modoc plateau geology

The Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Long Bell State Game Refuge are located on the plateau as well. It is in northeastern California about 50 km (31 mi) south of Klamath Falls, Oregon. According to available geologic maps from the California Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG), the Modoc Plateau is underlain by Tertiary sediments and recent volcanic rocks that have been block-faulted into north trending ranges, which have resulted in large open valleys. Click here to use the California geological interactive map Source: California Geological Survey [Age is early Tertiary (Eocene).] These soils are very deep (greater than 60 inches), very poorly drained, and mucky with slow permeability. Shelf and slope deposits would ultimately become Great Valley rocks, while the trench deposits became the Franciscan subduction complex. These basins steadily filled with sediment, with one famous example preserved as the Great Valley beds in the Coast Ranges. The mountains are drained by the Russian, Eel, Mad and Klamath rivers which tend to follow faults and folds. Before a development permit is granted for a site within a seismic hazard zone, a geotechnical investigation of the site has to be conducted and appropriate mitigation measures incorporated into the project design. Most intrusive igneous rocks are tonalite, granodiorite, quartz diorite or gabbro. Includes Picture Rock Basalt of Hampton (1964), radiometrically dated by potassium-argon methods as middle(?) Most of these wetlands have been drained and converted to agriculture. Most of the Modoc National Forest is covered by basaltic lava flows. Deep hydrothermal systems active in marine sedimentary rocks as they were being metamorphosed emplaced the gold. Many of these schists, like the Condrey Mountain schist are more resistant to erosion than other rocks close by. The western pond turtle is listed as an endangered species in Washington, although it has more robust populations in the Oregon and California portions of its range. Found at high elevations mostly in the Sierra Nevada and Klamath Mountains. Examples of rock formations in the Franciscan subduction complex include the Calera limestone east of the San Andreas fault or the Laytonville limestone which extends north of San Francisco to Eureka. In Washington, much of the ecoregion is within the ceded lands and usual and accustomed fishing areas of tribes. In Rome Basin, includes discontinuous layers of poorly consolidated conglomerate characterized by well-rounded, commonly polished pebbles of chert and pebbles and cobbles of quartzite. Nearly 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the east. [4]. Age, mostly Oligocene; may include some rocks of early Miocene age. The Bowman Ditch and adjacent area are underlain by Quaternary lacustrine deposits composed of alluvial sediments derived from volcanic materials, water-lain ash deposits, and local diatomaceous detritus (CDMG, 1968). Soils comprising the Burney-Arkright Complex, two to nine percent slopes mapping unit, occupy smaller areas in the eastern portion of the transfer property and are underlain by basaltic lava flows. Fast flowing rivers meant that the region has accumulated very little alluvium, except for a rare 400 foot thick deposit in Scott Valley, southwest of Yreka, California. The Ventura Avenue field, north of Ventura is one of the largest fields in California, producing since 1903. The Klamath Mountains have several areas of preserved oceanic crust. The southern portion of the ecoregion has extensive valleys and flatlands between the forested mountains and foothills, which include large marshes, irrigated meadows and pastures, and arid juniper and sagebrush steppes. Geothermal systems with evidence of magmatic heat, associated wi In 1815, the Los Angeles River, which then drained to Long Beach, flooded so substantially that it changed course, joining Ballona Creek and flowing to Santa Monica Bay, before another flood in 1825 redirected it back to Long Beach. In some places, ophiolite sequences preserve remnant oceanic crust rock on land, while other parts of the range are intruded with ultrabasic igneous rocks that have serpentinized to peridotite. The West Shasta district has a long history of copper and zinc production out of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Most of the gold historically mined in California originated in the Mother Lode belt, located in the foothills of the western Sierras. They are associated with the Whipp-Cupvar Complex, slightly saline, 0 to 2percent slopes mapping unit which occupies a flanking position to the south. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California (paperback) at the best online prices at eBay! Lava lakes. Platy flow-jointing common. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago. The Santa Monica Mountains and the Channel Islands are different than the mountains to the north because they have granitic and metamorphic basement rocks more like the Sierra Nevada. Yields and specific capacities of -wells in the unconfined water body within volcanic rocks and lake deposits range widely . Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. This is considered a less-than-significant impact. Special attention shall be provided to erosion prone hillside areas, including extremely erodible soils types such as those evolved from decomposed granite. Lava Beds National Monument is on the Modoc Plateau in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties. Therefore, the volcano may be even larger than the estimated 600 km3(143 mi3, already the largest volcano by volume in the Cascade Range. [1], During the Cenozoic, the volcanic and deep water sedimentary Franciscan rocks were accreted to the edge of California and vast areas of marine sedimentary rocks deposited in the Central Valley and what would become the Transverse and Coast Ranges. Sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and fanglomerate; in part Pliocene and Oligocene. Read more Print length 384 pages Fisher, once common in this ecoregion, now occurs only in the extreme southwestern portion of the East Cascades. The soils have a Capability Class rating of IV and are not considered Prime Farmland. Wetlands in the ecoregion are home to many birds including bald eagles, geese, ducks, herons, cranes, rails, and various songbirds. Map unit used in all counties for recent lake beds, playas, and flood plains. This Reference Books item is sold by MyHometownVintage. Soils at the property have been mapped as the Pit Silty Clay, Drained, 0 to 2 percent slopes mapping unit. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Fountains. The Modoc Plateau is a large volcanic tableland in the northeast corner of the state. The McArthur Swamp, Bowman Ditch, and the Ahjumawi Property are located within or adjacent to the McArthur Fault-Rupture Zone. They are shallow, moderately well drained soils with slow permeability and have a high shrink-swell potential (see TableVI-1). Creating your LandScope profile is fast, free, and simple. Requires ability to work and study under rigorous conditions. The San Andreas Fault became perhaps most active after the Miocene, potentially resulting in up to 350 miles of offset in some locations.[2][3]. These deposited as part of a series of small island arcs, "rafted" against the coast of the proto-North American continent Laurentia. Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California, "Second Edition", 2016, Alt/Hyndman Roadside Geology of Oregon, "Second Edition", 2016, Marli B. Miller The San Onofre Breccia also formed during this period with distinct glaucophane schist, gabbro, limestone and greenschist. 0 Reviews. AmeriCorps Forestry Technicians will perform a wide variety of activities to support all stages of project work. Throughout the Jurassic the Nevadan Orogeny accelerated with large-scale granitic intrusions and erosion into deep marine basins. Even moderate shaking . Most erosion of the Sierra Nevada was finished by the Eocene and faulting may have reactivated the roots of the mountains to create the current mountain range. Areas in the central portion of the northern half of the property contain the Henhill Silt Loam, partially drained, 0 to 2 percent slopes mapping unit. They have a moderate hazard for water and wind erosion when bare. Geologic guide to the Modoc Plateau and the Warner Mountains : annual field trip guidebook of the Geological Society of Sacramento, 1980. The Warner Basalt is the most common rock in the plateau, bordered by the Surprise Valley fault zone that first became active in the Miocene 15 million years ago. Initially, hydraulic mining was used to get at placer deposits, but it destroyed the landscape and choked rivers with sediments, ultimately being banned the California government in 1884. Deccan Traps in India. Is usually overlain by a few feet of reddish Pleistocene gravel and rests on Chico formation. The low shield shape, central caldera, and dominance ofmaficlavas are similar to Newberry Volcano of central Oregon, also located in anextensionaltectonicenvironment east of the Cascade arc axis. Recent lava flows comprise approximately 60 percent of this complex and are characterized by sharp, jagged, broken blocks piled in tumbled heaps and have many crevices, sinkholes, and collapsed lava tubes. During the Miocene, a deep marine channel filled with up to 15,000 feet of sediment which is most of the rock exposed on the Channel Islands. One of the most important events was the advent of the San Andreas Fault around 29 million years ago in the Oligocene, when the region subducted a spreading center in the East Pacific Rise. The Oldest Rocks: The Piedmont and Blue Ridge In fact volcanic rocks are 10,000 feet thick in the western part of the Santa Monica Mountains. The services DOC provides are designed to balance today's needs with tomorrow's obligations by fostering the wise use and conservation of energy, land and mineral resources. For those that did not, or used other generalized terms for Quaternary rocks, the unit Qal has been used for the general undivided alluvium. Therefore, it is located within a zone of crustal weakness