Reconnaissance Study of 

Mississippian Siliciclastic Sandstones in 

Eastern Nevada

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Reconnaissance Study of 

Mississippian Siliciclastic Sandstones 

in Eastern Nevada

By Hugh McLean

EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN 

Harry E. Cook and Christopher J. Potter, Project Coordinators

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1988-1

A multidisciplinary approach to research studies of sedimentary 

rocks and their constituents and the evolution of 

sedimentary basins, both ancient and modern

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1995
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Gordon P. Eaton, Director

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services

Box 25286, Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225

Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and 

does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McLean, Hugh, 1939-

Reconnaissance study of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones in eastern Nevada / 

by Hugh McLean.

p. cm. (Evolution of sedimentary basins Eastern Great Basin ; ch. I) 

(U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1988-1)

Includes bibliographical references.

Supt.ofDocs.no.: 119.3:19881

1. Sandstone Nevada. 2. Geology, Stratigraphic Mississippian. I. Title. 

II. Series. III. Series: U.S. Geological Survey bulletin; 1988-1. 

QE75.B9 no. 1988-1 

[QE471.15.S25]

557.3 s dc20 95-3056 

[552'.5] CIP
CONTENTS

Abstract........................................................................................................................... II

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 1

Previous Work................................................................................................................ 3

Methods of Study............................................................................................................ 4

Composition of Sandstones............................................................................................ 4

Framework Grains.................................................................................................. 4

Accessory Grains.................................................................................................... 5

Reservoir Characteristics................................................................................................ 5

Porosity and Permeability....................................................................................... 5

Textural Characteristics of Visible Porosity........................................................... 12

Paragenesis of Cements.......................................................................................... 16

Summary......................................................................................................................... 16

References Cited.............................................................................................................. 18

FIGURES

1. Map of study area showing sample localities.......................................................................................................... 12

2. Time-rock correlation chart for Mississippian strata in eastern Nevada................................................................. 3

3. Ternary diagrams showing detrital modes of Mississippian sandstones of east-central Nevada............................ 11

4. Graph showing total porosity versus permeability.................................................................................................. 11

5. Graph showing total porosity versus visible porosity ............................................................................................. 11

6-14. Photographs showing:

6. Shrinkage of pelitic rock fragment, Diamond Peak Formation..................................................................... 12

7. Porosity associated with dissolution of rock fragment, Diamond Peak Formation....................................... 13

8. Porosity associated with dissolution of rock fragment, quartzose sandstone of the Scotty Wash Quartzite. 13

9. Secondary porosity, Diamond Peak Formation.............................................................................................. 14

10. Secondary porosity and cementation, Diamond Peak Formation.................................................................. 14

11 Secondary pore formed by dissolution of calcareous cement, Diamond Peak Formation ............................ 15

12. Secondary porosity, Diamond Peak Formation.............................................................................................. 15

13 Euhedral quartz overgrowth and secondary pore space, closeup view of figure 12...................................... 16

14. Dissolution pores and euhedral surfaces of quartz overgrowths, Diamond Peak Formation

and Scotty Wash Quartzite............................................................................................................................. 17

TABLES

1. Detrital modes for major framework constituents of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones, eastern Nevada........ 16

2. Raw point-count data for all detrital constituents and porosity and permeability data for

Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones, eastern Nevada........................................................................................... 8

III

RECONNAISSANCE STUDY OF 

MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES

IN EASTERN NEVADA

By Hugh McLean

ABSTRACT

Siliciclastic sandstones of Mississippian age in some 

areas of east-central Nevada may be reservoir rocks for 

petroleum. Their reservoir potential derives from their stratigraphic proximity to organic-rich shales that have probably 

generated oil in the past and from their local porosity and 

permeability. The quality of these reservoir sandstones has 

been adversely affected, however, by two processes early 

calcareous intergranular cementation and (or) pervasive 

quartz cementation associated with hydrothermally elevated 

temperatures. In areas having mature to supermature (hydrothermal?) thermal indices sandstones are invariably tightly 

cemented, whereas in areas having immature to mature thermal indices sandstone porosity and permeability locally are 

higher due to development of secondary porosity. Sandstones that contain pervasive intergranular calcite and (or) 

dolomite cement have low porosity and low permeability 

and minimal secondary porosity.

The siliciclastic sandstones contain a significant proportion of sedimentary lithic framework grains and conglomerate clasts that were transported generally eastward 

and southeastward from the uplifted Roberts Mountains 

allochthon during the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian Antler orogeny. Stratigraphic successions of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones and conglomerates in eastern 

Nevada have been mapped variously as the Diamond Peak 

Formation (part), the Tonka Formation, the sandstone of 

Melandco, and the Scotty Wash Quartzite. Environments of 

siliciclastic deposition include submarine fans, deltaic and 

shallow-marine settings, and alluvial fans. The rocks are 

more quartzose with decreasing age and with distance from 

the allochthon; quartz sandstones of the Scotty Wash Quartzite locally may have been derived from a cratonic source(s).

INTRODUCTION

Siliciclastic rocks of Mississippian age that were derived 

from uplift and emplacement of the Roberts Mountains

allochthon during the Antler orogeny extend from Idaho to 

southeastern California and are thickest and best exposed in 

central and eastern Nevada (fig. 1). Devonian rocks in eastern 

Nevada mainly consist of shelf-carbonate strata that accumulated in a tectonically stable environment along the western 

edge of the North American craton. In latest Devonian and 

Early Mississippian time, uplift and emplacement of the Roberts Mountain allochthon generated an influx of siliciclastic 

sediments that filled a narrow, elongate flysch trough that 

formed along the western edge of a foreland basin (Poole, 

1974; Poole and Sandberg, 1991). Early workers in the area 

recognized that the siliciclastic detritus was derived from erosion of chert, siliceous mudrock, and sandstone of quartzose 

and arkosic composition that comprise what is now known as 

the Roberts Mountain allochthon (Nolan, 1928; Nolan and 

others, 1956).

Probably the most complete and best known Mississippian siliciclastic sequence in eastern Nevada is the Diamond 

Peak Formation (part). Approximately 2,000 m of Mississippian siliciclastic strata are well exposed in the Diamond 

Mountains in the eastern part of Eureka County, Nevada 

(figs. 1, 2). Both the Diamond Peak Formation and the 

underlying Chainman Shale in the Eureka district represent 

marine sediments that filled a flysch trough. The geologic 

characteristics of the Diamond Peak Formation in the Diamond Range have been described by Nolan and others 

(1956) and Brew (1963,1971).

