Geologic units in Jefferson county, Oregon

Olivine basalt (Miocene to Pliocene) at surface, covers 19 % of this area

Thin, commonly open-textured (diktytaxitic), subophitic to intergranular olivine basalt flows, intercalated with and grades laterally through palagonite breccia and tuff into tuffaceous sedimentary rocks (unit Ts). In places includes flows of platy olivine andesite or basaltic andesite. Several potassium-argon ages ranging from about 4 to 7 Ma indicate unit is mostly of early Pliocene and late Miocene age. Includes Shumuray Ranch Basalt and Antelope Flat Basalt of Kittleman and others (1965), Grassy Mountain Basalt of Corcoran and others (1962), Drinkwater Basalt of Bowen and others (1963), basalt formerly assigned to Danforth Formation by Piper and others (1939) (see Walker, 1979), Hayes Butte Basalt of Hampton (1964), Pliocene and upper Miocene basalt flows capping and interstratified with the Madras (or Deschutes) Formation, and basalt flows interstratified in the Dalles Formation of Newcomb (1966; 1969)

Clastic rocks and andesite flows (Paleocene to Early Oligocene) at surface, covers 18 % of this area

Mostly andesitic lava flows, domes, breccia, and small intrusive masses and lesser basaltic to rhyolitic rocks; interlayered saprolite, bedded volcaniclastic and epiclastic mudstone, claystone, siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate, and mudflow (lahar) deposits. Mostly consists of Clarno Formation of central Oregon and unnamed rocks of Basin and Range Province in south-central Oregon. Fossil plants and vertebrates in these rocks are Eocene in age. Andesite and basalt lava flows are typically slightly altered; most glass is devitrified and altered to clay minerals, zeolites, and secondary feldspar. Reliable K-Ar ages of rocks from unit range from about 54 Ma to about 37 Ma (Evernden and James, 1964; Fiebelkorn and others, 1983). A number of K-Ar ages on rocks shown on source maps as part of the Clarno Formation are in the range of about 36 to 19 Ma (Fiebelkorn and others, 1983). Although these rocks are lithologically similar to, but generally less altered than, rocks of the Clarno Formation, they are coeval with the John Day Formation. Most of these enigmatic rocks of Oligocene and early Miocene age are included in unit Tas. At base of unit in Blue Mountains Province, locally includes quartzose and feldspathic sandstone, siltstone, and shale largely of granitic or metamorphic provenance; fossil plants in these sedimentary rocks indicate an early Eocene or Paleocene age

Tuffaceous sedimentary rocks and tuff (Miocene to Pliocene) at surface, covers 16 % of this area

Semiconsolidated to well-consolidated mostly lacustrine tuffaceous sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, concretionary claystone, conglomerate, pumicite, diatomite, air-fall and water-deposited vitric ash, palagonitic tuff and tuff breccia, and fluvial sandstone and conglomerate. Palagonitic tuff and breccia grade laterally into altered and unaltered basalt flows of unit Tob. In places includes layers of fluvial conglomerate and, in parts of the Deschutes-Umatilla Plateau, extensive deposits of fanglomerate composed mostly of Miocene basalt debris and silt. Also includes thin, welded and nonwelded ash-flow tuffs. Vertebrate and plant fossils indicate rocks of unit are mostly of Clarendonian and Hemphillian (late Miocene and Pliocene) age. Potassium-argon ages on interbedded basalt flows and ash-flow tuffs range from about 4 to 10 Ma. Includes the Drewsey Formation of Shotwell and others (1963); sedimentary parts of the Rattlesnake Formation of Brown and Thayer (1966); an interstratified ash-flow tuff has been radiometrically dated by potassium-argon methods at about 6.6 Ma (see Fiebelkorn and others, 1983); Bully Creek Formation of Kittleman and others (1967); Dalles Formation of Newcomb (1966, 1969); Shutler Formation of Hodge (1932), McKay beds of Hogenson (1964) and Newcomb (1966) (see also Shotwell, 1956); Kern Basin Formation of Corcoran and others (1962); Rome beds of Baldwin (1976); parts of the (now obsolete) Danforth Formation of Piper and others (1939), Idaho Group of Malde and Powers (1962), Thousand Creek Beds of Merriam (1910); the Madras (or Deschutes) Formation, the "Simtustus formation" of Smith (1984), and the Yonna Formation (Newcomb, 1958). In areas west of Cascade crest, includes the Sandy River Mudstone and the Troutdale Formation of Trimble (1963) and the lower Pliocene Helvetia Formation of Schlicker and Deacon (1967)

