116°34'30"W
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116°35'0"W
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35°58'0"N 35°58'0"N
35°57'30"N 35°57'30"N
35°57'0"N 35°57'0"N
35°56'30"N 35°56'30"N
35°56'0"N 35°56'0"N
35°55'30"N 35°55'30"N
35°55'0"N 35°55'0"N
35°54'30"N 35°54'30"N
35°54'0"N 35°54'0"N
35°53'30"N 35°53'30"N
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² 0 1 2 3 40.5 Kilometers
Tio Iron-oxide deposits
Aeolian deposits
Qg
Qg
Qa
Modern wash deposits
Fan deposits
Tfb Funeral Basalt
Funeral FormationTmf
Tmj Jubilee Chaos Formation
Ashford LatiteTil
Tqm
 w Wood Canyon Formation
Stirling Formation
-q -f
Johnnie Formation-m -l
Ibex Formation
Noonday Dolomite
Kingston Peak Formation
Beck Spring Dolomite
Crystal Spring Formation
Virgin Spring Chaos-unmapped
Diabase
Pegmatite
Hematite-magnetite-calcite-chalcopyrite mineral precipitation in upper plate faults and 
fractures of Crystal Fault. Associate with dibase and black chert member.
Hypothesized to be upper portion of iron-oxide-copper-gold system.
Fine-grained, wind blown sands and silts deposited on low, valley facing slopes.
Fine to coarse; graded outwash sands to cobbles transported and redeposited by modern
braided streams.; Active flash flood wash.
Coarse; gravels, cobbles, and bouders, sub-rounded, alluvial fan deposits and terraces. 
Upper members unconsolidated.
Lower members consolidated, cemented with quartz, sub-angular clasts.
Basalt flow capping Funeral Formation.
4.9 +- 0.1 Ma (Holm and Lux 1991)
Upper members are sandstones and silstones, containing interbedded tuff layers.
Lower members are pebble to boulder conglomerates of predominantly crystalline 
basement clasts. 
Black Mountains unroofing sequence. 
7.8-4 Ma (Topping, 2003)
Sequences of conglomerate,  sandstone, and siltstone. 
Greater-Amargosa-Buckwheat-Sperry wash (GABS) basin sediments. 
10.5 to 7.8 Ma (Topping, 2003)
Porphyritic plutonic rocks, feldspar phenocrysts with coarse-grained groundmass.
10.45±0.22 Ma (Miller et al., 2004)
Smith Mountain Quartz-monzonite
Porphyritic dikes or flows.
13.01  +- 0.42 Ma (Topping, 1994)
Partially adapted from Wright and Troxel, 1984
Crystalline metamorphic rocks, well foliated, with varying metamophic textures.
-s  biotite-quartz-feldspar, with schistocity, numerous pCp dikes.
-q  quartz-biotite-feldsapr gneiss, few pCp dikes.
-f   feldspar-biotite-quartz gniess, augen texture, no pCp dikes.
World Beater Complex.
Metamorphically reset at ~1700 Ma (Wasserberg et al. 1959)
Coarse-grained, quartz-feldspar-muscovite-tourmaline dikes with graphic texture.
Medium- to coarse-grained, dark green, diabase dikes and sills. 
1087 ±3 and 1069 ±3 Ma (Heaman and Groztinger, 1992)
“Almost wholly Cambrian and later Precambrian”, highly faulted “dolomite, limestone, 
sandstone, and quartzite” --Noble (1941). Divided in Wright and Troxel (1984)
Relative timing of ‘chaos’ formation is unknown, 
but basal fault is plugged by Thermometer Rhyolite, 10.08±0.03 Ma (Miller et al. 2004) 
Upper members redefined as Horsethief Spring Formation (Mahon, 2012).
Middle members are well-bedded, siltstone, red carbonate, black chert, and quartzites.
Lower members are orange carbonate, purple shale, white quartzite, blue arkose with 
basal conglomerate with unimodal zircon population at ca. 1690 Ma (Mahon, 2012).
Massive to thin-bedded, gray, dolomite with abundant laminae and algal features.
Various lithologies, mainly silstones, sandstones, and thin limestones. Prominent red
diamictite beds and black Virgin Spring limestone.
Cryogenian, ~750-635 Ma (Mrofka, 2010).
Massive to thin-bedded, cream to pink, dolomite with various trace fossils, including
stromalolites and skolithos.
Massive to poorly -bedded, gray to lavender, sandy dolomite. 
Well-bedded sediments of varying lithologies; siliciclastic and carbonate.
Upper member is mixed siliciclasitc and carbonates, with predominent oolite layer.
Middle member is dominatley siliciclasitc siltstones and sandstones.
Lower member is mixed siliciclastic with thick quartzites.
Ediacran, with  640.33 ± 0.09 Ma zircon grain in lower member (Verdel et al., 2011).
Fine- to medium-grained white quartzites interbedded with fine-grained purple siltstones
dominate the middle of the formation. Lower members contain occasional carbonates, 
upper members contain more pebble conglomerates.
