A plunging syncline east of Las Vegas exposes Miocene age lacustrine units of the Horse Spring Formation. In the photo conglomerates that formed at a lake margin grade laterally (toward the observer) into stromatolitic limestones. A short hike around the fold to the north along Lovell Wash takes you to a beautifully exposed microbial limestone sequence in a slot canyon exposure reminiscent of 200 m of core. On the way you pass a borate mine and can collect borate minerals in the wash.
PhotoID772
A plunging syncline east of Las Vegas exposes Miocene age lacustrine units of the Horse Spring Formation. In the photo conglomerates that formed at a lake margin grade laterally (toward the observer) into stromatolitic limestones. A short hike around the fold to the north along Lovell Wash takes you to a beautifully exposed microbial limestone sequence in a slot canyon exposure reminiscent of 200 m of core. On the way you pass a borate mine and can collect borate minerals in the wash.
PhotoID772
Photograph: Thomas Hickson
Reference: Hickson, Thomas A., Anders J. Ness, and Melissa A. Lamb. 2010. Miocene tectonics and climate in the lake mead region recorded by horse spring formation carbonates. Special Paper – Geological Society of America 463, : 121-145