May 2016 Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 65 • No. 5 • May 2016

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OUTCROP | May 2016

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

910 16th Street • Suite 1214 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2016 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

TREASURER

John Ladd john.ladd@discoverynr.com

Tom Sperr tsperr@bayless-cos.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER-ELECT

Larry Rasmussen larryr@whiting.com 1st VICE PRESIDENT

Karen Dean deankaren@comcast.net SECRETARY

John Roesink jroesink@jaggedpeakenergy.com

Sarah Hawkins shawkins@usgs.gov

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

1st YEAR COUNSELOR

Kelly Foley foleykk@gmail.com

Rob Diedrich rdiedrich@sm-energy.com 2nd YEAR COUNSELOR

Jane Estes-Jackson Jane.estes-jackson@mcelvain.com

RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Carrie Veatch, MA cveatch@rmag.org MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER

Hannah Rogers hrogers@rmag.org ACCOUNTANT

Carol Dalton cdalton@rmag.org PROJECTS SPECIALIST

Marissa Stanger mstanger@rmag.org MANAGING EDITOR

Will Duggins will.duggins@i-og.net

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Rates and sizes can be found on page 47. Advertising rates apply to either black and white or color ads. Submit color ads in RGB color to be compatible with web format. Borders are recommended for advertisements that comprise less than one half page. Digital files must be PC compatible submitted in png, jpg, tif, pdf or eps formats at a minimum of 300 dpi. If you have any questions, please call the RMAG office at 303-573-8621.

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Ad copy, signed contract and payment must be received before advertising insertion. Contact the RMAG office for details. DEADLINES: Ad submissions are the 1st of every month for the following month’s publication.

WEDNESDAY NOON LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS

RMAG Office: 303-573-8621 | Fax: 303-476-2241 | staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

Greg Guyer Greg.Guyer@halliburton.com Cheryl Fountain cwhitney@alumni.nmt.edu Ron Parker ron.parker@taskfronterra.com DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Nate Silva nate@nate-silva.com

The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org 3 www.rmag.org 3

OUTCROP | May 2016

Premier Memberships Now Being Offered at the Denver Earth Resources Library Due to the ongoing downturn within the Oil and Gas Industry, the Denver Earth Resources Library (DERL) is now offering, “Premier Memberships,” which include library membership and individual, PRIVATE, modular workstations. For the low cost of $650/month (two months minimum), a geoscientist can office downtown, and have access to copiers, scanners, and fax capabilities. The copiers and scanners can handle both standard sizes, and map-size formats. DERL is an extremely unique library, located in the historic Equitable Building in the center of downtown Denver, at 730 17th Street, Suite B-1. You can check out DERL’s website at www.derlibrary.com or contact its director, Kay Waller, directly at (303) 825-5614. OUTCROP | May 2016

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

32 Lead Story: Boiling To Life, Hydrothermal feature roils Shoshone River in Cody, Wyo.

6 RMAG March 2016 Board of Directors Meeting

38 On The Rocks Fieldtrip: The Enigma That Is the Colorado Rockies

16 Mineral of the Month: Epidote

ASSOCIATION NEWS 2 RMAG 2016 Summit Sponsors 27 2016 Award of Excellence for Teaching of Earth Science 31 RMAG 2016 Publications Sale! 39 RMAG Golf Tournament 2016 41 RMAG Fall ‘Hot Plays’ Symposium: Call For Papers

8 President’s Letter

26 RMAG Luncheon Programs: John B. Curtis 29 RMAG Rockbusters Ball 30 RMAG Luncheon Programs: Michael Leibovitz

COVER PHOTO

40 Letter To The Editor

A hydrothermal vent that sprung to life and died only four days later is seen on Monday spouting discolored water into the Shoshone River inside the Cody, Wyo., city limits.

42 In The Pipeline 47 Welcome New RMAG Members! 47 Outcrop Advertising Rates

Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff

48 Calendar 48 Advertiser Index

42 RMAG Foundation 43 RMAG/DAPL Geoland Ski Day: Thank You 2016 Sponsors!

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | May 2016

RMAG MARCH 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Sarah Hawkins, Secretary shawkins@usgs.gov

The March meeting of the RMAG Board of Directors took place on March 16, 2016 at 4 p.m. I was unable to attend, so Jane Estes-Jackson took the meeting minutes in my absence. Treasurer Tom Sperr reported another good month for RMAG financially. The luncheon was well attended again in February. A few open speaker slots remain for 2016, so contact Chris Eisinger (chris.eisinger@state.co.us) if you have suggestions for speakers. We have some excellent upcoming events,

so check the RMAG website and this issue of The Outcrop for more information. Registration has opened for the RMAG Golf Tournament, which will be held on June 8 at the City Park Golf Course in Denver. There is only one morning flight this year, so be sure to register as soon as possible to reserve your spot! The RMAG On the Rocks monthly field trip series will be starting soon and run through October. Locations and instructions on registering for these trips will be available soon on the RMAG website.

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OUTCROP | May 2016

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

AAPG Pacific + Rocky Mountain Joint Meeting 2-5 October 2016 | Paris Hotel | Las Vegas

CALL FOR PAPERS

Extended Submission Deadline 1 June 2016 Abstract Limit 250 words | Find more submission instructions at Section websites For additional information contact:

Jon Allen

Steve Veal

www.psaapg.org

www.aapgrms.org

PS Technical Program Co-Chair (661) 654-7516 jonathan.allen@chevron.com

RMS Technical Program Co-Chair (303) 945-2637 sveal@palomarnr.com

NEW PLAYS, NEW WAYS, NEW DAYS Red Rock Canyon NCA, photo by Plamen Ganev

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Making Unconventional, Conventional

By John Ladd

Keeping members ‘On The Rocks’ “The report of my death was an exaggeration. ” –Mark Twain, 1897. I was reminded of that well known quote while on an On the Rocks fieldtrip last summer. I was chatting at one of the stops with one of the members of the field trip committee and she was lamenting that the issues concerning insurance for the trips meant that 2015 would be the last year for this long-running and popular RMAG activity. I remember thinking that while I may not have grand 1 and 2 man Mudlogging plans for improving our orgaSummit Gas Referencing™ nization whileMudlogging I was President, Geosteering other than keeping it financialServices ly healthy through a very chalMike Barber lenging year, there is one thing Manager Serving Rocky to Mountain Region that I definitely did notthe want have happen: I did not want to 230 Airport Rd. Ph (435)657-0586 beUnit President during the year D Cell (435)640-1382 Heber City, Utah 84032 that On the Rocks ceased toemail: ex- mbarber@summitmudlog.com www.summitmudlog.com ist. I made sure our Executive CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 On the summit of Leonard Mountain.

