| Abstract: | Magnetotelluric data collected along four, regional scale,
southwest-to-northeast profiles show deep resistivity structures
beneath the Battle Mountain-Eureka and Carlin gold trends in
north-central Nevada, which appear consistent with tectonic
breaks in the crust that possibly served as channels for
hydrothermal fluids. It seems likely that gold deposits along
these linear trends were, therefore, controlled by deep regional
crustal fault systems.
Two-dimensional resistivity modeling of the magnetotelluric
data generally show resistive (30 to 1,000 ohm-m) crustal blocks
broken by narrow, sub-vertical, two-dimensional, conductive (1 to
10 ohm-m) zones that are indicative of large-scale crustal fault
zones. These inferred fault zones are regional in scale, trend
southeast-to-northwest, and extend to mid-crustal (20 km) depths.
The conductors are about 3 to 15 km wide, extend from 1 to 8 km
below the surface to about 20 km depth, and show two-dimensional
electrical structure with general north to northwesterly strikes.
From connecting the locations of the conductors together, a
single regional crustal fault zone can be inferred that is about
10 km wide within the upper crust and about 150-km long. It
coincides with the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral trend. The
images also show regional changes in the resistive crust from
north to south. Most of Reese River Valley and Boulder Valley
are underlain by a thick (20 km) southwest-to-northeast section
of conductive (1 to 10 ohm-m) rock, suggesting that hightemperature
fluids are more pervasive in this area (Battle
Mountain Heat-Flow High), which implies that the crust beneath
these valleys is more fractured than in the areas surveyed to the
south |
| Genre: | USGS Numbered Series |
| ProdID: | 31342 |
| Citation Author: | Rodriguez, Brian D.; Williams, Jackie M. |
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| Citation Edition: | Version 1.0 |
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| Citation Language: | ENGLISH |
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| Citation Phsyical Description: | 165 p. |
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| Citation Series: | Open-File Report |
| Citation Series Code: | OFR |
| Citation Series Number: | 2001-346 |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Deep regional resistivity structure across the Battle Mountain-Eureka and Carlin trends, north-central Nevada; 2001; OFR; 2001-346; Rodriguez, Brian D.; Williams, Jackie M. |
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| Citation Year: | 2001 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Deep regional resistivity structure across the Battle Mountain-Eureka and Carlin trends, north-central Nevada; 2001; OFR; 2001-346; Rodriguez, Brian D.; Williams, Jackie M. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/usgs_thumb.jpg |
| URL (INDEX PAGE): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0346/ |
| Date Other: | Thu, 1 Nov 2001 00:00 -0600 |
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