GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 563 

Favorable Areas for 

Prospecting Adiacent to 

the Roberts Mountains 

Thrust in Southern Lander 

County, Nevada 

Prepared in cooperation with the Nevada Bureau of Mines 

Favorable Areas for 

Prospecting Adiacent to 

the Roberts Mountains 

Thrust in Southern Lander 

County, Nevada 

By John H. Stewart and Edwin H. McKee 

--------------------------------~ G E 0 l 0 G I C A l S U R V E Y C I R C U L A R 563 

Prepared in cooperation with 

the Nevada Bureau of Mines 

Washington 1968 
United States Department of the Interior 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary 

Geological Survey 

William T. Pecora, Director 

First printing 1 968 

Second printing 1968 

Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 20242 
CONTENTS 

Abstract- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Introduction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ravenswood window- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Callaghan window - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Toiyabe Range south of Austin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Petes Canyon window - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Suggestions for prospecting - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

References cited - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Figure 1. Index maps showing pre-Tertiary rocks, mining 

districts, and sources of information in southern 

Lander County - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2. Geologic map of Ravenswood window - - - - - - - -

3. Geologic map of Toiyabe Range south of Austin - -

4. Geologic map of Petes Canyon window - - - - - - -

TABLE 

Table 1. Mining districts in southern Lander County and 

closely adjacent parts of Eureka and Nye 

Counties - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

III 

Page 

1 

1 

2 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

Page 

6 

8 

10 

12 

Page 

2 

Favorable Areas for Prospecting 

Adiacent to the Roberts Mountains Thrust 

in Southern Lande.r County, Nevada 

By John H. Stewart and Edwin H. McKee 

Abstract 

Recent geologic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey of more 

than 2,500 square miles of a relatively little-studied part of central 

Nevada has outlined four areas favorable for the discovery of metallic mineral deposits. In these areas, lowerPaleozoiccarbonate 

rocks crop out below the Roberts Mountains thrust, a widespread 

fault in central and north-central Nevada. These areas have a 

stratigraphic and structural setting similar to that of the areas 

where large,open-pit gold deposits have been discovered recently 

at Carlin and Cortez in north-central Nevada. 

INTRODUCTION 

The recent discoveries of large open-pit gold deposits at Carlin and Cortez in nonh-central Nevada 

(Hardie, 1966; Roberts, 1966; Roberts and others, 

1967; Erickson and others, 1966; Wells and others, 

1967) have created interest in prospecting for similar 

de p o s i t s in nearby areas. During the last 2 years, 

mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey of more than 

2,500 square miles of a largely unstudied part of northcentral Nevada directly south and southwest ofCortez 

has outlined areas with a stratigraphic and structural 

setting similar to that of the areas con t a i n i n g the 

Carlin and Cortez deposits. These favorable geologic 

factors indicate that further prospecting is warranted 

in these areas. 

Most of the metallic deposits in sou the r n Lander 

County (table 1) and in north-central Nevada occur in 

pre-Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Many of these deposits are in carbonate strata exposed in windows in 

the Roberts Mountains thrust, a widespread fault along 

which siliceous and v o 1 c ani c (western) assemblage 

rocks have been thrust eastward, perhaps as much as 

100 miles, over carbonate (eastern) or transitional 

assemblage rocks (Roberts and others, 1958; Gilluly 

and Gates, 1965; Roberts, 1960, 1966 ). The new gold 

discoveries at Carlin and Cortez are both in such windows and lie below the thrust (Hardie, 1966; Erickson 

and others, 1966 ). In addition, both de p o s i t s occur 

mainly in altered or silicified platy limestone of the 

Silurian Roberts Mountains Formation. The ore bodies 

of the Bootstrap and Number Eight mines (Roberts, 

1966; Erickson and others, 1966) near the Carlin mine 

are in breccias along the Roberts Mountains thrust itself as are the gold deposits at Gold Acr~~s (Gilluly 

and Gates, 1965, p. 134), about 8 miles northwest of 

the Cortez deposits. 

The Roberts Mountains thrust and the Roberts Mountains Formation in the lower plate of this thrust seem, 

therefore, to be particularly favorable places for metallic ore deposits in north-central Nevad"' .. We describe here four areas within southern Lanrier County 

where the Roberts Mountains Formation crnps out below the thrust. Granitic plutons that might have been 

a source for mineralizing solutions crop out in two of 

these areas and are within a few miles of the two remaining areas. 

