Scott Minor is a Scientist Emeritus with the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center.
Current Research and Specialties
Geologic framework and fault kinematic and paleostress histories of strain transfer and accommodation zones of the middle and northern Rio Grande rift, New Mexico and Colorado
Fault-related fluid flow within poorly consolidated sediments
Geologic mapping and geologic framework characterization
Structural geology, especially brittle faulting
Professional Experience
1998-present: Research Geologist
1984-1998: Geologist
1979-1981: Physical Science Technician
Education and Certifications
1985: M.S., Geology, University of Colorado
1979: B.S., Geology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America
Colorado Scientific Society (2011: President)
American Geophysical Union
Science and Products
A comprehensive survey of faults, breccias, and fractures in and flanking the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
Coastal tectonics on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary sea-level history and uplift rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Oblique transfer of extensional strain between basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Fault kinematic and paleostress constraints
Tectonic influences on the preservation of marine terraces: Old and new evidence from Santa Catalina Island, California
Three-dimensional geologic model of the southeastern Espanola Basin, Santa Fe County, New Mexico
Structural and geochemical characteristics of faulted sediments and inferences on the role of water in deformatiion, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
A landslide in Tertiary marine shale with superheated fumaroles, Coast Ranges, California
Geologic Map of the Goleta Quadrangle, Santa Barbara County, California
Regional survey of structural properties and cementation patterns of fault zones in the northern part of the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico - Implications for ground-water flow
The Cerrillos Uplift, the La Bajada Constriction, and Hydrogeologic Framework of the Santo Domingo Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
Late Quaternary alluviation and offset along the eastern Big Pine fault, southern California
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Cenozoic Landscape Evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Tectonics
Uranium and Strontium geochronology data for marine terraces on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Data for a Comprehensive Survey of Fault Zones, Breccias, and Fractures in and Flanking the Eastern Espanola Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
Geologic map of the Poncha Pass area, Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache Counties, Colorado
Geologic map of the southern White Ledge Peak and Matilija quadrangles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California
Geologic map of the southern White Ledge Peak and Matilija quadrangles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California
Geologic map of the Cochiti Dam quadrangle, Sandoval County, New Mexico
Geologic map of the Cochiti Dam quadrangle, Sandoval County, New Mexico
Geologic map of the Montoso Peak quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico
Geologic map of the Montoso Peak quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico
Geologic Map of the Santa Barbara Coastal Plain Area, Santa Barbara County, California
Geologic Map of the Eastern Three-Quarters of the Cuyama 30' x 60' Quadrangle, California
Geologic Map of Oasis Valley Spring-Discharge Area and Vicinity, Nye County, Nevada
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 33
A comprehensive survey of faults, breccias, and fractures in and flanking the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
A comprehensive survey of geologic structures formed in the Earth’s brittle regime in the eastern Española Basin and flank of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico, reveals a complex and protracted record of multiple tectonic events. Data and analyses from this representative rift flank-basin pair include measurements from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones,Coastal tectonics on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary sea-level history and uplift rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
The Pacific Rim is a region where tectonic processes play a significant role in coastal landscape evolution. Coastal California, on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rm, is very active tectonically and geomorphic expressions of this include uplifted marine terraces. There have been, however, conflicting estimates of the rate of late Quaternary uplift of marine terraces in coastal California, partiLandscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Santa Rosa Island (SRI) is the second-largest of the California Channel Islands. It is one of 4 east–west aligned islands forming the northern Channel Islands chain, and one of the 5 islands in Channel Islands National Park. The landforms, and collections of landforms called landscapes, of Santa Rosa Island have been created by tectonic uplift and faulting, rising and falling sea level, landslidesOblique transfer of extensional strain between basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, New Mexico: Fault kinematic and paleostress constraints
The structural geometry of transfer and accommodation zones that relay strain between extensional domains in rifted crust has been addressed in many studies over the past 30 years. However, details of the kinematics of deformation and related stress changes within these zones have received relatively little attention. In this study we conduct the first-ever systematic, multi-basin fault-slip measuTectonic influences on the preservation of marine terraces: Old and new evidence from Santa Catalina Island, California
