Geologic Map of the Vail West quadrangle, Eagle County, Colorado

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Geologic Map of the Vail West quadrangle, Eagle County, Colorado
Abstract:
This new 1:24,000-scale geologic map of the Vail West 7.5' quadrangle, as part of the USGS Western Colorado I-70 Corridor Cooperative Geologic Mapping Project, provides new interpretations of the stratigraphy, structure, and geologic hazards in the area on the southwest flank of the Gore Range.
Bedrock strata include Miocene tuffaceous sedimentary rocks, Mesozoic and upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and undivided Early(?) Proterozoic metasedimentary and igneous rocks. Tuffaceous rocks are found in fault-tilted blocks. Only small outliers of the Dakota Sandstone, Morrison Formation, Entrada Sandstone, and Chinle Formation exist above the redbeds of the Permian-Pennsylvanian Maroon Formation and Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation, which were derived during erosion of the Ancestral Front Range east of the Gore fault zone. In the southwestern area of the map, the proximal Minturn facies change to distal Eagle Valley Formation and the Eagle Valley Evaporite basin facies. The Jacque Mountain Limestone Member, previously defined as the top of the Minturn Formation, cannot be traced to the facies change to the southwest. Abundant surficial deposits include Pinedale and Bull Lake Tills, periglacial deposits, earth-flow deposits, common diamicton deposits, common Quaternary landslide deposits, and an extensive, possibly late Pliocene landslide deposit. Landscaping has so extensively modified the land surface in the town of Vail that a modified land-surface unit was created to represent the surface unit.
Laramide movement renewed activity along the Gore fault zone, producing a series of northwest-trending open anticlines and synclines in Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata, parallel to the trend of the fault zone. Tertiary down-to-the-northeast normal faults are evident and are parallel to similar faults in both the Gore Range and the Blue River valley to the northeast; presumably these are related to extensional deformation that occurred during formation of the northern end of the Rio Grande rift system in Colorado.
In the southwestern part of the map area, a diapiric(?) exposure of the Eagle Valley Evaporite exists and chaotic faults and folds suggest extensive dissolution and collapse of overlying bedrock, indicating the presence of a geologic hazard. Quaternary landslides are common and indicate that landslide hazards are widespread in the area, particularly where old slide deposits are disturbed by construction. The late Pliocene(?) landslide that consists largely of a smectitic upper Morrison Formation matrix and boulders of Dakota Sandstone is readily reactivated. Debris flows are likely to invade low-standing areas within the towns of Vail and West Vail where tributaries of Gore Creek issue from the mountains on the north side of the valley.
Supplemental_Information:
DATASETS INCLUDED IN THIS GEOSPATIAL DATABASE: 
 vwpoly: geologic polygons, contacts, faults, marker beds, and intra-unit scarps
 vwline: fold axes, concealed linear features, limits of abundant chert fragments in the Maroon Formation, and cross-section lines
 vwpoint: bedding and foliation attitudes, and miscellaneous point data
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Scott, Robert B., Lidke, David J., and Grunwald, Daniel J., 2002, Geologic Map of the Vail West quadrangle, Eagle County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-2369, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -106.5
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -106.375
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.75
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.625
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/mf/2002/mf-2369/mf-2369_map.pdf (PDF)
    Printable representation of map layout, 4.7MB.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/mf/2002/mf-2369/mf-2369.gif (GIF)
    Reduced-size image of the map sheet: 250x258 pixels, 32-bit true color, 31k bytes.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 2002
    Currentness_Reference:
    Publication date
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      The map projection used is Polyconic.
      Projection parameters:
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -106.4375
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 36.625
      False_Easting: 0.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 10
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 10
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meters
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.4.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.98.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: 
    ==========================================
COVERAGE: vwpoly
==========================================

------------------------------------------
USER DEFINED ITEMS IN VWPOLY.PAT:
------------------------------------------

ITEM NAME     WIDTH   TYPE   DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION   50      C      geologic unit name
SYMBOL        6       I      marker symbol number for plotting
LABEL         4       C      unit label for map plots (for example, "Qal")

