IMPLICATIONS OF NEW EVIDENCE FOR LATE QUATERNARY GLACIATION IN
THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, SOUTHERN NEVADA
RICHARD L. ORNDORFF, Department of Geology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA 99004-2439;
JOHN G. VAN HOESEN, Department of Environmental Studies, Green Mountain College, Poultney VT 05764;
and MARVIN SAINES, Civil Works Inc., Las Vegas NV 89139
ABSTRACT
The Spring Mountains of southern Nevada rise to an elevation of 3650 m above sea level and lie parallel to the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley. For many decades scientists have questioned whether this mountain range was glaciated during the Late Quaternary. To date, however, no one has presented compelling evidence for or against the presence
of alpine glaciers in the Spring Mountains. We have identified several glacial deposits in the Spring Mountains northwest
of the town of Mt. Charleston and due east of Mt. Charleston peak. The deposits contain faceted and striated clasts, varying in size from gravel to large boulders. As expected in a glacial deposit, the consistency of a preferred orientation for
striations increases with increasing clast size and elongation. These deposits bear the hallmark features of a glacial provenance and indicate that the Spring Mountains were the southernmost glaciated range in the Great Basin during the late
Pleistocene. Existing regional correlations between latitude and full-glacial equilibrium line altitude indicate that the
Spring Mountains should not have been glaciated during the last glacial maximum, approximately 20,000 years ago. The
scarcity of depositional evidence seems to indicate that glaciation in the Spring Mountains occurred earlier in the Pleistocene, perhaps corresponding to Tenaya (37,000 years BP), Tahoe (118,000-56,000 years BP), or Mono Basin (older than
136,000 years BP) stages observed in the Sierra Nevada. This range may have benefited from regional recycling of water
from upwind pluvial lakes, resulting in a great deal more precipitation than was previously thought to be the case.
INTRODUCTION
Geologists have discussed the possibility of Pleistocene glaciers in the Spring Mountains (Fig. 1)
for at least 70 years. The lack of diagnostic evidence
of glaciation has resulted in an ongoing debate.
Blackwelder (1931:913), states “much more obscure
and doubtful indications of glacial action, probably
of the Tahoe stage, have been observed by the
writer in the Sweetwater, Spring Mountain, Schell
Creek, Toyabe, Humboldt, Onequi, and Beaver
Ranges of Nevada and Utah.” Blackwelder (1934)
reiterated the possibility of Spring Mountain glaciation and suggested the range was too far south to
produce Tioga-age glaciers, although canyon morphology led him to believe that glaciers may have
existed there during Tahoe or Sherwin stages. Flint
(1947) references Blackwelder (1934) in stating that
the Spring Mountains held one or more alpine glaciers during the Pleistocene. Flint (1957, 1971)
references personal communication with C. W.
Longwell to again support the presence of glaciers
here, however Longwell et al. (1965) make no
mention of deposits or erosional features of glacial
origin in the Spring Mountains. Finally, Piegat
(1980) states that while no distinct glacial deposits
have been found on this range, several landforms at
the head of Kyle Canyon appear to be degraded
cirques, supporting Blackwelder's 1934 observations. He referenced Burchfiel et al. (1974) who
used aerial photographs to map several small
alluvial deposits on the east side of Mt. Charleston
(located near what appear to be the heads of two
degraded cirques) and suggested they may have a
glacial origin, but never investigated the sites. We
believe two recently discovered unsorted deposits at
the head of Kyle Canyon are glacial tills, thus
ending this long-standing debate (Van Hoesen and
Orndorff 2000, Van Hoesen et al. 2000). Evidence
of glaciation in the Spring Mountains impacts our
Figure 1. Location of the Spring Mountains, southern
Nevada.
ORNDORFF, R. L., J. G. VAN HOESEN, AND M. SAINES. 2003. IMPLICATIONS OF NEW EVIDENCE FOR LATE QUATERNARY
GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, SOUTHERN NEVADA. JOURNAL OF THE ARIZONA-NEVADA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
36(1):37-45. ©2003 RICHARD L. ORNDORFF, JOHN G. VAN HOSEN, AND MARVIN SAINES.
38
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
Erosional Features
Figure 2. Location of two till deposits near the head of
Kyle Canyon.
current understanding of regional trends in late
Pleistocene equilibrium line altitudes (ELA) in the
Great Basin and supports the ideas of local recycling of moisture and nonuniform climate change.