Trexler and Nitchman (1990) included the Chainman 

Shale and the lowermost part of the Diamond Peak Formation 

in a sequence that they named the Diamond Mountain 

sequence. They included the upper part of the Diamond Peak 

Formation in the Newark Valley sequence, a transgressive 

braid-delta sequence that unconformably overlies the 

flysch-trough fill of the Chainman Shale. Trexler and 

Cashman (1991) subsequently recognized that the 

unconformity-bounded Stratigraphic sequences in the 

Diamond Mountains and northern Pancake Range resulted 

from multiple tectonic pulses or phases during the Antler 

orogeny.
12 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

116'

40° -

111 DIAMOND 

23 l|i MOUNTAINS

0 10 20 MILES

0 10 20 KILOMETERS

Figure 1. Map of study area showing sample localities. Numbered solid circles refer to locality number in column 1 of table 2.
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 13

23

Northern 

Pinon 

Range

Tonka

Formation 1

(part)

Chainman 

Shale

Woodruff 

Formation

24

Central

Elko

County

Stratigraphic 

equivalent

of 

Diamond

Peak

Formation 

(part)

Chainman 

Shale

Delle

Phosphatic

Member

(-10 m)

21

Southern

Diamond

Mountains

Ely Limestone 

(part)

Member H

Member G

Member F

Member E

Member D

Chainman 

Shale

Pilot Shale 

(part)

11

Indian Creek, 

Cherry Creek 

Range

Ely Limestone 

(part)

Scotty

Wash

Quartzite

Upper 

member 

(-380 m)

Needle 

Siltstone 

Member 

(-55 m)

Pilot Shale 

(lower part)

Of Dott(1955)

Figure 2. Time-rock correlation chart for Mississippian strata in 

eastern Nevada. Modified from Poole and Sandberg (1991, p. 116 

and 119, cols. 11, 21, 23, and 24).

Other Mississippian siliciclastic strata in eastern 

Nevada include the Tonka Formation, the Scotty Wash 

Quartzite and the sandstone of Melandco (fig. 2). The Tonka 

Formation, named by Dott (1955), consists of sandstone and 

conglomerate that crop out in the northern Pinon Range near 

Carlin, Nevada. Siliciclastic strata in the Adobe Range northwest of Elko and in the Snake Mountains north of Wells (fig. 

1) were named the sandstone of Melandco by Poole and 

Sandberg (1991, p. 119). Sandstone that crops out east and 

southeast of the Pancake Range was named the Scotty Wash 

Quartzite by Westgate and Knopf (1932). Scotty Wash sandstones are more quartzose, thinner bedded, and finer grained 

than Diamond Peak sandstones; local well-developed trough 

crossbedding in the Scotty Wash suggests tidal or deltaic 

deposition. Columnar sections (Poole and Sandberg, 1991) 

suggest that the Scotty Wash Quartzite correlates with the 

upper part of the Diamond Peak and that the sandstone of 

Melandco correlates with the lower part of the Diamond Peak 

Formation (fig. 2). Stratigraphy and tectonism associated 

with the Antler orogeny are discussed in more detail by Trexler and Cashman (1990,1991), Trexler and Nitchman (1990), 

Goebel (1991), Poole and Sandberg (1991), and Trexler and 

others (1991). Roberts and others (1967) provided a summary of early Stratigraphic nomenclature in Eureka County 

and a geologic map of the western Diamond Mountains.

Published subsurface oil and gas exploration data from 

eastern Nevada suggest that, at least locally, Devonian limestone and organic-rich shale of the Mississippian Chainman 

Shale are potential hydrocarbon source rocks and that associated siliciclastic sandstones are potential reservoir rocks 

(Poole and others, 1983; Poole and Claypool, 1984). In this 

report, I describe a reconnaissance study of reservoir characteristics (porosity and permeability) of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones in areas exposed to different thermal 

regimes as determined by analyses of petroleum source-rock 

potential (Poole and Claypool, 1984).

Acknowledgments. Petrographic study of the siliciclastic rocks of eastern Nevada was initially suggested by 

Harry E. Cook. Forrest G. (Barney) Poole subsequently introduced me to the siliciclastic rocks of eastern Nevada and provided technical and scientific advice throughout the duration 

of the project. Tom Bergstresser of Chevron USA, Houston, 

Texas, coordinated the laboratory analyses of porosity and 

permeability that contributed greatly to the study. Some of 

the thin sections used in this study were made by Barbara 

Lockett. David Brew kindly loaned a suite of thin sections 

from his dissertation area in the southern Diamond Mountains. Laura Zink provided assistance with preliminary computer graphics. Early drafts of the manuscript profited from 

reviews by Janet Pitman, Tom MacKinnon, and F.G. Poole.

PREVIOUS WORK

Petrologic studies by previous workers of the Diamond 

Peak Formation in the Diamond Mountains suggest that
14 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

most of the detritus in the siliciclastic sequence was derived 

from rocks that now comprise the Roberts Mountains allochthon or Antler highland (Nolan, 1928; Brew, 1963, 1971; 

Harbaugh, 1980; Harbaugh and Dickinson, 1981). Sedimentary rock fragments of quartzose sandstone, siltstone, siliceous mudstone, pure and impure chert, and potassium 

feldspar-bearing arkosic sandstone are present within the 

Antler foreland (Dickinson and others, 1983).

Studies of provenance and composition of the Chainman Shale and Diamond Peak Formation in the central Diamond Range were reported by Brew (1963, 1971). Detrital 

modes, facies interpretations, and tectonic implications of 

the Diamond Peak Formation from an area immediately 

north of Brew's map area were reported by Harbaugh (1980) 

and recast by Harbaugh and Dickinson (1981) and Dickinson 

and others (1983). Trexler and Cashman (1991) reported 

paleocurrent data and selected detrital modes for the Newark 

Valley sequence in the Diamond, Pancake, and White Pine 

mountain ranges. Facies within the Newark Valley sequence 

in the Diamond Mountains were interpreted by Perry and 

Trexler (1993) as representing alluvial, deltaic, and shallow-marine environments, and detrital constituents within 

the Newark Valley sequence were interpreted as reflecting 

recycling of underlying strata. Together, the variation in 

facies and composition were interpreted by Perry and Trexler as indications of a tectonically active depositional setting.

METHODS OF STUDY

For the purposes of this study, 60 siliciclastic sandstone 

samples were collected from 31 sites in Elko, Eureka, White 

Pine, Nye, and Lincoln Counties of east-central Nevada (fig. 

1). Thin sections were examined petrographically to determine composition of framework grains, type and volume of 

intergranular cements, and amount of visible pore space. 