John Day Formation of east-central Oregon (Late Eocene to Early Miocene) at surface, covers 12 % of this area

John Day Formation of east-central Oregon (lower Miocene, Oligocene, and uppermost Eocene?)

Glacial deposits (Pleistocene) at surface, covers 5 % of this area

Unsorted bouldery gravel, sand, and rock flour in ground, terminal, and lateral moraines. Locally partly sorted

Basaltic andesite and basalt (Quaternary) at surface, covers 3 % of this area

Flows and flow breccia dominantly of basaltic andesite containing plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxene phenocrysts and olivine-bearing basalt representing part of the volcanic sequence of the High Cascade Range (Thayer, 1937). Unit mostly forms small shield volcanoes, gentle-sided lava cones, and, in places, intracanyon flows

Basalt and basaltic andesite (Pliocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers 3 % of this area

Flows, flow breccia, and pyroclastic deposits. Flows are aphanitic to finely crystalline, commonly diktytaxitic, and aphyric to porphyritic. Textures are mostly intergranular grading to intersertal; some andesite flows are finely trachytic and a few basalt flows are subophitic. Phenocrysts, mostly unaltered, include bytownite and labradorite, olivine, calcic augite, and hypersthene. Flows and breccia form shields, lava cones, and valley fill; in places greatly dissected and modified by fluvial erosion. Includes Boring Lava of Trimble (1963) and Hampton (1972) and Battle Ax Basalts of Thayer (1936). Potassium-argon ages from this unit range from about 1.2 to 3.9 Ma; in places difficult to distinguish from youngest flows of unit Trb

Predominantly tuffaceous facies of Clarno Formation (Eocene to Early Oligocene) at surface, covers 3 % of this area

Mapped separately by Swanson (1969a) in the Ochoco and Maury Mountains of the Blue Mountains Province

Rhyolite and dacite domes and flows and small hypabyssal intrusive bodies (Late Eocene to Miocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Mostly light-gray to red, dense, flow-banded, nonporphyritic and porphyritic rhyolite and dacite in nested domes, small intrusive bodies, and related flows. Includes some near-vent breccias, pumice-lapilli tuffs, and coarse pumicites. Commonly associated with mercury mineralization. Includes several small hypabyssal intrusions of diorite, granodiorite, and quartz monzonite exposed in Paisley Hills of Lake County (Muntzert, 1969; Muntzert and Field, 1968). In many places represents vents for lava flows and tuff of unit Tsf

Basalt (Pliocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Thin flows and minor flow breccia of open--textured (diktytaxitic) olivine basalt in southeastern part of map area. Locally contains thin interbeds of sedimentary rocks. Grades laterally through palagonite tuff and breccia into sedimentary rocks (unit QTs)

Lacustrine and fluvial sedimentary rocks (Pleistocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Unconsolidated to semiconsolidated lacustrine clay, silt, sand, and gravel; in places includes mudflow and fluvial deposits and discontinuous layers of peat. Includes older alluvium and related deposits of Piper (1942), Willamette Silt (Allison, 1953; Wells and Peck, 1961), alluvial silt, sand, and gravel that form terrace deposits of Wells and others (1983), and Gresham and Estacada Formations of Trimble (1963). Includes deltaic gravel and sand and gravel bars, in pluvial lake basins in southeastern part of map area. 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. In places contains mollusks or vertebrate fossils indicating Pleistocene age; mostly deposits of late Pleistocene age, but locally includes some deposits of early Holocene age. Includes Touchet Beds of Flint (1938), deposits of valley terraces of Newcomb (1965), and, in southeast Oregon, basin-filling deposits that incorporate Mazama ash deposits (Qma, Qmp) in the youngest layers

