Unraveling the multi-phase history of southern Death Valley geology

Abstract

ABSTRACT This field trip is designed to highlight recent findings in regard to the tectonic history of the southern Death Valley region. During the first day, stops will take place in the Ibex Hills and adjacent Ibex Pass area. These stops were chosen to emphasize recent work that supports multiple phases of extension in the region, and is recorded by the interactions of complexly overprinted normal faults. Mapping of the Ibex Hills revealed an older set of normal faults that have a down-to-the-SW sense of movement and are cross-cut by down-to-the-NW style normal faults. Additionally, the Ibex Pass basin poses a number of questions regarding its stratigraphy and how it relates to the timing and kinematics of the region. Multiple stops within the basin will show the variation of volcanic and sedimentary units across Ibex Pass. The second day of the field trip is focused more so on the more recent transtensional and strike-slip history of southern Death Valley. In particular, recent mapping has correlated features in the Avawatz and Owlshead Mountains that indicate ~40k m of offset along the Southern Death Valley Fault Zone (SDVFZ). Stops will take place along traces of the SDVFZ in the Avawatz Mountains and the Noble Hills. The final stop of the trip is in the Mormon Point turtleback, where the implications of the SDVFZ offset are discussed, alongside the metamorphic rocks at the stop, suggesting the restoration of the Panamint Range partially atop the Black Mountains.