111°59'30" 111°59' 111°58'30" 111°58' 111°57'30" 111°57' 111°56'30" 111°56' 111°55'30" 111°55' 111°54'30" 111°54' 111°53'30" 111°53' 111°52'30" 111°52' 111°51'30" 111°51' 111°50'30" 111°50' 111°49'30" 111°49' 111°48'30" 111°48' 111°47'30" 111°47' 111°46'30" 111°46' 111°45'30" 111°45' 111°44'30" 111°44' 111°43'30" 111°43' 111°42'30" 111°42' 111°41'30" 111°41' 111°40'30" 111°40' 111°39'30" 111°39' 111°38'30" 111°38'

111°59'30" 111°59' 111°58'30" 111°58' 111°57'30" 111°57' 111°56'30" 111°56' 111°55'30" 111°55' 111°54'30" 111°54' 111°53'30" 111°53' 111°52'30" 111°52' 111°51'30" 111°51' 111°50'30" 111°50' 111°49'30" 111°49' 111°48'30" 111°48' 111°47'30" 111°47' 111°46'30" 111°46' 111°45'30" 111°45' 111°44'30" 111°44' 111°43'30" 111°43' 111°42'30" 111°42' 111°41'30" 111°41' 111°40'30" 111°40' 111°39'30" 111°39' 111°38'30" 111°38'

44°44'30"

44°44'

44° 44'

44°43'30"

44° 43'30"

44°43'

44° 43'

44°42'30"

44° 42'30"

44°42'

44° 42'

44°41'30"

44°41'30"

44° 41'

44° 41'

44°40'30"

44° 40'30"

44°40'

44° 40'

44°39'30"

44° 39'30"

44° 39'

44° 39'

44°38' 30"

44° 38'30"

44°38'

44° 38'

44°37'30"

44° 37'30"

44°37'

44° 37'

44°36'30"

44° 36'30"

44° 36'

44° 36'

44°35'30"

44° 35'30"

44° 35'

44° 35'

44° 34'30"

44° 34'30"

44° 34'

44° 34'

44°33'30"

44° 33'30"

Cretaceous sandstone and shale

overlain by volcanic rocks

 Slide block ?

Mostly limestone of Paleozoic age

Subsided area

ODELL

CREEK

FAULT

Taylor

Mountain

?

?

?

?

?

?

? ?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

? ?

?

12P43 07P50

07P49

12P17

12P15

05P37

04P37

06P49

03P23

03P20

03P14

05P123

05P104

05P132

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt?

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

QNt

Qym

Qym

Qym

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg

Qpfg Qpfg Qpfg Qpfg

Qfgu

Qfgu Qfgu Qfgu

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Qd

QNt

Qd

Qd

QNt

Qls

Qls

Qsd

Nba

Nba

Nba

Nba

Qls

Qal

Nba

Qls

Qls

Ns

QNt

QNt

QNt

Qd

Qd

Qd

Qpfg

Qd

Qsd

Qprg

Qpl

Qpl

Qfgu

Qpl

Qal

Qal

Qd

Qd

Qd

Qpla

Qpla

Qpl

Qpl

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qpl

Qpb

Qhpc

Qd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpd

Qpl

Qpb

Qprg

Qpb

Qd

Qd

Qpl

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Ns

Qpl

Qpfg

Qba

Qpb

Qpfg Qls

Qpl

Qba

Qba Qfgu

Qhpa

Qpd

Qpla

Qpd Qprg

Qhpc

Qpd

Qpd

Qal

Qprg

Qhd

Qpd

Qpla

Qpb

Qhss

Qhss

Qhpc

Qhpc

Qhpc

Qpb

Qpd

Qprg

Qprg

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla Qpla

Qpla

Qtg

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla

Qhd

Qhpa

Qpb

Qpla

Qfgu

Qom?

Qls? Qfgu

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla

Qpla

Qpl

Qpl

Qpl

Qpl

Qpl

Qls

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qd

Qal

Qls

Qls Qpla

Qbd

Qbd Qym

Qbd

Qbd

Qbd

Qbd

Qls

Qef

Qef

Qfgu

Qls

Qpd

Qpd

Qls

Qls

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qpfg Qpfg

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qal

Qofg

Qpfg

Qom

Qpla

Qpla

Qprg

Qprg

Qpd

Qal

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qfgu

Qsd

Qsd

Qsd Qsd

Nba

EXPLANATION

Contact—Identity and existence certain, location approximate

Contact—Identity or existence questionable, location inferred

Normal fault—Dashed where approximately located; short dashed 

where inferred; dotted where concealed, queried where uncertain

Delta front escarpment

Flow direction on alluvial fan

Inferred flow direction on buried alluvial fan

Form lines at margin of alluvial fan

Stream flow direction on high bench

Fluvial scarp

Glacial cirque and diagrammatic ice flow

Ridges in landslide thrust gravel

Lake shoreline

Ice thrust ridge at shoreline of modern lake

Moraine crest

Flow in old stream channel

Sand dune migration direction

Approximate water plane boundary of central wetland

Conical depression, possibly related to faulting

Exposed or auger section

03P14

?

