Summary of the geology and resources of uranium in the San Juan Basin and adjacent region, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado
Open-File Report
78-964
By: Jennie L. Ridgley, M. W. Green, C. T. Pierson, W.I. Finch, and R.D. Lupe
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Abstract
The San Juan Basin and adjacent region lie predominantly in the southeastern part of the uranium-rich Colorado Plateau of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Underlying the province are rocks of the Precambrian basement complex composed mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks; a thickness of about 3,600 meters of generally horizontal Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks; and a variety of Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic igneous rocks. Sedimentary rocks of the sequence are commonly eroded and well exposed near the present basin margins where Tertiary tectonic activity has uplifted, folded, and faulted the sequence into its present geologic configuration of basins, platforms, monoclines, and other related structural features. Sedimentary rocks of Jurassic age in the southern part of the San Juan Basin contain the largest uranium deposits in the United States, and offer the promise of additional uranium deposits. Elsewhere in the basin and the adjacent Colorado Plateau, reserves and resources of uranium are known primarily in Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous strata. Only scattered occurrences of uranium are known in Paleozoic
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Summary of the geology and resources of uranium in the San Juan Basin and adjacent region, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 78-964 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr78964 |
| Edition | - |
| Year Published | 1978 |
| Language | ENGLISH |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey, |
| Description | iiv, 107 p. :maps (some fold. in pocket) ;27 cm.; (114 p., 2 sheets - PGS) |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |