Flows and cinder cones of olivine tholeiite basalt in and near Snake River Plain. Largely Pleistocene (<2.6 Ma) but includes flows as old as 3 Ma. Covered with 1-3 m (3-10 ft) of loess. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Granodiorite and granite containing biotite, commonly with muscovite; includes bulk of Atlanta lobe (85-67 Ma) and isolated plutons in northern Idaho (107-67 Ma). (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Large-volume lava flows of tholeiitic basalt, basaltic andesite, and subordinate andesite in western Idaho; consists of Imnaha Basalt (17.5-16.5 Ma), Grande Ronde Basalt (16.5-15.6 Ma), Wanapum Basalt (15.6-14.5 Ma), and Saddle Mountains Basalt (14.5-6 Ma). Includes porphyritic basalt and basaltic andesite in western Owyhee County. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Rhyolite tuffs and flows (14-8 Ma); includes Juniper Mountain volcanic center, tuff of Little Jacks Creek, Cougar Point Tuff, tuffs in the Mt. Bennett Hills, and Arbon Valley Tuff Member of Starlight Formation. Volcanic sources include Owyhee-Humboldt (13.8-12.0 Ma), Bruneau-Jarbidge (12.5-11.3 Ma), Twin Falls (10.0-8.6 Ma), and Picabo (10.2 Ma) volcanic centers. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Flows and cinder cones of olivine tholeiite basalt, and shallow basalt intrusives (~15-3 Ma); includes basalt in Owyhee County and southwest of Twin Falls, basalt of Weiser (basalt to andesite), basalt of Cuddy Mountain (alkali basalt and picro-basalt) north of Cambridge, basalt in Mount Bennett Hills north of Gooding, andesite at Square Mountain near Magic Reservoir, and Cub River diabase sill east of Preston. Includes gabbro at depth in cross section D-D’-D”. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Dacite, andesite, and rhyolite tuffs and flows and subordinate basalt and latite flows; covers large area in south-central Idaho. Includes Absaroka Volcanic Group near Henrys Lake and scattered volcanic rocks in eastern and northern Idaho. (Eocene Challis Magmatic Complex and Related Sedimentary Rocks).
Shallow roots of Challis volcanic field. Older suite of granodiorite and quartz monzodiorite and subordinate diorite, granite, and subvolcanic dacite; includes Jackson Peak, Beaver Creek, Marsh Creek, and Summit Creek stocks (49-45 Ma). Younger suite of granite and minor syenite and subvolcanic rhyolite; includes Sawtooth, Casto, Bungalow, and Lolo Hot Springs plutons (47-43 Ma). (Eocene Challis Magmatic Complex and Related Sedimentary Rocks).
Gravel and subordinate sand and silt deposited at mouths of canyons; largest fans are in Basin and Range Province in east-central and southeastern Idaho. (Quaternary Sediments).
Deposits in valleys consisting of gravel, sand, and silt. Includes younger terrace deposits. May contain some glacial deposits and colluvium in uplands. (Quaternary Sediments).
Fluvial, fan, and lacustrine deposits and intercalated volcanic rocks of the Basin and Range Province (~16-2 Ma); consolidated to weakly consolidated sandstone, siltstone, arkose, conglomerate, mudstone, tuffaceous sediment, basalt, basaltic tephra, and rhyolite tuff. Includes deposits of Lake Idaho (Idaho Group) in western Snake River Plain and Salt Lake Formation deposited in Basin and Range Province of east-central Idaho. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks).
Till and outwash consisting of gravel, sand, silt, and clay. Formed by valley glaciers at higher elevations and by the Cordilleran ice sheet in northern Idaho. Includes deposits of several glacial episodes. Includes rock glacier deposits and some modern alluvium derived from reworked till and outwash. (Quaternary Sediments).
Marine phosphorite, shale, and chert of Phosphoria Formation, fine-grained sandstone and mudrock of Wells, Quadrant, Amsden, and Shedhorn formations, and fine-grained sandstone, carbonaceous mudstone, and limestone of the Snaky Canyon Formation and Sun Valley and Oquirrh groups. Located in south-central and eastern Idaho. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Calcareous and dolomitic siltite, quartzite, and subordinate argillite of the Helena and Wallace formations in northern Idaho; south of St. Joe River, correlative rocks include garnet grade feldspathic quartzite and calc-silicate gneiss. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Tonalite, granodiorite, and quartz diorite, typically hornblende-bearing; includes the Payette River tonalite (~90 Ma) along western border zone of the Atlanta lobe, and the ~99 Ma Croesus pyroxene-biotite quartz diorite south of Hailey. Also includes granodiorite with potassium feldspar megacrysts that is typically hornblende-bearing and foliated (~90 Ma in central Idaho and ~100 Ma in northernmost Idaho) and early mafic phases of the Bitterroot lobe (~70 Ma). (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Granodiorite and granite containing biotite and local muscovite (66-54 Ma); composes northern (Bitterroot) lobe of batholith and is ~20 Ma younger than southern (Atlanta) lobe. (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Fluvial and lacustrine deposits associated with Columbia River Basalt Group and equivalent basalts (17-8 Ma); consolidated to weakly consolidated sandstone, siltstone, arkose, conglomerate, claystone, and tuffaceous sediment; subordinate intercalated basalt and rhyolitic tuff. Includes Payette and Sucker Creek formations in southwestern Idaho, sediments associated with basalt of Weiser in western Idaho, and Latah Formation in northern Idaho. Includes sedimentary rocks of uncertain origin in southwest corner of Idaho. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks).
Marine limestone of Mississippian carbonate banks and turbiditic sandstone, mudstone, and conglomerate of Antler flysch trough; includes Madison and Lodgepole formations and Chesterfield Range Group of southeastern Idaho; McGowan Creek Formation, White Knob Limestone, and overlying carbonate bank of Lost River Range; and Copper Basin Group of Pioneer Mountains. Includes poorly dated Salmon River assemblage east of Stanley, consisting of argillite, siltstone, calcareous sandstone, and limestone. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Silt, clay, sand, and gravel deposited in and at margins of former Lake Bonneville (33-11 calibrated ka) and sand and gravel deposited in giant flood bars by outburst floods from the lake (17.4 calibrated ka). The 1,575-m (5,170 ft) Lake Bonneville shoreline was used to determine the maximum extent of the lake deposits. Flood deposits follow Bonneville flood path from near Downey and the Portneuf River westward along the Snake River to Lewiston. They include sand and silt deposited in slack-water areas to 740 m (2,430 ft) elevation in the Boise, Weiser, Payette, and Snake river drainages. (Quaternary Sediments).
Upper part consists of shallow marine and fluvial quartzose sandstone, and minor siltite, shale, and limestone of the Brigham Group of southeast Idaho, Wilbert Formation of east-central Idaho, and quartzites of unknown affinity west of Borah Peak. More highly metamorphosed equivalents are quartzite, metaconglomerate, metasiltite, calc-silicate marble, and schist of Gospel Peaks successions C and D in central Idaho; mature quartzite, biotite schist, and minor calc-silicate rocks of Syringa metamorphic sequence east of Moscow; and schist and quartzite in the Albion Range (Elba Quartzite, schist of Upper Narrows, quartzite of Yost, schist of Stevens Spring, quartzite of Clarks Basin, schist of Mahogany Peaks, and Harrison Summit Quartzite). Lower part consists of diamictite, immature sandstone, and bimodal volcanic rocks related to continental rifting. Includes Pocatello Formation (700-665 Ma), formation of Leaton Gulch near Challis, Shedroof Conglomerate in extreme northwest Idaho, and metamorphic equivalents (schist, marble, calc-silicate rocks, metaconglomerate, and ~686 Ma metavolcanic rocks) of Gospel Peaks successions A and B in central Idaho. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Siltite, quartzite, and argillite in northern Idaho; deposited in deep water and contains voluminous ~1470 Ma mafic sills. Includes siltite, quartzite, fine-grained schist, and carbonate rocks structurally above anorthosite near Boehls Butte, northeast of Elk River. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Older gravel, sand, and silt deposited in fans, streams, and lakes. Includes older terrace gravels and Tuana Gravel northwest of Twin Falls. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks).
