Sand Mountain and Sand Hollow Fracture Patterns

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.


Why the sand spills onto the South side of Sand Hollow Lake

By now all are familiar with the circular paths of rivers, for some portion of their course (the circular portion indicating an opening, created by Coriolis rotation). The same feature can be visualized with the sand flow from Sand Mountain, south of the lake- sand flow instead of water flow. This is due to Coriolis rotation WHICH CREATES THE PATH of the two separating cells (indicating a path created by lateral faulting) or hills there- one clockwise and the other CCW. Between the two there is an opening where there occurs divergence. This DIVERGENCE ALLOWS SEPARATION OR STRETCHING OF THE SPACE BETWEEN THE TWO FEATURES, AND SUBSEQUENT LOOSENING OF THE SAND IN THIS JURASSICC SANDSTONE (which is otherwise very indurated and tough to shear). THE FEATURE IS THE SAME- FLOW DENOTING A PREFERRED EROSIONAL PATH CREATED BY LATERAL FAULTING. THINK OF THE FLOW OF SAND AS SEDIMENT WHICH CAN BE USED TO FOLLOW A FAULT PATH, RATHER THAN WATER WHICH THE GEOLOGY CULTURE CONSIDERS ONLY A MEDIUM AND NOT AN INDICATOR OF A FAULT PATH (WHICH HAS BEEN OBSCURED BY THE WATER PRESENCE)
If you are not convinced by now, you never will be, but look at the accompanying photos anyway:

NOTE THE SMALL CUT OR WATERWAY ON TH SOUTH SIDE OF THE LAKE, WHICH INDICATES A RECENT SLICING OR FRACTURING OF THE COASTLINE:
THE SOUTH SIDE IS ENLARGED TO SHOW A CANYON WHICH I JUST RE-TREKKED LAST WEEK. THIS CANYON NW OF THE DINOSAUR DISPLAY IS A ZONE OF CONVERGENCE- THE OPPOSITE OF THE DIVERGENCE ZONE:

THE "BIG PICTURE" SHOWS HOW THE ROTATION FITS WITH THE OVERALL MOVEMENT OF THE CRUST AROUND THE GRASS VALLEY CORIOLIS CELL, BUT THIS IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN I HAVE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED. TO ELIMINATE HEATING FROM TWO CELLS ROTATING IN THE SAME DIRECTION (CW VS. CW) THERE IS A BUFFER CELL OF SMALLER DIAMETER WHICH ABSORBS THE SHOCK OF FRICTIONAL HEATING. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN SEE SEVERAL OF THESE IN THE PHOTO BELOW. THIS PHOTO PROBABLY SOLVES THE DILEMMA OF THE N60E STRESS CRACKS' PATTERN- WHERE THEY ARE SUBJECT TO A TORQUE BETWEEN THE TWO SEPARATELY-ROTATING LARGE CELLS. WE'LL LOOK AT THIS AGAIN, BUT FIRST DETERMINE WHETHER THE N60E LINEARS RELATE TO ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF THE GRASS VALLEY CELL:
Sand Mountain and Sand Hollow Fracture Patterns
Sand Mountain- a mainly Jurassic Navajo surface expression- fits in the circular arrangement of the Grass Valley Coriolis rotation ABOUT the Hurricane Cliffs near Hurricane, Utah. This is a 30 km diameter feature, which has arcuate canyons, monoclines and hogbacks, and compressional features near its southern border- near the Ft. Pierce wash. The compressional entities appear to become larger, the further they occur from the Grass Valley center and drainage divide (located at the basalt spill over Hurricane fault, Hf). Consequently, there is a small rise at the divide, a larger monocline and hogback north of the AZ border, and the Sand Mountain uplift which is the largest appearing related to the general rotation of the Coriolis cell north of the AZ border.



The intent of this writing is to show that there are compressional features, on the south and east side of the Grass Valley Coriolis cell, compared to extensional features on the north, such as the Laverkin sink, Ash Creek rotating hogback-like block tilted up to the west, and the Hiway 9 graben. Photos and analyses are shown below, which document the compressional nature of Sand Mountain- similar to the monocline at the AZ border (see photo above).
GRASS VALLEY IS SHOWN BELOW, AS THE AREA NEAR THE SKY RANCH AIRPORT, WHICH IS TO THE NORTH OF THE GRASS VALLEY EXTRUSION (BASALT). THIS BASALT HAS BEEN SHEARED AND ROTATED BY THE DRAG OF THE HURRICANE FAULT- WHICH HAS THE COLORADO PLATEAU, CP, MOVING CCW (SOUTH) ON THE EAST SIDE:

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE GRASS VALLEY FLOW IS SHOWN FROM THE NORTH, FROM SULLIVAN KNOLL, SO THAT THE SADDLES- REPRESENTING LATERAL FAULTING- MAY BE SEEN:
BELOW ARE PHOTOS OF SAND MOUNTAIN, SHOWING HOW IT IS MONOCLINE-LIKE, VIEWED FROM THE NORTH:

A "CLINCHER" FOR A COMPRESSIONAL REGIME IS THE DOME OF Jn CROSS-BEDS, LOCATED BY THE EDGE OF THE SAND HOLLOW GOLF COURSE. THE AREA HAS MANY PROTRUSIONS OF SANDSTONE:
PHOTO BELOW SHOWS A GOOGLE PHOTO OF SAND MOUNTAIN AND THE LAKE, AND NOW THERE IS AN ADDED PIECE OF INFORMATION- THE UPLIFTED MONOCLINE HAS STRIATIONS SIMILAR TO GROOVES ON A LARGE SCALE (N60E ORIENTATIONS, PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER IN A CONSISTENT MANNER). THESE ARE IN SUCH A PATTERN, THAT THEY REPRESENT A REGIONAL PHENOMENON. WE WILL HAVE TO TREK INTO THE MOUNTAIN TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS A RELATION TO OTHER FEATURES OF SUCH A SCALE:
A LARGER VIEW SHOWS THAT THE N60E GRIDS OCCUR AT THE Hf FAULT, AT THE GRASS VALLEY EXTRUSION, AND AT SLICES IN Hf, AND THAT THE SPACING IS VARIABLE, BUT NEAR .33 KM APART. REMEMBER THAT THE SPACING ABOVE Hf NEAR HIWAY 59 AT THE SWITCHBACKS IS ABOUT .22 KM (HINTING THAT THE SPACING IS DUE TO THE TOPOGRAPHIC MOVEMENT WESTWARD OF THE GROUND SURFACE RELATIVE TO THE BASE OF THE CRUST JUST ABOVE THE MANTLE (WHICH IS MOVING RELATIVELY EASTWARD AND TILTING Hf DOWN TO THE EAST):


EVIDENTLY WE HAVE STUMBLED ON ANOTHER FEATURE, WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE EXPLORED, SINCE THE PHOTO BELOW SHOWS THAT THE N60E GRIDS INFLUENCE NOT ONLY Hf, BUT ALSO SANDSTONE FROM SNOW CANYON TO ZION- A DISTANCE OF ALMOST 100 KM:
The photo of the lineaments indicates that the DIMNESS is of an age greater than the fractures, which are re-delivering the sand down the mountain into the lake. However, if you assume that the pattern has produced the lineaments in Hf (which is more doubtful, because they have a curvature), then the age must be less than 200 k.years (because of the measured age of the vulcanism, which was simultaneous with them). Hence we must look elsewhere, to obtain the relative age. The place to start for this is in the Zion highlands, where the N60E pattern also occurs. If we find that the age of the N60E canyons is greater than those tracing NW-SE, then we can conclude that the grids are older than the present dominant pattern (tracing NW-SE). Below is a blowup of the appropriate part of Zion:

Evidently we have stumbled on fossil traces of linears, which are related to stresses PRE-LATEST CYCLE Hf. THE FAINT N60E TRACES ARE OLDER IN ZION THAN THE DOMINANT ONES- INDICATING THAT THEY MAY BE OLDER ELSEWHERE. THIS DOESN'T PROVE THAT THEY ARE OF THE SAME AGE, BUT IS A TENTATIVE CONCLUSION WHICH CAN BE CHECKED IN MY OTHER WORK IN THE REGION. The sandstone has retained the ancient grooves left after erosion has filled in the older fractures or faulting. This N60E pattern does not show up in most of my work, and I have canvassed most of the outcrops near my hometown of Hurricane. It will be interesting to find what minerals were precipitated in these older gulches, compared to those whose age has been determined. I will fit this in my present research on the IRON DEPOSITS of Miocene age, near Cedar City. This pattern does help to clarify the various fracture and stream orientations in the park, and we will store it for reference to other anomalies. It does seem important that the grids remain in sandstones, which would be supposed to easily re-arrange with time of sorting, compaction, and weak calcareous cementation (compared to limestone, which has little original porosity, and which is ductile, easily made resistant to shear, and which re-cements with calcite- except for dolomitization).

VIEWING THE FRACTURE PATTERNS IN ZION, VERSUS THOSE FOUND ON A HIKE ONTO SAND MOUNTAIN, NOTICE THAT THERE ARE BLOCKS OF Jn WHICH APPEAR RELATIVELY FRESHLY UNCOVERED YIELDING FLAT SURFACES POINTING TO THOSE IN ZION:


THE DIFFICULTY SHOWN HERE IS THAT THE AREA ROTATED CCW, WHEN RISING AND HEATING FROM THE MAGMA CHAMBER, AND THOSE FRACTURES ARE PRESERVED (WRITTEN IN STONE, SO TO SPEAK), AND NOW WITH A COOLING AND SHRINKING SUBSURFACE, THE AREA IS ROTATING CW. THERE IS A WELL NEAR VIRGIN TOWN, WHICH PRODUCES WARM DRINKING WATER- INDICATING THAT BRITTLE FRICTION IS PRODUCING HEAT TODAY, SIMILAR TO PAH TEMPE (THIS IS CALLED FAULT REVERSAL BY GEOLOGISTS, AND NOW WE HAVE DRAINAGE SHIFT DUE TO THE SAME ENTITY):

Sand Hollow fracture patterns, and Jn rotation in Zion NP
These grid lines represent fossil stresses, in the Miocene age- by my calculation of rotation movements in the Park. This is valuable, from the standpoint of determining relative age of stress systems, especially since I haven’t found this N60E pattern in the area (except for fossil Jurassic dunes being investigated). FINDING THE ORDER OF STRESS-FRACTURE REGIMES IS AS VALUABLE AS FINDING PALEONTOLOGICAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC SUCCCESSION, OR SUPERPOSITION! I will re-analyze this occurrence, since it is not always obvious which rotation movement is happening. The clues as to which direction is ambient is not always straight-forward. Below are the important features, which I have seen in the field and which bear on this analysis:
1. Crater Hill above Coal Pits Wash is of the order of 1 million years of age, and should be rotating CW (cooling and shrinking);
2. The Virgin River nearby has a lateral fault, which is rotating CW (affirmed by slickensides), so that there must be a buffer cell between the two features (there is a warm well just to the west of it- near the town of Virgin);
3. There are no active warm springs or volcanic activity in Zion, so that even though it is uplifting, it should rotate CCW and create HEAT OF FRICTION AT THE BORDER OF CRATER HILL, should it NOT BE ROTATING IN HARMONY with it (harmony means that adjoining cells rotate opposite to each other, so that there is no brittle friction to create heat, e.g. CW next to CCW):


