image: New Special Paper 463 from the Geological Society of America begins with an overview of Lake Mead and the eastern Central Basin and Range and then sharpens to a focus on various details of the area, including its stratigraphy, volcanism, geophysics, geohydrology, and tectonics and faulting. view more
Credit: Geological Society of America
Boulder, CO, USA - This new Special Paper from The Geological Society of America begins with an overview of Lake Mead and the eastern Central Basin and Range and then sharpens to a focus on various details of the area, including its stratigraphy, volcanism, geophysics, geohydrology, and tectonics and faulting. The Lake Mead region, reaching from the Las Vegas Valley to the Colorado Plateau, is a superb natural laboratory for the study and interpretation of geologic processes.
Many seminal papers have been published based on research around Lake Mead: low-angle normal faulting was first recognized, large-scale extension was demonstrated and quantified, and the rolling hinge hypothesis was first proposed. Ongoing research seeks to address the interplay of extensional and strike-slip faults and shortening features and to understand the driving forces behind deformation in this area.
Editors Paul Umhoefer of Northern Arizona University, L. Sue Beard of the U.S. Geological Survey, and Melissa Lamb of the University of St. Thomas have dedicated this book to R. Ernie Anderson in recognition of his "history of leading the way" in research on the area and whose contributions to the knowledge of the Lake Mead region span more than fifty years.
With 19 chapters and 200 figures, the volume provides insights that are not only relevant to the Lake Mead area but to extensional processes in general. Along with a historical overview of the existing research, contributors present a new 1:250,000-scale regional geologic map centered on Lake Mead, a geophysical analysis of the region's basins and faults, examination of Miocene basins and structure, new tectonic models, and a new and controversial model of large-volume dissolution accompanying extension in the Mormon Mountains. A CD-ROM of supplementary material is also included.
Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through the Geological Society of America online bookstore, http://www.geosociety.org/bookstore/default.asp?oID=0&catID=9&pID=SPE463, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting Jeanette Hammann, jhammann@geosociety.org.
Miocene Tectonics of the Lake Mead Region, Central Basin and Range
Paul J. Umhoefer, L. Sue Beard, and Melissa A. Lamb (editors)
Geological Society of America Special Paper 463
SPE463, 441 p., plus CD-ROM, plates, $95.00, GSA Member price $66.00
ISBN 978-0-8137-2463-8