United States Geological Survey 

Alaska Program, 1975 

By M. E. Yount, Editor 

G E 0 L 0 G I C A l 5 U R V E Y C I R C U L A R 722 

1975 
United States Department of the Interior 

STANLEY K. HATHAWAY, Secretary 

Geological Survey 

V. E. McKelvey, Director 

Library of Congress catalog-card No. 75-600064 

Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, Notional Center, Reston, Vo. 22092 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract _ _ __ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 

Services of the United States Geological Survey ___ ___ 1 

Introduction ------------------------------------ 1 

Responsibilities of the Geological Survey__________ 1 

Organization of the U.S. Geological Survey____________ 3 

Organizational segments serving Alaska__________ 6 

Conservation Division ______________________ 6 

Geologic Division __________________________ 6 

Topographic Division ------------------------ 7 

Water Resources Division____________________ 8 

Publications Division ________________________ 8 

Administrative Division______________________ 9 

Alaska Survey Committee____________________ 9 

Emergency search and rescue ________________ 9 

Radio network ------------------------------ 9 

EROS Program______________________________ 9 

Alaskan projects of the U.S. Geological Survey ________ 10 

Statewide projects ------------------------------ 10 

Projects with regional emphasis __________________ 13 

Northerp. Alaska ---------------------------- 13 

East-central Alaska__________________________ 18 

West-central Alaska ________________________ 19 

Page 

Alaskan projects of the U.S. Geological Survey-Con. 

Projects with regional emphasis-Continued 

Southwestern Alaska ------------------------ 21 

SouthernAlaska ---------------------------- 22 

Southeastern Alaska ------------------------ 27 

Cooperative projects with other agencies -------------- 29 

Statewide projects ------------------------------ 29 

East-central Alaska ________________ ---- __ -------- 33 

Southern Alaska -------------------------------- 34 

Southeastern Alaska ---------------------------- 35 

Summary of important results, 1974 __________________ 37 

Statewide -------------------------------------- 37 

N_orthern Alaska -------------------------------- 40 

East-central Alaska ______________________________ 41 

West-central Alaska ---------------------------- 43 

Southwestern Alaska ---------------------------- 43 

Southern Alaska -------------------------------- 45 

Southeastern Alaska ---------------------------- 53 

References cited in summary of important results, 

1974__________________________________________ 53 

Reports on Alaska published by U.S. Geological Survey 

in 1974 ------------------------------------------ 55 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. Organization of the U.S. Geological Survey --------------------------------------------------------- 3 

2. Organization of the Geologic Division ____________________________________ --------------------------- 4 

3. Organization of the Conservation Division --------------------------------------------------------- 5 

4. Organization of the Water Resources Division_______________________________________________________ 6 

5. Organization of the Topographic Division----------------------------------------------------------- 7 

6. Map showing locations of 1975 field projects of the U.S. Geological Survey --------------------------- 14 

7-12. Photographs: 

7. A well-developed pingo near Inuvik, Canada_________________________________________________ 17 

8. A wood-stave pipeline in the Seward Peninsula --------------------------------------------- 20 

9. The Alsek-Grand Plateau fault cuts a moraine in the Skagway A-8 quadrangle _______________ 25 

10. Field camp on the Juneau Icefield ___________________________________________________________ 27 

11. Lack of outcrop on the Juneau Icefield _______________________________________________________ 28 

12. R/V Don J. Miller II provides support for fieldwork in watery southeastern Alaska _____________ 29 

13. Map showing locations of197 5 field projects of the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating agencies ______ --- 30 

14. Photograph showing stream gaging in Alaska _______________________________________________________ 32 

15. Map showing locations of studies discussed in the summary of important results, 1974----------------- 38 

16--18. Photographs: 

16. Valley of the Anaktuvuk River looking southwest to Anaktuvuk Pass------------------------- 40 

17. Augustine Island approximately 185 miles southwest of Anchorage ____ ----------------------- 47 

18. The Narrows at the entrance to Fords Terror, Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Study 

area ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 51 

19. Map showing aeromagnetic coverage for the State of Alaska ----------------------------------------- 52 

III 

United States Geological Survey 

Alaska Program, 1975 

M. E. Yount, Editor 

ABSTRACT 

This report on the Alaskan activities of the U.S. Geological 

Survey contains up-to-date accounts of recent results and 

summaries of plans for the summer of 1975. It is organized in 

six parts: (1) responsibilities and services of the Geological 

Survey; (2) organization ofthe U.S. Geological Survey; (3) U.S. 

Geological Survey Alaskan field activities for 1975; (4) cooperative projects with State and Federal agencies; (5) summary of 

important results of geological, hydrological, and geophysical 

research in 1974; and (6) reports published by Survey authors 

in 1974. 

SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

INTRODUCTION 

This report on the Alaskan activities of the 

United States Geological Survey is for the many 

people and groups deeply interested in Alaska. For 

the professional geologist, hydrologist, or topographer, for example, it contains up-to-date accounts of recent results and summaries of plans for 

the summer of 1975. For various private groups, 

the business community, and other Federal and 

State agencies, there is news of investigations that 

is intended to assist them in their separate and 

important tasks. And for the citizen, whose pleasure and livelihood are linked to the natural surroundings, the report is an introduction to our 

studies of the land and water of the incomparable 

State of Alaska. 

To reach such a complex audience, this circular 

is organized into six parts. In this introductory 

section the responsibilities and services of the 

Geological Survey are discussed. The second section presents the organizational structure of the 

Survey, as well as a discussion of the organizational segments serving Alaska. The third and 

fourth sections together are a comprehensive listing of Alaskan summer field activities for 1975, 

1 

with section three describing Survey projects and 

section four detailing cooperative projects between 

the Survey and other Federal and Alas~an state 

agencies. The fifth section, a summary of the more 

important results of last year's geological, geophysical, and hydrological research, complements 

the sixth section, a list of reports pul: Hshed by 

Survey authors in 197 4. 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

The U.S. Geological Survey serves the needs of 

the citizens and their government for information 

on the land and water of the United States. This 

information is obtained and analyzed br U.S.G.S. 

scientists and is distributed to the pul: He in the 

form of maps and reports. Most maps and reports 

are published by the government and current publications are announced by means of monthly 

notices, uN ew Publications of the Geolo1ical Survey," which are free on application to th~ Geological Survey, Reston, Va. 22092. Book publications 

may be ordered from either of the following places: 

Branch of Distribution 

U.S. Geological Survey 

1200 South Eads Street 

Arlington, V a. 22202 

Superintendent of Documents 

Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 

Maps may be ordered from the followirg places: 

Branch of Distribution, Central Re~ion 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Federal Center 

Denver, Colo. 80225 
Alaska Distribution Section 

U.S. Geological Survey 

310 First Avenue 

Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 

Maps may also be purchased over the counter 

from the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources 

Division, 441 Federal Bldg., 710 West Ninth St., 

Juneau, Alaska 99801 and the U.S. Geological 

Survey, Public Inquiries Office, 108 Skyline Bldg., 

508 Second Ave., Anchorage, Alaska 99501. Book 

publications on Alaska are also available from the 

Public Inquiries Office in Anchorage. 

Some studies, especially those of high scientific 

merit, are published in professional journals; these 

are available at college, industrial, and possibly 

public libraries. 

The scope of Alaskan studies is broad and is 

probably best illustrated by example. Thus the list 

that follows contains a selection of recent Geological Survey maps and reports accompanied by a 

brief explanation of what they disclose and how 

they may be used. 

Reference: Beikman, H. M., 1974, Preliminary geologic map of 

the southwest quadrant of Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-611, 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000. 

Available from: Denver Distribution Section, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; $1.00. 

The map shows the distribution of rock types and faults in the 

entire southwestern quarter of Alaska. It can be used for many 

purposes, especially as an aid in locating valuable mineral 

commodities. 

Reference: Cobb, E. H., 1974, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 1960-1973, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. 

Geol. Survey open-file report 7 4-210, 166 p. 

Available from: Alaskan Technical Data Unit, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025. 

This report is one of a series which indexes all U.S. Geological 

Survey publications and most U.S. Bureau of Mines and State 

publications by 1:250,000 quadrangle. These reports greatly 

facilitate research in the geologic literature of any particular 

geographic area of Alaska. 

Reference: Berg, H. C., 1974, Geology of Gravina Island, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1373, 41 p. 

Available from: Superintendent of Documents, Government 

Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; $1.70. 

Gravina Island sits astride three ofthe major structural belts 

of southern Alaska and neighboring parts of Canada. Detailed 

geologic mapping of this island has led to a better understanding ofthe makeup of these belts and their role in the evolution 

of a large part of the North American Cordillera. 

Reference: U.S. Geological Survey, 1952, Anchorage A-8 

quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey, Topog. Ser., scale 

1:63,360. 

2 

Available from: Denver Distribution Section, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; $0.75. 

A standard detailed togographic map at a scale of 1 inch 

equals 1 mile. In addition to the outlines of land and sea, the 

map shows streams, most of Anchorage, major roads, and the 

elevation of the land above sea level. Topographic maps are 

widely used by outdoor enthusiasts and planning engineers. 

Reference: Schmoll, H. R., and Dobrovolny, Ernest, 1974, 

Foundation and excavation conditions map of Anchorage and 

vicinity, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map 

I-787-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Available from: Denver Distribution Section, U.S. Geological 

Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; $0.75. 

A map showing the distribution of surficial deposits in the 

Anchorage area. It can be profitably be used by city planners in 

the development of zoning regulations, thus as1uring not only 

future access to construction materials but ad~quate foundations for buildings, as well. 

Reference: Grantz, Arthur, McHendrie, A. G., Nilsen, T. H., 

Yorath, C. J., and Phillips, J.D., 1974, Digital magetic tapes 

of single channel seismic reflection profiles on the continental shelf and slope between Bering Strait and Barrow, Alaska, and MacKenzie Bay, Canada: Natl. Te,.~h. Inf. Service 

(U.S. Dept. Commerce) Magnetic Tape No. PB-232 344. 

Available from: National Technical Information Service, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, Springfield, Va. 22161; $4.00. 

Seismic reflection profiling is a technique us,.~d to determine 

the rocks and geologic structures that are beneEth the sea floor. 

The method is often the first stage in the search for offshore 

deposits of petroleum and gas. 

Reference: Brew, D. A., 1974, Environmental impact analysis; 

the example of the proposed trans-Alaska pipeline: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Circ. 695, 16 p. 

Available from: U.S. Geological Survey, W::-shington, D.C. 

20244; copies are distributed free while the supply lasts. 

An overview of the analysis that was invclved in the environmental impact statement for the oil pipeline from the 

scientific viewpoint. This summary can serve a 1 a useful tool to 

scientists and planners who will be doing anal:Tses of environmental impacts for projects of any size. 

Reference: MacKevett, E. M., Jr., and Plafker, George, 1974, 

The Border Ranges fault in south-central Al11ska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 3, p. 323-3J9. 

Available from: Superintendent of Documents, Government 

Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; $3.15, single copy; 

$18.90 per year. 

A discussion of the Valdez and McCarthy quadrangles part of 

a major fault that can be traced for more than 1,000 km along 

the Pacific border of Alaska. The study is scholarly and illustrates recent advances in knowledge of the geologic structure 

and history in the rugged coastal mountains of southern 

Alaska. 

In addition to its responsibility for obtaining and 

analyzing land and water resourc":!S data, the 

Geological Survey supervises the extraction of 

valuable mineral commodities from r1.any typ'es of 
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR 

Director 

Asst. Director- -Eastern Region Assoc. Director Land Information & Analysis C ffice 

Asst. Director- -Central Region !--

Asst. Director- -Western Region 

Asst. Director- -Land Resources 

Asst. Director- -Programs 

1-- Earth Resources Observation Program 

Geography Program Asst. Director- -Environmental 

Earth Sciences Application Program 

Resource & Land Investigations Program 

Environmental Impact Analysis Program 

Conservation 

!Information Office 1--

Asst. Director- -Energy & 

Mineral Resources 

Asst. Director- -Administration 

~----------~------------~ 

Geologic 

Division 

see 

Figure 2 

I 

Computer 

Division 

Conservation 

Division 

see 

Figure 3 

Administrative 

Division 

Water Resources 

Division 

see 

Figure 4 

I 

Publications 

Division 

T apograph ic 

Division 

see 

Figure 5 

FIGURE !.-Organization of the U.S. Geological Survey. 

federal lands, including the offshore outer continental shelf. 

The Alaskan activities of the Geological Survey 

are carried out through all of its four main operating divisions and by a number of interdivisional 

programs, committees, and working groups. These 

are briefly described in the following sections. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

The organization of the Geological Survey and 

its four main operating divisions is portrayed in 

figures 1 through 5. 

The main structure of the Geological Survey 

(fig. 1) consists of four operating divisions (Geologic, Conservation, Water Resources, and Topographic) and three support divisions (Computer, 

Administrative, and Publications). Headquarters 

for all divisions are in Reston, Va. 

Investigations of the geology of the United 

States and certain other countries are mainly conducted in the Geologic Division under the direction 

of Richard P. Sheldon, Chief Geologist. The 

3 

Geologic Division (fig. 2) includes six operating 

offices (Mineral Resources, Environmental Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics, E'l.ergy Resources and Marine Geology, Earthquake Studies, 

and International Geology) supported tv an Office 

of Scientific Publications. The headquarters ofthe 

offices are located in Reston, V a. 

The Conservation Division supervis~s oil, gas, 

and other mineral extraction activities on certain 

federal lands. The regional responsibilities of the 

Division are vested in four operational offices: 

Eastern, Central, and Western Regions, and Gulf 

of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. Tl'a, Alaskan 

activities of the Conservation Division, which are 

especially emphasized in figure 3, are supervised 

by the Western Region Office in Menlo Fark, Calif. 

The organization of the Water Reso•1rces Division of the Geological Survey is shown in figure 4 

(with Alaskan activities emphasized). The main 

operating units are located under four regional 

subdivisions (Northeastern, Southeastern, Central, and Western) supported by Assirtant Chief 

Hydrologist Offices for Scientific Publications and 

Data Management, Operations, and Re.c;;;earch and 

Technical Coordination. 
Office of the Chief Geologist 

Chief Geologist- -R. P. Sheldon 

J Dep. Chief Geol.- -R. E. Davis 

Dep. Chief Geol. for I 

Program and Budget- -D. H. Dow 

Administrative Off.- -W. E. Fichtner Reg1onal Geol., Eastern Region- -E. H. Roseboom, Jr. 

Office of Scientific Publications Regional Geol., Central Region- -R. P. Erickson 

- -G. E. Becraft Regional Geol., Western Region- -D. L. Jones 

J j I j 

Office of Mineral Resources Office of Environmental Geology Office of Geochemistry & Geophysics Office of Energy Resources 

--E. W. Tooker - -J. C. Reed, Jr. - -R. S. Fiske and Marine Geology- -C. D. Masters 

~ 

Branches: Branches: Branches: Branches: Experimental Geochemistry and Oil and Gas Resources- -P. R. Rose Eastern- -C. E. Brown Eastern- -N. L. Hatch, Jr. Mineralogy- -D. R. Wones Central- Coal Resources- -G. H. Wood -R. B. Taylor Kentucky- -W. W. Olive Field Geochemistry and Petrology Western- Chemical Resources- -0. B. Raup -G. W. Walker Central- -P. L. Williams - -W. E. Hall Uranium and Thorium Resources Alaskan- -G. Gryc Western- -M. C. Blake, Jr. Isotope Geology- -2. E. Peterman - -W. I. Finch Exploration Research Engineering- -R. L. Schuster Regional Geochemistry Pacific-Arctic Geology - -P. K. Theobald Special Projects- -W. S. Twenhofel - -J. J. Connor Office --D. W. Scholl of Resource Analysis Astrogeologic Studies Analytical Laboratories- -1. May Atlantic-Gulf- -J. C. Behrendt - -A. L. Clark - -M. H. Carr Theoretical and Applied Geophysics Paleontology and Stratigraphy - -M. F. Kane - -J. E. Hazel Hawaiian Volcano Observatory 

--R.I. Tilling 

j I 

Office of Earthquake Studies Office of International Geology 

- -R. M. Hamilton - -J. A. Reinemund 

Branches: Branches: 

Seismic Engineering- -R. B. Matthiesen Latin American and African Geology 

Seismicity and Risk Analysis --A. H. Chidester 

- -S. T. Algermissen Middle Eastern and Asian Geology 

Seismology- -P. L. Ward --D. F. Davidson 

Earthquake Tectonics- -C. B. Raleigh 

FIGURE 2.-0rganization of the Geologic Division. 
01 

I 

Office of the Division Chief 

Division Chief- -R. G. Wayland 

Assoc. Chief- -A. D. Acuff 

Admin. Officer- -K. Petty 

Office of the Assistant Division 

Chief for Operations 

Office of the Assistant Division 

Chief for Resource Evaluation 

l 

Office of the Assistant 

Division Chief for Program 

Assistant Div. Chief- -J. Duletsky Asst. Div. Chief- -R. L. Rioux Assist. Div. Chief--

H. L. Pumphrey 

l 

Western Region- -Menlo Park 

Office of the Regional Conservation Manager 

Regional Manager- -W. C. Gere 

Asst. Regional Manager- -H. A. Oden 

Area Oil and Gas Supervisor- -Alaska 

Supervisor- -R. A. Smith 

Area Geologist- -Alaska 

Geologist- -A. A. Wanek 

Area Mining Supervisor- -Alaska Pacific 

Supervisor- -L. H. Saarela 

Area Hydraulic Engineer- -Western Area 

Acting Hydraulic Engineer- -J. L. Colbert 

1---' 

t1--

II 

Central Region- -Denver 

Office of the Regional Cons. Manager 

Regional Manager- -G. H. Horn 

l 

Gulf of Mexico OCS Operations 

Office of the Manager 

Manager- -R. E. Evans 

Eastern Region- -Washington, D. C. 

Office of the Regional Conservation Manager 

Regional Manager- -G. E. Brown 

FIGURE a.-Organization of the Conservation Division. 
OFFICE OF THE DIVISION CHIEF 

Chief Hydrologist Office of Water 

J. S. Cragwall, Jr. - Data Coordination 

Associate Chief Hydrologist R. H. Langford 

0. M. Hackett 

I 

I l I Asst. Chief Hydrologist for Asst. Chief Hydrologist Asst. Chief Hydrologist for 

Scientific Publications and for Operations Research and Technical 

Data Management --vacant Coordination 

G. W. Whetstone E. A. Moulder 

Administrative Officer 

C. S. Herbert, Jr. 

I I I I 

Northeastern Reg1onal I So"'h"""" "''""'' I Central Regional Western Regional 

Hydrologist Hydrologist HydrologiSt Hydrologist 

J. T. Callahan L. B. Laird Alfred Clebsch, Jr. E. R. Leeson 

l 

..1 l 

Field Office Alaska District Chief 

Barrow, Alaska Harry Hulsing 

I 

I J 

j Juneau Subdistrict 

J I Anchorage Subdistrict I Fairbanks Subdistnct 

V. K. Berwick- -Ch1ef R. S. George- -Chief J.P. Meckel- -Chief 

FIGURE 4.-0rganization of the Water Resources Division. 

The preparation of topographic and other 

special-purpose geographic maps is accomplished 

by the Topographic Division (fig. 5). The principal 

work responsibilities are met by the regional mapping centers (Eastern, Mid-continent, Rocky 

Mountain, and Western) under the supervision of 

the Chief of the Topographic Division. 

ORGANIZATIONAL SEGMENTS SERVING ALASKA 

All four operational Divisions of the Geological 

Survey-Conservation, Geologic, Topographic, 

and Water Resources-function in Alaska and are 

supported by the Administrative, Publications, 

and Computer Divisions, as well as other organizational entities of lower than Division rank. 

CONSERVATION DIVISION 

The Conservation Division examines and classifies federal lands as to their mineral character 

and waterpower and water-storage values; determines estimated resource values for onshore and 

offshore competitive lease sales; supervises exploration and development for leases on Federal, 

Indian, and certain Naval petroleum reserve land, 

and the offshore outer continental shelf; and maintains accounts and collects rentals and royalties 

6 

from related mineral production. 

Consistent with the national con~ern for environmental protection, the Division's regulations 

and procedures are subject to frequent reappraisal 

and revision in order to avoid or mitigate consequences that may result from pollution incidents, 

surface damage resulting from mining, geothermal, and petroleum operations, or other hazards 

that may be associated with mineral operations 

conducted under leases and prospecting permits. 

These activities are under the gen£:ral direction 

of Russell G. Wayland, Chief, Conservation Division, National Center, Mail Stop 600, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, V a. 22092. All Alaskan 

activities are supervised by W. C. G~re, Western 

Region Conservation Manager, 345 Middlefield 

Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025. The Office of the 

Alaska-Pacific Mining Supervisor, Le'l H. Saarela, 

is also located at the Menlo Park address. 

J. L. Colbert, the acting Hydraulic Engineer for 

the Western Region, is located at 830 N.E. Holladay, P.O. Box 3202, Portland, Ore. 97208, and the 

Alaska waterpower evaluation progr1.m is a function of that office. Both the office o~ the Alaska 

Area Geologist, Alexander A. Wanek, and that of 

the Alaska Area Oil and Gas Supervisor, Rodney 

A. Smith, are located at 800 A St., Anchorage, 

Alaska 99501. 
OFFICE OF THE DIVJSION CHIEF 

Division Chief- -R. H. Lyddan 

Associate Chief- -R. B. Southard 

I I 

Office of Plans and Office of Research and 

Program Development Technical Standards 

Chief- -D. G. Frederick Chief- -M. M. Th')mpson 

I I I I 

Eastern Mapping Mid-Continent Rocky Mountam Western Mapping 

Center Mapping Center Mapping Center Center 

Chief- -P. F. Bermel Chief- -A. C. McCutchen Chief- -A. E. Letey Chief- -R. R. Mullen 

1 ··-

Special Mapping Alaska Resident 

Center Engr.- -vacant 

Chief- -R. E. Fordham 

FIGURE 5.-0rganization of the Topographic Division. 

GEOLOGIC DIVISION 

The current scientific investigations of the 

Geologic Division in Alaska include geologic mapping and mineral resource evaluation, principally 

at scales of 1:250,000 and 1:63,360; mineral dis-' 

trict mapping and evaluation; mineral reconnaissance; geochemical studies and sampling, particularly related to mineral deposit studies; petroleum 

resource surveys; aeromagnetic and gravity surveys and interpretation~ engineering geology 

studies in urban areas and transportation routes; 

earthquake studies; isotope age determination 

and interpretation; heat flow; and submarine 

sampling, subbottom profiling, and other geophysical studies of the ocean floor. 

The Survey's program of geologic research is 

under the direction of Richard P. Sheldon, Chief 

Geologist. Activities in Alaska are the responsibility of several groups within the Geologic Division: 

The Branch of Alaskan Geology, the Office of 

Earthquake Studies, and the Office of Energy Resources and Marine Geology at the Pacific Coast 

Field Center, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; the Branches of Theoretical and Applied Geophysics, Exploration Research, Isotope 

Geology, and Engineering Geology at the Rocky 

Mountain Field Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; and 

the Branch of Paleontology and Stratigraphy at 

the National Center, Reston, Va. 22092. Several 

other branches of the Geologic Division provide 

services or conduct research in cooperation with 

7 

these units. The Geologic Division n.aintains two 

offices in Alaska: the main one at l 209 Orca St., 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501 ([907] 272.-8228), with 

Thomas P. Miller as the geologist in charge, and 

the other at the University of Alaska, ([907] 479-

7245) with Florence R. Weber in charge. 

In its study of Alaskan geology, the Survey supports and cooperates with several universities and 

other public agencies, including the State of Alaska's Geological and Geophysical Survey. 

TOPOGRAPHIC DIVISION 

The Topographic Division's main task is the 

preparation of the National Topographic Map 

Series, which includes all of the qua-lrangle maps 

covering the 50 states of the nation. The topographic mapping program of the G~ological Survey is under the direction of Robert H. Lyddan, 

Chief, Topographic Division. The C '"flee of Plans 

and Program Development is responsible for initiating and controlling the work of the Division. 

The chief of this office is D. G. Frec ~rick. 

Mapping operations in Alaska arc the responsibility of A. E. Letey, Chief, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center, who directs the operational functions 

of the mapping center, including all field and office 

operations. He may be consulted at the Federal 

Center, Denver, Colo. 80225 ([303] 234-3131, ext. 

2351). 
WATER RESOURCES DIVISION 

The Alaskan water resources program includes 

the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data 

on the availability and quality of surface and 

ground water and includes special studies andresearch that seek to evaluate and increase the effective use of water resources data in the State. This 

basic water data provides a broad base to support 

the proper management and protection of the 

State's water and related land resources. 

The network of data collection sites maintained 

includes the following: 

Streamflow ___________________________________ _ 

Sediment _____________________________________ _ 

Chemical _____________________________________ _ 

Biological _____________________________________ _ 

Temperature _________________________________ _ 

Ground-water observation wells _________________ _ 

Intermittent 

Daily or partial 

sites record sites 

108 

0 

11 

39 

11 

82 

18 

11 

4 

151 

9 

The Geological Survey's water resources investigations are under the direction of the Chief Hydrologist, Water Resources Division, Reston, V a. 

22092. The investigations in the western United 

States, including Alaska, are under the jurisdiction of the Western Region office and are the responsibility of Elwood R. Leeson, Regional Hydrologist, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 

94025. The Anchorage District office is in the 

Skyline Bldg., 218 ESt., Anchorage, Alaska 99501 

([907] 277-5526), under the supervision of Harry 

Hulsing, District Chief. This office is operated on a 

year-round basis and is responsible for planning 

and supervising Alaskan activities. 

The field activities of the Alaska District are a 

function of the three Subdistrict offices: Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. The Anchorage Subdistrict office is responsible for operations in 

south-central and western Alaska and is under the 

supervision of Raymond S. George. It is located at 

1209 Orca St., Anchorage, Alaska 99501 ([907] 

279--1563). The Juneau Subdistrict office, which is 

responsible for operations in southeastern Alaska, 

is under the supervision ofV ernon K. Berwick and 

is located at 441 Federal Building, P. 0. Box 1568, 

Juneau, Alaska 99802 ([907] 586--7217). The Fairbanks Subdistrict office is responsible for operations in northern Alaska and is under the supervision of James P. Meckel. It is located at 310 First 

Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 ([907] 452-1951, 

ext. 176). 

A field office at Barrow, Alaska, has been established to support work being done on the Arctic Ice 

Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX). The address is U.S. Geological Survey, c/o AIDJEX Naval 

Arctic Research Laboratory, Barrow, Alaska 

99723 ([907] 852-6588; commercial telephone is 

[907] 852-9245. 

PUBLICATIONS DIVISION 

The Publications Division edits scientific and 

technical manuscripts; reproduces top0graphic, 

geologic, and other maps; prepares exribits and 

visual aids; disseminates general Survey program 

and publications information and distributes 

maps to the public. These activities are under the 

direction of Harry D. Wilson, Jr., Chief, Publications Division, National Center, Reston, Va. 

22092. 

The Division maintains two offices in Alaska for 

the customers' convenience in obtaining maps, 

book reports, and other material prepar~d by the 

U.S. Geological Survey. 

The Alaska Distribution Section at 310 First 

Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 ([907] 452-1951, 

ext. 174) is supervised by Natalie A. Cornforth 

under the direction of the Publications Division, 

·Western Region, Menlo Park, Calif. It distributes 

maps and map-related publications by mail and 

over the counter to the public, to 25 ccmmercial 

dealers in Alaska, and to Federal and S~ate agencies. A schedule of map prices and discounts is 

available on request. During calendar rear 197 4, 

the Alaska Distribution Section dispensed more 

than 138,000 items. 

8 

A Public Inquiries Office, at 108 Skyline Building, 508 Second Ave., Anchorage, Alaska 99501 

([907] 277-0577), is supervised by Margaret I. 

Erwin under the direction of the Office of Public 

Inquiries, Publications Division, National Center, 

Reston, Va. It maintains a stock of Alaska topographic and geologic maps for over-tl'~-counter 

sale, and, as an agent of the Superintendent of 

Documents, sells Geological Survey bo'lk reports 

on Alaska. It serves as a public contac~ point for 

Survey activities in the State and has a complete 

library of all Survey publications. The office is a 

depository for Alaska open-file reports and maintains a browse file containing microfilms of 

LANDSAT (satellite) images. During th~ calendar 

year 197 4, the Anchorage office hac1 approximately 26,000 public contacts. 
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION 

The Alaska Field Office of the Administrative 

Division is located at 204 Skyline Building, 218 E 

Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501. The phone 

number for this office is [907] 277-0569. The office 

is supervised by Betty J. Mcintire and provides 

service and supply support to U.S. Geological Survey offices and personnel in Alaska. For this 

reason, it is important that itineraries of all transients to Alaska are supplied to the Alaska Field 

Office to facilitate forwarding of mail and 

messages. 

Arrangements for U.S. Geological Survey personnel to stay at the Alyeska Pipeline Service 

Company camps, and reservations for transportation to the camps, are made by Mrs. Mcintire in 

Anchorage. Notice in advance is necessary. 

The Anchorage Warehouse is under the supervision of Clarence (Buck) Buchanan and is located 

about 5 miles east of downtown Anchorage, just 

inside the boundary of Elmendorf Air Force Base 

([907] 753--2119). Field equipment and samples 

may be shipped to the warehouse for storage. The 

address is: 5500 Oilwell Road, Elmendorf Air 

Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska 99506. The warehouse for the Fairbanks area is located at Ft. 

Wainwright but will be staffed only if warranted 

by the level of field activity. The telephone number 

at Ft. Wainwright is: [907] 353--3139. 

ALASKA SURVEY COMMITTEE 

Discussion and coordination of Alaska activities 

are provided by the Alaska Survey Committee, a 

forum in which each of the Divisions of the Geological Survey operating in Alaska is represented. 

Florence R. Weber, Geologic Division, chairs the 

group for 1975; other members are Harry Hulsing, 

Water Resources; Alexander A. Wanek, Conservation; Thomas J. O'Brien, Topographic; Margaret I. 

Erwin, Publications; and Betty J. Mcintire, Administrative. 

EMERGENCY SEARCH AND RESCUE 

To initiate search and rescue in cases of emergency, contact the Air Rescue Coordination Center 

in Anchorage at any time during the day or night. 

Communications can be made directly to the center, telephone: [907] 277-2131, 752-1106, 752-

0227, through the Alaska Field Office, either tele9 

phone or radio (see section on Radi'l Network), 

nearest FAA Flight Service Station, military installation, or State Troopers. To the extent possible, specify location and nature of emergency, time 

of the accident, number of people involved, and the 

nature of possible injuries. 

For the purpose of notifying headauarters and 

family of any emergency, please contact Betty 

Mcintire (work: [907] 277-0569, home: [907] 272-

5398) or Buck Buchanan (work: [907] 277-0569, 

home: [907] 333--9445) as soon as pofsible. 

RADIO NETWORK 

Radio Officer for Alaska is Florence R. Weber, 

Geologic Divison, College, Alaska 99701 ([907] 

4 79--7245). Two frequencies, 5380 (5381.5) kHz 

and 3211.0 (3212.5) kHz (both upper SSB) are the 

official frequencies for U.S.G.S. personnel. 

For the 1975 field season, two base stations will 

be established through commercial radio service 

facilities. Alaska Public Fixed 5167.5 (5168.9) kHz 

will be monitored from 6:00a.m. through 9:00p.m. 

daily in Anchorage and from 7:00 a.m. through 

10:00 p.m. in Fairbanks. Only emergency calls will 

be accepted outside of these hours. 3211 (3212.5) 

kHz will be monitored in Anchorage and possibly 

in Fairbanks. Calls of commercial stations are 

WKD22 in Anchorage and KGA85 ((Broadmoor" in 

Fairbanks. 

EROS PROGRAM 

The EROS (Earth Resources Observation Systems) Program was established by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1966 to as"ist in realizing the practical benefits in earth resource and 

environment inventory and monitoring that can 

be obtained by use of photography and other remote sensing data acquired by aircraft and space 

craft, particularly the Earth Resources Technology 

Satellite (ERTS), now renamed LANDSAT. The 

EROS Program is managed by the U.S. Geological 

Survey and directed by John N. DeNoyer, with 

headquarters at EROS Program, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1925 Isaac Newton Square East, Reston, 

Va. 22090 ([703] 860--7881 to -78f,5). The representative of EROS Program for Alaska and the 

Pacific States is Ernest H. Lathram, EROS Applications Assistance Facility, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 

94025 ([415] 323--8111, ext. 2727). 
EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 57198 

([605] 594--6511 ), is responsible for distributing 

LANDSAT (formerly ERTSI imagery and other 

remote sensing data to users throughout the 

world, as well as developing techniques of application of remote sensing to various resource problems and assisting users in employing these 

techniques. A large staff of specialists in a variety 

of disciplines is available to assist in the development of new applications. Information requests 

ranging from specific problems to future training 

opportunities may be directed to the Applications 

Assistance Branch of the Data Center. 

In November 1974, an EROS Applications Assistance Facility was established in Alaska to improve the availability of technical assistance to 

Alaskan users. This facility, located at the 

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, College, Alaska 99701 ([907] 4 79--7 487 ), was initially 

established by NASA to provide assistance to 

Alaskan ERTS-1 investigators, and is now being 

operated under contract to the EROS Program to 

provide assistance to the entire Alaskan user 

community. The facility is supervised by Albert E. 

Bel on, under the general direction of John M. Miller. Both standard and sophisticated interpretation equipment, including a color additive viewer 

and minicomputer enhancer are available. In addition, files of selected LANDSAT imagery, NASA 

and other aerial photography, and other remote 

sensing data on various parts of Alaska are maintained. 

The Applications Assistance Facility has arranged for William Stringer of the University of 

Alaska to spend 1 week each month at the Arctic 

Environmental Information and Data Center, 707 

A St., Anchorage, Alaska 99501 ([907] 279--4523), 

to answer questions and provide more direct assistance to Anchorage area users. 

Alaskan LANDSAT imagery is also available 

for inspection at the Public Inquiries Office, U.S. 

Geological Survey, Rm. 102,800 A St., Anchorage, 

Alaska 99501. 

ALASKAN PROJECTS OF THE U.S. 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Much of the work of the Geological Survey is 

organized and accomplished by projects in which 

the investigations of one or more scientists, engineers, and technicians are directed by a project 

chief. Some of the projects are statewide in scope, 

but most focus on one or more aspects cf topography, geology, or hydrology in particular parts of 

Alaska. Summarized in this section are the 

statewide and regional Survey projects planned for 

the field season of 1975. Summarized in a subsequent section are the projects undertaken in 

cooperation with various agencies of the State of 

Alaska. 

STATEWIDE PROJECTS 

Project: Mineral resources of Alaska. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Geologic r.~vision, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: Edward H. Cobb, U.S. ~Qlogical 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Men] o Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2213. 

Project plans: Office studies of mineral occurrence 

data will be pursued and metallic mineral commodity maps kept current, enabling p•xblished 

commodity maps to be brought up to date and 

republished (if additions would be sigJ.ificant) 

when present stocks become exhausted. Lists of 

references to recent Federal and State re-:ryorts on 

the geology and mineral resources of Alaska, 

indexed by topographic mapping quadrangles 

(scale 1:250,000), will be issued annually. These 

data are also being entered in a computerized 

storage and retrieval bank. 

Project: Identification of geostructures of continental crust from space craft imagery. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: EROS Program and 

Geologic Division, Office of Mineral Resources, 

Branch of Alaskan Geology. 

Project chief: Ernest H. Lathram, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2231 and 2727. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is to apply LANDSAT, NOAA, and Nimbus satellite 

imagery in identifying geological structures of 

regional extent in Alaska and interpreting their 

significance as guides to the emplace'llent of 

mineral and mineral fuel resources, as ~ides to 

development of exploration rationales, and as 

controls to theories of the formation ar~ deformation of the continental crust of Ala~ka. Results of this project are also contributions to the 

10 
STATEWIDE 

N arne of project Personnel 

Mineral Resources of Alaska E. H. Cobb 

Identification of E. H. Lathram 

geostructures from space 

craft imagery 

Alaskan Mineral Resource 

Assessment Program 

Alaska geothermal 

Alaska earthquake hazards 

Alaska heat-flow 

reconnaissance 

Hydrologic environment, 

TAPS corridor 

H. C. Berg and other Geologic 

Division personnel 

T. P. Miller 

George Plafker, Travis 

Hudson, Meyer Rubin, 

H. C. Berg 

A. H. Lachenbruch, Jackson 

Porter 

J. M. Childers 

Hydrologic studies related to W. W. Barnwell 

coal mining 

Joint US/USSR Working Group on the Natural 

Environment. 

Project: Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment 

Program (PAMRAP and AMRAP). 

Region and map keys: Statewide (6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 

18, 22, 24, 31). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Program manager: Henry C. Berg, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2266. 

Project plans: The Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program, authorized by Congress to 

begin on July 1, 1974, calls for an accurate appraisal of Alaska's mineral endowment within 

10 years. A rapid assessment of this vast and 

potentially mineral-rich region is required both 

to plan a viable long-range national minerals 

policy and to assist in decisions on Alaskan land 

Type of work 

Office studies; compilation 

Interpretation of satellite 

imagery 

Appraisal of Alaska's Mineral 

endowment through 

·mapping and 

aero-magnetic and 

geochemical analysis 

Reconnaissance mapping and 

sampling of calderas and 

volcanos 

Strip mapping along 

Fairweather fault; C14 

sampling of marine 

terraces 

Acquisition of holes deeper 

than 150m for heat-flow 

measurements 

Channel geometry studies, 

reconnaissance of icings; 

periphyton monitoring; 

glacial surge monitoring 

Area(sJ 

Statewide 

Statewide 

Statewide 

Aleutian Islands, Alaska 

Peninsula, Mt. Drum 

Fairweather fault; Lituya 

district 

Statewide 

Trans-Alaska pipelire 

corridor, Prudhoe Bay to 

Valdez 

Inventory existing hydrologic Statewide 

data in coal-bearing areas 

use and development over the next der.ade. 

Because mineral appraisals of sucll remote 

and little-known regions as Alaska are still 

largely experimental, the program was begun 

with an interdisciplinary (geochemistry, 

geophysics, telegeology, regional mapping) experiment to develop specific guidelines, 

techniques, and products as a model for a 

statewide mineral inventory. Called PAMRAP 

(Prototype Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program), this two-year program of reconnaissance geologic mapping and other field and 

laboratory studies will also provide gr~atly improved mineral resource information for 

selected prototype study areas. 

The four 1:250,000 quadrangles selected for 

P AMRAP are: Talkeetna, Tanacross, N abesna, 

and McCarthy. Each of these is managed by a 

((team-leader": B. Reed, H. Foster, D. Richter, 

and E. MacKevett, Jr., respectively. T'·,~re are 

ten additional quadrangles currently scheduled 

for appraisal under AMRAP: Big Delta, 

11 
Seward-Blying Sound, Chandalar, Philip Smith 

Mountains, Goodnews-Hagemeister Island, 

Ketchikan-Prince Rupert, and Talkeetna 

Mountains. The team-leaders for these quads 

are H. Foster, R. Tysdal, W. Brosge, H. Reiser, 

W. Coonrad, H. Berg, and B. Csejtey. More detailed project plans may be found in the following section under the individual quadrangles. 

The Branch of Exploration Research (BOER) 

will conduct regional geochemical surveys of the 

Chandalar quadrangle, and parts of the Talkeetna, Talkeetna Mountains, Goodnews, Big 

Delta, and Seward quadrangles this summer. 

These surveys are designed to outline and aid in 

the classification of areas of mineralized rock for 

their mineral resource potential. The surveys 

will be of a reconnaissance nature except in 

those areas where more specialized geochemical 

studies are indicated. A special laboratory will 

be established in Anchorage for the summer to 

analyze the PAMRAP-AMRAP samples. 

Personnel from the Branch of Theoretical and 

Applied Geophysics will participate in ground 

geophysical studies in a number of the 

PAMRAP-AMRAP quadrangles, including Talkeetna Mountains, Goodnews, Chandalar, 

Philip Smith, Seward, and Blying Sound. Much 

of the work will consist of gravity surveys but 

some ground magnetic surveys and sample collection will be conducted in areas of special interest. 

Project: Alaska geothermal. 

Region and map key: Statewide (14). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief· Thomas P. Miller, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1209 Orca St., Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 272-8228. 

Project plans: Approximately 2 weeks will be 

spent in the eastern Aleutian Islands conducting helicopter-supported geologic mapping and 

sampling of Quaternary calderas, including 

Fisher, Akutan, Makushin, and Okmok. One 

week will be spent enroute back to Anchorage 

completing reconnaissance mapping of calderas 

on the Alaskan Peninsula and sampling of the 

precaldera volcanoes for K/ Ar age dating. Reconnaissance studies in the general area of 

Mount Spurr will be carried out from Anchorage 

for about a week. 

Following these reconnaissanc~ studies, a 

gravity survey will begin in the western 

Wrangell Mountains, centering around Mount 

Drum; a complementary aeromag'l.etic survey 

may also be conducted in this regi':ln. 

Project: Alaska earthquake hazards., 

Region and map key: Statewide (27). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief' George Plafker, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, ~1enlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2201. 

Project plans: The overall objective of this project 

is to study and evaluate risk in Alaska from 

tectonic displacement, seismic shaking, and secondary geologic effects. A more general goal is to 

gain insight into tectonic processes within the 

seismically active zones of Alaska, with special 

emphasis on south-central Alaska. 

Plans for 1975 involve roughly 15 days of 

helicopter-supported fieldwork during June in 

the Lituya district and on Chichagof and 

Baranof Islands. From June 1 through 21, 

Plafker, Travis Hudson, and MeyE-r Rubin will 

be based on the RN Don J. Miller in Lituya Bay 

during which time they plan to carry out detailed strip mapping along the southern segment of the Fairweather fault and will map and 

sample (for C14 dating) the marine terraces 

along the Lituya district coast. From June 23 

through 30, Plafker, Hudson, and Henry Berg 

will be based at Sitka while they make a reconnaissance study of the major tectonic features on 

Chichagof and Baranof Islands. 

Project: Alaska heat-flow reconnaisrq,nce. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Earthquake Studies, Earthquake Tectonics Branch. 

Project chief: Arthur H. Lachenbruch, U.S. 

Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo 

Park, Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2272. 

Project representative in Anchorf' ge, from approximately June 15: Jackson R. Porter, c/o U.S. 

Geological Survey, 1209 Orca Str~et, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; [907] 272-822P., 

Project plans: Continued acquisition of holes 

(deeper than 150 m) drilled by mineral and oil 

12 
exploration companies, for temperature measurements. Subject to the approval of the 

operators, and on a noninterference basis, plastic pipe(% inch i.d.) will be taken into the drilling camps for insertion into completed holes to 

preserve them for later temperature measurements. We will concentrate on extending our 

coverage of heat flow in intrusive and metamorphic terrains, as part of continuing studies relating to the energetics of earthquakes and to 

geothermal resource reconnaissance. Persons 

who know of plans or who have plans to drill to 

depths greater than 150m (500 feet) should contact either the project chief or, after June 15, the 

project representative in Anchorage. Any information of this type would be greatly appreciated. 

Project: Hydrologic environment of the transAlaska pipeline system (TAPS), Alaska. 

Region: Statewide, transportation corridor, Arctic Ocean (Prudhoe Bay) to Pacific Ocean (Valdez). 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief" J. M. Childers, U.S. Geological Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The objective of this project is to 

assess the hydro logic impact of the trans-Alaska 

pipeline system. Channel geometry studies will 

be extended to small steams in order to establish 

flood risk zones and evaluate erosion potential; 

reconnaissance of icings along the pipeline route 

will be continued. ERTS imagery and other remote sensing will be used to inventory large 

icings. A periphyton (micro-organisms) 

monitoring system in the northern half of the 

pipeline route will be established. Monitoring of 

glacier dammed lakes near the pipeline route 

and research into the surge mechanics of Black 

Rapids Glacier will be continued. Aerial photography will be continued in order to monitor 

glacial streams and icing changes along the 

pipeline corridor. 

Project: Hydrologic studies related to future mining of coal in Alaska. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

13 

Project chief: W. W. Barnwell, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The purpose of this r~oject is to 

inventory existing data relating to hydrologic 

conditions in coal-bearing areas and make 

recommendations for the future c0llection of 

hydrologic data in developing the Greas. 

PROJECTS WITH REGIONAL EMPHASIS 

The major part of the Geological Survey's 

Alaskan program consists of projects of less than 

statewide scope. In this summary of 1f\75 regional 

project plans, data on the location, s~af:fing, and 

plans are presented. The location of ea~h project is 

also shown by number on the accomp~.nying map 

(fig. 6), as is the location of the several statewide 

projects which have a regional focus for the 

summer's activities. 

Many projects are intensive investigations that 

require several years to complete. As with most 

technical studies, final formulation Gnd publication of results are accomplished at th~ end of the 

investigation. For some projects, however, interim 

results and findings are compiled and presented in 

the section of this report on ~~S·1mmary of 

Important Results, 1974." Interim accounts of the 

continuing hydrological investigations are prepared and separately published by the Water 

Resources Division. Inquiries on the status of the 

various project should be directed to the project 

chief at the address listed in the project summary. 

NORTHERN ALASKA 

Project: Beaufort-Chukchi Sea continental shelf. 

Region: Northern Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Geolog~~ Division, 

Office of Energy Resources, and Marine Geology, Pacific-Arctic Branch. 

Project chief: Arthur Grantz, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, l\lfenlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2259. 

Project plans: No fieldwork is planned on this 

project during 1975. 

Project: Arctic coastal and shelf processes and the 

environment of the Beaufort Sea. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska (1). 
,...... 

~ 

r--ts 

I 

--------------, I 

~ WEST -CENTRAL 

------ _..,._..,.---- / ------ _..,.---' --------- // I 

_../-- s 0 u T H wEsTERN I~ (2(1 

_..,... ... / ~ 1 ,,4 --= . .._ I 

/ 

/ 

I 

I 

I 

) 

EAST-CENTRAL 

.·~ .. 

~--~-

FIGURE 6.-Locations of 1975 field projects of the U.S. Geological Survey. 
Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Marine Geology, Pacific-Arctic Branch. 

Project chiefs: Erk Reimnitz, P. W. Barnes, U.S. 

Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo 

Park, Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2695 

and 2114 respectively. 

Project plans: Our operations in the next 2 years 

will focus on the shelf region from the winter 

shear zone (at 10-30 m of water depth) shoreward to the coast. To accomplish these studies 

the Geological Survey is constructing a shallow 

draft research vessel to replace the R/V Loon, 

which was used in the Beaufort Sea during 1971, 

1972, and 1973. This new vessel, the R/V Karluk 

is especially adapted for independent operation 

on the inner shelf. 

The Karluk will be barged to Kotzebue by 

mid-July 1975 and commence work on the inner 

shelf, following the retreating ice around Barrow, thence work eastward as far as Flaxman 

Island. 

Equipment operated routinely aboard the 

vessel includes bottom sampling and coring 

gear, water salinity-, temperature-, and turbidity sensors, current meters, fathometers, a high 

resolution seismic system, side scan sonar, and 

underwater television. This equipment will be 

used in a reconnaissance survey between Kotzebue and Harrison Bay, broadening the data 

base of our existing studies in the Prudhoe Bay 

area and on the outer shelf. Some of the 

problems we will be studying include (1) 

distribution, rates, and intensity of ice gouging, 

(2) potential areas for offshore gravel resources, 

(3) inner shelf oceanography as it relates to the 

sedimentary environment, (4) Pleistocene stratigraphy and recent geologic history, and (5) 

inner shelf sediment transport regime of icerafting, river effluents, and sediment resuspension by ice and benthos. 

Between Barrow and Prudhoe Bay, a seismic 

refraction system will be used in cooperation 

with the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Alaska, to study offshore permafrost on 

the inner shelf. 

Special problems which have arisen from our 

earlier studies between Harrison Bay and 

Flaxman Island will be worked on during the 

later part of the season. These will involve (1) 

implanting current meters for observations 

during freezeup and throughout the ice covered 

period, (2) repetitive sonar and fathometer 

15 

surveys, (3) diving (SCUBA) obserYations and 

bottom photography, (4) measurements of sediment thicknesses within ice gouges, (5) coring in 

sands, silts, and gravels, and (6) measurement of 

river delta sediments and sedimentary processes. 

Project: Kokolik-Utokok River Coal Investigations. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska, Point Lay 

and Utokok River Quadrangles (2). 

Organizational designation: Conservation Division, Office of the Area Geologist, Alaska Area. 

Project chief· J. E. Callahan, P. 0. Box 259, 

Anchorage, Alaska 99510; [907] 277-0570. 

Project plans: To prepare for the eventuality that 

oil and gas in Naval Petroleum Re2erve No. 4 

will be leased and managed by the Interior 

Department, it is proposed to extend investigations in the Cretaceous coals of N crthwestern 

Alaska into the western part of the Reserve from 

previously mapped areas in the Kukpowruk 

River-Cape Beaufort area. The investigation 

will include surface geologic mapping between 

Kukpowruk and Kokolik Rivers and along the 

Kokolik, with a limited amount of shallow 

augering in an attempt to stratigraphically 

project significant coal beds into upland areas 

away from outcrops along the major streams. 

Project: Regional Petroleum GeolO'ZY, Alaska 

North Slope. 

Region: Northern Alaska, north flank of the 

Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. 

Organizational designation: Geologi~ Division, 

Office of Energy Resources and Marine Geology, 

Branch of Oil and Gas Resources. 

Project chief· Robert D. Carter and Irvin L. 

Tailleur, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. f4025; [415] 

323-8111, ext. 2116 and 2254, resp~ctively. 

Project plans: Reconnaissance geologk investigations and mapping with helicopter support along 

the north flank of the Brooks Range. Objective is 

to study Cretaceous and Mississippian facies to 

determine depositional environments, lateral 

relationships, and correlations; to gather data 

on structural relationships, especially thrust 

sequences; and to collect samples for geochemical and paleontologic studies. Petrographic 

studies of the Lisburne group direded toward 

evaluation and documentation of tl'e reservoll' 
Northern Alaska 

Name of project Personnel Type of work Area(sl 

Arctic coastal and shelf 

processes and the 

environment of the 

Beaufort Sea 

Erk Reimnitz, P. W. Barnes Bottom sampling and coring; Beaufort Sea 

water salinity, 

temperature and turbidity 

sensing; seismic, sonar, 

and television 

reconnaissance of the 

bottom 

Kokolik-Utokok River coal J.E.Callahan Surface geologic mapping; NPR-4 between Kukpowruk 

investigations shallow augering and Kokolik Rivers 

Regional petroleum geology, R. D. Carter, I. L. Tailleur, Geologic mapping and Northern flank of Brooks 

North Slope K. Bird, B. Kososki, depositional studies Range 

C. Mayfield, C. G. Mull 

Western Alaska Cenozoic L. Carter, R. Hartz, Detailed stratigraphic Colville River, Urr.iat to coast 

Gubik Formation R. Nelson analysis to Prudhoe Bay 

Arctic Environmental studies 0. J. Ferrians, Jr. Engineering-geologic Northern Alaska, Arctic 

mapping Coastal Plain 

Quaternary geology, central Thomas Hamilton, Reconnaissance surficial Philip Smith Mouri;ains and 

Brooks Range Robert Thorson mapping, stratigraphic Chandalar quad"":"angles 

studies 

Philip Smith Mts. <AMRAP) Hillard N. Reiser, William P. Geologic mapping, Philip Smith quad ':"angle 

Brosge, R. L. Detterman, biostratigraphic studies 

J. T. Dutro, Jr., David 

Orchard 

Eastern Brooks Range A. E. Letey and Topographic Topographic mapping Parts ofColeen, Demarcation 

Point, Table Mtn., 

Christian, Arctic, and Mt. 

Michelson quadrangles 

Division 

potential. A paleomagnetic study and gravity 

survey are contemplated if equipment and 

personnel become available. 

Subsurface studies beginning in the Prudhoe 

Bay area integrating well log and geophysical 

data. A bibliography of geological literature on 

the North Slope to be prepared and published as 

an open-file report. 

Project personnel include K. Bird, B. Kososki, 

C. Mayfield, and C. G. Mull. 

Project: Western Alaska Cenozoic Gubik Formation Study. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska; parts of 

Umiat, Harrison Bay, and Beechey Point quadrangles (3). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

16 

Project chief: D. M. Hopkins (pro t.em), U.S. 

Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Rnad, Menlo 

Park, Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2659. 

Project plans: Projected field plans call for a party 

of three, under the leadership of Louis CD ave") 

Carter, to enter the Colville River at Umiat on a 

rubber-raft expedition downriver to the coast, 

then eastward along the coast to Prudhoe Bay. 

Focus will be on detailed stratigraphic analysis 

of the exposures of the Gubik Fornation, to 

determine the maximum extent of the marine 

transgressions represented by the formation, 

and sampling for foraminifera, ostrr~coda, and 

mollusks at selected localities. Ho~es are to 

expand the known fauna, and possil: ly identify 

any distinctive faunal zonation that may be 

present. The project is being or~rated in 

cooperation with the Arctic nearshor~ project of 

Erk Reimnitz and Peter Barnes, to provide 
· FIGURE 7.-A well-developed pingo (ice-cored hill) near Inuvik, Canada. Pingos occur frequently in the continuous permafrost 

zone of Alaska. 

knowledge of the onshore stratigraphy to assist 

in interpretation of their seismic records, as well 

as to expand knowledge of the onshore geology 

and of sea level fluctuations along the Arctic 

coast. Bob Nelson, Roger Hartz, and Dave 

Carter expect to spend some 6 to 7 weeks 

working the river and coastal bluffs along the 

200-mile route. 

Project: Arctic Environmental Studies. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska, Arctic 

Coastal Plain-Prudhoe Bay to Alaska-Yukon 

border; parts of Beechey Point, Sagavanirktok, 

Flaxman Island, Mt. Michelson, Barter Island, 

and Demarcation Point quadrangles (4). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: Oscar J. Ferrians, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2247. 

Project plans: Engineering-geologic mapping will 

be carried out with helicopter support from 

August 6 through August 31. The proposed 

Arctic Gas Pipeline route crosses this region 

which is within the continuous permafrost zone. 

17 

Engineering-geologic studies are critical because permafrost poses unusual and serious 

engineering problems relating to the design, 

construction and maintenance of all types of 

structures. 

In addition, observations will be made along 

the trans-Alaska oil pipeline route between 

Prudhoe Bay and the summit of the Brooks 

Range in order to obtain pertinent geotechnical 

data relating to the construction and operation of 

the pipeline and haul road. 

Project: Quaternary geology of the central Brooks 

Range. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska, Philip 

Smith Mountains and Chandalar quadrangles 

(5). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: Thomas D. Hamilton, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2156. 

Project plans: The main objectives of the project 
are the preparation of reconnaissance-scale 

surficial geologic maps for the central Brooks 

Range and the development of a stratigraphic 

framework for the Quaternary deposits of this 

region. 

Mapping of the Philip Smith Mountains and 

Chandalar 1:250,000 quadrangles will be completed during 1975. Stratigraphic exposures 

along rivers in these map areas will be studied in 

detail and, where present, organic remains will 

be recovered for species identification and 

radiocarbon dating. Surficial geologic mapping 

will be extended westward across the central 

Brooks Range during subsequent summers to 

cover the following 1:250,000 quadrangles: 

Chandler Lake, Wiseman, Killik River, Survey 

Pass, Howard Pass, and Ambler River. 

A 6-week helicopter-supported field season is 

planned for the summer of 1975. Field headquarters for Thomas Hamilton and his assistant, Robert Thorson, will be at Galbraith Lake 

and Ghandalar Lake. 

Project: AMRAP and Philip Smith Mountains 

Quadrangle. 

Region and map key: Northern Alaska, Philip 

Smith Mountains quadrangle (6). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leaders: Hillard N. Reiser and William P. 

Brosge, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield 

Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, 

ext. 2387 and 2316 respectively. 

Project plans: Reconnaissance geologic mapping at 

1:250,000 scale, coupled with continued detailed 

biostratigraphic studies of the Lisburne and 

Sadlerochit Groups, will be conducted with the 

objective of refining existing paleo- and biostratigraphic interpretations of these rocks. 

Substantive evidence will also be sought pertaining to the question of large scale tectonic 

displacement of the rocks which constitute the 

Central Brooks Range. The mapping to be accomplished will tie to that of the Chandalar 

quadrangle immediately to the south and will be 

fundamental to the interpretation of geochemical sampling being conducted there this summer 

and extended and completed in the Philip Smith 

quadrangle in 1976. R. L. Detterman will be 

primarily concerned with stratigraphic studies 

in the Mississippian and post-Mississippian 

18 

rocks respectively. H. N. Reiser, W. P. Brosge, 

and J. T. Dutro, Jr. will primarily be concerned 

with the mapping and structural interpretation 

of the area. The field pa,rty, which will be based 

at the Galbraith Lake pipeline construction 

camp, will have David Orchard as field assistant. Fieldwork will begin June 1 and continue 

into August. Communication with the field 

party may be made through either the U.S. 

Geological Survey office in Fairbanks or the 

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. 

Project: Eastern Brooks Range. 

Region and map key: Northern and east-central 

Alaska, parts of Coleen, Demarcation Point, 

Table Mountain, Christian, Arctic, Mt, Michelson quadrangles (7). 

Organizational designation: Topographic Division, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center. 

Project chief: A. E. Letey, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; [303] 234-

3131, ext. 2351. 

Project plans: Field control was obtained during 

the 1972 field season. Sixteen 1:63,360-scale 

quadrangles have been published and 13 others 

have advanced manuscript copy available. 

Twenty-eight additional quadrangles have field 

control and will be compiled as soon as aerial 

photography is obtained. 

No field operations are scheduled for the 197 5 

field season. 

EAST-CENTRAL ALASKA 

Project: AMRAP and Chandalar quadrangle. 

Region and map key: East-central Alaska (8). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Exploration Research and Branch of Alaskan Geology. 

Party chief: Sherman P. Marsh, Branch of Exploration Research, U.S. Geological Survey, Bldg. 

25, Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; [303] 

234-3131, ext. 3852. (W. P. Brosge and H. N. 

Reiser, Branch of Alaskan Geology, Menlo Park, 

are the team leaders for AMRAP in the Chandalar quadrangle, but will be in the field in the 

adjacent Philip Smith quadrangle in 1975.) 

Project plans: During July and August Sherman P. 

Marsh, aided by a geochemist and three field 

assistants, will make a geochemical sample survey of the entire quadrangle. Milton A. Wiltse 

and a field assistant, both of the State of Alaska 
East-central Alaska 

Name of project 

Chandalar quad 

Yukon-Tanana Upland 

(AMRAP) 

Personnel 

Sherman P. Marsh, Milton A. 

Wiltse 

Helen Foster, Florence 

Weber, Terry Keith, Tom 

Hessin 

Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 

will map and sample some of the known prospects during approximately 3 weeks in July and 

August. Gravity data will be collected in late 

August by a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist. The field party will be supported by a 

helicopter and will be based at a cabin near the 

Chandalar Lake airstrip. The mailing address 

will be U.S.G.S. Chandalar Camp, c/o Betty 

Mcintire, Administrative Division, U.S. Geological Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501. Radio phone-patch communication will 

be on frequencies 3211 and 5167.5 through [907] 

344-9811 (Anchorage). 

Project: AMRAP and Yukon-Tanana Upland. 

Region and map key: East-central Alaska, Big 

Delta quadrangle (9). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leader: Helen L. Foster, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2331. 

Project plans: Reconnaissance geologic mapping 

and geochemical sampling will be carried on in 

the northern half of the Big Delta quadrangle. 

The field party will headquarter at Chena Hot 

Springs. During the months of July and August, 

the geologic party, consisting of Helen Foster, 

Type of work 

Geochemical survey; 

sampling of known 

prospects 

Geologic mapping 

geochemical sampling 

Area(s) 

Chandalar quadrangle 

Big Delta quadrangle 

Florence Weber, Terry Keith, and a field assistant, will be supported by helicopter. During 

August, Tom Hessin and three assistants will 

carry on a helicopter-supported geochemical 

sampling program which will be closely coordinated with the geologic mapping. 

WEST-CENTRAL ALASKA 

Project: Ruby quadrangle. 

Region and map key: West-central Alaska, chiefly 

southern three-fourths of the Ruby quadrangle 

(10). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: Robert M. Chapman, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2670. 

Project plans: Reconnaissance geologic mapping 

with helicopter support will be done in the portion of the Ruby quadrangle south of 64°45' N., 

during the last 3 weeks in August. The party, 

consisting ofR. M. Chapman and W. W. Patton, 

Jr., tentatively will be based first at Lake Minchumina and later at Galena. 

Investigations will be directed primarily toward identifying the major bedrock units in the 

Ruby quadrangle, which presently is incomWest-central Alaska 

Ruby quadrangle 

Nixon Fork stratigraphic 

studies 

Nome 

Robert M. Chapman, W. W. 

Patton, Jr. 

W. W. Patton, Jr., J. Thomas 

Dutro, Jr., Robert M. 

Chapman 

C. L. Hummel 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling 

Stratigraphic studies 

Compilation to determine 

controls of mineralization 

19 

Ruby quadrangle 

Medfra quadrangle 

Southwestern Seward 

Peninsula 
FIGURE 8.-A wood-stave pipeline, constructed for water diversion to mining projects in the Nome River valley, provided 

easy walking through some parts of the Grand Central River Valley. 

pletely known geologically. Pertinent data will 

be gathered to extend structural trends and rock 

units along the Ruby geanticline between the 

Kantishna River and Nulato quadrangles, in 

which geologic mapping was completed in 197 4. 

Sampling of bedrock and stream sediment for 

geochemical analysis and mapping of unconsolidated deposits will be done also, as time permits. 

Project: Nixon Fork stratigraphic studies 

(Hughes-Shungnak). 

Region and map key: West-central Alaska, Medfra 

quadrangle (11). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Projectchie{- William W. Patton, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2248. 

Project plans: Stratigraphic investigations of the 

Paleozoic and Mesozoic section in the Nixon 

Fork region will be undertaken by William W. 

20 

Patton, Jr., J . Thomas Dutro, and R. M. Chapman. These investigations are part of a longrange program for geologic mapping and mineral resource evaluation of the Ruby geanticline. 

The Nixon Fork region is of particular interest 

because it is one of the few areas in the densely 

vegetated terrain of the Ruby geanticline with 

good exposures of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic 

strata. The exposed sequence is reported to include fossiliferous Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian(?), Permian, and Cretaceous beds. The region is also of interest because ibs transected by 

the Iditarod-Nixon Fork lineament, a suspected 

strike-slip fault, which has been traced northeasterly across west-central Alaska for more 

than 400 km. 

The field party will operate by helicopter from 

a base at Medfra during late July and early 

August. 

Project: Nome. 

Region and map key: West-Central Alaska (32). 
Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: C. L. Hummel, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 

94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2606. 

Project plans: General project plans for the coming 

year are to complete compilation and correlation 

of all geoscientific information available for the 

bedrock and lodes of southwest Seward Peninsula in order to determine the regional controls 

of the primary mineralization. Fieldwork during the summer will comprise mainly detailed 

investigations of the bedrock geology and mineral deposits and geochemical sampling at 

numerous localities throughout the area. 

SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA 

Project: Western Alaska Cenozoic. 

Region and map key: Southwestern Alaska (12). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: D. M. Hopkins, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 

94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2659. 

Project plans: Three weeks in early June will be 

spent on the Pribilof Islands attempting to date 

frequency of faulting and volcanic eruptions and 

stability of the coastline. 

Project: Bering Sea. 

Region and map key: Southwestern f laska (13). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Energy Resources, Branc:'l of PacificArctic Geology. 

Project chief' M.S. Marlow, U.S. Gedogical Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 

94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2656. 

Project plans: Current plans are for E' two month 

geophysical and geological survey of the southern Bering Sea shelf and adjacent slope and basin. The R/V S. P. Lee will be equipr~d to collect 

24 channel seismic reflection, gravity, magnetic, 

bathymetric, and intermediate and high resolution seismic reflection data during the summer 

of 1975. Dredge, core, and grab samples will also 

be taken. 

Project: AMRAP Goodnews-Hagemeister Island 

and Southwestern Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southwestern Alaska; Goodnews and Hagemeister Island quadrangles (15). 

Organizational designation: Geolog~.c Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Brancl' of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leaders: W. L. Coonrad (AMRAP) andJ. M. 

Hoare (Southwestern Alaska), U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2608 and 2372 

respectively. 

Project plans: The objective of the A MRAP program is to obtain improved mine':"al resource 

information and the major objer.tive of the 

Southwestern Alaska project is to upgrade basic 

Southwestern Alaska 

Name of project 

Western Alaska Cenozoic 

Bering Sea 

Goodnews-Hagemeister 

Island quads and 

Southwestern Alaska 

(AMRAP) 

Personnel 

D. M. Hopkins 

M.S. Marlow 

Type of work AreF(S) 

Studies of age of faulting and Pribilof Islands 

volcanic eruptions and of 

stability of coastline 

Seismic reflection, gravity, Southern Bering Sea 

magnetic, and bathymetric 

studies; core, dredge, and 

grab sampling 

W. L. Coonrad,J. M. Hoare, T. Geologic mapping, Goodnews and Hr..gemeister 

D. Hessin geochemical sampling Island quadrangles 

Bethel-Russian Mission area A. E. Letey and Topographic Topographic mapping 

Division 

Parts of Bethel, Goodnews, 

and Russian Mission 

quadrangles 

21 
geologic knowledge in the region. Helicopter 

supported reconnaissance geologic mapping and 

geochemical sampling will start on July 1 and 

extend through August in the Goodnews and 

Hagemeister Island quadrangles. Personnel 

will include W. L. Coonrad, J. M. Hoare, two 

assistants, and a cook for the entire period, and 

during July, a five-person geochemical sampling 

party headed by T. D. Hessin (BOER, Denver). 

The field party will be headquartered at Twin 

Hills Village near the head of Togiak Bay and 

can be contacted through Kodiak Western 

Alaska Airlines at Dillingham. 

Project: Bethel-Russian Mission area. 

Region and map key: Southwestern Alaska, parts 

of Bethel, Goodnews, and Russian Mission 

quadrangles (16). 

Organizational designation: Topographic Division, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center. 

Project chief: A. E. Letey, Rocky Mountain Map-

.ping Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; [303] 234-

3131, ext. 2351. 

Project plans: This project area consists of mapping 24 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, which are 

being compiled using Air Force aerial photography and existing control. No field operations 

are scheduled for this project. 

SOUTHERN ALASKA 

Project: P AMRAP and Talkeetna quadrangle. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Talkeetna 

quadrangle (1 7). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leader: Bruce Reed, U.S. Geological Survey, 

1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 272-8228. 

Project plans: Fieldwork plans for this project were 

unavailable at press time. 

Project: AMRAP and Talkeetna Mountains. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Talkeetna 

Mountains quadrangle (18). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leader: Bela Csejtey, Jr., U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323--8111, ext. 2277. 

22 

Project plans: Starting July 1, 1975, the ongoing 

Talkeetna Mountains geological and geochemical mapping project will merge with the recently 

initiated Alaskan Mineral Resource Assessment Program (AMRAP). The aims cf AMRAP 

are described elsewhere in this circular. 

Field plans call for a helicopter-supported 

program of reconnaissance geological mapping 

and detailed mineral resource investigations, 

and a concurrent program, supported by a second helicopter, of geochemical sampling andresearch. During the 1975 field season, the two 

activities will cover the western half of the Talkeetna Mountains quadrangle. 

Geologic investigations will be done between 

July 1 and August 31 on a full-time ba~is by Bela 

Csejtey, Jr., and Willis H. Nelson, geologists, 

and by Robert M. Dean and MichaelS. Morris, 

field assistants. The mineral resource investigations will be conducted by Miles L. Silberman 

and Edward M. MacKevett, Jr., geolo~ists. Consultants and part-time field workers include 

geologists Nairn R. D. Albert, Paul C. Bateman, 

David L. Jones, Marvin A. Lanphere, A. Thomas 

Ovenshine, and James G. Smith, all of the U.S. 

Geological Survey, and Peter J. Coney of 

Middlebury College. 

The geochemical investigations will be carried out between July 15 and August 15 by Gary 

C. Curtin, geochemist, and by field assistants 

Richard C. Karlson, Steven P. Johnson, and 

Lawrence Garmezy. 

Field headquarters for all participants will be 

in the town of Talkeetna. 

Project: Glaciology studies. 

Region: Southern Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Water Ref''lurces Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: L. R. Mayo, U.S. Geological Survey, 

310 First Avenue, Fairbanks, Alas'ka, 99701; 

[907] 452-1951, ext. 176. 

Project plans: The overall objective of this project 

is to monitor the mass balance, ice physics, and 

motion of representative glaciers in Alaska. 

Emphasis of work will be changed frcm detailed 

annual studies of data collected on Gulkana and 

Wolverine Glaciers to long-term studies of ice 

physics, motion, and balance (McCall Glacier 

may be added to this study). The proje~t staff will 

expand aerial photography reconnc.issance to 
Southern Alaska 

N arne of project 

Talkeetna quadrangle 

<PAMRAPl 

Talkeetna Mts. quadrangle 

(AMRAPl 

Glaciology studies 

Anchorage project 

Personnel 

Bruce Reed, S. Nelson 

Bela Csejtey, W. Nelson, and 

other Geologic Division 

personnel 

L. R. Mayo 

A. E. Letey and Topographic 

Division 

Type of work 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling 

Studies of ice physics, motion, 

balance; aerial 

photography monitoring of 

fluctuations 

Topographic mapping 

Are10\sl 

Talkeetna quadrangle 

Talkeetna Mts. q'Iadrangle 

Gulkana, Wolver~ne, 

Columbia, Black Rapids, 

Castner, and Caswell 

Glaciers 

Anchorage quadrangle 

Greater. Anchorage Area 

Borough 

E. Dobrovolny, H. R. Schmoll Geologic mapping 

coordinated with 

hydrologic investigations 

Greater Anchorar8 Area 

Borough 

Seward-Blying Sound 

(AMRAPl 

Alaskan seismic studies 

Bering River coal field 

Wrangell Mountains 

<PAMRAPl 

Bering Glacier-Mt. St. Elias 

area 

Eastern Gulf of Alaska 

continental shelf 

Gulf of Alaska Tertiary 

province 

R. G. Tysdal, J. E. Case 

R. A. Page, Michael 

Blackford, Edward Criley 

R. B. Sanders 

E. M. MacKevett, Jr., Keith 

Robinson, A. K. 

Armstrong, M. L. 

Silberman 

A. E. Letey and Topographic 

Division 

George Plafker, Gary 

Winkler, Travis Hudson, 

Terry Bruns, Bruce Molnia, 

Paul Carlson 

George Plafker, Gary 

Winkler, Travis Hudson, 

Russell Tysdal, Hugh 

McLaine 

include glaciers of interest to the TAPS program 

as well as Gulkana, Wolverine, and Columbia 

Glaciers; study the fluctuations, balance, and 

regimes of Black Rapids, Castner, and Caswell 

Glaciers with emphasis on theoretical studies of 

surging; install instruments for monitoring 

glacier dammed lakes; collect and examine data 

from staff readings of aufeis; continue detailed 

longitudinal profiling on Black Rapids Glaciers; 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling 

Servicing and adding to the 

network of seismograph 

stations 

Structural mapping to 

determine continuity 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling, 

isotope studies, carbonate 

stratigraphy 

Topographic mapping 

Coastal bedrock mapping, 

geophysical mapping, and 

sampling 

Fieldwork recessed; office 

compilation 

Seward and Blyir.'5 Sound 

quadrangles 

Southern Alaska 

Carbon Mountain area, 

Bering Glacier quadrangle 

McCarthy quadrcngle 

Parts of Bering Glacier, Mt. 

St. Elias, and Yakutat 

quadrangles 

Gulf of Alaska 

Coastal Southern Alaska 

and set up the survey network for similar 

studies on Castner and Caswell Glc~iers. 