4. Above photo shows that there is a buffer cell between Crater hill and the Virgin river, so that Crater Hill cell is rotating CW. This allows the Zion cell immediately to the east to rotate CCW without creating vulcanism;
5. Continuing to question whether the east part of Zion is rotating in harmony with the west part (CW vs. CCW), we will look again at the confluence of the canyons, to see whether the west section is older than the east. The canyons which are truncated by the present deeper gorges appear to be fainter and more meandering than the linear canyons of the beautiful part of Zion Park:
6. The canyons are down-cutting so drastically, that it seems intuitive that the whole area is rapidly rising and therefore rotating CCW; and,
7. There are indeed multiple fracture patterns, as is obvious just by driving along the fossil dunes and noting the grid-like checkerboards in the cone-shaped dunes. ABOVE IS THE "BIG PICTURE" OF ZION AS IT IS RELATED TO IRON COUNTY AND THE B&R LATERAL FAULT (WHICH IS DRAGGING AGAINST THE CP (BOTH GOING SOUTHWARD AT THE COMMON BORDER).

The sand mountain south of the Sand Hollow State Park has some excellent views and geological features similar to those in the wave, AZ wilderness area. There are slot canyons (some of which are not negotiable for all but climbers), three sets of fracture patterns- in addition to the drainage along a N-S axis- and a few springs or seeps. This is an area which has been ignored by all except the ORV addicts. Below is the “Big Picture” of the area which can easily be accessed from the State Park:

There are major grids of fractures, as seen above and below in detail- the rise to the south accentuating them:

When hiking the crags and outcrops, there are several features which become apparent:
1. The dominant N60E grids, although freshly-appearing, are eroded by drainage with N-S trends, relating that the N-S Hurricane fault orientation is a younger feature. This one million year fault is the latest in a cycle of several, which has formed a scarp and vulcanism associated with it. Previous to that the fault had little vulcanism apparent, although there are significant vents to the east- such as Mt. Trumbull, crater Hill, and vents near Diamond Ranch;
2. The displacement on the fractures is only on the order of inches for each step (fracture segment), but consistently up to the south- indicating an uplift north of Ft. Pierce Wash, which we have already affirmed from the lateral rotation there;
3. LATEST Drainage cuts the N60E fractures, although there is activity indicated from seeps at the fracture faces. This relates that the stream capture is younger and associated with the Hf N-S stress system; and,
4. The steepness and sharp edges of the fractures faces of both N60E and N-S traces indicates that both are much younger than the Jurassic rock (and not Pre-Tertiary). Although the Hf traces are younger than the N60E fractures, it seems evident that the age is close. Measuring the Coriolis rotation of the N60E traces in Zion NP indicates that they are of Miocene or later age.


The south side of SAND MOUNTAIN, approached near the DINOSAUR DISPLAY AND NEARBY CANYONS SHOWS THRUSTING FROM THE EAST (CW ROTATION ALONG THE WASH TRENDING TOWARD THE WA CITY FAULT, WHICH MOVES UP TO THE NORTH ON THE EAST SIDE- A LEFT LATERAL FAULT).

THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE SAND MOUNTAIN HAS SOME INTERESTING COMPRESSIVE FEATURES, INDICATING THAT LATERAL FORCE FROM THE DIRECTION OF THE CANYON TO THE EAST IS INFLUENCING THE SCARP OF THE MOUNTAIN FOR SEVERAL MILES TO THE WEST:


:
Shown below is some of the movement, from rotations and southward lateral displacement along Hf, that is occurring near the canyon on the Utah side:
MOST IMPORTANT CONCLUSIONS:
1. GRASS VALLEY CELL IS COMPOSED OF SEVERAL CONCENTRIC CIRCLES, AND ALL MAJOR ONES ARE ROTATING CW (COOLING AND SHRINKING OF THE CRUST, BUT THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE MINOR CELLS, WHICH ACT AS BUFFERS TO THE MAJOR ROTATIONS);
2. THERE IS COMPRESSIVE STRESS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CELL AT THE AZ BORDER AND THE CANYON TO THE NORTH (PRODUCING THE MONOCLINE AND HOGBACK);
3. THE ONLY HINTS OF RESURGENCE OF VULCANISM ARE THE H2S SMELL ON THE EAST SIDE OF SULLIVAN KNOLL AND THE PAH TEMPE HOT SPRING- BOTH OF WHICH CAN BE PRODUCED FROM BRITTLE-FRICTION DUE TO LATERAL MOVEMENT, EITHER CW OR CCW;
4. THE CONCENTRIC CELLS ARE PRODUCED BY MOVEMENT CREATED BY CCW (SOUTH) MOVEMENT ON THE CP SIDE OF Hf, AS COMPARED TO RELATIVE OPPOSITE MOVEMENT ON THE B&R SIDE (THIS FORMS A TORQUE AROUND A BLOCK OF CRUST); AND,
5. VULCANISM IS PRODUCED NEAR A MOVING ENTITY, SUCH AS Hf, AND IT CAN BE DUE TO DIVERGENCE OF TWO FAULT SYSTEMS (CAUSING EXTENSION AT THE "Y") OR BY CONTINUAL SHEAR ALONG ONE MOVING FAULT SYSTEM.
CAVEATS FOR THE CONCLUSIONS:
A. Should I be wrong in my analysis of the rotation direction of the two major cells in Sand Mountain (CW vs. CCW) and they be rotating such as to generate heat of friction, then the uplift will be that of an incipient geothermal event. The south convergence will then be a divergence zone, where the uplift is definitely occurring. This will be a cause for further investigation. I have measured a seep at the dead-end BOX CANYON at this zone, and find only a few degrees rise above normal 40F, for this time of the year. I concluded that the analysis was correct, but there are some buffer cells, which don’t quite agree. The overall rotation of the Grass Valley cell is CW, but there are many small cells which are rotating in the opposite direction (from analysis of thrust direction, drag of crustal segments, and orientation of beds).
B. Should I be wrong, then the UGS is derelict in either failing to read this missive (sent to the practicing geo-community) or in following up on the conclusions. I will return to do field work this week, and make more careful measurements. This is a known geothermal area, and it is just a matter of time (HOW MUCH?) before there is another vent extruding. There is no cause for alarm, even is there is an uplift, since there will be sufficient warning of H2S gas, earthquakes, and more rapid movement near the Sand Mountain rise.
C. The analysis of involvement of areas outside the Grass Valley cell is now suspect- Zion and Snow Canyon should have no connection with the feature, being separated from them by significant faulting (on a large scale, such as the WA and Hurricane faults.) However, I did find similar N60E striations in the Delta north of the Overton Arm and Muddy Creek, and I will re-visit this young Pleistocene and Pliocene sedimentary deposit for more specific analysis.

