XRF ANALYSIS OF UBAHEBE HILLS BASALT OF DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA AND THE SEARCH FOR ITS SOURCE OF VOLCANISM

Although no obvious volcanic activity takes place in modern day northern Death Valley, the large quantities of basalt found throughout the arid California valley tells a very different story of the areas geologic history over the past 13 million years. Basalt found at Ubehebe Hills in the trough of the valley currently remains undated in age, with an unknown source of volcanism. This project’s main objective consists of identifying the source of the Ubehebe Hill’s basalt by chemical composition through x ray fluorescence. With the basalts of Death Valley coming from both lithosphere and asthenosphere dominated magma melts in the past 13Ma, the variety of trace elements and isotopes from these volcanic events come in many different ratios depending on the melt’s origins. To identify which mountain range the basalt at Ubehebe Hills originated, basalt samples will also be taken at the following localities: Western Last Chance Range basalt, Eastern Last Chance Range basalt, Western Funeral Range basalt, Eastern Saline Range basalt, Scotty’s Road basalt, locality 687-5, and locality ES449. Volcanic ranges have magma with a ratio of trace elements specific to them, allowing us to analyze the ratios of Ba/Zr and Ce/Y to pinpoint which source spawned the basalt found at Ubehebe Hills. The geologic significance of this project has the potential to explain the enigma of the Salt Creek pupfish’s origins in the harsh environmental conditions of Death Valley. Although Salt Creek in Death Valley has no river that connects to it, this species of fish is believed to share a common ancestor with the pupfish of Owen’s Valley, northwest of Death Valley. If basalt found at Ubehebe Hills originates from a volcanic source that matches the pupfishes time to diversify using the molecular clock hypothesis, this project would help uncover how volcanism can geomorphologically separate aquatic species in terrestrial environment.