Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Paul Carrara Publication_Date: 2012 Title: Surficial Geologic Map of the Mesa Verde National Park Area, Montezuma County, Colorado Edition: version 1.0 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Scientific Investigations Map Issue_Identification: SIM 3224 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Denver, Colorado Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3224 Description: Abstract: Mesa Verde National Park, in southwestern Colorado was established in 1906 to preserve and protect the artifacts and dwelling sites, including the famous cliff dwellings, of the Ancestral Puebloan people, who lived in the area from about A.D. 550 to A.D. 1300. In 1978 the United Nations designated the park as a World Heritage Site. The geology of the park played a key role in the lives of these ancient people. For example, the numerous (approximately 600) cliff dwellings are closely associated with the Cliff House Sandstone of Late Cretaceous age, which weathers to form deep alcoves. In addition, the ancient people farmed the thick, red loess (wind-blown dust) deposits on the mesa tops, which because of its particle size distribution has good moisture retention properties. The soil in this loess cover and the seasonal rains allowed these people to grow their crops (corn, beans, squash) on the broad mesa tops. Today, geology is still an important concern in the Mesa Verde area because the landscape is susceptible to various forms of mass movement (landslides, debris flows, rockfalls), swelling soils, and flash floods that affect the park's archeological sites and its infrastructure (roads, septic systems, utilities, and building sites). The map, which encompasses an area of about 100 mi2 (260 km2), includes all of Mesa Verde National Park, a small part of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation, which borders the park on its southern and western sides and some Bureau of Land Management and privately owned land to the north and east. Surficial deposits depicted on the map include; artificial fills, alluvium of small ephemeral streams, alluvium deposited by the Mancos River, residual gravel on high mesas, a combination of alluvial and colluvial deposits, fan deposits, colluvial deposits derived from the Menefee Formation, colluvial deposits derived from the Mancos Shale, rockfall deposits, debris flow deposits, earthflow deposits, translational and rotational landslide deposits, rock rubble deposits, and loess. Bedrock units, depicted on the map include the Cliff House Sandstone, Menefee Formation, Point Lookout Sandstone, and Mancos Shale, all of Late Cretaceous age. In addition, minette dikes, of Oligocene age, found at several locations in the park are depicted on the map. Descriptions, including associated hazards and resources as used by the Ancestral Puebloans, are giveN for all map units. Purpose: This map has been prepared to provide a regional overview of the distribution of surficial deposits in the Mesa Verde National Park area and as such constitutes an inventory of surficial deposits and potential hazards in the area. Previous geologic maps of the Mesa Verde National Park region focused primarily on the bedrock geology and coal resources and virtually ignored the overlying surficial deposits. For instance, nearly 200 landslides, most previously unrecognized and unmapped, have been identified in the map area. These landslides range in size from small (0.01 mi2) earthflows and rock slumps to large (greater than 0.50 mi2) translational slides, debris avalanches, and complex landslides (Varnes, 1978). The recognition of these landslides is important because natural and human-induced factors can alter stability. Reduction of lateral support (by excavations or roadcuts), removal of vegetation (by fire or development), or an increase in pore pressure (by heavy rains) may result in the reactivation of landslides or parts of landslides. Supplemental_Information: Geospatial dataset included in this publication: MESAVERDE_GEOL.GDB mesaverde_poly - geologic rock unit polygon features mesaverde_line - geologic line features mesaverde_bedding - geologic bedding measurements mesaverde_sample - age sample locations mesaverde_poly_label - geologic rock unit polygon labels mesaverde_bndy08 - Mesa Verde National Park boundary as of 2008 RASTERS mvnp_topo.tif - topographic map of map area mvnp_shade.tif - shaded relief of map area Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Single_Date/Time: Calendar_Date: 2012 Currentness_Reference: publication date Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned Spatial_Domain: Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -108.560339 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -108.334079 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.354778 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.151914 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: AGI Glossary of Geology Theme_Keyword: Landslide Theme_Keyword: Mass movement Theme_Keyword: Rock avalanche Theme_Keyword: Debris flow Theme_Keyword: Loess Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) Place_Keyword: Mesa Verde National Park Place_Keyword: Southwest Colorado Place_Keyword: Montezuma County Place_Keyword: Colorado Place_Keyword: United States Place_Keyword: USA Access_Constraints: none Use_Constraints: Users of this geospatial database and geologic information derived there from should acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the source of the data. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Paul Carrara Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: USGS, MS 980, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center City: Denver State_or_Province: CO Postal_Code: 80225 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303-236-1287 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 303-236-0214 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pcarrara@usgs.gov Browse_Graphic: Browse_Graphic_File_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3224 Browse_Graphic_File_Description: Graphical representation of the map Browse_Graphic_File_Type: pdf Data_Set_Credit: David Lidke and Richard Madole reviewed the map and accompanying text. Digitial compilation was by Paco Van Sistine. This research was supported by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program of the U.S. Geological Survey and is a contribution to the “Geology of the Parks and Federal Lands of the Southwest” project. The author was visited and (or) assisted in the field at various times by Mary L. Gillam, consulting geologist; Diana E. Anderson, R. Scott Anderson, and Taylor J. Joyal, Northern Arizona University; Fumiyasu Arakawa, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; Robert W. Blair Jr., Fort Lewis College; Kimberlee M. Gerhardt, consulting geologist; David A. Gonzales, Fort Lewis College; R. Mark Leckie, University of Massachusetts; and the following U. S. Geological Survey personnel: Harlan Goldstein, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds, and James C. Yount; their ideas and suggestions were greatly appreciated. Discussions with Marilyn Coyler and Linda Martin, National Park Service; Mary O. Griffitts and Douglas K. Ramsey, National Resources Conservation Service; and Daniel R. Muhs, and Michael P. Pantea, U.S. Geological Survey, also added greatly to this manuscript. Jim Messerich and Paco Van Sistine, U.S. Geological Survey, provided invaluable support in the Photogrammetric and GIS labs, respectively. I gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of David Lidke and Richard F. Madole, U.S. Geological Survey, who kindly reviewed earlier drafts of this manuscript. I also wish to thank the National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park, for various logistical help and specifically George San Miguel, Natural Resource Officer, and Bruce Heise, National Park Service, for supporting and encouraging this study. Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1. ArcMap/ArcInfo version 9.3.1 Data_Quality_Information: Attribute_Accuracy: Attribute_Accuracy_Report: Data were entered by GIS technician and authors and checked by the geologist that made the field observations. Logical_Consistency_Report: Map elements were visually checked for overshoots, undershoots, duplicate features, polygon closure, and other errors by the author and by the GIS technician(s) that created the digital database. Automated routines were also used to check the databases for polygon label errors, line or point attribution errors, sliver polygons, dangling arcs, intersection errors, and projection information. Check plots of the map were reviewed by at least two other geologists for consistency with basic geologic principles and general conformity to USGS mapping standards. Completeness_Report: Data are complete: no features that could be accurately represented at the compilation scale were eliminated or generalized. All geospatial database elements are attributed. Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Data was directly digitized in three-dimensions from stereo models of 1:40,000 black and white aerial photographs on a Kern PG-2 stereo plotting instrument. Most digitizied positions on the map are estimated to have about less than 3 m horizonal accuracy. Lineage: Process_Step: Process_Description: Data was directly digitized in three-dimensions from stereo models of 1:40,000 black and white aerial photographs on a Kern PG-2 stereo plotting instrument. Most digitizied positions on the map are estimated to have about less than 3 m horizonal accuracy. Process_Date: 2010 Process_Step: Process_Description: Raw data were imported into ArcGIS(ESRI) sofware and compiled, updated and attributed. Process_Date: 2011 Process_Step: Process_Description: Draft check plots of the geologic map and explanation were created and submitted for peer review. Geologists reviewed the plots for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Revisions were made to the geospatial database as needed. Process_Date: 2011 Process_Step: Process_Description: The database files, metadata, and check plots were edited by the USGS Enterprise Publishing Network, and revisions made to the geospatial database as needed. Process_Date: 2011 Spatial_Reference_Information: Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: Planar: Grid_Coordinate_System: Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator Universal_Transverse_Mercator: UTM_Zone_Number: 12 Transverse_Mercator: Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996 Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: 111.0 Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0 False_Easting: 500000 False_Northing: 0.0 Planar_Coordinate_Information: Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair Coordinate_Representation: Abscissa_Resolution: 0.0001 Ordinate_Resolution: 0.0001 Planar_Distance_Units: meters Geodetic_Model: Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983 Ellipsoid_Name: Clarke 1866 Semi-major_Axis: 6378206.4 Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 294.98 Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Overview_Description: Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: Feature classes in MESAVERDE_GEOL.GDB: - polygon features UNIT AGE DESCRIPTION Kch Upper Cretaceous Cliff House Sandstone Km Upper Cretaceous Mancos Shale Kmf Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation Kpl Upper Cretaceous Point Lookout Sandstone QTrg middle Pleistocene to Pliocene? Residual gravel Qa Holocene and late Pleistocene Alluvium deposited by small ephemeral streams Qac Holocene and late Pleistocene Alluvial and colluvial deposits, undivided Qam Holocene and late Pleistocene Alluvium deposited by the Mancos River Qcm Holocene and late Pleistocene Colluvial deposits derived from the Mancos Shale Qcmf Holocene and late Pleistocene Colluvial deposits derived from the Menefee Formation Qdf Late Holocene Debris flow deposits Qef Holocene Earthflow deposit Qf Holocene and late Pleistocene Fan deposits Qlo Holocene to middle Pleistocene Loess Qrf Late Holocene Rockfall deposits Qrr Holocene and Pleistocene Rock rubble deposits Qtr Holocene and late Pleistocene Translational and rotational landslide deposits af latest Holocene Artificial fill deposits - line features contact-certain contact-approximately located fault-certain fault-approximately located Tm-Minette dike-certain Tm-Minette dike-concealed map boundary - point features inclined bedding-showing strike and dip AZIMUTH 0-359 degrees of rotation DIP 0-90 degrees of angle - point features Argon Argon Carbon 14 Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: none Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: USGS Information Services, Box 25286 City: Denver State_or_Province: Colorado Postal_Code: 80225-0046 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: http://answers.usgs.gov Resource_Description: Scientific Investigations Map 3224 (Map-on-demand) Distribution_Liability: This database, identified as SIM 3224, has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also contains copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items for other than personal use must be secured from the copyright owner. Standard_Order_Process: Non-digital_Form: Availabe as printed map plate. Order from USGS at address above or see for more ordering information. Fees: For current charges please see website http://store.usgs.gov/ Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: USGS Information Services U.S. Geological Survey Box 25286, DFC City: Denver State_or_Province: Colorado Postal_Code: 80225 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: http://answers.usgs.gov Distribution_Liability: This database, identified as SIM 3224, has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also contains copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items for other than personal use must be secured from the copyright owner. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: ArcGIS Geodatabase ArcView Shapefiles Format_Version_Number: 9.2 File_Decompression_Technique: ZIP archive (Windows) Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3224 Fees: None Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 2012 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Paco VanSistine Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: Denver Federal Center Address: MS 980 City: Denver State_or_Province: Colorado Postal_Code: 80225 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303-236-5452 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dvansistine@usgs.gov Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998 Metadata_Access_Constraints: none Metadata_Use_Constraints: none