Biotite-rich paragneiss and schist, and subordinate feldspathic quartzite and calc-silicate rocks. Probably metamorphosed western facies of Lemhi subbasin. Characterized by igneous suite of Yam and Yag. Includes Elk City metamorphic sequence and metamorphic rocks east of Moscow, along Salmon River northwest of Salmon, and in Pioneer Mountains. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Feldspathic quartzite and subordinate siltite and argillite of the Burke, Revett, and St. Regis formations in northern Idaho; south of St. Joe River, includes correlative garnet-grade quartzite and schist. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Siltite, argillite, and dolomitic siltite in northern Idaho; includes Snowslip and Shepard formations, rocks previously mapped as upper member of Wallace Formation, and correlative garnet-grade phyllite and schist south of St. Joe River. Also includes schist, micaceous quartzite, and calc-silicate rocks in lower part of Meadow Creek metamorphic sequence east of Elk City, and argillite, siltite, phyllite, and calc-silicate rocks south of Lost Trail Pass. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Feldspathic fine-grained quartzite, siltite, and subordinate argillite and carbonate-bearing rocks in east-central Idaho; includes Apple Creek, West Fork, Inyo Creek, Big Creek, and Gunsight formations. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Feldspathic quartzite and subordinate siltite and argillite. Includes Mount Shields, Bonner, Striped Peak, and Libby formations in northern Idaho and possibly correlative quartzite north of Salmon and in the Meadow Creek metamorphic sequence east of Elk City. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Rhyolite tuffs, flows, and domes; includes Yellowstone Group (2.0-0.6 Ma) and isolated domes on Snake River Plain and north of Soda Springs (less than 2.0 Ma). (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Flows and cinder cones of olivine tholeiite basalt and minor latite and alkaline basalt less than 15 ka; includes Shoshone, Craters of the Moon, Wapi, Cerro Grande, and Hells Half Acre lava fields. Little or no loess cover. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Largely fine-grained sediment, in part playa deposits of evaporative lakes; includes Snake River Group and Bruneau Formation in central Snake River Plain and glacial lake deposits in Bonners Ferry area of northern Idaho. Also includes travertine and tufa northeast of Bancroft and Lake Thatcher sediments in the Gem Valley south of Grace. (Quaternary Sediments).
Marine dolostone and limestone and sandstone in east-central and southeastern Idaho (Summerhouse, Kinnikinic, and Swan Peak sandstones, Fish Haven, Laketown, Jefferson, Three Forks, and Darby formations) and deep-water carbonaceous mudrocks of Phi Kappa, Trail Creek, and Milligen formations east of Ketchum. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Marine and deltaic sandstone and shale of Cordilleran foreland basin (includes Gannett Group, Frontier, Mowry, Kootenay, and Thermopolis formations) in eastern Idaho thrust belt. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Rhyolite tuffs and flows of Heise volcanic field (6.6-4.5 Ma; includes Blacktail Creek, Walcott, Conant Creek, and Kilgore tuffs), and rhyolite domes and flows of Magic Reservoir area (6.6-3 Ma). (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Orthogneiss (primarily tonalite) and foliated granodiorite (~90 to ~80 Ma). Includes early phases of the Idaho batholith, migmatite, intrusions along major structures, and plutonic rocks of uncertain age along the Salmon River northwest of Salmon. (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Marine limestone, dolomite, and subordinate shale and sandstone of Cambrian carbonate bank of southeast Idaho stratigraphically up to St. Charles Formation and Ordovician Garden City Limestone. Includes Bayhorse succession (Cash Creek Quartzite, Garden Creek Phyllite, Bayhorse Dolomite, Ramshorn Slate, and Clayton Mine Quartzite) of Clayton area and Pioneer Mountains; quartzite of Kamiak Butte north of Moscow; and Cambrian Gold Creek quartzite, Rennie Shale, and Lakeview Limestone east of Bayview. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Wind-deposited quartzose and calcareous silt in southeastern Idaho. Only shown where thick enough to mask older units; commonly 7-15 m (23-50 ft) thick. (Quaternary Sediments).
Red mudrock and fine-grained sandstone and marine limestone; includes Dinwoody, Woodside, Thaynes, and Ankareh formations in eastern Idaho thrust belt. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Fine- and medium-grained sand dunes in southern Idaho; includes Bruneau and St. Anthony dune fields. (Quaternary Sediments).
Pend Oreille granodiorite gneiss near Priest River (~2650 Ma); schist, gneiss, and subordinate quartzite along North Fork Clearwater River; Kelly Creek granite gneiss northeast of Pierce (~2670 Ma); orthogneiss in Pioneer Mountains (~2600 Ma and 695 Ma); granite gneiss, granite, schist, and amphibolite of Green Creek complex in Albion Mountains (~2600 Ma); granite gneiss in Beaverhead Mountains east of Leadore (~2450 Ma); and marble, quartzite, schist, and amphibolite of uncertain age near Henrys Lake. (Mesoproterozoic to Archean Basement Rocks).
Kyanite and sillimanite gneiss, schist, quartzite, and amphibolite that is metamorphosed lower part of Prichard Formation (Hauser Lake Gneiss) and underlying quartzite of Gold Cup Mountain in the Priest River metamorphic complex. (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup).
Basaltic to rhyolitic (largely mafic) arc-derived volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Wallowa terrane; includes minor limestone. Composed of Windy Ridge, Hunsaker Creek, Wild Sheep Creek, and Doyle Creek formations. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Gravel, sand, and silt near Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint that were carried by outburst floods from Glacial Lake Missoula (20-15 ka). Floods also flowed back up the Snake and Clearwater rivers to Kamiah. Missoula Flood slack-water deposits cover Lake Bonneville deposits in the Lewiston area. (Quaternary Sediments).
Marginal marine and marine sandstone and limestone; includes Nugget, Twin Creek, Preuss, Morrison, and Stump formations in eastern Idaho thrust belt. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Fluvial and lacustrine deposits; includes conglomerate, sandstone, and shale near Salmon; Pass Creek Gravel, Wet Creek Gravel, and Donkey Fanglomerate north of Mackay; Medicine Lodge beds of southern Beaverhead Mountains; and isolated deposits in northern Idaho. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks).
Quartzose medium- to coarse-grained quartzite of Swauger Formation and siltite and quartzite of overlying Lawson Creek Formation in east-central Idaho. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Metasedimentary and metavolcanic schist, gneiss, amphibolite, and marble, all of uncertain age, along eastern margin of island-arc complex; typically hornblende-rich. Includes Pollock Mountain amphibolite southeast of Riggins and gneiss of Swiftwater Creek near Lowell. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Biotite granite and granitic augen gneiss near Elk City and northwest of Salmon (~1380 Ma). Abundant alkali feldspar and high iron content indicate A-type granite composition. (Mesoproterozoic Intrusive Rocks).
