Keith A Howard
Keith A. Howard is a Research Geologist Emeritus at the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center in Menlo Park, CA. Since joining the USGS in 1966, he had a diverse geologic career investigating a wide range of geologic processes. Presently, his reasearch includes volcanology, Colorado River evolution, granite, and extensional tectonics.
Keith has conducted lunar and planetary investigations, Apollo astronaut training and mission support (1960s and 1970s), and field studies of volcanic and impact structures. He led a team that made the first national map of active faults and fault provinces of the United States and Puerto Rico. He conceived the USGS climate-research program and led the effort to gain support for the program and its acceptance by Congress (1970s). He led the Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment, geologic-geophysical transect across the SW USA (1980s-1990s). He has authored a range of studies of landscape evolution, crustal structure, planetology, and igneous and tectonic processes.
Research Partners:
- Arizona Geological Survey
- National Science Foundation
- University of Wyoming
- University of Oregon
- Queensland Technical Institute
- Texas Tech University
- University of Florida
Professional Experience
2007-current, USGS Scientist Emeritus, Menlo Park, CA
2014, Lecturer, San Jose State University
1966-2006, USGS Research Geologist
1974, Visiting Faculty, University of South Florida
1962, USGS Geologist
1961, Engineering Geologist, McCreary-Koretsky Engineering
1960, Geologic Field Assistant, UC Berkeley
Education and Certifications
PhD, Geology, Yale, 1966
MS, Geological Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1962
BS, Geological Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1961
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America, Elected Fellow, 1972
American Geophysical Union, 1969
Peninsula Geological Society, 1967; President 2008-2009
Geological Society of WA since 1975
Fullbright Asso.
Science and Products
Detrital zircon U-Pb provenance of the Colorado River: A 5 m.y. record of incision into cover strata overlying the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions
Geologic map of the Lead Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California
Geologic map of the Valley Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California
Stratigraphy and paleogeographic significance of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Bird Spring Formation in the Ship Mountains, southeastern California
Dating of Pliocene Colorado River sediments: implications for cosmogenic burial dating and the evolution of the lower Colorado River
Episodic growth of a Late Cretaceous and Paleogene intrusive complex of pegmatitic leucogranite, Ruby Mountains core complex, Nevada, USA
Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the upper Pleistocene Chemehuevi Formation along the lower Colorado River
Erosion of tilted fault blocks and deposition of coarse sediments in half-graben basins during late stages of extension: Gold Butte area, Basin and Range Province
The upper crust on its side---Steeply tilted slabs in the basin and range
Rapid middle Miocene extension and unroofing of the southern Ruby Mountains, Nevada
Cenozoic evolution of the abrupt Colorado Plateau–Basin and Range boundary, northwest Arizona: A tale of three basins, immense lacustrine-evaporite deposits, and the nascent Colorado River
Riparian vegetation dynamics and evapotranspiration in the riparian corridor in the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico
Science and Products
Detrital zircon U-Pb provenance of the Colorado River: A 5 m.y. record of incision into cover strata overlying the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions
Geologic map of the Lead Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California
Geologic map of the Valley Mountain 15’ quadrangle, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California
Stratigraphy and paleogeographic significance of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Bird Spring Formation in the Ship Mountains, southeastern California
Dating of Pliocene Colorado River sediments: implications for cosmogenic burial dating and the evolution of the lower Colorado River
Episodic growth of a Late Cretaceous and Paleogene intrusive complex of pegmatitic leucogranite, Ruby Mountains core complex, Nevada, USA
Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the upper Pleistocene Chemehuevi Formation along the lower Colorado River
Erosion of tilted fault blocks and deposition of coarse sediments in half-graben basins during late stages of extension: Gold Butte area, Basin and Range Province
The upper crust on its side---Steeply tilted slabs in the basin and range
Rapid middle Miocene extension and unroofing of the southern Ruby Mountains, Nevada
Cenozoic evolution of the abrupt Colorado Plateau–Basin and Range boundary, northwest Arizona: A tale of three basins, immense lacustrine-evaporite deposits, and the nascent Colorado River
Riparian vegetation dynamics and evapotranspiration in the riparian corridor in the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government