for imparting hazard information include: 1) scientific accuracy, 2) spatial granularity, 3) integration of information about all relevant hazards, 4) nontechnical content, 5) appropriate preparedness activities, and 6) engagement with existing disaster response and mitigation capabilities. In response to these …

Geothermobarometry And Petrographic Interpretations Of Christensen Ranch Meta- Banded Iron Formation From The Ruby Range, Montana, Jacob Hughes

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Ruby Range in southwestern Montana was tectonically uplifted during the mountain-building event of the Big Sky orogeny. Contained within the Christensen Ranch Formation, made up of sedimentary units metamorphosed during the Big Sky orogeny, are a small number of metamorphosed banded iron formations (BIFs). It is the presence and composition of these BIFs which is the focus of this research, principally their depositional origin, relationship to surrounding sedimentary packages, elemental and mineral compositions, and lastly, peak metamorphic conditions. Samples were collected, cut into thin sections, and powdered for textural and compositional analyses employing polarized light microscopy, Raman microscopy, scanning …

Subsurface To Surface Correlation Of The Tensleep Sandstone In The West Flank Of The Pryor Mountains In Carbon County, Montana, William B. Rhyne

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone is an eolian and nearshore marine/sabka quartz arenite unit with prominent outcrops along the western Pryor/Bighorn Mountain front east of Red Lodge, MT. Regionally, the formation represents one of the largest ergs in the global geologic record. High permeability makes it an important oil and gas reservoir and aquifer in south central Montana and throughout much of Wyoming. The Tensleep Sandstone’s high percentage of quartz content and grain roundness, due to its eolian origin, makes it a prospective source for natural proppant sand.

Three continuous 4-inch cores were obtained during a cooperative project between Montana Tech …

Insights Into The Timing, Origin, And Deformation Of The Highland Mountains Gneiss Dome In Southwestern Montana, Usa, Lane Markes Boyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Highland Mountains of southwestern Montana offer a unique view of the Archean igneous and metamorphic rocks within the Great Falls tectonic zone (GFTZ). A Paleoproterozoic structural gneiss dome has been interpreted in the southern extent of the Highland Mountains. The ∼ 130km² of exhumed metamorphic rocks and gneiss dome exposed in the Highland Mountains are the primary focus of this research. The formation of the Highland Mountains gneiss dome is proposed to be directly related to a northwest-side down detachment (the Steels Pass shear zone) that formed during terrane collision along the GFTZ. The field investigation determined foliation …

Secondary Enrichment Of Copper At The Madison Gold Skarn Deposit, Silver Star District, Montana, Christopher H. Gammons, Jill Sotendahl, Dan Everett

Geological Engineering

Secondary Enrichment of Copper at the Madison Gold Skarn Deposit, Silver Star District, Montana. This paper focuses on the chemical reactions responsible for secondary enrichment of copper...we argue that most of the secondary Cu enrichment occurred during a late hydrothermal event that replaced the high temperature skarn mineral assemblage with hematitic jasperoid. Evidence favoring this "hypogene" Cu enrichment hypothesis is presented.

Evaluating Lake Response To Environmental And Climatic Change Using Lake Core Records And Modeling, Brandi Bracht-Flyr

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation evaluates how lakes respond to changes in their environmental and climatic settings. This dissertation consists of two lake modeling projects and the environmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions of four lakes in southwestern Montana. Lakes and their associated biological communities respond to environmental and climatic change on rapid timescales. Lake modeling and lake core stratigraphies are complementary tools for exploration of how lakes and their biota respond to environmental or climatic perturbations. In one modeling approach for exploring these issues, a simple hydro-climatological lake model was developed that classifies lake sensitivity to climatic perturbations based upon lake area, catchment area, …

Eocene To Oligocene Provenance And Drainage In Extensional Basins Of Southwest Montana And East-Central Idaho: Evidence From Detrital Zircon Populations In The Renova Formation And Equivalent Strata, C. N. Stroup, P. K. Link, Susanne U. Janecke, C. M. Fanning, G. M. Yaxley, L. P. Beranek