METHODS
Between the spring of 2000 and the summer of
2002, we investigated the valleys and ridges above
Kyle Canyon for evidence of glaciation. This
included fieldwork and interpretation of aerial
photography, both black and white at a scale of
1:24,000 and true color at a scale of 1:19,900. This
lengthy examination yielded two deposits that we
believe to be glacial till (Fig. 2). Bulk sediment
samples were collected from the deposits for textural analysis following the guidelines of Gee and
Bauder (1986) and Shoenberger et al. (1998). Limestone clasts were collected from the tills for macroscale analysis and microtextural analysis using a
JEOL 5600 scanning electron microscope in the
Electron Microanalysis and Imaging Laboratory in
the Department of Geoscience at the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas. Orientations of surface striations were analyzed using the method outlined by
Van Hoesen and Orndorff (2003). Land surface
analysis was conducted using GIS to identify areas
with the greatest potential for perennial snow
accumulation.
EVIDENCE FOR GLACIATION
Fieldwork and interpretation of aerial photographs support previous interpretations suggesting
the high valleys of Kyle Canyon contain degraded
bowl-shaped features that may be cirques. The presence of these large-scale erosional landforms and
several unsorted, unstratified deposits with striated
clasts supports our hypothesis that the Spring
Mountains experienced Pleistocene glaciation.
Many of the early scientists who hypothesized
a glacial history for the Spring Mountains based
their reasoning on the presence of broad valleys and
bowl-shaped depressions at the heads of those
valleys. The most prominent and well-preserved
such feature is located above the Big Falls nickpoint
at approximately 3100 m above sea level. It faces
northeast and exhibits a steplike morphology. The
bedrock headwall itself lacks unequivocal evidence
of glaciation such as striations, chatter marks, and
crescentic gouges. There is also an absence of glacial deposits in the upper valley. The upper section
of this valley exhibits a U-shaped morphology typical of glaciated terrain. This U-shaped morphology
ends abruptly at Big Falls, a nickpoint that we hypothesize to be the retreating margin of a hanging
valley. Below Big Falls, the valley exhibits a classic
v-shaped morphology that we attribute to fluvial
entrenchment.
There are other cirque-like features located at
the head of Kyle Canyon. They are not as well preserved and appear to have been exposed to greater
rates of weathering and erosion than the Big Falls
cirque. There are no striations, chatter marks, or
crescentic marks preserved in the bedrock. However, these valleys do exhibit the typical bowlshaped morphology of glacial cirques. These features are located at approximately 2900 m above sea
level, slightly lower than the elevation of Big Falls.
Kyle Canyon Till
The first deposit occurs in a northeast facing
exposed cutbank in Kyle Canyon, Spring Mountains
(Fig. 3). The cutbank, which we believe to be a recent feature resulting from flood runoff within the
last several years, is found at the base of a steep
north-facing cliff and is at the distal end of a valley
that terminates in a stream drainage. It is approximately 14 m thick and extends downslope for
approximately 50 m. The lowest portion of the
deposit exhibits little evidence of bedding or stratification and contains poorly sorted limestone clasts
ranging in size from 0.5 cm to 1 m. Textural analysis of a bulk sediment sample from the face of the
deposit indicates it is silt with lenses of gravelly
sand.
Most of the limestone clasts contain facets and
striations independent of clast size. Thirty clasts
were collected from the exposed face of the till
deposit, and striation orientations from 15 of these
clasts were measured and entered into rose diagrams
using the methodology of Van Hoesen and Orndorff
(2003). These plots indicate distinct preferred
orientations that are parallel to sub-parallel with the
primary axes of the clasts (Fig. 4a-c). The consis
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
39
Microtextural Evidence of Glaciation
Figure 3. Till deposit at the junction of Big Falls
Canyon and Kyle Canyon. Unsorted, unstratified
material is visible on the exposed face of the deposit.
tency of a preferred orientation for the striations
increases as clast size and length increases. Longer
striations are also preferentially more consistent in
their orientation than shorter striations.
