Lava Mountains
| Lava Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,392 m (4,567 ft) |
| Geography | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
District | San Bernardino County |
Range coordinates | 35°26′13.862″N 117°31′11.206″W / 35.43718389°N 117.51977944°W |
| Topo map | USGS Klinker Mountain |
The Lava Mountains are a mountain range located along the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California.[1][2] They are one of the eastern limits of the Fremont Valley.[citation needed] They span the northwestern portion of the Golden Valley Wilderness, which sits between it and the Almond Mountains on the southeastern side.[3] The mountain range is cut by several deep-walled canyons with distinctive layers of multicolored sedimentary rocks.[3] The peak of the mountain range is at around 5,000 feet on Dome Mountain.[3]
Geology
[edit]The mountains are located along the Garlock Fault.[4] The Blackwater fault passes through the southwestern part of the area, and the Brown's Ranch fault zone and its associated faults pass through the western part.[2]
The pre-Tertiary rocks in the area mainly consist of quartz monzonite.[2] The major sedimentary unit is the Bedrock Spring Formation, which is chiefly composed of arkosic sandstone and conglomerate, as well as some silstone and brecciated volcanic rocks.[2] That formation is overlain by the Almond Mountain volcanics and the Klinker Mountain volcanics in the eastern and western parts of the region, respectively.[2] Overlying these are flows of Lava Mountains andesite dating to the late Pliocene, which are finally covered by Quaternary gravels, alluvium, and travertine.[2] All of the volcanic rocks in the area are plagioclase andesite porphyries.[2]
References
[edit]- ↑ Cite error: The named reference
gniswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smith, George Irving (1956). Geology and Petrology of the Lava Mountains, San Bernardino County, California (phd thesis). California Institute of Technology.
- 1 2 3 "Golden Valley Wilderness". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ↑ Keenan, Deborah L (January 1, 2000). "The geology and geochemistry of volcanic rocks in the Lava Mountains, California: Implications for Miocene development of the Garlock Fault". UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. doi:10.25669/86xt-tu2t.