Landslide and debris-flow deposits (Pleistocene to Holocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Unstratified mixtures of fragments of adjacent bedrock. Locally includes slope wash and colluvium. Largest slides and debris flows occur where thick sections of basalt and andesite flows overlie clayey tuffaceous rocks. May include some deposits of late Pliocene age

Mafic vent complexes (Late Miocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Plugs, dikes, and related near-vent flows, breccia, cinders, and agglutinate of basalt, basaltic andesite, and andesite; commonly in the form of either little-modified lava cones or partly eroded piles of reddish, iron-stained thin flows and fragmental ejecta cut by mafic intrusions. May also include rocks of late Miocene(?) age

Basalt and andesite (Miocene) at surface, covers 2 % of this area

Lava flows and breccia of aphyric and plagioclase porphyritic basalt and aphyric andesite; locally includes flow breccia, peperite, some palagonite tuff and breccia, and minor silicic ash-flow tuff and interbeds of tuffaceous sedimentary rocks. In Basin and Range and Owyhee Upland provinces unit grades upward into more silicic, andesitic, and quartz latitic flows and flow breccia, as well as some interbedded tuffs and ash-flow tuffs; also in this region includes aphyric and highly porphyritic, plagioclase-rich basalt. Interfingers with and grades laterally into units Tit and Tts. Commonly contains montmorillonite clays, zeolites, calcite, and secondary silica minerals as alteration products on fractures and in pore spaces. Age, mostly middle Miocene, but includes some rocks of early Miocene age based on vertebrate fossils from related sedimentary units and on potassium-argon ages that range from about 13 Ma to about 19 Ma; most isotopic ages are about 13 to 16 Ma. Includes Steens Basalt (Steens Mountain Basalt of Fuller, 1931) Owyhee Basalt of Corcoran and others (1962) and Kittleman and others (1967), Hunter Creek Basalt and "unnamed igneous complex" of Kittleman and others (1965, 1967), and flows of Prineville chemical type (Uppuluri, 1974; Swanson and others, 1979), which previously were considered part of the Columbia River Basalt Group (Swanson, 1969a)

Terrace gravels (Pliocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Unconsolidated to poorly consolidated, poorly sorted gravels and bouldery soil above modern stream channels. In Cascade Range, clasts mostly basalt and andesite. Includes some glacial outwash deposits. In Eastern Oregon, commonly cemented by caliche

Grande Ronde Basalt (Early to Middle Miocene) at surface, covers 1 % of this area

Flows of dark-gray to black, aphyric tholeiitic basalt, including both high- and low-Mg chemical types (Swanson and others, 1979). Potassium-argon ages mostly in the range of 15 to 17 Ma (Lux, 1982; Watkins and Baksi, 1974; Fiebelkorn and others, 1983)

Glaciofluvial deposits (Pleistocene) at surface, covers 0.9 % of this area

Poorly sorted

Alluvial deposits (Holocene) at surface, covers 0.9 % of this area

Sand, gravel, and silt forming flood plains and filling channels of present streams. In places includes talus and slope wash. Locally includes soils containing abundant organic material, and thin peat beds

Sedimentary rocks, partly metamorphosed (Paleozoic to Triassic) at surface, covers 0.8 % of this area