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER

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Director, Carrie Veatch, knew my feelings, and sure enough, she came through with an affordable plan for liability insurance for all of this year’s trips. Mark Twain survived another 13 years after he wrote the above comment. There’s no guarantee that our insurance coverage will last that long, but at least it won’t die on my watch. For those of you who weren’t aware of the insurance issues, this came up a few years ago during an audit. The auditors noted that our liability insurance did not cover such events and if someone got hurt on one our trips, RMAG could get sued for every cent we had, no matter what kind of liability waiver we made the participants sign. At first, our insurance carrier agreed to issue a separate policy for the field trips, but then they backed out. We then were able to get the AAPG to sponsor the trips so we could be covered under their field trip policy. However, their insurance company started getting nervous, and beginning this year they were requiring that each trip would need to have a trip leader who not only was an AAPG member but also had so many health and safety certifications that they might as well be an EMT. They even required certification in small marine craft safety! For a trip to South Park? This clearly wasn’t possible, which left everyone thinking that this was the end. Miraculously, earlier this year, our insurance agent managed to find us a company that was willing to write us a policy, and better yet, it’s cheaper than the policy we got

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

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President’s Letter

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LOCATION we’ll lease it, permit it, gather it and sell it

ge 43

through AAPG. This means we will be able to lower the price for attending a trip, to $20 per regular member and $5 for student members. The problem insurance companies have with writing policies for such things as geology field trips is that they really don’t have any idea of what they involve, and thus they can’t quantify the risk they are taking on by writing us a policy. In reality, these trips are normally quite tame affairs. We mostly drive to outcrops that are either in road cuts or are just a short walk over easy terrain from the cars. Yes, sometimes the exposures are unstable and there is a risk of falling rock, but trip leaders are usually aware of that in advance and give the participants fair warning about the hazard. Other than that, the main hazard is that we have to drive on Colorado’s antiquated and overcrowded highway system to get to the stops, so I suppose there is always a risk of someone getting hurt in a car accident. However, as far as I understand, such

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

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incidents should be covered by the driver’s auto insurance policy and should never result in a claim against RMAG’s policy. With luck, our policy writer will happily take our money, will not incur any claims, and then will be willing to repeat the process for many years to come. So why was I so adamant that we figure out a way to continue On the Rocks? Well first there is the purely selfish reason: I happen to really enjoy them! Nearly every trip I have been on has been intellectually stimulating with lots of interesting discussions among the participants and the trip leader and even the occasional heated debate.The trips also a present a great opportunity to socialize with your peers in an informal setting and can provide you with a greater understanding of the significance of outcrops you may have passed by dozens of times on the way to your favorite trout stream or ski area. The trips also provide one with a perfect way to gain a greater understanding of the basins where we prospect for oil and gas. I don’t care how many well logs I look at or how many cross sections I construct across a basin, it’s hard, at least for me, to get a true sense of the scale of stratigraphic changes and a sense of how all the strata fit together without studying it in exposures on the surface. When I was working for Kerr-McGee in the early 2000’s, our main focus was on exploring for gas resources in Wyoming. Whenever we started looking at a new formation or new basin, it

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

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President’s Letter

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of the mountain. The escarpment also exposes most of the Wolfcampian section as well, and its type section is on the next mountain to the east, called, appropriately, Wolfcamp Hill. This area was originally described in the 1930’s but had been closed to geologists for several decades until a group from UT-Austin convinced the owner of the ranch to let them on the land to remap and interpret the stratigraphy. After several years of mapping, they were even allowed to bring an AAPG field trip on the property, which took place two years ago. I jumped at the chance to participate. Most of my company’s acreage is in the deep basin portion of the Midland Basin, where the stratigraphy has good marker beds and at least a certain amount of lateral consistency and predictability. However, on occasion I was asked to evaluate a property in the Southern Delaware Basin. I would start looking at logs in the producing field adjacent to the prospect, and the section might look familiar and roughly correlative with the Midland stratigraphy, but as I got near the

took only a call to our research group in Houston and within a week or two one or more of their geologists would show up, often accompanied by a consultant who had some sort of expertise in the area, and we would spend the next several days in the field studying the outcrops along the rim of the basin. We were then set to make more intelligent correlations and better subsurface maps. For the last eight years, my focus has been in the Permian Basin. Anyone who has been to Midland knows that outcrops are few and far between, and mostly of the Cretaceous rocks that lie at the surface. But if you drive far enough to the east or west, eventually you get to exposures of the Permian section. The accompanying photo was taken on the top of Leonard Mountain, near Marathon, at the southern edge of the Delaware Basin. For those who are familiar with their Permian stratigraphy, you may know that this is the type section of the Leonardian Stage, which is exposed on along the escarpment on the south side

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER

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property, the section would suddenly change and I would have no idea where I was. I would then look for an excuse to pass on the deal and go back to the familiar terrain of the Midland Basin. The field trip consisted of a series of climbs up the face of the escarpment traversing up through the section. The route map in the guide book for these traverses , which is superimposed on a photomosaic of the mountain, looks more like a climbing guide than a geology field guide. (Note to our insurance agent: we do not run field trips in terrain like this!) It was perhaps on the second of these traverses that it became obvious what was going on in the subsurface: on the left side of the gully I was scrambling up, there was a massive conglomeratic debris flow, several hundred feet thick, while on the right side the rock was fine-grain, well bedded mudstone and grainstone. The southern end of the Delaware Basin narrows into the Hovey and Sheffield Channels and no spot in the basin is far from the Southern Shelf or west side of the Central Basin Platform. Both were tectonically active and both shed huge debris flows into the basin. Nothing correlates on the well logs because there is no lateral continuity to the stratigraphy. It was all beginning to make sense. Even more miraculous than our obtaining trip insurance for the year is the resurrection of the On the Rocks committee. I wish I could take the credit, but I had nothing to do with it. The old committee disbanded last fall when it seemed as though we would have to stop running trips. During the winter, Laura

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

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OUTCROP | May 2016

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

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OUTCROP | May 2016

Wray heard from one of the Board members that the insurance was back on so she took the initiative to round up a new group of RMAG members to form a new committee and they quickly came up with a list of possible trips. At the time I am writing this, the final schedule of trips has not been set, but there are plans for one trip each month from May through September and possibly a bonus trip in October. The details regarding the May trip are described elsewhere in this issue of The Outcrop. The June through August schedule is not yet set but will probably include a visit to the USGS Ice Core facility in Lakewood. The September trip will focus on outcrops of the Fountain Formation along the base of the Front Range and will be led by John Webb, on the 10th of the month. That trip illustrates possibly the only bad thing about On the Rocks trips. As a southern Ancestral Rockies geologist, I would naturally be attracted to a trip focused on syntectonic deposits of the Ancestral Rockies Orogeny. The only problem is my wife just made plane reservations for us to go visit our daughter in Switzerland for the first couple of weeks of September. It seems to happen every year. The trip I most want to go on always gets scheduled while I will be out of state. Oh well, I am sure the trips that I will be able to make should be just as interesting. If you haven’t been on one before, you should consider joining us. At $20 a trip, they are a bargain!