The California Channel Islands contain some of the best geologic records of past climate and sea-level changes, recorded in uplifted, fossil-bearing marine terrace deposits. Among the eight California Channel Islands and the nearby Palos Verdes Hills, only Santa Catalina Island does not exhibit prominent emergent marine terraces, though the same terrace-forming processes that acted on the other ChThree-dimensional geologic model of the southeastern Espanola Basin, Santa Fe County, New Mexico
This multimedia model and report show and describe digital three-dimensional faulted surfaces and volumes of lithologic units that confine and constrain the basin-fill aquifers within the Espanola Basin of north-central New Mexico. These aquifers are the primary groundwater resource for the cities of Santa Fe and Espanola, six Pueblo nations, and the surrounding areas. The model presented in thisStructural and geochemical characteristics of faulted sediments and inferences on the role of water in deformatiion, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
The San Ysidro fault is a spectacularly exposed normal fault located in the northwestern Albuquerque Basin of the Rio Grande Rift. This intrabasin fault is representative of many faults that formed in poorly lithified sediments throughout the rift. The fault is exposed over nearly 10 km and accommodates nearly 700 m of dip slip in subhorizontal, siliciclastic sediments. The extent of the exposureA landslide in Tertiary marine shale with superheated fumaroles, Coast Ranges, California
In August 2004, a National Forest fire crew extinguished a 1.2 ha fire in a wilderness area ~40 km northeast of Santa Barbara, California. Examination revealed that the fire originated on a landslide dotted with superheated fumaroles. A 4 m borehole punched near the hottest (262 °C) fumarole had a maximum temperature of 307 °C. Temperatures in this borehole have been decreasing by ~0.1 °C/d, althoGeologic Map of the Goleta Quadrangle, Santa Barbara County, California
This map depicts the distribution of bedrock units and surficial deposits and associated deformation underlying those parts of the Santa Barbara coastal plain and adjacent southern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains within the Goleta 7 ?? quadrangle at a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map = 2,000 feet on the ground) and with a horizontal positional accuracy of at least 20 m. The GolRegional survey of structural properties and cementation patterns of fault zones in the northern part of the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico - Implications for ground-water flow
Motivated by the need to document and evaluate the types and variability of fault zone properties that potentially affect aquifer systems in basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, we systematically characterized structural and cementation properties of exposed fault zones at 176 sites in the northern Albuquerque Basin. A statistical analysis of measurements and observations evaluated four aspects oThe Cerrillos Uplift, the La Bajada Constriction, and Hydrogeologic Framework of the Santo Domingo Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
The geologic, geophysical, and hydrogeologic properties of the La Bajada constriction and Santo Domingo Basin, northern New Mexico, result from tectonic and volcanic processes of the late Tertiary and Quaternary Rio Grande rift. An integrated geologic and geophysical assessment in the La Bajada constriction allows development of a geologic framework that can provide input for regional ground-waterLate Quaternary alluviation and offset along the eastern Big Pine fault, southern California
Determining late Quaternary offset rates on specific faults within active mountain belts is not only a key component of seismic hazard analysis, but sheds light on regional tectonic development over geologic timescales. Here we report an estimate of dip-slip rate on the eastern Big Pine oblique-reverse fault in the upper Cuyama Valley within the western Transverse Ranges of southern California, anNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- Science
Cenozoic Landscape Evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains
The Cenozoic Landscape Evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains Project is a multi-year investigation funded by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. This project utilizes a combination of geologic mapping, geophysical surveys, basin modeling, and structural, neotectonic, geomorphic, volcanic, stratigraphic, and geochronologic studies to better understand the geologic landscape of...Tectonics
The Southern Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico, Colorado and southern Wyoming consist of a broad array of Proterozoic-basement-cored structural uplifts and flanking sedimentary basins. Many of these uplift-basin systems involved some degree of Late Cretaceous to Eocene crustal contraction when they initially formed during the Laramide Orogeny. Recent research has demonstrated that elements of... - Data
Uranium and Strontium geochronology data for marine terraces on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Studies of marine terraces and their fossils can yield important information about sea level history, tectonic uplift rates, and paleozoogeography. The marine terrace record on Santa Rosa Island, California is complex. Two prominent low-elevation terraces appear to record the ~80 ka (MIS 5a) and ~120 ka (MIS 5e) high-sea stands, based on U-series dating of fossil corals, but interpretations are teData for a Comprehensive Survey of Fault Zones, Breccias, and Fractures in and Flanking the Eastern Espanola Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