Deformed granodiorite, tonalite, and quartz diorite; includes Little Goose Creek complex northwest of McCall dominated by porphyritic granodiorite (~105 Ma) and subordinate 160-87 Ma tonalite and quartz diorite. (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Feldspathic quartzite and subordinate schist and calc-silicate rocks of central Idaho. Includes the Golden metamorphic sequence east of Grangeville that is probably metamorphosed western facies of Lemhi subbasin. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Fluvial, lacustrine, and air-fall deposits of conglomerate, volcanic sandstone, mudstone, and tuff near Challis, conglomerate north of Sandpoint, and conglomerate and sandstone of the Wasatch Formation in extreme southeastern Idaho. (Eocene Challis Magmatic Complex and Related Sedimentary Rocks).
Older rhyolite, latite, and andesite (Miocene)—Rhyolitic domes and tuffs, and subordinate latite flows (17-14 Ma); includes rhyolites of Silver City and tuff of Flint Creek in the Owyhee Mountains and rhyolite of Timber Butte northeast of Emmett. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Primarily quartz diorite, with subordinate diorite, gabbro, granite, and amphibolite; largely undeformed except near eastern part of Blue Mountains island-arc complex; wide age range (160-90 Ma). (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Quartzite, feldspathic quartzite, calc-silicate gneiss, biotite gneiss, schist, and amphibolite north and east of McCall and as pendants in the southern part of the Idaho batholith; schist, quartzite, and marble in southwestern Idaho; argillite, siltite, quartzite, carbonate bearing quartzite, dolomite, phyllite, and conglomerate of the Deer Trail Group in northwest corner of state; and quartzite, Hayden Creek diamictite, and siltite stratigraphically above(?) the Swauger Formation south of Salmon. (Metasedimentary Rocks of Uncertain Age (Neoproterozoic to Paleoproterozoic)).
Biotite- and hornblende-biotite tonalite and biotite-muscovite trondhjemite (120-110 Ma); rocks contain conspicuous magmatic epidote in plutons along eastern edge of arc complex. Includes tonalitic part of Hazard Creek complex northwest of McCall, Blacktail pluton southeast of Grangeville, and Sixmile Creek pluton southeast of Orofino. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Diorite, tonalite, granodiorite, gabbro, norite, quartz diorite, and trondhjemite; basement of, and feeders to, volcanic rocks in Seven Devils Group (Wallowa terrane) and Olds Ferry terrane. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Unsorted gravel, sand, and clay of landslide origin; includes rotational and translational blocks and earth flows. (Quaternary Sediments).
Siltite, calc-silicate rocks, argillite, and rare marble in central Idaho; stratigraphically below the Hoodoo Quartzite. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Biotite tonalite gneiss and hornblende-biotite tonalite gneiss (~1870 Ma) north of North Fork of Clearwater River, and south of Coeur d'Alene. (Mesoproterozoic to Archean Basement Rocks).
Alkali olivine basalt and trachyte of the ~26 Ma Potlatch volcanics; basalt, andesite, and rhyolite of the ~32 Ma Kamiah volcanics; and olivine basalt and andesite of the 26-31 Ma Salmon Creek volcanics southwest of Nampa. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Feldspathic fine-grained quartzite in central Idaho that is stratigraphically above the Yellowjacket Formation. Also includes argillaceous quartzite above the Hoodoo Quartzite. (Mesoproterozoic Metasedimentary Rocks of Lemhi Subbasin of Belt Basin).
Fluvial conglomerate and sandstone of the Beaverhead Formation northwest of Dubois. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Syenite and diorite of the Acorn Butte, Ramey Ridge, and Rush Creek stocks along Big Creek northeast of McCall (665-650 Ma), and ~726 Ma granitic gneiss in lower part of House Mountain metamorphic complex southeast of Boise. A 695 Ma orthogneiss in the Pioneer Mountains is too small to show at map scale and is included in XAm. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Marine mudstone and subordinate conglomerate and sandstone of the Coon Hollow Formation south of Lewiston and turbiditic sandstone, mudstone, volcanic conglomerate, and andesite and rhyolite tuff of the Weatherby Formation north of Weiser. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Marine limestone and marble of the Martin Bridge Formation and calcareous mudstone and phyllite of the Hurwal Formation exposed west of Riggins and south of Lewiston; basaltic andesite, rhyolite tuff (~202 Ma), and conglomerate along Salmon River southwest of Grangeville; and rhyolite tuff at Pittsburg Landing (~198 Ma). (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Metamorphosed anorthosite at Boehls Butte northeast of Elk River (~1787 Ma). Unit is in structural contact with overlying rocks of the Prichard Formation. (Mesoproterozoic to Archean Basement Rocks).
Syenite, quartz syenite, alkali-feldspar granite, and subordinate gabbro (500-485 Ma). Includes Beaverhead, Arnett Creek, Deep Creek, and Yellowjacket plutons southeast and west of Salmon. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Amphibolite formed from metamorphism of mafic sills; includes rocks north- west of Salmon (~1380 Ma) and east of Elk City. (Mesoproterozoic Intrusive Rocks).
Massive and ribbon chert, phyllite, argillite, cherty limestone, and limestone deposited in relatively deep water, possibly in a forearc basin setting. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Basaltic to rhyolitic (largely intermediate) arc-derived volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Huntington Formation; includes minor chert and limestone. (Mesozoic-Paleozoic Rocks of the Blue Mountains Island-Arc Complex).
Tonalite in upper part of House Mountain metamorphic complex southeast of Boise (~157 Ma), hornblendite and gabbro at South Mountain southwest of Boise (~160 Ma), and tonalite of Continental Mountain at the Canadian border (~168 Ma). (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Biotite, muscovite-biotite, and muscovite granite of the Almo pluton (29 Ma) at City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park southeast of Oakley. (Quaternary to Eocene Continental Volcanic and Intrusive Rocks).
Syenite, monzonite, quartz monzonite, and subordinate pyroxenite (115-110 Ma); includes Gem stocks north of Wallace, Gold Hill stock northeast of Potlatch, Benning Mountain stock along the Montana-Idaho border east of Sandpoint, syenite of Wall Mountain north of Bonners Ferry, monzonite of Long Canyon (~88 Ma) northwest of Bonners Ferry, and no Business Mountain pluton (uncertain age) west of Donnelly. (Paleocene and Cretaceous Idaho Batholith and Older Cretaceous and Jurassic Intrusive Rocks).
Only shown in Henrys Lake area and in cross section. Consists of Ms and PlPs (PPAs). (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Only shown in Henrys Lake area and in cross section. Consists of OCs (OCAs) and DSOs. (Paleocene to Neoproterozoic Sedimentary and Igneous Rocks of the Cordilleran System).
Helena Formation (Yh): Northwestern Montana: (formerly “lower Wallace”): cycles of basal white quartzite or intraclast beds overlain by couplets of green siltite and argillite, capped by dolomite beds. Calcite pods and ribbons (molar tooth structure) common. West-central Montana: gray to dark gray limestone and dolomitic limestone with siltite partings. Thickness as much as 2,000 m (6,562). Wallace Formation: Tan-weathering, dolomitic quartzite and siltite, and black argillite with calcite ribbons (molar tooth structure) in graded pinch-and-swell couples and couplets. Thickness as much as 2,500 m (8,202 ft).
Predominantly phyllite with some schist, limestone, dolomite, quartzite, and volcanic rocks; northeastern Pend Oreille County. Mainly quartzite sandstone in upper part, dark-gray argillite with sandstone and limestone in middle part, and sandstone with argillite in lower part; southeastern Pend Oreille County. Banded slate with quartzite and dolomite; southwestern Stevens County. Quartzite, siliceous argillite, and argilliceous quartzite grading into argillite and quartz-mica schists form south ot north; southeastern Stevens County. Quartzite, argillite, quartz-feldspar gneiss, and other metamorphic rocks in northeastern Whitman and southeastern Spokane Counties are partly if not all extenstions of the Belt strata.