Maps of three of these areas are given in this report; a map of the fourth has already been published 

(Stewart and Palmer, 1967). Detailed geolorfc maps of 

most of southern Lander County at a scale of I :62,500 

are also available on open file at the U.S. Geological 

Survey at Washington, D. C., Denver, Colo., Salt Lake 

City, Utah, and San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Menlo 

Park, Calif., and material from which copy cr'll be made 

at private expense is available at the Neva<'\a Bureau 

of Mines, Reno, Nev. An index totheseopen-file maps 

is shown in figure 1. 

The work on which this report is based is pan of the 

county mapping program of the U.S. Geological Survey 

in cooperation with the Nevada Bureau of Mines. We 

wish to thank R. H. Washburn of Juniata CoU~ge, Huntingdon, Pa.; D. B. MacLachlan, BureauofTooographic 

and Geological Survey, Harrisburg, P a.; and H. F. 

Bonham, Nevada Bureau of Mines, Reno, N~v., for use 

of their unpublished information. 
Table 1.--Mining districts in southern Lander County and closely adjace~t parts of Eureka and Nye Counties 

District Metals1 

Big Creek Sb 

Birch Creek Au, Ag, 

(Smoky Valley, Pb, (W)' Big Smoky) (Be), (As), 

(Mo) 

Cortez Ag, Au, 

Cu, Pb, 

Zn 

Gold Basin Au, Ag 

Jackson Au, Ag 

(Gold Park) 

Kingston Au, Ag 

(Sante Fe, 

Bunker Hill, 

Victorine, 

Summit) 

New Pass Au, Mn 

Ravenswood Ag, Cu, 

(Shoshone) Pb, Au, 

Reese River Ag, Au, 

(Austin, Pb, Cu, 

Amsd::>r, (Sb), (As), 

Yankee Blade) (Mo), (Se} ~ 

Skookum Ag, Au 

Washington Ag, 

(w) 

Pb, 

Wild Horse Hg 

Recorded 

production2 

(dollars) 

Unknown, 

but small 

Unknown, 

but small 

37,799,872 

4 419,656 

47,116 

4

20,749 

4247,600 

Unknown, 

but small 4

18,567,250 

Unknown, 

4

but small 

17,558 

5135,458 

Type of deposit 

Veins in Valmy Formation (Ordovician) 

and Roberts Mountains Formation 

(Silurian). Quartz in fault breccia along Roberts thrust. 

Veins in quartz monzonite and flanking metasedimentary rocks. Placer 

gold. 

Replacement deposits and fissure 

veins in Hamburg Dolomite (cambrian). Large low-grade deposit 

in Roberts Mountains Formation 

(Silurian). 

Veins in Tertiary volcanic rocks. 

Veins in meta-andesite of Pablo 

Formation (Permian). 

Veins in lower Paleozoic rocks. 

Gold-bearing quartz veins in upper 

Paleozoic and Triassic rocks. 

Syngenetic manganese deposits in 

upper Paleozoic rocks. 

Veins in lower Paleozoic rocks. 

Fissure veins in Mesozoic quartz 

monzonite of Austin pluton. Relatively small ore deposits in 

quartzite of Valmy(?) Formation 

(Ordovician) on north flank of 

pluton. 

Veins in Valmy Formation 

(Ordovician). 

Veins in lower Paleozoic rocks. 

Silicified Triassic limestone. 

Principal references 

Hill (1915, p. l21-123)and 

Lawrence (1S63, p. 100-108}. 

Hill (1915, p. 125-127), 

Lincoln (1923, p. 109-

110), Vanderburg (1939, 

p. 36), and Hall (1962). 

Gilluly and Mssursky (1965, 

p. 97-104), Erickson and 

others (1966}, and Roberts, 

Montgomery, and Lehner 

(1967, p. 6)-74). 

Lincoln (1923, p. 111). 

Kral (1951, p. 76-80). 

Hill (1915, p. 128-129) and 

Vandenburg (1939, p. 57-58}. 

Lincoln (1923, p. 114), 

Vandenburg (1939, p. 65-67), 

and Trengove (1959). 

Hill (1916, p. 106-113). 

Ross (1953), Lawrence (1963, 

p. 109-112), and Davidson 

(1960). 

Hill (1915, p. 92-95). 

Hill (1915, p. 123-125) and 

Kral (1951, p. 207-211). 

Dane and Ross (1942) and 

Bailey and Phoenix (1944, 

p. 111-113). 

1Listed in order of importance. Metals in parentheses occur in minor amounts. 2Records of production are incomplete and actual production from some small districts is prob~bly much 

higher than recorded figures. 

'After Roberts, Montgomery, and Lehner (1967} and Couch and Carpenter (1943). 

After Couch and Carpenter (1943), Vandenburg (1939), and "Minerals Yearbooil:" of U.S. Bureau of Mines 

(1933-1955). 