We see an upward trend toward vague stratification within the central portion of the deposit,
perhaps indicating reworking of emplaced till by
localized mass wasting or erosion. The deposit is
capped by a 2.2 m sequence that is well sorted and
stratified, containing limestone clasts ranging in size
from 0.5 to 6 cm. We interpret this to be glaciofluvial in origin. A moderately developed soil (inceptisol) covers the upper meter of this sequence.
Hanging Canyon Till
There is not much that can be said about the
Hanging Canyon deposit except for the fact that it is
there. The till is visible in a landslide scar on the
north wall in lower Big Falls Valley. The unsorted,
unstratified material rests on bedrock and lies
beneath a layer of alluvium. We found this deposit
only after seeing faceted and stratified clasts in slide
debris at the base of the wall. The wall itself is very
unstable, and the exposure is rather limited, approximately 10 m wide by 3 m tall.
Previous research concerning the micromorphology of tills primarily focused on individual
quartz grains (Mahaney et al. 1991, Mahaney 1995,
Mahaney and Kalm 1995, Mahaney et al. 1996,
Mahaney and Kalm 2000). Surface textures from
these quartz grains were used to determine local ice
transport vectors, ice thickness, and depositional
environment. Prior studies established that sediment
affected by glacial erosion, transport, and deposition
exhibits distinct microtextural characteristics. However, these textures are not isolated to glacially
derived quartz grains. Almost all of the limestone
clasts sampled from the Kyle Canyon till exhibit
strongly polished and faceted surfaces containing
micro-scale chatter marks, conchoidal fractures,
crushing steps, and micro-striations.
Chatter marks are rare but present on the
striated clasts. They are visible with both a stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (Fig.
4d-g). They are typically oriented parallel to the
c-axis, but do occur with a sub-parallel to perpendicular orientation. They are preserved in small
lenses of micrite and on surfaces of well-polished
clasts. Conchoidal fractures are common on all
sampled clasts. Crushing features are the most common microtexture seen on the sampled clasts. They
exhibit a strong step-like morphology with little evidence of dissolution and weathering.
SPATIAL ANALYSIS
The Spring Mountain tills indicate that at least
two glaciers were present in the Spring Mountains
during the late Pleistocene. The exact extent of the
glaciers that deposited this material is not known,
though spatial analysis provides some clues as to
potential locations. Analysis of a conjoined USGS
DEM (digital elevation model) with a 30-m grid cell
spacing indicates the presence of cirque-like depressions at the head of the main valley and several of
its tributaries, features noticed by early researchers
who proposed a glacial history for the Spring Mountains. We used GIS to analyze characteristics of the
landscape that may have played a role in the accumulation and preservation of perennial snow and ice.
This analysis allowed us to predict probable locations for glaciers based on the co-occurrence of
favorable topographic characteristics (Orndorff and
Van Hoesen 2001). We used GIS to determine
slope, aspect (facing direction), and curvature (the
second derivative of surface elevation) from the
DEM. Large-scale orography itself is an important
control because high elevations in a given locality
experience cooler temperatures and greater precipitation than lower elevations. This leads to the pres-
40
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
Figure 4. Polished, faceted clasts (a-c) from the Kyle Canyon till with rose diagrams illustrating preferred
orientation of striations. Microscale features (d-g) on clast surfaces. Structures of glacial provenance include
microstriations, crushing steps, crescentic gouges, and chattermarks.
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
41
Figure 5. GIS overlays of study area: (a) slope computed from DEM
(varies from 0° in white to 75° in black), (b) aspect with north, northwest,
and northeast facing slopes in darker shades of gray, (c) curvature with
convex surfaces in black and concave surfaces in white, and (d) concave,
north-facing slopes less than 35°.
ence of modern snowbanks in Kyle Canyon, which
overlooks the extremely arid Las Vegas basin, into
l a t e J u n e a n d e v e n e a r l y J u l y.
At the head of Kyle Canyon, slope varies from
0° to 75°. Figure 5a shows a large, curvilinear ridge
(which includes Mt. Charleston) defining what may
be an ancient cirque. The very steep slopes in the
center of the valley outline recent stream incision
into the older hypothesized glacial trough. At the
very head of the incised portion of the valley we see
an east-facing amphitheater and a south-facing
amphitheater, separated from one another by a
headward-eroding channel; these may be two small
cirques and may be related to the Kyle Canyon till.