Standard thin sections were stained with sodium cobaltinitrate for potassium feldspar and point counted using petrographic techniques outlined by Dickinson (1970). Most of 

the thin sections were impregnated with blue-dyed epoxy, 

which facilitated measurement of visible porosity. The 

Gazzi-Dickinson method described by Ingersoll and others 

(1984) was employed in counting polycrystalline rock fragments. Detrital modes shown in figure 3 and listed in table 1 

are based on counts of 300^4-00 framework grains per thin 

section; raw point counts and porosity and permeability data 

are given in table 2. Counts of visible pore space (filled by 

blue-dyed epoxy) and intergranular cement increased the 

total number of counted points in some sections to as many 

as 655 (table 2).

Calcite and dolomite cements were identified in hand 

specimen by applying a drop of dilute (2N) HC1 to fresh surfaces. Samples that effervesced freely were considered to be 

cemented by calcite, whereas samples that effervesced only

on a scratched surface were considered to be cemented with 

dolomite.

A suite of 27 sandstone samples was analyzed by the 

Western Exploration Technical Center of Chevron USA, 

Houston, Texas, for percentage of total porosity and permeability. Porosities were measured by the mercury intrusion 

technique, and permeabilities were measured by unstressed 

(air) and stressed (brine) techniques. Results of these analyses are given in table 2.

COMPOSITION OF SANDSTONES

FRAMEWORK GRAINS

Detrital modes for samples of the Diamond Peak Formation and Scotty Wash Quartzite and for samples from 

locations north of the Diamond Mountains are shown in four 

ternary diagrams in figure 3. The rocks in the "northern area" 

of figure 3 include the Tonka Formation of Dott (1955), the 

sandstone of Melandco in the Adobe Range and Snake 

Mountains, and the Diamond Peak Formation at Ferdelford 

Canyon in the northern Pinon Range (locality 2, fig. 1).

Quartz. The QtFL and QmFLt diagrams of figure 3 

illustrate the quartzose, subquartzose, and sublithic compositions of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones of east-central Nevada. Most of the well-rounded monocrystalline 

quartz grains (Qm) were probably recycled from eroded 

quartzose sandstone protoliths in the source area. Polycrystalline quartz (Qp, table 2) excludes chert and consists 

mainly of very fine grained quartzite. Well-rounded grains 

were probably recycled from sandstone in the source area.

Chert. Grains of recrystallized chert (Ch) are common framework constituents in most of the Mississippian 

sandstones except for the Scotty Wash Quart/ite. 

Well-rounded grains of chert were probably recycled from 

sandstone protoliths, whereas angular and subangular grains 

were probably derived from chert-bearing sequences in the 

source area such as the Ordovician Vinini Formation. The 

great variation in degree of both clarity and recrystallization 

of chert grains suggests the possibility of multiple sources.

Potassium feldspar. Potassium feldspar is present in 

modest amounts (4-12 percent) in samples from the Adobe 

Range and Snake Mountains in the northern part of the area 

(Tonka Formation and sandstone of Melandco) and from the 

Diamond Peak Formation in the northern Pancake Range. 

One sample from the Diamond Peak Formation contained as 

much as 19 percent potassium feldspar (table 2, locality 19). 

Potassium feldspar is also present as detrital grains in sandstone and siltstone rock fragments. Individual potassium 

feldspar framework grains were probably recycled from an 

arkosic sandstone protolith. Dickinson and others (1983) 

suggested that potassium feldspar in the Diamond Peak Formation was recycled from arkose in the Cambrian Harmony 

Formation. Local variations in potassium feldspar content
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 15

may support the concept of Perry and Trexler (1993) that 

sediments comprising the Diamond Peak Formation in the 

Newark Valley sequence were reworked by local tectonic 

pulses. Alternatively, sediment availability and input from 

source rocks in the allochthon such as the Harmony Formation may have varied locally. Such variation through time 

could have affected potassium feldspar concentrations in 

resultant sediment accumulations.

Potassium feldspar in tightly compacted rocks that have 

little visible porosity shows no evidence of alteration. In 

rocks that have significant secondary porosity, grains of 

potassium feldspar are corroded and pitted.

Plagioclase. Except for three samples from the Diamond Peak Formation (localities 1, 20, and 23, table 2), raw 

counts of plagioclase feldspar do not exceed six grains per 

thin section. Most plagioclase is subangular to subrounded, 

finely twinned albite. Plagioclase provenance remains problematic; possible sources include volcanic, recycled sedimentary, and plutonic rocks. Patchy mottling observed on 

some twinned grains might be a relict texture.

Sedimentary rock fragments. Chert and siliciclastic 

sedimentary rock fragments dominate the population of lithic 

framework grains in samples from the Diamond Peak Formation, Tonka Formation, and sandstone of Melandco. The suite 

of lithologies includes potassium feldspar-bearing quartzofeldspathic sandstone and siltstone, argillaceous mudstone of 

varying brownish color and degree of opacity, and tuffaceous(?) mudstone that ranges from light-colored impure 

chert to colorless, nearly isotropic cryptocrystalline forms.

Metamorphic rock fragments. Schistose rock fragments are present only in trace amounts in the Diamond Peak 

Formation and its northern correlatives and are absent in the 

Scotty Wash Quartzite. Pale-green chloritic grains were 

included as metamorphic rock fragments and make up the 

relatively large part of metamorphic grains counted in Diamond Peak sandstones at locality 19 (table 2).

Volcanic rock fragments. Grains containing clearly 

discernible volcanic textures are very rare; however; those 

that were observed consisted of microlitic laths of albite set 

in a groundmass of light-brown, translucent glass.

Limeclasts. Calcareous framework grains were noted 

in only a few geographically widely separated samples. This 

local occurrence suggests that intertongues of limestone may 

have provided an intraformational source for the limeclasts. 

Limestone interbeds in the Diamond Peak Formation were 

observed in the vicinity of locality 6 (table 2). Alternatively, 

limeclasts at locality 3 (Carlin Canyon) may have been 

derived from recycling of Paleozoic limestones that unconformably underlie the Tonka Formation (Dott, 1955).

Rock fragments of uncertain origin. Cryptocrystalline 

grains that have no discernible texture or fabric were counted 

as rock fragments of uncertain origin. Although the general 

abundance of sedimentary rock fragments suggests that most 

of the grains in the uncertain-origin category are also probably sedimentary, a volcanic origin for some is possible.

ACCESSORY GRAINS

Mica. Mica was observed in only a few samples from 

the Diamond Peak Formation and was notably absent in sandstones of the Scotty Wash Quartzite (table 2). In the few rocks 

that contained mica, the predominant variety was muscovite, 

although sparse grains of light-brown biotite were also noted.

Opaque grains. Grains of opaque material are present 

sporadically in both the Diamond Peak Formation and Scotty 

Wash Quartzite. In sandstones adjacent to mineralized zones 

where elevated temperatures are presumably related to circulation of hydrothermal fluids (such as the Ward mining district, localities 10-12, table 2), the opaque grains are mainly 

pyrite. At Trough Spring Canyon (locality 15, table 2), however, dissolution of nonmetallic opaque grains that are pale 

orange in reflected light forms secondary pores.

RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS

POROSITY AND PERMEABILITY

Laboratory measurements of total porosity and permeability in air and brine are given together with visible porosity in table 2. Budget limitations prevented rocks from the 

Adobe and northern Pinon ranges and the Snake Mountains 

from being included in the suite of samples in which these 

parameters were measured. Total porosity within the sample 

suite ranged from 2.5 to 19.4 percent (fig. 4). Unstressed 

(air) permeability ranged from 0.32 to 420 mD (fig. 4), 

whereas stressed (brine) permeability ranged from 0.10 to 

370 mD. Visible porosity determined by point-counting 

ranged from 0 to 28 percent and correlates favorably with 

laboratory measurements (figure 5); in eight samples visible 

porosity is within 2 percent of total porosity.

Where petroleum source rocks are mature to 

supermature, such as the Ward mining district in the northern 

Egan Range and Dry Creek in the Cherry Creek Range 

(Poole and others, 1983) (localities 10-13, 14, fig. 1), 

quartz-cemented quartzose sandstone is uniformly well 

cemented; that is, porosity and permeability are minimal. In 

contrast, noncalcareous sandstones associated with 

immature to mature petroleum source rocks yielded highly 

variable values of porosity and permeability. For example, 

several samples from a small area in Trough Spring Canyon 

in the southern Egan Range (locality 15, fig. 1) ranged from 

11.6 to 17.4 percent porosity and from 43 to 420 mD 

permeability. Similarly, at the south end of Buck Mountain 

(locality 6, fig. 1), closely spaced samples ranged from 4.5 to 

14.1 percent porosity and from 3 to 38 mD permeability. 

Near Nevada Governors Spring in the northern Pancake 

Range (locality 17, fig. 1), porosity ranged from 8.4 to 13.1 

percent and air permeability from 2.4 to 18 mD. The 

variations in porosity and permeability in noncalcareous and 

slightly calcareous sandstones are probably due to variables
Table 1. Detrital modes for major framework constituents of Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones, eastern Nevada.

[Locations of sample sites shown by locality number on figure 1. Normalized detrital modes for QtFL, QmFLt, QpLvLs, and QmPK: Qt, total quartzose grains 

F, total feldspar grains (=P+K); L, total unstable lithic grains (=Lv+Ls); Qm, monocrystalline quartz; Lt, total lithic grains (=Qp+Lv+Ls); Qp, polycrystalline qu

Lv, microlitic volcanic lithic grains; Ls, politic sedimentary lithic grains; P, plagioclase feldspar; K, potassium feldspar. The letter (n) indicates no data. Unit s

Mdp, Diamond Peak Formation; Mt, Tonka Formation ; Mm, sandstone of Melandco; Msw, Scotty Wash Quartzite]

Locality

No.

1

2

2

3

4

4

5

5

6

6

6

7

8

9

9

10

11

12

13

14

14

15

15

15

15

16

16

17

17

17

Sample number

ES-58-9

690- 15-2 A

690-15-2

690-16-1

690-18-1

690- 18-1 A

690-19-1

690-19-2

791-15-2A

791-15-2B

791-15-3

791-15-4B

791-16-2B

791-16-4A

791-16-4B

791-17-1

791-17-2A

791-17-2B

791-17-3

791-18-1A

791-18-1B

791-18-2A

791-18-3A

791-18-3B

791-18-4

791-19-1A

791-19-1B

791-19-2A

791-19-2B

791-19-3

Unit

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mt

Mm

Mm

Mm

Mm

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Qt

81

63

61

81

71

78

79

80

60

61

74

58

93

96

93

93

91

95

92

97

89

94

92

97

100

69

77

59

69

59

F

4

2

7

2

4

2

4

3

0

0

1

0

0

2

2

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

L

15

35

32

17

25

.20

17

17

40

39

25

42

7

2

5

6

8

5

8

3

11

6

8

2

0

31

23

41

31

41

Qm

50

34

45

73

63

69

68

69

36

59

55

53

92

91

91

90

89

91

87

95

87

92

89

96

100

47

67

37

39

26

F

4

2

7

2

4

2

4

3

0

0

1

0

0

2

2

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

Lt

46

64

48

25

23

29

18

28

64

41

44

47

8

7

7

9

10

9

13

5

13

8

11

3

0

53

33

63

61

74

Qp

37

48

35

35

24

34

39

40

22

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

19

n

14

19

10

Lv

0

1

8

0

5

0

0

0

0

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

0

n

0

0

0

Ls

63

51

57

65

71

66

61

60

78

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

81

n

86

81

90
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 17

o o en m -* rf es "i cs ^H es o <* m vo o r- -3- o o ooooo ooooo o

o ' cs o vo CS O O vo CS O ^H O ^H o ' O O O <-H O O O O

o ON in in oo »n es r- oo ON oo o vOTj-^t ^f ^ vo ON o ON o ON o o o ON o o o o

O ON ON ON OO ON ON ON ON ON ON O ON ON ON ON ON ON ON O ON O ON O O O ON O O O O

C e c C C e c en c ^ ~* en -<t CN ON en ON m en c ococc e c oo *-< c c r^oooooNONvovoinoooNON o oo in

C C C C C C C CS C O OOOOO O en CN CS C O C O C C CCOOG C

e c c c c c c in e ON ON r~ vo oo ^ r^ oo en in c ococc e c cs ON c c 

cs ^H -H en en -<t cs^

CS CS ~* en CS

r- co co co in

O »-l -^ CN VO

oo t in tS VO SO

vo oo en 

»n Tj- en

cs >n vo en ^H ON >n oo cs vo

CS r-> ^H

en ~H vo 

rt r- Tfr

O ^ o O O

en r~ 't O en en TfenenvoON O in ^ oo ^j- en eN vo r- ON en in in ->T in vo ** vocscsinoo r-» ON oo oo ON oooNinincs in

en t*^ O vo O in cs vo vo t^ vo CN ON CNcNenrt encSencSen CN-^-^-^H oo en O 

en en ^^ ON in oo O CS !-< --1

cs Tt en 

en cs en

O ^ O (S -^ en CS^H^o > O -« O O O^nOOO

envooNOOOO t^'-<voenen cN^f (N ^ ^H vo O 

oo >n vo vo ON

D- CX d, D< CX 

 O -O T3 T3 T3

< « u O fN CS tS

oo ir> >o >n

- «N <s cs

ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex ex

< < < pQ U CN en T- T- ^t < < OQ < 

»n I-H ^H CN en

ON ON ON ON

PU P-, tin fc CN

i I ^H ^H ^H ON

ON ON ON ON oo

OOOOOOOOOO OOONONONON

CNCNCNCNCN CNCNCNCNCN

ONONONONON ONONONONON

OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO

C^OOONONON ONOOO^ > i ^H cs cs cs enTj-Ttrfin

^^H^^H^, t-icSCSCSCS CSCSCNCNCN CNCScSCNCS

o m ^H o vo r** ON oo ON ON

1/3 t/2 c/3 t/2

CQ < < <-< cS en ^H ff)