Granite, quartz monzonite, quartz diorite, granodiorite, and trondhjemite. Includes diorite in southeastern Washington; diorite and gabbro near Concunully in Okanogan County; gneiss, schist, and migmatites in areas of Chelan, Colville, and Okanogan batholiths. Includes high-grade metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age in Spokane area.
Granitic rock
Includes units mapped as the High Rock sequence on the Washoe North map; the Timber Mountain, Paintbrush, Crater Flat, and Belted Range Tuffs, and Indian Trail Formation (now abandoned) on the Nye South map; the Thirsty Canyon Tuff on the Nye South and Esmeralda maps; and other unnamed units. Locally it includes tuffaceous sedimentary rocks interstratified with tuffs. It is present in the northernmost part and southernmost parts of the State, and is not exposed in the central region. It corresponds to unit Tt3 on the 1978 State map, although a few rocks also mapped as Trt on the 1978 State map also are included. It is present in Clark, Churchill, Washoe, Nye, Lincoln, Lyon, Douglas, Carson, Esmeralda, Elko, Humboldt, Pershing, and Mineral Counties.
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)
Biotite granite augen gneiss southeast of Priest River (~1575 Ma). Unit is in structural contact with surrounding rocks. Abundant alkali feldspar and high iron content indicate A-type granite composition. (Mesoproterozoic to Archean Basement Rocks).
Beaverhead Mountains, southwestern Montana - Light gray quartzite with subordinate argillite, siltite, and calc-silicate rocks; unresolved unit that has been variously assigned to Yellowjacket Formation, Lemhi Group, Swauger Formation, or Belt Supergroup. Thickness as much as 2,700 m (8,858 ft).
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
Periglacial eolian deposits. Buff to light-brown, massive, homogenous, unconsolidated loessial silt; some water-laid material locally. Probably early Pleistocene.
Glacial and glaciofluvial sand, gravel, and till; includes alpine glacier outwash and till as well as some Recent alluvium.
Granitic rock
Includes Plateau Rhyolite (age about 0.07 Ma) and interlayered sediments, Mount Jackson Rhyolite (age 0.6 to about 1 Ma), Lewis Canyon Rhyolite (age about 0.9 Ma); and Lava Creek Tuff of Yellowstone Group (age 0.6 to about 1 Ma).
Moderately well indurated lacustrine and fluvial (flood-plain) deposits of tuff, pumicite, palagonite tuff, and lesser siltstone, arkosic sandstone, and pebble and cobble conglomerate. Locally contains some lignite beds. Former glass in silicic vitroclastic debris commonly crystallized and altered to secondary silica minerals, alkali feldspar, zeolites, and clay minerals. Contains some welded and nonwelded ash-flow tuffs, and minor rhyolite flows. Widespread and abundant vertebrate fossils and minor plant fossils indicate that most of unit is of middle Miocene (Barstovian) age; parts of unit between Goose Lake and Warner Valley may include rocks of early Miocene age. Locally interlayered with and locally overlies basalt and andesite flows of unit Tmb. Overlies and locally interfingers with Picture Gorge Basalt (Thayer and Brown, 1966) and with Miocene basalt south of Prineville. Includes Mascall Formation of Merriam (1901), Sucker (Succor) Creek Formation of Corcoran and others (1962) and Kittleman and others (1967), Drip Spring Formation of Kittleman and others (1965, 1967), Trout Creek Formation of Smith (1926), and "rocks of Miocene age" of Malde and Powers (1962) in the southern Owyhee Upland province. In southeast Oregon, some of these rocks represent caldera and moat-fill deposits
St. Regis Formation: Green and purplish gray quartzite, siltite, and argillite in mud-cracked couples and couplets. Thickness as much as 900 m (2,953 ft). Revett Formation: Light gray, cross-bedded, felspathic, fine-grained quartzite. Thickness as much as 900 m (2,953 ft). Burke Formation: Gray or purple quartzite, siltite, and argillite in mud-cracked couples and couplets. Thickness as much as 1,000 m (3,281 ft). Empire Formation (Ye): Grayish green and pale olive gray argillite and siltite with subordinate thin beds of quartzite and sandy limestone. Thickness as much as 610 m. Grinnell Formation: White, cross-bedded sandstone or quartzite with red to purple siltite and argillite beds. Thickness as much as 1,160 m (3,806 ft). Spokane Formation (Ysp): Red siltite and argillite in mudcracked couplets. Thickness as much as 1,500 m (492 ft).
Central Plateau Member: Upper part: rhyolitic flows with abundant phenocrysts dominantly of quartz and sanidine, and lacking plagioclase. Lower part: light gray, dense, fine-grained to aphanitic rhyolitic ash-flow tuff, with angular to rounded phenocrysts of quartz, sanidine, pyroxene, and olivine that make up as much as 25 percent of rock volume.
Mostly unconsolidated silt, sand, and gravel valley fill with some clay; includes low-level terrace, marsh, peat, artificial fill, and glacial deposits locally.
Reddish gray conglomerate with limestone and quartzite clasts, gray limestone, and grayish brown sandstone. Syntectonic alluvial fan and braided stream. Thickness as much as 3,250 m (10,663 ft).
Upper Missoula Group (Ymu) - Pilcher Formation: Light gray and red cross-bedded, feldspathic, fine grained quartzite. Garnet Range Formation: Dark green, micaceous, fine-grained quartzite with subordinate argillite interbeds. Thickness as much as 1,200 m (3,937 ft). McNamara Formation: Dense green and red siltite and argillite in mudcracked couplets containing diagnostic chert beds and rip-up clasts. Thickness as much as 1,650 m (5,413 ft). Bonner Formation: Pink, cross-bedded, feldspathic, medium- to coarse grained quartzite. Thickness as much as 580 m (1,903 ft). Mount Shields Formation: Upper part: red quartzite, siltite, and argillite in mud-cracked couples and couplets with abundant salt casts. Lower part: light gray, flat-laminated, feldspathic, fine-grained quartzite. Thickness as much as 2,000 m (6,562 ft). Lower Missoula Group (Yml) - Shepard Formation: Tan-weathering, dolomitic, green siltite and argillite in couplets and microlaminae. In the west formerly considered part of the “upperWallace.” Thickness as much as 1,100 m (3,609 ft). Snowslip Formation: Green and red siltite and argillite in couplets. Western Snowslip equivalent is black siltite and argillite in couplets and microlaminae, formerly considered part of the “upper Wallace.” A new name is under consideration for the western Snowslip equivalent. Thickness as much as 1,200 m (3,937 ft).
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)
Lake Bonneville deposits
McNamara Formation: Dense green and red siltite and argillite in mudcracked couplets containing diagnostic chert beds and rip-up clasts. Thickness as much as 1,650 m (5,413 ft). Bonner Formation: Pink, cross-bedded, feldspathic, medium- to coarse grained quartzite. Thickness as much as 580 m (1,903 ft). Mount Shields Formation: Upper part: red quartzite, siltite, and argillite in mud-cracked couples and couplets with abundant salt casts. Lower part: light gray, flat-laminated, feldspathic, fine-grained quartzite. Thickness as much as 2,000 m (6,562 ft). In northwestern Montana - Libby Formation:Light to dark gray and greenish gray siltite and argillite with subordinate quartzite in mud-cracked couplets. Thickness as much as 2,300 m (7,546 ft).