At the head of Big Falls Valley we see two stepped
amphitheaters; Big Falls itself represents the upper
limit of modern stream incision.
North, northeast, and northwest-facing slopes
are shown in darker shades of gray in Figure 5b. At
36° N latitude, these surfaces receive the least solar
energy and thus represent optimal zones for preserving snowpack. During the accumulation season
in glacial stages, insolation would have been low,
presumably leading to deep, compact, perennial
snowfields. Of the two bowl-shaped depressions at
the head of the incised channel, the east-facing
depression lies within the shaded zone, hence it is
more likely to have preserved perennial snow and
ice than the south-facing depression. Big Falls Canyon lies entirely within the shaded zone. Positive
curvature values delineate convex features, and negative curvature values delineate concave features.
Figure 5c shows convex peaks and ridges (in black)
from which snow is removed by wind and gravity
and the concave hollows (in white) into which it
collects. Big Falls Valley and the head of the incised
channel in Kyle Canyon are concave features that
serve as stable catchments for falling snow. The
42
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
Figure 6. Correlations between equilibrium line altitude (ELA) and latitude
for the central Great Basin from Pelto (1992) and Dohrenwend (1984). Kyle
Canyon contains evidence of glaciation, yet the valley floor lies below the
threshold elevation necessary for glaciation as indicated by the two regional
correlations.
high, sharp ridge that borders Kyle Canyon is a convex feature. Winds between 30° and 60° N latitude
blow predominantly from the southwest, hence
snow that falls on the high ridge is most likely to be
carried into Kyle Canyon by strong winds, which
increase in velocity with increased elevation, and
subsequent avalanches.
Figure 5d shows the logical intersection of
favorable criteria for preserving snow and ice in
white, superimposed on the DEM. White areas are
concave, north-facing slopes less than 35°. The head
of Kyle Canyon, the stepped bowls in Big Falls
Canyon, and Hanging Canyon all have favorable
characteristics for collection and preservation of
perennial snow. GIS analysis illustrate a surface
topography that is not inconsistent with an inferred
history of glaciation followed by fluvial incision.
REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Dohrenwend (1984) presented correlations for
modern and last glacial maximum nivation threshold altitude (NTA) and equilibrium line altitude
(ELA) versus latitude for a Great Basin transect
centered on 117° W longitude (Fig. 6). This correlation indicates that the LGM ELA for the Spring
Mountains (36° N latitude, 118° W longitude) was
3700 m above sea level. Mount Charleston, the tallest peak in the Spring Mountains, is 3658 m above
sea level; based on the regional correlation no glaciers should have formed in this range 20,000 years
ago. Pelto (1992) connected late Pleistocene cirquefloor elevations to draw maritime and continental
ELA transects from northern North America to
southern South America. His continental transect
indicates a late Wisconsin ELA of approximately
3500 m above sea level at 36° N latitude; the
hypothesized cirque floor in Kyle Canyon lies at
2600 m above sea level, once again too low to host
LGM glaciers based on regional trends in ELA (Fig.
6). Based on these correlations it seems unlikely that
glaciers formed in the Spring Mountains during the
latest Pleistocene.
The nature of the deposits certainly seems to
indicate old age; no organic material was found in
the limited exposures for direct C-14 dating. Yount
and La Pointe (1997) discuss the geomorphology of
glacial moraines in the Sierra Nevada with respect
to glacial stages in the late Pleistocene. Tioga-age
(25,000 BP to 10,000 BP) glacial deposits feature
intact terminal moraines with only minor stream
erosion. Tenaya-age (37,000 BP) terminal moraines
are less prominent than Tioga moraines and are
often breached by streams, while Tahoe-age
(118,000 BP to 56,000 BP) terminal moraines have
been mostly removed with remaining sections
heavily gullied. Mono Basin (131,000 BP) terminal
moraines are found only where later glaciers
followed different paths, and Sherwin-age (760,000
BP) glacial deposits are described as surface erratics
and shapeless till remnants. We have two recognizable glacial deposits, one that is marginal to the
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
floor of Kyle Canyon and a second that is buried by
alluvium at the mouth of a hanging valley. We see
none of the distinctive crests of terminal moraines
left behind by Tioga and Tenaya glaciers in the
Sierra Nevada. Our lower deposit is likely the distal
remnant of a terminal moraine that has been mostly
removed by stream erosion; we see so little of the
upper deposit that it is hard to make any statements
about its shape. The Spring Mountain tills best fit
the descriptions of Tahoe and Mono Basin deposits
in the Sierra Nevada. It seems unlikely to us that the
Spring Mountain deposits are remnants of Sherwinage glaciers based on the fine state of preservation
of striations on individual limestone clasts.
