This dissertation is organized into three separate studies (appendices) that I plan to publish in peer-reviewed journals. The first appendix presents a study that establishes a latest Pleistocene age for volcanic eruptions at Zuni Salt Lake. The second appendix evaluates the hypothesis that the late Holocene hydroclimatic history of spring discharge at Cienega Amarilla is driven largely by variations in El Niño frequency and intensity and the resultant variations in winter precipitation. The third appendix examines the nature and timing of fluvial geomorphic change in mid-elevation valley and piedmont areas of the Carrizo Wash watershed and identifies the climatic factors driving this landscape change. Each of these appendices is described in more detail below.
Terminal Pleistocene volcanic eruptions at Zuni Salt Lake, west-central New Mexico, USA
This study re-evaluates the age and volcanic history of Zuni Salt Lake maar, a volcanic crater in the Red Hill–Quemado volcanic field that holds great significance in the oral traditions of a handful of tribes including the Zuni and Hopi. Zuni Salt Lake is often depicted as a textbook example of a maar, but despite its notoriety previous dating attempts are limited to argon dates with very poor precision and a radiocarbon age compromised by hardwater effects. These earlier dating results suggested that the Zuni Salt Lake eruptions predated ~27 ka, initially prompting me to assume that volcanic activity at this vent had little
Sims et al. (1989) synthesized U-Pb zircon ages for the Pembine-Wausau terrane. Sims concluded that the volcanic rocks were generated from around 1889 to 1860 Ma as island arcs and closed back-arc basins above the south-dipping subduction zone (Niagara fault zone). Granitoid rocks in the terrane, emplaced from around 1870 to 1760 Ma, are mainly granodiorite and tonalite but include gabbro, diorite, and granite. These developed as island arcs above the Eau Pleine shear zone. The Niagara fault zone contains a relict ophiolite, suggesting that the rocks in the Pembine-Wausau terrane probably accumulated on
The three faults being considered are thought to have influenced the character of some 120,000 square miles. The Big Pine, Garlock, and San Andreas faults are all mutually active, deep, long, and steep and noted as being conjugate shears. In concert, the faults have defined a primary strain pattern of relative east-west extension and north-south shortening of the area of 120,000 square miles. The large region is noted for its deformity, with the source of this being a northeast-southwest counterclockwise compressive couple. The compressive couple was potentially supported through drag as a result of the deep-seated movement of rock material from the Pacific region (Hill & Dibblee, 1953). The interaction of the faults in the San Andreas region since the Jurassic period have served to shape and contour the present geology of the land, while a study of the paleontology of the region likewise requires such knowledge to effectively determine conditions at any given point in time.
The purpose of this essay is to examine and analyze Katrine Barber's book, "Death of Celilo Falls". In this book, Barber successfully seeks to tell the story of a momentous event in the history of the West, the building of the Dalles Dam in 1957. Celilo Falls was part of a nine-mile area of the Long Narrows on the Columbia River. Despite the fact that the Celilo Village still survives to this day in the state of Oregon (it is the state's oldest continuously inhabited town), the assembly of The Dalles Dam in 1957 changed the way of life for the surrounding areas forever. Barber tells this story very well, and as it is the first book-length account of the inundation of Celilo Falls, it is a very valuable and insightful look at an influential
The formation of San Diego region involved numerous activities which varied from volcano activities, the formation of Gulf, uplifting and tilting among others. These activities happened in a long span of time creating three distinct geomorphic regions: the west of peninsular rangers, peninsular ranges region, and the Salton Trough region. The geomorphic division reflects the basic difference amid geographic parts containing Mesozoic metavolcanic, metasedimentary, and plutonic rock material. The development of these features resulted to the occurrence of the current San Diego state. The integration of different rocks, volcanic activities, and subduction processes resulted to the development of peninsular region and Salton Trough.
The youngest of these rocks are dated at about 220,000 years ago. Rhyodacties and quartz latites in the modern caldera area extruded from about 320,000 years ago to 260,000 years ago, and then silica-rich rhyolites at Glass Mountain northeast of the caldera erupted from about 210,000 years ago to 80,000 years ago. The scattered distribution of the initial mafic eruptions indicates that they were erupted from the mantle, while the slightly younger domes and flows were from a deep-crustal source. The youngest rhyolite eruptions erupted at the northeast rim of the caldera at Glass Mountain and were the first activity of the silicic Long Valley magma chamber (Bailey, et. al., 1989).
Jr, R. H. (2014, April 28). Encylopedia Britannica. Retrieved from Rio Grand River, United States-Mexico: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/504243/Rio-Grande
Traditionally the Western Shoshone Nation’s ancestral land covers an area spanning from southern California, clear through Nevada, and barely touching southern Idaho. Within this scope of land is the previously mentioned Yucca Mountain, but also Mount Tenabo, a mountain in the Cortez Range of Northern Nevada, which is currently subject to mining. This large area of land is know as the Great Basin, where the habitat is dependent on the rain and snow melt water which comes off the high mountains, feeding the creeks which keep the living, living. Mount Tenabo is one such mountain; however it also holds a place in Shoshone creation stories, and is the site of ancient burials causing it to be of great importance to the entire nation of the Western Shoshone. The people of the Western Shoshone Nation still use the mountain to gather medical plants from these sacred places of their ancestors, and hold ceremonies.
