A possible concealed pluton in Beaverhead and Madison Counties, Montana, and Clark County, Idaho

A northeast-trending magnetic anomaly in parts of Beaverhead and Madison Counties, Mont., and Clark County, Idaho, may reflect the trend, shape, and size of a concealed pluton. The type of rock that forms the pluton(?) is unknown. A small volcanic pipe, possibly a diatreme, is at the southeast end of the high. The pipe, about 92 m (300 ft) in diameter, consists of a rubbly basalt-like matrix through which are scattered xenoliths of Precambrian crystalline rocks and of various Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata. It is uncertain whether the juxtaposition of the pipe and the magnetic high is meaningful or is merely fortuitous. Although no mineralized rock was found in the area underlain by the anomaly, placer gold has been found nearby. Some 113 km (70 mi) to the west, in Custer and Lemhi Counties, Idaho, a similar northeast-trending magnetic high marks the site of the Gilmore mining district. The similarities in trend, shape, and magnitude between the two anomalies suggest that the high in Beaverhead and Madison Counties should be investigated for undetected mineral deposits, possibly by a geochemical survey.