Zielinski and McCoy (1987) developed relationships between modern snowpack and late Pleistocene ELA in formerly glaciated Great Basin mountain ranges. Full glacial ELA values predicted from
modern snowpack failed to accurately portray actual
ELA values, leading the authors to conclude that
temperature and precipitation did not change uniformly across the Great Basin during the late Pleistocene. The Spring Mountains are very dry compared to most other ranges of equivalent size in the
Great Basin; annual precipitation averages only 48
cm per year, less than half the annual precipitation
of Yosemite Valley, CA. The Spring Mountains
may be an area where regional trends in climate fail
to accurately portray late Pleistocene climate
change. Perhaps there is another source of water that
enhanced moisture in the Spring Mountains and
produced glaciers during Tahoe or Mono Basin
stages.
During the late Pleistocene, the jet stream was
split by the Laurentide Ice Sheet with the southern
arm carrying abundant moisture into the northern
Great Basin (Bartlein et al. 1998). Hostetler et al.
(1994) discussed lake/atmosphere feedback effects
in the Bonneville and Lahontan basins at 18 ka,
roughly equivalent to the last glacial maximum.
They conducted GCM (Global Climate Model)
simulations of 18 ka climate assuming (a) lakes
were not present and (b) lakes were present to assess
impacts of Lake Bonneville and Lake Lahontan on
local temperature, precipitation, and evaporation.
Results demonstrated that atmospheric conditions
were strongly influenced by the presence of these
bodies of water. At 18 ka, Lake Bonneville had a
surface area of 47,800 km2, and Lake Lahontan had
a surface area of 14,700 km2. Hostetler et al. (1994)
showed that both basins saw more equable seasonal
temperatures with lakes than without them. The
lakes produced much greater evaporation in both
summer and winter than did a landscape bare of
lakes. The impact of local recycling of water back
into the lake was greater in the Bonneville Basin
43
due to catchment and runoff from the downwind
Wasatch Range. Evaporated water from Lake Lahontan did little to help maintain the lake as it was
carried eastward by predominantly westerly winds.
The Spring Mountains may have benefitted
from local recycling of evaporative moisture from
upwind pluvial lakes. At 36° N latitude, this mountain range is south of many of the ranges that have
benefitted most directly from southern deflection of
the jet stream, and it lies far west and north of those
that have received appreciable moisture from Gulf
Coast monsoons. However, it lies east of numerous
basins that held large bodies of water at various
times during the late Pleistocene (Fig. 7). At the last
glacial maximum, the Owens River system consisted of Owens Lake, a lake that filled both China
and Searles Basins, and a small lake in Panamint
Valley. This cascading system, with a combined
surface area of about 1,900 km2 at about 18 ka
(these lakes were significantly larger during several
pre-LGM pluvial stages), received the majority of
its moisture as orographic precipitation from the
Sierra Nevada. These low elevation and low latitude
basins may have produced greater rates of evaporation per unit area than the more northern Lahontan
and Bonneville basins due to their higher average
temperatures. Atmospheric moisture would have
traveled eastward until trapped as orographic precipitation by mountain ranges in Nevada, the first
and largest of which is the Spring Mountains. Other
basins west and southwest of the Spring Mountains
Figure 7. Upwind pluvial lakes (only major basins are
shown) that may have contributed moisture to the
Spring Mountains during the late Pleistocene.
44
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
held large pluvial lakes that may have contributed
moisture to air masses traveling to the northeast.
These include Lake Tecopa, Manix Lake, and Lake
Mojave.
There is evidence of greatly increased moisture
in the Spring Mountains during the late Pleistocene.
