FEET

10,000

A’

2000

4000

6000

8000

12,000

2000 feet = 610 meters

4000

2000

6000

8000

FEET

12,000

10,000

A

OWENS VALLEY

FAULT ZONE

Owens River

U.S. Highway 395

60

20

5

65 A 35 10 P

Q

Kern Knob Granite 

Granite

Quartz

monzonite

Quartz

monzodiorite

Granodiorite (Monzogranite)

60

20

5

65 A 35 10 P

Q

Alabama Hills Granite

Main facies

Fine-grained facies

60

20

5

65 A 35 10 P

Q

Pat Keyes pluton

Border facies (within quadrangle)

Border facies (north of quadrangle)

(Mostly east of quadrangle) Main facies (north of quadrangle)

Figure 4. Triangular diagrams showing volume proportions of quartz (Q), alkali feldspar (A), and plagioclase feldspar (P) 

of samples from the Pat Keyes pluton, Alabama Hills Granite, and Kern Knob Granite. 

MARION

PEAK

MOUNT

PINCHOT

INDEPENDENCEWAUCOBA

WASH

TRIPLE

DIVIDE

PEAK

MOUNT

WHITNEY

LONE NEW YORK

BUTTE

MINERAL

KING

KERN

PEAK OLANCHA KEELER

118°45' 118°30' 118°15' 118°00' 117°45'

37°00'

36°45'

36°30'

36°15'

Figure 3. Index map showing location of Lone Pine 

15' quadrangle (shaded) in relation to adjacent and 

nearby 15' quadrangles.

PINE

[15']

118°15 118°07'30" 118°00'

36°45'

36°37'30"

36°30'

MANZANAR UNION

WASH

MOUNT

LANGLEY

LONE

PINE

[7.5']

Figure 2. Index map showing U.S. Geological 

Survey 7.5' topographic quadrangles within 

area of Lone Pine 15' quadrangle. Lone

Pine

Manzanar (site)

Owenyo

(site)

Whitney

Portal

OWENS

LAKE

(dry)

Mount

Langley

Fossil

Hill

Kern

Knob

WHITNEY PORTAL ROAD

MOVIE

ROAD

INYO

MOUNTAINS

OWENS

VALLEY

SIERRA

NEVADA

ALABAMA

HILLS

118°15' 118°00'

36°45'

36°30'

1395

3136

0 5 KILOMETERS

395

Figure 1. Index map showing selected geographic features 

in the Lone Pine 15' quadrangle.

CALIF.

MAP LOCATION

Qa

Qs

Qly

Qrg

Qt

Qai

Qgvl

Qdf

Qlo

Qgy

Qgo

QTls

Kw

Kp

Klp

Kd

Ki

Kah

Javu

Javl

Kk

Jivu

Jivm

Jivl

Jpk

Ji

^u

^Pc

Plu

Pll

KJf

KJd

P&k

|m

Kcc

}v

}m

Qm

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS

SURFICIAL DEPOSITS

Active alluvium (Holocene)—Sand and fine to coarse gravel of active 

washes and fan surfaces. Near Sierra Nevada front, forms floors of channels (too narrow to show at map scale) incised into older deposits

Eolian sand (Holocene)—Primarily plant-stabilized sand sheets that only locally are thicker than 2 m. Areas of small dunes indicated by stipple. In 

central Owens Valley, rests on older lake deposits (Qlo), which locally 

are exposed where sand has been removed by deflation

Younger lake deposits (Holocene)—Sediments of late Holocene age that 

form the floor of Owens Lake, consisting of bar and beach gravels, sand, 

silt, clay, and cemented ooliths. Deposited at elevations below about 

3,600 ft (1,098 m). Uppermost 1 to 2 m locally composed of salts deposited since diversion of Owens River into Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913

Rock glaciers (Holocene)—Lobate masses of poorly sorted, angular boulders 

and finer material derived from cirque headwalls in Sierra Nevada, and 

containing interstitial ice or ice cores. Crests shown by dotted line. Present in southwest corner of quadrangle

Talus, regolith, and colluvium (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Broken and 

decomposed rock debris that has been transported primarily by gravity. 

Upper surfaces slope 10° to 30°. Deposits at surface presumably are of 

Holocene age; underlying deposits probably are as old as Pleistocene, as 

indicated by the presence of fossil soil horizons that are locally exposed 

in deeply incised channels

Inactive alluvium (Holocene)—Fine to coarse gravels of inactive fan surfaces. Downslope from granitic bedrock, composed primarily of fine sand 

to pebble grus; downslope from sedimentary and metamorphic bedrock, 

composed of coarse, angular, poorly sorted gravel. Surface channels subdued or absent; dissected by channels that contain active alluvium (Qa). 

Overlies older lake deposits (Qlo) and younger alluvial and debris-flow 

gravels (Qgy)

Very large boulder gravels (Holocene)—Gravels forming terraces 2 to 5 m 

above modern streams and alluvium and 5 to 30 m below surface of 

Pleistocene alluvial and debris-flow gravels (Qgy). Locally includes 

boulders 2 to 15 m across. Exposure ages on boulders about 2,000 to 

1,200 yr. B.P. (Bierman and others, 1995)

Debris-flow deposits (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Unsorted deposits composed primarily of angular clasts as much as 0.5 m in diameter and containing little matrix. Erosionally dissected to depths of 2 to 4 m. Present 

in northeast corner of quadrangle

Older lake deposits (Holocene and Pleistocene)—Mostly light-tan silt and 

sand; includes some gravel deposits near paleoshorelines. Massive to 

well bedded. Well exposed along channel of Owens River. Some deflation basins in upper surface of unit are filled by playa deposits (not mapped). Maximum elevation about 3,760 ft (1,146 m) except west of Lone 

Pine Fault, where deposits have been uplifted. Could be as much as 

2,500 m thick in structural depression between Owens Valley Fault Zone 

and Inyo-White Mountains Fault Zone. Probably includes deposits of 

late Tertiary age at depth

Younger alluvial and debris-flow gravels (Pleistocene)—Deposits of late 

Pleistocene age consisting of common to abundant, subangular to subrounded cobbles and boulders of plutonic rocks in a matrix of sand and 

fine gravel. Boulders 2 m or more in diameter are common; many clasts 

are porphyritic and contain mafic inclusions. Locally, deposits of two 

ages can be separated on basis of degree of weathering, decomposition, 

and iron-oxide staining of clasts. Dissected by Holocene streams

Glacial moraines (Pleistocene)—Massive, very poorly sorted, bouldery gravel deposits in Sierra Nevada. Includes both Tahoe and Tioga glacial till. 