Qal

Qpfg

Qfgu

Qprg

Qpla

Qhd

Qofg

Qtg

Qbd

Qhss

Qpl

Qpd

Qpb

Qym

Qom

Qls

Qef

Qhpc

Qhpa

Qba

QNt

Nba

Ns

Qsd

Qd

LIST OF MAP UNITS

UNCONSOLIDATED SURFICIAL DEPOSITS

Alluvial deposits

Alluvium (Holocene and late? Pleistocene) 

Alluvial fan gravel (late Pleistocene)

Fan gravel, undifferentiated (late Pleistocene)

Recessional alluvial fan gravel and sand (late Pleistocene)

Older fan gravel (middle? Pleistocene, Bull Lake glaciation?)

Thrust gravel (middle? Pleistocene, Bull Lake glaciation?)

Upland bench deposits (early Pleistocene?)

Alluvial-lacustrine deposit

Lake Centennial deposits and alluvium (late Pleistocene)

Lacustrine deposits

Delta deposits (Holocene)

Silty shoreline complex (Holocene)

Low beach and shoreline ridges (late Pleistocene?)

Lake Centennial deposits (late Pleistocene)

Lake Centennial deltaic deposits (late Pleistocene)

Glacial deposits

Glacial moraines, younger (late Pleistocene, Pinedale glaciation)

Glacial moraines, older (middle Pleistocene, Bull Lake age?)

Eolian and alluvial deposits

Alluvial and eolian sand, undivided (Holocene and late Pleistocene)

Dune sand (Holocene and late Pleistocene)

Landslide deposits

Landslide deposits, undifferentiated (Holocene and late Pleistocene)

Earthflow deposits (Holocene and late Pleistocene)

Peat deposits

Peat of central wetland (Holocene)

Peat above water plane (Holocene)

VOLCANIC ROCKS

Basalt (early Pleistocene?)

Welded tuffs (early Pleistocene and Neogene)

Basalt (Neogene)

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary rocks (Neogene)

Qhd Qhss Qhpc Qhpa Qls Qef

Qpfg Qfgu Qpb

Qtg

Qbd

Qprg Qpd Qym

Qom

Qba

QNt

Nba

Qpla

Ns

Qsd Qd

Qofg

Qal

Qpl

CORRELATION OF MAP UNITS

UNCONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS

?

? ? ???

Holocene

Pleistocene Quaternary

Neogene

VOLCANIC

ROCKS

SEDIMENTARY

ROCKS

Alluvial deposits

Lacustrine 

deposits

Glacial

deposits

Eolian & alluvial

deposits

Landslide

deposits Peat deposits

Alluvial-lacustrine

deposit

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. 

Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as 

noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

This database, identified as OFR 2014–1157, has been approved for release and publication by the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS). Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves 

the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the

USGS nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.

For more information concerning this publication, contact:

Center Director, USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Box 25046, Mail Stop 980

Denver, CO 80225

(303) 236-5344

Or visit the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center Web site at:

http://gec.cr.usgs.gov/

Publishing support provided by: 

Denver Publishing Service Center

To learn about the USGS and its information products visit

http://www.usgs.gov/ 

1-888-ASK-USGS

This report is available at:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2014/1157

Suggested citation:

Pierce, K.L., Chesley-Preston, T.L., and Sojda, R.L., 2014, Surficial 

geologic map of the Red Rock Lakes area, southwest Montana: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1157, 22 p., scale 1:24,000, 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141157.

