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Reconnaissance Seismic Refraction Studies at Calico Hills, Wahmonie, and Yucca Mountain, Southwest Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

Open-File Report 82-478
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office
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https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr82478

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Abstract

Reconnaissance refraction surveys consisting off a total of 5 spreads were conducted in the Calico Hills, Wahmonie and Yucca Mountain areas, southwestern Nevada Test Site (NTS). Data from Calico Hills and Wahmonie are generally high in quality; data from Yucca Mountain are for the most part low in quality. At Calico Hills and Wahmonie, special attention was focused on the possible occurrence of a major intrusive body at depth. At Calico Hills this occurrence is supported by an inferred dome-shaped velocity interface. possibly associated with the roof of an altered phase of argillite. However, if an intrusive body is present, its top must be buried deeper than 3 km or it must be so pervasively altered that its velocity is similar to that of the calcareous argillite encountered at the bottom of drill hole DE 25a-3. At Wahmonie, the seismic data suggest the occurrence of a massive lenticular unit within 60 m of the ground surface, probably consisting of argillite but possibly consisting of intensively altered intrusive rock. At Yucca Mountain, preliminary interpretations of the most reliable data suggest the occurrence of a major, steeply inclined velocity interface 500 m from the southwest end of the Yucca C spread. This interface may represent a major fault or erosional feature separating the Topopah Spring and Tiva Canyon Members with Paintbrush Tuff at depth. This interface is 800 m east of a previously mapped fault. On the basis of poor-quality data obtained at Yucca Mountain, the subsurface velocity distribution appears to be complex. For example, one spread near drill hole UE25 a-I suggests not only a much thicker section of Tiva but also that this material is down thrown in the valley. This may suggest faulting with throws exceeding 100 meters or an equivalent erosional feature.

Suggested Citation

Pankratz, L.W., 1982, Reconnaissance Seismic Refraction Studies at Calico Hills, Wahmonie, and Yucca Mountain, Southwest Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 82-478, 31 p. **PUBLICATION PAGES ARE IN INCORRECT ORDER**, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr82478.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Reconnaissance Seismic Refraction Studies at Calico Hills, Wahmonie, and Yucca Mountain, Southwest Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 82-478
DOI 10.3133/ofr82478
Year Published 1982
Language ENGLISH
Publisher Geological Survey (U.S.)
Contributing office(s) U.S. Geological Survey
Description 31 p. **PUBLICATION PAGES ARE IN INCORRECT ORDER**
Additional publication details