Western Montana: gray, fine- to medium-grained, locally conglomeratic sandstone with interbeds of dark gray carbonaceous shale. Local conglomerate, porcellanite, and coal. Central Montana: dark gray, carbonaceous shale interbedded with siltstone and sandstone, chert-pebble conglomerate, and coal. Big Elk Sandstone Member: light gray, chert-rich sandstone commonly stained dark red, interbedded with thin, dark gray to black, clayey shale. Boulder River Sandstone Member: gray to greenish gray, very fine-grained to conglomeratic, glauconitic sandstone. Brackish to nonmarine. Thickness exceeds 2,135 m (7,005 ft) in Lima Peaks region, and exceeds 915m in the Greenhorn, Snowcrest, Gravelly, and Pioneer Mountains of southwestern Montana. Elsewhere thickness as much as 215 m (705 ft).
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)
Volcanic rock; In southwestern Montana - Challis Volcanics: Basaltic andesite, andesite, quartz latite, latite, rhyodacite, and rhyolite flows, and tuff, most of which is nonporphyritic and commonly spherulitic; glassy to devitrified. Subordinate water-laid tuff.
Sediment or sedimentary rock (no unique unit description on map).
Upper Prichard Formation: Black and gray, pyritic siltite and argillite in planar couplets. Appekunny Formation: Gray and greenish gray argillite interbedded with light gray quartzite. Thickness as much as 1,700 m (5,577 ft).
Mafic volcanic rock
Amphibolite
Felsic volcanic rock
Yellowstone area--Includes Osprey, Madison River, Swan Lake Flat, and Falls River Basalts, basalts of Mariposa Lake, Undine Falls Basalt, and gravels, sands, silts, and basalts of The Narrows. In and adjacent to Absaroka and Washakie Ranges--Includes basalt of Lava Mountain (age about 0.5 Ma).
Wasatch and Evanston? Formations undivided.
Basalt flows, cinder and lava cones, gravel, and tuffaceous sedimentary rocks mostly in Elko and some in Humboldt Counties. This unit includes the Banbury Formation (Stewart and Carlson, 1978) and the Big Island Formation in Elko County and other unnamed units. It corresponds to unit Tbg from the 1978 State map.
Phosphoria Formation and Related Rocks (Thrust Belt) - Upper part is dark- to light-gray chert and shale with black shale and phosphorite at top; lower part is black shale, phosphorite, and cherty dolomite. Phosphoria Formation and Related Rocks (Northern Yellowstone area) - Brown sandstone and dolomite, cherty phosphatic and glauconitic dolomite, phosphatic sandstone and dolomite, and greenish-gray to black shale. Intertonguing equivalent is Shedhorn Sandstone. Phosphoria Formation and Related Rocks (North Wyoming) - Brown sandstone and dolomite, cherty phosphatic and glauconitic dolomite, phosphatic sandstone and dolomite, and greenish-gray to black shale. Intertonguing equivalents of parts of Phosphoria are Park City Formation (primarlily cherty dolomite, limestone, and phosphatic gray shale) and Shedhorn Sandstone. Wells Formation - Gray limestone interbedded with yellow limy sandstone. Amsden Formation (Thrust Belt) - Red and gray cherty limestone and shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. Amsden Formation (Northern Yellowstone area) - Red and green dolomitic shale, siltstone, and sandstone. Amsden Formation (North Wyoming) - Red and green shale and dolomite; at base is brown sandstone. Quadrant Sandstone - Light-gray sandstone. Tensleep Sandstone - White to gray sandstone containing thin limestone and dolomite beds. Permian fossils have been found in the topmost beds of the Tensleep at some localities in Washakie Range, Owl Creek Mountains, and southern Bighorn Mountains.
Lavender to gray-brown welded rhyolite tuff.
Clay, silt, sand, and gravel in flood plains, fans, terraces, and slopes.
Variable deposits that range from pebble to boulder size and include sand, silt, and clay. Dominantly alluvial terrace, abandoned channel and floodplain, remnant alluvial fan, and local glacial outwash.
Quartzofeldspathic gneiss
Dark gray, chert-bearing, fine grained limestone interbedded with subordinate light brown, calcareous, quartzose siltstone to fine sandstone. Marine. Thickness at type section 685 m (2,247 ft).
Kootenai Formation (Kk, Kku, Kkm, Kkl): Red, maroon, and olive gray mudstone, tan or gray siltstone, calcareous concretions, limestone beds, and several prominent sandstone beds that include the Greybull Member (top of the formation in south-central Montana) and the Sunburst Member (middle to lower part of the formation in northwest-central Montana), both dominantly quartzose sandstone. Basal Cutbank or Pryor Conglomerate. Alluvial plain with local marine influence in the north. Thickness as much as 335 m (1,099 ft).
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
Older alluvial deposits
Upper part: pinkish gray, gray, or brown welded or unwelded tuff that contains abundant phenocrysts of sanidine and quartz, and uncompacted pumice fragments at the top.
Unit is present in all counties. Some counties divided the alluvium into younger and older units, and some did not. For those that did not, or used other generalized terms for Quaternary rocks, the unit Qal has been used for the general undivided alluvium. Additionally, when polygons have been edited and changed to alluvium, Qal was used as the general value; hence it now is present in all counties. Qya-Younger alluvium: Map unit is used in Churchill, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, and Lincoln Counties where geologic information suggests better-defined younger versus older alluvium. It is mostly interchangeable with Qal, except that it implies some specifically younger Quaternary deposits.
Madison Limestone or Group (Thrust Belt, North Wyoming and Northern Yellowstone area) - Group includes Mission Canyon Limestone (blue-gray massive limestone and dolomite), underlain by Lodgepole Limestone (gray cherty limestone and dolomite). Darby Formation (Thrust Belt and North Wyoming) - Yellow and greenish-gray shale and dolomitic siltstone underlain by fetid brown dolomite and limestone. Three Forks Formation (Northern Yellowstone area) - Pink, yellow, and green dolomitic siltstone and shale. Jefferson Formation (Northern Yellowstone area) - Massive siliceous dolomite.
Wells Formation.
Calc-alkalic andesite and dacite extrusive rock with lesser amounts of potassic, alkalic, and mafic lava; minor amounts of rhyodacitic ash-flow tuff associated with mafic lava; and dark gray, very fine-grained basalt or andesite intrusive breccia.
Mission Canyon Formation (Mmc): Gray, massive limestone with chert beds and nodules, and solution breccia zones. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 520 m (1,706 ft). Lodgepole Formation (Ml): Woodhurst Member (upper part of formation): light gray, well-bedded limestone, typically with much dark chert, interbedded with thinner calcareous mudstone beds. Paine Member (middle part of formation):dark gray, thin-bedded, silty or fossiliferous limestone. Cottonwood Canyon Member (lower part of formation): black shale with basal conglomeratic lag deposit. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 305 m (1000 ft). In Northwest Montana - Castle Reef Formation: Medium to light gray, thick-bedded limestone or dolomite. Sun River Member (upper part of formation): light gray dolomite with thick fossiliferous lenses. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 300 m (984 ft). Allan Mountain Formation: Dark gray, thinly bedded limestone with thin mudstone and shale partings, and nodular chert. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 200 m (656 ft).
Variable deposits that range from pebble to boulder size and include sand, silt, and clay. Dominantly alluvial terrace, abandoned channel and floodplain, remnant alluvial fan, and local glacial outwash.
White, gray, and green limy tuff, siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate.
Marble
Shepard Formation: Tan-weathering, dolomitic, green siltite and argillite in couplets and microlaminae. In the west formerly considered part of the “upperWallace.” Thickness as much as 1,100 m (3,609 ft). Snowslip Formation: Green and red siltite and argillite in couplets. Western Snowslip equivalent is black siltite and argillite in couplets and microlaminae, formerly considered part of the “upper Wallace.” A new name is under consideration for the western Snowslip equivalent. Thickness as much as 1,200 m (3,937 ft).
