[BR-Crater] Lava Beds and NV Mining

[Scot Wilcoxon]

Lava Beds altitude is around 1700-1800 meters.  What's the height of the 
columnar jointed bluff?  1500m?  I'm not sure of the bluff location (map 
seems to point out a level area not a cliff, although I suspect the rise 
south of mark). 

Ian's map shows bluff photo from east of Pahsupp Mountain.  Shadowed 
bluff on Sept 16; photo is not to the north.  File name sfox-123. -122 
has a recently graded gravel road, but sky is different so -123 is from 
a different time of day.  Sun is high in sky and camera looking toward 
sun, so view is southward around midday.  Map shows road behind and none 
is visible (although one may be halfway to bluff).  Bluff most likely 
the rise southeast of Pahsupp Mountain, but contour doesn't look quite 
right.  East face of Pahsupp Mountain looks better, but not quite right.

Ian, how sure are you of the bluff location on the map?  The several 
small bluffs northeast of Pahsupp Mountain look more likely.. the ones 
with tops at about 1350 meters.  But that's on the other side of the 
road.. county 49? 49 doesn't appear in the photo.  And the sun angle 
looks wrong for photographing to the north or northeast.

I was hoping the Lava Beds might be no lower than the bluff base and 
thus might be part of the same formation; Lava Beds Creek might provide 
access to rock layers south of bluff.

Looking for info on the mine west of the Lava Beds, I found:
> Other names: Staggs mining area; The Lava Beds
> County: Pershing
> Discovered: 1914
> Commodities: silver, lead, gold, tungsten
> Comments: The Lava Beds refer to the mountain range south of the Black 
> Rock Desert, also
>   known as the Pahsupp Range. The district was known as The Lava Beds 
> in 1921; Staggs
>   name was used for the district by Johnson (1977).
> References: Hess and Larsen, 1922, p. 292; U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1954, 
> p. 703; Johnson,
>   1977, p. 92; Stager and Tingley, 1988, p. 193; Tingley, 1989a, p. 12
Source:

NEVADA BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOLOGY
REPORT 47
Second Edition
MINING DISTRICTS OF NEVADA
Joseph V. Tingley
1998

(PDF file)
http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/r47/r47.pdf

TopoZone at 1:200,000 scale shows "Garrett Mine" and "Windy Hill Mine" 
in the area.
And looking at the BLM map again I see the mining districs are labeled.  
http://www.nv.blm.gov/Winnemucca/recreation/south.pdf
And these mines are in TopoZone's list of features in Pershing County. 
http://www.topozone.com/states/Nevada.asp?county=Pershing

Didn't find online info on those mines other than a 4WD blog, where the 
author thinks Lava Beds is most certainly a granite batholyth.  
http://www.muddyoval.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2595&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=105

There is a Black Rock mining district:
> Black Rock
>  Other names: Hardin, Soldier Meadows, Soldier Meadow area
>  County: Humboldt
>  Discovered: 1849 (1863?)
>  Period active: 1858-1860; 1866-1867
>  Commodities: silver, gold, uranium, fluorspar, nitrates
>  Comments: Located at Black Rock, in the vicinity of Hardin City on 
> the west slope of the Black
>    Rock Range, several miles north of Double Hot Springs. Bancroft 
> (1890) placed the original
>    discoveries 1.5 miles from Hardinville. The district includes the 
> Soldier Meadow uranium area
>    of Garside (1973) and the Soldier Meadows nitrate area of Gianella 
> (1945).
>  References: Stretch, 1867, p. 46; Territorial Enterprise, March 7, 
> 1868; Angel, 1881, p. 450;
>    Bancroft, 1890, p. 103; Stoddard, 1932, p. 44; Gianella, 1945, p. 
> 76; Garside, 1973, p. 56;
>    Carlson, 1974, p. 220; Papke, 1979, p. 21; Wheeler, 1979, p. 139
Up to the north:
> Trego
>  Other names: Trego Hot Springs, Hualipi
>  County: Pershing
>  Commodities: tungsten, gold, silver, copper, lead
> Comments: Located northeast of Gerlach, Trego includes the area east 
> of Hualipi Flat, on the
>   north edge of the Black Rock Desert, and areas in the northern 
> Selenite and Pahsupp
>   Mountains.
> References: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1939, p. 450; Bonham and others, 
> 1985; Stager and Tingley,
>   1988, p.196
> Varyville
>  Other names: Columbia, Pine Forest, Cove, Cove Meadow, Bartlett Creek
>  County: Humboldt
>  Discovered: 1870
>  Organized: 1875
>  Commodities: gold, silver, copper, lead, tungsten, antimony, molybdenum
>  Comments: The Varyville district covers the area generally around 
> Bartlett Peak, between the
>    Black Rock Range to the southwest and the main Pine Forest Range to 
> the northeast, and
>    immediately west of Quinn River Valley. The original name was 
> Columbia (1875). The district
>    is located on and near Bartlett Creek, and sometimes includes the 
> Leonard Creek district to
>    the east. The Cove area is on Cove Creek, north of Bartlett Peak.
>  References: Raymond, 1875, p. 263; Whitehill, 1875, p. 53; Angel, 
> 1881, p. 452; Hill, 1912,
>    p. 215; Lincoln, 1923, p. 104; Stoddard, 1932, p. 47; Lotz, 1934, 
> p. 19; Vanderburg, 1938a, p.
>    19; Willden, 1964, tables 7, 20, 21; Lawrence, 1963, p. 78; Bonham, 
> 1976; Stager and Tingley,
>    1988, p. 76