Alvord Valley

Past Producer in Harney county in Oregon, United States with commodities Boron-Borates, Sodium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Ownership information
  14. Links to other databases
  15. Bibliographic references
  16. General comments
  17. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10023811
MRDS ID I003002
Record type Site
Current site name Alvord Valley
Alternate or previous names Hot Lake

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -118.58434, 42.3332 (WGS84)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Harney(county)

Oregon(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Borax Lake(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Alvord Lake(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Adel(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Alvord Lake(hydrologic unit)

Oregon Closed Basins(hydrologic accounting unit)

Oregon Closed Basins(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management OR)

Bureau of Land Management OR BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Oregon Harney

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
037S}038S 033E}033E } Oregon

Comments on the location information

  • B PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION HAVE CENTERED SOUTH OF ALVORD LAKE IN THE VICINITY OF HOT LAKE.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Boron-Borates Primary
Sodium Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Borax Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Holocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Mafic Volcanic Rock > Basalt
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Lake Sediments

Nearby scientific data

(1) -118.58434, 42.3332

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Harney Basin
Type of structure Local
Structure description Alvord Valley Graben, Normal Faults

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Location Of Thermal Springs; Climate

Comments on the geologic information

  • HOT SPRINGS OCCUR ALONG FAULTS THROUGHOUT THIS AREA. ALVORD VALLEY IS FILLED WITH PLEISTOCENE TO RECENT LAKE DEPOSITS. IT WAS ONCE AN ARM OF ANCIENT LAKE LAHONTAN.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Year of first production 1897
Year of last production 1902
Production years 1897-1907

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Rose Valley Borax Co.
    First year 1900

Comments on the production information

  • YEARLY OUTPUT WAS REPORTED TO BE 400 ST OF REFINED BORAX.

Comments on the workings information

  • SURFACE DEPOSITS WERE SHOVELED INTO WINDROWS AND LATER LOADED INTO WAGONS AND HAULED TO THE BORAX WORKS WEST OF HOT LAKE.

Comments on development

  • IN 1958, SHALLOW DRILLING WAS REPORTEDLY DONE BY MOJAVE MINING AND MILLING CO. OF WICKENBURG, ARIZONA. THIS WORK WAS LARGELY IN SECS 11 AND 14, WITH LESSER WORK IN SECTIONS 2, 12, AND 13 OF T37S, R33E. IN 1959 AND 1960, BORON, INC. CORE DRILLED EAST OF FIELDS. THE DEEPEST HOLE WAS STATED TO BE 600 FT WHERE ROCK WAS ENCOUNTERED. NO FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON EITHER EFFORT. ; ECON.COM: SAGEBRUSH WAS USED AS A FUEL UNDER THE BORAX DISSOLVING TANKS. THE CRYSTALLIZED BORAX PRODUCT WAS SACKED AND HAULED TO WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA BY 16-MULE TEAM.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    LIBBEY, F.W., 1985, BORON IN ALVORD VALLEY, HARNEY COUNTY, OREGON, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, SOCIETY OF MINING ENGINEERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL, AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS INC., P. 167-176.

  • Deposit

    BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., 1985, BORON AND BORATES: INTRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION TECHNIQUES, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL, AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 13-34.

  • Deposit

    VER PLANCK, W.E., 1956, HISTORY OF BORAX PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES: CALIFORNIA JOURNAL OF MINES AND GEOLOGY, V. 52, NO. 3, P. 273-191.

  • Deposit

    SMITH, G.I., 1985, BORATE DEPOSITS IN THE UNITED STATES - DISSIMILAR IN FORM, SIMILAR IN GEOLOGIC SETTING, IN BARKER, J.M., AND LEFOND, S.J., EDS., BORATES: ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTION: NEW YORK, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING, METALLURGICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERS, INC., P. 37-51.

  • Production

    VER PLANCK, 1956.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit MARSH DEPOSITS OF SODIUM BORATE EXTEND OVER 10,000 ACRES SOUTH OF LAKE ALVORD. THE GROUND IS LEVEL AND ENCRUSTED WITH UP TO SEVERAL INCHES OF SODIUM BORATE, SODIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM SULFATE, AND OTHER SALTS. THE CRUDE MINERAL WAS REPORTED TO CONTAIN 5-20% BORIC ACID.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-1973 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-NOV-1993 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 04-NOV-1994 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.