Project: Anchorage project. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Anchorage 

quadrangle (20). 

Organizational designation: Topographic Division, Rocky Mountain Mapping Certer. 

23 
Project chief" A. E. Letey, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; [303] 234-

3131, ext. 2351. 

Project plans: The Anchorage project consists of 

topographic mapping of 31 quadrangles at a 

scale of 1:25,000 with contour intervals of 5, 10, 

or 20 m. The project area includes the city of 

Anchorage, and extends north to the towns of 

Willow, Palmer, and Jonesville. Sixteen of these 

quadrangles are standard line maps for which 

advance manuscript copy will be available by 

Spring 1975. The remaining 15 quadrangles are 

orthophotomaps that will have advance copy 

(monocolor orthophotoquads) available by 

mid-Summer 1975. 

Field operations are complete, and none are 

scheduled for the 1975 season. 

Project: Greater Anchorage Area Borough, 

Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Greater 

Anchorage Area Borough (21). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Environmental Geology, Branch of 

Engineering Geology. 

Project chief" E. Dobrovolny, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 

80225; [303] 234-3131, ext. 3471. 

Project plans: The project involves detailed geologic mapping of the Anchorage and vicinity 

area, at a scale of 1:24,000, and reconnaissance 

geologic mapping of the remainder of the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, at a scale of 

1:63,360, with emphasis on Quaternary deposits. The objective is to provide geologic information needed for citywide and boroughwide 

land-use planning. The studies were undertaken in response to requests from local government officials and are closely coordinated with 

hydrologic investigations by the USGS Water 

Resources Division. Fieldwork has been completed, and maps and reports are in preparation. 

Special-purpose maps are being prepared from 

the geologic maps for use by planners and developers. Several interpretive maps have already been released and others are in the process 

ofbeing completed. Assigned personnel: E. Dobrovolny and H. R. Schmoll. 

Project: AMRAP and Seward-Blying Sound. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Seward 

and Blying Sound quadrangles (22). 

24 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leader: R. G. Tysdal, U.S. Geologir.al Survey, 

345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025; 

[415] 323-8111, ext. 2613. 

Project plans: The project objective for this summer is reconnaissance geologic mapping (at a 

scale of 1:250,000) in the central ar~ western 

parts of the Seward and Blying Sound quadrangles. Plans also call for about 2 weeks of geochemical sampling in two separate ar~as within 

the quadrangles. The helicopter-supported 

mapping will be conducted by R. G. Tysdal and J. 

E. Case from mid-June to mid-August. This 

year's study is the initial effort in making a 

geologic map and a mineral resource survey of 

the Seward-Blying Sound area. 

Project: Alaskan Seismic studies. 

Region: Southern Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Earthquake Studies, Bran~h of Seismology. 

Project chief- Robert A. Page, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2461. 

Project plans: The principal goals of this project 

are to develop an understanding of the tectonic 

processes that generate earthquakeR in southern Alaska, to evaluate seismic hazards in south 

central Alaska and the Gulf of Alar "ka region, 

and to initiate long-term seismic and crustal 

deformation measurements aimed at documenting premonitory earthquake phenon1ena. 

Earthquakes are recorded by a net.work of 51 

seismograph stations extending from Katmai 

National Monument north and east through 

Cook Inlet, the Kenai Peninsula, Northern 

Prince William Sound, and the Chugach Mountains to Yakutat. The data are recorded at the 

Palmer Seismological Observatory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

under a cooperative earthquake recording program. Information and results from this project 

are published in the form of maps of epicenters, 

catalogs of earthquakes, and scientific reports 

and articles. Two biaxial tiltmeters are operating on Middleton Island on the eige of the 

continental shelf in the Gulf of AlaE' ~a. 

During the 1975 season, in a~dition to 

servicing current stations, up to 11 additional 
stations will be added to the network to improve 

coverage around northern Cook Inlet, west of 

Valdez, and east of Cordova. Michael Blackford 

and Edward Criley will supervise this work out 

of Anchorage. 

Project: Bering River Coal Field. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska (23). 

Organizational designation: Conservation Division, Office of the Area Geologist, Alaska Area. 

Project chief" R. B. Sanders, U.S. Geological 

Survey, P. 0. Box 259, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501. 

Project plans: The Carbon Mountain area at the 

eastern end of the coal field will be mapped at 

1:48,000 with emphasis on coal occurrences. It is 

predicted that the structure is less complex in 

this area. 

The Carbon Mountain area on the eastern 

limit of the known extent of the Bering River 

Coal Field will be mapped at 1:63,360. Coal 

exposures will be studied to ascertain coal seam 

FIGURE 9.-The Alsek-Grand Plateau fault cuts a moraine in the Skagway A-8 quadrangle; looking to the northwest up 

the Alsek River valley. 

25 
continuity and persistence. Because current 

stratigraphic nomenclature does not meet the 

needs of field workers, the region shall be 

studied in hopes of establishing a more suitable 

stratigraphy in the lower Tertiary sequences. 

Project: Wrangell Mountains. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska (24). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: E. M. MacKevett, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2216. 

Project plans: Fieldwork on the project was 

completed during the 1974 season under the 

aegis of PAMRAP. The fieldwork comprised: (1) 

completing reconnaissance geologic mapping of 

the McCarthy 1:250,000 quadrangle, (2) completing a reconnaissance geochemical survey of 

the quadrangle (under the direction of Keith 

Robinson, BOER), (3) studies by A. K. Armstrong that focused on the roles of carbonate 

stratigraphy and petrology in the genesis of the 

Kennecott-type copper deposits, and (4) investigations by M. L. Silberman that involved 

collecting rock and ore samples for isotope 

studies. 

The project's objectives, which have been 

largely fulfilled, include providing modern 

multi-purpose geologic maps of the McCarthy 

quadrangle, a sound understanding of the 

quadrangle's geology and its relationship to 

regional geologic and tectonic settings, and a 

basis for judicious mineral resource appraisal. 

Many of the results of this project have been 

published as maps and reports during the past 

several years; additional results will be conveyed in reports and maps that are in preparation or in those that are planned. The latter will 

incorporate results of current laboratory and 

office investigations. 

Project: Bering Glacier-Mount St. Elias area. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, parts of 

Bering Glacier, Mt. St. Elias and Yakutat 

quadrangles (25). 

Organizational designation: Topographic Division, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center. 

Project C hie{: A. E. Letey, Rocky Mountain 

Mapping Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; [303] 

234--3131, ext. 2351. 

26 

Project plans: This project area consists of mapping 50 1:63,360-scale quadrangles, which will 

be compiled using Air Force aerial photography 

and existing control. No field operations are 

scheduled for this project. 

Project: Eastern Gulf of Alaska continental shelf. 

Region: Southern Alaska (26). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Energy Resources and Marine Geology, 

Pacific-Arctic Branch. 

Project chief: George Plafker, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2201. 

Project plans: For 2 weeks during. June, Geor~e 

Plafker, Gary Winkler, and Travis Hudson Will 

carry out reconnaissance studies of pre-Tertiary 

bedrock along the coast of the Lituya district and 

will measure and sample selected Tertiary 

sections. The party will be helicopter-supported 

and based on the R/V Don J. Miller. The geologic 

work is planned to help identify geophysicallydefined units on the adjacent continental shelf. 

During the summer of 1975, approximately 

3 000 line miles of 48-channel seismic reflection 

d~ta will be obtained with a contract ship and 

equipment, as part of the Geological Survey's 

program for evaluating the resource potential of 

the Gulf of Alaska outer continental shelf(OCS). 

Terry Bruns, George Plafker, and other Survey 

personnel will participate in the cruise. In 

addition, during the period April1 through June 

10, Bruce Molnia, Paul Carlson, and others will 

spend approximately 40 days aboard the NOAA 

ship Surveyor and 17 days aboard the NOAA 

ship Cromwell to carry out environmentallyoriented geologic research on the eastern Gulf of 

Alaska OCS. As part of this research, they plan 

to obtain detailed high-resolution seismic 

profiles and related geophysical data, and will 

collect a suite of bottom sediment samples. 

Project: Gulf of Alaska Tertiary province. 

Region: Southern Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief: George Plafker, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2201. 

Project plans: This is an ongoing project aimed at 

delineation of the major geologic features of the 
Tertiary basin, evaluation of its resources, and 

study of the adjacent pre-Tertiary terranes. 

Fieldwork has been recessed for the 1975 season. 

Work in preparation for publication includes (1) 

an analysis of Tertiary sandstone reservoir 

characteristics, (2) a paper on the Paleogene 

Orca Group, (3) a paper on intrusive igneous 

rocks of the Saint Elias Mountains, (4) a 

1:31,680-scale geologic map of Kayak and 

Wingham Islands, (5) a 1:63,360 geologic map 

and report on the central Katalla district, (6) a 

geologic map of the Ragged Mountains (Cordova 

A2, B2 quads), and (7) reconnaissance geologic 

maps of the Yakutat, Mt. Saint Elias, Bering 

Glacier, Icy Bay, Cordova, and Middleton Island 

1:250,000 quadrangles. In addition to George 

Plafker, personnel involved in this project are 

Gary Winkler, Travis Hudson, Russell Tysdal, 

Hugh MacLaine, and Marvin Lanphere. 

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 

Project: Juneau, Alaska, regional mapping and 

related geologic investigations. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, 

Juneau and Taku River quadrangles (28). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chief' D. A. Brew, U.S. Geological Survey, 

345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025; 

(415] 323-8111, ext. 2178. 

Project plans: During the middle part of June, 

geologists D. A. Brew, A. B. Ford, C. J. Nutt, and 

C. Carlson will be engaged in field studies of 

granitic and metamorphic rocks in the upper 

FIGURE 10.-Field camp on the Juneau Icefield. 

27 

Gilkey Glacier area immediately adjacent to the 

Juneau lcefield proper. These studies are part of 

the continuing effort to complete the geologic 

mapping and mineral resource survey of this 

part of the Coast Range. 

The field party will operate from Camp 18A of 

the Juneau Icefield Research Program and from 

spike camps, using skis when possible. The 

party will be placed in the field by helicopter. 

Radio contact will be through Livingston 'Copters, Inc., Juneau [907] 586-2030. The mailing 

address will be % General Delivery, Juneau, 

Alaska 99801. 

Project· Surficial geology of the Juneau urban 

area and vicinity, Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, part 

of Juneau A-2, B-2, and B-3 quadrangles, 

1:63,360 (29). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Environmental Geology, Branch of 

Engineering Geology. 

Project chief' R. D. Miller, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; 

[303] 234--3131, ext. 2960. 

Project plans: Fieldwork has been completed. A 

geologic map has been transmitted for publication in the Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map series, and preparation has started on 

the final report, to be published as a U.S. 

Geological Survey Professional Paper. Assigned 

personnel: R. D. Miller. 

Project: Reconnaissance engineering geology of 

the Sitka area and certain other coastal communities in Alaska including Metlakatla, 

Hoonah, Yakutat, Naknek, Dillingham, Bethel, 

and Unalakleet. 

Regions: Southeastern, southwestern, and western Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Environmental Geology, Branch of 

Engineering Geology. 

Project chief' L. A. Yehle, U.S. Geological Survey, 

Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colo. 80225; 

[303] 234--3131, ext. 2999. 

Project plans: The main objective of the project is 

to evaluate by reconnaissance field studies, 

geologic hazards, including earthquakes, that 

affect Sitka and certain other communities in 

southeastern, southwestern, and western Alas-
Southeastern Alaska 

N arne of project Personnel Type of work Area(s) 

Juneau regional mapping D. A. Brew, A. B. Ford, C. J. Geologic mapping and Gilkey Glacier area, Juneau 

and Taku River 

quadrangles 

Nutt, C. Carlson mineral resource survey 

Surficial geology, Juneau 

Engineering geology, coastal 

communities 

Craig quadrangle 

Ketchikan quad (AMRAP) 

R. D. Miller 

L.A. Yehle 

G. Donald Eberlein, Michael 

Churkin, Jr., Norman M. 

Savage, H. C. Berg, R. L. 

Elliott 

H. C. Berg, R. L. Elliott, J. G. 

Smith, B. D. Wiggins, R. J . 

Rudser, R. B. Carten, R. D. 

Koch 

ka. Limited physical properties tests have been 

performed in the laboratory. Fieldwork has been 

completed. An open-file report on the engineering of the Sitka area was released in 1974. An 

open-file report on Metlakatla is in preparation 

and planned for submittal in 1975. Preparation 

of reports on other communities will follow. 

Assigned personnel: L. A. Yehle. 

Project: Craig quadrangle. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, Craig 

quadrangle (30). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Project chiefs: G. Donald Eberlein and Michael 

Churkin, Jr., 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2210 and 2256 

respectively. 

Project plans: From August 18 through September 17 geologists G. Donald Eberlein and 

Michael Churkin, Jr. , accompanied by two 

assistants, plan to complete field geologic mapping of previously unmapped parts of the Craig 

1:250,000 quadrangle (mainly interior Prince of 

Wales, Suemez and Sukkwan Islands) using the 

RN Don J. Miller II as a base for helicoptersupported operations. They will be joined during 

part of that period by Dr. Norman M. Savage 

Fieldwork complete; 

compilation in progress 

Evaluation of geologit 

hazards affecting coastal 

communities 

Geologic mapping, 

paleontologic, and 

paleomagnetic studies 

Geologic mapping, mineral 

resource evaluation 

Juneau area 

Sitka, Metlakatla, Hoonah, 

Yakutat, Naknek, 

Dillingham, Bethel, and 

Unalakleet areas 

Craig quadrangle 

Ketchikan quadrangle 

(operating under contract, University of Oregon), who will make additional collections from 

selected limestone localities in connection with 

his continuing detailed studies of Silurian and 

Devonian conodont and brachiopod faunas from 

the Prince of Wales Island area. The field party 

will also be joined by Dr. R. VanderVoo 

(University of Michigan), who will initiate 

FIGURE 11.-Heading for outcrops on the Juneau Icefield. 

28 
paleomagnetic studies of paleontologically 

dated units ranging from Precambrian to Permian in age. 

In addition, from July 1 to July 10, geologists 

H. C. Berg, R. L. Elliott and two field assistants, 

working with a helicopter and a 40-foot chartered vessel, will extend previously completed 

mapping of the Annette-Gravina Islands area 

into the Cleveland Peninsula-Etolin Island area 

to provide necessary geologic coverage of the 

Craig G-1, D--1 and D--2 1:63,360 quadrangles. 

Elliott and the helicopter will be released on 

July 10 to fulfill other commitments, but Berg 

and two assistants will continue to work in the 

area from a second chartered vessel until the end 

of July. 

Project: AMRAP and Ketchikan quadrangle. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, 

Ketchikan and Craig quadrangles (31). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Branch of Alaskan 

Geology. 

Team leader: Henry C. Berg, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323-8111, ext. 2266. 

Project plans: From about July 1 to July 10, H. C. 

Berg and R. L. Elliott, assisted by B. D. Wiggins 

and R. J. Rudser, will conduct helicoptersupported mapping of the inland areas of 

western Cleveland Peninsula and southern 

Etolin Island. During the remainder of July, 

Berg, assisted by R. B. Carlen and R. D. Koch, 

will complete the mapping of this area with 

shoreline traverses in outboard skiffs. The 

Cleveland Peninsula-Etolin Island area lies 

30-90 km northwest of Ketchikan and Craig 

FIGURE 12.-R/V Don J . Miller II provides support for 

fieldwork in watery southeastern Alaska. 

29 

1:250,000 scale quadrangles. The study of this 

area is part of the continuing effort to complete a 

geologic map and mineral resource survey of the 

Craig area and also will contribute significantly 

to a similar understanding of the Ketchikan 

region. 

During August, Berg, Carlen, and Koch will 

conduct shoreline and near-shore mapping on 

southern Revillagigedo Island, east of Ketchikan. 

From approximately July 11 to August 31, 

Elliott, Rudser and Wiggins will continue 

helicopter-supported mapping in the eastern 

part of the Ketchikan quadrangle between East 

Behm Canal and Portland Canal, about 40-100 

km east of Ketchikan. Mapping will proceed 

southward from the southern boundary of the 

previously mapped Granite Fiords Wilderness 

Study Area. 

J. G. Smith will join the field parties for 

approximately 2 weeks in mid-July to continue 

his work with K/Ar age determinations of the 

Coast Range batholithic complex, and to complete mapping of the Ketchikan A-3 quadrangle. 

Field parties will operate from chartered 

boats with weekly supply and mail flights by 

fixed-wing aircraft from Ketchikan. The mailing address will be: U.S. Geological Survey, P. 0. 

Box 1618, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901. 

COOPERATIVE PROJECTS WITH 

OTHER AGENCIES 

Certain projects of the Geological Survey are 

undertaken to meet the specific needs of city or 

state governments or to provide scientific and 

technical data required by other federal agencies. 

These projects are funded jointly and are termed 

cooperative projects. In addition to joint funding, 

cooperative projects may include combined participation in the scientific work by members of the 

various participatory agencies. 

Listed in this section are the cooperative projects 

of the U.S. Geological Survey. Most cooperative 

projects concern the hydrology of Alaska and are 

statewide in scope. Other cooperative projects 

have a particular regional focus; the locations of 

these are shown on the accompanying map 

(fig. 13). 

STATEWIDE PROJECTS 

Project: Statewide water inventory. 
C;:l 

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NORTHERN '\ 

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/'• co 

EAST-CENTRAL WEST -CENTRAL 

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_.....,..____ /) ·' '··· II ' ) -'/ ? -----. --. I SOUT HERN .--- -- I . / ----- . , 

. 

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\_~ \ ,· I ~ . . rt.;v.(/1.. l~J I / ~ ( ~ SOUTHWESTERN I i . · 7 i'<{j) _ -'?. 

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/( J 

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FIGURE 13.-Locations of 1975 field projects of the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating agencies. 

I •1 

l. ....L__l l._ .l.. 

~ 

_.-; 

I 
N arne of project 

Statewide water 

inventory 

Quality-of-water 

stations 

Quality-of-water 

analysis 

Sediment stations 

Surface-water 

stations 

Ground-water 

stations 

Municipal 

water-supply 

investigation 

Hydrological 

studies for 

Alaskan Air 

Command 

Project chief 

G. S. Anderson 

R. J. Madison 

R. J. Madison 

P. J. Still 

R. D. Lamke 

W. W. Barnwell 

G. S. Anderson 

G. A. McCoy 

Region: Statewide. 

Statewide Projects 

Type of work Area(s) Cooperating agencies 

Surface and ground-water Statewide State of Alaska, Division of 

data collection, Geological and Geophysical 

processing, filing, and Surveys 

tabulation 

Monitoring a network of Statewide U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. 

water-quality stations. Forest Service 

Chemical analysis of Statewide Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Air 

water Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Public 

Health Service, State of Alaska, 

Dept. of Environmental 

Conservation 

Monitoring a network of Statewide U.S. Forest Service 

sediment stations on 

streams, lakes, and 

estuaries 

Monitoring a network of Statewide Alaska Power Administration, 

stream, lake, and National Marine Fisheries 

estuary gaging stations Service, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest 

Service, State of Alaska, Dept. of 

Fish and Game, Dept. of 

Highways, Dept. of Natural 

Resources 

Monitoring a network of Statewid( Kenai Peninsula Borough, State of 

ground-water Alaska, Dept. of Natural 

observation wells Resources, Greater Anchorage 

Area Borough, U.S. Air Force 

Steamflowmeasurements, Seldovia, Homer, State of Alaska, Dept. of Natural 

aquifer tests, Kodiak, Resources, City of Cordova, 

geohydrologic studies Seward, National Marine Fisheries 

Cordova, Service 

St. George 

Limnological Statewide State of Alaska, Dept. of Fish and 

investigations, gas Game 

saturation studies, and 

quality of water 

resource studies 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

eludes aquifer tests and geophysical logging of 

selected localities. 

Cooperating agency: State of Alaska, Division of 

Project chief" G. S. Anderson, U.S. Geological Geological and Geophysical Surveys. 

Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279-1563. 

Project plans: The objective of this project is to 

obtain and publish basic data on ground water. 

Collection of information on ground-water development in Alaska will continue. Work In31 

Project: Quality-of-water stations. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief" R. J. Madison, U.S. Geological 
Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The objective of this project is to 

provide information on physical and chemical 

properties of water by (1) determining the 

mineral content and biological aspects of water 

to establish a base line from which the changes 

can be evaluated; and (2) determining mineral 

composition of water to evaluate its use for 

domestic, municipal, and industrial water supplies. This will be accomplished by operation of a 

network of water-quality stations. 

Cooperating agencies: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Forest Service. 

Project: Quality-of-water analysis. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief" R. J. Madison, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The objective is to make periodic 

chemical analyses of water collected at Native 

communities, Air Force sites, and other public 

water supplies to assess the quality of water and 

changes in the quality. 

Cooperating agencies: Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

U.S. Air Force; U.S. Army; U.S. Public Health 

FIGU RE 14.-Stream gaging in Alaska. 

Service; and State of Alaska, Department of 

Environmental Conservation. 

Project: Sediment stations. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief" P. J. Still, U.S. Geological Survey, 

1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 279-1563. 

Project plans: A network of sediment stations is 

maintained to provide information on sediment 

in streams, lakes, and estuaries by determining 

(1) seasonal normal concentrations and 

particle-size distribution of suspended sediments; (2) sediment yields; (3) particle-size 

distribution of bed and bank material; (4) 

bedload transport; and (5) ranges in turbidity. 

Cooperating agencies: U.S. Forest Service; U.S 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

Project: Surface-water stations. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organization designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: R. D. Lamke, U.S. Geological Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The Geological Survey operates a 

network of complete- and partial-record stations 

to provide historic and current year data on (1) 

streamflow, (2) lake stage and contents, and (3) 

estuary flow conditions. This program is part of 

an ongoing national assessment of the nation's 

water resources and is also for use in design and 

planning of water supply and waste-disposal 

systems and in the assessment of environmental 

impacts. 

Cooperating agencies: Alaska Power Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service; U.S. 

Air Force; U .S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. 

Forest Service; State of Alaska, Department of 

Fish and Game, Department of Highways, and 

Department of Natural Resources. 

Project: Ground-water stations. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief" W. W. Barnwell, U.S. Geological 

32 
Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Al+ska 99501 

[907] 277-5526. 1 

Project plans: A network of ground-w~ter observation wells is maintained to provide information on water levels throughout Alaska. These 

wells indicate ground water in storage or in 

transit, the availability of supplies, show 

changes in ground-water storage, and are used 

in estimating base flow of streams. They provide 

long-term records for basin or watershed studies 

by means of which shorter records can be 

correlated. 

Cooperating agencies: Kenai Peninsula Borough; 

State of Alaska, Department of National Resources; Greater Anchorage Area Borough; and 

U.S. Air Force. 

Project: Municipal water-supply investigations. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: G. S. Anderson, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279--1563. 

Project plans: The objective of this project is to 

assess the water resources of small communities 

in Alaska. Work during 1975 will include 

continuation of streamflow measurements at 

Seldovia, Homer, and Cordova. Interpretive 

geohydrological studies will continue in Cordova and the Pribilof Islands. 

Cooperating agencies: State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, and Division of 

Lands; City of Cordova; National Oceanic 

Atmospheric Administration; and National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

Project: Hydrological studies for Alaskan Air 

Command. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: R. J. Madison, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; 

[907] 277-5526. 

Project plans: The objective of this project is to 

assist the Alaskan Air Command by conducting 

special hydrological studies on problems relating to their operations in Alaska. Continuing 

cooperative work with the Alaskan Air Command will include temperature studies of the 

33 

water in Ship Creek near the powerplant and 

miscellaneous hydrologic studies as requested. 

Cooperating agency: Alaskan Air CoYfimand. 

Project:- Water-quality, water-resources, and 

limnological investigations at varir,us sites for 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 

Region: Statewide. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: G. A. McCoy, U.S. Geological Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279--1563. 