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Middle Eocene to Early Miocene sedimentary rocks in southwest Montana and east-central Idaho were deposited within an actively extending north-trending rift system (Cabbage Patch beds and Medicine Lodge beds) and a broad depositional basin on the eastern flank of this rift (Renova Formation). Distinct sediment sources for sandstones from different parts of this extensional system are identified using detrital zircon SHRIMP geochronology and LA-MC-ICPMS Hf isotope geochemistry. Sedimentary petrology independently shows strong compositional similarities among sandstones grouped by provenance. The Muddy-Grasshopper detachment system was the eastern boundary of the Paleogene rift and controlled sediment dispersal patterns. Hf isotope ratios and …

Origin Of Gabbroic Xenoliths Within The Lone Mountain Dacite Intrusion, Big Sky, Montana: A Field And Petrographic Analysis, Emily Clement

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Geologic Map Of The Bachelor Mountain 7.5' Quadrangle Beaverhead County, Montana, Susanne U. Janecke, R. J. Dorsey, J. C. Kickham, J. P. Matoush, W. Mcintosh

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Geologic Map of the Bachelor Mountain 7.5’ Quadrangle Beaverhead County, Montana Geologic Summary The Bachelor Mountain quadrangle is located in the Horse Prairie Creek drainage basin of southwest Montana and contains exposures of Middle Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks and eighteen map units of Eocene to Oligocene basin-fill deposits assigned to the Medicine Lodge beds. Locally, overlying upper Oligocene to lower Miocene(?) Everson Creek beds and late early to early late Miocene Bannack Pass beds are also preserved as basin-fill deposits. The Medicine Lodge beds were deposited in an early basin, the Grant protobasin (Fig. 1a), during slip on the Muddy-Grasshopper detachment …

Day 3. Wednesday, August 13, 2003: Coalbed Methane Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Energy Field Tour 2003 (August 11-16)

10 pages (includes color illustrations and maps).

Structural And Kinematic Evolution Of Eocene-Oligocene Grasshopper Extensional Basin, Southwest Montana, Julie C. Kickham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Grasshopper basin of southwest Montana is a complex east-dipping graben containing five unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary sedimentary rocks. The Eocene-Oligocene basin lies within the northern Rocky Mountain Basin and Range province. Geologic mapping in five and a half 7.5 minute quadrangles indicates that at least three distinct phases of extension characterize the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of Grasshopper basin from approximately 46 Ma to < Ma.

The significant phases of extension in Grasshopper basin were phases 1 and 3. During the first phase of extension (46-27 Ma) the nonplanar Muddy-Grasshopper fault was initiated and 90% of the basin fill was deposited. At …

Normal Faults And Extensional Folds Of Southwest Montana And Eastern Idaho, Susanne U. Janecke, J. J. Blankenau, C. J. Vandenburg, B. S. Van Gosen

Geosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Surface Mining Control And Reclamation Act Of 1977, Hamlet J. Barry, Iii

Federal Lands, Laws and Policies and the Development of Natural Resources: A Short Course (Summer Conference, July 28-August 1)

48 pages.

Includes footnotes (pages 44 to 47).

The Effect Of Ph Upon Chelation Reactions In Montmorillonite Clays, Joseph Michael Keane

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate several chelation reactions and determine the effect of variable pH upon these reactions.

The Design And Construction Of An Electrolytic Cell For Aluminum Reduction, Thomas H. Melrose

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The purpose of this investigation was to design and construct a laboratory size electrolytic cell in which to reduce alumina, using the same basic materials that are used in a commercial size cell. The cell was designed to have a capacity of approxi­mately 100 grams of metallic aluminum produced every 8 hours. The cell was constructed so it could be operated continuously.

Investigation Of Inclusions In Armco Ingot Iron, Edwin J. Duncan

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Various chemical and electrolytic separation methods were investigated in an attempt to separate the in­clusions in Armco ingot iron. Residues obtained were X-rayed for identification purposes. The microstruc­tures of this iron were studied with the object of de­termining the relative sizes, locations, and possible compositions of the inclusions.

Effect Of Recovery On The Recrystallized Grain-Size Of High Purity Aluminum, Rodney L. Helterline

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

When a cold-worked metal is annealed, it’s physical properties hange as a result of a new grain structure. The annealing treatment is divided into three stages according to the changes that occur in the distorted metal: (1) recovery, (2) recrystallization, and (3) grain growth.

