The Bouse Formation, a controversial Neogene archive of the evolving Colorado River: a scientific drilling workshop report (28 February–3 March 2019 – BlueWater Resort &amp;amp; Casino, Parker, AZ, USA)

Cohen, Andrew S.; Cassidy, Colleen E.; Crow, Ryan S.; Bright, Jordon; Crossey, Laura J.; Dorsey, Rebecca J.; Gootee, Brian F.; House, P. Kyle; Howard, Keith A.; Karlstrom, Karl E.; Pearthree, P.A.

doi:10.5194/sd-26-59-2019

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…above results, supplemented with data from test well 36bbb, which penetrated 90 m of sediment including 52 m of the Bouse Formation siliciclastic member (Fig. 2; Metzger et al, 1973;Cassidy et al, 2018;Cohen et al, 2019). The cross section is displayed at 5× vertical exaggeration to permit visualization of key stratigraphic relations in thin geologic units.…”

Section: Research Papermentioning

confidence: 89%

“…12). Bullhead Alluvium (unit Tcb) is not present in the valley center (Metzger et al, 1973), likely due to southward shallowing of the Blythe Basin and erosional truncation at the base of Quaternary to Holocene Colorado River sediment (unit Qcrs) (Crow et al, 2019b;Cohen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Research Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This conclusion contrasts with those of previous studies that treated elevation as a proxy for stratigraphic position and age in the Bouse Formation and asserted that deposits at lower elevations are older than higher-elevation deposits (Spencer et al, 2008(Spencer et al, , 2013Roskowski et al, 2010;McDougall and Miranda Martínez, 2014). An assumed correlation of age with elevation implies no syn-or post-Bouse tectonic deformation and a stratigraphic model in which horizontal beds of the Bouse siliciclastic member onlap onto preexisting steeper basin margins draped by the Bouse basal carbonate member (e.g., Pearthree and House, 2014;Crow et al, 2019b;Cohen et al, 2019). In contrast, we document systematic gentle bedding dips that were produced by fault-related monoclinal folding and basinward tilting, with the result that younger members of the Bouse Formation commonly are exposed at lower elevations over distances of 1-3 km (Figs.…”

Section: Faulting and Folding During Bouse Formation Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Deposits of the Bouse Formation and Bullhead Alluvium have subsided or been faulted down in the central Blythe Basin (Fig. 12; Metzger et al, 1973;Howard et al, 2015;Cassidy et al, 2018;Cohen et al, 2019;Crow et al, 2019b), suggesting that structures in the Blythe Basin were active during late Miocene to Pliocene time. Direct evidence for syn-and post-Bouse faulting in the Blythe Basin includes basin-bounding faults such as the Lost Trigo fault mapped along the eastern margin of the basin (Metzger et al, 1973;San Diego Gas and Electric Company, 1976;Menges and Pearthree, 1983;Sherrod and Tosdal, 1991;Richard, 1993;this study).…”

Section: Structural Controls On Basin Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6.0 and 4.6 Ma (House et al, 2008;Sarna-Wojcicki et al, 2011;McDougall, 2008;McDougall and Miranda Martínez, 2014;Dorsey et al, 2018;Crow et al, 2019a), which thus constrains the age of syn-depositional structures. Post-4.5 Ma broad sagging is recognized along the lower Colorado River (Howard et al, 2015;Crow et al, 2018;Cohen et al, 2019), including possible isostatic responses to sedimentation and erosion (Karlstrom et al, 2017), but the influence of ECSZ faults on regional subsidence patterns during deposition of the Bouse Formation remains poorly understood. Detailed studies are needed to test kinematic models for the ECSZ and its links to the northern Gulf of California, San Andreas fault system, and Walker Lane (e.g., Dolan et al, 2007;Oskin et al, 2008;Liu et al, 2010;Dixon and Xie, 2018).…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonostratigraphic record of late Miocene–early Pliocene transtensional faulting in the Eastern California shear zone, southwestern USA

et al. 2021

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The Eastern California shear zone (ECSZ; southwestern USA) accommodates ~20%–25% of Pacific–North America relative plate motion east of the San Andreas fault, yet little is known about its early tectonic evolution. This paper presents a detailed stratigraphic and structural analysis of the uppermost Miocene to lower Pliocene Bouse Formation in the southern Blythe Basin, lower Colorado River valley, where gently dipping and faulted strata provide a record of deformation in the paleo-ECSZ. In the western Trigo Mountains, splaying strands of the Lost Trigo fault zone include a west-dipping normal fault that cuts the Bouse Formation and a steeply NE-dipping oblique dextral-normal fault where an anomalously thick (~140 m) section of Bouse Formation siliciclastic deposits filled a local fault-controlled depocenter. Systematic basinward thickening and stratal wedge geometries in the western Trigo and southeastern Palo Verde Mountains, on opposite sides of the Colorado River valley, record basinward tilting during deposition of the Bouse Formation. We conclude that the southern Blythe Basin formed as a broad transtensional sag basin in a diffuse releasing stepover between the dextral Laguna fault system in the south and the Cibola and Big Maria fault zones in the north. A palinspastic reconstruction at 5 Ma shows that the southern Blythe Basin was part of a diffuse regional network of linked right-stepping dextral, normal, and oblique-slip faults related to Pacific–North America plate boundary dextral shear. Diffuse transtensional strain linked northward to the Stateline fault system, eastern Garlock fault, and Walker Lane, and southward to the Gulf of California shear zone, which initiated ca. 7–9 Ma, implying a similar age of inception for the paleo-ECSZ.