Project plans: The object of this study is to provide 

basic hydrologic data for use by the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game. Limnological 

investigations of Redoubt, Blue, and Green 

Lakes near Petersburg will be C'lntinued to 

determine suitability for restocking these lakes 

with fish. Water quality of the Salcha River near 

Fairbanks during and after pipeline construction will be monitored. The hydrologic regime of 

Karluk Lake Basin on Kodiak IsJand will be 

described. Gas saturation in hatcheries and 

fish-rearing sites will be deterrr.ined. Basic 

water-quality data on approximately 60 Alaska 

lakes will be collected to assist in rr.anaging the 

fisheries resources. 

Cooperating agency: State of Alaska, Department 

of Fish and Game. 

EAST -CENTRAL ALASKA 

Project: Ground-water studies in th~ Fairbanks 

area. 

Region and map key: East-central Alaska, metropolitan Fairbanks area (1). 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: J. P. Meckel, U.S. Geological Survey, 310 First Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska 

99701; [907] 452-1951, ext. 176. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is (1) to 

inventory existing data and collect additional 

data on wells and springs in the Fairbanks area 

and (2) to compile and prepare a re:'lorl on basic 

water data in the area. 

Cooperating agency: Fairbanks North Star 

Borough. 
SOUTHERN ALASKA 

Project: Petroleum geology of Cook Inlet Basin. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, parts of 

Iliamna, Seldovia, Katmai, and Afognak quadrangles (2). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Energy Resources, Branch of Oil and 

Gas Resources. 

Project chief: Leslie B. Magoon, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 

Calif. 94025; [415] 323--8111, ext. 2116. 

Project plans: The onshore and offshore areas 

from Kalgin Island south to Cape Douglas will 

be investigated in the following manner. First, 

up to 500 miles of deep penetration 2,400%-

4,800% CDP and shallow penetration high 

resolution seismic data will be acquired. Gravity 

and magnetic data will also be acquired along 

these lines. Second, geologic field parties will 

map the Kenai Peninsula around Seldovia and 

the area from Bruin Bay to Cape Douglas with 

the express purpose of connecting offshore 

geophysical data to onshore geology. Stratigraphic sections will be measured, and regional 

geologic cross sections will be constructed using 

all this data. This work will include sampling for 

organic rich rocks capable of generating oil and 

gas, seals, and reservoir rocks that may be 

important drilling objectives. 

This work will be compiled and distributed in 

the sections pertaining to the framework geology, petroleum geology, and resource appraisal 

estimates in the final environmental impact 

statement for the Lower Cook Inlet sale. 

Cooperating agency: State of Alaska, Division of 

Geological and Geophysical Surveys. 

Project: Geohydrology of the Anchorage area, 

Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, the Greater Anchorage area extending from Cook Inlet on the west to the crest 

of the Chugach Mountains and Lake George on 

the east and from Turnagain Arm on the south 

to Knik Arm on thenorth, (3). 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: Chester Zenone, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279--1563. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is to 

monitor the hydrologic impact of urban development and to assess water availability in 

the Anchorage area. Hydrologic studies include 

test drilling preparatory to construction of 

production wells in the Anchorage area, continued study of artificial recharge using infiltration ponds or wells, continued collectilln of basic 

data on surface and ground water, continued 

study of the quality of water underlying sanitary landfill sites, and updating and ut~lization of 

analog and digital models of the Anchorage 

hydrologic system. 

Cooperating agencies: City of Anchorage and the 

Greater Anchorage Area Borough. 

Project: Water-resources investigations of the 

Kenai Peninsula Borough area, Alafka. 

Region and map key: Southern Alasl-a (4), the 

Kenai Peninsula Borough. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: G. S. Anderson, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279--1563. 

Project plans: The purpose of the project is to 

monitor the long-term effects of grc11nd-water 

development by means of measurements of 

observation wells, stream-gaging stations, and 

lakes and to continue to inventory industrial 

and municipal ground-water withdrawals. 

In addition, the Geological Survey will cooperate in the continuing test-drilling program to 

define further the extent of the Beaver Creek 

aquifer. 

Cooperating agencies: City of Kenai and the 

Kenai Peninsula Borough. 

Project: Water-resources investigations of the 

Valdez-Summit Lake area, south-central 

Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southern Alaska (5). 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: C. E. Sloan, U.S. Geological Survey, 

218 E Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501; [907] 

277-5526. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is to 

make a hydrologic appraisal of water availability and quality as related to the industrialization and urbanization activities in and along the 

trans-Alaska pipeline corridor. During 1975, 

trips will be made to sample the quality of 

streams and lakes. An inventory of s'lurces and 

quality of ground water will also be conducted. 

Cooperating agency: State of Alaska, D~partment 

of Environmental Conservation. 

34 
I 

Project: Hydrology of the Cordova area~ Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southern Alask~ (6), Cordova area. 1 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: G. S. Anderson, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 1209 Orca Street, Anchorage, Alaska 

99501; [907] 279--1563. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is to 

evaluate the water quality of Eyak Lake and 

assess water availability in the Cordova area. A 

digital model of the Cordova water-supply well 

field has been constructed. 

Cooperating agency: City of Cordova. 

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 

Project: Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness 

Study Area. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, parts 

of Taku River and Sumdum quadrangles (9). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Wilderness Study 

Program and Branch of Alaskan Geology. 

Project chief: D. A. Brew, U.S. Geological Survey, 

345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025; 

[415] 323--8111, ext. 2178. 

Project plans: During late June and most of July, 

a joint Geological Survey-Bureau of Mines team 

will complete the field part of the mineral 

resource potential evaluation of the 1,800 

square-mile study area and adjacent ((add-on" 

areas. The evaluation, which was started in 

1973, includes reconnaissance geologic mapping, intensive geochemical sampling ofbedrock 

and stream sediments, mapping and sampling of 

known prospects, aeromagnetic mapping, analysis of the results of these efforts, and preparation of a report of the findings. The evaluation is part of the U.S. Forest Service study of 

the suitability of the project area for classification in the National Wilderness System 

established by the Wilderness Act of 1964. 

The team will include D. A. Brew, A. B. Ford, 

D. Grybeck, and one other geologist, together 

with assistants C. J. Nutt and C. Carlson from 

the Geological Survey and A. L. Kimball and 

J. Still, mining engineers, assistant J. Ratte and 

one other assistant from the Bureau of Mines. 

The work will be based on the U.S.G.S. R/V Don 

J. Miller II and will be supported by contract 

helicopter. 

35 

Radio contact will be through Juneau Marine 

radiotelephone operator to the Don J. Miller, 

call letters WZ 2103. The mailing address will 

be: U.S. Geological Survey, c;o Channel Flying, 

Inc., R. R. 3, Box 3577, Juneau, Alaska 99801. 

Cooperating agen·~y: U.S. Bureau of Mines. 

Project: Water resm ... rces of the City and Borough 

of Juneau, Alaska. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska (8), 

Juneau, Alaska. 

Organizational designation: Water Resources Division, Alaska District Office. 

Project chief: G. 0. Balding, U.S. Geological 

Survey, 441 Federal Building, 710 West 9th 

Street, P.O. Box 1568, Juneau, Alaska 99802; 

[907] 586-7216. 

Project plans: The purpose of this project is to 

evaluate the water resources of the Juneau area 

with special emphasis on the Mendenhall 

Valley. Test drilling will be continued to assess 

the reported high potential yield of ground 

water. 

Cooperating agencies: City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska. 

Project: Glacier Bay National Monument Wilderness Study Area. 

Region and map key: Southeastern Alaska, parts 

of Skagway, Mount Fairweather, and Juneau 

quadrangles (7). 

Organizational designation: Geologic Division, 

Office of Mineral Resources, Wilderness Study 

Program and Branch of Alaska Geohgy. 

Project chief: D. A. Brew, U.S. Geological Survey, 

345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025; 

[415] 323--8111, ext. 2178. 

Project plans: During late July and tho. first part 

of August, a joint Geological Survey-Bureau of 

Mines team will start a mineral resource 

potential evaluation of the 3,910 s1uare-mile 

National Monument. The field studies will 

continue in the summers of 1976 arrl 1977. In 

addition to verifying and updating data 

gathered by the Geological Survey in 1966 

(published as U.S. Geological SurYey Professional Paper 632) the evaluation includes 

further reconnaissance geologic mapping, intensive geochemical sampling of bedrock and 

stream sediments, mapping and sampling of 

known prospects, aeromagnetic mapping, 

analysis of the results of these efforts, and 

preparation of a report of the findings. The 
N arne of project 

Ground-water 

studies in the 

Fairbanks area 

Petroleum geology 

of Cook Inlet 

basin 

Geohydrology of the 

Anchorage area, 

Alaska 

Water-resources 

investigations of 

the Kenai 

Peninsula 

Borough area, 

Alaska 

Water-resources 

investigations of 

the Copper 

Center-Summit 

Lake area, 

south-central 

Alaska 

Hydrology of the 

Cordova area, 

Alaska 

Tracy Arm-Fords 

Terror 

Wilderness Study 

Area 

Water resources 

City and Borough 

of Juneau 

Glacier Bay 

National 

Monument 

Wilderness Study 

Area 

Project chief 

J.P. Meckel 

L. B. Magoon, W. L. 

Adkison, M. A. 

Fisher 

Chester Zenone 

G. S. Anderson 

C. E. Sloan 

G. S. Anderson 

D. A. Brew, A. B. 

Ford, D. Grybeck, 

C. J. Nutt, C. 

Carlson, A. L. 

Kimball, J. Still, 

J. Ratte 

G. 0. Balding 

D. A. Brew, A. T. 

Ovenshine, D. 

Grybeck, C. J. 

Nutt, C. Carlson, 

A. L. Kimball, J. 

Still, J. Ratte, R. 

A. Loney, G. A. 

Himmel berg 

Regional 

Type of work 

Inventory, compile, and 

· tabulate data on 

ground-water, various 

hydrologic studies 

Geologic framework using 

geophysics and geology 

Test drilling, various 

hydrologic studies 

Monitoring observation 

wells, stream-gaging 

stations and lakes, 

geohydrologic studies 

Water-quality sampling, 

ground-water 

inventorying, 

geohydrologic studies 

Water-quality 

studies, 

geohydrologic 

studies 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical 

sampling, 

aero-magnetic 

mapping 

Water-resources 

data compilation, 

aquifer tests 

Geologic mapping, 

geochemical sampling, 

aero-magnetic mapping 

Area(s) Cooperating agencies 

Fairbanks area fairbanks North Star Borough 

Parts of State of Alaska, Division of 

iliamna, Geological and Geophyfical 

Seldovia, Surveys 

Katmai, and 

Afognak 

quadrangles 

Anchorage area City of Anchorage and th<'~ Greater 

Anchorage Area Boroug-h 

Kenai Peninsula City of Kenai and the Kenai 

Borough Peninsula Borough 

Copper Center State of Alaska, Department of 

area Environmental Conservation 

Cordova, Eyak City of Cordova 

Lake 

Parts ofTaku U.S. Bureau of Mines 

River 

and Sumdum 

quadrangles 

Juneau area City and Borough of June""U 

Parts of Skagway, U.S. Bureau of Mines 

Mt. 

Fairweather, 

and Juneau 

quadrangles 

evaluation is part of the U.S. National Park 

Service study of the suitability of the project 

area for classfication in the National Wilderness 

System established by the WilderneF~ Act of 

1964. 

The team will include D. A. Brew, A. T. 

36 
Ovenshine, D. Grybeck, and one other geologist, 

together with assistants C. J. ;utt and C. 

Carlson from the Geological Surv y and A. L. 

Kimball and J. Still, mining engi eers, assistant J. Ratte and one other from t~e Bureau of 

Mines. R. A. Loney and G. A. Himmelberg of the 

Geological Survey will join the party for specific 

studies during part of the time. The work will be 

based on the U.S.G.S. RN Don J. Miller II and 

will be supported by contract helicopter. 

Radio contact will be through Juneau Marine 

radiotelephone operator to the Don J. Miller, 

call letters WZ 2103. The mailing address will 

be: U.S. Geological Survey, c;o Channel Flying, 

Inc., R. R. 3, Box 3577, Juneau, Alaska 99801. 

Cooperating agency: U.S. Bureau of Mines. 

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT RESULTS, 1974 

The Geological Survey prepares annual summaries of the principal technical results of its 

investigations, and about a year after preparation 

these summaries are published in the Professional 

Paper series under the title, ((Geological Survey 

Research." Many of the summaries appearing in 

this section are taken from the material prepared 

for the coming Professional Paper. Some are 

original for this publication. 

Significant new scientific and economic geologic 

information has resulted from many field and 

topical investigations in Alaska during the past 

year. Discussions of the findings are grouped 

under seven subdivisions corresponding to six 

major geographic regions and a general, statewide 

category. Locations of the study areas are shown in 

the accompanying index map of Alaska (fig. 15). 

STATEWIDE 

New geological map of Alaska 

by Helen M. Beikman 

A new geologic map of Alaska at a scale of 

1:2,500,000 (1 inch equals about 40 miles), which 

will supersede the map previously published in 

1957, is being prepared by Helen M. Beikman. The 

map will be an entirely new compilation that will 

synthesize and summarize all available data from 

Federal, State, and other agencies. Uncolored 

geologic maps at a scale of 1:1,000,000, which are 

preliminary compilations upon which the final 

multicolor map will be based, are being published 

as soon as they are completed. Interim maps at this 

scale thus far have been published as MF-611, 

covering the southwestern part of the State, and 

MF-612, covering the south-central part. Interim 

maps of the Alaska Peninsula-Aleutian Islands 

and of the southeastern panhandle are completed 

and will be published during 1975. Compilation of 

the geology of the northern part oftb e State is now 

in progress. It is anticipated that a preliminary 

compilation of the entire State at 1:2,000,000 will 

be completed during 1975. 

Mineral resources of Alaska 

By Edward H. Cobb 

Products of this office project during 197 4 

comprised a short synopsis of the mineral resources and geology of Alaska (Cobl~: 1974a); lists 

of Federal and State and Territory of Alaska 

reports and maps on the geology and mineral 

resources of Alaska from 1884 t'lrough 1973, 

indexed by topographic mapping quadrangles 

(scale 1:250,000) (Cobb, 1974b-i); and an index of 

metallic mineral deposits of Alaska (Cobb, 1974j). 

Progress toward a metamorphic facies map of Alaska 

By David A. Brew 

A Branch of Alaskan Geology committee (D. A. 

Brew, B. Csejtey, A. B. Ford, H. L. Foster, 

T. P. Miller, and H. N. Reiser) is compiling a 

1:2,500,000-scale metamorphic facies map of 

Alaska from existing information and from current Alaskan Branch field studies. Metamorphic 

mineral locality information is being collected in 

machine-processable form and will be available for 

retrieval according to several criteria. The map is 

intended as a contribution to (1) a Map of the 

·Metamorphic Belts of the World sponsored by the 

Commission for the Geological Map of the World of 

the International Geological Congress and the 

International Union of Geological Sciences, and to 

(2) the joint U.S. Geological Survey-State of 

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical 

Surveys publication on the Geology C'f' Alaska. The 

map shows metamorphic facies, facies groups, 

facies series, selected isograds, and granitic rock 

bodies in the style of the lUGS suggested 

metamorphic facies map explanation (1967). Preliminary compilation of regional metamorphic 

facies maps at 1:1,000,000 scale is essentially 

complete for the state, as is coding C'f' background 

metamorphic mineral locality info~mation. The 

1:1,000,000 regional maps are being combined. 

37 
Clj 

00 

~ 

~' 

~~ . 

~·~ ' ; (7), ®-.. 

• ®.\@] 

! 

®.P~ru 

~', ,~~-~,-"@. r.. u··'"· ~~--:-

~ 

0 100 200 MIL.ES I I I I I I I 0 100 200 KIL.OMETRES 

1~~ 

\ 

FIGURE 15.-Locations of studies discussed in the summary of important results, 197 4. The circled numbers key to project discussions in text. 
Tectonic significance of giant linears in Alaska 

By E. H. Lathram and N. R. D. Albert 

Preliminary analysis of space image linears in 

northern and central Alaska by E. H. Lathram and 

N. R. D. Albert (1975) indicates that many reflect 

subsurface geologic structures of varying ages, 

some quite old. The correlation of geology, 

geophysics, and possibly metallogenic terranes 

with giant linears (> 1,000 km long), coupled with 

the existence of definite sets having nearly 

orthogonal trends suggests that giant linears 

indicate more fundamental structures than do 

shorter ones. The trends of giant linears correspond closely with trends of Precambrian, early and 

late Paleozoic, and Mesozoic orogenic belts in 

northern and central Alaska as described by 

Brosge and Dutro (1973) and Lathram (1973). 

Grantz (1966, p. 72) suggested that a conjugate 

system of faults or lineaments may lie within the 

crust of Alaska, disguised by Mesozoic and 

Cenozoic formations, along which large blocks 

have moved differentially, a conclusion later 

shared by Churkin (1973) and Lathram (1973). 

The giant linears seem to mark the sites of such 

major, old crustal fractures or structures. The 

giant linears may be related to a global ((regmatic 

shear pattern," but since several northeast- and 

northwest-trending nearly orthogonal sets of 

giant linears are present, the relationship is not a 

simple one. 

Preliminary analysis of an ERTS mosaic of the 

western conterminous states revealed a number of 

giant linears similar to those in Alaska. These 

linears have trends near the azimuth of both the 

Alaskan linears and the partially concealed 

structures of Precambian age that transect the 

Cordillera in Alberta, British Columbia, and the 

Yukon Territory (Sikabonyi and Rodgers, 1959; 

Haites, 1960), many of which are marked by 

physiographic linears (Haites, 1960) that would 

appear on ERTS imagery. They are also similar in 

trend to linears described by Thomas (1974) in 

Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, which he 

believes are basement weakness zones along 

which transcurrent movement has occurred. 

The occurrence of giant linears of similar nature 

and trend throughout the North American Cordillera suggest that they reflect fundamental 

crustal structures that are not peculiar to Alaska. 

Many of these linears traverse postulated continental and oceanic crustal areas of various ages, 

transecting the supposed boundaries with little or 

no deviation. If these linears do reflect very old or 

crustal structures, these structures have apparently been unperturbed by plate tectonic movement. Clearly, an understanding of tb e origin and 

age of these linears is significant in un~erstanding 

the tectonic history of Alaska, and cf the North 

American Cordillera, and in develcning viable 

tectonic hypotheses that explain features of the 

formational and deformational histcry of continental blocks. 

Alaska geothermal study 

By Thomas P. Miller and Robert L. Smith 

Studies were begun on the Quaternary volcanic 

centers on the tip of the Alaska Penir~ula and on 

Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands. 

Reconnaissance mapping and samplir.g of most of 

the calderas between Cold Bay and Katmai 

National Monument was essentially completed 

during 1974. Particular attention haf been given 

to the distribution, composition, and age of the ash 

flows surrounding the calderas, along with studies 

of the nature of postcaldera volcarism. These 

studies together with ongoing laboratory investigations should provide a basis for evaluating 

the geothermal potential of these young volcanic 

centers. 

Fieldwork in the Mount Drum area (loc. 19)of 

the western Wrangell Mountains was completed 

by D. H. Richter, R. L. Smith, and T. F. Miller and 

an extensive sampling program for K/Ar age 

dating of critical samples will help provide a 

unique understanding of this volc2no and its 

potential for geothermal energy. 

Hydrological studies for Alaskan Air Commarrl 

By R. 1. Madison 

A report on the water supply potential at 

Murphy Dome (loc. 5) based on geophysical 

techniques (magnetic, seismic, and resistency) is 

in preparation. A proposed well location near the 

present production well offers the highest potential for future expansion. 

Hydrologic environment of the Trans-Alaska Pineline System 

(TAPS) Alaska 

By 1. M. Childers 

Channel surveys at 26 sites in Alaska along 

TAPS route were used to measure erosion and 

causative factors. Vertical aerial stereophotography at the sites was compared with r ... econstruction photography to assess changes caused by the 

39 
FIGURE 16.-ValleyoftheAnaktuvukRiverlookingsouthwest to Anaktuvuk Pass. 

construction of camp pads, airstrips, and the 

Kamikaze haul road to Prudhoe Bay. This work is 

part of a continuing study of the interactions of 

floods, ice, and construction on the stream channels along TAPS route. 

Preconstruction base line biological water quality of the Chena 

and Little Chena Rivers, or water quality of a subarctic stream 

system 

By G. A. McCoy 

Water-quality studies of the Chena and Little 

Chena Rivers indicate that the streams are clean 

and have high dissolved oxygen content. Iron 

content increases downstream. Fauna and flora 

are diverse. The study provides a base line for 

noting changes during or after construction of the 

Moose Creek and Little Chena dams. 

NORTHERN ALASKA 

Metamorphic belts in the southern Brooks Range 

By W. P. Brosge 

Previous work has shown that garnet and 

amphibole rocks, including both blueschist and 

amphibolite, occur in a zone about 10 km wide 

within the pelitic schists that form the south edge 

of the Brooks Range in the southeast part of' 

Ambler River quadrangle (Forbes and others, 

40 

1971; Pessel and others, 1973). Petrographic data· 

from collections by the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and the U.S. Geological Survey have recently been compile1 by W. P. 

Brosge, H. N. Reiser, I. L. Tailleur, R. B. Forbes, 

and C. F. Mayfield, and by G. H. Pe;;-sel of the 

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical 

Surveys, for the adjacent Survey Pass, Wiseman, 

and Chandalar quadrangles to be used in preparing a small-scale metamorphic facies map of 

Alaska. These data show that within th~ schists of 

lower greenschist facies which characterize most 

of the southern Brooks Range, a zone of garnetbearing schist extends eastward almost continuously for about 340 km from the southeast Ambler 

River quadrangle to the northeast part ofChandalar quadrangle (loc. 1). The present width of this 

garnet zone is about 5--15 km, but it may originally 

have been wider; helycitic garnets completely 

retrograded to chlorite occur locally in lower 

greenschist facies rocks about 4 km south of the 

garnet zone in central Wiseman quac1rangle. In 

the western 150 km of this zone chk"'"itoid and 

biotite are also common, and glaucophane was 

found every 15 or 30 km in samples from 

metasedimentary as well as mafic rocks. Kyanite 

occurs east of the last known glaucophane locality, 
in samples from eastern Survey Pass and western 

Wiseman quadrangles. In most of the Wiseman 

and Chandalar quadrangles, glaucophane and 

kyanite are absent in the garnet zone, chloritoid is 

rare, and biotite is common, but at the east end of 

the zone in the Chandalar quadrangle, glaucophane occurs again as almost completely chloritized 

relics in retrograded amphibole schist. Elsewhere 

in the zone the glaucophane is fresh to partly 

chloritized. 

Granitic plutons crop out a few km north of the 

zone in Survey Pass quadrangle, where the 

partially altered glaucophane and garnet and local 

biotite in the west half of the zone indicate a 

thermal overprint on an earlier high-pressure 

assemblage as previously described in the southeast Ambler River quadrangle (Alaska Division of 

Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1973). 

Granitic plutons lie within the zone in Chandalar 

quadrangle, and the garnet-biotite assemblage in 

Wiseman and Chandalar quadrangles indicates 

that most of the east half of the zone is the product 

oflow-pressure thermal metamorphism. However, 

the rare occurrence of almost completely altered 

glaucophane and garnet near the granite at the 

east end of the zone suggests that the highpressure assemblage may originally have extended throughout the zone. In any case it seems 

that a long narrow zone of thermal metamorphism 

either coincided with or was in linear continuity 

with a long narrow zone of high-pressure 

metamorphism. 

EAST ·CENTRAL ALASKA 

Geology of western half of the Kantishna River quadrangle 

By Robert M. Chapman 

Bedrock and unconsolidated deposits were 

mapped in the western half of the Kantishna River 

quadrangle (loc. 4) by R. M. Chapman, W. W. 

Patton, Jr., and W. E. Yeend during 10 days of 

helicopter-supported reconnaissance in July 197 4. 

Some of this area was mapped in 1915 by H. M. 

Eakin (1918), and parts of it were previously 

unmapped. A better geologic map of this area will 

be compiled from the information gathered in 

197 4, but owing to relatively few exposures, 

accessibility problems, extensive vegetation cover, 

and insufficient time for detailed mapping, the 

following geologic interpretations are tentative. 

Seven major bedrock units are distinguished, 

ranging in age from early Paleozoic to Tertiary. 

