Bottom Contacts of the Plutons 10 Miles Down

1 month ago
20

35.680935, -114.927266
Looking for the contact between the Keyhole leucogranite pluton intruding the Nelson quartz monzonite pluton where they met 10 miles below somewhere 15 million years ago before tilting 130 degrees to the east into the Colorado extensional corridor graben. The Nelson Pluton was found to be a more mafic Diorite here due to fractionalization and sinking of the mafic crystals to the bottom of the magma chamber. Fractionalization on cooling is explained by Bowens Reaction Series and iron heavies sink.

I went up the wrong canyon from what I intended but all's well that ends well. Next time I'll have an easier hike up the next canyon to the south (35.678294, -114.926684).

Here is great overview of Southern Nevada geology with some info on the Keyhole and Nelson Plutons (search Keyhole):
Mineral Resource Assessment of Selected Areas in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5197/#:~:text=Mineral%20Resource%20Assessment%20of%20Selected%20Areas%20in%20Clark%20and%20Nye%20Counties

I have not found a surface geologic map of this area to go by so I'm doing my best by interpolation of nearby map's plutons and dates:

Ireteba Peaks map to the south:
https://pubs.nbmg.unr.edu/Geol-Ireteba-Peaks-quad-p/of2012-09.htm

Black Canyon map to the north:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1267/a/

Beatles on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKdl-GCsNJ0

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