Rhyolitic volcanism of the central snake river plain. Conceptual model the play fairway paradigm for geothermal energy defines three critical parameters. Repose intervals lengths of time between eruptions of dykefed basalt volcanism in the eastern snake river plain, western snake river plain and owyheeoregon plateau are estimated to be on the order of 10 4 to 10 6 yr kuntz et al. Resurgent basalt volcanism 900200 ka or less formed long after the plume passed. Map showing depth to uppermost volcanic unit and structure contours of top of uppermost volcanic unit, snake river. Geologbal survey, ms 9, box 25046, federal centen denyer, colorado 80225 harry r. East of twin falls, on the northern side of the snake river plain, are three complex lava fields, together called slightly misnamed the craters of the moon. The snake river plain is a broad, flat arcuate depression which is concave to the north and covers one quarter of the state of idaho. Floods, fossils and fissures geology of the snake river. Tectonic and magmatic evolution of the snake river plain volcanic province. Volcanism along the srp is dominated by eruptions of explosive highsilica rhyolites and represents some of the largest eruptions known. Snake river plains volcano is a much bigger threat to america for those that thought yellowstone supervolcano was one of the biggest natural threats to the usa, think again.
Earliest sediment of the plain is associated with ba salt volcanism and high rates of faulting. Pdf the central snake river plain csrp of southern idaho and northern nevada, usa, forms part of the columbia riveryellowstone large igneous. In addition, these data also constrain the timing of the earliest fluviolacustrine idaho group sedimentary deposits near boise. Geological sumey, box 327, mercury, nevada e9023 linda j. Development of the snake river plainyellowstone plateau. Most models for the origin and evolution of the snake. Interbedded arkose, mudstone, and volcanic ash constitute this earli. The origin of largevolume, hightemperature silicic volcanism associated with onset of the snake river plain yellowstone srpy hotspot track is addressed based on evolution of the well.
Between about 2 million and 700 thousand years ago, the western plain probably still contained a number of small lakes and the ground water level was much higher than it is today. The snake river plain volcanism can be related to a intracontinental rifting b. The snake river plain extends 400 miles 650 km westward from northwest wyoming to the idahooregon border. Conceptual model for snake river plain geothermal systems. The contrast in occurrence and chemistry of basalt in the eastern and western plains suggest the interpretation of volcanism in the snake river plain is more nuanced than simple models proposed to date.
The eastern snake river plain is a predominantly rhyolitic pfovince, analogous to the presentday yellowstone plateau volcanic field but older. The central snake river plain csrp of southern idaho and northern nevada, usa, forms part of the columbia river yellowstone large igneous province. The younger volcanic episode apparently formed in response to basin and range extension, in a fashion analogous to young basaltic volcanism in the eastern. Snake river plain volcanism hotspot plume tomography earthquakes dynamics kinematics convection integration of geophysical and geological data show that the yellowstone hotspot resulted from a mantle plume interacting with the overriding north america plate, a process that has highly modi. Pdf rhyolitic volcanism of the central snake river plain. The eastern snake river plain, a linear downwarp or graben that has been a locus for basaltic volcanism since middle miocene time. Lowryb a department of geology and geophysics, university of utah, salt lake city, ut 841120111, usa b department of geology, utah state university, logan, ut 843224505, usa. It formed the eastern snake river plain through a succession of. Geological society of america memoir 179 t992 chaptet 12 an overview of basaltic volcanism of the eastern snake river plain, idoho mel a. Neogenequaternary tectonics and volcanism of southern. Neogene snake river plainyellowstone volcanic province. An overview of basaltic volcanism of the eastern snake river plain, idaho, regional geology of eastern idaho and western wyoming, paul karl link, mel a. The source of these basalts is uncertain, but may be plumemodified subcontinental lithosphere.
Geologic and tectonic history of the western snake river. The bruneaujarbidge eruptive center of the central snake river plain in southern idaho, usa produced multiple rhyolite lava flows with volumes of snake river plain. Geohydrologic framework of the snake river plain regional aquifer. The snake river plain is a broad arcuate topographic depression that extends across southern idaho figure 1 to the right. Origin and evolution of the western snake river plain. Radiocarbon studies of latest pleistocene and holocene. The eastern snake river plain, idaho, is a popular planetary analog site and the prime example of plains volcanism greeley, 1982.