Morainal crests shown by dotted line. Present in southwest corner of 

quadrangle

Older alluvial and debris-flow gravels (Pleistocene)—Deposits of early to 

middle Pleistocene age consisting of rare cobbles and boulders of felsic 

plutonic rocks in a matrix of coarse sand and fine gravel that locally contains subhedral feldspar crystals 2 to 6 cm long. Horizontal exposures 

characterized by 0 to 10 percent boulders; vertical exposures show few 

undecomposed clasts. Most beds stained by iron oxides to colors ranging 

from grayish orange or deep reddish brown to greenish gray. Locally 

contains veins of calcium carbonate. In some areas, unit acts as an aquitard that forces ground water nearly to the surface, which supports thick 

stands of vegetation where windblown silt and fine sand (not mapped) 

have accumulated

Landslide deposits (Quaternary or Tertiary)—Large, hummocky masses of 

unsorted rock debris interpreted to have been deposited as landslides; 

deeply dissected by modern streams. Mass at east-central edge of quadrangle is composed of monolithologic debris of fine-grained granite derived from the granite of French Spring (Dunne and Walker, 1993) exposed in the Inyo Mountains to the east. Largest mass near west edge of 

quadrangle composed of large boulders of plutonic rocks, many of which 

are gneissic or mafic. Age of slides uncertain, probably early Pleistocene 

or older. Arrows indicate inferred directions of debris movement

BEDROCK UNITS, EXCLUDING DIKES

Sierra Nevada

Mount Whitney Intrusive Suite (Late Cretaceous)—Named by Moore and 

Sisson (1987) for rocks in the Triple Divide Peak 15' quadrangle to the 

west. In Lone Pine quadrangle, consists of:

Whitney Granodiorite—Porphyritic granodiorite and granite containing 

phenocrysts of potassium feldspar 4 to 8 cm long. Average biotite K-Ar 

age 83 Ma (Evernden and Kistler, 1970); Pb-U age 83 Ma (Chen and 

Moore, 1982). Contains an average of about 71 weight percent SiO2

Paradise Granodiorite—Porphyritic granodiorite and granite; contains potassium feldspar phenocrysts 1 to 3 cm long that are characterized by 

abundant, zonally arranged inclusions of biotite and hornblende. Biotite 

K-Ar age 78 Ma; hornblende K-Ar age 84 Ma (Evernden and Kistler, 

1970). Pb-U ages 86 to 83 Ma (Chen and Moore, 1982). Contains an 

average of about 70 weight percent SiO2

Granodiorite of Lone Pine Creek—Dark granodiorite containing abundant mafic inclusions. Finer grained, darker, and mixed facies shown by 

stipple. Pb-U age 87 Ma (Chen and Moore, 1982). Contains an average 

of about 64 weight percent SiO2

Dragon pluton (Early Cretaceous)—Quartz monzodiorite and quartz monzonite. Pb-U age 103 Ma (Chen and Moore, 1982). Contains an average 

of about 69 weight percent SiO2

Independence pluton (Early Cretaceous)—Light-colored granite. Pb-U age 

112 Ma (Chen and Moore, 1982). Contains an average of about 74 

weight percent SiO2

Granite of Carroll Creek (Cretaceous?)—Coarse-grained granite. Contains 

an average of about 72 weight percent SiO2. Intruded by granodiorite of 

Lone Pine Creek. Exact age unknown

Metavolcanic rocks (Mesozoic)—Chiefly metarhyolite and metadacite; minor metabasalt. Intruded by Independence pluton, Dragon pluton, and 

granodiorite of Lone Pine Creek. Most probable age is Late Triassic or 

Jurassic (Moore, 1981)

Mafic plutonic rocks (Mesozoic)—Quartz diorite, diorite, and hornblende 

gabbro. Intruded by Independence pluton and granodiorite of Lone Pine 

Creek. Exact age unknown

Alabama Hills

Alabama Hills Granite (Late Cretaceous)—Hypidiomorphic seriate to 

faintly porphyritic, medium-grained biotite monzogranite that locally 

contains equant, pale-pink phenocrysts of potassium feldspar as large as 

1 cm. Outcrop color very pale orange to pinkish gray. Stipple indicates 

local fine-grained, hypabyssal(?) facies. Areas of complexly mixed country rocks and granite present locally along pluton margin. Locally, contains abundant aplite and rare pegmatite dikes, most of which are gently 

dipping. A few prominent dikes are shown on map (d); the dip is shown 

where known. Biotite K-Ar age 82 Ma (Evernden and Kistler, 1970); 

preferred Pb-U age 85 Ma (Chen and Moore, 1982) (Locality G–4)

Volcanic complex of the Alabama Hills (Middle Jurassic)—Divided into:

Upper part—Consists chiefly of light- to medium-light-gray, massive, 

slightly welded tuff at least 450 m thick. Tuff contains 18 to 28 percent 

phenocrysts consisting of subequal amounts of quartz and potassium 

feldspar and sparse plagioclase and biotite. Flattened pumice lapilli 

generally rare but locally abundant near base of tuff. Medium- to darkgray, aphanitic lithic lapilli typically compose less than 2 percent of 

tuff but locally form diffuse clusters composing as much as 20 percent. 

Top of tuff intruded by Alabama Hills Granite. Basal part of unit locally consists of muscovite schist, quartzite, and rare volcanogenic conglomerate having a maximum thickness of about 10 m. Lower contact 

of unit probably unconformable in southern exposure area but of uncertain character in northern exposure area. Minimum Pb-U age of tuff 

about 170 Ma (Dunne and Walker, 1993) (Locality G–1). Small part of 

northern outcrop area contains abundant dikes (KJd) as shown by pattern

Lower part—Consists of an upper subunit of volcanogenic sedimentary 

and volcanic rocks and a lower subunit of rhyolite tuff. Unit characterized by intense hydrothermal alteration over much of its exposure area, 

which obscures many details of its stratigraphy. Upper subunit consists 

primarily of weakly bedded to massive, predominantly matrix supported 

pebble to cobble conglomerate, siltstone, sandstone, and pebbly sandstone. These rocks are interlayered with about 10 percent felsic tuff and, 

in southernmost outcrops, rare vesicular lava flows. Rhyolite tuff of lower subunit, present in northeasternmost exposures of unit, is grayish pink 

to yellowish gray, massive, and slightly welded. Tuff contains 15 to 35 

percent phenocrysts consisting of subequal amounts of quartz and potassium feldspar and sparse plagioclase and biotite, and 1 to 2 percent volcanogenic lithic lapilli. Minimum Pb-U age of tuff about 167 Ma (Dunne 

and others, 1998) (Locality G–2). Unit cut by abundant dikes (KJd) as 

shown by pattern

Inyo Mountains

Kern Knob Granite (Late Cretaceous)—Leucocratic, medium-grained biotite monzogranite having a hypidiomorphic inequigranular texture. 