5After Dane and Ross (1942). 

RAVENSWOOD WINDOW 

The Ravenswood window (fig. 2) is in the Shoshone 

Range about 15 miles northwest of Austin. In this window Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian q u art zit e, 

limestone, and shale are exposed in the lowerplate of 

the Roberts Mountains thrust, and, nearby, Ordovician 

and Silurian chert, shale, sandstone, and quartzite are 

exposed in the upper plate. The Roberts Mountains 

Formation crops out in two small areas in the northern part of the window and in a fairly large area directly below the Roberts Mountains thrust in the south2 

ern part of the window. The strata of tl',~ lower plate 

have been intruded by porphyritic quartz monzonite 

that crops out over an area of about 2 square miles in 

the central part of the window. Tertiar_,, welded tuffs 

cap much of the higher part of the area, and Tertiary 

and Quaternary sedimentary strata and older alluvium 

occur both on the west and northeast partf' of the range. 

The old Ravenswood mining district, ''rhich has produced only a small amount of ore, is in the northern 

part of the window. The deposits (Hill, 1916, p. 106-

113) consist of small lenslike quartz ,.~ins that are 
predominantly in shale, quartzite, and limestone of 

Early Cambrian age. Many prospect pits in the district 

show abundant secondary copper minerals. The deposits, according to Hill (1916, p. 109), contain chalcopyrite, galena, and tetrahedrite, all of which are said 

to carry silver and a little gold. Some prospects are 

in the southern part of the window, a few of them along 

the thrust where the Ordovician Valmy Formation is 

thrust over the Silurian Roberts Mountains Formation. 

CALLAGHAN WINDOW 

The Callaghan window is in the Toiyabe Range about 

15 miles north of Austin. Its geology has been described 

in detail previously (Stewart and Palmer, 1967) and is 

only briefly considered here. Lower plate strata are 

exposed in an area of about 40 square miles and consist of over 10,000 feet of quartzite, limestone, and 

shale of Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian age. The 

Roberts Mountains Formation crops out in the southern 

and northwestern parts of the window. Strata above the 

thrust consist of chert and quartzite of Ordovician and 

Devonian age. The strata in the window are unmetamorphosed and no granitic rocks crop out in the window. The quartz monzonite of the Austin pluton lies 3 

miles south of the southern limit of the window, and 

granitic rocks also crop out in a small area about 3 

miles north of the northern limit of the window and in 

a small area about 7 miles east of the eastern limit of 

the window. Except for a quicksilver prospect (Bailey 

and Phoenix, 1944, p. 113), no metallic mineral deposits 

have been reported. 

TOIYABE RANGE SOUTH OF AUSTIN 

Lower plate strata ranging in age from Cambrian to 

Devonian are extensively exposed in the Toiyabe Range 

south of Austin (fig. 3). These strata have been intruded by several plutons, the largest of which contains 

the rich silver veins of the Reese River district at 

Austin. 

Three thrust plates are recognized in the Toiyabe 

Range south of Austin. The lower and middle plates 

are separated by the Kingston Canyon thrust, a fault at 

present recognized only in this part of the Toiyabe 

Range; the middle and upper plates are separated by the 

Roberts Mountains thrust, which is of regional extent. 

The strata in the lower two plates lithologically resemble each other more than they resemble the strata 

of the upper plate, but they are not entirely the same. 

The most conspicuous difference is in strata of Middle 

Cambrian to Early Ordovician age, which are mostly 

black phyllite and argillaceous limestone in the lower 

plate and mostly light-gray limestone in the middle 

plate. The juxtaposition of these unlike facies suggests 

that considerable lateral transport has occurred along 

the Kingston Canyon thrust. Strata above the Roberts 

Mountains thrust in the Toiyabe Range consist of western assemblage black chert, shale, and quartzite assigned to the Valmy Formation of Ordovician age. 

3 

The Silurian Roberts Mountains Formation is recognized in both the lower and mid d 1 e plates in the 

Toiyabe Range. The most extensive outcrops are: (1) 

about 8 miles south of Austin on the west side of the 

range, (2) in a 5-mile-longnorthwest-trending belt extending from Kingston Canyon on the soutneast to the 

west side of the range on the northwest, arr:l ( 3) about 

1 to 2 miles south of the mouth of Kingston Canyon on 

the east side of the range. 