Poorly bedded argillite, chert, phyllite, phyllitic quartzite, calc-phyllite, impure limestone, and marble. In places rocks are strongly foliated. Sparse fossils (Fusilina, corals, and crinoids) indicate that the unit includes rocks of Leonardian, Ochoan, and Late Triassic age (OR084). Includes Elkhorn Ridge Argillite (OR035), Mesozoic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of Brown and Thayer (OR008), and the Permian Coyote Butte Formation (OR085). In Baker County includes "sedimentary and volcanic rocks" (MzPza) of Brooks and others (OR039) and metamorphosed sedimentary and minor volcaniclastic rocks containing mineral assemblages indicative of quartz-albite-muscovite-chlorite subfacies and quartz-albite-epidote-biotite subfacies of the greenschist facies. In Jefferson and Wasco Counties north of Prineville, includes "phyllite and sedimentary rocks " of Swanson (OR031). Includes part of the Burnt River Schist (OR035; OR081) and volcaniclastic facies of several metavolcanic units of Permian and Late Triassic age. Not on State map (OR001) in area of La Grande 100K quadrangle, butmapped in OR291 as Elkhorn Ridge Argillite (Triassic Permian, Pennsylvannian, and Devonian?)

Andesite (Quaternary) at surface, covers 0.7 % of this area

Forms major stratovolcanoes dominantly of aphyric to porphyritic basaltic andesite and andesite; phenocrysts are principally pyroxene, olivine, plagioclase, and, rarely, hornblende. Locally includes dacite and minor basalt

Columbia River Basalt Group and related flows (Miocene) at surface, covers 0.7 % of this area

Subaerial basalt and minor andesite lava flows and flow breccia; submarine palagonitic tuff and pillow complexes of the Columbia River Basalt Group (Swanson and others, 1979); locally includes invasive basalt flows. Flows locally grade laterally into subaqueous pillow-palagonite complexes and bedded palagonitic tuff and breccia. In places includes tuffaceous sedimentary interbeds. Joints commonly coated with nontronite and other clayey alteration products. Occurs principally in the Willamette Valley from Salem north to the Columbia River, and in the northern Coast Range. Unit includes correlative Cape Foulweather and Depoe Bay Basalts in the Coast Range (Snavely and others, 1973, 1976a, 1976b; Swanson and others, 1979; Wells and others, 1983). In Eastern Oregon, occurs principally in Deschutes-Umatilla Plateau and in the Blue Mountains. K-Ar ages range from about 6 to about 16.5 Ma (McKee and others, 1977; Swanson and others, 1979; Sutter, 1978; Lux, 1982). Locally separated into Tcs, Tcw, Tcg, Tcp, and Tci

Youngest basalt and basaltic andesite (Holocene) at surface, covers 0.5 % of this area

Little-modified flows and associated breccia of basaltic andesite and some basalt in both central part of Cascade Range and on slopes of Newberry Volcano. Relations to Mazama pumice deposits indicate most of these rocks are less than 6,800 yr old (14C); isotopic ages on flows range from about 1,000 to 6,000 yr B.P. (14C)

Silicic vent complexes (Miocene) at surface, covers 0.4 % of this area

Large, rhyolitic to dacitic vent areas in the Cascade Range that commonly include multiple intrusions and much associated silicic eruptive breccia and erosional debris and some flows

Fanglomerate (Pleistocene to Holocene) at surface, covers 0.3 % of this area

Poorly sorted and poorly stratified alluvial fan debris, slope wash, colluvium, and talus; composed mostly of silt and fragments of basalt, basaltic andesite, and andesite. In places includes small areas of pediment gravels and colluvium

Pyroclastic ejecta of basaltic and andesitic cinder cones (Miocene to Holocene) at surface, covers 0.2 % of this area

Mostly unconsolidated, oxidized, fine to coarse, scoriaceous cinders, bombs, and agglutinate deposited in subaerial environment

