Page:The Journal of geology (IA journalofgeology11893univers).pdf/181
basalt like the first. This was succeeded by a period of extensive erosion; reducing the country to nearly its present form. Then came the eruption of a vast flood of rhyolite constituting the Park plateau, which was followed in this region by smaller outbreaks of basalt. The last phase of volcanic activity is found in the geysers and fumaroles which have rendered this region famous.
The volcano of Crandall Basin consists chiefly of the first series of basic andesites and basalts. The earlier acidic andesite, which occurs beneath these rocks, appears to be the remnants of eruptions from neighboring centers.
Nothing remains of the original outline of the volcano. The district is now covered by systems of valleys and ridges of mountain peaks that rise from two thousand to five thousand feet above the valley bottoms. The geological structure of the country, however, makes its original character evident.
The outlying portions of the district to the south, west, and north consist of nearly horizontally bedded tuffs, and subaërial breccias of basic andesite and basalt. With these are intercalated some massive lava flows, which are scarce in the lower parts of the breccia, but predominate in the highest parts, above an altitude of ten thousand feet. Here they constitute the summits of the highest peaks.
In contrast to the well-bedded breccias around the margin of the district, the central portion consists of chaotic and orderless accumulations of scoriaceous breccia with some massive flows. These breccias carry larger fragments of rocks and exhibit greater uniformity in petrographical character.
A still more noticeable feature of the central portion of the district is the occurrence of dikes which form prominent walls, and may be traced for long distances across the country. The greater part of them are found to converge toward a center in the highest ridge in the middle of the drainage basin of Crandall creek. A small number converge toward a second center three or four miles east of the first. In the southern part of the district there are many dikes trending toward a center near the