This release provides the data for a comprehensive survey of geologic structures in the eastern Espaola Basin of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico. The release includes data and analyses from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones, joints, and veins, investigated at a total of just over 100 sites. Structures were examined and compared from poorly lithified T - Maps
Geologic map of the Poncha Pass area, Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache Counties, Colorado
This report presents a 1:24,000-scale geologic map, cross sections, and descriptive and interpretative text for the Poncha Pass area in central Colorado. The map area is irregular in shape, covering all of one 7 ½' quadrangle (Poncha Pass) and parts of five others (Mount Ouray, Maysville, Salida West, Salida East, and Wellsville). The map boundaries were drawn to cover all of the “Poncha mountainGeologic map of the southern White Ledge Peak and Matilija quadrangles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California
This report presents a digital geologic strip map of the southern parts of the contiguous White Ledge Peak and Matilija 7.5’ quadrangles in coastal southern California. With a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground), the map depicts the distribution of bedrock units, surficial deposits, and associated deformation adjacent to and south of the Arroyo Parida faGeologic map of the southern White Ledge Peak and Matilija quadrangles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California
This report presents a digital geologic strip map of the southern parts of the contiguous White Ledge Peak and Matilija 7.5’ quadrangles in coastal southern California. With a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground), the map depicts the distribution of bedrock units, surficial deposits, and associated deformation adjacent to and south of the Arroyo Parida faGeologic map of the Cochiti Dam quadrangle, Sandoval County, New Mexico
The Cochiti Dam quadrangle is located in the southern part of the Española Basin and contains sedimentary and volcanic deposits that record alluvial, colluvial, eolian, tectonic and volcanic processes over the past seventeen million years. The geology was mapped from 1997 to 1999 and modified in 2004 to 2008. The primary mapping responsibilities were as follows: Dethier mapped the surficial deposiGeologic map of the Cochiti Dam quadrangle, Sandoval County, New Mexico
The Cochiti Dam quadrangle is located in the southern part of the Española Basin and contains sedimentary and volcanic deposits that record alluvial, colluvial, eolian, tectonic and volcanic processes over the past seventeen million years. The geology was mapped from 1997 to 1999 and modified in 2004 to 2008. The primary mapping responsibilities were as follows: Dethier mapped the surficial deposiGeologic map of the Montoso Peak quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico
The Montoso Peak quadrangle is underlain by volcanic rocks and associated sediments of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field in the southern part of the Española Basin that record volcanic, faulting, alluvial, colluvial, and eolian processes over the past three million years. The geology was mapped from 1997 to 1999 and modified in 2004 to 2008. The geologic mapping was carried out in support of the UGeologic map of the Montoso Peak quadrangle, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico
The Montoso Peak quadrangle is underlain by volcanic rocks and associated sediments of the Cerros del Rio volcanic field in the southern part of the Española Basin that record volcanic, faulting, alluvial, colluvial, and eolian processes over the past three million years. The geology was mapped from 1997 to 1999 and modified in 2004 to 2008. The geologic mapping was carried out in support of the UGeologic Map of the Santa Barbara Coastal Plain Area, Santa Barbara County, California
This report presents a newly revised and expanded digital geologic map of the Santa Barbara coastal plain area at a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground)1 and with a horizontal positional accuracy of at least 20 m. The map depicts the distribution of bedrock units and surficial deposits and associated deformation underlying and adjacent to the coastal plaiGeologic Map of the Eastern Three-Quarters of the Cuyama 30' x 60' Quadrangle, California
The map area encompasses a large part of the western Transverse Ranges and southern Coast Ranges of southern California. The San Andreas fault (SAF) cuts the northern part of the map. The area south of the SAF, about 80 percent of the map area, encompasses several distinct tectonic blocks bounded by major thrust or reverse faults, including the Santa Ynez fault, Big Pine fault (and structurGeologic Map of Oasis Valley Spring-Discharge Area and Vicinity, Nye County, Nevada
This map report presents the geologic framework of an area in southern Nye County, Nevada, that extends from the southern limit of the Oasis Valley spring-discharge site, northeastward to the southwest margin of the Pahute Mesa testing area, on the Nevada Test Site. This map adds new surficial mapping and revises bedrock mapping previously published as USGS Open-File Report 99-533-B. The locations
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government