Rhyolite and dacite (Miocene to Pliocene) at surface, covers 0.2 % of this area

Ash-flow tuff, lava flows, pumice-lapilli tuff, coarse pumicite, flow breccia, and domal complexes of rhyolitic, rhyodacitic, and dacitic composition; in places includes peralkaline rhyolite and some andesite and andesite breccia. Locally porphyritic with phenocrysts of alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and minor augite, ferro-hedenbergite, hornblende, hypersthene, or biotite. Commonly flow banded; locally glassy. Many of the ash--flow tuffs exhibit flow features and only obscure vitro-clastic textures. In places includes interlayers of silicic volcaniclastic rocks and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks. Includes rhyolite at Owyhee Dam, Jump Creek Rhyolite, and Littlefield Rhyolite, all of Kittleman and others (1965); Dooley Rhyolite Breccia of Gilluly (1937), radiometrically dated at 14.7 ñ 0.4 Ma by potassium-argon methods (Fiebelkorn and others, 1983); resurgent domal masses in McDermitt caldera area; and extensive unnamed flows and ash-flow tuffs in the central and southern part of the Owyhee Upland. Also includes isolated masses of dacitic and rhyodacitic flows, breccia, and ash-flow tuff along eastern slope of Cascade Range that are lapped by flows and sediments of the Madras (or Deschutes) Formation. Potassium-argon ages on rocks in unit from southeast Oregon range from about 13 to 16 Ma; lenses of interbedded tuffaceous sedimentary rocks locally contain a Miocene (Barstovian) vertebrate fauna

Rhyolite and dacite (Miocene to Pliocene) at surface, covers 0.2 % of this area

Ash-flow tuff, lava flows, pumice-lapilli tuff, coarse pumicite, flow breccia, and domal complexes of rhyolitic, rhyodacitic, and dacitic composition; in places includes peralkaline rhyolite and some andesite and andesite breccia. Locally porphyritic with phenocrysts of alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and minor augite, ferro-hedenbergite, hornblende, hypersthene, or biotite. Commonly flow banded; locally glassy. Many of the ash--flow tuffs exhibit flow features and only obscure vitro-clastic textures. In places includes interlayers of silicic volcaniclastic rocks and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks. Includes rhyolite at Owyhee Dam, Jump Creek Rhyolite, and Littlefield Rhyolite, all of Kittleman and others (1965); Dooley Rhyolite Breccia of Gilluly (1937), radiometrically dated at 14.7 ñ 0.4 Ma by potassium-argon methods (Fiebelkorn and others, 1983); resurgent domal masses in McDermitt caldera area; and extensive unnamed flows and ash-flow tuffs in the central and southern part of the Owyhee Upland. Also includes isolated masses of dacitic and rhyodacitic flows, breccia, and ash-flow tuff along eastern slope of Cascade Range that are lapped by flows and sediments of the Madras (or Deschutes) Formation. Potassium-argon ages on rocks in unit from southeast Oregon range from about 13 to 16 Ma; lenses of interbedded tuffaceous sedimentary rocks locally contain a Miocene (Barstovian) vertebrate fauna

Ridge-capping basalt and basaltic andesite (Late Miocene to Pliocene) at surface, covers 0.1 % of this area

Flows and flow breccia of basaltic andesite and lesser diktytaxitic to intergranular olivine basalt. Includes some dense, aphyric flows, commonly with either cryptocrystalline or pilotaxitic to trachytic texture, and porphyritic flows with phenocrysts and glomerocrysts of olivine, hypersthene, and labradorite. A few flows contain both hypersthene and calcic augite phenocrysts. Olivine mostly fresh or slightly altered to iddingsite in flows high in section; flows low in section show some alteration to clays (nontronite and saponite), secondary silica minerals, and calcite; pinkish-brown glass in some flows unaltered. Locally includes some andesite and dacite. Some flows of this unit are lithologically similar to flow rocks of the High Cascade volcanic sequence and some are more like flows that in the past have been mapped as part of the Sardine Formation (Peck and others, 1964) and Elk Lake Formation of McBirney and others (1974) and Sutter (1978). Potassium-argon ages of rocks from this unit range from about 4 to 8 or 9 Ma. Includes some rocks formerly mapped as Rhododendron Formation by Peck and others (1964)