Sparse varietal minerals include biotite, muscovite, fluorite, hematite, 

and garnet. Contains locally abundant, northwest-striking aplite dikes 

and pegmatite lenses and dikes that consist primarily of microcline and 

quartz, with less abundant amazonite. Biotite 40Ar/39Ar plateau age 91 

Ma (Griffis and others, 1986). Exposed only at Kern Knob, which is at 

western base of Inyo Mountains and lies mostly east of quadrangle

Inyo Mountains Volcanic Complex of Dunne and others (1998)—Divided 

into:

Upper part (Late and Middle Jurassic)—Massive to faintly bedded, 

matrix-supported volcanogenic conglomerate (about 65–70 percent of 

unit), parallel-bedded to crossbedded sandstone and siltstone (about 30 

percent), and rare lenses of felsic to intermediate-composition welded 

tuff that become more abundant southeast of quadrangle. Freshwater 

pelecypods and gastropods present locally (Dunne, 1986) (Locality 

F–1). Minimum thickness in quadrangle about 900 m, increasing to 

more than 2,200 m southeast of quadrangle. Andesite lava flow about 

450 m above base of unit southeast of quadrangle has a Pb-U age of 

about 163 Ma; two samples of dacite tuff about 1,100 m below faulted 

top of unit southeast of quadrangle have minimum Pb-U ages of about 

148 and 150 Ma (Dunne and others, 1998)

Middle part (Middle Jurassic)—Andesite and rhyolite lava flows (about 

50 percent of unit), bedded to massive volcanogenic sandstone and conglomerate (about 30 percent), and welded rhyolite ash-flow tuff (about 

20 percent). Conglomerate ranges from matrix supported to clast supported. Unit thickness about 750 m. In quadrangle, preferred Pb-U age of 

uppermost part of unit is 168 Ma (Locality G–5); preferred Pb-U ages of 

middle and uppermost parts of unit southeast of quadrangle are 169 and 

168 Ma, respectively (Dunne and Walker, 1993)

Lower part (Middle Jurassic?)—Faintly bedded to predominantly massive, mostly matrix supported, volcanogenic pebble, cobble, and rare 

boulder conglomerate (about 75–80 percent of unit), parallel-bedded to 

crossbedded volcanogenic sandstone and pebbly sandstone (about 20 

percent), and sparse lenticular lava flows of vesicular basalt or basaltic 

andesite. Basal several meters consist of bedded conglomerate that contains clasts of sedimentary rocks. Unit thickness about 300 m. Undated; 

age is probably Middle Jurassic but could be as old as Middle Triassic. 

Lower contact with Union Wash Formation unconformable

Pat Keyes pluton (Middle Jurassic)—Medium- to light-gray, mediumgrained, hypidiomorphic granular to seriate plutonic rocks of variable 

composition. Main mass, exposed largely north and east of quadrangle, 

consists predominantly of ±clinopyroxene-biotite-hornblende monzogranite and quartz monzonite. These rocks grade irregularly into a relatively mafic border facies of clinopyroxene-biotite-hornblende quartz 

monzodiorite and less common quartz diorite, diorite, and monzodiorite 

(Ross, 1969; Dunne, 1970, 1971). Exposures in quadrangle are primarily 

of the mafic border facies. Hornblende K-Ar ages 178 and 163 Ma 

(Ross, 1969); Rb-Sr (whole-rock plus mineral separate) age 183 Ma 

(Dunne, 1970, 1971)

Intrusive rocks marginal to Pat Keyes Pluton (Middle Jurassic?)—Primarily 

dark-gray, reddish-brown-weathering, fine-grained, altered and recrystallized diorite and tonalite that have been intensely sausseritized and sericitized. Composed principally of plagioclase, epidote, clinozoisite, calcite, and sericite; quartz is minor. Primary intrusive texture partly to 

completely destroyed by recrystallization. Includes minor light-colored 

intrusive rocks and small, irregular masses of metasedimentary rocks that 

are not mapped separately. Provisionally interpreted as cogenetic with 

mafic border facies of Pat Keyes pluton

Union Wash Formation (Middle? and Early Triassic)—Consists of an upper 

member of dark-gray micritic limestone, pink shale, and light-brown siltstone about 90 m thick; a middle member of medium- to dark-gray, thinbedded mudstone, siltstone, very fine grained to fine-grained sandstone, 

and micritic limestone about 680 m thick; and, in part of the area, a lower 

member of ledge-forming, light-gray to brown limestone and silty to finegrained sandy limestone as much as 60 m thick (Stone and others, 1991). 

Ammonoids locally abundant in basal parts of middle and upper members. Basal 25 m of unit on ridge 1 km southeast of Fossil Hill consists of 

argillite, silty limestone, minor granule to pebble conglomerate, and hydrothermal or metamorphic talc; this sequence previously was interpreted 

as Permian in age and assigned to the Conglomerate Mesa Formation by 

Stone and Stevens (1987) and Stone and others (1991)

Owens Valley Group—In this area, divided into:

Conglomerate Mesa Formation (Early Triassic and Late Permian)—Consists of an upper and a lower unit equivalent to members C 

and B of Conglomerate Mesa Formation as defined by Stone and Stevens (1987). Upper unit (member C), about 40 m thick, consists of 

brown, ochre, and gray chert-pebble conglomerate, pebbly calcareous 

sandstone, and sandstone. Lower unit (member B), about 130 m thick 

with the base covered, consists of gray to brown limestone, silty to sandy 

limestone, and minor grayish-orange to maroon siltstone and shale. 

Limestone in member B contains locally abundant brachiopods, gastropods, bryozoa, and echinoderm debris. Member C is apparently conformable with lower member of Union Wash Formation and is here interpreted as Early Triassic in age. Formation was assigned a Late 

Permian age by Stone and Stevens (1987) on the basis of fossils in member B. Contact between members C and B (not shown) is interpreted as 

unconformable

Lone Pine Formation (Early Permian)—In descending order, consists of 

Reward Conglomerate Member and members C, B, and A of Lone Pine 

Formation as defined by Stone and Stevens (1987). Divided into:

Upper part—Reward Conglomerate Member and member C, undivided. 

