Brief Cenozoic Geologic History of the Western Grand Canyon Region on the Milkweed Canyon NW and Hindu Canyon 7.5’ Quadrangles with an Emphasis on the Exhumed Hualapai Plateau Paleocanyons, Mohave County, AZ

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Author
Young, Richard A.
Affiliation
Department of Geological Sciences - State University of New York at Geneseo
Issue Date
2024-02-29
Keywords
Hualapai Plateau
Cenozoic
Grand Canyon
Paleodrainage
Geomorphology -- Arizona -- Chino Valley.
geologic maps
volcanic features

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Citation
Young, R.A., 2024, Brief Cenozoic Geologic History of the Western Grand Canyon Region on the Milkweed Canyon NW and Hindu Canyon 7.5’ Quadrangles with an Emphasis on the Exhumed Hualapai Plateau Paleocanyons, Mohave County, AZ: Arizona Geological Survey Contributed Map 24-A, scale 1:24,000.
Publisher
Arizona Geological Survey (Tucson, AZ)
Description
The Hualapai Plateau has one of the longest and best-preserved records of Cenozoic geology in Arizona. This report is a companion to the similar description for the geologic map of the adjacent Peach Springs Quadrangle (Young, 2011). The Milkweed NW and Hindu Canyon USGS 1:24,000-scale quadrangle geologic maps include the major portion of the largest exhumed tributary to the Peach Springs Laramide paleocanyon system that crosses the central Hualapai Plateau and converges on the Hurricane fault zone and the Peach Springs Canyon paleochannel. The trend and prominent bend in the Milkweed-Hindu paleochannel provides evidence for the long-term geomorphic evolution of the Hualapai Plateau and western Grand Canyon and is related to the process of slow recession of the Shivwits Plateau scarp, probably beginning in late Cretaceous time (Young and Crow, 2014). In order to adequately characterize the major elements of this Tertiary paleodrainage system, without completing all of the adjacent quadrangle maps, two small areas outside of the two named quadrangles at the head of Milkweed Canyon (southern Grand Wash Cliffs), and north of Hindu Canyon (near Separation and Bridge Canyons) are included as simplified figures to clarify or extend important geologic field relationships (Young and Crow, 2014). A more comprehensive geologic map of the Paleozoic bedrock for the relevant portion of the Hualapai Plateau is provided by the 1:48,000 scale map by Billingsley et al. (1999). The easternmost continuation of the Hindu Canyon paleochannel, labeled as Lost Man Creek on the latest USGS Peach Springs topographic quadrangle map, is named Lost Man Canyon on some older maps (Twenter, 1962). Hindu Canyon contains a minor drainage divide within the partially exhumed Tertiary deposits near the east edge of the Hindu Canyon quadrangle, suchthat the modern Hindu Canyon drainage now flows both west and east (as Lost Man Creek). The reversed westward gradient of western Hindu Canyon is the result of the headward erosion, capture, and complete severing of the Milkweed-Hindu paleochannel by the expansion of Spencer Canyon, a major tributary to the younger Colorado River. Hindu Canyon is currently undergoing a similar capture of its northern tributaries by headward erosion at Bridge Canyon and adjacent unnamed tributaries. This report describes the Cenozoic geologic history contained within and adjacent to the paleocanyons with illustrations of all of the key Tertiary stratigraphic units and highlights the important geomorphic relationships. The report describes and supplements the two geologic map quadrangles and accompanying legend. A few figures or photographs not located on either the Milkweed NW or Hindu quadrangles are included where relevant geologic relationships or data are preserved.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10150/671108
Additional Links
https://library.azgs.arizona.edu/
Language
en
Series/Report no.
Arizona Geological Survey Contributed Map
Rights
Arizona Geological Survey. All rights reserved.
Collection Information
Documents in the AZGS Documents Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu.
North Bounding Coordinate
35.75
South Bounding Coordinate
35.63
West Bounding Coordinate
-113.75
East Bounding Coordinate
-113.5
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