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

MINERAL OF THE MONTH By Ronald L. Parker, Senior Geologist: Task Fronterra Geoscience, 5650 Greenwood Plaza Boulevard, Suite 105, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 | ron.parker@taskfronterra.com

EPIDOTE The Pistachio Green Mineral

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Euhedral and anhedral epidote crystals surrounded by calcite. This sample is from the Calumet mine NNE of Salida in Chafee County, Colorado. Although the euhedral crystals appear as dark green to greenish black, the granular epidote displays the diagnostic “pistachio green” color. The translucent green crystal in upper right middle is 7 mm tall and displays a hint of vertically oriented striations that are commonly observed on epidote crystal faces. These striations are aligned with the b crystallographic axis, which is almost always the long axis of crystals. Photo by Ronald L Parker.

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

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I’ve had a rock on my desk for almost 20 years that was given to me by a fellow student in graduate school. The rock was collected from the Calumet Iron Mine NE of Salida in Chafee County, Colorado. I’ve looked at this rock almost every day for a very long time and and it is, simply put, arresting (photo). The dominant mineral in this rock is dark green euhedral crystals of epidote. Epidote, Ca2(Al,Fe)Al2O(SiO4) (Si2O7)(OH), is a widespread, mostly metamorphic, silicate mineral that is characterized by a diagnostic yellow-green (pistachio-green) color. Epidote is commonly observed as massive coatings or granular aggregates. When found as euhedral crystals, particularly as elongated striated prisms, epidote is treasured by mineral collectors. As Cook (2002), indicates, epidote is unusual as one of the few rock-forming silicates that has beautiful collectible specimens available on a regular basis. Epidote is monoclinic, belonging to the 2/m crystal class. Crystals are usually elongated parallel to the b crystallographic axis and striations on crystal faces are also so aligned. The name is attributed to French mineralogist Hauy, from the Greek “epidosis”, meaning “increase” – purportedly a reference to the tendency of ideal prismatic crystals to have one side that is longer than the others (Cordua, 1998). Unit cell dimensions of epidote are a=8.98Å, b=5.64Å, c=10.22Å, for an axial ratio (a:b:c) of 1.59:1:1.81 (Klein, 2002). Epidote is a sorosilicate, the type of silicate mineral with the fewest members (~70). Sorosilicates are

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OUTCROP | May 2016

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

Zoom of euhedral epidote crystals from the picture at the front of the article displaying fine striations aligned with the b crystallographic axis. The elongate calcite crystal in the middle is 10 mm long. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.

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epidote (and the epidote group) even more special, its structure also includes an isolated silica tetrahedra – the hallmark of a nesosilicate (Si:O of 1:4). Unlike nesosilicates, however, the structure of sorosilicates includes chains of octahedrally-coordinated species. In the case of epidote, chains of AlO6 octahedra share

defined by two isolated silica tetrahedral sharing a single apical oxygen to yield an Si:O ratio of 2:7. Most of the sorosilicates are rare; the more abundant include hemimorphite, lawsonite, vesuvianite and the members of the epidote group (epidote, clinozoisite, allanite and piemontite) (Bonewitz, 2008). To make

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

Âť CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18 edges with AlO4(OH)2 octahedra and run parallel to the b crystallographic axis. An additional octahedral site is positioned outside of these chains and is occupied by differing cations (Al3+, Fe3+, Mn3+, Mg2+ and Fe2+) in the different Epidote Group members (Klein, 2002). The Epidote Group is a collection of minerals that are isostructural with epidote. As with epidote, members of the Epidote Group form monoclinic crystals elongated along the b crystallographic axis. Clinozoisite differs from epidote by having all octahedral sites occupied by Al3+. In allanite, some of the Ca2+ is replaced by the rare earth elements (REE)

OUTCROP | May 2016

cerium (Ce3+) or lanthanum (La3+). Charge balance is maintained in allanite by replacing some of the ferric iron (Fe3+) in the non-chain octahedral sites with ferrous iron (Fe2+). Epidote is most easily recognized by its distinctive and unusual light to dark pistachio green color. An obsolete name for epidote, referencing this characteristic, is pistachite (Mineral Data Publishing, 2001). Crystals may often appear dark green to greenish black, although the pistachio green is often revealed on broken surfaces (photo). Epidote has a colorless or grayish streak, displays one perfect cleavage on {001} and an

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

Spring into NEW Skills Carbonate Depositional Systems, Sequence Stratigraphy & Well Logs Thursday-Friday, May 19-20, 2016, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall room 243 Fee: $500, includes food at breaks, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Rick Sarg, Colorado School of Mines

This two-day course will include a review of carbonate rocks and the sediments that make up these rocks, and the application to well log interpretation. Processes and products of various significant carbonate depositional environments will be described. The course will emphasize the classification of rock types, identification of constituent carbonate particles, sedimentary processes, and diagenesis and porosity development of these important sedimentary rocks. The approach will combine criteria for facies recognition with facies associations, threedimensional geometries, sedimentary structures, and sedimentary dynamics. The workshop covers a review of the different carbonate platform types (i.e., ramps, prograding banks, and rimmed platforms, both isolated and attached) and their different architectures. The workshop combines well log with rock and seismic data, and the concepts of sequence stratigraphy to develop interpretations that help predict carbonate hydrocarbon systems, and characterize carbonate reservoirs and seals. Exercises will illustrate these concepts and include well log examples integrated with rock and seismic data.

Seismic Interpretation for Geoscientists

Wednesday-Thursday June 1-2, 2016, 8:30 am – 5 pm Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall rm. 243 Fee: $500, includes food at breaks, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Bruce Trudgill, Colorado School of Mines This course is aimed at petroleum geologists and engineers seeking an introduction to the interpretation of seismic reflection data. The basic concepts of the seismic reflection method will be addressed, but the course will focus on the practical geological interpretation of seismic reflection data, applying structural and stratigraphic concepts to a number of individual and group-based seismic interpretation exercises.

Tectonics of the Rocky Mountain Region

Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 8:30 am – 5 pm. Colorado School of Mines, Berthoud Hall rm. 243 Fee: $250, includes food at breaks, class notes, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Bruce Trudgill, Colorado School of Mines This one day short course will review the tectonic framework and history of the Rocky Mountain region. It will begin with a short review of tectonostratigraphic analysis and tectonic maps. The tectonic analysis will begin at the bottom of the geologic column with a brief discussion of the basement underpinnings of the region and Lower Palaeozoic cratonic-shelf setting. These shelfal deposits are variably preserved in the region but in some areas provide hydrocarbon reservoirs. This cratonicshelf was interrupted by crustal-scale intra-plate deformation in the late Palaeozoic, that resulted in widespread development of the Greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains. The uplifts produced arkosic sediments surrounding localized evaporite basins, but the voluminous Late Paleozoic sands are from a distal source. The early Mesozoic represents a return to the stable cratonicshelf that, in late Jurassic, begins to reflect orogeny to the west. Data support the presence of a low-dipping subduction zone along the western plate margin that resulted in crustal shortening and the development of the Cordilleran thrust belt and the basement-cored 'Laramide' Rocky Mountain uplifts and basins. Hydrocarbons, generated by the earliest subsidence related to thrusting began migrating toward the craton, only to be captured by the Laramide structures. Erosion of the uplifts filled the adjoining basins to spill-points. Cenozoic regional uplift (in places related to rifting) or climate changes have resulted in exhumation of the basins. This process is continuing today and was accelerated during the Pleistocene glacial event.