Reward Conglomerate Member, about 200 m thick, consists of dark-gray 

to brown, thick-bedded, medium- to coarse-grained quartzite and chert- and 

quartzite-pebble conglomerate; basal few meters consist of light-gray sandy limestone and marble. Member C, about 120 m thick, consists of darkbrown, massive quartzose siltstone and hornfels interbedded with minor 

fine- to coarse-grained quartzite and rare chert- and quartzite-pebble conglomerate. Unit is truncated southeastward by angular unconformity beneath Union Wash Formation

Lower part—Members B and A, undivided. Member B, about 180 m 

thick, consists of greenish-gray to reddish-brown, thin-bedded calcareous 

mudstone, siltstone, and calc-hornfels, and a few widely spaced beds of 

gray bioclastic limestone or marble 1 to 3 m thick. Member A, about 500 

m thick, generally is metamorphosed and consists primarily of gray to 

reddish-brown, thin-bedded argillite, siltite, fine-grained quartzite, and 

calc-hornfels. Metamorphic grade decreases near east edge of quadrangle, where member A consists of light- to medium-gray, siliceous to calcareous mudstone, calcareous siltstone to very fine grained sandstone, 

and silty limestone

Keeler Canyon Formation (Early Permian and Pennsylvanian)—Light- to 

medium-gray, medium- to thick-bedded limestone and silty to sandy 

limestone, generally metamorphosed to marble and calc-hornfels. Thickness about 500 m; base not exposed

Metasedimentary rocks (Paleozoic?)—Calcitic marble and calc-hornfels 

forming small pendant in northern part of Alabama Hills Granite

DIKES

Felsic dike (Cretaceous or Jurassic)—Very light gray, aphanitic, felsic dike 

4 m thick in Inyo Mountains. May correlate with Early Cretaceous 

(about 140 Ma) felsic dikes or the Late Jurassic (148 Ma) granite of 

French Spring east of quadrangle (Dunne and Walker, 1993)

Mafic, intermediate-composition, and minor felsic dikes (Cretaceous? 

and Jurassic)—Aphanitic to fine-grained, commonly porphyritic dikes 

in Alabama Hills and Inyo Mountains that range in composition from diorite to granite. Mafic to intermediate compositions predominate. Majority of dikes are vertical to subvertical and strike northwest; a few strike 

east-northeast. Only the largest, most prominent dikes are shown. Interpreted primarily as part of the Independence dike swarm, which is considered mainly Late Jurassic in age (Chen and Moore, 1979) but locally 

contains dikes of Late Cretaceous age (Coleman and others, 2000). Pb-U 

age of one dike in northern Alabama Hills is 148 Ma (Chen and Moore, 

1979) (Locality G–3). Includes some dikes similar in lithology to felsic 

dike mapped separately in Inyo Mountains (KJf); such dikes could be of 

Early Cretaceous age. In northern Alabama Hills, dikes and irregular hypabyssal intrusions constitute more than 50 percent, and locally as much 

as 90 percent, of the total rock volume over a large area (indicated by 

pattern). Some of these dikes may be genetically associated with the 

lower part of the volcanic complex of the Alabama Hills (Javl)

Contact—Showing dip where known. Dashed where approximate; dotted 

where concealed; queried where inferred or not field-checked. Y, younger plutonic rock; O, older plutonic rock

Fault—Showing dip where known. Dashed where inferred; dotted where concealed; queried where uncertain. Arrows show relative horizontal displacement (in cross section: A, movement away from viewer; T, movement toward viewer). Bar and ball on downthrown side; direction of 

downthrown side locally changes along scarps that mark the Owens Valley Fault Zone, probably as a result of horizontal offset that has influenced vertical separation (Beanland and Clark, 1994) 

Small shear fault—Showing dip. Arrow shows direction of relative horizontal displacement

Anticline—Showing trace of axial surface and direction of plunge of axis 

where known

Syncline—Showing trace of axial surface and direction of plunge of axis 

where known

Strike and dip of beds

Inclined

Vertical

Strike and dip of foliation

Strike of foliation or bearing of lineation—Dip or plunge unknown

Strike and dip of intersecting joints—Indicated by two or more symbols 

joined at point of observation

Inclined

Vertical

Zone of intermixed plutonic and country rocks

Landslide—Unit QTls. Arrow indicates inferred direction of debris movement

Copper mineralization locality

Fossil locality

Geochronologic (Pb-U, zircon) sample locality

DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION

The Lone Pine 15' quadrangle encompasses an area of about 620 km2 that extends 

from the Sierra Nevada on the west across the Alabama Hills and Owens Valley to the Inyo Mountains on the east (fig. 1). Owens Valley, a closed depression, is the westernmost 

basin of the Basin and Range physiographic province, and the Sierra Nevada forms the 

western bounding range of this province. A small part of Owens Lake, a playa that marks 

the low point and southern end of Owens Valley, is in the southeast corner of the quadrangle. Elevations in the quadrangle range from about 3,560 ft (1,085 m) on the floor of 

Owens Lake to 14,027 ft (4,275 m) at Mount Langley on the Sierran crest. Mount Whitney (14,494 ft; 4,418 m), highest point in the conterminous United States, is 4 km west of 

the quadrangle boundary. Elevations in the Inyo Mountains are as high as about 9,700 ft 

(2,957 m) in the quadrangle.

U.S. Highway 395 crosses the quadrangle from north to south along the west side of 

Owens Valley, passing through the town of Lone Pine at the base of the Alabama Hills. 

California State Highway 136 branches east from U.S. 395 2 km south of Lone Pine. Another well-traveled paved road, the Whitney Portal Road, leads west from Lone Pine to 

Whitney Portal at the head of the Mount Whitney Trail (fig. 1). Numerous additional 

roads, most of which are light-duty or unimproved, provide access to many localities in 

Owens Valley and along the flanking range fronts. Most of the mountainous parts of the 

quadrangle are not accessible by road.

The geology of the quadrangle was mapped by a combination of field methods and 

the interpretation of aerial photographs. Individual responsibilities for the geologic mapping are as follows: Moore, Sierra Nevada; Dunne, Alabama Hills; Stone and Dunne, Inyo Mountains; and Smith, Owens Valley, including the piedmont slopes flanking the Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountains. Some traces of the Owens Valley Fault Zone were taken 

from the more detailed mapping of Beanland and Clark (1994).

The 15' topographic quadrangle map, used as a base for the geologic map, is out of 

print and has been superseded by four 7.5' topographic quadrangle maps at a scale of 

1:24,000 (fig. 2). These maps should be consulted for more recent information on the locations of roads and other cultural features than is shown on the 15' map. The location of 

the Lone Pine 15' quadrangle in relation to adjacent and nearby 15' quadrangles is shown 

in Figure 3.

PALEOZOIC AND TRIASSIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

The oldest widespread rocks in the quadrangle are sedimentary rocks of Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Triassic age that underlie much of the western slope of the Inyo 

Mountains. These rocks are part of the Cordilleran miogeocline, a thick and extensive assemblage of mostly marine sedimentary rocks that accumulated along the North American continental margin from late Precambrian through early Mesozoic time. Rocks in the 

Inyo Mountains represent one of the most southwesterly preserved segments of the miogeocline.

