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Publications

Here you will find publications, reports and articles produced by Energy and Mineral scientists. For a comprehensive listing of all USGS publications please click the button below.

Filter Total Items: 1168

Formation of tectonic peperites from alkaline magmas intruded into wet sediments in the Beiya area, western Yunnan, China

Tertiary (3.78 Ma to 3.65 Ma) biotite-K-feldspar porphyritic bodies intrude Tertiary, poorly consolidated lacustrine sedimentary rocks in the Beiya mineral district in southwestern China. The intrusives are characterized by a microcrystalline and vitreous-cryptocrystalline groundmass, by replacement of some tabular K-feldspar phenocrysts with microcrystalline chlorite and calcite, and by Fe-rich r
Authors
Xing-Wang Xu, Xin-Ping Cai, Jia-You Zhong, Bao-Chang Song, Stephen G. Peters

Geology of the Yucca Mountain site area, southwestern Nevada

Yucca Mountain in southwestern Nevada is a prominent, irregularly shaped upland formed by a thick apron of Miocene pyroclastic-flow and fallout tephra deposits, with minor lava flows, that was segmented by through-going, large-displacement normal faults into a series of north-trending, eastwardly tilted structural blocks. The principal volcanic-rock units are the Tiva Canyon and Topopah Spring Tuf
Authors
W. R. Keefer, J. W. Whitney, D.C. Buesch

Fault locking, block rotation and crustal deformation in the Pacific Northwest

We interpret Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements in the northwestern United States and adjacent parts of western Canada to describe relative motions of crustal blocks, locking on faults and permanent deformation associated with convergence between the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. To estimate angular velocities of the oceanic Juan de Fuca and Explorer plates and several continen
Authors
Robert McCaffrey, Anthony I. Qamar, Robert W. King, Ray E. Wells, G. Khazaradze, C.A. Williams, C.W. Stevens, J.J. Vollick, P.C. Zwick

USGS national surveys and analysis projects: Preliminary compilation of integrated geological datasets for the United States: A section in Digital mapping techniques '06 - Workshop proceedings

The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for regional and national digital geologic maps attributed with age and rock type information. Such spatial data can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for purposes that include mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies, human health and environmental research.In 1997, the
Authors
Suzanne W. Nicholson, Douglas B. Stoeser, Frederic H. Wilson, Connie L. Dicken, Stephen Ludington

Contrasting cratonal provenances for upper Cretaceous Valle Group quartzite clasts, Baja California

Late Cretaceous Valle Group forearcbasin deposits on the Vizcaino Peninsula of Baja California Sur are dominated by firstcycle arc-derived volcanic-plutonic detritus derived from the adjacent Peninsular Ranges batholith. Craton-derived quartzite clasts are a minor but ubiquitous component in Valle Group conglomerates. The source of these clasts has implications for tectonic reconstructions and sed
Authors
D.L. Kimbrough, G. Abbott, D.P. Smith, J. B. Mahoney, Thomas E. Moore, G. E. Gehrels

Report of the workshop on Extreme Ground Motions at Yucca Mountain, August 23-25, 2004

This Workshop has its origins in the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for Yucca Mountain, the designated site of the underground repository for the nation's high-level radioactive waste. In 1998 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) developed guidelines for PSHA which were published as NUREG/CR-6372, 'Recommendations for probabilistic seis
Authors
T. C. Hanks, N. A. Abrahamson, M. Board, D. M. Boore, J.N. Brune, C.A. Cornell

Maps of quaternary deposits and liquefaction susceptibility in the Central San Francisco Bay Region, California

This report presents a map and database of Quaternary deposits and liquefaction susceptibility for the urban core of the San Francisco Bay region. It supercedes the equivalent area of U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-444 (Knudsen and others, 2000), which covers the larger 9-county San Francisco Bay region. The report consists of (1) a spatial database, (2) two small-scale colored maps (
Authors
Robert C. Witter, Keith L. Knudsen, Janet M. Sowers, Carl M. Wentworth, Richard D. Koehler, Carolyn E. Randolph, Suzanna K. Brooks, Kathleen D. Gans

Garnet--An Essential Industrial Mineral and January's Birthstone

Garnet is one of the most common minerals in the world. Occurring in almost any color, it is most widely known for its beauty as a gem stone. Because of its hardness and other properties, garnet is also an essential industrial mineral used in abrasive products, non-slip surfaces, and filtration. To help manage our Nation's resources of such essential minerals, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) pro
Authors
James G. Evans, Phillip R. Moyle, David G. Frank, Donald W. Olson