CHARACTERISTICS OF ULTRAMAFIC BODIES IN THE VIRGIN MOUNTAINS, NV

The Virgin Mountains contain the oldest known high pressure/high temperature metamorphic rocks in the world. Using thin section and microprobe analysis I will determine the mineralogical compositions of peridotite samples taken from Lime Kiln Canyon, south of Mesquite, NV. This will allow me to see what high temperature/high pressure conditions they formed at, and gain a better understanding of the Virgin Mountains’ past tectonic setting. If the peridotites I sampled formed at pressures greater than 4 Giga Pascals, we can strongly infer that the Virgin Mountains used to be a continent-continent collision zone.