that likely provides a preferred pathway formagmasto reach the surface; the regional fault trends are the primary control onventlocations. Compared with the Sierra Nevada, rocks from this time period tend be more calcic than silicic. These soils formed in basins from fine-textured alluvium from extrusive and basic igneous rock. Uplift took place into the Pliocene and Pleistocene, slowly reducing sea levels inland in the Central Valley. It is also known for scores of lava-tube caves and for well-preserved young volcanic features. The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. This unit corresponds with unit Tb on the 1978 State map. The mountains are drained by the Santa Margarita, San Luis Rey, San Diego and San Dieguito rivers, while San Felipe Creek in the east drains into the Salton Sea. SP026: Traveling America's loneliest road: A geologic and natural history tour through Soils of the Pittville Sandy Loam, 0 to 5 percent slopes mapping unit occur at the southern fringe of the site. ADVERTISEMENT This produced major crustal stretching, volcanism and displacement of up to 125 miles. Simultaneously island arcs and small sections of continental crust rafted onto the edge of North America, building out the continent. Bull trout occur within the ecoregion but their range has been significantly reduced. Substantially folding at the edge of the valley creates famous oil producing dome structures like Lost Hills and Kettleman Hills. These activities include periodic maintenance of levees and roadways, recreational use, and grazing. Shasta, Lassen Peak, or Medicine Lake volcanic centers, all of which have experienced activity within the last 500 years (CDMG, 1994). At least 300 lava tubes are known in Lava Beds National Monument, some of which preserve ice year round. Fossil plants and vertebrates indicate an Oligocene and Miocene age. Rhyolitic to dacitic varicolored bedded tuff, lapilli tuff, and fine- to medium-grained tuffaceous sedimentary rocks with interstratified welded and nonwelded ash-flow tuff and interbedded basalt and andesite flows. The rocks of eastern California formed a shallow continental shelf, with massive deposition of limestone during the Paleozoic, and sediments from this time are common in the Sierra Nevada, Klamath Mountains and eastern Transverse Range. These soils are very similar to those discussed for the Bowman Ditch and Ahjumawi Property. The Modoc Plateau has a diverse geography, with portions draining into closed basins such as Goose Lake and Surprise Valley, and most of the remainder draining into the Pitt River, a tributary of the Sacramento River. Modoc Plateau: Average elevation 1370 m (4500 feet) Predominant rocks: Late Cenozoic volcanics, especially basalts in the Modoc Plateau, andesites and dacites in the Cascades Plate tectonic setting: Andean-style volcanic arc in the Cascades, Basin and Range volcanoes in the Modoc Plateau Most recent eruptions: Lassen, 1914-1921 The tribes manage tribally-owned lands on reservations and are also involved in monitoring and research activities on ceded lands. The Bowman Ditch is located on soils mapped as the Pastolla Muck, drained, zero to two percent slopes. As with the State Park, several Quaternary and Holocene faults are located within a 60-mile radius of the drainage way. The eastern ranges, including the Santa Rosa Mountains are typically over 6,000 feet (1,800m) high, with San Jacinto Peak reaching 10,805 feet, whereas the western ranges like the Santa Ana, Agua Tibia and Laguna mountains are lower. The Modoc Plateau Region (Figure MOD-1) encompasses 22,858 km of the volcanic tablelands east of the Cascade and northern Sierra Nevada ranges in Modoc, Lassen, and Siskiyou counties. Basalt flows, plugs and dikes, some olivine basalt, and andesite and latitic rocks. doi: 10.4095/223767. The Santa Ynez Mountains extend up the coast of Santa Barbara County and contain Franciscan basement rocks (also referred to as the Franciscan basement complex) like the Coast Ranges. In places includes flows of platy olivine andesite or basaltic andesite. Extensive marine and nonmarine sand deposits, generally near the coast or desert playas. Fissure eruptions. Rockhounding. Hill*s work, however, is of little value in understanding the areal . The soils are moderately to strongly alkaline and have a very high shrink-swell potential (refer to TableVI-1). Surface fault rupture is not necessarily restricted to the area within an Alquist-Priolo Zone. . The Modoc Plateau is located in the northeastern corner of the state, framed by and including the Warner Mountains and Surprise Valley along the Nevada border to the east and west to the edge of the southern Cascades Range. Gold lodes upstream of the placers were found as well, the largest being French Gulch 15 miles west of Redding. These rocks are rich in plagioclase, quartz and chlorite mica (which gives them a greenish color) and range up to 25,000 feet thick. Policy SG-e - When soil tests reveal the presence of expansive soils, engineering design measures designed to eliminate or mitigate their impacts shall be employed.