Class Descriptions and Register Online: www.pttcrockies.org

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org For more information,

21 Carr, 303.273.3107, mcarr@mines.edu OUTCROP | May 2016 contact Mary

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

Massive epidote coating a fracture surface on a hand sample of the Mount Princeton quartz monzonite, collected from Agnes Vaille Falls near Mount Princeton Hot Springs, Nathrop, CO. The distinctive pistachio green color is diagnostic of epidote. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

(Mindat, 2016). Epidote is found primarily in lowgrade to medium-grade regionally metamorphosed rocks, as a contact metamorphic mineral in igneous intrusions into carbonate hosts (skarns), as a component of blueschists and in high-pressure granites. Epidote is also found as a hydrothermal alteration product of plagioclases in granitic rocks, in basalt vesicles and in miarolitic cavities in granitic plutonic intrusives and as an accessory mineral in sandstones (Cook, 2002). Epidote forms as a mineral phase in mafic

imperfect cleavage on {100}. Epidote ranges in hardness from 6.0 to 7.0 and has a specific gravity of 3.4. Epidote displays a vitreous luster (Klein, 2002). Epidote often occurs as fracture coatings or granular or disseminated aggregates. When good crystal faces develop, epidote displays elongated prisms or thick tabular forms. Fine striations are observed on euhedral crystals, aligned with the b axis. Epidote is widely distributed across the planet. The MinDat database lists 7695 localities for epidote

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

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OUTCROP | May 2016

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MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

Example of Unakite from Culpepper County, Virginia. Unakite is an altered granitic rock consisting of epidote, orthoclase, plagioclase and quartz. Specimen is 14 cm in long dimension. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals. http://www. johnbetts-fineminerals.com

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 metamorphic rocks of the subgreenschist (prehnite-pumpellyite), greenschist and lower amphibolite grades. Epidote contributes color to the quintessential greenschist mineral assemblage (along with chlorite and actinolite). For greenschist facies mafic rocks, epidote is associated with zeolites, amphiboles, chlorite, calcic plagioclase, quartz, actinolite and calcite. The transition from greenschist to amphibolite facies rocks was formerly defined by a special facies – the epidote-amphibolite facies, although that usage has been phased out. At the lower amphibolite grade, metabasite rocks begin to experience a decrease in Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

the abundance of epidote (as well as chlorite and actinolite) which are consumed in reactions generating hornblende, plagioclase, titanite, garnet and biotite (Blatt and others, 2006). In skarns, where carbonate parent rocks are metamorphosed by contact with an intruding magma, the epidote is commonly found with amphiboles, vesuvianite, scapolite, talc, wollastonite, pyroxenes and garnet. The Calumet mine, where the Leadville Limestone is intruded by a granodiorite linked to the Thirty Nine Mile volcanic field, epidote is found with massive magnetite, radiating sheaves of light colored actinolite-tremolite, grossularite and calcite (Voynick, 1994).

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

OUTCROP | May 2016

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

Elongated striated prisms in a crystal mass of epidote on plagioclase feldspar from the Capelinha Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Photo is about 20 cm wide. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 In blueschist facies rocks, epidote occurs with pumpellyite, glaucophane, lawsonite, riebeckite, garnet and omphacite. (Mineral Data Publishing, 2001). While epidote is mostly found in low- to medium-grade metamorphic rocks, it is also noted to occur as a magmatic phase in high-pressure granites. The presence of magmatic epidote in granites, as well-crystallized, euhedral crystals, has been used by petrologists as a semiquantitative geobarometer – indicating crystallization pressures in excess of 8kbar (~28 km depth of emplacement) (Blatt et. al, 2006). Epidote is sometimes observed as an accessory mineral in sandstones, which invokes the presence of

OUTCROP | May 2016

low- to medium-grade metamorphics (or high-pressure granites) in the provenance drainage. Epidote has a lower survival potential during weathering, transport and diagenesis than other accessories (rutile, tourmaline and zircon). Hence, the presence of accessory epidote is a possible indicator of comparative proximity to source, minimal transport milling and/or arid conditions (Uddina and others, 2007). Epidote has no significant economic value outside of its appeal as a gem mineral or semi-precious stone traded by mineral enthusiasts. Euhedral epidote crystals are to be found at virtually every gem and mineral show. A special association of epidote as

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

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» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

MINERAL OF THE MONTH: EPIDOTE

a replacement of plagioclase in granitic rocks is termed unakite (photo). Unakite is characterized by pistachio green epidote contrasted against bright pink orthoclase with quartz – a stark color contrast. Unakite is used in making carvings and cabochons. Epidote, Ca2(Al,Fe)Al2O(SiO4) (Si2O7)(OH), is a widespread sorosilicate mineral that forms in a variety of metamorphic environments and in high-pressure granites. It is characterized by a diagnostic yellow-green (pistachio-green) color. Epidote is a treasured addition to a mineral enthusiast’s collection. If you don’t have epidote in your collection, you should try to find some to spruce up your shelf!

Cordua, W.S., 1998, Minerals of Wisconsin: Rocks and Minerals, 73(6):378-398. Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World: Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp. Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 641 pp. Lauf, Robert, 2008, Collector’s Guide to the Epidote Group Mindat, 2016, http://www.mindat.org/min-1389.html accessed 03/02/2016. Mineral Data Publishing, 2001, http://rruff.info/doclib/hom/epidote.pdf accessed 02/28/2016. Minerals.net (2016) http://www. minerals.net/mineral/epidote.

aspx accessed 01/30/16. Uddina, Ashraf, Kumara, Pranav, Sarmab, Jogen N., and Akhter, Syed H., 2007, Heavy Mineral Constraints on the Provenance of Cenozoic Sediments from the Foreland Basins of Assam and Bangladesh: Erosional History of the Eastern Himalayas and the Indo-Burman Ranges: in, Heavy Minerals in Use, ed. By Maria A. Mange and David T. Wright, Elsevier, Developments in Sedimentology, Vol. 58, pp. 823–847. Webmineral, 2016, Epidote Mineral Data: http://webmineral.com/data/Epidote. shtml#.Vu-LyOIrL4c accessed 03/04/16.