41 

The apparently oldest unit is quartzite, metasiltstone, and phyllite, probably of Ordovician or 

older age, that lies in the Bitzshtini Mountains 

and extends southwest to Haystack J fountain. A 

unit of chert and slate forms the northern end of 

the Kuskokwim Mountains between the head of 

the Zitziana River and Lake Minchumina, and is 

tentatively correlated with similar chert units in 

the Dugan Hills and Livengood quadrangle that 

recently have been identified as Ordovician. A unit 

of chloritic calcareous schist, mafic rocks, and 

some limestone forms the hills at the heads of the 

Big Mud and Chitanana Rivers and north of the 

Titna River. The age of this unit is uncertain but 

probably is Ordovician, Silurian, or Devonian. A 

sparsely-fossiliferous limestone and dolomite unit, 

which fm .. ns a southwest-trending beF of semi barren, light-colored hills between the Ref}lands Lake 

area and Sischu Mountain, is D~vonian, or 

possibly Silurian and Devonian, in age, and may 

be correlative with the Tolovana Limestone. A 

unit of graywacke, siltstone, and shale forms the 

low hills between Bitzshtini and Chitanatala 

Mountains. These rocks strongly resemble those of 

Jurassic(?) and Cretaceous age in the Tanana and 

Livengood quadrangles. 

A unit of mafic rocks, chiefly diabas~ and basalt, 

forms the highest part of the Chitanatala Mountains and a southwest-trending belt of hills 4-7 

miles north of Sischu Mountain. ~his unit is 

apparently of Mesozoic age, or might be in part 

correlative with the Permian(?) Rampart Group. 

Granitic and monzonitic rocks form part of the 

hills between Redlands Lake and the Cosna River, 

and crop out on two hills on the upper Chitanana 

River. Similar rocks form the top of Haystack 

Mountain and a large part of Sischu Mountain. 

These rocks are probably of Late G-:-etaceous or 

early Tertiary age. Rhyolitic and tuffaceous rocks, 

which appear to cap the hills, extend southwest 

from the Chitanatala Mountains to tl' ~ south side 

of Sischu Mountain. These rocks are apparently 

the youngest in the area and presu1nably are of 

Tertiary age. 

Several units of unconsolidated deposits are 

differentiated from field observationg and aerial 

photograph interpretation. A large part of the area 

west of the Cosna River and north of the 

Chitanana River is covered by an eolian sand and 

silt unit that is characterized by east-northeast 

trending elongate dunes, which are stabilized by 

vegetation. A bedded clay, silt, sand, and gravel 
unit of apparent lacustrine origin covers a large 

portion of the lowlands along the middle and upper 

portions of the Chitanana River. A silty unit, 

consisting of loess and solifluction mantle material, is widespread in the southern two-thirds of 

the area and occurs largely below altitudes of 

1,200 feet. Recent and older alluvium deposits are 

significantly large only along the largest streams. 

Environmental geology and land utilization of the Fairbanks 

area, Alaska 

By Troy L. Pewe 

New geologic maps and derivative environmental maps for land use planning on the scale of 

1:24,000 were completed for the Fairbanks area in 

197 4. Field data obtained in 1972, plus information from earlier surveys, were compiled and 

interpreted by Troy L. Pewe and John W. Bell to 

produce geology, permafrost, construction materials, foundation conditions, and ground-water 

m~ps of the Fairbanks D2-SW, D2-NW, D2-SE, 

D2-NE, and D1-SW quadrangles covering the 

Fairbanks area (loc. 6), a total of 25 maps. Robert 

B. Forbes and Florence R. Weber were consulted 

on the pre-Cenozoic geology on the D2 geologic 

maps. 

The five geologic maps (in press) are colored 

maps of the Miscellaneous Geologic Investigation 

Series. The D2-SW is number 82~A, D2-NW is 

907, and D2-NE, D2-SE, and D1-SW have not 

been assigned numbers as yet. The set of environmental maps for the D2-SW quadrangle is also in 

color and is in press as Permafrost Map 82~B, 

Construction Materials Map 82~C, Foundation 

Conditions Map 82~D, and Ground-Water Map 

82~E. 

The 16 other environmental geology maps 

describe distribution, thickness, and character of 

permafrost; location of ground-water resources; 

location of construction materials; and types of 

foundation problems. They are completed and 

assigned to the Miscellaneous Field Maps Series; 

they are in press to be published without color. 

New Pleistocene vertebrate fossil site in the Big Delta 

quadrangle 

By F. R. Weber 

Vertebrate fossils were discovered on Canyon 

Creek (loc. 7), in the Big Delta quadrangle, 105 km. 

southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, in 197 4 by 

Florence Weber. The locality was also later 

examined by D. M. Hopkins, and T. D. Hamilton. 

Bones of a small horse, Camelops, bis'ln, mammoth, Saiga, wolf, rabbit, and caribou(?) from the 

same stream channel fill were idertified by 

Charles Repenning. Although remainr of these 

animals are common in Alaskan P".eistocene 

deposits, they are seldom found in strf'tigraphic 

context and this may be the first authentic 

association ofCamelops, an extinct No~h American camel, withSaiga, an extant Asiatic antelope. 

This association suggests a mixing of major faunal 

types across the Bering Straits lan1 bridge, 

probably in late Pleistocene time. 

The fossil-bearing gravels are overlain unconformably by approximately 15 m of eolian sand 

and silt. Some of the overlying material is 

ventifact-bearing colluvium marked by rodent 

burrows and fossil ice wedges. An organic horizon 

in the eolian deposits 5 m above the unc'lnformity 

has given a C14 date of approximately 9500 b.p. 

(before present) but no suitable dating material 

has been found associated with the bones. 

Metamorphosed peridotite in the Big Delta A-I quadrangle 

By Helen L. Foster 

Several small metamorphosed peridotite bodies 

were found during the course of reconnaissance 

geologic mapping in the Big Delta A-1 quadrangle 

, (loc. 9). The ultramafic rock is foliated and folded 

and has been subjected to the samE. regional 

metamorphism as the surrounding country rock. 

The ultramafic rocks appear to have E different 

history than those recently described in the Eagle 

quadrangle, except for one similar body south of 

Mt. Harper in the Eagle A-6 quadrangle. 

The several separate small bodies may have 

been part of one or more larger bodies which have 

been tectonically broken up and separated. 

Significant platinum values confirmed in ultramaf-: rock of the 

Eagle C-3 quadrangle 

, By Helen L. Foster 

A small ultramafic body in the Eagle C-3 

quadrangle (loc. 8) yielded a significant value for 

platinum group metals from two samples that 

were collected in 1969 and analyzed in 1973 (Keith 

and Foster, 1973, sample No. 69AFr7 48B). This 

was the only ultramafic body in the Eagle 

quadrangle yielding values above 0.03 ppm Pt. 

(Rocks from 32 different bodies were analyzed for 

platinum group metals.) In the summer of 1974, 

more material was collected from this body and 12 

additional analyses made. One specimen yielded 3 

42 
ppm Pt and 1.5 ppm Pd, and 0.030 ppm Rh. Other 

specimens in the group gave values ranging from 

not detected to 0.200 ppm Pt and not detected to 

0.015 ppm Pd. 

WEST -CENTRAL ALASKA 

Holocene glaciation in the Kigluaik Mountains, Seward 

Peninsula 

By R. E. Nelson 

Field studies conducted during August of 1974 

in the Grand Central River Valley (loc. 2) by R. E. 

Nelson, assisted by M. L. Throckmorton, provide 

geomorphic evidence that indicates the Mount 

Osborn Glaciation may be ofNeoglacial age. Field 

mapping of the maximum extent of glacial ice of 

Mount Osborn age, and of a sub historic advance of 

the past few centuries, has been completed for the 

valley. This is the first such mapping of Holocene 

glaciations in western Alaska. 

Tentative correlations have been drawn between the Mount Osborn Glaciation and the 

Alapah Mountain Glaciation of the Brooks Range, 

and between the subhistoric advance in the 

Kigluaik Mountains and the Fan Mountain 

Glaciation of the Brooks Range. 

Studies of the altitudes of cirque floors in the 

Kigluaik Mountains, utilizing aerial photographs, 

topographic maps, and field data, indicate that 

modern snowline lies at or above 660 m elevation. 

A net lowering of snow line of 7 5 m resulted in the 

subhistoric advance, while the Mount Osborn 

advance was accompanied by a snowline depression of 150 m. Preliminary results indicate that 

Wisconsin snowline probably lay at about 360m 

elevation, or 300 m below modern snowline, in the 

Kigluaik Mountains and vicinity. 

New information on the Kaltag fault 

By William W. Patton, Jr. 

Ground and aerial inspection of the Kaltag fault 

between Tanana and Unalakleet (loc. 3) was 

carried out by W. W. Patton, Jr., R. M. Chapman, 

George Plafker, and Warren Yeend in August 

197 4. No fresh breaks or other evidences of modern 

activity were found along this part of the fault. 

However, offset streams, ponded drainages, and 

slice and shutter ridges of bedrock and gravel 

along the fault zone attest to significant movement 

in late Cenozoic time. Tilted nonmarine coalbearing deposits of probable late Tertiary age were 

observed at three localities within the fault zone. 

In the Melozitna quadrangle ublue-schist facies" 

rocks were discovered in Precaml'rian(?) and 

Paleozoic metamorphic assemblages north of the 

fault. These blue amphibole-bearing rocks appear 

to represent the offset extension of the ttblue-schist 

facies" terrane in the Kaiyuh Hills (Forbes and 

others, 1971) and provide additional support for 

previously published estimates (Patton and 

Hoare, 1968) of about 140 km of right-lateral offset 

along this segment of the Kaltag since Cretaceous. 

SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA 

Lower Cretaceous rocks and tectonic activity north of Bristol 

Bay 

By J. M. Hoare, W. L. Coonrad, R. L. Detterman ~and D. L. Jones 

An unusually interesting section of sedimentary 

rocks of Cretaceous age was found between the 

Ungalikthluk and Kulukak Rivers in the Goodnews Bay quadrangle (loc. 11) in tl'e 1974 field 

season. On the geologic map of the G:lodnews Bay 

quadrangle (Hoare and Coonrad, 19·~1) the rocks 

were assigned a Late Cretaceous age. But new 

fossil collections show that they were deposited in 

Early Cretaceous (Valanginian and Hauterivian) 

time. 

The section is at least 2,500 m (7 ,500 feet) thick 

and may be as much as 3,500 m (10,500 feet) thick. 

The rocks are only mildly deformed. Except for 

minor irregularities, they strike N. 4,0° E. and dip 

consistently southeastward. They prchably are the 

least deformed thick section of Lowf'"" Cretaceous 

rocks in southwest Alaska. They are overlain to 

the east by volcanic rocks of Early Jurassic age 

which have been thrust northwestward on the 

Kulukak fault. The fault trends about N. 25° E. 

along the east wall of the Kulukak valley. 

The Lower Cretaceous rocks occur in an area of 

about 325 km2 between the Kulukak and Ungalikthluk faults and are surrounded by older, chiefly 

volcanic, rocks of Early Jurassic age. The isolated 

occurrence, thickness, and their relative susceptibility to erosion suggest that the Lower Cretaceous 

rocks were preserved beneath a thru~d; sheet which 

was transported northwestward on the Kulukak 

fault in post-Early Cretaceous time. 

The Lower Cretaceous strata include lithologically distinct coeval facies that must have been 

·deposited some distance apart. However, the 

coeval facies now form converging belts of outcrop 

1.5-5 km apart on either side of the Buchia Ridge 

fault. They must have been telescoped at least a 

few kilometres by northwest transp'"lrt. 

43 
Volcanic rocks of Early Jurassic age are locally 

metamorphosed to phyllite and schist in the 

vicinity of faults. The Lower Cretaceous rocks 

contain clasts of these metamorphosed rocks. This, 

and the lack of Upper Jurassic rocks, indicates 

that the area north of Bristol Bay was emergent 

and tectonically active in Late Jurassic time. 

Thus the Lower Cretaceous rocks not only 

provide evidence for two periods of tectonic 

activity but they also suggest that the style of 

deformation in Mesozoic time included low angle 

thrust faults. 

Bathymetry of Cannikin Lake, Amchitka Island, Alaska, with 

an evaluation of computer-mapping techniques 

By Diego Gonzalez, Leonard E. Wollitz, and G. E. Brethauer 

A bathymetric map, the basic geometry_ of 

Cannikin Lake (loc. 27), and the stage-areavolume relationship were derived from data 

produced by a sonic survey of the lake (Gonzalez 

and others, 197 4). This was done as part of a study 

to define the characteristics of the lake to 

determine the effect of a subsurface nuclear 

detonation on the hydrologic and biologic environment. At the lake's highest level, the 

maximum depth is 31 feet (9.45 m), it has a volume 

of325 acre-feet (401 x 103m3) and covers a surface 

area of 30 acres (12.1 hectares). A computermapping technique utilizing two different computer programs (WET and Calcomp GPCP) was used 

to evaluate the usefulness of the programs as 

mapping tools. The two bathymetric maps of the 

lake bottom produced by this method show a high 

degree of reliability when compared with the 

hand-drawn version. 

Energy resources beneath the Bering Sea shelf 

By M. S. Marlow, D. W. Scholl, A. K. Cooper, and E. C. 

Buffington 

Reconnaissance geologic surveys of the eastern 

Bering Sea margin have revealed 14 geologic 

basins and three geologic ridges beneath the shelf. 

The Mesozoic foldbelt of southern Alaska has been 

traced from the Alaska Peninsula through the 

shelf to eastern Siberia. Beneath the shelf, two of 

the largest basins, Navarin and St. George, 

contain an estimated 8-10 km of Late Cretaceous(?) and Cenozoic strata. The basin fill is 

extensionally deformed along the flanks of these 

grabens and half grabens by high-angle normal, 

((growth-type" faults. Within the sedimentary 

section there is a divergence or disconformity of 

44 

probable Miocene age. This basinwari-dipping 

divergence may represent a major change in 

sedimentation rates over the shelf as a result of a 

change in the drainage of the Yukon River from 

the Pacific to the Bering Sea. The basin fill and the 

thick sedimentary section beneath the shelf are 

immediate petroleum prospects. 

Bright spots and magnetic lineations in the Berin~ Sea basin 

By M. S. Marlow, D. W. Scholl, A. K. Cooper, and E. C. 

Buffington 

A study of seismic reflection records collected by 

the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office revealed a 

number of strong reflectors or ~~bright spots" 

within the sedimentary section of the northern 

Aleutian Basin. Beneath these spots ofb-..ightness 

there are anomalous, deformed structur~s. While 

in deep water, these structures may be indicative 

of significant hydrocarbon deposits. Alan K. 

Cooper assembled all of the magnetic data in the 

deep Bering Sea Basin as part of a doctor8'1 study at 

Stanford University. His study revealed a series of 

north-south, oceanic-type magnetic anomalies. 

These anomalies have been provisionally dated as 

117 to 132 m.y. in age; the crust from ,vhich the 

anomalies originate is thought to be the ((trapped" 

Kula plate, which formerly collided with eastern 

Siberia and the eastern Bering Sea margin during 

the Mesozic. 

Energy resources along the Aleutian Ridge 

By M. S. Marlow, D. W. Scholl, A. K. Cooper, and E. C. 

Buffington 

The Aleutian Islands rise above ar. arcuate 

submarine mountain range, the Aleutian Ridge, 

that separates the north Pacific from tl'~ Bering 

Sea. Along the crest of this ridge are roughly 

rectangular shaped basins that are as 1~-rge as 35 

by 90 km. The floors of these basins, such as 

Amukta and Amlia Basins and Pratt Depression, 

are overlain by about 1,000 m of water, but they 

are underlain by as much as 4,000 In of late 

Miocene and younger sedimentary bedr .. Greatly 

deformed and faulted, these strata are likely 

prospects for energy resources. 

New data on the displacement history of the Lake Clark fault 

By George Plafker, R. L. Detterman, and Travis Hudson 

As part of the Alaska Geologic Earthquake 

Hazards Project, a reconnaissance investigation 

was made of the Lake Clark fault (loc. 12) during 

1974. 
The prominent topographic trench that marks 

the fault, for 125 km from Lake Clark on the 

southwest to Blockade Glacier on the northea.st, 

appears to be developed along northeast-trending 

shear zones and foliation in granitic rocks and the 

Jurassic Talkeetna Formation. This shear zone is 

at least 20m wide and locally may be as much as 

275 m wide where examined near the divide 

between Blockade Lake and the Tlikakila River 

valley. 

There is no evidence along the fault trace of 

offset topographic features or glacial deposits 

suggestive of Quaternary displacement. In the 

vicinity of Little Lake Clark, offset of the contact 

between the Talkeetna· Formation and an older 

metamorphic sequence to the southwest and of the 

contact between a granitic pluton and the enclosing Talkeetna Formation indicate a total dextral 

displacement of 5 km ± 1 km. The indicated 

displacement is considerably smaller than the 16 

km that was postulated previously by Ivanhoe 

(1962). Strike-slip movement of 5 km occurred on 

the Lake Clark fault after emplacement of the 

granitic intrusive, which has yielded a single K/ Ar 

age of 38.6 m.y. (Reed and Lanphere, 1972). The 

close similarity in lithology and metamorphic 

grade of rocks on either side of the Lake Clark fault 

along its entire mapped length suggests that there 

is no significant vertical component of displacement. 

SOUTHERN ALASKA 

West Foreland and Tyonek Formations at Capps Glacier 

By W. L. Adkison 

Exposures of Tertiary rocks on the northwest 

flank of the Cook Inlet basin near Capps Glacier 

and along Chuitna River (loc. 14) were measured, 

described, and sampled in detail for heavy-mineral 

and palynological studies. The rocks are assigned 

to the West Foreland and Tyonek Formations. The 

West Foreland consists of a conglomerate 366 m 

thick and lies unconformably on Mesozoic rocks. In 

the basin to the southeast, the Hemlock Conglomerate overlies the West Foreland and is the most 

important oil reservoir. At the exposures near 

Capps Glacier, the Hemlock is missing because of 

erosion or nondeposition. This conclusion is based 

on the palynological determinations by K. R. 

Newman (Colorado School of Mines) and on a 

heavy-minerals study of Kelley (in preparation). 

The Tyonek Formation, which unconformably 

overlies the West Foreland, consists of conglomerates and sandstone in the lower part and 

sandstone, siltstone, and coal in tl'o, remainder. 

The total thickness exceeds 671 m, the aggregate 

thickness of four widely separated measured 

sections. Stratigraphic relations]'ips between 

these sections were only partly determined because of major faulting or the lack of exposures in 

large areas. This measured section provides valuable surface control for subsurface stratigraphic 

units that produce oil and gas in the Cook Inlet 

Tertiary basin. 

Bruin Bay fault inactive during the Holocer~ 

By R. L. Detterman, Travis Hudson, and J. M. Hoare 

The Bruin Bay fault (loc. 13 ), one of the many 

large linear faults in Alaska, extend~ 500 km from 

Becharof Lake, on the Alaska Peninsula, to near 

Mt. Susitna, at the head of Cook Inlet. For most of 

this distance it parallels Cook Inlet and in the 

Cook Inlet Basin petroleum provirce marks the 

point between the productive and nonproductive 

parts of the basin. As part of the Alaska Geologic 

Earthquake Hazards Project, investigations were 

carried out in 1974 between Kamishak Bay and 

Mt. Susitna to determine whether tr~ fault, which 

is near the population center of Alaska, has been 

recently active. Stratigraphic displacement of as 

much as 3,000 had previously been mapped south 

of Tuxedni Bay (Detterman and H~rtsock, 1966). 

The fault continues north of TuxE'dni Bay as a 

highly sheared and crushed zone 1 0( to 300m wide 

in Jurassic intrusive and volcanic rock. Displacement is difficult to determine, but apparently 

decreases northward as the fault enters Redoubt 

Bay Flats, and is probably no mo:v-e than a few 

hundred metres west of Tyonek where beds of the 

late Tertiary Kenai Formation ~.re offset. No 

evidence of displacement could be found in any of 

the Holocene or Pleistocene surficial deposits that 

cover many parts of the fault and it is considered to 

have been inactive since late Tertiary time. The 

Bruin Bay fault may be a splay of the Castle 

Mountain fault system, but a positive link with 

that system cannot be obtained from surface 

geologic work due to a thick mantle of surficial 

materials in the probable area of c-:mjunction. 

Geohydrology of the Anchorage area, Alasl·a 

By Chester Zenone 

Continued urban hydrology studies in the 

45 
Anchorage area (loc. 16) have defined the hydrology of the marshes, swamps, and associated lakes 

in the western part of the area and outlined the 

drainage and pollution problems in the Hillside 

area southeast of Anchorage. 

A report on the geology and hydrology of the 

Eagle River-Chugiak area notes that groundwater supplies adequate for domestic use are of 

limited extent. The water is of good quality for this 

purpose. 

Ground-water supplies are generally available 

within 100 feet of the land surface in Glacier Creek 

valley, Girdwood. Ground- and surface-water 

quality is acceptable for domestic use, but until a 

community sewer system is constructed, the 

potential for pollution of water supplies by septic 

tank effluent is high. The flood plains of California 

and Glacier Creeks are flood-prone areas. 

A map showing the depth to water in the 

Anchorage area and an atlas of water-quality data 

on the Anchorage Borough sanitary landfill have 

been published. 

Water from Ship Creek, diverted at a rate of 4 

million gallons a day, was recharged to groundwater aquifers at a test facility located on the Ship 

Creek alluvial fan. Water levels in the vicinity of 

the recharge pond have risen as much as 18 feet. 

Studies related to artificial recharge are 

continuing. . 

Turnagain Ann is Hood-dominant 

By A. T. Ovenshine, Susan Bartsch-Winkler, Neil R. O'Brien, 

and Daniel E. Lawson 

Evidence is accumulating that Turnagain Arm 

(loc. 15), a 70-km-long estuary near Anchorage, 

Alaska, is flood-dominant with respect to its 

long-term sedimentation budget. The principal 

results leading to this conclusion are: 

(1) The sand that fills most of the Arm 

includes significant quantities of mineral (andalusite, staurolite, garnet, biotite, muscovite, 

and chlorite) and rock (pumice, coal) fragments 

that could not have come from the bedrock 

surrounding Turnagain Arm. These probably 

were derived from the drainage basin of the 

Susitna River and have been transported by 

tidal currents across Knik Arm, upper Cook 

Inlet, and into Turnagain Arm. 

(2) Clast size and imbrication directions of 

gravel exposed on Girdwood Bar in 1974 

indicate predominance of eastward transport, 

toward the head of the Arm. 

46 

(3) A transgressive deposit of intertHal sediment has formed at Portage in resp:mse to 

subsidence caused by the Alaskan EarA;hquake 

of March 27, 1964. Minerals and rock fragments 

in the deposit indicate its source was secward in 

Turnagain Arm and not in the streams that flow 

from the surrounding mountains into the Portage area. 

The flood-dominant character is environmentally significant in wetland management in the 

upper Cook Inlet area: there seems a high 

probability that a portion of any solid C'~ liquid 

wastes discharged into Cook Inlet near Archorage 

would be driven by tidal currents into Turnagain 

Arm. 

Geologic discontinuities along two giant linears in southern 

Alaska 

By E. H. Lathram and R. G. H. Raynolds 

Major geologic discontinuities occur along the 

trace of two previously unrecognized giant linears 

(> 1,000 km long) identified on the Soil Conservation Services ERTS mosaic. One trends c l:lout N. 

85° W. between latitudes 60° and 62° N. from the 

Alaska-Canada boundary to the delta of the 

Yukon River. In the Chugach Mountcins the 

linear is approximately parallel with and just 

north of the boundary of the area of maximum 

uplift resulting from the 1964 great Alaska 

earthquake. In the Cook Inlet area, the linear is 

the southern margin of an approximately 50 km 

zone of linears which coincides with (1) the 

junction of the Cook Inlet, Susitna and Matanuska 

lowlands, (2) a deflection in trend of the Border 

Ranges fault, and (3) a zone of disruption and 

change in strike in aeromagnetic an ':lmalies. 

