Mount Rose is an extinct volcano located in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains northeast of Lake Tahoe. At 3,285 meters, it is the second highest peak in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Mount Rose formed from volcanic activity approximately 30 million years ago. The geology of Mount Rose includes evidence of glaciation as well as volcanic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks ranging in age from the Triassic to the Pliocene periods. Samples collected from Mount Rose include granite, feldspar with actinolite, quartz with malachite, a mule deer skull, the parasitic plant snowplant, and a chipmunk skull.

1. Mount Rose,
By Kade Ketcham
Mark Lawler
Geology 103
Augus 4, 2013
Field Assignment
Nevada

2. Location
Lake Tahoe
Mount Rose

3. Mount Rose Information
• Mount Rose lies in the Carson Range of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains, northeast of Lake Tahoe
• It is the second highest mountain peak in the
Lake Tahoe Basin at an elevation of 3285 meters.
The summit expands to a couple hundred feet
above tree level.
• Mount Rose receives little amount of moisture
compared to the rest of the Lake Tahoe area
because of the rain shadow effect.
(Moore, 1952; Mount Rose [Nevada], 2001)

4. Geology
• Mount Rose is an extinct volcano and formed
from volcanic activity about 30 million years ago.
Hydrothermal activity has recently been
measured.
• The area exhibits evidence of lightly glaciated
areas such as deep valleys and sharp peaks as
well as glacial lakes and moraines. Glaciers in the
area developed in the Pleistocene
• Evidence of faults include stratigraphic,
topographic, and fault scarp.
• Many areas have been folded, tilted, and warped
52; Mount Rose [Nevada], 2001)

5. (Moore, 1952)

6. Metamorphic Rocks
• Much foliation
• High grade mineral assemblages
• Late recrystalization
– High temperatures and static conditions
– No organization
• Derived from sedimentary rocks
• The age of these rocks is not established but are the
oldest rocks in the area, probably from the Triassic
(Moore, 1952)

7. Granitic Rocks
• Backbone of the Sierra Nevada Range
• Extremely uniform and directionless, fine grained
• Many dikes
• Intrude the older metamorphic rocks
• Much crystalization
• Probably originated in the Jurassic
(Moore, 1952)

8. Kate Peak Andesite
• Occurred from lava flows and pyroclastic
eruptions
• Found in dikes and breccias
• Mostly found at the crest
• Some crystalization
• May have inclusions of glass
• Tilted, beveled, and displaced
• Probably originated in the Pliocene
(Moore, 1952)

9. Truckee Sediments
• Lake sediments which have been uplifted
• Poorly consolidated
• Well stratified
• Contain many fossils
• Found at 8,800 ft elevation on Mount Rose
• Late Miocene or Pliocne
(Moore, 1952)

10. Lousetown Basalts
• Cover large areas
• Originated from fissure eruptions and created
intrusions
• Lies unconformably on the Kate Peak Andesite
• Late Pliocene
(Moore, 1952)

11. Quaternary Deposits
• Moraines
– Evidence of glacial activity
– Formed some modern creeks
– 4 glacial tills
• First three probably from the Pleistocene
• Youngest may have been from no later than a couple of
centauries ago
• Landslides
– Scar in the face of the mountain
– Depressions that are now lakes
• Pediment gravels and Valley fills
– Gravels covered many eroded surfaces and streams
(Moore, 1952)

12. Rock Sample: Granite
 Granite
• Light colored igneous rock
• Grains big enough to see with
the naked eye
• Formed by crystalization of
magma below the surface
• Comprised of many minerals
especially Quartz and Feldspar
• Can be red to gray to white
with darker grains
• Most well known and
common igneous rock
This is a specific piece of granite that had fallen away from its larger rock. I thought
it was an interesting specimen because it has a red fungus growing on it
(King, n.d.)

13. Rock Sample: Feldspar and Actinolite
 Feldspar (lighter colored
rock)
• Crystalized from
magma
• About 60% of the
Earth’s surface
• Usually white or lightly
colored
• Found in intrusive and
extrusive igneous rocks,
metamorphic rocks,
and some sedimentary
rocks
(Feldspar, n.d.; Ralph, 1993-2013)
 Actinolite (green within the rock)
• Fibrous
• Metamorphic and sometimes igneous
• Light green to dark green based on
amount of iron; can be gray green or
black
• Produced by contact metamorphism