Lower members contain abundant pebble conglomerates, with interbedded dolomites
and quartzites. Upper members not exposed.
Contains Cambrian age fossils, i.e. trilobites (Diehl, 1979)
Ü
h
o
Fault dip
Basement foliaiton
Bedding orientation
Line of SectionX X’
Normal fault
Thrust fault
Anticline trace
Depositional contact
Symbols
Inferred contact
Concealed contact
Strike-slip fault
(showing right-lateral displacement)
(showing trend and plunge)
20°, 185°
D6: Black Mountains Frontal Fault
D5: Domino Faults
D4: Amargosa Fault
D3: Desert Hound Anticline and Chaos Syncline
D2: Upper Johnnie Fault
D2: Johnnie Fault
D2: Noonday Fault
D2: Beck Fault
D2: Crystal Fault
D1: Thrust Faults
Me
so
pr
ote
ro
zo
ic
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ter
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oic
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ria
n
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ne
 (?
)
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ic 
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)
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iac
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an
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e
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ate
rn
ar
y
Quaternary activity reported in (Brogan et al., 1991). 
Drops valley down relative to range
Active between 4-7 Ma (Topping, 2003).
Numerous N-S trending strucutres 
disecting area.
Active between 10-7 Ma (?).
Dominent N60°W fault bounding Virgin Spring Chaos
Active from (?) to ~7 Ma (?). 
Dominent southeast plunging fold ‘pair’.
D2: Chaos Faults
Earliest activity in Oligocene (?) and ceasing
between ~14.5-10 Ma. These ‘shingle’  faults are 
the primary structures of this chaos formation and 
responsible for the great stratigrpahic attenuation.
The upper plates are brecciated, fractured, and/or
faulted with evidence of hydrothermal fluid infiltration.   
Active during Mesozoic (?) or Paleogene (?).
Northeast verging system duplicats pCju oolite layer, 
with associated small southeast plunging folds.
Structure Descriptions Unit Descriptions
B
B’
C C’
5°
h
35°, 252°
17°, 259°
29°, 242°
27°, 245°
27°, 238°
30°, 111°
30°, 144°
B
B’
C
C’
45
     gspC
ppC
    dbpC
    vspC
    cpC
     bpC
     kpC
     npC
     ipC
      jupC
     spC
      C
Tqm
Tio
Til
Tfb
    vspC
    vspC
Tmj
Tmj
Tmj
Tmj
Tmf
Tmf
Tmf
2
1
Qg
2
Qg
2
Qg
2Qg
2
Qg
2
Qg1
Qg1
Qg1
Qg1
Qg1
Qg1
Qa
 w      C      spC
     spC
     spC
      jupC
      jupC
      jupC
      jupC
jm      pC
jm      pC
jl      pC
jm      pC
     ipC
     ipC
     ipC
     npC
     npC
     npC
     npC
     kpC
     kpC
     bpC
     bpC
     bpC
    cpC
    cpC
    cpC
    cpC
    dbpC
    dbpC
    dbpC
    dbpC
    dbpC
ppC
ppC
ppC
ppC
     gspC
     gqpC
     gspC
     gqpC
     gqpC
     gqpC
     gfpC     gfpC
     gfpC
     gfpC
D6: Black Mountains Frontal Fault
D4: Amargosa Fault
D4: Amargosa Fault
D3: Desert Hound Anticline 
D3: Desert Hound Anticline 
D3: Chaos Syncline
D2:
 Cry
stal
 Fa
ult
D2: Bec
k Fault
D2
: N
oo
nd
ay
 Fa
ult
D2: 
John
nie F
ault
D2: Upper Johnnie Fault
A
A’
A’A
(In text)
Geologic Map of the Ashford-Jubilee section of the Virgin Spring Amargosa Chaos
2013
by Samuel R. Castonguay
Scale 1:18000
Contour Interval 10 m
D
D’
D’D
1 cm = 280 m
(In text)
Topographic basmap from USGS
via ArcMap USA topo
E’E
(In text)
!
!
!
µ
0 50 100 150 20025
Kilometers
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Badwater Basin           
Death Valley
-282 ft
-86 m
290 km
(180 miles)
180 km
(117 miles)
350 km
(215 miles)
Mt. Whitney
14,505 ft
(4,424 m)
Ashford Mine
Hydrotherm
al Alteration
Scallywag Mine
Am
argosa Fault
500m
-500m
1 kilometer
0 m
Tmj
Til
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     gqpC
     gspC
     gjpC
ppC
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     npC
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 fo
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a
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E
E’
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 F
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 F
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 F
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om
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esert H
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 A
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fo
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s
Northern VS Chaos
Crystal Fault
Beck Fault
Noond
ay Fau
lt
Johnn
ie Fau
lt
1 kilometer
5 km 10 km
Elevation
Tio
Tmj
Til
     gfpC
ppC
    dbpC
    vspC
     cpC
     npC
      jupC
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1:18,000
t
t
t
t
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1000
-1000
0