The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1905-05-05
THE PANAMINT RANGE
Extract From the Report Of Prof. J.
E. Spur, 1903.

The Panamint Range is n of the
most important of the ranges auxiliary
to the Sierra Nevadas, which lie in the
belt east of it and rum northeast and
southwest parallel to its front. The
range is about 100 miles in length. At
its northern end it merges into lava
flows which unite with the northern end
of the Grapevine Range, while at its
southern end it passes into low hills OF
Tertiary (later) stratea and associated
lavas capped by later basic volcanoes.
1t forms the southwestern barrier of
Death Valley, which it fronts with a
steep slope.
On the east front of the range, above
the road from Furnace Creek in Death
Valley, to the crossing of the range at
Windy Gap, a large portion OF the range
consists of the elder stratified rocks,
which seem to lie beneath upturned Ter
tiary Cater sediments and associated
volcanics), and are cut through by
masses of intrusive granite. The DRIFT
shows them to be in part finely crysta-
line blue limestone, and in part quartz
lite, white, gray, or green, often consid-
erably altered and often coarse grained.
The amount of quartzite in the drift i'm
plies q considerable thickness OF this
iOCh aIu SuSSOotS bhd IL iot oiS "
Cambrian age Zone of the earlier ages in
which deposits Of quartzite were numer.
ous).
From this neighborhood northward,
the Panimint Range is composed chiefly
of old Paleozoic stratitied rocks till near
it's northern end, as can be plainly seen
from Death Valley. Mr.. Fairbanks
found on the western side of the range,
north of Windy Gap as far as h Pinto
Range (Which is a spur of the Panamint
Range running northwesterly from the
Wild Rose Mining DISTRICT that a large
portion of the rocks are mlca-schists,
quantities. and marbles, which have
been cut by intrusive granite. The
strike of the folds is parallel with the
trend of the range, so that unless dis
turbed by cross faulting, the same gem
eral formation will be found for many
miles Therefore the Cambrian and Sill
urian has been represented as extend
ing northward until covered by volcanic
flows at the northern end of the range.
The eastern TANKS of the range, 'front.'
ing Death Valley, as seen on h road
between Furnace Creek and Windy Gap
are composed of upturned, yellow-green
strata and associated volcanoes lying
upon the older rocks with no evident
unconformity, and p%artaking OF their
folds. This belt of interbedded volcan-
les and sediments grows wider toward
the south. The same series occurs along
a great part OF the road which crosses
the range to Windy Gap. The lava in
these belts proved, in three different
samples to be andesite.
This series OF conglomerates, breceias,
tufts, chemical percipitates, and lavas
is the same as that exposed on the OPP
posite side of Death Valley, where it
forms practically the whole mass OF the
Funeral Mountains. In the Funeral
Mountain these rocks have been pro-
~visionally correlated with the Esmer-
aida formation in the Silver Peak Range.
In the southern portion OF the range
the core of the mountains for some dis
lance is made up of a body of massive
granite, which varies to granite-por-
phyry; the granite which cuts the an
cient limestones and quartZites in the
mining regions on the east side OF PAM
mint is a ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS with much
quartz.
As already stated volcanic rocks make
up a considerable portion OF the Ter
tiary formations. Three specimens OF
these rocks examined all proved to be
andesite, but probably other rocks oc-
Cured in these series. Overlylng these
older lavas uncomformably IS a later
flow of more basic rocks, which covers a
considerable area in the neighborhood
south of Windy Gap. Mr.. Fairbanks
states that on the northern slopes OF the
Panamint Range, overlooking Mesquite
Valley, there are scattered sheets OF an
desite and basalt. Yet another series
of volcanoes is exposed in this region.
1t is that forming the greater part OF the
Slate Range, which lies Immediately
west of the southern end OF the Pana-
mint Range. The highest portion OF the
Panamint Range for a number OF miles
east of Panamint, a body of ancient rhy-
olite, is regarded as one of the most
ancient lavas observed in the region.
The northern end of the Panamint
Range, the Paleozoic rocks are here "
cred by extensive flows II lava, which
appear to be nearly continuous with the
lava area at the extreme southwestern
end of the Silver Peak Range.
Structure: That portion of the Pana-
mint Range between a point opposite
Furnace Creek and Windy Gap appeared
in general anticlinal. There is here a
series OF alternating anticlines and in
%clines, having trends due north and
south. Each of these folds may be
traced continuously for a number OF
miles. The explanation of this phe-
nomenon may be a series OF east-west
faults, which fault the folds systematic
cally to the east on the south side. In
the Panamint Range much Of the de-
formation must be of comparatively re-
cent date. We know much OF it occurred
since the deposition of the Tertiary
beds and associated lavas.