This valley, future home of a ski resort and other activities, has a history of its own. It is divided into three major areas: The Poplar Region, The Bud Site, and the Gasville, areas which descend from North to South respectively. It is assumed that climatological conditions are similar to those found in the same area thousands of years ago, with some minor changes in temperature that may have increased due to the Green house effect and global warming.
This chapter discusses pre-contact and historic occupation events at KLGO and in southeast Alaska. Various events and sites across the region assist in analyzing and inferring the research data collected for this thesis. The information presented in this chapter helps clarify the understandings of site formation processes, can be used as a foundation to build inquiry, and assists in illustrating the antiquity of the region. This chapter discusses the occurrence of natural and cultural events before the development of KLGO including paleoecological information, pre-contact human occupation, Chilkoot Tlingit and the Tagish Athapaskan occupation, and Klondike Gold Rush history. This chapter also discusses the development and creation of KLGO.
First, we must examine the sedimentary formations; when they were formed, how they were formed, and what materials they consist of. About ninety-three to one hundred million years ago, the Western Interior Seaway rolled through the North American continent, eventually reaching the geographical area of today’s Mesa Verde National Park (National Park Service 2005). This sea deposited a thick, hard sandstone base that is called Dakota Sandstone, although this layer is not exposed in the park
This mega drought matched up with the Lake Chichancanab sediment record, giving the authors more confidence in their results. They did this for multiple depths of low Ti content on the sediment cores that resulted in the dates of 910, 860, 810, and 760 A.D.. The intervals between these drought periods were all within approximately 40 to 47 years which also is supported in the Lake Chichancanab sediment record. Beginning with the drought in 760 A.D., a drying trend appeared for approximately the next 40 years until a more severe drought occurred at approximately 810 A.D. Another major drought occurred at roughly 860 A.D. based on very low Ti content results. This was finally capped of with another sever drought in 910 A.D. which lasted roughly 6 years.
The Grand Canyon has plenty of volcanic rocks near the bottom and the top. ICR, Institute for Creative Research, has been involved in a project for years to date these volcanic rocks. this study has come a long way to show that many of the Grand Canyon strata could have formed rapidly, and that the erosion of the Canyon by the Colorado River has not been going on for millions of years.
Although the luminescence ages appear somewhat younger than the radiocarbon-based age estimates for the two eruptive phases, the 2-sigma ranges of the dates indicate that they are consistent (Figure 8). Because they are from the same geological context, the two luminescence ages for the C3 basalt flow associated with the initial eruptive phase can be statistically combined using the OxCal v. 4.2 program (Ramsey, 2009) to reduce the standard error, resulting in a luminescence age estimate of 12,720 ± 610 yr (Figure 8). The 2-sigma range of this combined luminescence age falls within the 2-sigma radiocarbon-based age range estimate of 13,560–13,330 cal yr BP. Likewise, the two luminescence ages of 10,250 ± 805 yr and 10,420 ± 765 yr associated with the second, phreatomagmatic eruptive phase overlap with the 2-sigma radiocarbon-based age estimate of 12,160–11,720 cal yr BP. The luminescence sample associated with Zuni Salt Lake lacustrine highstand deposits at profile 13-5, which must post-date the phreatomagmatic eruption based on stratigraphic relationships, produced an age of 10,935 ± 980 yr, in better agreement with the radiocarbon evidence associated with the second eruptive phase. It is possible that we underestimated the soil moisture associated with the UIC-3476 and -3421 luminescence samples, which could explain why the two luminescence-based maar eruption ages are
El Nino is a climate cycle that has a global impact on the weather in the Pacific ocean. (Life Science Staff, 2015) The city also experienced over 42 inches of rain in the early parts of 2005. (Flood Hazards in the City of Santa Clarita, n.d.) The Santa Clara river and the San Francisquito Creek were washed out in places that did not have a stable buried bank. There was up to 4 feet of flooding in the Polynesian Mobile Home Park when the Newhall Creek flooded over, and over 75 feet of bank eroded prior to the Sand Canyon Mobile Home Park. (Flood Hazards in the City of Santa Clarita,
It is undeniable that climate change is drastically changing our current landscapes throughout the world. There are many individuals who consider climate change to be a natural and organic progression, but many studies indicate that due to excess greenhouse gas emissions, humans are accelerating global warming at an alarming rate. It’s convenient to continuously dismiss the studies and evidence that suggest climate change is real and it could have serious consequences, but when these drastic changes are taking place in our own backyard, it becomes a harsh reality. There is longstanding research, which indicates that the Colorado River has been in a drought since the early 2000’s and researchers allege that due to rising temperatures, the