Although the Castle Mountain fault is not offset by 

the linear, recent movement on the fault is 

confined to the area north of the linear (R. L. 

Detterman, oral commun., 1975). In the western 

Alaska Range, the chain of Holocene v'llcanoes 

along the Alaska Peninsula terminates at the 

linear, as do known Jurassic intrusive bodies. In 

the lower Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers area, the 

linear and the northern margin of the zone 

coincide with straight courses of the tw'l rivers, 

and the zone marks the northern extent of a 

lowland that terminates a northeast trending 

ridge formed by exposures of the Gemul, Group. 

Other geologic features, including the great faults, 

are apparently undisturbed by the linear. 

The second linear trends northwest from the 
FIGURE 17.-Augustine Island, approximately 185 miles southwest of Anchorage, is closely monitored to warn of impending volcanic activity. 

southern terminus of Bering Glacier to near 

Shaktoolik on Norton Sound. Northwest of the 

Alaska Range, the position of the linear is 

ambiguous, and no major geologic discontinuities 

seem to occur. In the Cook Inlet area, the linear 

crosses the previously described one, and discontinuities previously described could equally well 

be ascribed to the second linear. In the area from 

Anchorage to the edge of the continental shelf, the 

linear coincides with the boundary between 

Tertiary and Mesozoic strata in the Prince 

William Sound region, and with the change in 

trend of structures on land from northeast to east. 

On the continental shelf, continuation of the linear 

coincides with the northeast margin of the ••st. 

Elias transition" of Von Huene and Shor (1969) a 

zone between the northeast-trending structural 

regime of the Kodiak-Aleutian area and the 

east-trending structural regime of the ChugachSt. Elias region, in which both northeast- and 

east-trending structures occur and are superimposed. 

47 

Investigation of earthquakes below the Cook Inkt region of 

Alaska 

By John C. Lahr and Robert A. Page 

The southern Alaska seismograph network 

provides excellent data for resolving the configuration of the Benioff zone in the vicinit:·r of Cook 

Inlet (Lahr and others, 1974). The apparent 

thickness of the dipping seismic zone is about 15 

km when projected for 300 km alon~ strike. 

Subdivision of the zone into segments extending 

50 km along strike indicates that, in many areas, 

earthquakes are concentrated within a zone less 

than 5 km thick. Because the locations are based 

on a flat-layered velocity model, some s~·stematic 

mislocation is expected due to latera] velocity 

changes. Thirty-seven events were relocated using 

a high-velocity dipping plate model, and systematic shifts in epicenters of 0-25 km and in depths of 

3-10 km were obtained. The suggested bias in 

locations, which increases with depth, is tentative 

because the actual three-dimensional velocity 

structure is not currently known. Separate focal 
mechanism solutions for about 25 events and 

composite solutions for more than 100 events 

reveal that the least compressive stress axis in the 

intermediate-depth shocks is typically oriented 

approximately downdip. 

Earthquake hazards investigated along Castle Mountain fault 

in Matanuska Valley 

By R. L. Detterman, George Plafker, Travis Hudson, and R. G. 

Tysdal 

Continued investigations by the Alaska Geologic Earthquake Hazards Project in 197 4 along 

the 85 km Talkeetna segment of the Castle 

Mountain fault system Ooc. 18) indicate a considerable potential for destructive landslides between 

the Little Susitna River and Caribou Creek. A 

total of 183 landslides, some of them active, were 

mapped and about 80 additional areas are considered to be potential slides. They occur in all rock 

types including surficial materials, but the largest 

and most abundant are in poorly consolidated 

Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary rock. The 

size, number, and recency of slides increases 

greatly east of the Chickaloon River and may 

correlate with seis1nic activity within the block 

between the Castle Mountain and Caribou fault, 

which is probably the main splay of the Castle 

Mountain fault system in the eastern Talkeetna 

Mountains. No conclusive evidence of Holocene 

offset was found on any of the faults mapped, but 

many of the landslides are believed to represent 

Holocene events that could have been initiated by 

seismic activity on the Castle Mountain system. 

The westward extension of the Castle Mountain 

fault system, in the Susitna lowland, is known to 

have had late Holocene movement (Detterman 

and others, 1974). 

Petrography, tentative age, and correlation of schist, Willow 

Creek, Talkeetna Mountains, Southern Alaska 

By Bela Csejtey, Jr., and James G. Smith 

Detailed geologic investigations and K/Ar age 

determinations on the enigmatic schist at Willow 

Creek in the Talkeetna Mountains of southern 

Alaska suggest that the schist underwent a 

complex and still not fully understood geologic 

history. 

The schist crops out in an approximately 16 km 

by 6 km block in the southwestern Talkeetna 

Mountains (loc. 17). The block was intruded on the 

north by Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary 

plutons and is bounded on the south by the 

Cenozoic Castle Mountain fault. Rocks lithologically similar to the schist at Willow Creek have not 

been found in nearby regions. 

Lithologically, the schist at Willow Creek is a 

highly schistose medium-grained ro~k with uniform lithology thoughout its exposure area. Its 

ubiquitous constituents are quartz, muscovite, 

albite, chlorite, numerous chloritize1 crystals of 

garnet and subordinate biotite, ancl sparse carbonaceous stringers. Small open folds and crenulations are common throughout the schist block. 

The axial planes of these crenulations form an 

incipient slip cleavage at a large angle to the 

primary schistosity. 

The present mineral assemblage is indicative 

of the greenschist metamorphic facies (Turner, 

1968). However, it is retrograde from higher 

metamorphism, possibly the amphibolite facies. 

Evidence is the chloritized garnet and biotite 

crystals and sparse mineral outlines consisting 

now of chlorite which are probably preudomorphs 

after hornblende. The time relation between this 

retrograde metamorphism and the incipient slip 

cleavage is unknown, as is the length of time 

between these later events and the primary 

metamorphism. 

Potassium-argon age determinations on muscovites from three separate localities yielded early 

Tertiary ages around 60 m.y. Although it is not 

known which metamorphic event or '""hat thermal 

effect these dates identify, they do not support, in 

conjunction with regional geologic considerations, 

the previously assigned Precambr~ an or early 

Paleozoic metamorphic age for the s~hist. 

The uniform petrography of the scrist at Willow 

Creek, the presence of serpentinized ultramafic 

bodies, and lack of similar rocks in adjacent 

regions suggest that the schist block is a 

tectonically emplaced fragment of a larger 

metamorphic terrane. 

Metamorphosed late Paleozoic rocks, similar in 

lithology and K/Ar ages to rocks of the Willow 

Creek schist block, occur about 200 km to the east 

in the Chugach Mountains, north cf the Border 

Ranges fault (H.C. Berg, oral commun., 1974). 

These metamorphosed late Paleozoic rocks are 

interpreted by MacKevett and Plafke·· (1974) to be 

part of the upper plate of a late Mesor:oic and early 

Tertiary subduction system. 

Ongoing petrologic research ani additional 

K/ Ar age determinations will hopef'.llly decipher 

the complex geologic history of the scl'ist at Willow 

Creek. 

48 
The Landlock fault: part of a major early Tertiary plate 

boundary in southern Alaska 

By Gary R. Winkler and George Plafker 

Regional mapping in the Cordova and Bering 

Glacier (1:250,000) quadrangles and a detailed 

reexamination of the ~~Landlock overthrust fault" 

of Capps and Johnson (1915) in northeastern 

Prince William Sound have confirmed the continuity of the Landlock fault as a segment of a major 

fault system (loc. 21). This system has been traced 

continuously for 550 km along the southern 

margin of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains from 

the Canada border near Mt. Saint Elias westward 

to Blying Sound. For most of its length the fault 

system separates the upper Mesozoic Valdez 

terrane on the north from the lower Tertiary Orca 

terrane on the south. The fault system probably 

extends at least an additional 450 km southwestward from Blying Sound to Kodiak Island. 

The Landlock fault segment of this system 

extends between the Copper River and Valdez 

Arm in Prince William Sound. Its trace is mostly 

sinuous but with short linear sections such as 

those near Whalen Bay and the head of Port 

Gravina. Dip of the fault surface is everywhere 

northward but varies widely from 25° or less to 

nearly vertical. Near the head of Simpson Creek, a 

quartz monzonite pluton approximately 50 m.y. 

old is sheared and strongly foliated in a narrow 

zone adjacent to the major fault trace suggesting 

some post-early Eocene movement. The irregularity of the Landlock fault trace is most conspicuous 

and well documented in northeastern Prince 

William Sound where distinctive basaltic rocks of 

the Orca Group are transposed relatively beneath 

slate and sandstone of the Valdez Group. Where 

topography is steep and the fault surface dips at 

low angles, as in the area just east of Valdez Arm, 

flaps of the Valdez Group can be seen to extend as 

much as 12 km southwestward over the Orca 

terrane. 

East of the Copper River the Bagley segment of 

the fault system has a strikingly linear trace along 

Miles and Bagley Glaciers that is suggestive of a 

steep to vertical dip. Minor structures indicate 

predominantly strike-slip movement in this segment, although there is no detectable offset of an 

early Eocene granodiorite pluton that intrudes the 

fault zone (Plafker and Lanphere, 197 4) .. 

West of Valdez Arm, the Landlock fault and a 

prominent splay through Jack Bay join, and the 

trace of the fault system again becomes more 

regular. The fault system follows a curvilinear 

trend around the north and west sides of Prince 

William Sound to disappear beneath tl'e Gulf of 

Alaska near Johnstone Bay on the south coast of 

the Kenai Peninsula. The probable s'luthwestward extension of this system resurfaces on 

Kodiak Island, where it separates analogous 

terranes-the upper Mesozoic Kodiak and lower 

Tertiary Ghost Rocks and Sitkalidak terranes. 

The juxtaposition of major geologic terranes 

across the Landlock fault is equivalent in tectonic 

style to the older Border Ranges fault system 

described by MacKevett and Plafker (1974). The 

younger system, of which the Landlock fault is a 

part, is interpreted to be a more sout:b erly plate 

boundary that developed seaward of th~ accreted 

Valdez terrane during early Tertiary time. 

Bering River coal field structure 

By R. B. Saunders 

Study of the central area of the Bering River 

Coal Field (loc. 23) has shown that the structure of 

the area is even more complex than previously 

believed. The coal-bearing Kushtaka Formation 

occurs in steeply dipping limbs of axiall:' thrusted 

chevron folds forming a discordant S£'fluence of 

imbrications. Restudy of parts of the Carbon Creek 

basin previously hidden beneath sno"v has resulted in drastic reduction of the coa 1 resource 

estimates for the area. The coal: waste ratio for the 

Kushtaka Formation is now believed to be 1:40, 

with an average coal:waste ratio vrithin the 

so-called coal zones of 1:20. Although suectacular 

coal exposures occur, these are believed to be local 

thickenings (pods or wedges) incorporated along 

faults or at the axes of folds. All evidenc~ indicates 

a lack of continuity of these coal beds. 

Backsliding(?) along the Ragged Mountain thrurt fault 

By Russell G. Tysdal, Travis Hudson, and George Plafker 

The Ragged Mountain fault is a major 

westward-dipping low-angle thrust fault (loc. 22) 

separating greenstone and dense sands~one of the 

early Tertiary Orca Group in the upper plate from 

siltstone and sandstone of the younger Stillwater 

and Katalla Formations in the lower plate. Strip 

mapping along the 30 km long fault, undertaken 

as part of the Alaska Geologic Eqrthquake 

Hazards Project, reveals surface features suggestive of late Holocene movement on the fault. The 

surface features include a prominent trench 

representing the eroded lip of the fault, landslide 

49 
deposits, two ages of talus, and a series of small 

uphill-facing scarps which cut the older talus at 

and near the fault trace. The most recent 

movement is interpreted as westward-directed 

gravity sliding of the upper plate, possibly 

initiated by seismic shaking. It is thus opposite in 

sense to that of the (relative) eastward tectonic 

thrusting which juxtaposed the Ragged Mountains block over younger sediments sometime 

during the late Tertiary. 

Kennecott-type copper deposits in the Wrangell Mountains 

By E. M. MacKevett, Jr., and A. K. Armstrong 

Detailed stratigraphic and petrographic studies 

by Armstrong of carbonate rocks that host 

Kennecott-type copper deposits Ooc. 20), augmented by previous geologic studies, indicate that 

sebkha processes were involved in the ore genesis. 

The Kennecott deposits are localized in the 

largely-dolomitic lowermost 100m of the Late 

Triassic Chitistone Limestone. The lowermost 

100 m of the Chitistone formed in cyclic subtidal to 

supratidal environments and contains abundant 

stromatolites, mud chips, and pseudomorphs of 

sulfate-bearing evaporites. This sequence disconformably underlies marine limestone. 

The copper in the deposits probably was derived 

from the Nikolai Greenstone, a thick, widespread 

succession of subaerial basalts, subjacent to the 

Chitistone, that has an intrinsically high copper 

content. A hydrologic regimen during which 

highly oxygenated water dissolved substantial 

amounts of copper from the Nikolai and subsequently deposited the copper in the reducing 

environment of the sebkha is postulated. The 

deposits' present configurations may reflect some 

remobilization and displacement during Jurassic 

or Cenozoic tectonic and plutonic events. 

Nabesna quadrangle completed under PAMRAP 

By H. C. Berg 

A major accomplishment by the U.S. Geological 

Survey during 1974 and 1975 was the preparation 

and publication of the first inte:--disciplinary 

mineral resource assessment of a 1:~50,000-scale 

Alaskan quadrangle. The assessrr~nt, of the 

N abesna quadrangle in south-central Alaska (loc. 

28 ), covers an area of 17,600 km2 ( 6,801 mi2), and is 

the first to be completed under the P AMRAPAMRAP program (see the writeup under statewide projects of the U.S. Geological Survey). The 

assessment was carried out by a re<;'\~arch team 

drawn from several branches of the eHrth sciences, 

and was based on field and laboratory investigations of the geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and 

satellite imagery. The assessment comprises an 

interrelated collection of U.S. Geolo:~ical Survey 

publications: a circular and a folio of maps that 

includes a modern geologic map, a variety of 

geochemical and geophysical maps, interpretations of satellite imagery, an analysis of the 

mineral endowment, and a land status map. The 

following summary lists the published components and specific topics covered by the N abesna 

mineral assessment; the complete rE.ferences are 

cited at the end of this section. 

Geochemical survey of the Tanacross quadrar~le 

By Gary C. Curtin, Sherman P. Marsh, Ric'-ard B. Tripp, 

Richard M. O'Leary, Gordon W. Day, and He ~n L. Foster 

Circular 718 (Richter and others, 1975) ------------------------------ Background information 

Miscellaneous Field Studies Maps: 

MF-655-A (Richter, 1975) ---------------------------------------- Geology 

B (Marsh, 1975a) ________________________________________ Geochemistry: copper 

C (Marsh, 1975b) ________________________________________ Geochemistry: lead 

D (Marsh, 1975c) ---------------------------------------- Geochemistry: gold E (Marsh, 1975d)_ _______________________________________ Geochemistry: chromium 

F (Marsh, 1975e)_ _______________________________________ Geochemistry: cobalt 

G (Marsh, 1975D ---------------------------------------- Geochemistry: Ag, La, 

Mo, Ni, Va, Y, and Zn 

H (Griscom, 1975) -------------------------------------- Aeromagnetic~ 

I (Barnes and Morin, 1975)_ _____________________________ Gravity 

J (Albert, 1975) ---------------------------------------- Satellite imag-ery 

K (Richter, Singer, and Cox, 1975) ________________________ Mineral resources 

L (U.S. Geological Survey, 1975) ------------------------ Land status 

50 
FIGURE 18.-The Narrows at the entrance to Fords Terror, Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Stud:r area, looking 

north-northeast. 

Preliminary results of a regional geochemical 

survey during the summer of 1974 in the Tanacross quadrangle (loc. 10), eastern Alaska, have 

revealed 15 areas where metal values (Cu, Ph, Zn, 

Mo, As) are anomalous. Two of the areas of 

anomalous metal values outline known porphyry 

copper deposits and some of the other anomalous 

areas may reflect similar-though concealedbodies of mineralized rock. The anomalous metal 

values were detected in the secondary Fe- and 

Mn-oxide residue of an oxalic acid extraction of the 

minus 0.2 mm (minus 80 mesh) fraction of stream 

sediment, and in the ash of both stream bank sod 

beneath the water level and moss growing in the 

streams. 

The results also suggest that these three stream 

sampling media show promise as useful geochemical sampling tools in the subarctic permafrost 

terrane of the Yukon-Tanana upland. The oxalic 

acid extraction of the stream sediment takes up 

both secondary Fe- and Mn-oxides and those 

elements scavenged from solution by the oxides 

(Alminas and Mosier, oral commun., 1975). 

51 

Likewise, the moss (Whitehead and Brooks, 1969) 

and the decaying organic matter in the streambank sod (Brundin and Nairis, 1972) act as 

scavengers of elements in solution in the streams. 

The element content of these meclia, therefore, 

reflects the abundance of elements which are 

subject to solution and dispersio~ within the 

drainage system. Our studies indi~ate that the 

element content of these media better reflects the 

distribution and abundance of elements which are 

being leached and dispersed from mineralized 

zones than does the element content in clastic 

materials that constitute the bulk of the minus 0.2 

mm fraction of stream sediment. Further, comparative studies were made between the minus 0.2 

mm fraction of the stream sediinent and the 

secondary oxide residue of the oxalic acid extraction of the stream sediment. These studies showed 

that element values in the secondary oxide residue 

were relatively high and the rang~s in element 

values among samples were greater than were 

those in the minus 0.2 mm fraction of the stream 

sediments. These results substantiate the findings 
Ol 

1:\;) 

.~';;~: 

I 

r·· 

\ \,~­

\ 

I 

I 

' ·-·~ 

~~-

"~ ~ 

•./!J-1"~~-·-

FIGURE 19.-Aeroinagnetic coverage for the State of Alaska. 