Five mining districts are 1 ocate d in the Toiyabe 

Range from Austin on the north to the vicinity of the 

Lander-Nye County line on the south. The largest of 

these is the Reese River silver district at Austin, which 

has a recorded production of over $18 million. In the 

Birch Creek district along the east side of the range 

about 9 miles southeast of Austin, depos~ts of gold, 

silver, and lead occur in granitic rocks along the southern margin of the Austin pluton and in flanking metamorphosed lower Paleozoic strata. Beryllium, tungsten, arsenic, and molybdenum are also tnown from 

this district (table 1 ). The Big Creek distr~.ct is in the 

western half of the range from 7 to 12 miles southwest 

of Austin. Here antimony deposits occur in the dark 

shale and chert above the Roberts Mountains thrust, 

in the carbonate strata below the thrust, anclin a silicified fault breccia along the thrust. In the Kingston 

district in the eastern part of the range abo·1t 20 miles 

south of Austin, gold and silver have been produced 

from veins in lower Paleozoic rocks. The Washington 

district, which is mostly in Nye County, has produced 

silver and lead ores from veins cutting lower Paleozoic 

rocks. Some of these deposits occur close to the Aiken 

Creek and Vindicator plutons (fig. 3). In adiition, uranium has been mined from deposits in both intrusive 

rocks and metamorphosed Lower Cambria'i' sedimentary rocks along the southern edge of the Austin pluton 

on the west side of the range 3 miles south of Austin 

(Davis, 1954; Sharp and Hetland, 1954; Thurlow, 1956; 

Nye, 1958). 

FETES CANYON WINDOW 

The Petes Canyon window in the Roberts Mountains 

thrust is in the Toquima Range about 20 miles southeast of Austin (fig. 4). This window covers about 20 

square miles and exposes Ordovician a'1d Silurian 

carbonate strata; the Roberts Mountains Formation is 

the most widely exposed formation in the lower plate 

and occurs directly below the thrust. Upper plate strata 

consist of shale, quartzite, and chert of the Vinini 

Formation. No granitic intrusive rocks cccur in the 

window, but granitic rocks crop out ab')ut 5 miles 

southwest of the southern part of the window, and a 

small outcrop of granitic rock is about 4 miles northwest of the northwestern part of the window. No metallic mineral deposits have been reported fr')m the window, although tungsten has been mined in tactite adjacent to the previously mentioned small exposure of 

granitic rock northwest of the window. 
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROSPECTING 

Since the discovery of t11.e rich silver veins at Austin 

in 1862, southern Lander County has attracted the attention of prospectors. The numerous mines and prospects in the region attest to the thorough search for 

surface outcrops of readily recognizable mineralbearing veins and lodes. The possibility of finding a 

large mineral deposit by using the same methods as 

previous prospectors seems remote, and the search 

for metals in the region should be focused on new prospecting techniques and deep exploration by drilling. 

Deposits of fine- grained gold s i m il a r to tho s e 

recently found at Carlin and Cortez, however, may have 

gone undetected in southern Lander County, in spite 

of extensive earlier prospecting, because exposures 

of such deposits show little, if any, metallic minerals 

detectable to the naked eye and the gold is not easily 

recognizable using ordinary prospecting methods. Exploration for obscure deposits of this type requires 

extensive sampling and abundant chemical data. The 

development of rapid and inexpensive methods for determining trace amounts of gold, silver, and mercury 

(Lakin and Nakagawa, 1965; Huffman andothers, 1967; 

Ward and others, 1963; Vaughn, 1967) has provided the 

tools for conducting this type of prospecting economically. 

As outlined here, several areas in southern Lander 

County have a structural and stratigraphic setting 

similar to the areas where gold has been f o u n d at 

Carlin and Cortez; that is, carbonate rocks, including 

the Roberts Mountains Formation, are exposed below 

the Roberts Mountains thrust. The areas considered 

favorable for prospecting in southern Lander County 

include the Ravenswood window in the Shoshone Range 

northwest of Austin, the C a 11 a g h an window in the 

Toiyabe Range north of Austin, the Petes Canyon window in the Toquima Range southeast of Austin, and 

extensive exposures of lower plate rocks in the Toiyabe 

Range south of Austin. 

Prospecting in the region could also be undertaken 

by drilling. The most likely possibility of finding hidden 

deposits seems to be by drilling through upper plate 

siliceous and volcanic rocks that contain ore deposits 

into lower plate carbonate rocks that are more favorable hosts for ore deposits; small deposits in upper 

plate rocks could indicate larger deposits at depth. 

Within the region, deposits occur in upper plate rocks 

in the Skookum district, 7 miles northwest of Austin, 

and along the north side of the Austin pluton, 4 miles 

north of Austin within the Reese River district; in the 

latter area, however, some supposed upper plate rocks 

may instead by assignable to the Cambrian Gold Hill 

Formation in the lower plate. These areas seem favorable for deposits at depth, but no information is available about the depth to the lower plate carbonate rocks. 