Miogeoclinal rocks in the quadrangle represent a range of depositional environments 

and a complex geologic history (Stone and Stevens, 1984, 1987; Stone and others, 1991; 

Stevens and others, 1997). The Keeler Canyon Formation and lower part of the Lone Pine 

Formation consist of turbidites and related fine-grained sediments deposited in a deep 

marine basin during the Pennsylvanian and Early Permian. The coarse-grained, conglomeratic upper part of the Lone Pine Formation, in contrast, reflects an abrupt change to a 

shallow-water, probably nonmarine depositional setting in late Early Permian time. This 

change likely resulted from uplift of the continental margin. The area remained relatively 

high during deposition of the overlying Conglomerate Mesa Formation of Late Permian 

and Early Triassic age, which is exposed at Fossil Hill (fig. 1). Limestone in member B of 

this formation contains fossils and sedimentary features indicating a shallow-water marine setting, and the overlying conglomerate and sandstone (member C) indicate nonmarine deposition. The fine-grained calcareous rocks of the overlying Union Wash Formation 

reflect renewed subsidence of the continental margin in Early and Middle(?) Triassic time 

and a return to open-marine deposition. 

An angular unconformity that is well exposed 1 km southeast of Fossil Hill reflects 

northwestward tilting and subaerial erosion of the Lone Pine Formation before deposition 

of the overlying Triassic strata, probably as part of a regional tectonic event. Stone and 

Stevens (1987, 1988) interpreted this event to have predated deposition of Upper Permian 

limestone in member B of the Conglomerate Mesa Formation, which was thought to be 

present above the unconformity. Fossils (conodonts) from the lowest limestone beds 

above the unconformity, however, were later identified as Early Triassic (B.R. Wardlaw, 

written commun., 1996). These beds and a thin underlying sequence directly above the 

unconformity, consisting primarily of argillite and hydrothermal or metamorphic talc, are 

therefore reassigned to the Union Wash Formation. At Fossil Hill, the unconformity is 

now interpreted to separate the Upper Permian limestone unit (member B) of the Conglomerate Mesa Formation from the overlying conglomerate and sandstone unit (member 

C) of the same formation, which is herein considered to be Early Triassic. Thus, the age 

of tectonism represented by the unconformity is now interpreted as latest Permian or earliest Triassic (Stevens and others, 1997).

Calcareous metasedimentary rocks that form a very small pendant in the Alabama 

Hills Granite (NE1/4 sec. 13, T. 15 S., R. 35 E.) probably are miogeoclinal strata of Paleozoic age, but these rocks are too thoroughly metamorphosed and limited in areal extent 

to permit a definite unit or age assignment.

MESOZOIC PLUTONIC AND VOLCANOGENIC ROCKS, EXCLUDING DIKES

Plutonic, volcanic, and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks exposed in the quadrangle 

are in the eastern fringe of the Sierran magmatic arc that was active in this region 

throughout much of middle to late Mesozoic time. In the quadrangle, most of these rocks 

are of two broad age groups, Middle to Late Jurassic and late Early to Late Cretaceous. 

Some metavolcanic and mafic plutonic rocks (}v, }m) enclosed as small pendants by 

Cretaceous plutons in the Sierra Nevada could be as old as Triassic, but these are not included in the following discussion because of their limited outcrop area and lack of age 

control.

Volcanic and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks of Middle to Late Jurassic age are 

widespread in the Inyo Mountains and Alabama Hills (Dunne and Walker, 1993; Dunne 

and others, 1998). The sedimentary rocks accumulated in various subaerial environments, 

mostly by fluvial and debris-flow processes in alluvial-fan and river-floodplain settings, 

and less commonly in slightly evaporative lakes and as eolian dunes. Sparse paleocurrent 

indicators reflect northerly to northeasterly directions of sediment transport. Episodic volcanism during this time consisted mainly of explosive eruptions of silicic ash deposited as 

welded ash flows. Lava flows are less abundant and are primarily of intermediate composition; silicic and mafic flows are rare. The principal phase of volcanic activity took place 

during the Middle Jurassic and was broadly coeval with a widely recognized period of intense magmatism reported from many parts of the Sierran igneous arc (Evernden and Kistler, 1970; Saleeby and Busby-Spera, 1992).

The Pat Keyes pluton, an intrusive representative of this Middle Jurassic magmatic 

episode, has been described in detail by Ross (1969) and Dunne (1970). An accompanying triangular diagram (fig. 4) shows the proportions of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase feldspar in 25 samples from this unit as determined by thin-section point counts; 

the samples examined are largely from areas north of the quadrangle. Most samples fall 

within the quartz monzonite and quartz monzodiorite fields of Streckeisen (1973).

Later magmatic activity in the quadrangle is represented by granitic plutons that 

were emplaced during late Early and Late Cretaceous magmatic episodes also widely represented elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada (Evernden and Kistler, 1970). Several plutons in 

the Sierra Nevada extend eastward into the quadrangle from the adjacent Mount Whitney 

15' quadrangle, where they have been described by Moore (1981). 

A prominent Late Cretaceous pluton that underlies an area of about 35 km2 in the 

Alabama Hills has not been described previously. Although broadly coeval with the predominantly granodioritic plutons of the Mount Whitney Intrusive Suite in the Sierra Nevada, this pluton is distinctly less mafic and is interpreted to represent a separate intrusive 

mass. This lithologically distinctive pluton, bold outcrops of which have served as background scenery in many motion pictures, is herein named the Alabama Hills Granite. Its 

type locality is in S1/2 sec. 30, T. 15 S., R. 36 E., on the north side of Whitney Portal 

Road 400 m east of the junction with Movie Road (fig. 1; see Lone Pine 7.5' topographic 

quadrangle map for detailed road information). Modal analyses of 13 samples determined 

from thin-section point counts indicate a composition of monzogranite (fig. 4).

Another intrusive mass of Late Cretaceous age, previously referred to as the Kern 

Knob pluton (Griffis, 1986, 1987), makes up a prominent hill at the base of the Inyo 

Mountains. This hill is mostly just east of the quadrangle boundary in secs. 19 and 30, T. 

15 S., R. 37 E., and is designated Kern Knob on the adjacent New York Butte 15' quadrangle. The hill is named Haystack on the newer Dolomite 7.5' quadrangle, but it is referred to herein by the older name Kern Knob. The pluton has a total outcrop area of about 

2.5 km2, the westernmost part of which is in the Lone Pine 15' quadrangle. The pluton 

belongs to a small group of petrologically distinctive, extremely leucocratic plutons in 

eastern California that contain unusual varietal and accessory minerals such as muscovite, 

garnet, and fluorite (Miller and Bradfish, 1980). Because of its petrologic significance, 

we formally name this pluton the Kern Knob Granite. Its type locality is designated as a 

small quarry at the northern base of Kern Knob in the New York Butte 15' quadrangle, in 

SW1/4NE1/4 sec. 19, T. 15 S., R. 37 E., about 500 m east of the boundary with the Lone 

Pine 15' quadrangle. Modal analyses of 15 samples determined from stained-slab and 

thin-section point counts indicate that the unit is composed of monzogranite (fig. 4). Additional description and interpretation of this unusual pluton are provided by Griffis 

(1986, 1987).

The voluminous Mount Whitney Intrusive Suite (Moore and Sisson, 1987) was emplaced near the end of the Late Cretaceous pulse of igneous activity in the Sierra Nevada 

(about 85 Ma). This suite, which constitutes most of the granitic rocks in the Sierran part 

of the quadrangle, makes up a massive, nested, northwest-trending composite intrusion 

that becomes progressively younger and more silicic inward. The suite also is exposed to 

the south in the Olancha 15' quadrangle (duBray and Moore, 1985), to the west in the 

Mount Whitney and Triple Divide Peak 15' quadrangles (Moore, 1981; Moore and Sisson, 1987), and to the northwest in the Mount Pinchot and Marion Peak 15' quadrangles 

(Moore, 1963, 1978) (fig. 3). After emplacement, this 1,100-km2 mass began solidifying 

from the walls inward. Before complete solidification, the partly molten, and somewhat 

more differentiated, siliceous core surged upward, twice intruding its older, outer shell. 

Initially, the outer part of the composite pluton solidified as the granodiorite of Lone Pine 

Creek on the east and the granodiorite of Sugarloaf (Moore, 1981) on the west. The next 

surge emplaced the Paradise Granodiorite. The final surge emplaced the Whitney Granodiorite in the center such that only a thin shell of Paradise Granodiorite remained on the 

east, adjacent to the granodiorite of Lone Pine Creek. In places, this shell of Paradise 

Granodiorite is no thicker than about 100 m.

JURASSIC AND CRETACEOUS(?) DIKES

Jurassic and older rocks of the Alabama Hills and Inyo Mountains are intruded by 

numerous dikes (KJd) of mafic, intermediate, and, less commonly, felsic composition. 

Most of these dikes probably belong to a regionally extensive, northwest-striking family 

of dikes known as the Independence dike swarm (Moore and Hopson, 1961). The Independence swarm includes several dikes that have been isotopically dated as Late Jurassic 

(148 Ma) (Chen and Moore, 1979), including one in the Alabama Hills (Locality G–3), 

and many dikes in the quadrangle probably are of this age. Chen and Moore (1979) interpreted the Independence dikes to have been emplaced along fractures produced by a regional crustal extension event in Late Jurassic time (Chen and Moore, 1979). Recently, 

however, the Independence swarm has been shown to contain dikes of Late Cretaceous as 

well as Late Jurassic age (Coleman and others, 2000), so it is no longer possible to relate 

the origin of the entire swarm to a single magmatic event.

Some dikes in the northern Alabama Hills could be significantly older than 148 Ma 

and not genetically related to the Late Jurassic dikes of the Independence swarm. In this 

area, dikes are abundant in the lower part of the volcanic complex of the Alabama Hills 

(Javl), but are almost absent except locally in the upper part (Javu). This outcrop distribution suggests that many of these dikes are Middle Jurassic in age and may predate the upper part of the volcanic complex. Such dikes could have originated at volcanic centers 

where magma rose to the surface during deposition of the lower part of the volcanic complex.

A prominent aphanitic dike of felsic composition in the Inyo Mountains is shown as 

a separate unit (KJf). Dikes of this type just east of the quadrangle cut across relatively 

mafic dikes of presumed Late Jurassic age, and one such felsic dike has been dated as 

about 140 Ma (Early Cretaceous) (Dunne and Walker, 1993). The mapped dike may be 

coeval with these dikes, or it may be an offshoot of the Late Jurassic (148 Ma) granite of 

French Spring, which also crops out just east of the quadrangle (Dunne and Walker, 

1993).

LATE JURASSIC AND CRETACEOUS DEFORMATION

Pre-Cretaceous rocks in the quadrangle were subjected to episodic contractional deformation beginning in Late Jurassic time, during which these rocks were compressed 

and shortened in a northeast-southwest direction (Dunne, 1986). This deformation took 

place in a zone called the East Sierran thrust system that trends southeastward through the 

quadrangle (Dunne and others, 1983). In the earliest phase of deformation, Mesozoic volcanogenic strata in the Inyo Mountains and Alabama Hills were tilted southwestward and 

locally were folded and cleaved along northwest trends. The age of this event is tightly 

bracketed in areas just southeast of the quadrangle, where deformation involved 150- to 

148-Ma volcanic rocks and preceded emplacement of northwest-striking mafic dikes interpreted to represent the Late Jurassic (148 Ma) part of the Independence dike swarm 

(Dunne and others, 1998). The northwest-striking, northeast-dipping dip-slip fault that 

cuts the volcanic complex of the Inyo Mountains east of Owenyo probably formed at this 

time, because it is interpreted to be intruded by the 148-Ma granite of French Spring just 

east of the quadrangle (Dunne and Walker, 1993). Following their emplacement, some Independence dikes and their host rocks were affected by additional deformation. Cleavage 

was imposed on some dikes, and some are cut by a post-140 Ma thrust fault a short distance southeast of the quadrangle (G.C. Dunne and J.D. Walker, unpub. data, 1995).

QUATERNARY DEPOSITS

Nearly half the quadrangle is covered by surficial deposits of Quaternary age. 

Coarse-grained alluvial and debris-flow deposits derived from erosion of the Sierra Nevada, Alabama Hills, and Inyo Mountains are areally the most abundant, and most of these 

deposits are of Pleistocene age. Eolian sands of Holocene age and lake deposits of late 

Pleistocene and Holocene age are widespread in Owens Valley on both sides of the 

Owens River. Other surficial deposits, including a few glacial moraines in the Sierra Nevada, are of relatively limited areal extent.

Large landslide masses, some of which may be late Tertiary in age, are the oldest 

surficial deposits in the quadrangle. These deposits consist of jumbled masses of large 

and small rock fragments that are located downhill from steep outcrops of similar rock 

types, and most have hummocky surfaces.

Interbedded alluvial and debris-flow gravels of Pleistocene age form broad, gentle 

slopes between the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada and the flat floor of Owens Valley. 

