Geology of the Ricardo Beds in the Western portion of Saltdale Quadrangle Kern County

72 Pages·03.297 MB·English

by  Barnard, Ralph M

GEOLOGY OF THE RICARDO BEDS
IN THE
WESTERN PORTION OF SALTDALE QUADRANGLE
KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of Geology
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Geology
by
Ralph M. Barnard
June, 1950
UMI Number: EP58430
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This thesis, written by
RALPH M. BARNARD
under the guidance of h.'.Ls„ Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill­
ment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OP SCIENCE
Date.....
Faculty Committee
Chairman
/ c * d ^ ~
’' / —■— - ^ _
Iff,
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION ..................................... 1
Location and accessibility of the area • • • • 1
General physiography . . . . . ........... .. 3
Climate and vegetation . . . • • • • • • • • • ip
Previous work • • • • • • . . • • • • • • • • 6
Scope of present investigation • • • • • • • . 8
Field work • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 8
II. STRATIGRAPHY AND PETROLOGY ...................... 10
Basement rocks and younger acidic
intrusives • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10
Pre-Jurassic metamorphic rocks • • • • • • 10
Upper Jurassic igneous rocks • • • • • • • 11
Miocene (?) acidic intrusive rocks • • • • 12
Rosamond sediments • • • • • • • • • • • . • • 13
Relationships and lithology . . . . . . . . 13
Application of the term, Rosamond . . . . .
sediments . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • l6
The Ricardo beds • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
General ............. . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A comparison of three Ricardo sections • • 18
Basal conglomerate and b r ec ci a............ 20
Andesite breccia • • • • • . • • ........ 20
Basalt flows ..................... 22
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Basalt sills and dikes .................... 26
T u f f s ................................... 26
Arkose, siltstone, and claystone . . . . . . 28
Upper conglomerates...................... 29
Cherts and limestones .................... 32
Black Mountain basalt....................... 314-
Alluvium ................................... 35
III. STRUCTURE . .................................... 37
Regional structure .............. 37
Detailed structure......... 38
Nature of the Garlock fault in the
mapped area .......... 38
Extent of tilting of the Ricardo beds . . . 39
Local faults affecting the Ricardo beds . • 39
IV. CENOZOIC HISTORY.............................. Ip6
Pre-Ricardo events.......................... Ip6
Events of Ricardo t i m e ...................... Ip7
Post-Ricardo events................... . . . I4.9
V. ECONOMIC ASPECTS .............................. 51
Pumicite................................... $1
Placer gold................................. 52
APPENDIX........................................ 56
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................... 6l
t
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1. Badland topography formed by the erosion of
Ricardo strata at the head of Iron Canyon • . • 5
2. Angular unconformity between the Rosamond
sediments and the basal Ricardo conglomerate . 15
3. Andesite breccia at Last Chance Canyon ......... 21
Ip. Looking toward the base of the Ricardo section
at Last Chance Canyon.......................... 25
5. Upper basalt flow capping 75 fset of arkose
west of lower Red Rock Canyon .......... 25
6. View along the strike of the massive pink
tuff on the west wall of Iron Canyon . . . . . 30
7. Alternating beds of red and light grey arkose
at Red Rock C a n y o n ............ 30
8. An unusually large calcareous arkose
concretion ............ 31
9. Outcrop surface of the conglomerate overlying
the pink tuff, west of lower Red Rock Canyon • 33
10. Repetition of the andesite breccia at the south
end of the Last Uiiance Canyon fault.......... ip 1
11. Repetition of basalt flov/s by the strike fault
at f,Red Buttes” .......................... Ip5
12. Distortion of the beds at the strike fault
shown in Fig. 1 1 .............................. Ip5
13* Cudahy Mine, at the pumicite horizon near the
middle of the Ricardo sequence; Last Chance
C a n y o n ........................................ 5ip
lip. Open cut in the pumicite horizon near the
middle of the Ricardo sequence • • • • • • • • 55
V
LIST OP PLATES
PLATE PAGE
I* Index Map of Saltdale Quadrangle . . . . . . . . 2
II. Comparison of Three Sections Through the
Ricardo Beds.............. 19
III. Geologic Map.............................. (j,a=peekefc) G?'$
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
I. LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF THE AREA
The Ricardo continental sediments and volcanics crop
out in eastern Kern County, California, immediately to the
east of the Sierra Nevada Range* The most important exposure
occurs chiefly within the Saltdale Quadrangle, which is de­
fined by Latitudes 35°15*N. and 35°30fN., and Longitudes
117°[j.5 fW. and ll8°00fW* Tilted Ricardo strata and the as­
sociated older rocks form the western part of the El Paso
Mountains*
The area described in this study extends from Red Rock
Canyon, at the extreme western end of the El Paso Mountains,
to the vicinity of Black Mountain, twrelve miles to the north­
east. This elongated area is parallel to the general strike
of the Ricardo beds* Plate I shows the exact position of the
area, which includes approximately sixty-five square miles*
U.S. Highway 6 passes through Red Rock Canyon, making
this portion of the area the most readily accessible. North
of Red Rock Canyon, several secondary roads branch off from
Highway 6 onto the north flank of the El Paso Mountains. The
south flank of the mountains can be crossed by several
secondary roads which branch off from the Randsburg Highway.
PLATE
INDEX MAP OF SALTDALE QUADRANGLE
X-,:,. :'-X
X . ■ ■'
I N Y 8 K E RN
35° 30‘
Block Mt.
33
>
rz" .To
o Randsburg
R i car
y iI CcOo
o Saltdale lC
I CO
lO
Koehn
; Dry Loke
« Qa nt i 4
AfOJAVE
DESERT
•55° l$*
CASTLE BUTTE
f4
TO
Mohove
113° 00'
11 7° 45‘
Approx Scale: Mo.= 4m lies
AREA MAPPED IS SHOWN IN YELLOW
The most improved of these follows Last Chance Canyon,
A branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad is parallel
with the south flank of the SI Faso Mountains and a station
is located at Cantil.
II. GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHY
The physiographic and structural features of Saltdale
Quadrangle are typical of the Basin and Range Province. The
northeast-trending El Paso range is a tilted fault block;
described by Baker^ as lying en echelon with the southern
Sierra Nevada Range. The Garlock fault scarp forms the
steep south flank of the El Paso Mountains, This scarp
rises abruptly above a basin containing Koehn Dry Lake. The
north flank of the El Paso Mountains has a relatively gentle
slope, except at Black Mountain. The piedmont alluvial
slope of the Sierra Nevada Range extends to the foot of the
north flank of the El Paso Mountains in the area studied.
Black Mountain, with an elevation of 5*259 feet, is
the highest point in the El Paso Mountains and in Saltdale
Quadrangle. The lowest point in the quadrangle is at Koehn
C. L. Baker, "Physiography and Structure of the
Western El Paso Range and the Southern Sierra Nevada", Univ.
Calif• Pubs., Bull Dept. Geology, vol. 7* p. 119* 1912.