A further possibility for drilling is along the west flank 

of the granitic pluton in the Ravenswood wirdownorthwest of Austin (fig. 2), where carbonate rocks could 

occur adjacent to granitic rocks under a rresumably 

thin cover of Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary 

rocks. 

REFERENCES CITED 

Bailey, E. H., and Phoenix, D. A., 1944, Quicksilver 

deposits in Nevada: Nevada Univ. Bull., v. 38, no. 5, 

Geology and Mining ser. 41, 206 p. 

Couch, B. F., and Carpenter, J. A., 1943, Nevada's 

metal and mineral production ( 1859-1940, inclusive): Nevada Univ. Bull., v. 37, no. 4, Geology and 

Mining ser. 38, 159 p. 

Dane, C. H., and Ross, C. P ., 1942, Wild Horse quicksilver district, Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 931-Kr p. 259-278. 

Davidson, D. F., 1960, Selenium in some epithermal 

deposits of antimony, mercury, and silv~r and gold: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1 112-A, p. 1-16. 

Davis, H. C., 1954, Summaryreportofreccnnaissance 

and exploration for uranium deposits in northern 

Nevada: U.S. Atomic Energy Comm. Rept. RME2013 (pt. 1, revised), 23 p. 

Erickson, R. L., Van Sickle, G. H. Nakafawa, H. M. 

McCarthy, J. H., Jr., and Leong, K. W., 1966, Gold 

geochemical anomaly in the Cortez district, 

Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 534, 9 p. 

Ferguson, H. G., Muller, S. W., and Rob~rts, R. J., 

1951, Geology of the Mount Moses qucdrangle, 

Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Quad. Map GQ-12, 

scale 1:125,000. 

Gilluly, James, and Gates, Olcott, 1965, Tectonic and 

igneous geology of the northern Shostone Range, 

Nevada, with sections on Gravity in Crescent Valley, 

~ Donald Plouff, and Economic geo1og:y, ~ K. B. 

Ketner: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 4~5, 153 p. 

4 

Gilluly, James, andMasursky, Harold, 196~" Geology of 

the Cortez quadrangle, Nevada, with B' section on 

Gravity and aeromagnetic surveys~ r. R. Mabey: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1175, 117 p. 

Hall, Robert, 1962, Sampling of Lynch Creek beryllium-tungsten prospect, Lander Count~·. Nevada: 

U.S. Bur. Mines Rept. Inv. 6118, 10 p. 

Hansen, H. J., 3d, 1960, Geo1ogyofthe Big Creek area, 

Toiyabe Range, Lander County, Nevada~ New York, 

Columbia Univ., M.A. thesis. 

Hardie, B. S., 1966, Carlin gold mine, Lrm district, 

Nevada: Nevada Bur. Mines Rept. 13, p•. A, p. 73-

83. 

Hill, J. M., 1915, Some mining districts in northeastem California and northwestern Nevadr~ U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 594, 200 p. 

__ ___,1916, Notes on some mining districts in eastern Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 648, 214 p. 

Huffman, Claude, Jr., Mensik, J. 0., and Riley, L. B., 

1967, Determination of gold in geologic materials 

by solvent extraction and atomic-absorption spectrometry: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 544, 6 p. 
Kay, Marshall, and Crawford, J. P., 1964, Paleozoic 

facies from the miogeosynclinal to the eugeosynclinal belts in thrust slices, central Nevada: Geol. 

Soc. America Bull., v. 75, no. 5, p. 425-454. 

Kral, V. E., 1951, Mineral resources of Nye County, 

Nevada: Nevada Bur. Mines Bull., v. 45, no. 3, 

Geology and Mining ser. 50, 223 p. 

Lakin, H. W., and Nakagawa, H. M., 1965, A spectrophotometric method for the determination of traces 

of gold in geologic materials, in Geological Survey 

research 1965: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 

525-C, p. C168-Cl71. 

Lawrence, E. F., 1963, Antimony deposits of Nevada: 

Nevada Bur. Mines Bull. 61, 248 p. 

Lincoln, F. C., 1923, Mining districts and mineral resources of Nevada: Reno, Nevada Newsletter Publishing Co., 295 p. 

Lowell, J. D., 1958, Lower and Middle Ordovician 

stratigraphy in eastern and central Nevada: New 

York, Columbia Univ., Ph. D. thesis. 

McKee, E. H., 1968a, Geologic map of Ackerman Canyon quadrangle, Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey openfile map. 

-~-_1968b, Geologic map of southwestern part of 

Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey openfile map. 