WEBLINKS

http://www.mindat.org/min1389.html http://webmineral.com/data/Epidote.shtml#.Vu-LyOIrL4c, http://www.minerals.net/mineral/epidote.aspx http://rruff.info/doclib/hom/epidote.pdf http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/index.htm

REFERENCES Blatt, Harvey, Tracy, Robert J., and Owens, Brent E., 2006, Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, 3rd Edition: New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 530 pp. Cook, Robert, 2002, Epidote: Knappenwand, Untersulzbachtal, Salzburg, Austria: Rocks and Minerals, 77(5):328-332. Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

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OUTCROP | May 2016

RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: John B. Curtis — May 4, 2016

Sunny Days in the Cretaceous: Evaluation of Niobrara and Mowry Formation Petroleum Systems in the Powder River, Denver and Central Basins of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado and Wyoming, USA By John B. Curtis1,2 John E. Zumberge2, Stephen W. Brown2 Potential Niobrara and Mowry formation source rocks and produced oils from multiple Cretaceous reservoirs were characterized for seven Rocky Mountain basins to evaluate generation and migration of shale oil from these petroleum systems. This is a subset of a comprehensive study of 14 Rocky Mountain basins. Total organic carbon, Rock-EvalTM pyrolysis and John Curtis is Professor Emeritus of Geology and Geological Engineering and Director, Potential Gas Agency at the Colorado School of Mines. He received a B.A. (1970) and M.Sc. (1972) in geology from Miami University and a Ph.D. (1989) in geology from The Ohio State University. He is a licensed Professional Geologist (Wyoming). Dr. Curtis was a Minuteman Missile Launch Officer and Instructor Launch Officer in the United States Air Force from 1972-1975. Dr. Curtis has been at the Colorado School of Mines since July 1990. He had 15 years prior experience in the petroleum industry with Texaco, SAIC, Columbia Gas, and Brown & Ruth Laboratories/ OUTCROP | May 2016

vitrinite reflectance analyses of rock samples were coupled with a detailed characterization of the produced oils, including saturate and aromatic carbon isotope compositions and sterane and terpane biomarkers. Light oils/condensates (with no surviving sterane and terpane biomarkers) were extensively characterized

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

Baker-Hughes. He serves on and has chaired several professional society and natural gas industry committees, which previously included the Supply Panel, Research Coordination Council, and the Science and Technology Committee of the Gas Technology Institute (Gas Research Institute). He co-chaired the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Committee on Unconventional Petroleum Systems from 1999-2004 and was a member of the AAPG Committee on Resource Evaluation from 1994 – 2014. Curtis was an Associate Editor of the AAPG Bulletin from 1998 – 2010. He has published studies and given numerous invited talks concerning hydrocarbon source rocks, exploration for unconventional reservoirs, and the size and distribution of U.S. and Canadian 26

natural gas resources and comparisons of resource assessment methodologies. As Director of the Potential Gas Agency, he directs a team of 100 geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers for the Potential Gas Committee’s biennial assessment of remaining U.S. natural gas resources. Prior to beginning transitional retirement, he taught petroleum geology, petroleum geochemistry and petroleum design at the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Curtis has worked with GeoMark Research, Ltd. in a consulting capacity since 1996. He is currently responsible for their Rocky Mountain petroleum system/ resource potential studies in the U.S. and Canada. 1. Colorado School of Mines 2. GeoMark Research, Ltd. Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

2016 Award of Excellence for

Teaching of Earth Science Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

THE WINNER RECEIVES A Plaque and a $1,000 Cash Award If you teach earth science in K-12 and think you qualify, contact the RMAG office at (303) 573-8621 for an application. Deadline is May 6. Previous winners were also selected to receive the Teacher of the Year Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists at the national and regional level.

The RMAG is a professional organization representing over 2000 earth scientists working in the Denver and Rocky Mountain area. In its capacity as the leading geologic organization in the Rocky Mountain area, each year the RMAG Foundation provides funding for an annual award presented to a teacher in recognition of his or her commendable efforts in introducing young minds to the earth sciences.

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RMAG Luncheon programs

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 with a new analytical and interpretive technique, GC-Triple Quad MS, aka QQQ. Systematic variations in source rock quality and thermal maturity for both formations were noted and mapped in the seven basins. These variations are due to differences in depositional environments, water-column anoxia and Laramide evolution of the studied basins. Determination of differences in depositional environments between the Niobrara and Mowry was based solely on biomarker interpretations. The Niobrara is an effective source rock due predominantly

OUTCROP | May 2016

to enhanced productivity in the water column, in contrast to the Mowry, where enhanced preservation played the major role. Three oil families were identified: • Mowry Family 1.1 member oils are mostly present in reservoirs in the Lower Cretaceous Muddy Formation, stratigraphically just below the Mowry source. Conversely, Niobrara Family 1.2 member oils mostly occur in the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Formation and Upper Cretaceous sands. • Many of the Cretaceous sub-family 1.3 oils occur in both Upper and Lower

Cretaceous reservoirs and are slightly separated (statistically) from either the Mowry or Niobrara sub-families because many were generated at a higher level of thermal maturity. Some of the sub-family 1.3 oils that are of moderate maturity appear to have another marine shale source, perhaps the Pierre and Carlile/Greenhorn formations.

In the Powder River Basin, Mowry-sourced oils occur mostly in the eastern half while Niobrara oils are more central. Light oils/ condensates produced from Cretaceous reservoirs in the Denver Basin correspond to the ‘Wattenberg Thermal Anomaly’. Just to the west and north, low/moderate mature Niobrara oils are present. In the NW corner of the Denver Basin, where both Mowry and Niobrara-sourced oils are present, the deeper Mowry oils are somewhat more mature. Low/moderate mature Mowry oils exist in both Laramie and North Park Basins while Niobrara oils only occur in the North Park Basin. Characterization of the oils allowed calibration of the source rock data and prediction of hydrocarbon generation. Comparison of oil and source rock maturity as vitrinite reflectance equivalent (VRE) aided in determining probable oil migration extent and direction. Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

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RMAG LUNCHEON PROGRAMS Speaker: Michael Leibovitz — June 1, 2016

Photo by Vladislav Gajic, Dreamstime.com

Kurdistan’s Exploration Frontier Past and Present By Michael Leibovitz Iraq’s wishes and conducted its own oil lease sales. Initially, only small independents entered the region while larger companies preferred to deal with the central government in southern Iraq. In the wake of these initial lease sales, a number of exploration wells were drilled and some significant discoveries were made. While Kurdistan shares elements of its geologic history with the rest of the Arabian Plate, significant differences have been observed that have implications for the region in terms of future development of these discoveries.