Polarography Of Indium, John Jackson

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The purpose of this thesis is to study the various aspects of the polarography of indium. The eventual goal would be to develop a method of analyzing indium in unknowns. The investigation is approached by studying the indium ions in various electrolytes and in various concentrations.

Geology Of The Ragged Point Oil Field Musselshell County, Montana, David M. Amos

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The Ragged Point oil field is located in Northwest Musselshell County, in the Lake Basin field of central Mon­tana, and on the western border of the Great Plains region. The surface topography is that of a plain marked by erosion and moderate folding. The stratigraphy of central Montana shows periodic marine invasions from the Cordilleran trough, with normal marine limestones interbedded with sandstone sand shales. These sediments are over 12,000 feet thick, with the Creta­ceous Eagle and Colorado formations exposed at the surface on the Ragged Point anticline. Undifferentiated Cambrian lime­stones and shales are the oldest rocks encountered in drilling.

The Application Of Electric Energy To The Metallurgy Plants In Montana, Edwin J. Duncan

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Since the year 1800, metallurgy has been affiliated with electricity. In fact, the two industries have grown side by side, being naturally dependent upon each other and having a parallel growth.

The Construction And Operation Of A Universal Specimen Mount With Protective Lead Shield For The Purpose Of Determining Pole Figures Using The Schulz-Decker Transmission Technique, Richard L. Fausner

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

It was the purpose of this study to construct a universal mount, to construct a protective lead shield, to operate the instrument, and to provide a pole figure using the transmission method of Schulz and Decker. There are at present several lengthy x-ray methods of determining the grain orientation of metals. These methods are mainly photographic. In order to provide a rapid means of obtaining the necessary information concerning the grain orientation of a metal, a universal mount was constructed.

The Lucky Hit Mine Of Jefferson County, Montana, Bruce B. Goddard

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Many mines in the Cardwell Mining District have been more or less steady producers of gold, silver, lead and zinc since 18SO. The area first came into prominence with the discovery of gold at the Mayflower Mine in 1896. Soon after the Mayflower discovery, many claims were located in the nearby Saint Paul Gulch area, northeast of Whitehall. The Lucky Hit Mine is located in Saint Paul Gulch area of the Cardwell Mining District.

Nonmetallic Mineral Resources Of Montana (Except Fuels), F. L. Rytlewski

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Essentially, the paper is composed of seven parts, each of which concerns a group of related nonmetallic minerals such as ceramic materials, gemstones, or abra­sives. Following the data pertaining to the minerals of each group are index mars locating the major mineral deposits which are known to date. Production and reserve figures are listed by tables in cases where such information is available.

The Flotation Concentration Of A Complex Low-Grade Lead Zinc Ore, Edward James Fong

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

This report is concerned primarily with the beneficiation of a low-grade complex lead-zinc ore. The depletion of high grade veins has caused the mineral engineer to seek deposits deeper in the earth's crust or to find lower grade deposits. The other alternative has placed more research problems on Mineral Dressing Engineers in particularly the iron, copper, lead and zinc fields.

Host Rocks And Gangue Minerals Associated With Copper Deposits In Plutonic Igneous Rocks, Richard D. Montgomery

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

All of the information on the various districts has come directly from published reports. The investigation was suggested by Mr. Forbes Robertson. The geographical extent of the deposits was confined to the western United States. Many of these deposits are of the disseminated porphyry type. A few of the de­posits, such as at Butte, Montana, were of the fissure vein type.

Geology Of The Marget Ann Mine Butte District, Montana, Winston Martin Sahinen

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

As the field work progressed it became apparent that very little was known of the mineralogical associations of the precious metal constituents of the Marget Ann ore. A mineralogical study in excess of that originally planned was then decided upon to de­termine the affiliations exhibited by the silver and gold. With these objectives in mind, the laboratory and field work continued.

Studies Of Tempering Behavior Of Steel X-9165 Of N-A-X 9100 Series, James A. Ndulue

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

One of the reasons why steel is the most versatile of all the metals available for engineering applications is because of the wide range of properties that can be obtained from it by proper heat treatment.

Fluorite Deposits In The Dry Creek District, Near Superior, Mineral County, Montana, Russell M. Corn

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

Fluorite was discovered in the. Dry Creek District, Mineral County, in 1943 and the first commercial prod­uction of this mineral in Montana waS recorded from this locality.