Means, W. D., 1962, Structure and stratigraphy in the 

central Toiyabe Range, Nevada: California Univ. 

Pubs. Geol. Sci., v. 42, no. 2, p. 71-110. 

Muller, S. W., Ferguson, H. G., and Roberts, R. J., 

1951, Geology of the Mount Tobin quadrangle: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. Quad. Map GQ-7, scale 

1:125,000. 

Nye, T. S., 1958, Geology of the Apex uranium mine, 

Lander County, Nevada: Berkeley, California Univ., 

M.S. the~is, map scale 1:9,600. 

Roberts, R. J., 1960, Alinement of mining districts in 

north-central Nevada, in Short papers in the geological sciences: U.S. GeoLSurveyProf. Paper400-B, 

p. Bl7-B19. . 

--:--~1966, Metallogenic provinces and mineral belts 

in Nevada: Nevada Bur. Mines Rept. 13, pt. A, 

p. 47-72. 

Roberts, R. J., Hotz, P. E., Gilluly, James, and 

Ferguson, H. G., 1958, Paleozoic rocks of northcentral Nevada: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists 

Bull., v. 42, no. 12, p. 2813-2857. 

Roberts, R. J., Montgomery, K. M., and Lehner, R. E., 

1967, Geology and mineral resources of Eureka 

County, Nevada: Nevada Bur. Mines Bull. 64, 152 p. 

Ross, C. P., 1953, The geology andoredeposits of the 

Reese River district, Lander County, Nevada: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Bull. 997, 1 32 p. 

5 

Sharp, B. J., and Hetland, D. L., 1954, Preliminary 

report on uranium occurrence in the Austin area, 

Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Atomic EnergyComm. 

RME-2010, 16 p. 

Stewart, J. H., and McKee, E. H.,1968, Geologic map 

of the Mount Callaghan quadrangle, Lander County, 

Nevada: U.S. Geol. SurveyGeol. Quad. MapGQ-730 

(in press). 

1968a, Geologic map of southeastern part of -~--: Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey openfile map. 

--=---:1968b, Geologic map of west-central part of 

Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Geol. Survey openfile map. 

Stewart, J. H., and Palmer, A. R., 1967, Callaghan 

window-a newly discovered part of the Roberts 

thrust, Toiyabe Range, Lander County, Nevada, in 

Geological Survey research 1967: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Prof. Paper 575-D, p. D56-D63. 

Thurlow, E. E., 1956, Uranium deposits at the contact 

of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks and granitic 

intrusive rocks in western United States, in Page, 

L. R., and others, Contributions to the geology of 

uranium and thorium by the United States Geological 

Survey and Atomic Energy Commission for the 

United Nations International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, Switzerland, 

1955: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 85-89. 

Trengove, R. R., 1959, Reconnaissance of Nevada 

manganese deposits: U.S. Bur. Mines Rept. Inv. 

5446, 40 p. 

Vandenburg, W. 0., 1939, Reconnaissance of mining 

districts in Lander County, Nevada: U.S. Bur. Mines 

lnf. Circ. 7043, 83 p. 

Vaughn, W. W., 1967, A simple mercury vapor detector 

for geochemical prospecting: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Circ. 540, 8 p. 

Ward, F. N., Lakin, H. W., Canney, F. C., and others, 

1963, Analytical methods used in geochemical exploration by the U.S. Geological Survey: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 1152, 100 p. 

Washburn, R. H., 1966a, Paleozoic stratigraphy in 

Toiyabe Range, southern Lander County, Nevada 

[ abs. J: Geol. Soc. America, Rocky Mountain Sec., 

19th Ann. Mtg., Las Vegas, Nev., 1966, Program, 

p. 57. 

1966b, Structure and Paleozoic stratigraphy of 

----:--. the Toiyabe Range, sou the r n Lander County, 

Nevada: New York, Columbia Univ., Ph.D. thesis. 

Wells, J. D., Erickson, Ralph, andStoiser, L. R., 1967, 

Geology and mineralogy of the Cortez gold deposit, 

Nevada [absJ: Mining Eng., v. 19, no. 12, p. 40. 
117' 

qj, ' ~ 

( Cl.") 

~ I ,:I 

" " 

\ 

4o·, G 

ALLAGHA 

; WINDOW .. I 

( I 

\Qj I 

} el 

_.s PASS I 

DISTRICT 

I I 

) .'liZ ~ / I 

c; I ) 

l~ ( <> I 

r-/ I \ I CF<?' I 

\ "0 Q:"< I 

I 

\GOLD BASIN 

DISTRICT I re 4 

) I 

) I / 

r JACKSON 

_ _L_ 

\ DISTRICT _ - -

\_ ---- -- 0 10 20 MILES 

Figure 1.-Pre-Tertiary rocks, mining districts, and sources of information in southern Lander County. 