Kurdistan is a semi-autonomous area in northern Iraq that is part of the Zagros Fold Belt and shares a great deal of its geologic history with the greater Arabian Plate. Like much of the Arabian Plate, the petroleum system is robust and has hosted a number of discoveries and developments in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sections. Exploration in the Kurdish area of Iraq started in the early 20th century, but the campaign in the 1920s kicked off exploration and production across Iraq. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Kurdistan went against the central government of

Michael Leibovitz is a Geologist for Caerus Oil and Gas LLC. He is currently responsible for Caerus Oil and Gas LLC’s asset in the Piceance Basin. Prior to returning to Denver in late 2014, Mike worked for Exxon Mobil for 5 years where he spent the bulk of his time working on Iraq and 3 years specifically dedicated to exploration in Kurdistan. OUTCROP | May 2016

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LEAD STORY

BOILING TO LIFE

By Brett French Orignally published in the Billings Gazette

aybe it could be called Colter’s Heck. A small hydrothermal feature spouted to life March 25 in the Shoshone River where it meanders through Cody, Wyo. — just east of Yellowstone National Park’s more famous geyser features — spewing a brew of heated gases into the water for about four days. “I was surprised to see it,” said Dewey Vanderhoff, a Cody photographer who captured shots of the venting. “I’ve lived here all of my life and I’ve never seen it.”

Hydrothermal feature roils Shoshone River in Cody, Wyo.

HOT PAST

The Cody region was once called Colter’s Hell in memory of early explorer and trapper John Colter. He visited the region in the early 1800s after finishing a cross-country trek with two guys named Lewis and Clark. Colter noted the Cody-area geysers, hot springs and sulfurous smelling river and he told others. Back then the Shoshone River was known as the Stinkingwater or Stinking river for its sulfurous smell. Over the ages, most of those hydrothermal features have subsided, although geyser cones, hot springs, sinkholes, a sulfur-permeated spring and an abandoned sulfur mine and mill still stand testament to the area’s more active past. “We’re kind of in a lull compared to when John Colter was in this area,” said Jason

A hydrothermal vent that sprung to life and died only four days later is seen on Monday spouting discolored water into the Shoshone River inside the Cody, Wyo., city limits. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff

OUTCROP | May 2016

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OUTCROP | May 2016

Lead Story

Rolling discolored water is ejected into the Shoshone River in Cody, WY. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff

A Google Earth map pinpoints the site of the feature, right on the outskirts of Cody, WY. Courtesy of Google Earth

OUTCROP | May 2016

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Lead Story

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32

appeared to have a “substance” like Jell-O since it didn’t break up. “It was pretty impressive,” he said. “The river right there is a really dark green. With a polarizing filter it really popped out.” Vanderhoff posted images of the vent and the yellowish plume it sent downstream on his Facebook page. The posting received 2,000 views, which Vanderhoff called “unprecedented” for his page. By Wednesday, though, the venting had stopped, prompting Vanderhoff to call it a “transient geologic phenomenon.” Then on Friday the venting started again, so Vanderhoff grabbed his video camera this time.

Burkhardt, a Cody-based fisheries biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “There was substantially more geothermal activity that was occurring back then.”

PLUME

Vanderhoff said he found out about the plume when a friend telephoned on Monday morning and joked that he had “proof positive” that the Yellowstone super volcano was about to blow. His friend said a fissure had opened up in the river and “we’re all about to die,” Vanderhoff recounted. So Vanderhoff grabbed his camera and went to snap some photos. The vent was just behind the Best of the West store, down inside the narrow canyon that the Shoshone River has carved through the Chugwater geologic formation’s red stone. He said there was an old rock feature about the size of a bathtub with water gurgling out from four or five holes — “like jets in a Jacuzzi.” He said the plume

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OLD STORY

Burkhardt said such vents are nothing new along the Shoshone River below Buffalo Bill Dam, which is located about 4 miles west of Cody. “There are a number of springs that add hydrogen sulfide water to the river,” he said. “At certain

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

OUTCROP | May 2016

Lead Story

Hydrothermal features can emit hydrogen sulfide gas which is poisonous to humans and is a common byproduct of oil and gas drilling. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff

OUTCROP | May 2016

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Lead Story

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

times of the year it is lethal to fish.” Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs. In one stretch of the river through town, Burkhardt said surveys by his crew pick up no fish — a river dead zone — because of the high hydrogen sulfide content in the water. That concentration eventually dissipates about 1.5 miles downstream from DeMaris hot spring, he said. So for most of the year, except during high water flows in the spring, fish just below the dam and fish downstream of the hot springs are largely separate populations because of what Burkhardt called a chemical barrier. Despite the chemicals in the water, Burkhardt said there’s never been any evidence they accumulate in fish to the point that they are dangerous for humans or animals to consume. The Department of Environmental Quality took water samples above and below the feature in 2012, but not of what the vent emits, and found a slight increase in the water’s pH from

MENTOR! Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

mildly basic to mildly acidic, according to Jason Martineau of the DEQ’s Sheridan office. That swing isn’t enough to affect the river’s plant and animal life, he said. And even if it did, “We’re not going to be able to fix the problem,” he added.

WARM PLACE

Geologic studies have shown the Cody area sits atop a hot spot thanks to a large fold in the earth called the Horse Center anticline. One well drilled near DeMaris hot springs produced 208 gallons per minute of 93-degree water. Maximum temperatures of the underground water has been measured at 103 degrees. The well and hot springs are close to the southeastern edge of the anticline. On the eastern edge is a 2-mile long deposit of travertine, rock created by mineral springs like those found at Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park, further evidence of the area’s more active geologic past. The hydrothermal system is estimated to extend about 7 miles south of Cody. Growing up in the northwestern Wyoming town,

Vanderhoff said the town’s adjacent hot springs was tied into the “colorful history” of the area. Next to the springs once stood a nightclub, house of prostitution and a pool that he used to sneak into as a high school student. The venting hydrothermal feature is just “one little exclamation point” in that lively history, he said. Since the venting in the Shoshone River stopped shortly after Vanderhoff posted the Facebook photos on a day so close to April Fool’s, he joked that he “may have to eat a lot of crow.” “I hope it comes back,” he said. “Otherwise I’ll be made a fool.”

Do you have more knowledge than you know what to do with? If so you are the person RMAG is looking for. RMAG will be launching a mentor ship program starting in the Spring of 2016. Click here for more information.

OUTCROP | May 2016

ON THE ROCKS FIELDTRIP

The Enigma That Is the Colorado Rockies Why Do They Exist and When Did They Rise? evidence available to test competing hypotheses put forth to resolve it.