14. Rock Sample: Quartz and Malachite
 Quartz (light color of the rock)
• Second most abundant
mineral (after feldspar)
• This is probably Milky or
Smokey Quartz which are
the most common
• Can be many different colors
• Essential part of Granite and
other igneous rocks. Can
also be found in some
sedimentary, carbonate, and
metamorphic rocks
• High resistance to weathering
• Microcrystalline Quartz (such
as this one) form from silica-
rich molten rock during
cooling and solidification,
during pneumatolytic events,
or in watery solutions of silica
 Malachite (green on the rock)
• Green in color
• Often found in banded appearance
• A common secondary copper mineral
• Usually found in igneous and
sedimentary rocks
• Formed by weathering of copper ores
(Akhavan, 2005-2013; Ralph and Chau, 1993-2013)

15. Mule Deer
I believe that this skull was from a Mule Deer
(with the nose broken off) What it may have looked like
Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Artiodactyla; Cervidae; Odocoileus; Odocoileus hemionus
• Mule Deer are found in the Western United States. They are browsers and eat mostly
weeds, leaves, and twigs. Mule Deer live about 9-11 years. They are usually about 3
feet tall and 4-7 feet long.
(Mule Deer Facts, 2007; Geist, 1998)
(Mule Deer Facts, 2007)
• The earliest fossils of deer were found in Europe in the Oligocene Period. Deer have
since migrated to other continents. They most likely have grown in body size and
antler size since. Mule Deer evolved from the mating of the Black Tailed and White
Tailed Deer creating the hybridized Mule Deer.

16. Snowplant
Plantae; Angiosperm; Magnoliopsida; Ericales; Monotropaceae; Sarcodes; Sarcodes sanguinea
• It is a parasitic plant. It cannot perform photosynthesis
so it takes nutrients from mycorrhizae attached to roots
of other plants. It has therefore adapted to being able
to grow under the shade of trees where many other
plants cannot grow.
•The Snowplant is an angiosperm and has evolved with
angiosperms, flowering plants with enclosed seeds. It
did not arrive in the Lake Tahoe area until other plants
attracted michorrhizae that it could gain nutrients from.
• It grows annually, once a year in the Springtime. It only
thrives from May to July.
• It can be found from Oregon to Baja California.
(Gauna, 2010)

17. Chipmunk
Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Rodentia; Sciuridae; Marmotini; Tamias; (not sure of species)
• Chipmunks are the smallest of
the squirrel family. They range
in size from 4 to 7 inches.
• Chipmunks live about 2 to 3 years
• They collect food for the winter.
They hibernate during the winter
but rely on their collected food
source to survive.
(amimals.pawnation.com)
• The earliest squirrel fossils date back to the Late Eocene Epoch. These fossils were
found in Africa and it is believed that squirrels diversified and migrated shortly
after. Chipmunks have since evolved from tree squirrels.
(Basgall, 2003; Chipmonk)

18. References
• Akhavan, A. C. (2005-2013). The Quartz Page. In The Quartz Page. Retrieved August 3,
2013, from http://www.quartzpage.de/index.html
• Basgall, M. (2003). Squirrels' Evolutionary Family Tree Reveals Influence of Climate,
Geology. In Duke Today. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from
http://today.duke.edu/2003/02/squirreltree0302.html
• Chipmunk (n.d.). In National Geographic. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chipmunk/
• Feldspar (n.d.). In North Carolina Geological Survey. Retrieved August 2, 2013, from
http://www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/Mineral%20resources/feldmod.html
• Gauna, F. J. (2010). Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea Torr.). In US Forest Service.
Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-
week/sarcodes_sanguinea.shtml
• Geist, V. (1998). Deer of the World (pp. 255-270). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.
Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://books.google.com/books?id=bcWZX-
IMEVkC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=mule+deer+evolution&source=bl&ots
• King, H. (n.d.). Granite. In Geology.com. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from
http://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml
• Moore, J. G. (1952). Geology of the Mount Rose area, Nevada. USGS Numbered Series
• Mount Rose (Nevada). (2001). In SummitPost.org. Retrieved August 2, 2013, from
http://www.summitpost.org/mount-rose-nevada/150662
• Mule Deer Facts (2007). In Mule Deer Foundation. Retrieved August 3, 2013, from
http://www.muledeer.org/hunting/mule-deer-facts
• Ralph, J. (1993-2013). Actinolite. In Mineral Information and Data. Retrieved August 3,
2013, from http://www.mindat.org/min-18.html
• Ralph, J. and Chau, I. (1993-2013). Malachite. In Mineral Information and Data.
Retrieved August 3, 2013, from http://www.mindat.org/min-2550.html