The Mojave Desert is an arid land of wide vistas and sparse vegetation. In the Mojave Mountains area, Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial deposits and Miocene volcanic rocks cover a Proterozoic and Mesozoic crystalline rock basement.
The Mohave Mountains area surrounds Lake Havasu City, Arizona, in the Basin and Range physiographic province. The Mohave Mountains and the Aubrey Hills form two northwest-trending ranges adjacent to Lake Havasu (elevation 132 m; 448 ft) on the Colorado River. The low Buck Mountains lie northeast of the Mohave Mountains in the alluviated valley of Dutch Flat. Lowlands at Standard Wash separate the Mohave Mountains from the Bill Williams Mountains to the southeast. The highest point in the area is Crossman Peak in the Mohave Mountains, at an elevation of 1519 m (5148 ft). Arizona Highway 95 is now rerouted in the northwestern part of the map area from its position portrayed on the base map; it now also passes through the southern edge of the map area.
Geologic mapping was begun in 1980 as part of a program to assess the mineral resource potential of Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (Light and others, 1983). Mapping responsibilities were as follows: Proterozoic and Mesozoic rocks, K.A. Howard; dikes, J.K. Nakata; Miocene section, J.E. Nielson; and surficial deposits, H.G. Wilshire.
Earlier geologic mapping includes reconnaissance mapping by Wilson and Moore (1959). The present series of investigations has resulted in reports on the crystalline rocks and structure (Howard and others, 1982a), dikes (Nakata, 1982), Tertiary stratigraphy (Pike and Hansen, 1982; Nielson, 1986; Nielson and Beratan, 1990), surficial deposits (Wilshire and Reneau, 1992), tectonics (Howard and John, 1987; Beratan and others, 1990), geophysics (Simpson and others, 1986), mineralization (Light and McDonnell, 1983; Light and others, 1983), field guides (Nielson, 1986; Howard and others, 1987), and geochronology (Nakata and others, 1990; Foster and others, 1990).
Note: Sheet 1 includes the geologic map and explanation, and sheet 2 includes a brief discussion of the geology, cross sections, age information, and other pertinent information.
Download a PDF version of Sheet 1 for viewing (i2308sh1.pdf; 22 MB)
Download a PDF version of Sheet 2 for viewing (i2308sh2.pdf; 2.5 MB)
Download a PostScript version of Sheet 1 for plotting (i2308_sheet1.ps; 48 MB)
Download a PostScript version of Sheet 2 for plotting (i2308_sheet2.ps; 27 MB)
For questions about the content of this report, contact Keith Howard
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This report is also available in printed form from:
USGS Information Services
Box 25286, Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225
Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS
E-mail: infoservices@usgs.gov
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URL of this page is: http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2308
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Michael Diggles
Created: July 19, 2000 (cad)
Updated: March 16, 2007 (bwr; mfd)