These deposits are particularly well exposed where cut by creeks in the Alabama Hills, 

especially along Lone Pine Creek, and where dissected by deep channels near the Sierran 

range front 5 to 6 km north of Lone Pine Creek. Most of the alluvial gravels are distinctly 

bedded and contain moderately rounded clasts, rarely more than 0.5 m across, that rest in 

a matrix of finer material. Debris-flow gravels, usually considered a product of massive 

floods, most commonly are clast supported, indistinctly bedded, and characterized by angular fragments as much as 1 or 2 m across. Many or most of these deposits are inferred 

to be related to glaciation in the Sierra Nevada.

The Pleistocene alluvial and debris-flow gravels are divided into older and younger 

deposits on the basis of weathering characteristics, especially on the surfaces of biotitebearing plutonic-rock boulders. Many boulders in the younger gravels are porphyritic, 

and these characteristically have weather-resistant potassium feldspar phenocrysts and 

small mafic inclusions that project 2 to 5 cm above weathered surfaces. Boulders of 

similar lithology in the older gravels, by contrast, generally are partially or totally 

weathered to loose grus. Boulders in some of the oldest deposits are entirely 

decomposed, and these sediments can be identified only by the high percentage of loose 

subhedral potassium feldspar phenocrysts, 2 to 6 cm long, derived from areas exposing 

the porphyritic Whitney Granodiorite or Paradise Granodiorite in the Sierra Nevada.

Glacial moraines of the Sierra Nevada in the quadrangle extend nearly to the range 

front but do not reach it. Most of the moraines have easily identified crests and consist of 

totally unsorted angular debris that ranges in size from sand to clasts several meters long. 

Good exposures of moraine gravels can be seen in cuts along Whitney Portal Road at an 

elevation of about 7,600 ft (2,317 m).

Lake deposits crop out along the Owens River and along the edges and floor of 

Owens Lake. Lake deposits also underlie the thin layer of windblown sand that covers 

much of the notably flat center of the valley, and they are exposed where wind has excavated holes in that sand layer. Most of the lake deposits are well bedded and consist of 

light-tan clay, silt, and fine sand. Lake deposits in the quadrangle, and for another 10 km 

to the north, lie primarily at elevations below about 3,760 ft (1,146 m), the maximum elevation of the overflowing lake that filled the south end of Owens Valley during much of 

the late Pleistocene. That lake began to shrink sometime between 8,000 and 5,000 years 

ago (Smith and others, 1997). Fossil clams and snails are present locally in lake sediments at elevations just below 3,760 ft (1,146 m). West of the Owens Valley Fault Zone, 

lake sediments extend to slightly higher elevations because of fault-related uplift.

Rock glaciers, talus, regolith, and colluvium in the quadrangle are largely products 

of gravity acting on unconsolidated materials. Definitions of these deposits overlap somewhat, but the sediment size, upper-surface slope, and geologic setting usually provide a 

basis for the chosen name.

Active and inactive alluvial deposits in the quadrangle were formed by running 

streams. Active alluvium is found 1 to 2 m above the late summer stream levels because 

the most active deposition and transport have taken place during floods that followed exceptionally wet winters or intense summer and autumn storms. Inactive alluvium is lithologically similar to nearby active alluvium but is characterized by surfaces that commonly 

are 0.5 to 3 m higher than the active alluvium and are almost free of channels. Very thin 

desert varnish has coated the surfaces of many clasts in the inactive alluvium, making 

these deposits somewhat darker than the active alluvium.

Conspicuous gravels containing very large boulders 2 to 15 m across (Qgvl) form 

narrow terraces along several modern streams that drain the Sierra Nevada in the quadrangle. Because of the very large size of the boulders, their deposition might seem to be 

the product of debris-flow processes associated with glaciation. The deposits that contain 

these boulders, however, are deeply inset into the youngest Pleistocene gravel deposits 

(Qgy), suggesting that they are Holocene in age. This age is confirmed by radiometricexposure dating of large boulders adjacent to Lone Pine Creek 4.5 km east of the mountain front, which indicates that these boulders last came to rest about 2,000 to 1,200 years 

ago (Bierman and others, 1995). There is no evidence of major glaciation in the Sierra 

Nevada that recent. The inference that the transport and deposition of very large boulders 

did not require glaciation is further supported by the presence of debris-flow boulders 1 

to 2 m across on fan surfaces east of the Sierra Nevada 27 km south of the quadrangle, 10 

to 15 km south of the southernmost conspicuous Sierran glacial cirque at Olancha Peak.

LATE TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY FAULTING

The quadrangle is traversed by three major northwest-striking fault zones that have 

been active in late Tertiary and Quaternary time: the Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault Zone, 

the Owens Valley Fault Zone, and the Inyo-White Mountains Fault Zone. Cumulative displacements on these faults during about the last 6 m.y. are responsible for the present 

physiography of the quadrangle and for the subsurface structure of Owens Valley (Gillespie, 1991; Hollett and others, 1991). The Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault Zone separates the 

western part of Owens Valley, including the Alabama Hills, from the Sierra Nevada block 

of pre-Quaternary basement rocks on the west. The Owens Valley Fault Zone (Carver, 

1970; Beanland and Clark, 1994) separates the western part of Owens Valley, in which 

bedrock generally is within 300 m of the land surface, from a structurally much deeper 

eastern graben, in which bedrock is as much as 2,500 m below the surface (Pakiser and 

others, 1964; Hollett and others, 1991). The buried Inyo-White Mountains Fault Zone is 

inferred to separate this deep graben from the Inyo Mountains block of pre-Quaternary 

basement rocks to the east. 

The Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault Zone, which is poorly exposed along much of its 

trace in or adjacent to Sierran plutonic rocks, is mapped as a discontinuous series of exposed segments that dip 60° to 80o E. Along some fault segments that cut Quaternary 

sediments, a scarp 1 to 3 m high is developed, with the east side down, but in other places 

the fault zone has little surface expression. Overall, the fault zone is interpreted to have 

normal, east-side-down displacement with little or no strike-slip component (Hollett and 

others, 1991). Total vertical displacement on the fault zone is thought to be about 3 km 

(Beanland and Clark, 1994).

The most active fault zone in the quadrangle is the Owens Valley Fault Zone, movement on which caused the Lone Pine earthquake of March 26, 1872. This great earthquake (Richter magnitude about 8) is one of California's largest historic earthquakes, exceeded only by the 1857 Fort Tejon and the 1906 San Francisco earthquakes (Beanland 

and Clark, 1994). The Owens Valley Fault Zone extends north-northwestward across the 

quadrangle near the eastern base of the Alabama Hills and can be traced about 55 km 

north and 25 km south of the quadrangle for a total of about 110 km. The surface trace of 

the fault zone is marked by a nearly continuous zone of scarps, depressions, pressure 

ridges, and other linear features, some of which coincide with differences in ground-water 

level across the fault zone (Hollett and others, 1991; Beanland and Clark, 1994; Danskin, 

1998). Most of the fault traces shown on the map are readily identified on the ground or 

aerial photographs; some were taken from Beanland and Clark (1994), who also describe 

the fault features in detail at many localities. Many of the scarps and other surface features that define the fault zone experienced movement or were initiated at the time of the 

1872 earthquake.