ITEM VALUES AND RELATION OF ITEMS "DESCRIPTION", "LABEL", AND "SYMBOL"
 DESCRIPTION                                       LABEL    SYMBOL
 water                                                      56
 artificial fill                                    af       8
 modified land-surface deposit                      mls     76
 alluvium                                           Qal      2
 younger terrace alluvium                           Qty     23
 older terrace alluvium                             Qto    111
 younger fan alluvium and debris-flow deposits      Qfy     32
 older fan alluvium and debris-flow deposits        Qfo     51
 younger diamicton                                  Qdi     29
 older diamicton                                    QTdi    53
 colluvium, undivided                               Qc      12
 landslide deposits                                 Qls     16
 earth-flow deposit                                 Qef     28
 older colluvium                                    QTc    130
 Pinedale Till                                      Qtp     62
 Pinedale Till, uncertain                           Qtp?    62
 Bull Lake Till                                     Qtb     56
 Bull Lake Till, uncertain                          Qtb?    56
 till, undivided                                    Qti    101
 periglacial deposits                               Qpg    444
 outwash of periglacial deposits and Pinedale Till  Qo      49
 boulder-field deposits                             Qbf     79
 wetland deposits                                   Qw     429
 tufa deposits                                      Qtu     20
 tuffaceous sedimentary rocks                       Tst     50
 Dakota Sandstone                                   Kd     454
 Morrison Formation                                 Jm     427
 Entrada Sandstone                                  Je     365
 Chinle Formation                                   @c     510
 Maroon Fm., limestone bed                          ls      45
 Maroon Formation                                   P&m    320
 Eagle Valley Formation                             &ev    231
 Eagle Valley Evaporite                             &ee    241
 Minturn Fm., limestone bed                         ls      45
 Minturn Formation                                  &m     239
 Minturn Fm., Jacque Mountain Limestone Member      &mj    305
 Minturn Fm., White Quail Limestone Member          &mwq   379
 Minturn Fm., Robinson Limestone Member             &mr    349
 Minturn Fm., Robinson Limestone Member, uncertain  &mr?   349
 Minturn Fm., dolomite bed                          &md    333
 Minturn Fm., dolomite bed, uncertain               &md?   333
 Cross Creek Granite                                Xc     514
 migmatite                                          Xm     500

       In the "LABEL" item, the @ and & refer to the Triassic and
       Pennsylvanian symbols, respectively

------------------------------------------
USER DEFINED ITEMS IN VWPOLY.AAT:
------------------------------------------

ITEM NAME     WIDTH   TYPE   DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION   80      C      geologic or hydrologic feature (for
                                example, contact or shoreline)
ROCKUNIT      40      C      geologic unit name for thin beds
                                represented by lines (if applicable)
SYMBOL         3      I      marker symbol number for plotting

ITEM VALUES AND RELATION OF ITEMS "DESCRIPTION" AND "SYMBOL"
DESRIPTION                                                        SYMBOL
Map boundary                                                      50
contact, approximately located                                     2
contact, certain                                                   1
contact, landslide scarp, certain                                 15
contact, surficial unit deposited against fault scarp, inferred   57
high-angle reverse fault, inferred                                72
landslide scarp, certain                                          15
normal fault, approximately located                               51
normal fault, certain                                             50
normal fault, inferred                                           183
normal fault, inferred, queried                                  183
shoreline                                                          0
thin subunit, approximately located                               52
thin subunit, certain                                             50

ITEM VALUES FOR "ROCKUNIT"

Eagle Valley Evaporite, limestone bed
Jacque Mountain Limestone Member
Maroon Fm., dolomite bed
Maroon Fm., limestone bed
Minturn Fm., limestone bed
Robinson Limestone Member
Robinson Limestone Member, uncertain
White Quail Limestone Member


==========================================
COVERAGE:vwline
==========================================

------------------------------------------
USER DEFINED ITEMS IN VWLINE.AAT:
------------------------------------------

ITEM NAME      WIDTH   TYPE   DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION    30      C      geologic feature (for example, fold axis)
SYMBOL          3      I      marker symbol number for plotting

ITEM VALUES AND RELATION OF ITEMS "DESCRIPTION" AND "SYMBOL"

anticline, certain                        60
anticline, concealed                      63
anticline, inferred                       61
high-angle reverse fault, concealed       74
limit of abundant chert in Maroon Fm       4
line of cross-section                    210
normal fault, concealed                  184
syncline, certain                         92
syncline, concealed                       95
syncline, inferred                        93


