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Volcanic Initiation of the Eocene Heart Mountain Slide, Wyoming, USA

Malone, David H.; Craddock, John P.; Schmitz, Mark D.; Kenderes, Stuart; Kraushaar, Ben; Murphey, Caelan J.; Nielsen, Stefan; Mitchell, Thomas M.

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Authors

David H. Malone

John P. Craddock

Mark D. Schmitz

Stuart Kenderes

Ben Kraushaar

Caelan J. Murphey

Thomas M. Mitchell



Abstract

The Eocene Heart Mountain slide of northwest Wyoming covers an area of as much as 5000 km2 and includes allochthonous Paleozoic carbonate and Eocene volcanic rocks with a run-out distance of as much as 85 km. Recent geochronologic data indicated that the emplacement of the slide event occurred at ∼48.9 Ma, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) extracted from U-Pb zircon ages from basal layer and injectite carbonate ultracataclasite (CUC). We now refine that age with U-Pb results from a lamprophyre diatreme that is temporally and spatially related to the CUC injectites. The ages for the lamprophyre zircons are 48.97 ± 0.36 Ma (LA-ICPMS) and 49.19 ±0.02 Ma (chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry). Thus, the lamprophyre and CUC zircons are identical in age, and we interpret that the zircons in the CUC were derived from the lamprophyre during slide emplacement. Moreover, the intrusion of the lamprophyre diatreme provided the trigger mechanism for the Heart Mountain slide. Additional structural data are presented for a variety of calcite twinning strains, results from anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility for the lamprophyre and CUC injectites and alternating-field demagnetization on the lamprophyre, to help constrain slide dynamics. These data indicate that White Mountain experienced a rotation about a vertical axis and minimum of 35° of counterclockwise motion during emplacement.

Citation

Malone, D. H., Craddock, J. P., Schmitz, M. D., Kenderes, S., Kraushaar, B., Murphey, C. J., …Mitchell, T. M. (2017). Volcanic Initiation of the Eocene Heart Mountain Slide, Wyoming, USA. The Journal of Geology, 125(4), 439-457. https://doi.org/10.1086/692328

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 13, 2017
Online Publication Date May 16, 2017
Publication Date May 16, 2017
Deposit Date Aug 16, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Geology
Print ISSN 0022-1376
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 125
Issue 4
Pages 439-457
DOI https://doi.org/10.1086/692328

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Copyright Statement
© 2017 by The University of Chicago




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