LOOKING AT DETAILS OF SMALL ROTATIONS ON THE EDGE OF SAND MOUNTAIN, WE FIND THAT THIS IS SUBJECT TO A LOT OF LOCAL MOVEMENTS. THE CARDINAL RULE: HIGHER ELEVATION AREAS INCUR MORE CORIOLIS INFLUENCE THAN LOWER (THEY PROTRUDE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHERE THEY ARE SUBJECT TO MORE WRENCHING OR TORQUE)- HENCE IT IS NECESSARY TO INVOLVE ELEVATION OF FEATURES, WHEN IN THE FIELD. BELOW ARE SHOWN FEATURES, WHICH HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED BY HIKING THE TERRAIN. SINKS OR HOLLOWS ROTATE CW, WHILE RISES OR MOUNTAINS ROTATE CCW:



THIS WILL BE CONTINUED, AFTER ADDED FIELD WORK- AN ANALYST'S WORK IS NEVER DONE! I JUST TOOK A FORAY, AS PART OF A SUNDAY DRIVE, AND THE VIEW WAS TREE-MEND-US.

CORIOLIS TECTONICS DISCOVERY AT Hf: Spiraling Magmas, Reverse faulting for rising vs. cooling volcanoes, & rotating Crustal cells with lateral faults

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.

CORIOLIS TECTONICS DISCOVERY at Hurricane fault: Spiraling Magma Chambers, Reverse faulting for rising versus cooling volcanoes, rotating Crustal Cells, Regional Lateral Faulting, Uplift of Colorado Plateau vs. Sinking of Basin and Range, Heat of Brittle Friction in shearing Crust (hot springs), Arcuate River Patterns, and Fracture-dominated subsurface fluid paths.

I WILL PRESENT THE FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, MADE BY MYSELF, WHICH LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF CORIOLIS TECTONICS. I HAD FEW INITIAL IDEAS OF MY OWN AND GENERALLY HAD ONLY THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HURRICANE FAULT REGION WAS AN AREA WHERE DYNAMICS OF THE EARTH WERE PRESENTLY BEING EXHIBITED; THE THESES FORMULATED WERE REALLY ONLY ENUNCIATED AFTER REFERRING TO GOOGLE EARTH AND THE VAST INFORMATION IT PRESENTS. THERE IS STILL A NUMBER OF UNSOLVED PROBLEMS, AND I HAVE FOUND ERRORS OF MY OWN WHICH HAVE TO BE CORRECTED AFTER SOME PRESENTATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. I AM FITTING EVERYTHING INTO A UNITED FABRIC, AS I AMASS MORE CASE HISTORIES. YOU MAY STILL FIND ERRORS IN PREVIOUS BLOGS, AND IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF CONMENTS WERE MADE BY THE READERS.


Above is a classic example of a rotating spiral forming in response to two movements: CCW rotation of the 500 km diameter Colorado Plateau, CP, and the CW rotation of the 30 km diameter Grass Valley cell- which forms a circular pattern from the WA fault in Washington City, under the Virgin River to Virgin Town, to Gooseberry Mesa, and finally to Ft. Pierce wash. This rotation makes arcuate canyons, lateral faulting, horizontal striations on slickensides, side-wise shear of concrete slabs, and HEAT FROM BRITTLE FRICTION, as in the PAH TEMPE HOT SPRINGS.
NOTICE THAT THE CELL IS NOT AN ELLIPSE, BUT A REGULAR CIRCLE. WHEN THE MOVEMENT IS FASTER ALONG ONE VECTOR THAN A SECONDARY ONE, THE CELL WILL BE DISTORTED TO FORM AN ELLIPSE. THIS LATTER CASE IS DEMONSTRATED AT GOULD'S CANYON, WHERE THERE IS LITTLE ROTATION FROM THE EAST; THE DRAG OCCURS MOSTLY FROM THE CP CCW ROTATION. BEFORE THIS IS SHOWN, BELOW ARE SOME CLASSIC PHOTOS, MADE BY ME, WHICH SHOW THE STRIATIONS ON SLICKENSIDES, SO THAT ONE CAN FIND THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT- WHETHER LATERAL OR VERTICAL, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN (AS FOR TWO STRESS VECTORS):
MY PROOF FOR A LOT OF THE CONCLUSIONS LIES WITH THE DIRECTION OF STRIATIONS FOR LATERAL SLICKENSIDES (WHICH SHOWS EITHER CW OR CCW ROTATION), AS SHOWN IN THE BELOW IMAGE FROM HONEYMOON CANYON; KEEP IN MIND THAT A ROTATION CW, FOR A PARTICULAR CELL WILL HAVE THE ADJOINING CELL ROTATING IN THE OPPOSITE MODE- CCW, IF THERE IS NO HEAT GENERATED:

THE SPIRAL CANYON HAS SLICKENSIDES, EVEN THOUGH ITS DIAMETER IS LESS THAN A KILOMETER. THE AGE OF THE SPIRAL WOULD BE THE SAME AS FOR THE GRASS VALLEY CELL- ON THE ORDER OF A MILLION YEARS OR LESS (SINCE THE KOLOB 1 M.Y. BASALT HAS SHOWN THAT THERE WAS NO Hf SCARP AT THAT BASALT AGE- THAT PINE VALLEY BOULDERS FROM THE MIOCENE INTRUSION ROLLED DOWN THE WASH, WHICH IS NOW UNDER THE BASALT MESA JUST NORTH OF VIRGIN TOWN).
GOULD'S CANYON ELLIPSE:
AN ELLIPSE FOR A REACTIONARY CELL ALSO IS SHOWN FOR THE FROG HOLLOW CANYON NEAR THE HURRICANE AIRPORT:
I followed the circular pattern from the original discovery graben above Laverkin to features near the Verde River- not realizing that there was a lateral fault lying along the track of the river. There were a number of anomalous features- which GEOLOGISTS explain away by classification- but which I saw didn’t fit into the normal terminology. The HOGBACK west of the Ash Creek, near the Virgin river on the north side, was unstable as noticed by open fissures orienting N-S and making right-angle turns. These fissures were in loose soil, but the erosion filling them didn’t keep up with the enlargement of the foot-deep cracks. This told me that something was very active about the hogback- that it was tilting up to the west now.

Compare this photo with those above the Virgin River, near the town of Virgin (THESE COULD BE EXPLAINED BY GRAVITY-SLUMPING INTO THE RIVER, EXCEPT FOR THE OBVIOUS ORTHOGONAL ONES- BUT NOT THE ONES IMPRESSED IN THE LAVERKIN HOGBACK):


BELOW IS SHOWN THE LARGER VIEW OF THE LAVERKIN SINK, WITH THE HOGBACK ON THE LEFT SIDE, AND PVM ON THE HORIZON- THIS AREA IS UNDER EXTENSION, INCLUDING PINE VALLEY MOUNTAINS- WHICH IS AN INTRUSION-LACCOLITH: EXPANDED VIEWS OF THE LAVERKIN HOGBACK ARE SHOWN BELOW; NOTE THAT THE TOWN OF LAVERKIN SITS IN A LOW AREA OF THE LAVERKIN AND ASH CREEKS- NAMED THE LAVERKIN SINK:


Everything so far was puzzling to someone looking at the details; the literature has a vast terminology, and I still used it mainly to guide me. This proved to be frustrating, since one not only has to have a prodigious memory, but there was little order in the classification process. Geologists prefer to subdivide and classify, rather than resort to analysis. This method is valuable for fields such as entomology or stamp collecting, but does not result in an understanding of the processes involved. I gradually realized that one must start over- particularly after finding that the Plate Tectonic Theory did not apply to CRUSTAL LANDMASSES. Rather, the crust investigated seemed to portray circular features of various diameters, particularly for river paths. In the Hurricane fault region, this was very noticeable, and I now see that there are many Coriolis cells, wherever the crust is segmented by linears (straight line slices, or faulting, when viewed on a local to regional scale- but not on a scale of more than 100 km).

I began to broaden my investigation, to determine if the small Coriolis rotations were part of something larger. I was influenced by the observation that for weather cells in meteorology, that a local storm was part of the great jet stream which guided it. Both of these are circular in nature, and are determined by Coriolis Force over the oceans, and additionally by thermal (heat) and frictional (protrusions of hills and mountains) influences over landmasses.
I viewed the larger features of the Pine Valley Mountains, PVM, and found them to exhibit large and small cells, and that the entire range seem to be not only linearly arranged, but indicate sheared and rotated crust from circular river valleys and lateral displacement.

I NOTICED THAT THE DRAINAGES FROM PVM WERE ARCUATE- THE LIGHT WAS BEGINNING TO FLICKER IN MY OVERALL ASSESSMENT, SINCE I HAD STUDIED CORIOLIS FORCE IN MY METEOROLOGY TRAINING WITH THE USAF NAVIGATION PROGRAM, SOME 50 YEARS PREVIOUSLY:
FROM MY PREVIOUS WORK WITH NASA, AND HAVING BEEN IN THE BOWELS OF 2 SALT DOMES, I KNEW THAT THESE LOW DENSITY NaCl-CaSO4 SALTS WOULD ONLY RISE IN THE CRUST (AND NOT SINK, BECAUSE OF THE SURROUNDING HEAVIER ROCKS); HENCE I LOOKED AT A DOME I HAD ENTERED TO FIND THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION. IF IT SHOULD BE CCW, MY PREVIOUS CONCLUSIONS WOULD BE CORRECT ON THIS SCORE: NOTICE THAT THE ROTATION, AS SHOWN BY THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MOVEMENT IS CCW; I GAINED SOME CONFIDENCE, ENOUGH TO LOOK AT AN ACTIVELY RISING VOLCANO- MT. ST. HELENS:
NOTICE THAT A SMALL STREAM, ENTERING A LARGER ONE, LIES ON A CIRCULAR PATH. THIS PATH DIVERTS THE LARGER STREAM TO THE WEST. THIS WOULD BE A CCW ROTATION OF THE CRUST TO THE NORTH- RISING:


THE NEXT TEST I GAVE MYSELF CONCERNS THE LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE B&R, CW, AROUND THE PVM FROM THE WASATCH LINE TO THE THRUSTS ALREADY MAPPED AT THE VALLEY OF FIRE, NV. SHOULD THIS BE A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT, THEN THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT LARGER CORIOLIS ROTATIONS WERE OCCURRING CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT TIME, AND I COULD THEN CALCULATE AN APPROXIMATE ROTATION RATE FROM PVM TO NV- ALONG THE VIRGIN RIVER (I AM STILL USING 1 MM/YEAR, WHENEVER I HAVE NO BETTER INFORMATION). THE OVERTON ARM, MUDDY CREEK, AND VIRGIN RIVER CONSTITUTE A TRIPLE JUNCTION. THESE OCCUR WHEREVER THERE IS A JUNCTION OF WATERWAYS- SUCH AS FOR THE RED SEA, DEAD SEA SINK, AND GULF OF AQABA AND SUEZ
THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS FOR LARGE AND SMALL STREAM JUNCTIONS, AND I LATER FOUND THAT IT PRODUCED REPLICATED ANALYSES FOR LITTLEFIELD, SANTA CLARA, AND FT. PIERCE JUNCTIONS WITH THE VIRGIN RIVER. CONTINUING TO LARGER GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS, THE WESTERN USA HAS SEVERAL OBVIOUS LARGE ROTATIONS- SUCH AS THE B&R-CP COUPLET, THE SIERRAS ELLIPSE, AND THE ROCKY MT CHAIN ALONG THE INTERIOR OF THE USA:
WHEN THE LARGER VIEW IS TAKEN OF THE USA, THE MOUNTAIN RANGES, OLD AND YOUNG, CAN BE SEEN TO HAVE CURVATURE (AND NOT JUST DUE TO A TWO-DIMENSIONAL PRESENTATION OF A 3-DIMENSIONAL EARTH):
ANOTHER TEST FOR MYSELF WAS TO FIND TWO EXTINCT VOLCANOES, SIDE-BY-SIDE, AND TO FIND WHETHER THERE WAS A GEOTHERMAL EXPRESSION BETWEEN THE TWO- A CONFIRMATION OF BRITTLE-FRICTION HEATING (THIS PRODUCES CW ROTATION FOR BOTH SINKING VOLCANOES). I SELECTED THE ISLAND OF MAUI, WHERE THE "HOTSPOT" HAS MOVED ON TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAII. INDEED, HALEAKALA AND ITS WEST MAUI NEIGHBOR ARE BELIEVED TO BE OF AGES .75 AND 1.76 M.Y., AND THE WAIKAPU VENT HAS ARISEN SINCE THEIR DEMISE. IT NOW IS A TROPICAL NURSERY, AND CAN BE SEEN NEAR THE DRAINAGE BETWEEN THE TWO OLDER FEATURES BELOW (HOT SPRINGS, GEOTHERMAL EXPRESSIONS, AND REJUVENATION VENTS OCCUR AT WATERWAYS OR AT THE BEACHES- WHERE THEY INCUR BRITTLE FRICTION WITH ADJOINING CRUST,WHICH IS MORE STAGNANT:

I NOW HAD ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO "ATTACK" LARGER PUZZLES, WHICH GEOLOGISTS HAD NEVER BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND: THE PROGRESSION OF ISLANDS AND SEAMOUNTS KNOWN AS THE HAWAIIAN-EMPEROR CHAIN, AND THE PUZZLE OF YELLOWSTONE RHYOLITIC EXTRUSIONS. I FOUND RATHER RAPIDLY THAT THE TECTONIC PLATE THEORY DIDN'T APPLY TO THE PACIFIC BASIN EITHER. THERE WAS NO STATIONARY "HOTSPOT" OR MANTLE PLUME. RATHER THE FOLLOWING GOOGLE PHOTO SHOWS THAT THERE IS A ROTATION OF OCEANIC CRUST FORMING AN "HOURGLASS" OVER MOST OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC,AND THAT THE SYMMETRY OF THE FIGURE IS DUE TO ROTATION AND NOT TO MOVING RECTANGULAR "PLATES".
SOLVING THE YELLOWSTONE PUZZLE REQUIRED THAT I ANALYZE THE ENTIRE WESTERN USA, WHERE THE SIERRAS WESTWARD MOVEMENT AND ROTATION HAVE CREATED THE DEATH VALLEY ELLIPSE, THE EXTENSION OF THE BASIN AND RANGE, B&R, AND THE SHEAR BETWEEN THE TOP OF THE EQUATORIAL BULGE AT ROUGHLY 40N LATITUDE AND THE ZONE TO THE NORTH WHERE THERE IS NO EB, AND WHERE THE CRUST IS MOVING RELATIVELY EASTWARD COMPARED TO B&R:

AT THIS JUNCTURE, I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT A PICTURE WAS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, AND THAT MODELS AND DIAGRAMS WERE NECESSARY TO SHOW THE IMPORTANT FEATURES- WHICH WOULD ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY DETAILS- WHICH WERE THE STOCK AND TRADE OF THOSE "LOST IN THE FOREST, LOOKING AT TOO MANY TREES":
FURTHER, I FOUND THAT THERE WERE TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF A CORIOLIS CELL:
1. AN INDEPENDENTLY-MOVING LINEAR, SUCH AS THE NORTHERN BORDER OF EB, AT 40N, ACTUATES CORIOLIS ROTATION; AND,
2. THE CELL WILL ROTATE CW ON THE SINKING SIDE, AND CCW ON THE RISING SIDE, WHERE THE LINEAR IS SEEN TO DIVIDE THE CELL IN TWO PARTS (NOTED BY THE CENTERLINE,c/l):
I REDUCED THE WESTERN USA, OF CA TO WA, TO A SET OF DIAGRAMS:



AND I REDUCED THE "MANTLE PLUMES, HOTSPOTS, AND RECTANGULAR PLATES" FOR THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TO A SET OF ROTATING CORIOLIS CELLS, FOR NOT ONLY HI, BUT ALSO THE ENTIRE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN: IN THE NORTH PACIFIC, THERE ARE E-W TRANSFORMS (DUE TO CONTRASTING MOVEMENTS OF THE NORTH AMERICA CRUST) WHICH SHEAR THE BASIN FLOOR AND CRUST. MOUNTAIN RANGES CAUSE WESTWARD SHEAR, DUE TO TIDAL SHOVE, AND RELATIVELY LOW ELEVATION PARTS OF THE CONTINENTS HAVE RELATIVE EASTWARD MOVEMENT:
NOTICE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IS A DIVIDER FOR THE CONTINENT- NOT ONLY IS THERE A SHEAR ZONE FOR WEATHER (THE PILOTS TELL ME), BUT THE APPALACHIAN OROGENY SEEMS TO BE ISOLATED FROM THE CENTRAL USA BY THE RIVERS; IT SEEMS THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER ELLIPSE, FORMED BY INTERFERENCE FROM TWO FEATURES- THE 41N EB BOUNDARY AND THE WESTWARD SHOVE OF THE APPALACHIANS, DUE TO TIDAL FORCES. ALSO NOTE THAT LONG ISLAND IS ORIENTED ALMOST E-W, DUE TO THE SHEAR AT THE NORTHERN BORDER OF EB:
SHOWN BELOW IS THE NORTH PACIFIC, WHERE THE CORIOLIS ROTATION IS MORE OBVIOUS THAN IN THE SOUTH (WHERE OTHER BULGES, IN THE PEAR-SHAPED EARTH CAUSE INTERFERENCE), THAN FOR THE NORTH PACIFIC:
THEN I REDUCED THE WESTERN USA, FOR B&R AND CP, TO A SIMPLE DIAGRAM, WHERE THE WASATCH LINE COULD BE EXPLAINED (THE LINEAR CENTERLINE), AND THE E-W ORIENTATION OF THE UINTA MOUNTAINS COULD BE UNDERSTOOD:
THE RHYOLITIC TRACK OF THE YELLOWSTONE EXTRUSIONS IS SHOWN BELOW, AND IT IS CREATED BY THE EXPANSION OF THE B&R, AS THE SIERRAS ARE SHOVED WESTWARD BY TIDAL DRAG, AND EACH MAJOR VALLEY (AN EXTENSION OR OPENING FROM WHICH MAGMA CAN BE EXTRUDED) OF B&R IS CONCOMITANT WITH AN ERUPTION OF THESE VIOLENT EXTRUSIONS (13-14 EXTRUSIONS WITH 14 MAJOR VALLEYS IN NV AND UT, TO IDAHO):
HOW THIS ALL FITS INT THE "BIG PICTURE" IS SHOWN IN THE DIAGRAM BELOW:

THE YELLOWSTONE REGION IS A VIOLENT ONE, AND HAS ERUPTED 13 TIMES, ACCORDING TO RHYOLITE SITES, BUT IT CAN PROCEED EASTWARD NO FURTHER, BEING SHOVED WESTWARD AT THE SAME RATE BY THE ROCKIES AS THE SIERRAS ARE SHOVED (BECAUSE OF HIGH MOUNTAIN PEAKS, WHICH INCREASE TIDAL DRAG). IT IS NOW REDUCED TO SHOVING AGAINST THE ROCKIES, WHICH SHOVE BACK, AND ONLY VENTS WILL OCCUR HENCEFORWARD (NOTICE HOW THE PATH OF THE SNAKE RIVER RESULTS FROM THE INTERFERENCE AT THE 40N+ LATITUDES):
THE YELLOWSTONE EXTRUSIONS ARE NOW "BATTERING AGAINST" THE WALL OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND THE ROCKIES ARE SHOVING BACK, DUE TO TIDAL DRAG OF THE HIGH MOUNTAINS. THEY PROHIBIT THE YELLOWSTONE VIOLENT ERUPTIONS FROM PROCEEDING EASTWARD, AND THE ERUPTIONS WILL BE CONFINED TO SMALLER VENTS- NOT BEING ABLE TO PENETRATE THE ROCKY BARRIER (HEAT WILL STILL BE GENERATED, SO LONG AS THE SIERRAS PUSH WESTWARD FASTER THAN THE ROCKIES, BUT THE WEDGE OPENED BY THE B&R FAULTING HAS NOW TERMINATED):
BELOW ARE GOOGLE EARTH PHOTOS, SHOWING THE CIRCULAR FEATURES OF ROTATING CELLS, PRESUMABLY CCW IN DIRECTION FOR YELLOWSTONE:


Development and Value of a Diagram, or Model
Above is a diagram, made by referring to a Google Earth photo, which allows the fashioner (accent on FASHION) to insert features- later to be modified when more information is amassed. In this case, I have worked and lived in the Central USA, storing data and anomalies from the various oil basins- in which I have been stimulated to remember odd features. I looked at features on a MACROSCOPIC TO MEGASCOPIC SCALE, using county-wide appraisals from well logs and water analyses, while doing field work with geological techniques. I noticed that the odds of getting a prediction to success were very low- 1/11 for wildcats. Sometimes, the target was poor, while the log analyst would find oil in a completely separate horizon or depth than anticipated for the exploration geologist. Chance played a great role, and the geologist who drilled more wells was successful because luck assists you whenever you are persistent.
It struck me in those days that the EARTH was portraying features, in which the operating geologist was uninterested. I mapped entities such as the top of the high pressure zone (shown by the calcite cap on well logs), abnormal temperature from springs, high concentration of TDS in shallow well water, unusual salinity gradients from logs, and gradients of HCO3- as seen by the conductivity of shales above expected oil sands. These features had continuous variations- not abrupt changes, as expected for unconformities and faulting (these could be noticed also). A map could be made on the top of abnormal pressure (Gp> .5 psi./ft) for an entire county, and the feature would isolate a large cell of high pressure. I formed the opinion that the earth was exhibiting cells of activity, which had definite boundaries and lineations. I named these borders linears, and they could be found with the simple technique of measuring conductivity with a meter in the field or by scanning well logs for a whole county- just for the calcite cap, or decrease with depth of the SP curve in well logs. This led me to investigate fracture patterns, which were noticed whenever there was a linear along which I found anomalous spring water. There is quite a regularity in fracture patterns, and I now see that they are responding to stress direction and changes at cell boundaries.
I investigated many features which could be measured or mapped in the field, and one which I still value is the REDOX POTENTIAL, measured by using platinum electrodes with drill cuttings or slurries made from them. These show anomalous sulfur, uranium, or black oil (which has adsorbed unstable ions on its surface).
Keeping these anomalies in mind, one can now look at the earth surface to correlate chemical and pressure or stress oddities with abnormal shear and Coriolis cell changes. Google Earth shows only the results of mechanical forces on the Crust, and one must use other hints to find THERMAL ANOMALIES.
Keeping these features in mind, look at my initial diagram, and look for features on Google Earth, which can augment the picture. This procedure will start with an over-simplified drawing, which can be improved as information is found to improve it. This is a technique which analysts can easily develop.
Testing the model on an area known to me (I lived in Eagle Nest, NM for 18 years- doing field trips and geology hikes weekly; rainbow fishing was also the greatest, with several hundred caught yearly), but as yet unincorporated.
Here is the sequence known to me, and which we will attempt to fit into the aabove model for the 4 state Colorado Plateau and its surroundings:
1. After the KT strike and the Laramide progeny, the San Juan Mountains begin to rise on the east side of CP;
2. This rise initiates a CCW rotation of CP, and the shear develops in the Rio Grande rift, at about 41 m.y. (as seen by extrusions in the Llano Quemado area, near Taos, NM;
3. This vulcanism, in the form of vents, propagates along the present Rio Grande river, influenced by the CCW-moving shear zone;
4. The shear zone turns west at Albuquerque, NM and proceeds westward to the Mogollon rim. Major extrusions occur at the White Mountains and San Francisco peaks, near Flagstaff, due to the shear and rotation of CP;
5. Meanwhile, the Rocky mountains are sheared off in the Madrid area of NM, and now there is a separation between the Sandias and the main chain at Santa Fe. The chain continues to the south, but is now separate from the CP;
6. The Sandias are shoved westward by tidal forces, and the Estancia Basin forms on the east side of the mountains;
7. CP rotates rather than moves westward, but there is still a small westward movement, as seem at the Hurricane Cliffs of about 1 mm/year. This is at the ground surface, and the Mantle beneath is dragging the base eastward, so that vulcanism develops along Hf; and,
8. Heat of brittle friction still occurs along the Rio Grand rift, because of shear and rotation along the southern part of the Rockies.
There are some unknowns in this sequence, such as:
a. Why does a rift valley (Rio Grande) exist on the west side of the Sandias, if the chain is shoved to the west by tidal forces?
b. Why does the Rio Grande continue southward, if the CCW shear develops westward at Albuquerque?
c. How has the Arkansas River penetrated the Rocky chain in Colorado, when the Rockies should be compressing that region: and,
d. How is the Capulin and the extrusive salient to the east connected to the Arkansas and eastward rotations in southern CO?
The Arkansas River enters the Rockies, below Colorado Springs, evidently due to circular breach in the mountain chain. This is shown on a LARGER VIEW, SO THAT THERE EXISTS A CORIOLIS ROTATION IN THIS AREA. We will enter this domain with geological information to determine what the source of the shear is- there must be a determination of the direction of rotation as indicated by the drag on the surrounding rocks:
THE PUZZLE OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER BREACHING THE ROCKY MTN. IS SOLVED WHEN WE NOTICE THAT THE CORIOLIS ROTATION SURROUNDS THE LINEAR AT 40N LATITUDE. AT THIS TOP OF THE EQUATORIAL BULGE, EB (ACTUALLY MOST OF THE DATA SHOWS THE BULGE IS SOMEWHAT HIGHER IN LATITUDE), THE MOUNTAINS AND EB INCUR TIDAL WEST SHOVE, RELATIVE TO THAT NORTH OF 40N. HENCE THE 40+ ZONE MOVES EASTWARD RELATIVE TO 40-, AND WE CAN NOW BE CERTAIN OF THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION FOR THIS RARE CASE. MOST OF THE TIME, THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION MUST BE DETERMINED BY STRIATIONS ON SLICKENSIDES, IN WRENCHING OF CONCRETE SLABS, OR BY COMPARING THE DRAG ON THE BANKS OF RIVERS. THIS CW MOVEMENT FITS WITH THE NORMAL ROTATION OF SINKS, BASINS, OR LOW ELEVATION FEATURES, WHERE THERE IS LITTLE TIDAL DRAG FOR THE THINNER CRUST:
Now the rotation rate of the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Arkansas River (about the centerline of 40N )can be calculated: 34 km/65 m.y. = .52 mm/year. It could be that the age of the start could be diminished to 41 m.y., in which case the rotation rate would be .83 mm/year:


THIS WILL BE CONTINUED.