O O O -^ »i

CN CN CS CS CS

CS CS CS CN CS

ON ON ON ON ON

oo oo oo oo oo

vo r^ t*- oo ON

CS CS CS CS CS

VO Tt OO VO 

OO ON vo F»

^ ^ ex ex ex

c/5 t/3 "O "O T3

PQ en » * < *-H U » * Q» H

^^ CS en en en

CS CS CS CS CN

CS CS CS CS CN ON ON ON ON ON

OO OO OO 00 OO

ON O r-i r I . C

cs en en en en
Table 2. Raw point-count data for all detrital constituents and porosity and permeability data for Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones in eastern Nevad

[Locations of sample sites by locality number shown in figure 1. Unit symbols: Mdp, Diamond Peak Formation; Mt, Tonka Formation; Mm, sandstone of Melandco; Ms

Other column headings: Qm, monocrystalline quartz; Qp, polycrystalline quartz (does not include chert); Ch, chert; P, plagioclase feldspar; K, potassium feldspar; Ls, sed

(for example.sandstone, siltstone, mudstone); Lm, schistose metamorphic rock fragments; Lv, volcanic rock fragments; Lms, limeclasts; Lu, rock fragments of uncertain o

oxides; mtx, interstitial material; Sum, total points counted; fy,, percent visible porosity; <j>m, percent measured porosity; kair, millidarcies permeability (air measured); kbm, 

(brine measured); n, no data]

Loc. Sample 

No. No.

1 ES-58-9

2 690- 15-2 A

2 690-15-2

3 690-16-1

4 690-18-1

4 690-18-1A

5 690-19-1

5 690-19-2

6 791-15-2A

6 791-15-2B

6 791-15-3

7 791-15-4B

8 791-16-2B

9 791-16-4A

9 791-16-4B

10 791-17-1

11 791-17-2A

12 791-17-2B

13 791-17-3

14 791-18-1A

Location

Diamond Mountains

Ferdelford Canyon

Ferdelford Canyon

Carlin Canyon

Adobe Range

Adobe Range

Bishop Creek Canyon

Bishop Creek Canyon

South end Buck Mountain

South end Buck Mountain

South end Buck Mountain

South end Buck Mountain,

stone quarry

Highway 50, east of

Little Antelope Summit

Hamilton area, west side

of Buster Mountain

Hamilton area, west side

of Buster Mountain

Egan Range, Lower Terrace

Egan Range, Upper Terrace,

south of Pipeline Canyon

Egan Range, Upper Terrace,

south of Ragsdale Canyon

Egan Range, Upper Terrace,

at High Spring road junction

Cherry Creek Range, Dry Creek

Unit

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mt

Mm

Mm

Mm

Mm

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Qm

153

108

138

229

194

220

210

219

98

250

246

225

387

269

387

372

302

289

388

388

QP

24

13

35

13

16

20

21

20

17

10

12

20

4

14

6

10

6

7

20

8

Ch

72

78

14

13

9

8

12

16

50

0

71

3

0

0

1

2

0

4

1

0

P

12

1

9

0

3

0

0

5

0

0

1

1

0

4

6

0

2

0

0

0

K

1

4

12

5

9

6

12

4

0

0

3:

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

Ls

41

96

80

48

78

54

51

52

60

42

50

39

0

0

21

23

0

0

21

13

Lm

5

3

6

1

1

4

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Lv

0

2

11

0

2

1

1

1

0

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Lms

0

4

2

40

1

3

0

0

0

0

23

0

0

0

0

-

0

0

0

0

0

Lu

0

8

1

4

0

5

2

3

50

121

57

136

30

7

2

4

2

16

15

1

M

1

1

10

0

, 6

0

5

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Opq

4

1

1

0

5

1

1

1

0

4

1

2

0

0

0

4

28

0

16

4

Mtx

45

111

67

11

56

37

40

33

33

86

189

68

94

85

230

213

158

104

172

119

Su

35

43

38

36

38

35

35

35

27

51

65

49

51

38

65

62

49

42

63

53
14 791-18-IB Cherry Creek Range, Dry Creek

15 791-18-2A Southern Egan Range, 

Trough Spring Canyon

15 791-18-3 A Southern Egan Range, 

Trough Spring Canyon

15 791-18-3B Southern Egan Range, 

Trough Spring Canyon

15 791-18-4 Southern Egan Range, 

Trough Spring Canyon

16 791-19-1A Highway 50,

west side Pancake Summit

16 791-19-1B Highway 50,

west side Pancake Summit

17 791-19-2A Pancake Range,

Nevada Governors Spring

17 791-19-2B Pancake Range,

Nevada Governors Spring

17 791-19-3 Pancake Range,

Nevada Governors Spring

17 791-19-4 Pancake Range,

Nevada Governors Spring

18 91FP-180 Hot Creek Range, 

Milk Spring area

19 91FP-252A Northern Pancake Range,

flagstone quarry near

Black Shade Well 

19 91FP-252B Northern Pancake Range,

flagstone quarry near

Black Shade Well 

19 91FP-252C Northern Pancake Range,

flagstone quarry near

Black Shade Well

19 91FP-259 Northern Pancake Range, 

Black Shade Well

20 91FP-254A Northern Pancake Range,

1 km southeast of locality 19

20 91FP-254B Northern Pancake Range,

1 km southeast of locality 19

20 91FP-254C Northern Pancake Range,

1 km southeast of locality 19

21 892-18-1A Buck Pass, sample of float

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

289

427

464

327

307

5

11

1210

10001

00040

000000

15

4200

00000

0000000000

320270

Mdp 253 35 78 0 0 152 0 0 0 16

Mdp 195 24 4 0 0 17 46

Mdp 146 23 65 2 0 146 0 0 0 17

Mdp 146 21 95 0 0 89 0 0 0 28

Mdp 105 15 117 0 0 135 0 0 0 32

Mdp 119 24 84 0 0 34 0 0 0 97

Mdp 250 26 7 2 0 34 5 0 0 48

Mdp 255 14 12 5 8 38 7 1 13 50

Mdp 155 15 8 2 19 38 7 24 69

Mdp 212 28 29 1 10 45 4 1 8 69

Mdp 147 24 81 9 4 50 1 1 4 39

Mdp 237 26 26 5 3 76 4 2 3 61

Mdp 265 29 16 0 5 48 8 0 8 56

Mdp 184 20 16 0 2 87 1 0 1 30

0 5 106 438 

0 1 77 531 

0 0 38 558 

0 15 50 404 

0 1 77 386 

0 24 67 625 

0 4 127 417 

0 16 55 470 

0 2 62 443 

0 6 73 483 

0 73 49 480 

9 0 36 417 

0 5 92 500 

2 1 65 473 

0 1 254 600 

1 6 152 566 

0 1 153 514 

1 3 88 535 

1 0 26 462 

0 0 77 418 
Table 2. Raw point-count data for all detrital constituents and porosity and permeability data for Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones in eastern Neva

Loc. Sample 

No. No.