6 
EXPLANATION 

Jurassic granitic rocks 

Triassic rocks 

Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks 

ROCKS AB CVE 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUST 

Cambrian to Devonian siliceous 

and volcanic assemblage 

R OCKS BELOW 

ROBERTS MOUNTA INS TH RUST 

Cambrian to • Devonian carbonate 

and transitional assemblage 

Contact 

Dashed where approximately locnted 

Roberts Mountains thrust 

Sawteeth on upper plate. Elsewhere, contact between siliceous and volcanic 

rocks and carbonate and transitional assemblage rocks is a high angle fault 

(not shown on this map) 

~-----: 

: NEVADA 

', Area 

~ of 

""'report 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION USED IN FIGURES 1-4 AND 

IN U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OP.EN-FILE MAPS 

OF SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY. NEVADA 

1. Muller, Ferguson, and 

Roberts (1951) . 

2. Ferguson, Muller, and 

Roberts (1951) . 

3. Gilluly and Masursky (1965). 

4. Dane and Ross (1942). 

5. Geologic mapping by J. H. 

Stewart and E. H. McKee 

in 1966 and 1967. 

6. Geologic mapping by E. H. 

McKee in 1967, based in 

part on work by H. F. 

Bonham. 

7. Modified from Means (1962). 

8. Geologic mapping by J. H. 

Stewart in 1967, based in 

part on work by D. B. 

MacLachlan. 

9. Modified from Washburn 

(1966b). 

10. Modified from Hansen 

(1960). 

11. Modified from Lowell (1958). 

12. Modified from Nye (1958). 

13. Modified from Ross (1953). 

14. Mapping by E. H. McKee in 

1967, based in part on work 

by Kay and Crawford 

(1964). 

( 5 I 

I 

C--

4 

_____ j 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE MAPS 

IN SOUTHERN LANDER COUNTY. NEVADA 

(see references cited for description) 

1. Stewart and McKee (1968b). 

2. Stewart and McKee (1968). 

3. McKee (1968a). 

4. McKee (1968b). 

5. Stewart and McKee (1968a). 

Figure l. - Continued. 

7 
39"45' 

0 

ROBERTS 

MOUNTAINS 

THRUST 

2 MILES 

Figure 2.-Geo!ogic map of the Ravenswood window, Shoshone Range. 

8 
l~J t.;~ 

]::;j<S 

!- .;! " ~--~ 

.s~ 

~ " d t; ~ ~ ~.., 

'<:!~~ 

~ c3 

" 

~ ;l-o 

.s ~ c3 

EXPLANATION 

Alluvium 

[!c§£~£1 Quaternary and Tertiary sedimentary roeks 

and Quaternary older alluvium 

~ 

I~ 

Volcanic rocks 

Rhyolitic welded tuJJ 

and andesite flows 

El 

Granitic rocks 

>-

c:: 

}~ :::> 

} 

0 >- >- c:: c:: < ce ·oz 

-zc:: 

~<~ w < 

} 

I- :::> 

>- 0 

; 

}~ :::> 

LOWER PLATE OF 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUST 

UPPER PLATE OF 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUST 

[ill]] 

Roberts Mountains Formation Elder Sandstone 

Platy limest.o7u3; as mapped locally i'IUJludes limestone 

and shale of latest Ordovician age 

Sandstone, shale, and 

{ 

" "" 0 

... 

" .as:: 

0 

tiC 

0 

~ 

{ 

g 

Antelope Valley Limestone 

Massive limestone 

Ninemile Formation 

Shale, minar limestone 

m 

Goodwin(?) Limestone 

Thin-bedded limest.o7u3 

~~!~~~~ Shale and limestone 

a 

Ledge-forming limestone 

Quartzite, minor shale, 

and rare limestone 

Contact 

Dashed where approximately located 

__t__ ______ _ 

Fault 

minor chert 

FAULT 

Valmy Formation 

Chert, quartzite, 

and shale 

Dashed where approximately located; dotted where CO'IUJealed. 

Bar and ball on downthrown Bide 

Fault scarp 

Hachures on downthrown Bide 

Thrust fault 

Dashed where approximately located 

Sawteeth on upper plate 

__,}_0 

Strike and dip of beds 

Figure 2.-Continued. 