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Section: Research Papermentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Research Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Faulting and Folding During Bouse Formation Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Structural Controls On Basin Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonostratigraphic record of late Miocene–early Pliocene transtensional faulting in the Eastern California shear zone, southwestern USA

et al. 2021

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Early Pliocene marine transgression into the lower Colorado River valley, southwestern USA, by re-flooding of a former tidal strait

Dorsey¹,

Braga²,

Gardner³

et al. 2022

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Marine straits and seaways are known to host a wide range of sedimentary processes and products, but the role of marine connections in the development of large river systems remains little studied. This study explores a hypothesis that shallow marine waters flooded the lower Colorado River valley at ∼ 5 Ma along a fault-controlled former tidal straight, soon after the river was first integrated to the northern Gulf of California. The upper bioclastic member of the southern Bouse Formation provides a critical test of this hypothesis. The upper bioclastic member contains wave ripple-laminated bioclastic grainstone with minor red mudstone, pebbly grainstone with HCS-like stratification and symmetrical gravelly ripples, and calcareous-matrix conglomerate. Fossils include upward-branching segmented coralline-like red algae with no known modern relatives but confirmed as marine calcareous algae, echinoid spines, barnacles, shallow marine foraminifers, clams, and serpulid worm tubes. These results provide evidence for deposition in a shallow marine bay or estuary seaward of the transgressive backstepping Colorado River delta. Tsunamis generated by seismic and meteorologic sources likely produced the HCS-like and wave-ripple cross-bedding in poorly-sorted gravelly grainstone. Marine waters inundated a former tidal strait within a fault-bounded tectonic lowland that connected the lower Colorado River to the Gulf of California. Delta backstepping and transgression resulted from a decrease in sediment output due to sediment trapping in upstream basins and relative sea-level rise produced by regional tectonic subsidence.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5740426

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Early Pliocene Marine Transgression into the Lower Colorado River Valley, Southwestern USA, by Re-Flooding of a Former Tidal Strait

Dorsey¹,

Braga²,

Gardner³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine straits and seaways are known to host a wide range of sedimentary processes and products, but the role of marine connections in the development of large river systems remains little studied. This study explores a hypothesis that shallow marine waters flooded the lower Colorado River valley at ~ 5 Ma along a fault-controlled former tidal straight, soon after the river was first integrated to the northern Gulf of California. The upper bioclastic member of the southern Bouse Formation provides a critical test of this hypothesis. The upper bioclastic member contains wave ripple-laminated bioclastic grainstone with minor red mudstone, pebbly grainstone with HCS-like stratification and symmetrical gravelly ripples, and calcareous-matrix conglomerate. Fossils include upward-branching segmented coralline-like red algae with no known modern relatives but confirmed as marine calcareous algae, echinoid spines, barnacles, shallow marine foraminifers, clams, and serpulid worm tubes. These results provide evidence for deposition in a shallow marine bay or estuary seaward of the transgressive backstepping Colorado River delta. Tsunamis generated by seismic and meteorologic sources likely produced the HCS-like and wave-ripple cross-bedding in poorly-sorted gravelly grainstone. Marine waters inundated a former tidal strait within a fault-bounded tectonic lowland that connected the lower Colorado River to the Gulf of California. Delta backstepping and transgression resulted from a decrease in sediment output due to sediment trapping in upstream basins and relative sea-level rise produced by regional tectonic subsidence.

show abstract

The Bouse Formation, a controversial Neogene archive of the evolving Colorado River: a scientific drilling workshop report (28 February–3 March 2019 – BlueWater Resort & Casino, Parker, AZ, USA)

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Tectonostratigraphic record of late Miocene–early Pliocene transtensional faulting in the Eastern California shear zone, southwestern USA

Tectonostratigraphic record of late Miocene–early Pliocene transtensional faulting in the Eastern California shear zone, southwestern USA

Early Pliocene marine transgression into the lower Colorado River valley, southwestern USA, by re-flooding of a former tidal strait

Early Pliocene Marine Transgression into the Lower Colorado River Valley, Southwestern USA, by Re-Flooding of a Former Tidal Strait

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