Szabo et al. (1994) discuss a 120,000-year record of
climate change in Devils Hole, Nevada, a submerged cave system in the Ash Meadows basin
(approximately 12,000 km2). The principle contributors of recharge to this system are thought to be the
Spring Mountains and the White River groundwater
flow system. Uranium-series dating of calcite
deposits in a cave chamber called Browns Room
indicate that the water table was 5 to 9 m higher
than the present level between 44 ka and 20 ka. The
water table was at least 5 m above the modern water
table from 116 ka to 53 ka; the authors supplied a
minimum increase for this time period and stated
that they were uncertain as to the maximum water
table rise due to methodological limitations. Quade
and Pratt (1989) and Quade (1986) studied stratigraphy of valley deposits east of the Spring
Mountains and found evidence of increased groundwater discharge and marsh formation from 60 ka to
40 ka and from 30 ka to 15 ka. Periodic increases in
water supply in the valleys east and west of the
Spring Mountains support the idea that the Spring
Mountains were intercepting substantial quantities
of atmospheric water during the late Pleistocene.
CONCLUSIONS
Most of the glacial record in the Spring Mountains has been destroyed or buried over time through
fluvial and mass wasting activity. However, fluvioglacial material covering the Kyle Canyon till may
have been responsible for preservation of the remaining fraction of the overall deposit, just as alluvium has protected the Hanging Canyon till. We hypothesize that the glacier that deposited the Kyle
Canyon till formed at the head of Kyle Canyon itself, which explains the southwesterly dip (away
from the central axis of the valley) of the capping
fluvioglacial deposits. The presence of the ice and
associated deposits forced drainage to the outside of
the valley, resulting in the inactive channel that lies
between the deposit and the western valley wall.
Later drainage breached the deposit and returned the
active channel to the central valley. We do not rule
out the possibility that small glaciers also formed
contemporaneously within higher valleys above Big
Falls.
Evidence for glaciation in the Spring Mountains
indicates that this range represents the southernmost
extent of late Quaternary glaciation in the Great
Basin and ends the long-standing debate over
whether the range was in fact glaciated. Based on
existing ELA correlations, the Spring Mountains are
too low to have experienced LGM glaciation. Poor
preservation of the deposits is consistent with an
earlier episode of glaciation, perhaps of Tahoe or
Mono Basin age. We present the potential for
regional recycling of moisture from upwind pluvial
lakes as a mode of creating and sustaining glaciers
in this southern Nevada mountain range.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank Dr. Gerald Osborn for his
many useful comments. This project was supported by a
grant from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas (UNLV)
Office of Research and a grant from the UNLV Graduate
Student Association. SEM imaging was conducted at the
UNLV Electron Microanalysis and Imaging Laboratory
(EMIL). Thanks also to Kuwanna Dyer for assisting with
field work.
LITERATURE CITED
BARTLEIN, P. J., K. H. ANDERSON, P. M. ANDERSON,
M. E. EDWARDS, C. J. MOCK, R. S. THOMPSON,
R. S. WEBB, T. WEBB III, and C. WHITLOCK.
1998. Paleoclimate simulations for North America over the past 21,000 years: Features of the
simulated climate and comparisons with paleoenvironmental data. Quaternary Science Reviews 17:549-585.
BLACKWELDER, E. 1931. Pleistocene glaciation in
the Sierra Nevada and Basin Ranges. Geological Society of America Bulletin 42:865-922.
BLACKWELDER, E. 1934. Supplementary notes on
Pleistocene glaciation in the Great Basin. Washington Academy of Sciences Journal 24:217222.
BURCHFIEL, B. C. 1974. Geology of the Spring
Mountains, Nevada, Geological Society of
America Bulletin 85:1013-1022.
DOHRENWEND, J. C. 1984. Nivation landforms in
the western Great Basin and their Paleoclimatic
significance. Quarternary Research 22:275288.
FLINT, R. F. 1947. Glacial geology and the Pleistocene Epoch. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New
York, NY.
FLINT, R. F. 1957. Glacial and Pleistocene geology.
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY.
FLINT, R. F. 1971. Glacial and Quaternary geology.
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY.
GEE, G. W., and J. W. BAUDER. 1986. Particle-size
analysis. Pp. 383-411 in Methods of soil analysis, Part 1 – Physical and mineralogical
methods. Soil Science Society of America Book
Series 5. American Society of Agronomy, Inc.,
Madison, WI.
EVIDENCE OF GLACIATION IN THE SPRING MOUNTAINS, NEVADA g ORNDORFF, VAN HOESEN, AND SAINES
HOSTETLER, S. W., F. GIORGI, G. T. BATES, and P.
