Geologic mapping of parts of the paisley, morgan butte, and shoestring butte 7.5 minute quadrangles, south-central oregon: characterization of a possible early cascades volcanic suiteproject period:…

Geologic mapping of parts of the paisley, morgan butte, and shoestring butte 7.5 minute quadrangles, south-central oregon: characterization of a possible early cascades volcanic suiteproject period: 05 15 2024-05 14 2025PURPOSE: undergraduate geology students from the university of houston downtown will map parts of three contiguous 7.5 minute quadrangles that make up key areas within the paisley hills, oregon. The three areas received reconnaissance-scale efforts in the early 1960S, but the layered sequences there have never been described or named. The paisley hills are likely a paleotopographical remnant of the early cenozoic cascades ARC or back-ARC, and as such are a very important data point for reconstructing early cenozoic paleogeography and tectonics. The map areas will greatly enhance the training of our post-field camp students, and will reinforce key skills including: measuring, describing, and mapping a stratigraphic succession, tracing the limits of a fluvial channel system, and mapping around a small vent complex. The area of the paisley hills area lies between recently completed mapping projects by the state of oregon, and remains a hole in their map coverage. Interest from the state of oregon is high, due to the unknown nature of the volcanic section, the presence of historic gold mines within and uranium mines south of the map areas, the potential for stratified lithium deposits, and environmental concerns such as high MN levels in local drinking water systems. The proposed map areas will help advance our understanding of many of these issues. The activities to be performed include geologic field mapping, map interpretation and compilation, rock identification, and making ARC-GIS projects. The ARC-GIS projects will depict the types and distribution of geologic units in their respective areas. The completed map projects will be delivered to the US geological survey and the oregon department of geology and mineral industries. They will provide the basis for further mapping of the complete quadrangles. The national and state surveys, the students, and the general public will benefit from the increased understanding of the potential resources in this area.