Most traces of the Owens Valley Fault Zone in the quadrangle cut inactive alluvium 

(Qai) and older lake deposits (Qlo). Some scarps, however, cut active alluvial deposits 

(Qa) that fringe the Alabama Hills north of Lone Pine, and the most southeasterly trace of 

the fault zone mapped in the quadrangle is a scarp that cuts younger lake deposits (Qly) 

on the floor of Owens Lake; the locations of these scarps are from Beanland and Clark 

(1994). In addition, two inferred faults are mapped in an area of ground-water seepage 

north of the Alabama Hills; the locations of these faults are from Hollett and others 

(1991) and Danskin (1998).

The Owens Valley Fault Zone shows evidence of dominantly right-lateral displacement, with a subordinate vertical component that is generally down to the east. Scarps 

commonly show several meters of vertical displacement, with most but not all scarps facing east. The Lone Pine Fault, a major western strand of the Owens Valley Fault Zone, is 

marked by a prominent east-facing scarp as high as 6.5 m and has undergone 10 to 18 m 

of late Quaternary right-lateral offset (Lubetkin and Clark, 1987, 1988). Total right-lateral 

displacement on the Owens Valley Fault Zone is estimated as 10 to 20 km, as compared 

with about 2.5 km of total down-to-the-east vertical displacement (Beanland and Clark, 

1994). The dip of the fault zone, although presumably steep (Beanland and Clark, 1994), 

is not accurately known at depth, and it is shown as vertical in cross section A–A'.

Near the southeast corner of the quadrangle, the Owens Valley Fault Zone includes a 

west-facing scarp on the floor of Owens Lake that has been interpreted as resulting from 

vertical displacement during the 1872 earthquake (Beanland and Clark, 1994). This scarp 

is in an area that lay submerged beneath as much as 7 m of water (Gale, 1914) until shortly after the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed in 1913, when the lake began to desiccate. It is surprising that this scarp, if formed in 1872, could have been preserved despite 

being exposed to subaqueous erosion for more than 40 years prior to construction of the 

aqueduct. Instead, this scarp may have developed after 1913, conceivably during a moderate earthquake that shook southern Owens Valley on July 6, 1917 (Townley and Allen, 

1939). It is likewise possible that other traces of the fault zone have undergone similarly recent displacement, although such displacement would be minor compared to that of 1872.

The Inyo-White Mountains Fault Zone was identified by Pakiser and others (1964) 

on the basis of gravity data that require a sharp, steeply dipping boundary between the 

Owens Valley depression and the mountain block to the east. This fault zone has no 

known surface expression in the quadrangle and apparently has undergone no significant 

Holocene displacement. Because of its lack of exposure, the subsurface location and vertical dip of the fault zone as shown on the map and cross section A–A' should be considered approximate.

Geodetic measurements of active crustal deformation in the Owens Valley area and 

adjoining parts of eastern California have been made by several methods in recent years 

(Dixon and others, 1995; Miller and others, 1995; Savage and Lisowski, 1995). These 

measurements reveal that the map area is undergoing active right-oblique extension by 

combined dip-slip and strike-slip motions of the Sierra Nevada Frontal Fault Zone and 

Owens Valley Fault Zone. The general pattern of deformation established in the area as 

early as 6 Ma is thus continuing today.

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by the International Union of Geological Sciences Subcommission on the systematics of igneous rocks: Geotimes, v. 18, no. 10, p. 26–30.

Townley, S.D., and Allen, M.W., 1939, Descriptive catalog of earthquakes of the Pacific 

Coast of the United States, 1769 to 1928: Seismological Society of America Bulletin, v. 29, p. 1–297.

Qa

Qai Qgvl

Qs Qly

Qrg Qt

Qdf Qlo

Qgy

Qgo

Qm

QTls

Kk

KJf

KJd

Javu

Javl

Jivu

Jivm

Jivl Jpk Ji

^u

^Pc

Plu

Pll

P&k

|m

Kah d

}v }m

Kd

Ki

Kcc

Kw

Kp

Klp

Holocene

Pleistocene

Late

Jurassic

Middle

Jurassic

Middle(?)

Triassic

Early

Triassic

Late

Permian

Early

Permian

Late

Cretaceous

Early

Cretaceous

CORRELATION OF MAP UNITS

QUATERNARY

CRETACEOUS

CRETACEOUS(?)

CRETACEOUS

JURASSIC

MESOZOIC

TRIASSIC

PERMIAN

PENNSYLVANIAN

PALEOZOIC(?)

QUATERNARY

OR TERTIARY

SURFICIAL DEPOSITS

BEDROCK UNITS, EXCLUDING DIKES

Mount

Whitney

Intrusive

Suite

Sierra Nevada Alabama Hills Inyo Mountains

DIKES

CRETACEOUS(?)

OR JURASSIC

AND JURASSIC

Owens

Valley

Group

d

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS SERIES

MAP I–2617

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286,

Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 1–888–ASK–USGS

Available on World Wide Web at http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/i-map/i2617

1 .5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 KILOMETERS

3000 0 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000 18000 21000 24000 27000 FEET

SCALE 1: 62 500

1 1/ 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 MILES

APPROXIMATE MEAN

DECLINATION, 2000

14 / ° 1 2

MAGNETIC NORTH

TRUE NORTH

GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE LONE PINE 15' QUADRANGLE, 

INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

By

Paul Stone, George C. Dunne, James G. Moore, and George I. Smith

2000

Geology mapped by Paul Stone, 1981, 1990, 

1995; G.C. Dunne, 1984–96, assisted by D.J. 

Armand, R.A. Griffis, M.S. Oborne, D.C. 

Schneidereit, Robert Taylor, S.B. Trockman, and 

J.R. Trust; J.G. Moore and E.A. duBray, 

1976–77; and G.I. Smith, 1993–95

Edited by Sean M. Stone and Taryn A. Lindquist; 

digital cartography by Taryn A. Lindquist

Manuscript approved for publication October 17, 

1997

Base from U.S. Geological Survey, 1958

Polyconic projection

Some shorelines shown on this base map 

may not coincide with map-unit boundaries, 

which were captured from scanned and 

vectorized linework

INTERIOR—GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, RESTON, VA—2001

Printed on recycled paper

36°45'

118°15'

36°45'

36°40' 36°40'

36°35' 36°35'

36°30' 36°30'

118°00'

118°15'

118°10'

118°10'

118°5'

118°5' 118°00'