Quadrant Formation (PAq): Very light gray, yellowish or pinkish, well-sorted sandstone or quartzite, locally interbedded with subordinate limestone beds. Marine. Generally, thickness as much as 140 m (460 ft), but as much as 800 m (2,625 ft) in southwestern-most Montana. Amsden Formation (PAMa): Red shale, light gray limestone, and cherty and sandy limestone. Coastal plain or marine. Thickness as much as 180 m (590 ft).
Extremely large lumping of over 25+ formations. See individual unit descriptions. Belt Supergroup consists of: Missoula Group (Ym, Ymu, Yml), Piegan Group (Ypg, Yh), Ravalli Group (Yr, Ye, Ysp), and all the Lower Belt Formations (Ypu, Ypl, Yaw, Yla, Yg, Yn, Ynla, Ych, Yne).
Augen gneiss
Surrett Canyon Formation: Dark gray, massive limestone with much scattered white bioclastic debris. Marine. Thickness at type section 67 m (220 ft). South Creek Formation: Dark gray, thin-bedded, chert bearing limestone that alternates with dark gray, argillaceous limestone. Marine. Thickness at type section 91 m (300 ft). Scott Peak Formation (Msp): Dark gray, chert-bearing, fine grained limestone interbedded with subordinate light brown, calcareous, quartzose siltstone to fine sandstone. Marine. Thickness at type section 685 m (2,247 ft). Middle Canyon Formation (Mmd): Dark gray, silty limestone with chert beds and nodules. Shallow marine. Thickness at type section 335 m (1,100 ft). McGowan Creek Formation: Upper part: dark gray and pale yellowish brown, thin-bedded, calcareous siltstone interbedded with dark gray, silty limestone. Lower part: dark gray, carbonaceous, thin-bedded argillite with interbeds of dark gray siltite, medium gray, fine-grained, conglomeratic sandstone and quartzite, and dark gray, silty limestone. Marine. Thickness as much as 61 m (200 ft).
Felsic to intermediate, granitoid intrusive rocks. Includes Jurassic muscovite granodiorite, hornblende gabbro, tonalite, and quartz diorite of southwest Oregon (Smith and others, 1982)
Dark gray, silty limestone with chert beds and nodules. Shallow marine. Thickness at type section 335 m (1,100 ft).
Mostly alluvium, colluvium, and glacial and landslide deposits. Primarily in Yellowstone area and Bighorn Mountains.
Rhyolite
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)
Woodside Formation: Maroon and red siltstone, dolomite, and shale. Tidal flat. Thickness as much as 250 m (820 ft). Dinwoody Formation (TRd): Interbedded green siltstone, shale, sandstone, and carbonate that grades eastward into red shale, siltstone, and anhydrite. Nearshore and restricted marine. Thickness as much as 330 m (1,083 ft).
Dark-gray to black, dense aphanitic basalt flows; commonly columnar jointed, less commonly irregularly and platy jointed; some flows vesicular, grading to scoriaceous; includes minor pillow lava, palagonite beds, and interbedded soil profiles and sedimentary beds; contains diatomite beds locally. Maximum thickness in south-central Washington may be in excess of 10,000 feet; much thinner in western Washington, where flows are mostly associated with marine sedimentary rocks. Includes acidic and intermediate volcanic rocks in northern Cascade Mountains.
Bighorn Formation (Ob): Yellowish gray to very pale orange crystalline dolomite with local basal sandstone. Marine shelf. Thickness as much as 120 m (394 ft). Pilgrim Formation: Gray, commonly mottled limestone that may contain intraformational limestone conglomerate. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 180 m (590 ft). Park Formation: Grayish green, fissile, micaceous shale with a few thin beds of calcareous sandstone and thin, gray limestone. Local arkose beds. Offshore marine. Thickness as much as 310 m (1,017 ft). Meagher Formation: Gray to bluish gray limestone and dolomitic limestone, locally mottled and with intraformational conglomerate beds. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 300 m (984 ft). Wolsey Formation (CAw): Dark green and purplish gray fissile, micaceous shale, thin glauconitic limestone beds and thin, fine-grained sandstone beds. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 145 m (476 ft). Flathead Formation (CAf): Pinkish gray to light gray sandstone or quartzite. Locally very glauconitic, pebbly, arkosic, or iron-stained. Marine shoreface. Thickness as much as 100 m (328 ft).
Granitic rock
Quartzofeldspathic gneiss
Amphibolite
Salt Lake Formation and other Basin & Range valley-filling alluvial, lacustrine, and volcanic materials. Valley fill is more than 8,000 feet thick in places and includes salt masses under the Sevier Desert.
Tuffaceous and other young Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Most of these rocks are sedimentary with a strong volcanic component - a few are tuffaceous with a strong sedimentary component. This unit includes rocks originally mapped as the High Rock sequence in Washoe County; the Horse Camp Formation in northern Nye County; the Esmeralda Formation in Mineral and Esmeralda Counties; older lake beds in Lincoln County; the Belted Range Tuff; the Indian Trail Formation (now abandoned); Timber Mountain, Paintbrush, and Crater Flat Tuffs; Wahmonie and Salyer Formations in southern Nye County; the Siebert Tuff in Esmeralda County; the Muddy Creek Formation in Clark County; and the Thousand Creek and Virgin Valley “beds” in Humboldt County; and other unnamed units. It corresponds to units Ts3 and Tts from the 1978 State map. It is present in all counties.
Black shale, fine-grained brown sandstone, thin limestone, and bentonite beds.
Epiclastic and volcaniclastic rocks, chert, limestone, and lava flows of mid- or Early Permian(?) age that are moderately to intensely metamorphosed. Includes part of Hunsaker Creek Formation of Vallier (1977), in the eastern Blue Mountains province, composed mostly of keratophyre flows, keratophyric volcaniclastic rocks and minor spilite, mudstone, and limestone. In Wheeler County, includes phyllite, chert, and fusulinid-bearing crystalline limestone of probable Early Permian (Wolfcampian?) age (Oles and Enlows, 1971), associated with phyllite, chlorite, and muscovite schist, and lawsonite-crossite blueschist (Swanson, 1969b)
Dark and light gray, pyrite- and pyrrhotite-rich siltite and argillite in planar couplets with subordinate gray, flat-laminated, fine-grained quartzite.
Advance and recessional outwash, stratified drift, and associated deposits. Primarily silt, sand, and gravel with some clay. Includes alluvium locally and scabland deposits of eastern Washington.
Quartzofeldspathic gneiss
Stump and Preuss Sandstones and Twin Creek Limestone.
Bluebird Mountain Formation: Medium gray to brownish gray quartzite interbedded with yellowish brown, very fine-grained sandstone, gray calcareous siltstone, and medium-gray sandy limestone. Marine. Thickness 275 m (902 ft). Railroad Canyon Formation: Medium gray and brownish black, phosphatic mudstone, shale, limestone, limestone conglomerate, and medium gray sandstone. Marine. Thickness 260 m (853 ft). Surrett Canyon Formation: Dark gray, massive limestone with much scattered white bioclastic debris. Marine. Thickness at type section 67 m (220 ft). South Creek Formation: Dark gray, thin-bedded, chert bearing limestone that alternates with dark gray, argillaceous limestone. Marine. Thickness at type section 91 m (300 ft).
Schist
Nugget Sandstone (Thrust Belt) - Buff to pink crossbedded well-sized and well-sorted quartz sandstone and quartzite; locally has oil and copper-silver-zinc mineralization. Nugget Sandstone (North Wyoming) - Gray to dull-red, crossbedded quartz sandstone. Ankareh Formation - Red and maroon shale and purple limestone. Thaynes Limestone - Gray limestone and limy siltstone. Woodside Shale - Red siltstone and shale. Dinwoody Formation (Thrust Belt) - Gray to olive-drab dolomitic siltstone. Dinwoody Formation (North Wyoming) - Olive-drab hard dolomitic thin-bedded siltstone. Chugwater Formation - Red siltstone and shale. Alcova Limestone Member in upper middle part in north Wyoming. Thin gypsum partings near base in north and northeast Wyoming.