21 892- 18-2 A

21 892-18-3A

22 892-18-4A

22 892-18-4B

22 892-18-4C

23 892- 18-5 A

24 892- 19-1 A

24 892- 19- IB

24 892-19-2

25 892-19-3A

26 892-20- IB

27 892-20-2A

27 892-20-3

28 892-21-1

29 892-21-3A

29 892-21 -3B

30 892-22-1

31 892-23-1 A

31 892-23- 1C

31 892-23- ID

32 892-23-2C2

Location

Buck Pass, sample of float

Buck Mountain

Diamond Mountains,

Railroad Pass

Diamond Mountains,

Railroad Pass

Diamond Mountains,

Railroad Pass

Diamond Mountains,

Maggini Ranch

Southern Pancake Range,

Sand Spring area

Southern Pancake Range,

Sand Spring area

Southern Pancake Range,

Sand Spring area

Blue Eagle Mountain

Forest Home area

Long Spring Canyon

Long Spring Canyon

Fairview Peak

Dutch John Mountain

Dutch John Mountain

Highway 50,

west of Conner Summit

East side Pancake summit,

south of Highway 50

East side Pancake summit,

south of Highway 50

East side Pancake summit,

south of Highway 50

Southern Diamond Mountains,

Alpha Peak area

Unit

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Msw

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Mdp

Qm

213

112

189

280

153

216

79

95

224

232

289

308

274

271

323

287

364

186

219

75

190

QP

23

8

9

21

29

35

10

4

7

2

1

1

0

5

8

9

9

17

24

12

24

Ch

35

16

15

46

75

25

83

149

35

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

22

53

89

22

P

0

0

0

2

0

13

2

0

2

0

3

1

3

1

0

0

4

0

0

0

1

K

4

0

8

16

9

1

6

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Ls

100

114

136

34

64

40

104

104

124

4

10

3

0

2

1

3

7

61

27

51

6

Lm

0

0

0

0

0

5

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Lv

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

2

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Lms

0

0

0

0

0

9

29

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

0

Lu

0

0

22

49

30

0

39

47

2

0

112

11

60

29

12

46

12

45

64

34

114

M

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Opq

1

3

0

3

0

3

13

2

3

21

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

Mtx

81

97

64

29

19

66

130

219

135

125

51

56

83

80

60

61

91

74

71

27

159

Su

45

35

44

48

37

41

49

62

53

38

46

38

42

38

40

41

48

40

45

28

51
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 111

Qm

n = 28 

n = 7 

n = 25

50%

50%

50%

EXPLANATION

+ Diamond Peak Formation 

S Rocks of northern area 

 Scotty Wash Quartzite

Figure 3 (facing column). Detrital modes of Mississippian sandstones of east-central Nevada. Qt, total quartzose grains 

(=Qm+Qp+chert); F, total feldspar grains (=P+K); L, total unstable 

lithic grains (=Lv+Ls); Qm, monocrystalline quartz; Lt, total lithic 

grains (=Qp+Lv+Ls); Qp, polycrystalline quartz including chert; 

Lv, microlitic volcanic lithic grains; Ls, pelitic sedimentary lithic 

grains; P, plagioclase feldspar; K, potassium feldspar.

450

400

CE 350

^ 300

2

? 250

£

< 200

<LU

^

cr

LU 

0.

100

50

0 5 10 15 

TOTAL POROSITY, IN PERCENT

Figure 4. Total porosity versus permeability.

20

1-

LU 

CJ

cc.

LU

Q. 

Z

£f

CO

o

cr

O

Q_

<*

O

H

zu

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

i 

i

4i

l

2

n

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

m

-

 *

_ j

f

 -1

_ " '

_ " _

m m

_ _

1 

1

r ~

l 1 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 l l l l

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 

VISIBLE POROSITY, IN PERCENT

Figure 5. Total porosity versus visible porosity.
112 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

associated with the development of secondary porosity such 

as ground-water temperature, pH, and, flow gradients, as 

well as to the abundance of intergranular cements (calcite 

and (or) dolomite) and the degree of weathering.

TEXTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF 

VISIBLE POROSITY

Visible pores in Mississippian siliciclastic rocks of eastern Nevada display many of the textural characteristics generally considered to be the result of secondary processes 

(Schmidt and McDonald, 1979; Melvin and Knight, 1984). 

Secondary porosity textures include grain shrinkage, dissolution of rock fragments, and dissolution of carbonate 

cement. Examples of these textures are clearly illustrated by 

blue epoxy in the photographs of figures 6-13 in which blue 

areas represent visible pore space. Figure 6 illustrates shrinkage of a sedimentary rock fragment that is surrounded by 

quartz grains. The concentric band within the rock fragment 

resembles a weathering rind that may have formed by reaction with pore fluids. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate porosity associated with dissolution of rock fragments. Opaque grains are 

particularly susceptible to dissolution (fig. 7). Figure 9 shows 

dissolution of rock fragments, as well as porosity due to grain

fracture in a rock that has been mechanically compacted and 

cemented by quartz. Clusters of tightly compressed framework grains in rocks that have abundant visible pore space 

suggest that primary pore space in most cases was mostly 

reduced by mechanical compaction and further reduced by 

precipitation of quartz and (or) calcareous cement (figs. 7-9).

Both visible and total porosity are negligible in rocks 

that have pervasive calcareous cement. Tests on hand 

specimens with dilute HC1 indicate that calcite and dolomite 

are common cements in the Mississippian rocks of eastern 

Nevada. Neither secondary porosity nor faceted quartz 

overgrowths were observed in the suite of calcareous rocks. 

Noncalcareous and sparsely calcareous sandstones 

commonly contain quartz grains that have faceted 

overgrowths, and visible pore spaces are commonly 

bordered by faceted quartz grains (figs. 10-13).