9 

l 

J 

z 

< 

c:: 

:::> 

-' 

(/) 

z 

< 

u 

> 

0 

0 

c:: 

0 

z 

< 

c:: 

"' ::E 

< 

u 
Upper plate 

Middle plate 

Lower 

~ plate 

39°15' 

/ 

2 0 

1. Modified from Means (1962). 

2. Geologic mapping by J. H. Stewart 

and E. H. McKee in 1967. 

3. Geologic mapping by D. B. MacLachlan (written commun., 1967) 

and by J. H. Stewart, 1967. 

Modified from Washburn (1966a). 

Modified from Hansen (1961). 

Modified from Lowell (1958). 

7. Modified from Nye (1958). 

8. Modified from Ross (1953). 

Geology compiled by J. H. Stewart and E. H. McKee, 1967-68. 

2 4 MILES 

Figure 3.-Geologic map of the Toiyabe Range south of Austin. 

10 
EXPLANATION 

Alluvium 

G 

Volcanic rocks 

Welded tvj"f and lava flows; some sedimentary rocks 

LOWER PLATE BELOW 

KINGSTON CANYON THRUST 

Platy "limestone. Same as Masket 

Formation mapped by Washburn 

{1966a, 1966b) 

Antelope Valley Limestone 

Massive cliff-forming limestone 

Broad Canyon sequence of 

Means (1962) 

Black phyllite and black argillaceous 

limestone. Uvj"ossiliferous 

QuarW:ite and minor amounts of 

siltstone. Cliff-forming limestone 

at top 

ContactDashed where approximately located 

Felsite 

Granitic rocks 

M.IDDLE PLATE BETWEEN 

K I NGSTON CANYON AND 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUSTS 

Undifferentiated Devonian rocks Thin-bedded limestone in lower part; 

massive cliff-forming limestone in 

upper part. May include some 

Silurian rocks in basal part 

Roberts Mountains Formation 

Platy limestone. Twenty -foot chert 

layer at base in some areas. Same 

as Masket Formation mapped by 

Washburn {1966a, 1966b) and 

Lowell (1958) 

I] 

Pogonip Group 

Massive cliff-forming Antelope 

Valley Limestone at top. Underlain by shale and limestone possibly equivalent to Ninemile 

Formation. Thin-bedded limestone 

in basal part possibly equivalent to 

Goodwin Limestone 

Crane Canyon sequence of 

Means (1962) 

Laminated to very thin-bedded ligh~ 

gray limestone. Some black shale 

and chert. Contains Upper Cambrian tribolites 5 miles south of 

Austin 

Quartzite and minor amounts of siltstone. Cliff-forming limestone at 

top. Contains Early Cambrian 

archeocyathids near top (Washburn, 1966a, 1966b) 

__t_ ____ _ 

Fault 

Dashed where approximately located; 

dotted where concealed. Bar and 

ball on downthrown side 

Figure 3.-Continued. 

11 

UPPER PLATE ABOVE 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUST 

Valmy(?) 

I 

Formation 

Black chert and minor amounts of 

dark-gray shale and quartzite 

--L...L-- -"- - - ·- Thrust fault 

Dashed where approximately located; 

dotted where concealed. Sawteeth 

on upper plate 

z 

~ 

0: 

::::> 

...J 

(f) 

z 

~ 

u 

> 

0 

0 

0: 

0 

z 

~ 

0: 

co 

::;; 

~ 

u 
116°45' 

Qa 

39°1 

Geology by E. H. McKee, 1967 

0 2 MILES 

Figure 4.-Geologic map of Petes Canyon window in northern Toquima Range. 

12 
EXPLANATION 

Alluvium 

Volcanic rocks 

Welded tuff 

H 0 

}I LOWER PLATE OF 

ROBERTS MOUNTA!Ne TfiRUST 

UPPER PLATE OF 

ROBERTS MOUNTAINS THRUST 

Roberts Mountains 

Formation 

Platy limestlme; black chert at 

base 

Hansen Creek(?) 

Formation 

Cherty limestlme, siltstlme 

Antelope Valley Limestone 

Massive- to medium-bedded 

limestone 

FAULT 

Goodwin Limestone 

Thin-bedded cherty limestlme 

Contact 

Vinini Formation 

Dark shale, black chert, 

quartzite 

Dashed where approximatel11 located 

Fault 

Dashed where approximately located. 

Bar and ball on downthrown side 

....___..__ __ , .... 

Thrust fault 

Dashed where approximately located; 

dotted where concealed. Sawteeth 

on upper plate 

-+-

Inclined . Vertical 

Strike and dip of beds 

Figure 4.-Continued. 

13 

z 

..;: 

u 

> 

0 

0 

a:: 

0 

'If U. S, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1988 0 • 318·335