J. BARTLEIN. 1994. Lake-atmosphere feedbacks
associated with paleolakes Bonneville and
Lahontan. Science 263:665-668.
LONGWELL, C. R., E. H. PAMPEYAN, and B.
BOWYER. 1965. Geologic map of Clark County,
Nevada. Nevada Bureau of Mines, Reno, NV.
MAHANEY, W.C. 1995. Pleistocene and Holocene
glacier thickness, transport histories and
dynamics inferred from SEM microtextures on
quartz particles. Boreas 24:293-304.
MAHANEY, W. C., G. CLARIDGE, and I. CAMPBELL.
1996. Microtextures on quartz grains in tills
from Antarctica, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 121:89-103.
MAHANEY, W. C., and V. KALM. 1995. Scanning
electron microscopy of Pleistocene tills in
Estonia. Boreas 24:13-29.
MAHANEY, W. C., and V. KALM. 2000. Comparative scanning electron microscopy study of
oriented till blocks, glacial grains and Devonian
sands in Estonia and Latvia. Boreas 29:35-51.
MAHANEY, W. C., R. VAIKMAE, and K. VARES.
1991. Scanning electron microscopy of quartz
grains in supraglacial debris, Adishy Glacier,
Caucasus Mtns, USSR. Boreas 20:395-404.
ORNDORFF, R. L., and J. G. VAN HOESEN. 2001.
Using GIS to predict the spatial distribution of
perennial snow under modern and Pleistocene
con ditions in the Snake Range, Nevada. Pp.
119-122 in Proceedings of the 69th Annual
Meeting of the Western Snow Conference, Sun
Valley, ID.
PIEGAT, J. J. 1980. Glacial geology of central
Nevada. M.S. thesis, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN. 124 p.
PELTO, M. S. 1992. Equilibrium line altitude variations with latitude, today and during the late
Wisconsin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 95:41-46.
QUADE, J. 1986. Late Quaternary environmental
changes in the upper Las Vegas Valley,
Nevada. Quaternary Research 26:340-357.
QUADE, J., and W. L. PRATT. 1989. Late Wisconsin
groundwater discharge environments of the
southwestern Indian Springs Valley, southern
Nevada. Quaternary Research 31:351-370.
SCHOENEBERGER, P. J., D. A. WYSOCKI, E. C.
BENHAM, and W. D. BRODERSON. 1998. Field
book for describing and sampling soils. Natural
Resources Conservation Service, USDA,
National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE.
SZABO, B. J., P.T. KOLESAR, A. C. RIGGS, I. J.
WINOGRAD, and K. R. LUDWIG. 1994. Paleoclimatic inferences from a 120,000-year calcite
record of water-table fluctuation in Browns
45
Room of Devils Hole, Nevada. Quaternary
Research 41:59-69.
VAN HOESEN, J. G., and R. L. ORNDORFF. 2000.
Evidence for Pleistocene glaciation in the
Spring Mountains, Nevada. Geological Society
of America Abstracts with Programs 32(7):16.
VAN HOESEN, J. G., and R. L. ORNDORFF. 2003.
Using GIS to evaluate an enigmatic diamicton
in the Spring Mountains, Southern Nevada.
Professional Geographer 55(3):206-215.
VAN HOESEN, J. G., R. L. ORNDORFF, and M.
SAINES. 2000. A preliminary assessment of an
ice-contact deposit in the Spring Mountains,
Nevada Geological Society of America
Abstracts with Programs 32(6):73.
YOUNT, J., and D. D. LA POINTE. 1997. Glaciation,
faulting, and volcanism in the southern Lake
Tahoe Basin, Pp. 34-56 in B. Dillet, L. Ames,
L. Gaskin, and W. Kortemeier, Eds., Where the
Sierra Nevada meets the basin and range. Field
trip guidebook for the National Association of
Geoscience Teachers, Far Western Section,
1997 Fall Field Conference, South Lake Tahoe,
CA.
ZIELINSKI, G. A., and W. D. MCCOY. 1987. Paleoclimatic implications of the relationship
between modern snowpack and late Pleistocene
equilibrium-line altitudes in the mountains of
the Great Basin, western U.S.A. Arctic and
Alpine Research 19:127-134.