Islandof hawaii also showed a trend of increasing inducedtl with age. The central and eastern parts of the snake river plain constitute a broad, flat, lava plain consisting, at the surface, of. Rheology and strength properties were calculated at selected locations and compared to earthquake focal depths. Snake river plain and srp topographic development by paul link and. Unearth the geological wonders of idahos snake river plain, a land shaped by volcanic eruptions and megafloods among other powerful forces of nature. Heat represents the temperature of the crust, either from volcanism or deepseated. Geodynamics of the yellowstone hotspot and mantle plume. Radiocarbon studies of latest pleistocene and holocene lava flows of the snake river plain, idaho. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Basaltic volcanism of the central and western snake river.
The manuscript was submitted in july 1998 and has been revised at the authors discretion. The snake river plain srp developed over the last 16 ma as a bimodal volcanic province in response to the southwest movement of the north american plate over a. The site characterization data used to develop the conceptual geologic model for the snake river plain site in idaho, as part of phase 1 of the frontier observatory for research in geothermal energy forge initiative. Studies of the volcanic geology of the snake river plain, idaho, and comparison with other basaltic regions suggest a new category of volcanic activity, termed basaltic plains volcanism. Digital geology of idaho snake river plain yellowstone volcanic. Pdf snake river plain yellowstone silicic volcanism. Heat extraction of the snake river plain must consider the largevolume rhyolitic volcanism and caldera formation that defines the structure, lithologies and therefore the permeability of a given site. Thus, these seismic and volcanic observations suggest the. The snake river plain represents one of the best known compositionally bimodal basaltrhyolite volcanic prov inces, with silicic volcanism. Results of this study suggest that the lower crust of the snake river plain srp has been thickened by the addition of an underplated layer composed primarily of clinopyroxene, having a density of 3200 kgm 3. They were formed in a series of 8 eruptions, between 15,000 to 2,00 years ago. Volcanism associated with the snake river plain in idaho and adjacent areas of.
Data, lessons, interpretations volume 25 issue 2 mel a. Typified by the snake river plain, this style of volcanism is intermediate between basaltic flood or plateau eruptions and hawaiian volcanism. The yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the united states responsible for large scale volcanism in idaho, montana, nevada, oregon, and wyoming as the north american tectonic plate moved over it. Mafic volcanism and environmental geology of the eastern. This collection includes data on seismic events, groundwater, geomechanical models, gravity surveys, magnetics, resistivity, magnetotellurics mt, rock. Implications of geology, structure and tectonic setting. Timing and development of the heise volcanic fi eld, snake. Geologic and tectonic history of the western snake river plain, idaho and oregon spencer h. Origin and evolution of the western snake river plain idaho. The esrp and ysp together comprise the ysrp and are distinct from the western snake river plain, a northwest trending graben in western idaho. Abstract the western snake river plain is a neogeneaged intracontinental rift basin, about 70 km wide and 300 km long, trending northwest across the southern idaho batholith. Induced thermoluminescence as a method for dating recent.
This was also a period of active volcanism, and hundreds of small basalt volcanoes of this age have been identified. Volcanic rocks of the province are compositionally bimodal basaltrhyolite, and the rhyolites produce a broadly timetransgressive record of a hotspot which is currently located under yellowstone. These ages provide a geochronology for sedimentation and volcanism in the western snake river plain near boise over the last 11 million years. Geologic and tectonic history of the western snake river plain. The central snake river plain csrp of southern idaho and northern nevada, usa, forms part of the columbia riveryellowstone large igneous province. More than 25, often nested, cinder cones dot the desolate landscape, with over 60 individual lava flows. Pyroxene thermometry of rhyolite lavas of the bruneau. Marvel at shoshone falls, and discover dramatic formations at city of rocks national reserve. Mafic volcanism and environmental geology of the eastern snake.
On a whitewater rafting trip, learn the history of lava flows and the bliss landslide. I15 skirts along the inferred margins of two major neogene silicic volcanic centers interpreted to lie between pocatello and idaho falls, namely the. Hughes and others mafic volcanism and environmental geology of the eastern snake river plain abstract geology presented in this field guide covers a wide spectrum of internal and surficial processes of the eastern snake river plain, one of the largest components of the combined late cenozoic igneous provinces of the western united states. T o understand the kinematics and geodynamics of this volcanic system, the university of utah conducted seven gps.
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