Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Preliminary Geologic Map of the Lake Mead 30' X 60' Quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada, and Mohave County, Arizona

April 7, 2007

Introduction

The geologic map of the Lake Mead 30' x 60' quadrangle was completed for the U.S. Geological Survey's Las Vegas Urban Corridor Project and the National Parks Project, National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. Lake Mead, which occupies the northern part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAME), mostly lies within the Lake Mead quadrangle and provides recreation for about nine million visitors annually. The lake was formed by damming of the Colorado River by Hoover Dam in 1939. The recreation area and surrounding Bureau of Land Management lands face increasing public pressure from rapid urban growth in the Las Vegas area to the west. This report provides baseline earth science information that can be used in future studies of hazards, groundwater resources, mineral and aggregate resources, and of soils and vegetation distribution.

The preliminary report presents a geologic map and GIS database of the Lake Mead quadrangle and a description and correlation of map units. The final report will include cross-sections and interpretive text. The geology was compiled from many sources, both published and unpublished, including significant new mapping that was conducted specifically for this compilation. Geochronologic data from published sources, as well as preliminary unpublished 40Ar/39Ar ages that were obtained for this report, have been used to refine the ages of formal Tertiary stratigraphic units and define new informal Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic units.

Publication Year 2007
Title Preliminary Geologic Map of the Lake Mead 30' X 60' Quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada, and Mohave County, Arizona
DOI 10.3133/ofr20071010
Authors L. S. Beard, R.E. Anderson, D.L. Block, R. G. Bohannon, R.J. Brady, S.B. Castor, E. M. Duebendorfer, J. E. Faulds, T.J. Felger, K. A. Howard, M. A. Kuntz, V. S. Williams
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2007-1010
Index ID ofr20071010
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Western Earth Surface Processes