In addition to standard petrographic examination of 

visible pore space in thin sections impregnated with 

blue-dyed epoxy, the presence of dissolution pores and 

quartz overgrowths can also be rapidly and inexpensively 

determined by examining unimpregnated, diamond-sawed 

rock surfaces with a low-power binocular microscope. At 

relatively low magnification (x24), reflected light flashes 

from faceted quartz overgrowths (fig. 14A) and dissolution

Figure 6. Diamond Peak Formation, south end of Buck Mountain; sample 791-15-2B (loc. 6, fig. 1); 9 percent visual 

porosity, 11.6 percent total porosity, and 13 mD air permeability. Secondary porosity resulted from shrinkage of pelitic 

rock fragment. Euhedral quartz overgrowths fill primary pore space. Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 113

fc

 (

t'M^9 .-.-- '\.', >; lf( r** - J*^-.1?

?

 *»,: ->«.*-/

i 

i-.

Figure?. Diamond Peak Formation, south end of Buck Mountain; sample 791-15-2B (loc. 6, fig. 1); 9 percent visual 

porosity. Secondary porosity formed by dissolution of opaque rock fragment. Note euhedral quartz overgrowths and 

possible remnant primary pore in lower left of photograph. Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.

Figure 8. Quartzose sandstone of the Scotty Wash Quartzite, Trough Spring Canyon, southern Egan Range; sample 

791-18-2A (loc. 15, fig. 1); 9 percent visible porosity, 11.6 percent total porosity, and 43 mD air permeability. Note 

euhedral quartz overgrowths and secondary porosity formed by dissolution of calcareous intergranular cement (remnants line the pores). Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.
114 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

 -r

Figure 9. Secondary porosity in Diamond Peak Formation outcrop, south end of Buck Mountain; sample 791-15^B 

(loc. 7, fig. 1); 10 percent visible porosity, 14.4 percent total porosity, and 38 mD air permeability. Rock is cemented 

by compaction and precipitation of quartz overgrowths; secondary porosity is due to dissolution of rock fragments and 

to grain fracture. Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.

Figure 10. Diamond Peak Formation, Nevada Governors Spring, northern Pancake Range; sample 791-19-3 (loc. 17, 

fig. 1); 8 percent visible porosity, 8.4 percent total porosity, and 18 mD air permeability. Primary porosity was reduced 

by compaction and precipitation of quartz overgrowths and then by precipitation of calcareous cement, which has been 

subsequently removed to form secondary pore space. Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 115

Figure 11. Diamond Peak Formation, Nevada Governors Spring, northern Pancake Range; sample 791-19-3 (loc. 17, 

fig. 1); 8 percent visible porosity, 8.4 percent total porosity, and 18 mD air permeability. Quartz grain with doubly terminated overgrowth is surrounded on two sides by outsized secondary pore formed by dissolution of calcareous cement. 

Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.

Figure 12. Diamond Peak Formation, Nevada Governors Spring, northern Pancake Range; sample 791-19-2A (loc. 

17, fig. 1); 8 percent visible porosity, 13.1 percent total porosity; and 2.4 mb air permeability. Textures suggest that 

primary porosity was eliminated by compaction and by precipitation of calcareous cement and that secondary porosity 

resulted from dissolution of the calcareous cement and rock fragments. The final event was precipitation of quartz (note 

overgrowths). Blue is visible porosity; arrow indicates location of pore shown in figure 13. Bar scale is 0.5 mm.
116 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

*& 'ssjisyiEr - ' -

V

 * -*r* ;*, ;5

Figure 13. Closeup view of sample 791-19-2A showing euhedral quartz overgrowth and secondary pore space. 

Location of pore is shown by arrow in figure 12. Blue is visible porosity. Bar scale is 0.05 mm.

pores are readily visible (figs. 144, B). In some cases, quartz 

facets line the walls of pores (fig. 144).

PARAGENESIS OF CEMENTS

In sandstones that contain both faceted quartz overgrowths and intergranular calcareous cement, corrosion of 

facets by adjacent calcite and (or) dolomite cement suggests 

that quartz precipitation preceded calcareous cementation. 

Textures illustrated in figures 10 and 11 indicate the complexities of cementation. Both figures show interpenetration 

of grain contacts that resulted from mechanical compaction. 

The two figures also show euhedral quartz overgrowths that 

project into visible pore space (blue areas), a texture that 

probably developed after dissolution of calcareous cement. 

Most of the blue areas in figures 10 and 11 were probably 

occupied by calcareous cement that corroded the margins of 

adjacent grains (note the ragged edges that project into the 

pore space). A lack of faceted quartz overgrowths in sandstones that have poikilotopic calcareous cement indicates 

that quartz precipitation was probably inhibited by early 

formed calcareous cement.

Petrographic textures illustrated in figures 12 and 13 

suggest the following sequence of cementation. (1) Grains 

were pressed together by mechanical compaction. (Note the

interpenetrating grains.) (2) Calcareous grains and (or) 

patchy calcareous intergranular cement precipitated, and 

adjacent quartz was corroded. (3) Secondary pores were created by dissolution of labile rock fragments and (or) calcareous cement. (4) Quartz overgrowths precipitated. (Note the 

delicate euhedral quartz facets that project into the pore (blue 

area) of figure 13.)

Preservation of matrix-supported grains that have 

smooth, well-rounded margins (grains that appear to float in 

calcareous cement) suggests that the calcareous cement 

precipitated prior to mechanical compaction. Such 

calcareous-cemented rocks tend to have little or no visible 

porosity and few or no quartz overgrowths.

SUMMARY

Mississippian siliciclastic sandstones of eastern 

Nevada range in composition from litharenite to 

quartzarenite. Their rock fragment content tends to decrease 

with distance from the principal sediment sources in the 

Roberts Mountains allochthon. Total porosity and 

permeability of calcareous cement-free sandstone are 

uniformly low in areas that have high paleotemperatures 

(>300°C). Locally high paleotemperatures (Poole and 

others, 1983) in Paleozoic strata in eastern Nevada probably
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 117

Figure 14. Dissolution pores (dark areas) and euhedral surfaces of quartz overgrowths (lightest areas) on surfaces cut 

with diamond saw and photographed using low-power (x24) binocular microscope. Bar scales are 2.0 mm. A, Diamond 

Peak Formation, south end of Buck Mountain, sample 791-15^5 (loc. 7, fig. 1). B, Scotty Wash Quartzite, Trough 

Spring Canyon, sample 791-18-3A (loc. 15, fig. 1).
118 EVOLUTION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS EASTERN GREAT BASIN

are due to thermal episodes associated with Mesozoic 

plutonism and Cenozoic volcanism. Indeed, still active 

hydrothermal heating is postulated for generating petroleum 

in Paleozoic source rocks in the most productive fields of 

eastern Nevada, the Grant Canyon and Bacon Flat oil fields 

in Railroad Valley (Hulen and others, 1994). Preservation of 

hydrocarbon-productive porosity and permeability in 

Mississippian sandstones in eastern Nevada probably 

depends on the delicate balance between a thermal regime 

that generates and facilitates migration of liquid 

hydrocarbons and excessive heat and adverse fluid 

dynamics that destroy source rocks and render potential 

reservoir rocks hard and tight.

