Mount Rose,

By Kade KetchamMark LawlerGeology 103 Augus 4, 2013

Field AssignmentNevada

Location

Lake Tahoe

Mount Rose

Mount Rose Information • Mount Rose lies in the Carson Range of the Sierra

Nevada Mountains, northeast of Lake Tahoe• It is the second highest mountain peak in the

Lake Tahoe Basin at an elevation of 3285 meters. The summit expands to a couple hundred feet above tree level.

• Mount Rose receives little amount of moisture compared to the rest of the Lake Tahoe area because of the rain shadow effect.

(Moore, 1952; Mount Rose [Nevada], 2001)

Geology• Mount Rose is an extinct volcano and formed from

volcanic activity about 30 million years ago. Hydrothermal activity has recently been measured.

• The area exhibits evidence of lightly glaciated areas such as deep valleys and sharp peaks as well as glacial lakes and moraines. Glaciers in the area developed in the Pleistocene

• Evidence of faults include stratigraphic, topographic, and fault scarp.

• Many areas have been folded, tilted, and warped

(Moore, 1952; Mount Rose [Nevada], 2001)

(Moore, 1952)

Metamorphic Rocks•Much foliation•High grade mineral assemblages•Late recrystalization

– High temperatures and static conditions– No organization

•Derived from sedimentary rocks•The age of these rocks is not established but are the oldest rocks in the area, probably from the Triassic

(Moore, 1952)

Granitic Rocks•Backbone of the Sierra Nevada Range•Extremely uniform and directionless, fine grained•Many dikes•Intrude the older metamorphic rocks•Much crystalization•Probably originated in the Jurassic

(Moore, 1952)

Kate Peak Andesite

• Occurred from lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions

• Found in dikes and breccias• Mostly found at the crest• Some crystalization• May have inclusions of glass• Tilted, beveled, and displaced• Probably originated in the Pliocene

(Moore, 1952)

Truckee Sediments

• Lake sediments which have been uplifted• Poorly consolidated• Well stratified • Contain many fossils• Found at 8,800 ft elevation on Mount Rose• Late Miocene or Pliocne

(Moore, 1952)

Lousetown Basalts

• Cover large areas• Originated from fissure eruptions and created

intrusions• Lies unconformably on the Kate Peak Andesite• Late Pliocene

(Moore, 1952)

Quaternary Deposits

• Moraines– Evidence of glacial activity– Formed some modern creeks– 4 glacial tills

• First three probably from the Pleistocene• Youngest may have been from no later than a couple of centauries

ago

•Landslides– Scar in the face of the mountain– Depressions that are now lakes

• Pediment gravels and Valley fills– Gravels covered many eroded surfaces and streams(Moore, 1952)

Rock Sample: Granite Granite• Light colored igneous rock• Grains big enough to see with

the naked eye• Formed by crystalization of

magma below the surface• Comprised of many minerals

especially Quartz and Feldspar• Can be red to gray to white

with darker grains• Most well known and

common igneous rock

This is a specific piece of granite that had fallen away from its larger rock. I thought it was an interesting specimen because it has a red fungus growing on it

(King, n.d.)

Rock Sample: Feldspar and Actinolite Feldspar (lighter colored

rock)• Crystalized from magma• About 60% of the

Earth’s surface• Usually white or lightly

colored• Found in intrusive and

extrusive igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, and some sedimentary rocks

(Feldspar, n.d.; Ralph, 1993-2013)

Actinolite (green within the rock)• Fibrous• Metamorphic and sometimes igneous• Light green to dark green based on

amount of iron; can be gray green or black

• Produced by contact metamorphism

Rock Sample: Quartz and Malachite Quartz (light color of the rock)• Second most abundant

mineral (after feldspar)• This is probably Milky or

Smokey Quartz which are the most common

• Can be many different colors• Essential part of Granite and

other igneous rocks. Can also be found in some sedimentary, carbonate, and metamorphic rocks

