Zachariah Fleming, Occidental College, zfleming@oxy.edu; Terry Pavlis, University of
Texas at El Paso, tlpavlis@utep.edu; Ghislain Trullenque, UniLaSalle,
ghislain.trullenque@unilasalle.fr.
Description: The field trip will showcase the current understanding of
Death Valley geology, in particular, research that has improved our understanding of
extensional and strike-slip faulting in the region. Evidence for multiple phases of
normal faulting in the southern Death Valley region, based on recent mapping will be
shown in the outcrops of the Ibex Hills, where there is a structural stack of currently
low-angle normal faults, cross-cut by higher angle normal and strike-slip faults.
Further south and east, there will be stops within the adjacent tertiary basin to look
at the basin stratigraphy and the differences seen from areas along the Ibex Hills, to
those east along the northern flank of the Saddle Peak Hills in Ibex Pass. The second
day will highlight recent work along the Southern Death Valley Fault Zone; specifically,
in areas of the Avawatz Mountains and Noble Hills. Here, we will see key relationships
that tie the rocks of the Noble Hills to the Owlshead Mountains, implying ~40 km of
offset along the SDVFZ. Final stops will be made in the Black Mountain turtlebacks to
examine the implications of the previous stops, particularly for the displacement of the
Panamint Mountains across the valley, by showing the high-grade metamorphic rocks within
the Mormon Point turtleback. Additional context will be provided in the form of virtual
models of outcrops in the Panamints. This field trip complements the technical session
on new ideas regarding Death Valley geology. The stops will entail minor hiking on some
unstable terrain.