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)

Surficial Geologic Map of the Red Rock Lakes Area, Southwest Montana

By

Kenneth L. Pierce, Tara L. Chesley-Preston, and Richard S. Sojda

2014

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 2014–1157

Pamphlet accompanies map

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, Metzel Creek, Lower Red Rock Lake, Elk Springs, 

Winslow Creek, Slide Mountain and Upper Red Rock Lake, Mont., 1:24,000, 1988

Base hydrology from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana Natural Heritage 

Program, 2010, National Wetlands Inventory (NWI)

North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

Montana State Plane Coordinate System, SPCS 83 FIPS zone 2500

Lambert Conformal Conic

Manuscript approved for publication July 22, 2014

APPROXIMATE MEAN

DECLINATION, 2014 TRUE NORTH

MAGNETIC NORTH

12°

Basin Fill

Gravel

Sand

Lake Centennial sediments

Bedrock

Rhyolite tuffs

Flow of groundwater

Explanation

S N

Mountain snows generating 

large, deep groundwater 

recharge

Abundant

recharge from 

snowmelt and 

streams 

Semi-confined 

groundwater

rises to surface 

late in growing 

season

Moderate recharge

from snowmelt and 

streams

Upland snows generating 

moderate, deep groundwater 

recharge

Centennial

Mountains

Centennial fault

Fan gravels, permeable

Springs and groundwater

dependent vegetation

Fan gravels, permeable

Sand dunes, permeable

Upland with rhyolite tuffs,

permeable

Springs and groundwater

Lake Centennial sediments,

dependent vegetation

low permeability

Figure 2. Diagrammatic cross section portraying flow of groundwater. Low permeability Lake Centennial sediments floor the central part of the valley and confine 

the groundwater in more permeable sands and gravels beneath them (see text). This semi-confined groundwater percolates upward and thus helps sustain the 

wetlands late in the growing season. 

t

e

v

a

n

a

e

Madison

Valley

Idaho n

Montana

Centennial Valley

ri a P

s

S k

E

n

r

Centennial Range

i

e R

l

Copyright:© 2013 Esri

45°00'

44°50'

111°30'

44°30'

44°40'

44°20'

112°30' 112°00'

R

s

n

a

n

Island Park Reservoir

y

Lima

Reservoir

a

Paleo-canyon of 

Red Rock River

e

r

R

a

n

g

e

Upper Red 

Rock Lake

Wade Lake

S

Yellowstone Calderas

Hebgen Reservoir

Heise Calderas

n

M

a d

i

s

o

n

Lower Red 

Rock Lake

l

Red Rock Pass

Pinedale

Moraines

Landslide dam

r

G

Cliff Lake

fault

trench Red Rock

Lakes NWR

Map Area

Mud

Lake

LIMA DAM

Lima Reservoir fault

Centennial fault

e

a

l

Quake Lake

Odell

Creek

c

Hidden Lake

e

Red Rock River

R

g

e

w

15

Elk Lake

g

t

v

o

Henrys Lake

20

87

287

0

State boundary

8

Figure 1

Map Area

EXPLANATION

Interstate

Highway

Normal fault, defined

Secondary road

MILES

0

Calderas, approximate

4

Historic Lake Centennial

KILOMETERS

Moraines

8

4

Lakes, reservoirs, and rivers

Normal fault, inferred

Figure 1. Location of the Red Rock Lakes map area. Note the string of lakes (Elk, Hidden, Cliff, and Wade Lakes) define a paleo-canyon of the Red Rock River northward 

into the Madison Valley. The eastern Snake River Plain is also the track of the Yellowstone hotspot, which is associated with late Cenozoic volcanism, faulting, and uplift 

(Pierce and Morgan, 1992). The two youngest caldera groupings along the hotspot track are calderas of the Heise volcanic field (6.6–4.45 Ma; Morgan and McIntosh, 2005) 

and calderas of the Yellowstone volcanic field (2.05–0.64 Ma; Christiansen, 2001). Quaternary faults are shown in red and faults other than Centennial fault and the Lima 

Reservoir fault are from U.S. Geological Survey and Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (2006). The Centennial fault extends, with right-stepping en echelon faults, 

from east of Henrys Lake (Myers and Hamilton, 1964; Morgan and others, 2008) through Red Rock Pass (Witkind, 1975) to the bold front of the Centennial Range east of 

Odell Creek. Westward from Odell Creek, the fault is poorly expressed for 15 km and then becomes well defined for 18 km to Mud Lake (Witkind, 1975; Petrik, 2008). At 

Mud Lake, fault offset switches to the north side of the valley as the Lima Reservoir fault (Myers and Hamilton, 1964; Bartholomew and others, 2002). This fault continues 

west to beneath the Lima Dam (Anastasio and others, 2010). 

ID

WY

MT

1 1/ 2 0 1 MILE

SCALE 1:24 000

1000 1000 0 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 FEET

1 0 1/ 2 1 KILOMETER

MAP LOCATION

MONTANA