• High resistance to weathering• Microcrystalline Quartz (such

as this one) form from silica- rich molten rock during cooling and solidification, during pneumatolytic events, or in watery solutions of silica

Malachite (green on the rock)• Green in color• Often found in banded appearance• A common secondary copper mineral• Usually found in igneous and

sedimentary rocks• Formed by weathering of copper ores

(Akhavan, 2005-2013; Ralph and Chau, 1993-2013)

Mule Deer

I believe that this skull was from a Mule Deer (with the nose broken off) What it may have looked like

Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Artiodactyla; Cervidae; Odocoileus; Odocoileus hemionus

• Mule Deer are found in the Western United States. They are browsers and eat mostly weeds, leaves, and twigs. Mule Deer live about 9-11 years. They are usually about 3 feet tall and 4-7 feet long.

(Mule Deer Facts, 2007; Geist, 1998)

(Mule Deer Facts, 2007)

• The earliest fossils of deer were found in Europe in the Oligocene Period. Deer have since migrated to other continents. They most likely have grown in body size and antler size since. Mule Deer evolved from the mating of the Black Tailed and White Tailed Deer creating the hybridized Mule Deer.

SnowplantPlantae; Angiosperm; Magnoliopsida; Ericales; Monotropaceae; Sarcodes; Sarcodes sanguinea

• It is a parasitic plant. It cannot perform photosynthesis so it takes nutrients from mycorrhizae attached to roots of other plants. It has therefore adapted to being able to grow under the shade of trees where many other plants cannot grow.

•The Snowplant is an angiosperm and has evolved with angiosperms, flowering plants with enclosed seeds. It did not arrive in the Lake Tahoe area until other plants attracted michorrhizae that it could gain nutrients from.

• It grows annually, once a year in the Springtime. It only thrives from May to July.

• It can be found from Oregon to Baja California.

(Gauna, 2010)

ChipmunkAnimalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Rodentia; Sciuridae; Marmotini; Tamias; (not sure of species)

• Chipmunks are the smallest of the squirrel family. They range in size from 4 to 7 inches. • Chipmunks live about 2 to 3 years• They collect food for the winter. They hibernate during the winter but rely on their collected food source to survive.

(amimals.pawnation.com)

• The earliest squirrel fossils date back to the Late Eocene Epoch. These fossils were found in Africa and it is believed that squirrels diversified and migrated shortly after. Chipmunks have since evolved from tree squirrels.

(Basgall, 2003; Chipmonk)

References• Akhavan, A. C. (2005-2013). The Quartz Page. In The Quartz Page. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from

http://www.quartzpage.de/index.html• Basgall, M. (2003). Squirrels' Evolutionary Family Tree Reveals Influence of Climate, Geology.

In Duke Today. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://today.duke.edu/2003/02/squirreltree0302.html

• Chipmunk (n.d.). In National Geographic. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chipmunk/

• Feldspar (n.d.). In North Carolina Geological Survey. Retrieved August 2, 2013, from http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/Mineral%20resources/feldmod.html

• Gauna, F. J. (2010). Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea Torr.). In US Forest Service. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/sarcodes_sanguinea.shtml

• Geist, V. (1998). Deer of the World (pp. 255-270). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://books.google.com/books?id=bcWZX-IMEVkC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=mule+deer+evolution&source=bl&ots

• King, H. (n.d.). Granite. In Geology.com. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml

• Moore, J. G. (1952). Geology of the Mount Rose area, Nevada. USGS Numbered Series• Mount Rose (Nevada). (2001). In SummitPost.org. Retrieved August 2, 2013, from http://

www.summitpost.org/mount-rose-nevada/150662• Mule Deer Facts (2007). In Mule Deer Foundation. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from

http://www.muledeer.org/hunting/mule-deer-facts• Ralph, J. (1993-2013). Actinolite. In Mineral Information and Data. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from

http://www.mindat.org/min-18.html• Ralph, J. and Chau, I. (1993-2013). Malachite. In Mineral Information and Data. Retrieved August 3,

2013, from http://www.mindat.org/min-2550.html