Undifferentiated marine sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks, locally slightly to moderately metamorphosed, of Late(?) Triassic age, exposed principally in Hells Canyon of Snake River, locally in tributary canyons of Imnaha River, and in several areas marginal to the Wallowa Mountains
Red sandy mudstone, sandstone, and chert-pebble conglomerate; thin limestone and dark-gray shale in upper part, more conglomeratic in lower part. Includes Smoot Formation (red mudstone and siltstone), Draney Limestone, Bechler Conglomerate, Peterson Limestone, and Ephraim Conglomerate. Upper Jurassic fossils have been reported from the Ephraim.
Granodiorite, granite, and related rocks make up the largest group of granitic intrusions exposed in Nevada. They are present in every county, and are especially abundant in west-central Nevada in an arcuate belt along the border with California extending north and eastward towards Idaho.
Unit is mixed on the Washoe North map with basalt, tuff, diatomite, and tuffaceous sediments. It includes the units mapped as Qls from the 1978 State map. It is present in Churchill, Washoe, Nye, Esmeralda, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Mineral, and Pershing Counties.
Till, outwash, and associated interglacial deposits; sorted and unsorted gravel, sand, silt, and clay. Includes peat beds and non-glacial sediments locally. Mostly pre-Wisconsin in age.
Stump Formation - Glauconitic siltstone, sandstone, and limestone. Preuss Sandstone or Redbeds - Purple, maroon, and reddish-gray sandy siltstone and claystone; contains salt and gypsum in thick beds in some subsurface sections. Twin Creek Limestone - Greenish-gray shaly limestone and limy siltstone. Includes Gypsum Spring Member.
Black, green, and gray argillite, mudstone, and shale; graywacke, sandy limestone, tuff, and some coarse volcaniclastic rocks; chert, sandstone comprised of chert clasts, and chert pebble conglomerate; thin-bedded and massive limestone. Locally contains some interbedded lava flows, mostly spilite or keratophyre. In places metamorphosed. Invertebrate marine fauna indicates unit mostly of Late Triassic (Karnian and Norian) age. Includes the Begg and Brisbois Formations of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965; Vester Formation of Brown and Thayer, 1966) and the Rail Cabin Argillite of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965); Fields Creek Formation and Laycock and Murderers Creek Graywackes of Brown and Thayer (1966); Martin Bridge Formation and lower sedimentary series in and near the Wallowa Mountains (Prostka, 1962; Nolf, 1966); and Doyle Creek and Wild Sheep Creek Formations (Vallier, 1977). Probably partly age correlative with rocks of the Applegate Group (Wells and Peck, 1961) of southwestern Oregon
Dominantly till, outwash, and local glacial lake deposits. Shown only in western and south-central Montana. Laurentide glacial deposits are indicated with a map pattern.
Light- to dark-gray siliceous tuffaceous shale and siltstone, thin bentonite beds, and quartzitic sandstone.
Morrison Formation (Jm): Green, gray, or red mudstone and marlstone with subordinate limestone and sandstone beds. Upper part Neocomian age in central Montana and contains carbonaceous black shale and coal. Fluvial, paludal, and lacustrine. Thickness as much as 180 m (590 ft). Ellis Group (Je) - Swift Formation (Jsw): Orangish brown, glauconitic, flaggy-bedded, commonly fossiliferous, fine-grained sandstone or sandy coquina with subordinate dark gray shale interbeds; chert pebbles common. In west-central and northwestern Montana, a dark gray, noncalcareous, micaceous shale forms the lower part of the formation, commonly with a basal chert-pebble conglomerate or conglomeratic sandstone as much as 3 m (10 ft) thick. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 70 m (230 ft). Rierdon Formation (Jr): Gray, locally fossiliferous limestone that may contain floating grains of quartz sand, interbedded with greenish gray limy shale. Lagoonal and marine shelf. Thickness as much as 105 m (344 ft). Sawtooth Formation: Western Montana: dark gray, platy to shaly, dense limestone with local basal conglomerate. Central Montana: upper calcareous siltstone, middle dark gray shale with thin limestone interbeds, and lower fine-grained sandstone. Three local members Bowes, Firemoon, and Tampico, in descending order. Bowes Member: dark gray to medium gray, calcareous mudstone, limestone, and quartzose sandstone. Firemoon Member: dark to medium gray, limestone and calcareous mudstone. Tampico Member: very light gray, well-sorted quartz sandstone and siltstone, and chert-pebble conglomerate. Shallow marine. Thickness as much as 205 m (673 ft). Piper Formation (Jp): Upper part: red mudstone and gypsum; middle part: gray shale, limestone, and dolomite; lower part: red mudstone and gypsum. Marine and restricted coastal evaporite basins. Thickness as much as 75 m (246 ft).
Shedhorn Formation (Psh): Orangish brown, very fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted, quartzose sandstone. Nearshore marine shelf. Thickness as much as 70 m (230 ft). Quadrant Formation (PAq): Very light gray, yellowish or pinkish, well-sorted sandstone or quartzite, locally interbedded with subordinate limestone beds. Marine. Generally, thickness as much as 140 m (460 ft), but as much as 800 m (2,625 ft) in southwestern-most Montana. Amsden Formation (PAMa): Red shale, light gray limestone, and cherty and sandy limestone. Coastal plain or marine. Thickness as much as 180 m (590 ft).
Mostly coarse-grained, plagioclase porphyritic basalt; flows commonly contain zeolite amygdules and montmorillonitic alteration is widespread. Potassium-argon ages mostly 16 to 17 Ma (McKee and others, 1981)
Olive-drab, pale-brown, dark-gray, and black volcanic graywacke and siltstone; lesser conglomerate and slate, and minor limestone and chert. Includes more extensive outcrops of Triassic or Jurassic limestone at north base of Juniper Mountain in northern Malheur County and near Huntington in southeastern Baker County. Interlayers of silicic and intermediate volcanic rocks are rare. Locally metamorphosed to prehnite-pumpellyite and zeolite facies and in places to greenschist facies. Folded, sheared, and locally foliated. Includes the Weatherby Formation of Brooks (1979). Age is Late Triassic(?) and Early and Middle Jurassic (Sinemurian-Callovian)
Nugget Sandstone.
Bighorn Dolomite (Thrust Belt and North Wyoming) - Gray massive cliff-forming siliceous dolomite and locally dolomitic limestone. Bighorn Dolomite (Northern Yellowstone area) - Light-gray massive siliceous dolomite. Gallatin Limestone or Group (Thrust Belt) - Gray and tan limestone. Gallatin Limestone or Group (North Wyoming) - Blue-gray and yellow mottled hard dense limestone. Gallatin Group-Snowy Range Formation (Northern Yellowstone area) - Medium-gray limestone and underlying greenish-gray shale. Gallatin Group-Pilgrim Limestone (Northern Yellowstone area) - Blue-gray and yellow mottled hard limestone. Gros Ventre Formation (Thrust Belt) - Greenish-gray micaceous shale. Gros Ventre Formation (North Wyoming) - Soft green micaceous shale (Upper and Middle Cambrian Park Shale Member), underlain by blue-gray and yellow mottled hard dense limestone (Middle Cambrian Death Canyon Limestone Member), and soft green micaceous shale (Middle Cambrian Wolsey Shale Member). Park Shale (Northern Yellowstone area) - Green micaceous soft shale. Upper part may be Late Cambrian. Meagher Limestone (Northern Yellowstone area) - Blue-gray and yellow mottled hard limestone. Wolsey Shale (Northern Yellowstone area) - Green micaceous soft shale. Flathead Sandstone (Northern Yellowstone area and North Wyoming) - Dull-red quartzitic sandstone. Whitewood Dolomite (Northeast Wyoming) - Buff massive fossiliferous dolomite. Winnipeg Formation (Northeast Wyoming) - Pink to yellow siltstone and shale. Deadwood Formation (Northeast Wyoming) - Red and brown quartzitic sandstone.