Basalt and basaltic andesite (Pleistocene to Holocene) at surface, covers 0.1 % of this area

Thin flows of aphyric and porphyritic basalt and basaltic andesite, and open-textured (dikytaxitic), generally nonporphyritic, subophitic olivine basalt that commonly is highly feldspathic. Also includes some dissected intracanyon flows of porphyritic basalt and related vent complexes. Pressure ridges and tumuli on upper surfaces well preserved. Occurs principally along crest of Cascade Range; also in areas near and east of Newberry volcano, along southeast margin of Harney Basin, and in Rome Basin. Older than Mazama ash deposits (Qma, Qmp; approximately 6,800 yr old; 14C)

Sedimentary rocks (Pliocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Semiconsolidated lacustrine and fluvial ashy and palagonitic sedimentary rocks, mostly tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone; locally contains abundant palagonitized basaltic debris and some pebble conglomerate. Includes alluvial gravel and mudflow deposits of Walters Hill and Springwater Formations (Trimble, 1963). In places, grades laterally through palagonite tuff and breccia into basalt flows

Mafic vent deposits (Miocene to Pleistocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Mostly in small stratovolcanoes or shield volcanoes and lava cones of basalt and andesite. Includes agglomerate, breccia, scoria, cinders, ash, restricted flows, and small basaltic intrusive bodies. Transitional into pyroclastic rocks of cinder cones (QTp). May also include rocks of late Miocene(?) age

Mafic vent complexes (Miocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Intrusive plugs and dike swarms and related near-vent flows, breccias, cinders, and agglutinate of basaltic andesite, basalt, and andesite; commonly in the form of eroded piles of red, iron-stained thin flows, cinders, and agglutinate cut by mafic intrusions

Mafic vent and intrusive rocks (Eocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Mostly plugs, dikes, and irregular intrusive bodies of basaltic andesite and porphyritic hornblende or pyroxene andesite. Represents some of vents for unit Tca and possibly for unit Tas

Basalt and andesite intrusions (Oligocene(?) to Pliocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Sills, plugs and dikes of basaltic andesite, basalt, and andesite. Mostly represents feeders, exposed by erosion, for flows and flow breccias of units Tba and Trb. Includes a few dikes of hornblende and plagioclase porphyritic andesite, commonly altered, and aphyric basaltic andesite that probably were feeders for parts of unit Tub

Alsea Formation (Late Eocene to Oligocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Massive to thick-bedded tuffaceous marine siltstone and fine-grained sandstone; locally concretionary. Foraminiferal assemblages assigned to the Zemorrian and upper Refugian Stages (Kleinpell, 1938; Rau, 1975) and molluscan fauna assigned (Snavely and others, 1976a) to the Lincoln and lower Blakeley Stages of Weaver and others (1944)

Basalt (Middle to Late Miocene) at surface, covers < 0.1 % of this area

Basalt flows, flow breccia, and basaltic peperite; minor andesite flows; some interbeds of tuff and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks. Basalt is aphyric to moderately porphyritic with phenocrysts of plagioclase and olivine and exhibits both subophitic and diktytaxitic textures. Includes Picture Rock Basalt of Hampton (1964), radiometrically dated by potassium-argon methods as middle(?) and late Miocene in age (see Fiebelkorn and others, 1983), flows of Deer Butte Formation of Kittleman and others (1967), and extensive unnamed flow sequences in the Basin-Range and Owyhee Upland Provinces of southern Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties that are younger than Steens Basalt, dated at about 15 Ma (Baksi and others, 1967) and the Owyhee Basalt, dated at about 14 Ma (Bottomley and York, 1976; see also Fiebelkorn and others, 1983), and older than 7 or 8 Ma. Partly coeval with the Saddle Mountains Basalt of the Columbia River Basalt Group (Swanson and others, 1979)