REFERENCES CITED

Brew, D.A., 1963, Synorogenic sedimentation of Mississippian 

age, Eureka quadrangle, Nevada: Stanford, California, Stanford University, Ph.D. thesis, 260 p.

 1971, Mississippian stratigraphy of the Diamond Peak area, 

Eureka County, Nevada, with a section on the Biostratigraphy 

and age of the Carboniferous formations by M. Gordon, Jr.: 

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 661, 84 p.

Dickinson, W.R., 1970, Interpreting detrital modes of graywacke 

and arkose: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 40, p. 

695-707.

Dickinson, W.R., Harbaugh, D.W., Sailer, A.M., Heller, P.L., and 

Snyder, W.S., 1983, Detrital modes of upper Paleozoic sandstones from Antler orogen in Nevada Implications for nature 

of Antler orogeny: American Journal of Science, v. 283, p. 

481-509.

Dott, R.H., Jr., 1955, Pennsylvanian stratigraphy of Elko and northern Diamond Ranges, northeastern Nevada: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 39, no. 11, p. 

2211-2305.

Goebel, K.A., 1991, Paleogeographic setting of Late Devonian to 

Early Mississippian transition from passive to collisional margin, Antler foreland, eastern Nevada and western Utah, in Cooper, J.D., and Stevens, C.H., eds., Paleozoic paleogeography of 

the Western United States-II: Pacific Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, v. 67, p. 401 418.

Harbaugh, D.W., 1980, Depositional facies and provenance of the 

Mississippian Chainman shale and Diamond Peak Formation, 

central Diamond Mountains, Nevada: Stanford, California, 

Stanford University, M.S. thesis, 81 p.

Harbaugh, D.W., and Dickinson, W.R., 1981, Depositional facies 

of Mississippian elastics, Antler foreland basin, central Diamond Mountains, Nevada: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 

v. 51, p. 1223-1234.

Hulen, J.B., Goff, Fraser, Ross, J.R., Bortz, L.C., and Bereskin, 

S.R., 1994, Geology and geothermal origin of Grant Canyon 

and Bacon Rat oil fields, Railroad Valley, Nevada: American 

Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 78, p. 

596-623.

Ingersoll, R.V., Bullard, T.F., Ford, R.L., Pickle, J.D., and Sares, 

S.W., 1984, The effect of grain size on detrital modes A test 

of the Gazzi-Dickinson point-counting method: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 54, p. 103-116.

Melvin, John, and Knight, A.S., 1984, Lithofacies, diagenesis and 

porosity of the Ivishak Formation, Prudhoe Bay area, Alaska, 

in McDonald, D.A., and Surdam, R.C., eds., Clastic diagenesis: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 

37, p. 347-365.

Nolan, T.B., 1928, A Late Paleozoic positive area in Nevada: 

American Journal of Science, ser. 5, v. 16, no. 92, p. 153-161.

Nolan, T.B., Merriam, C.W., and Williams, J.S., 1956, The stratigraphic section in the vicinity of Eureka, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 276, 77 p.

Perry, A.J., and Trexler, J.H., Jr., 1993, Tectonic implications of 

sedimentation within the (Upper Mississippian) lower Newark 

Valley sequence, Diamond Mountains, Nevada: Cordilleran 

and Rocky Mountain Sections, Geological Society of America, 

Abstracts with Programs, v. 25, no. 5, p. 133.

Poole, F.G., 1974, Flysch deposits of the Antler Foreland basin, 

western United States, in Dickinson, W.R., ed., Tectonics and 

sedimentation: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication 22, p. 58-82.

Poole, F.G., and Claypool, G.E., 1984, Petroleum source-rock 

potential and crude-oil correlation in the Great Basin, in Woodward, Jane, Meissner, F.F., and Clayton, J.L., eds., Hydrocarbon source rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountain region: 

Denver, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, p. 

179-229.

Poole, F.G., Claypool, G.E., and Fouch, T.D., 1983, Major episodes of petroleum generation in part of the northern Great 

Basin: Geothermal Resources Council Special Report 13, p. 

207-213.

Poole, F.G., and Sandberg, C.A., 1991, Mississippian paleogeography and conodont biostratigraphy of the western United States, 

in Cooper, J.D., and Stevens, C.H., eds., Paleozoic paleogeography of the Western United States-II: Pacific Section, Society 

of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, v. 67, 

p. 107-136.

Roberts, R.J., Montgomery, K.M., and Lehner, R.E., 1967, Geology and mineral resources of Eureka County, Nevada: Nevada 

Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 64, 152 p.

Schmidt, Volkmar, and McDonald, D.A., 1979, Texture and recognition of secondary porosity in sandstones, in Scholle, P.A., 

and Schluger, P.R., eds., Aspects of diagenesis: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication 

26, p. 209-225.

Speed, R.C., and Sleep, N.H., 1982, Antler orogeny and foreland 

basin A model: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 

93, p. 815-828.

Trexler, J.H., Jr., and Cashman, P.H., 1990, The Diamond 

Mountain phase of the Antler orogeny Late Mississippian 

compressional deformation in east-central Nevada: 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 

22, p. 274.

 1991, Mississippian stratigraphy and tectonics of east-central Nevada Post-Antler orogenesis, in Cooper, J.D., and 

Stevens, C.H., eds., Paleozoic paleogeography of the Western 

United States-II: Pacific Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, v. 67, p. 331-342.

Trexler, J.H., Jr., and Nitchman, S.P., 1990, Sequence stratigraphy 

of the Antler foreland basin, east-central Nevada: Geology, v. 

18, p. 422^125.
MISSISSIPPIAN SILICICLASTIC SANDSTONES IN EASTERN NEVADA 119

Trexler, J.H., Jr., Snyder, W.S., Cashman, P.H., Gallegos, D.M., States-II: Pacific Section, Society of Economic Paleontoloand Spinosa, Claude, 1991, Mississippian through Permian gists and Mineralogists, v. 67, p. 317-329.

orogenesis in eastern Nevada Post-Antler, pre-Sonoma tec- Westgate, L.G., and Knopf, Adolph, 1932, Geology and ore depostonics of the western Cordillera, in Cooper, J.D., and Stevens, its of the Pioche district, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey ProC.H., eds., Paleozoic paleogeography of the Western United fessional Paper 171, 79 p.

Published in the Central Region, Denver, Colorado 

Manuscript approved for publication December 1, 1994 

Edited by Judith Stoeser 

Graphics design by Denny Welp 

Cartography by Springfield & Springfield 

Photocomposition by Denny Welp 

Cover art by Art Isom

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1995-673-046/86087
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