Includes the Sheep Pass Formation and equivalents in northern Nye, Lincoln, Elko, Eureka, Lander, and White Pine Counties. In most places the Sheep Pass Formation is Paleocene or Eocene (Fouch, Hanley, and Forester, 1979), although rocks from the Carlin-Piñon Range area that contain Late Cretaceous fossils have been included in the Sheep Pass Formation (Smith and Ketner, 1976, 1978). It corresponds to unit Ts1 on the 1978 State map.
Gray-brown, coarse, poorly sorted pebbles and cobbles of limestone, dolomite, reddish-brown quartzite, black slate or phyllite, and rarely granitic rocks in a gray sandy phyllite matrix; northeastern Pend Oreille County and southwestern Stevens County. Rocks become finer grained and more schistose and the unit becomes thicker toward the southwest, where there is included an isolated subunit which may be a tillite, consisting of cobbles, boulders, and blocks of argillite and carbonate rocks in a fine silty matrix.
Quartzite
Variable deposits with fan-shaped morphology developed where slope gradient changes abruptly. Shown only where relatively extensive.
Rhyolitic flows, domes, plugs, breccias, quartz latite, rhyodacite, quartz porphyry dikes, and other shallow intrusive rocks. This unit includes rocks mapped as the Cañon Rhyolite on the Washoe North map, the Jarbidge Rhyolite and phenorhyolitic and phenodacitic flows and domes on the Elko County map, and other unnamed units. It has a distribution similar to Tt3, with exposures in the northern and southern parts of the State, but only crops out in a few places in the central region. It corresponds to unit Tr3 on the 1978 State map, and also includes a few rocks mapped as Trt on the 1978 State map. This unit is exposed in every county except White Pine.
Tuffaceous sediments, mudstone, sandstone, conglomerate.
Dark gray to black shale with subordinate siltstone beds. Middle part of formation contains one or more thin sandstone beds with chert pebble horizons where Muddy Sandstone is not present. Offshore marine. Thickness as much as 305 m (1,000 ft).
Black and gray mudstone, shale, siltstone, graywacke, andesitic to dacitic water-laid tuff, porcelaneous tuff, and minor interlayers and lenses of limestone and fine-grained sediments metamorphosed to phyllite or slate. Locally includes some felsite, andesite and basalt flows, breccia, and agglomerate. Marine invertebrate fauna indicates age range from Early Jurassic (Hettangian) to early Late Jurassic (Oxfordian). In northeast Oregon, includes Graylock Formation, Mowich Group, and Shaw Member (of Snowshoe Formation) of Dickinson and Vigrass (1965); Keller Creek Shale of Brown and Thayer (1966); Weberg, Warm Springs, Snowshoe, Trowbridge, and Lonesome Formations of Lupher (1941); the Coon Hollow Formation of Morrison (1964); and unnamed Jurassic rocks near Juniper Mountain in northern Malheur County (Wagner and others, 1963)
Welded and nonwelded silicic ash flow tuffs, locally includes thin units of air fall tuff and sedimentary rock. This unit corresponds with the 1978 State map unit Tt1. These rocks are present in northern Nye, Elko, Eureka, and White Pine Counties.
(Thrust Belt) - Upper part is dark- to light-gray chert and shale with black shale and phosphorite at top; lower part is black shale, phosphorite, and cherty dolomite. (North Wyoming) - Brown sandstone and dolomite, cherty phosphatic and glauconitic dolomite, phosphatic sandstone and dolomite, and greenish-gray to black shale. Intertonguing equivalents of parts of Phosphoria are Park City Formation (primarily cherty dolomite, limestone, and phosphatic gray shale) and Shedhorn Sandstone.
Unit consists of marine deposits of siltstone, sandstone, claystone, mudstone, limestone, and conglomerate (Stewart and Carlson, 1978). It includes rocks assigned to the Moenkopi and Thaynes Formations and related unnamed rocks in northern Nevada (Stewart, 1980). It crops out in the eastern part of the State in Elko, White Pine, Lincoln, and Clark Counties.
Schist and gneiss
(Thrust Belt) - White to brown sandstone and dark-gray shale; oyster coquina in upper part; coal and lignite in lower part. (North and South Wyoming) - Gray sandstone and sandy shale.
Diorite
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
Alluvium and colluvium
Tuffaceous sediments, mudstone, sandstone, valley fill.
Basalt flows, plugs and dikes, some olivine basalt, and andesite and latitic rocks. This unit corresponds with unit Tb on the 1978 State map. It is present on the Washoe North, Washoe South, Lincoln, Clark, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Nye South, and Lander County maps.
Sundance Formation (Js) - Greenish-gray glauconitic sandstone and shale, underlain by red and gray nonglauconitic sandstone and shale. Gypsum Spring Formation - Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N.
Green to gray spilite and keratophyre flows and flow breccia; and subordinate amounts of coarse volcaniclastic sandstone, tuff, sandstone, siltstone, chert, conglomerate, and limestone. Marine fauna from interlayered sedimentary rocks indicates unit is mostly of Karnian (Late Triassic) age. Includes Late Triassic "andesitic and basaltic rocks" of Nolf and Taubeneck (1963), and the basaltic to rhyolitic metavolcanic rocks and interbedded sedimentary rocks of the Huntington Formation of Brooks (1979). Equivalent, in part, to unit TrPv
Complexly folded, locally highly foliated and recrystallized undifferentiated sedimentary and volcanic rocks that in places are lithologically similar to Jurassic and Triassic rocks in the Aldrich Mountains of the Blue Mountains province and in other places resemble Elkhorn Ridge Argillite, Clover Creek Greenstone, and Burnt River Schist (Gilluly, 1937). Age probably mostly Late Permian to Late Triassic, but, as shown, may include some Early Jurassic rocks
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?)
Diamictite grades laterally into other members of the formation.
Little metamorphosed allochthonous remnants.
Sundance Formation (Js) - Greenish-gray glauconitic sandstone and shale, underlain by red and gray nonglauconitic sandstone and shale. Gypsum Spring Formation - Interbedded red shale, dolomite, and gypsum. In north Wyoming wedges out south in T. 39 N. Nugget Sandstone (JTRn) - Gray to dull-red, crossbedded quartz sandstone.
Three Forks Formation (MDt): Sappington Member (upper part of formation):yellowish orange and yellowish gray siltstone. Trident Member (middle part of formation): greenish gray and light olive gray, fossiliferous, calcareous shale that contains interbeds and nodules of fossiliferous, argillaceous limestone. Logan Gulch Member (lower part of formation): yellowish gray and grayish red, argillaceous limestone breccia and shale breccia that may include dolomitic siltstone. Marine to restricted marine with evaporite basins. Thickness as much as 185 m (607 ft). Jefferson Formation (Dj): Birdbear Member (upper part of formation): light to medium gray, sucrosic dolomite. Lower part of formation: grayish black, commonly petroliferous dolomite or limestone that may be interbedded with light gray quartzite. Marine. Thickness as much as 520 m (1,706 ft).
Very light gray, massive quartzite with local lenses of dolomite and dolomitic shale. Marine shelf. Thickness as much as 245 m (804 ft).