Scott A Minor
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
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 te
Data 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
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 mountain
Geologic 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 fa
Geologic 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 deposi
Geologic 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 U
Geologic 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 plai
Geologic 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 structur
Geologic 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
Geologic map of the Agua Fria quadrangle, Santa Fe County, New Mexico
No abstract available.
Filter Total Items: 27
Using surficial geologic maps, vegetation, and monitoring to address erosion impacts from grazing in Channel Islands National Park, California
Employing a map-unit classification scheme based on geomorphic process and age, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapped Quaternary surficial deposits of the five islands comprising Channel Islands National Park (CHIS), California, as no such maps previously existed. Mapping was motivated through an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to aid natural resource assessments, including post-
Authors
Kevin Schmidt, Scott A. Minor, Kathryn McEachern
Strontium isotope chronostratigraphic age of a sirenian fossil site on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Fossils in the order Sirenia (family Dugongidae) from Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park in southern California, provide rare temporal and spatial links between earlier and later evolutionary forms of dugongids, and add information about their dispersal into the northeastern Pacific region. Marine sedimentary rocks containing these fossils have characteristics of both the lat
Authors
James B. Paces, Scott A. Minor, Kevin M. Schmidt, Jonathan Hoffman
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,
Authors
Jonathan S. Caine, Scott A. Minor, V. J. S. Grauch, James R. Budahn, Tucker T. Keren
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, parti
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. DeVogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel
Landscapes 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, landslides
Authors
R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor, Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffery S. Pigati
Oblique 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 measu
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Mark R. Hudson, Jonathan S. Caine, Ren A. Thompson
Tectonic 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 Ch
Authors
R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, John P. McGeehin
Three-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 this
Authors
Michael P. Pantea, Mark R. Hudson, V. J. S. Grauch, Scott A. Minor
A 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, altho
Authors
Robert H. Mariner, Scott A. Minor, A. King, J.R. Boles, Karl S. Kellogg, William C. Evans, Gary Landis, A.G. Hunt, Christy B. Till
Geologic 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 Gol
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Karl S. Kellogg, Richard G. Stanley, Theodore R. Brandt
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
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 o
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Mark R. Hudson
The 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-water
Authors
Scott A. Minor
Science and Products
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 te
Data 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
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 mountain
Geologic 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 fa
Geologic 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 deposi
Geologic 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 U
Geologic 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 plai
Geologic 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 structur
Geologic 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
Geologic map of the Agua Fria quadrangle, Santa Fe County, New Mexico
No abstract available.
Filter Total Items: 27
Using surficial geologic maps, vegetation, and monitoring to address erosion impacts from grazing in Channel Islands National Park, California
Employing a map-unit classification scheme based on geomorphic process and age, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) mapped Quaternary surficial deposits of the five islands comprising Channel Islands National Park (CHIS), California, as no such maps previously existed. Mapping was motivated through an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to aid natural resource assessments, including post-
Authors
Kevin Schmidt, Scott A. Minor, Kathryn McEachern
Strontium isotope chronostratigraphic age of a sirenian fossil site on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Fossils in the order Sirenia (family Dugongidae) from Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park in southern California, provide rare temporal and spatial links between earlier and later evolutionary forms of dugongids, and add information about their dispersal into the northeastern Pacific region. Marine sedimentary rocks containing these fossils have characteristics of both the lat
Authors
James B. Paces, Scott A. Minor, Kevin M. Schmidt, Jonathan Hoffman
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,
Authors
Jonathan S. Caine, Scott A. Minor, V. J. S. Grauch, James R. Budahn, Tucker T. Keren
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, parti
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. DeVogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel
Landscapes 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, landslides
Authors
R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor, Daniel R. Muhs, Jeffery S. Pigati
Oblique 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 measu
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Mark R. Hudson, Jonathan S. Caine, Ren A. Thompson
Tectonic 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 Ch
Authors
R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, John P. McGeehin
Three-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 this
Authors
Michael P. Pantea, Mark R. Hudson, V. J. S. Grauch, Scott A. Minor
A 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, altho
Authors
Robert H. Mariner, Scott A. Minor, A. King, J.R. Boles, Karl S. Kellogg, William C. Evans, Gary Landis, A.G. Hunt, Christy B. Till
Geologic 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 Gol
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Karl S. Kellogg, Richard G. Stanley, Theodore R. Brandt
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
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 o
Authors
Scott A. Minor, Mark R. Hudson
The 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-water
Authors
Scott A. Minor
*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