ABSTRACT This trip is a journey through the Laramide and post-Laramide history of the Colorado Rockies. There is no question that a set of mountain ranges very similar to those we see today rose during Laramide time, but it seems likely that today’s mountains are a newer and different range than the Laramide Rockies. Evidence supporting that interpretation includes: 1) the amount of crustal shortening that occurred during the Laramide Orogeny is insufficient to support a range as high as the modern Rockies; 2) the Laramide Rockies were beveled to form the prominent Rocky Mountain Erosion Surface, which was graded to the height of sedimentary fill on adjacent portions of the Great Plains. Erosion of that fill commenced about 5 million years ago, re-exposing the Laramide ranges and producing Colorado’s spectacular modern topography. But when and why Colorado reached its current lofty elevation and what event triggered the post-5 million-year-old erosion event are topics of active research and much controversy. On this trip we will explore the controversy and the

BRIEF ITINERARY

1. Drive from Denver to Castle Rock. We’ll go to Rock Park, where we’ll hike up to the town’s namesake. This is a good place to see and discuss the Rocky Mountain Erosion Surface and the burial of the Laramide Rockies. 2. Drive from Castle Rock to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument (FLFO) via Rampart Range Road (a good gravel road). On the drive we’ll cross two Laramide thrust faults and pass through the Woodland Park graben. At FLFO, we will examine the Wall Mountain Tuff, a product of the enormous, post-Laramide ‘Ignimbrite Flareup’ volcanic event, as well as the Florissant Formation. Plant fossils from the Florissant Formation lagerstatten provide a key datum for paleoelevation studies of the Rockies. 3. Drive from Florissant into South Park and on to Mushroom Gulch, near Trout Creek Pass (the last few miles are on a good dirt road). Here we will inspect an Eocene-aged paleochannel through which powerful rivers and titanic volcanic ash flows once coursed. We’ll discuss the Ignimbrite Flareup and formation of the Rio Grande Rift. 4. Backtrack through South Park from Mushroom Gulch to Jefferson via Elkhorn Road (a good gravel road). Along the way we will make a couple of stops to examine the Eocene-aged lacustrine Antero Formation and see the Elkhorn Thrust. This major Laramide thrust bounds the Front Range on its western side. We’ll also discuss Laramide volcanic activity

FieldTrip Leader The May 21st On The Rocks Fieldtrip will be led by Lon Abbott, Geological Sciences Advisor in the CU Geological Sciences Department. Many of you know Lon from the book he and his wife, Terri Cook, wrote entitled “Geology Underfoot Along Colorado’s Front Range”. His primary qualifications to lead this trip stem from his job co-teaching, along with Peter Molnar, a CU class that explores the geologic evolution of the Colorado Rockies and the Colorado Plateau. He also conducts research on the evolution of both those provinces. His most recent paper (published last June in Geosphere) explored the rate at which the Colorado River has cut the Grand Canyon during the past 500,000 years.

» CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

OUTCROP | May 2016

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June 8, 2016 City Park Golf Course

RMAG Golf Tournament 2016 Only one Morning Flight!

The last day to register is May 26th! Registration is open! Please visit www.rmag.org for more information. Half Day 7:30am shotgun Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Golf Chair - Brandon Sejera brandon.sejera@gmail.com 303-842-4104 Past Golf Chair Advisor - Gerald Brummett gb@westlandandlegal.com 303-918-6425

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Editors, Monty Hoffman (April 2016 Outcrop) provided some interesting information about the debate on global warming. His analysis arouses speculation about why the geologic community hasn’t provided similar information in terms of a historical (geological) perspective on global warming, a.k.a climate change. News outlets, policy makers, and the public should be inundated with this type of information so informed decisions can be make. For example, at a recent forum on climate change, a panel member and an engineer from the National Renewal Energy Lab (NREL) dismissed any notion of including geologic type data in his analysis of climate. This denial, this lack of transparency should not be part of a scientific method. Geologic processes in the Pleistocene

and Holocene must be included in the discussion and analysis of global warming. Also, Hoffman makes several valid comments about the modeling process. Numerical models historically input a number and output a number. Fortunately, models have evolved to input several data distributions, iterate those distributions hundreds if not thousands of times, and produce multiple possible outcomes. This probabilistic approach allows one to evaluate best case, worst case, and average case scenarios to access risk and make informed decisions. Also, equations that drive models are often derived from laboratory experiments which then must be scaled-up, a process that has numerous assumptions and uncertainties. –Lawrence O. Anna

ON THE ROCKS FIELDTRIP

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38

(www.rmag.org). Cost will be $20 for professionals and $5.00 for students and educators. It would be appropriate to bring some cash to contribute for gas money for the volunteer drivers. Please bring a lunch, snacks, water, sunscreen, camera, notebook, and a lifetime National Parks pass if you have one. For anyone over 62, you can purchase a pass for $10 and can actually get it at Florissant National Monument. It has to be one of the best deals ever!

as we pass Reinecker Ridge and see more evidence of Ignimbrite Flareup volcanism on the western skyline at the Buffalo Peaks. 5. From Jefferson we will return to Denver via

KENOSHA PASS.

The trip will be limited to 30 people and you must sign up with RMAG on the website

VOLUNTER! OUTCROP | May 2016

As a diverse community of individuals working towards a worthy cause, we believe that your unique talents can bring us all forward. Volunteers are always needed and welcome! If you would like to volunteer for any of our committees or events, please contact the RMAG office at (303) 5738621 or staff@rmag.org

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

IN THE PIPELINE MAY 4, 2016

MAY 19, 2016

MAY 25, 2016

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker John Curtis. “Sunny Days in the Cretaceous: Evaluation of Niobrara and Mowry Formation Petroleum Systems in the Powder River, Denver and Central Basins of the Rocky Mountains, CO and WY.” Maggiano’s, located downtown Denver.

DWLS Annual Spring/ Summer Social. Lime Cantina, Denver Pavilion.

Oilfield Christian Fellowship. For reservations, RSVP to OCF-DenverChapter @pxd.com or 303-675-2602.

MAY 13, 2016 DIPS Luncheon. Email aeglerd@ directpetroleum.com. Or call 303-285-9136. MAY 17, 2016 DWLS Luncheon. TBA

MAY 19-20, 2016 JUNE 1, 2016

PTTC Rockies Short Course. Instructor Rick Sarg. “Carbonate Depositional Systems, Sequence Stratigraphy and Well Logs.” CSM, Golden, CO.

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker Michael Leibovitz. “Sandstone Injectites of the Colorado Front Range: Age, Regional Extent, Emplacement Mechanism, and Significance as a Fluid Migration Pathway.”

MAY 21, 2016 RMAG OTR Field Trip. “The enigma that is the Colorado Rockies: Why do they exist and when did they rise?”

JUNE 8, 2016 RMAG Golf Tournament. City Park Golf Course, Denver, CO.