\ 

USGS coverage 

Detailed ~ flying 

~~~ Reconnaissance 

0 

Not Yet Published 

,________, Single flight line 

State coverage 

- 0 100 200 MILES 1- I I I _j I I I I 0 100 200 KILOMETRES 

··.:U ·•, 

~Q 
of Alminas and Mosier (oral commun., 1975) which 

show that very weak anomalies in materials such 

as stream sediments can be greatly enhanced by 

leaching the stream sediment material with oxalic 

acid and analyzing the secondary Fe- and Mnoxide residue of the leachate. 

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 

Coast Range transect in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness 

Study Area contains seven major belts of rock 

By David A. Brew, Arthur B. Ford, Donald Grybeck, and 

Constance J. Nutt 

A series of seven more or less continuous but 

irregular belts are included in the Tracy ArmFords Terror Wilderness Study Area between the 

tidewater of Stephens Passage and the International Boundary at the crest of the· Coast Range 

(loc. 26). The southwestern three of the southeasttrending series consist of low-grade metamorphosed detrital clastic and volcanic rocks of probable 

late Paleozoic or early Mesozoic age, cut by complicated granite, diorite, and hornblendite intrusions 

with locally extensive contact metamorphic effects. The middle belt of the series consists of 

higher grade metamorphic rocks that define the 

southwestern edge of the Coast Range batholithic 

complex. The original ages of the rocks in this belt 

are uncertain, but are probably also late Paleozoic 

or early Mesozoic. The northeastern three belts of 

the series consist of a remarkably long foliated 

quartz diorite sill of inferred late Mesozoic age; a 

broad terrane of gneiss, schist, and marble of uncertain original age; and, along the International , 

Boundary, a discontinuous belt of granite and 

granodiorite bodies of inferred mid-Tertiary age. 

Tertiary granitic rocks dominate Coast Range batholithic 

complex in northern southeastern Alaska 

By David A. Brew, Arthur B. Ford, Donald Grybeck, and 

Constance J. Nutt 

New studies along the International Boundary 

in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Study 

Area, continuing studies in the Juneau Icefield 

area, and available reconnaissance information on 

intervening and adjacent areas indicate that 

granodiorite and quartz monzonite of established 

or inferred mid-Tertiary age probably underlie 

most of the Coast Range batholithic complex 

between the Stikine River and the Skagway area 

(loc. 25). Several separate bodies are represented, 

the largest of which appears to be the 50 m.y. old 

uTurner Lake" body of the Juneau !enfield area. In 

general, the bodies intrude granitic gneisses to the 

southwest, but locally they extend across the 

granitic gneiss belt almost to the schist belt that 

forms the southwest boundary of the Coast Range 

batholithic complex. To the northeast, the bodies 

intrude thermally metamorphosed r')cks that are 

largely of Mesozoic age. At a very few places the 

Tertiary granitic bodies are associated with 

volcanic rocks that may be comagmatic. 

Municipal water-supply investigations 

By G. S. Anderson 

Work accomplished on the continuing cooperative program with the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources include~ administrative reports on Pelican and Skagvray (loc. 24). 

Pelican presently has enough water for its needs. 

Additional needs can be met by ilnproving the 

current water distribution systmn, obtaining 

water from a lake, or by developing a groundwater source. 

REFERENCES CITED IN SUMMARY OF 

IMPORTANT RESULTS, 1974 

Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysics I Surveys, 1973, 

Annual report 1972: Anchorage, Alaska, p. 34--36. 

Albert, N. R. D., 1975, Interpretation of J:arth Resources 

Technology Satellite imagery ofthe N abcsna quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 8''ldies Map MF65fr.-J, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000. 

Barnes, D. F., and Morin, R. L., 1975, Gravity map of the 

Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-65fr-I, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Beikman, H. M., 1974, Preliminary geolo~ic map of the 

southwest quadrant of Alaska: U.S. Ge'>l. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-611, 2 sheets, scde 1:1,000,000. 

--197 4, Preliminary geologic map of the southeast 

quadrant of Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies 

Map MF-612, 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,00('. 

Brosge, W. P., and Dutro, J. T., Jr., 1973, Paleozoic rocks of 

northern and central Alaska, in Pitcher, M., (ed.), Arctic 

geology: Am. Asso'c. Petroleum Geologists Mem. 19, p. 

361-375. 

Brundin, N. H., and Nairis, B., 1972, Alternative sample types 

in regional geochemical prospecting: Jour. Geochem. 

Explor., v. 1, no. 1, p. 7-46. 

Capps, S. R., and Johnson, B. L., 1915, The Ellamar district, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 605, 125 p. 

Churkin, Michael, Jr., 1973, Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks 

of Alaska and their role in the structursl evolution: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 7 40, 64 p. 

Cobb, E. H., 1974a, Synopsis of the mineral resources and 

geology of Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1307, 53 p. 

53 
---1974b, Geological Survey open-file reports on Alaska 

indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report 

74-7, 116 p. 

---1974c, Selected U.S. Bureau ofMines reports on Alaska 

indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report 

74-52, 40 p. 

--1974d, Geological Survey maps (other than topographic 

maps) of Alaska indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 7 4-84, 38 p. 

---1974e, Reports ofthe Alaska Division of Geological and 

Geophysical Surveys and predecessor agencies, 1913-

1973, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file 

report 74-209, 112 p. 

---1974f, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1960-1973, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-210, 163 p. 

--1974g, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1940-1959, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-261, 71 p. 

---197 4h, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1915-1939, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-335, 159 p. 

--1974i, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1884-1914, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-345, 126 p. 

---1974j, Index of metallic mineral deposits of Alaska 

compiled from published reports of Federal and State 

agencies through 1972: Natl. Tech. Inf. Service PB-233 

217/AS, 590 p. 

Detterman, R. L., and Hartsock, J. K., 1966, Geology of the 

Iniskin-Tuxedni region, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. 

Paper 512, 78 p. 

Detterman, R. L., Plafker, George, Hudson, Travis, Tysdal, R. 

G., and Pavoni, Nazario, 1974, Surface geology and 

Holocene breaks along the Susitna segment of the Castle 

Mountain fault, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 

Studies Map MF-618, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Eakin, H. M., 1918, The Cosna-Nowitna region, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Bull. 667, 54 p. 

Forbes, R. B., Hamilton, Thomas, Tailleur, I. L., Miller, T. P., 

and Patton. W. W., Jr., 1971, Tectonic implications of 

blueschist facies metamorphic terranes in Alaska: Nature, 

Phys. Sci., v. 234, p. 106--108. 

Gonzales, D. D., Wolletz, L. E., and Brethauer, G. E., 1974, 

Bathymetry of Cannikin Lake, Amchitka Island, Alaska, 

with an evaluation of computer mapping techniques: U.S. 

Geol. Survey rept. USGS-474-203, 24 p.; available from 

U.S. Dept. Commerce, Natl. Tech. Inf. Service, Springfield, 

Va. 22151. 

Grantz, Arthur, 1966, Strike-slip faults in Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey open-file report, 82 p. 1 

Griscom, Andrew, 1975, Aeromagnetic map and interpretation 

of the N abesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Misc. Field Studies Map MF-655-H, 2 sheets, scale 

1:250,000. 

Haites, T. B., 1960, Transcurrent faults in western Canada: 

Alberta Soc. Petroleum Geologists Jour., v. 8, p. 33-79. 

Hoare, J. M., and Coonrad, W. L., 1961, Geologic map of the 

Goodnews quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic 

Inv. Map I-339, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Ivanhoe, L. F., 1962, Right-lateral strike-slip movement along 

the Lake Clark fault, Alaska: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 

73, p. 911-912. 

Keith, T. E. C., and Foster, H. L., 1973, Basic data on the 

ultramafic rocks of the Eagle quadrangle, east-central 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 4 sheets. 

Lahr, J. C., Engdahl, E. R., and Page, R. A., 1974, Locations and 

focal mechanisms of intermediate depth earthquakes 

below Cook Inlet, Alaska: EOS, Am. Geophys. Union 

Trans., v. 55, no. 4, p. 349. 

Lathram, E. H., 1973, Tectonic framework of n'lrthern and 

central Alaska, in Pitcher, M., (ed.), Arctic r-eology: Am. 

Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Mem. 19, p. 351-360. 

Lathram, E. H., and Albert, N. R. D., 1975, Signific"'nce of space 

image lin ears in Alaska, in 1st International conference on 

the new basement tectonics, June 3-5, 1974, Proc.: Utah 

Geological Association, Salt Lake City, Utar (in press). 

MacKevett, E. M., Jr., and Plafker, George, 1974, The Border 

Ranges fault in south-central Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey, 

Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 2, p. 323-329. 

Marsh, S. P ., 1975a, Geochemical and generalized geologic map 

showing distribution and abundance of copper in the 

N abesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. E'urvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-655-B, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

---1975b, Geochemical and generalized geologic map 

showing distribution and abundance of lead in the 

Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. E'urvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-655-C, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

--1975c, Geochemical and generalized g~~ologic map 

showing distribution and abundance of gold in the 

Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Fnrvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-655-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

---1975d, Geochemical and generalized g~~ologic map 

showing distribution and abundance of chro'llium in the 

Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Fnrvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-655-E, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

-· --1975e, Geochemical and generalized g;,;-ologic map 

showing distribution and abundance of cobalt in the 

Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. fnrvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-655-F, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

---1975f, Perspective diagrams showing geochemical 

abundance of silver, lanthanum, molybdenum, nickel, 

vanadium, yttrium, and zinc in the Nabesna quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field F·'.udies Map 

MF-655-G, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Patton, W. W., Jr., and Hoare, J. M., 1968, The Kaltag fault, 

west-central Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 600-D, 

p. D147-D153. 

Pessel, G. H., Garland, R. E., Tailleur, I. L., and Eakins, G. R., 

1973, Preliminary geologic map of southeas~ern Ambler 

River and part of Survey Pass quadrangles, Alaska: 

Alaska Div. Geol. and Geophys. Surveys open-file report 

28, 2 sheets, scale 1:63,360. 

Pewe, T. L., and Bell, J. W., Map showing distribution of 

permafrost in the Fairbanks D-2 SW quadrangle, Alaska: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Map I-829-B, 7 p., 1 

sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

--Map showing ground water conditions in tl · ~ Fairbanks 

D-2 SW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. F--Irvey Misc. 

Geologic Inv. Map I-829-C, 7 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in 

press). 

-.--Map showing construction materials in tb~ Fairbanks 

D-2 SW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. frirvey Misc. 

Geologic Inv. Map I-829-D, 7 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in 

press). 

--Map showing foundation conditions in tb e Fairbanks 

54 
D-2 SW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Geologic Inv. Map I-829--E, 19 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:24,000 

(in press). 

--Map showing the distribution of permafrost in the 

Fairbanks D-2 NW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Misc. Field Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing ground water conditions in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing construction materials in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing foundation conditions in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NW quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing the distribution of permafrost in the 

Fairbanks D-2 NE quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Misc. Field Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing ground water conditions in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NE quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 

Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing construction materials in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NE quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 

Studies Map (in press). 

--Map showing foundation conditions in the Fairbanks 

D-2 NE quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 

Studies Map (in press). 

Pewe, T. L., Bell, J. W., Forbes, R. B., and Weber, F. R., 1975, 

Geologic map of the Fairbanks D-2 SW quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Map 

I-829--A, 11 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

--Geologic map of the Fairbanks D-2 NW quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Mapl-907, 1 

sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

--Geologic map of the Fairbanks D-2 NE quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Map, 30 p., 1 

sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

--Geologic map of the Fairbanks D-2 SE quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Map, 1 sheet, 

scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

Pewe, T. L., Bell, J. W., Williams, J. R., and Paige, R. A., 

Geologic map of the Fairbanks D-1 SW quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geologic Inv. Map, 17 p., 1 

sheet, scale 1:24,000 (in press). 

Plafker, George, and Lanphere, M.A., 1974, Age of the Bagley 

fault, in Carter, Claire, (ed.), U.S. Geological Survey 

Alaska Program, 1974: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 700, p. 52. 

Reed, B. L., and Lanphere, M. A., 1972, Generalized geologic 

map of the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith showing 

potassium-argon ages of the plutonic rocks: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF-372, 2 sheets, scale 

1:1,000,000. 

Richter, D. H., 1975, Geologic map ofthe Nabesna quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF655-A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Richter, D. H., Albert, N. R. D., Barnes, D. F., Griscom, 

Andrew, Marsh, S. P., and Singer, D. A., 1975, The 

Alaskan mineral resource assessment program: 

Background information to accompany folio of geologic and 

mineral resource maps of the N abesna quadrangle, 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 718, 11 p. 

Richter, D. H., Singer, D. A., and Cox, D. P., 1975, Mineral 

resources map of the Nabesna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF-f\'55-K, 1 sheet, 

scale 1:250,000. 

Sikabonyi, L.A., and Rodgers, W. J., 1959, Pale:ozoic tectonics 

and sedimentation in the northern half of the West 

Canadian Basin: Jour. Alberta Soc. Petrole·1m Geologists, 

v. 7, p. 193-216. 

Thomas, G. E. 1974, Lineament-block tectonics: WillistonBlood Creek Basin: Am. Assoc. Petroleum ~ologists Bull., 

v. 58,p. 1305-1322. 

Turner, F. J., 1968, Metamorphic petrolo~·: New York, 

McGraw-Hill, 403 p. 

U.S. Geological Survey, 1975, Status of land in the Nabesna 

quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies 

Map MF-655-L, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Von Huene, Roland, and Shor, G. G., Jr., 1969, The structure 

and tectonic history of the eastern Aleutiar Trench: Geol. 

Soc. America Bull., v. 80, p. 1889--1902. 

Whitehead, N. E., and Brooks, R. R., 1969, Aquf'tic bryophytes 

as indicators of uranium mineralization: The Bryologist, 

v. 72,no. 4,p. 501-507. 

Zwart, H. J., Corvalan, J., James, H. L., Miyashiro, A., 

Saggerson, E. P., Sobolev, V. S., Subramaniam, A. P., and 

Vallance, T. G., 1967, A scheme ofmetamo'1Jhic facies for 

the cartographic representation of regional metamorphic 

belts: International Union of Geological Schnces, Geological Newsletter, v. 1967, no. 2, p. 57-72. 

55 

REPORTS ON ALASKA PUBLISHED BY 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY If'T 1974 

The basic task of the U.S. Geological Survey is to 

obtain, analyze, and interpret data on the land and 

water of the United States. The primary products 

of the Geological Survey are published maps and 

reports. 

The publications of the Geological Survey in 

1974 that concern Alaska are listed in this section. 

Survey authors are also frequent contributors to 

the journals of scholarly or technical Eocieties and 

references to these reports are listed in standard 

bibliographies. Information on the availability of 

U.S. Geological Survey publications relating to 

Alaska may be obtained from the Public Inquiries 

Office, U.S. Geological Survey, 218 E Street, 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501. Reports r~1blished in 

scholarly or technical journals may be consulted in 

many college, industrial, and public libraries; 

sometimes single copies may be obtained by 

writing to the senior author. 

Barnes, Peter, Leong, Kam, and Gustafson, Charles, 1974, Map 

showing distribution of copper, lead, zinc, mercury, and 

arsenic in the sediments off the coast ofn(]rthern Alaska: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies Map MF-614, 1 

sheet, scale 1:1,375,000. 

Beikman, H. M., 1974, Preliminary geolog:~c map of the 

southwest quadrant of Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-611, 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000. 
---197 4, Preliminary geologic map of the southeast 

quadrant of Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field Studies 

Map MF-612, 2 sheets, scale 1:1,000,000. 

Berg, H. C., 1974, GeologyofGravinaisland, Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 1373, 41 p. 

Berg, H. C., Elliot, R. L., Smith, J. G., Pittman, T. L., and 

Kimball, A. L., 1974, Magnetic tape containing spectrographic and chemical analyses of rock and stream-sediment samples from the Granite Fiords Wilderness study 

area, Alaska: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Natl. Tech. Inf. 

Service, PB-232 049. 

Berryhill, H. L., Jr., 1974, The worldwide search for petroleum 

offshore-A status report for the quarter century, 194 7-72: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 694, 27 p. 

Boerngen, J. G., Hamilton, J. C., Marsh, W. R., and Rosenblum, 

Sam, 197 4, Description of magnetic tape containing results 

of semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of the nonmagnetic fractions of 1,069 Alaskan alluvial concentrates: 

U.S. Dept. ofCommerce, Natl. Tech. Inf. Service, PB-231 

511/AS, 24 p. 

Brew, D. A., 1974, Environmental impact analysis: The 

example of the proposed trans-Alaska pipeline: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Circ. 695, 16 p. 

Carter, Clair, (ed.), 1974, United States Geological Survey 

Alaska program, 1975: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 700,63 p. 

Childers, J. M., 197 4, Flood surveys along TAPS route, Alaska: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Basic-Data report, 16 p. 

Christian, R., Eberlein, G. D., and Konert, J., 1974, Optical and 

X-ray crystallographic investigations of strontioginorites: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 6, p. 699--700. 

Cobb, E. H., 197 4, Geological Survey open-file reports of Alaska 

indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report 

74-7, 116 p. 

---1974, Geological Survey published maps (other than 

topographic maps) of Alaska indexed by quadrangle: U.S. 

Geol. Survey open-file report 74-84, 41 p. 

---1974, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1884-1914, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-345, 130 p. 

---1974, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1915--1939, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-335, 162 p. 

---1974, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1940-1959, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-261, 71 p. 

--197 4, Geological Survey published reports on Alaska, 

1960-1973, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report 74-210, 166 p. 

---1974, Index of metallic mineral deposits of Alaska 

compiled from published reports of Federal and State 

agencies through 1972: U.S. Dept. Commerce, Natl. Tech. 

Inf. Service PB-233 217/AS, 590 p. 

---1974, Reports of the Alaska Division of Geological and 

Geophysical Surveys and predecessor agencies, 1913-

1973, indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file 

report 74-209, 115 p. 

---1974, Selected U.S. Bureau of Mines reports on Alaska 

indexed by quadrangle: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report 

74-52, 40 p. 

---1974, Synopsis of the mineral resources and geology of 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1307, 53 p. 

Csejtey, Bela, Jr., 1974, Reconnaissance geologic investigations in the Talkeetna Mountains, Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey open-file report 74-147, 53 p.; 1 sheet, scale 

1:63,360. 

Csejtey, Bela, Jr., and Patton, W. W., Jr., 1974, Petrology of the 

nepheline syenite of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 1, p. 41-47. 

Davis, G. H., and Wood, L. A., 1974, Water demands for 

expanding energy development: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 

703, 14 p. 

Day, G. W., Crim, W. D., Rosenblum, Sam, OverEtreet, W. C., 

and Larson, A. L., 1974, Magnetic tape containing results 

of semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of the magnetic fractions of 680 Alaskan alluvial conce:"ltrates: U.S. 

Dept. Commerce, Natl. Tech. Inf. Service PB-229 947/AS. 

Dearborn, L. L., and Freethey, G. W., 1974, Water-table 

contour map, Anchorage area, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Detterman, R. L., 1974, Fence diagram showing lithologic 

facies of the Sadlerochit formation (Permian and lower 

Triassic), northeastern Alaska: U.S. Geol. r•uvey Misc. 

Field Studies Map MF-584, 1 sheet, scale 1:500,000. 

Detterman, R. L., Plafker, George, Hudson, Travis, Tysdal, 

R. G., and Pavoni, Nazario, 1974, Surface geology and 

Holocene breaks along the Susitna segment of the Castle 

Mountain fault, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Field 

Studies Map MF-618, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Detterman, R. L., and Reed, B. L., 1974, Surficial deposits of 

the Iliamna quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 

1368--A, p. A1-A64. 

Foster, H. L., and Keith, T. E. C., 1974, Ultramafi-: rocks of the 

Eagle quadrangle, east-central Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 6, p. 657-669. 

Freethey, G. W., Reeder,J. W., and Barnwell, W. W., 1974, Map 

showing depth to water Anchorage area, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey open-file report, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Frezon, S. E., 1974, Summary of 1972 oil and gas statistics for 

onshore and offshore areas of 151 countrieG· U.S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 885, 163 p. 

Grantz, Arthur, McHendrie, A. G., Nilsen, T. H., and Yorath, C. 

J., 1974, Seismic reflection profiles on the continental shelf 

and slope between Bering Strait and Barrow, Alaska, and 

Mackenzie Bay, Canada: U.S. Geol. Surw~y open-file 

report, 49 sheets. 

Grantz, Arthur, McHendrie, A. G., Nilsen, T.H., Yorath, C. J., 

and Phillips, J.D., 1974, Digital magnetic t~'>es of single 

channel seismic reflection profiles on the continental shelf 

and slope between Bering Strait and Barrow, Alaska, and 

Mackenzie Bay, Canada: U.S. Dept. Commerce, N atl. 

Tech. Inf. Service PB-232, 344, 12 p. 

Hamilton, J. C., Boerngen, J. G., Marsh, W. R., and Rosenblum, 

Sam, 197 4, Magnetic tape containing resnlts of semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of 1,069 Alaskan 

alluvial concentrates: U.S. Dept. Commerce., Natl. Tech. 

Inf. Service, PB-231 246. 

Hanna, W. F., Ruppel, B. D., McHendrie, A. G .. and Sikora, 

R. F., 1974, Residual magnetic anomaly and free-air 

gravity anomaly profiles, 1973, on continental shelf and 

slope between Bering Strait and Barrow, Alaska, and 

MacKenzie Bay, Canada: U.S. Geol. Surrey open-file 

report 7 4-6, 6 p. 

Hawley, C. C., and Clark, A. L., 1974, Geology and mineral 

deposits ofthe Upper Chulitna district, Alas]~a: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Prof. Paper 758--B, p. B1-B47. 

56 
Johnson, G. R., and Sainsbury, C. L., 1974, Aeromagnetic and 

generalized geologic map of the west-central part of the 

Seward Peninsula, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Geophys. 

Inv. Map GP-881, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000. 

Kachadoorian, Reuben, 197 4, Geology of the Devil Canyon dam 

site, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report 7 4-40, 24 p. 

Lahr, J. C., Page, R. A., and Thomas, J. A., 1974, Catalog of 

earthquakes in south-central Alaska, April-June 1974: 

U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 35 p. 

Lemke, R. W., 197 4, Reconnaissance engineering geology of the 

Wrangell area, Alaska, with emphasis on evaluation of 

earthquake and other geologic hazards: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report, 103 p. 

McCoy, G. A., 1974, Preconstruction assessment of biological 

quality of the Chena and Little Chena Rivers in the 

vicinity of the Chena Lakes flood control project near 

Fairbanks, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Resources 

Inv. WRI 2~ 74, 84 p. 

MacKevett, E. M., Jr., and Plafk.er, George, 1974, The Border 

Ranges fault in south-central Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 3, p. 323--329. 

MacKevett, E. M., Jr., Robertson, E. C., and Winkler, G. R., 

197 4, Geology of the Skagway B-3 and B-4 quadrangles, 

southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 832, 

33 p. 

MacKevett, E. M., Jr., and Smith, J. G., 1972, Geologic map of 

the McCarthy B-6 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

Geol. Quad. Map GQ-1035, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

Marvin, R. F., 1974, A tabulation ofK-Ar, Rb-Sr, and Pb-a ages 

obtained for materials within the United States (including 

Alaska and Hawaii) during the years 1956 through 1964: 

U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 174 p. 

--1974, A tabulation of K-Ar, Rb-Sr, and Ph-a ages 

obtained for materials within the United States (including 

Alaska and Hawaii) during the years 1965 through 1968: 

U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 245 p. 

--1974, A tabulation of K-Ar, Rb-Sr, and Ph-a ages 

obtained for materials within the United States (including 

Alaska and Hawaii) during the years 1969 through 1971: 

U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 193 p. 

Moore, J. C., 1974, Geologic and structural map of part of the 

outer Shumagin Islands, southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Misc. Inv. Map I-815, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Geologic and structural map of the Sanak Islands, 

southwestern Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. 

Map I-817, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

Nauman, J. W., and Kernodle, D. R., 1974, Aquatic organisms 

from· selected sites along the proposed trans-Alaska 

pipeline corridor, September 1970 to September 1972: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Basic-Data report, 23 p. 

Nichols, D. R., and Buchanan-Banks, J. M., 1974, Seismic 

hazards and land-use planning: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 

690, 33 p. 

Plafker, George, 197 4, Preliminary geologic map of Kayak and 

Wingham Islands, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file 

report 74-82, 1 sheet, scale 1:31,680. 

Pratt, W. P., and Brobst, D. A., 1974, Mineral resources: 

Potentials and problems: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 698, 20 p. 

Reed, B. L., and Lanphere, M.A., 1974, Chemical variations 

across the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Jour. Research, v. 2, no. 3, p. 343--352. 

Reiser, H. N., Brosge, W. P., Dutro, J. T., Jr., and Detterman, 

57 

R. L., 1974, Preliminary geologic map oftl'~ Demarcation 

Point quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Sur'rey Misc. Field 

Studies Map MF-610, 1 sheet, scale 1:200,000. 

Richter, D. H., 1974, Reconnaissance geologic map of the 

Nabesna A-4 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geo1 .. Survey Misc. 

Geol. Inv. Map I-789, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

Richter, D. H., Matson, N. A., Jr., and Schmo11, H. R., 1974, 

Reconnaissance geologic map of the Nabe.sna A-1 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map 

I-807, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

Richter, D. H., and Schmoll, H. R., 1974, Geologic map of the 

Nabesna G-5 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey Geol. 

Quad. Map GQ-1062, 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360. 

Schmoll, H. R., and Dobrovolny, Ernest, 1974, Construction 

materials map of Anchorage and vicinity, Alaska: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map I-787-C, 1 sheet, scale 

1:24,000. 

---1974, Foundation and excavation conditions map of 

Anchorage and vicinity, Alaska: U.S. Geo1. Survey Misc. 

Geol. Inv. Map I-787-D, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000. 

Scholl, D. W., Alpha, T. R., Marlow, M.S., andB•1ffington, E. C., 

1974, Base map of the Aleutian-Bering S~a region: U.S. 

Geol. Survey Misc. Geol. Inv. Map I-879, 1 sheet, scale 

1:2,500,000. 

U.S. Geological Survey 1974, Aeromagnetic map of the Circle 

quadrangle, northeastern Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey 

open-file report, 24 maps, scale 1:63,360; 1 map, scale 

1:250,000. 

--1974, Aeromagnetic mapsEastern half of the Beaver quadrangle, northeastern 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 12 maps, scale 

1:63,360; 1 map, scale 1:250,000. 

Eastern half of the Chandalar quadrangl ?., northeastern 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 12 maps, scale 

1:63,360; 1 map, scale 1:250,000. 

Eastern halfofthe Livengood quadrangl,~. northeastern 

Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open-file report, 12 maps, scale 

1:63,360; 1 map, scale 1:250,000. 

---197 4, Seismic engineering program report, OctoberDecember 1974: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 713, 19 p. 

U.S. Geological Survey, Topographic Division, 1974, Arctic 

A-1 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey, Topog. Ser., 

scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Arctic D-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63.360. 

--1974, Big Delta G-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Big Delta G-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Chandalar B-6 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Chandalar D-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--197 4, Chandler Lake A-2 quadrangle, s~ale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Chandler Lake B-1 quadrangle, s~ale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Chandler Lake B-2 quadrangle, s~ale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Chandler Lake D-2 quadrangle, s~ale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Coleen D-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Coleen D-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Coleen D-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Coleen D-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Coleen D-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Coleen D-6 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks A-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Fairbanks A-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Fairbanks A-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks B-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 
---1974, Fairbanks B-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks B-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Fairbanks B-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks C-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Fairbanks C-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Fiarbanks C-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fiarbanks C-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks D-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks D-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Fairbanks D-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Philip Smith Mountains A-4 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Philip Smith Mountains B-3 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Philip Smith Mountains B-4 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---197 4, Philip Smith Mountains B-5 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Philip Smith Mountains C-2 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Philip Smith Mountains C-5 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

--1974, Philip Smith Mountains D-1 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Philip Smith Mountains D-4 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---197 4, Philip Smith Mountains D-5 quadrangle, scale 

1:63,360. 

---1974, Sagavanirktok A-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Sagavanirktok B-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Sagavanirktok C-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Sagavanirktok C-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain A-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Table Mountain A-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain A-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain A-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain A-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain B-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain B-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Table Mountain B-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---1974, Table Mountain B-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Table Mountain B-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Umiat A-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Umiat A-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,3fll. 

---1974, Umiat B-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,3f0. 

--1974, Umiat B-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,3f0. 

--1974, Umiat C-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,3f0. 

--1974, Wiseman B-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman B-2 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman B-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman B-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman C-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman C-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman C-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman C-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman D-1 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman D-3 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman D-4 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

--1974, Wiseman D-5 quadrangle, scale 1:63,360. 

---Water Resources Division, 197 4, Quality of surface 

waters of the United States, 1969-Parts 1~16, North 

Pacific slope basins, Alaska, Hawaii, and other Pacific 

areas: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 2150,480 p. 

Wallace, R. E., 1974, Goals, strategy, and tf''3ks of the 

earthquake hazard reduction program: U.S. C'reol. Survey 

Circ. 701, 26 p. 

Worl, R. G., Van Alstine, R. E., and Heyl, A. V., 1974, Fluorite 

in the United States, exclusive of Hawaii: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Min. Inv. Res. Map MR-60, 1 fheet, scale 

1:3,168,000; 13 p. 

Yehle, L. A., 1974, Reconnaissance engineering geology of 

Sitka and vicinity, Alaska, with emphasis on evaluation of 

earthquake and other geologic hazards: U.S. C'reol. Survey 

open-file report 74-53, 104 p. 

Zenone, Chester, 1974, Geology and water resources of the 

Girdwood-Alyeska area, Alaska: U.S. Geol. S·lrvey openfile report, 24 p. 

Zenone, Chester, and Donaldson, D. E., 1974, Water-quality 

and geohydrologic data at two sanitary landfill sites near 

Anchorage, Alaska: U.S. Geol. Survey open· file report, 

1 sheet. 

Zenone, Chester, Schmoll, H. R., andDobrovolny, Ernest, 1974, 

Geology and ground water for land-use planning in the 

Eagle River-Chugiak area, Alaska: U.S. G<:\ol. Survey 

open-file report 74-57, 36 p. 

*U.S, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1975-0-689-910/87 

58