==========================================
COVERAGE:vwpoint
==========================================

------------------------------------------
USER DEFINED ITEMS IN VWPOINT.PAT:
------------------------------------------

ITEM NAME      WIDTH   TYPE   DESCRIPTION

AZIMUTH         3      I      strike of planar feature or azimuth of linear feature
INCLINATION     3      I      dip of planar feature
DESCRIPTION    31      C      geologic or cultural feature (for example, foliation)
SYMBOLCODE      3      I      marker symbol number for plotting

ITEM VALUES FOR "AZIMUTH"
integer values from 0-359

ITEM VALUES FOR "INCLINATION"
integer values from 0-89

ITEM VALUES AND RELATION OF ITEMS "DESCRIPTION" AND "SYMBOLCODE"

adit                             103
outcrop, ash                     241
prospect pit                      53
strike and dip of foliation       81
strike and dip of inclined beds    2 (or 1 if inclination=0)
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: none

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Robert B. Scott
    • David J. Lidke
    • Daniel J. Grunwald
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Dave Lidke and Bruce Bryant contributed to the geologic mapping of the Vail West quadrangle. Digital cartography by Daniel Grunwald.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Robert B. Scott
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, MS 913
    Denver, Colorado

    (303) 236-1230 (voice)
    rbscott@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This map was funded by and is a product of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. This corridor is experiencing rapid urban growth. Geologic mapping is needed to aid in land development planning in order to address, avoid, or mitigate known and potential geologic hazards.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2000 (process 1 of 7)
    Linework produced in digital format in ARC/INFO, created on-screen from an image of the source mylar compilation with an effective resolution of 400 dpi.
    Date: 2000 (process 2 of 7)
    Geologic data were reviewed for completeness and correctness by geologists.
    Date: 2001 (process 3 of 7)
    Spatial data and metadata were reviewed for completeness and correctness.
    Date: 2001 (process 4 of 7)
    Geologic data and metadata were edited for conformance with USGS geologic map standards, geologic names usage, and editorial policy.
    Date: 2001 (process 5 of 7)
    Editing corrections applied to geospatial data.
    Date: 2002 (process 6 of 7)
    Map layout created for printing. Geospatial datasets compiled for distribution.
    Date: 04-Jan-2002 (process 7 of 7)
    Creation of original metadata record Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Robert B. Scott
    Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, MS 913
    Denver, Colorado

    (303) 236-1230 (voice)
    rbscott@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Data were entered and checked by the geologist who made the observations. The attributes of this geospatial dataset consist of text identifiers and numeric codes that indicate the identity of the geologic unit or type of geologic feature, and determine how each feature is colored or symbolized. To check attribute accuracy, a color check plot was visually compared to the geologist's original compilation. Discrepancies between the digital geospatial dataset and the original analog compilation were corrected as needed. Machine-created listings of unique attribute values were used to identify spelling errors or other inconsistencies, and corrections were made as needed. This map has been thoroughly reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Linework was compiled at 1:24,000 scale. Accuracies are assumed to be less than a pen width, equivalent to approximately 25 m at the compilation scale.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Only features that could be accurately compiled at the 1:24,000 scale were included. All geospatial database elements are attributed.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Map elements were visually checked by the author for overshoots, undershoots, duplicate features, polygon attributes, and other errors. Automated (ARC/INFO) routines were also used to check the databases for polygon label errors, line or point attribution errors, sliver polygons, dangling arcs, intersection errors, and projection information. The map was reviewed by two other geologists for consistency with basic geologic principles and general conformity to USGS mapping standards.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
None. Acknowledgment of the U.S. Geological Survey would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Central Publications Group
    Denver, CO

    303-236-5486 (voice)
    webmaster@geology.cr.usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these digital spatial data have been subjected to rigorous review and are substantially complete, they are released on the condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from their authorized or unauthorized use.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Jun-2016
Last Reviewed: 28-Feb-2002
Metadata author:
Peter N Schweitzer
USGS Midwest Area
Collection manager, USGS Geoscience Data Clearinghouse, http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/
Mail Stop 954
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA
USA

703-648-6533 (voice)
703-648-6252 (FAX)
pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/metadata/map-mf/2369/metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.48 on Tue Jul 03 20:05:08 2018