RMAG FOUNDATION

2013-14 +

SCHOLARSHIPS CONTRIBUTIONS

McKenna Fund

Babcock Fund

Stone/Holberg Fund

CSU Fund Bolyard Fund

Veterans Fund

Colorado School of Mines

Colorado College

SCHOLARSHIPS CU Boulder

Rocky Mtn region Universities awarded to veterans attending Rocky Mtn Region Universities

University of WY Fund

AAPG - Imperial Barrel

Morrison Natural History

AAPG Student Leadership

PTTC Futures in Energy

Friend of Dinosaur Ridge

Denver Public Schools

Rocky Mtn Section Rocky Mtn Section

Inner City School attendance Rocky Mtn Section

Golden Pick Award RMAG

Guidebook contribution AAPG Sectional meeting Rockbuster Ball awards

Studying Rocky Mtn Structural Geology Golden

Foster

Studying Rocky Mtn Geology

RMAG Student Summit sponsor CO Science Teacher of the Year CO State Science Fair winners

CONTRIBUTIONS

mineral sets

Contibutions can be made at https://www.rmag.org/i4a/ams/publicLogin.cfm for RMAG members RMAG Foundation | 910 16th Street Mall, Suite 1214 | Denver, CO 80202

OUTCROP | May 2016

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

RMAG ♦♦ DAPL

GeoLand Ski Day 2016 Friday, March 11, 2016 What a blast at Winter Park and Red Rocks!

Share your pics! - https://www.facebook.com/events/112086792472314/

Thank you to our 2016 sponsors!

Thank you to WEA, COGA, and CRED for their support of the ski ambassadors' program (aka helmet covers) in 2016!

Swag Bag Item

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | May 2016

RMAG ♦♦ DAPL RMAG RMAG♦♦ ♦♦DAPL DAPL

GeoLand Ski Day 2016 GeoLand GeoLandSki SkiDay Day2016 2016 Green Green

Denver DenverEarth Earth Resources ResourcesLibrary Library

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Breakfast BreakfastBurritos Burritos

Double Black Diamond Pre-Party Pre-PartyKeg Keg&&Gumbo Gumbo

Elk ElkRiver RiverLand Land Services ServicesLLC LLC

Angelle Angelle&&Donohue Donohue Oil Oil&&Gas GasProperties, Properties,Inc. Inc.

Black Diamond

OUTCROP | May 2016

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

RMAG RMAG♦♦ ♦♦DAPL DAPL RMAG ♦♦ DAPL GeoLand GeoLandSki SkiDay Day2016 2016 GeoLand Ski Day 2016 Green Green Denver DenverEarth Earth Resources ResourcesLibrary Library

Coffee Coffee&&Donuts Donuts

Shanor & Collins LLC

Breakfast BreakfastBurritos Burritos

Pre-Party Pre-PartyKeg Keg&&Gumbo Gumbo

Blue Elk ElkRiver RiverLand Land Services ServicesLLC LLC

Angelle Angelle&&Donohue Donohue Oil Oil&&Gas GasProperties, Properties,Inc. Inc.

McCormick & Associates LLC

Blue

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | May 2016

RMAG RMAG DAPL ♦♦ DAPL RMAG RMAG♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦DAPL DAPL

GeoLand GeoLand Ski Day Ski Day 2016 2016 Green Green RMAG ♦♦ DAPL GeoLand GeoLandSki SkiDay Day2016 2016

Green Breakfast Burritos GeoLand Ski Day 2016 Earth Denver Resources Resources Library Library RMAG RMAG ♦♦ DAPL ♦♦ DAPL

Coffee & Donuts Denver DenverEarth Earth

Resources Library

Green Denver Earth GeoLand GeoLand Ski Day Ski Day 2016 2016 Denver Earth Resources Library Green Green Coffee Coffee&&Donuts Donuts Breakfast BreakfastBurritos Burritos Resources Library

Pre-Party Keg & Gumbo DenverDenver Earth Earth Resources Resources LibraryLibrary

__________________________________________________________ eoffee & Donuts & Donuts Breakfast Breakfast Burritos Bu Pre-Party Pre-PartyKeg Keg&&Gumbo Gumbo

Coffee Coffee & Donuts & Donuts

Breakfast Breakfast Burritos Burritos

Elk ElkRiver RiverLand Land Angelle Angelle&&Donohue Donohue Pre-Party Keg & Gumbo Services Services LLC LLC Oil Oil&&Gas GasProperties, Properties,Inc. Inc.

Pre-Party Pre-Party Keg & Keg Gumbo & Gumbo Elk River Land Services LLC Elk River Land Services LLC OUTCROP | May 2016

Angelle & Donohue Oil & Gas Properties, Inc. Angelle & Donohue Oil & Gas Properties, Inc. Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

James Bridgeman

Gary Griffith

is a Geologist at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation in Denver, Colorado.

is a Vice President at JOG

works at Fuse Energy in Golden, Colorado.

Kristy Milliken

Christiana Orlandini Gary Huber

works at Rangeland E&P LLC in Centennial, Colorado.

Robert Fillmore

is a Professor of Geology at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado.

Henry Badra

is a Geologist at Noble Energy

Corporation in Santa

in Denver, Colorado.

Rosa, California.

Roy Kligfield

lives in Boulder, Colorado.

lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

James Brothers

Peter Smith

works at Geophysical Pursuit,

Shane Mogensen

Ben Metz

Inc. in Houston, Texas.

is a new RMAG member.

works at Juneau Energy

works at SM Energy in Billings, Montana.

in Golden, Colorado.

OUTCROP ADVERTISING RATES 1 Time

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Full page (7-1/2” x 9-1/4”)

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Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | May 2016

CALENDAR | MAY 2016 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

RMAG Luncheon. Speaker John Curtis.

DIPS Luncheon.

DWLS Annual Spring/Summer Social. PTTC Rockies Short Course.

DWLS Luncheon.

21 RMAG OTR Field Trip.

Oilfield Christian Fellowship.

ADVERTISER INDEX • AAPG �� 7, 15 • Columbine Logging �� 25 • Daub & Associates, LLC �� 6 • Décollement Consulting, Inc. �� 17 • Denver Earth Resources Library �� 4 • Donovan Brothers Inc. �� 6 • Enerplus �� 12 • Eureka Geological Consulting, LLC �� 20 • Geo Link �� 20 • GeoMark �� 14 • GeoSteering �� 36 • Horizontal Solutions Intl. (HSI) �� 11 • James C. Karo Associates Land Services �� 10 • JLog® Petrophysical Software �� 18 • Johnson Geo-Consulting, LLC �� 6 • Kestrel Geoscience, LLC �� 6 • Louis J. Mazzullo, LLC �� 6 OUTCROP | May 2016

• Mineral Appraiser, LLC �� 18 • MJ Systems �� 35 • Neil H. Whitehead, III �� 8 • PTTC �� 21 • QEP Resources �� 11 • Sinclair Petroleum Engineering, Inc. �� 8 • SM Energy �� 10 • Spancers & Associates �� 22 • Stephens Production Company �� 13 • Stoner Engineering (SES) �� 19 • Sunburst Consulting �� 14 • Thomas L. Davis, Geologist �� 37 • Tracker Resource Development LLC �� 28 • Whiting Petroleum Corporation �� 9 • W.W. Little Geological Consulting, LLC �� 6, 22 • Yates Petroleum Corporation �� 13 48

Vol. 65, No. 5 | www.rmag.org