Waterfall Mine

Occurrence in La Plata county in Colorado, United States with commodities Gold, Silver, Copper
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. Mineral occurrence model information
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014088
MRDS ID D010715
Record type Site
Current site name Waterfall Mine
Alternate or previous names Bluff-Waterfall Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -107.68397, 37.6089 (WGS84)
Elevation 3139
Location accuracy 1000(meters)
Relative position 13.6 MILES S 4 W FROM SILVERTON

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

La Plata(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Mountain View Crest(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Silverton(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Durango(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Animas(hydrologic unit)

Upper San Juan(hydrologic accounting unit)

San Juan(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

San Juan National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Weminuche Wilderness(Wilderness)

Wilderness FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado La Plata

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 039N 007W 31 NW Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • (LAND STATUS AND ADMINISTRATIVE AREA LOCATIONS CALCULATED USING GIS OVERLAY ANALYSIS FOR SAN JUAN N. F.). CROSS AND OTHERS' (1905) MAP SHOWS LOCATION APPROX 0.7 MILE UP UNNAMED TRIBUTARY OF NEEDLE CREEK NORTH OF MOUNTAIN VIEW CREST, 4.5 MILES WNW OF COLUMBINE PASS. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1974

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Gold Primary
Silver Primary
Copper Primary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Chalcopyrite Ore
Gold Ore
Silver Ore
Quartz Gangue

Mineral occurrence model information

Model code 85
USGS model code 22c
Deposit model name Polymetallic veins
Mark3 model number 46

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Quartz Monzonite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 9
    Type of media Zircon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1466
    Dating method U-Pb (zircon)
    Type of media Zircon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1466
    Dating method Rb-Sr
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1460
    Dating method K-Ar
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 10.1
    Type of media Zircon
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyolite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 9
    Type of media Zircon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 10.1
    Type of media Zircon
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Granitoid > Granite
    Rock unit name Eolus Granite;Intrusive Bodies And Related Rocks (Younger And Older Bodies Of Chicago Basin Stock)
    Rock description Eolus Granite;Intrusive Bodies And Related Rocks (Younger And Older Bodies Of Chicago Basin Stock)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1466
    Dating method U-Pb (zircon)
    Type of media Zircon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1466
    Dating method Rb-Sr
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Precambrian
    Chronological age 1460
    Dating method K-Ar
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 10.1
    Type of media Zircon
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Miocene
    Chronological age 9
    Type of media Zircon
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Schist
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Gneiss
    Rock unit name Irving Formation
    Rock description Irving Formation

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Uplift, San Juan Basin, San Juan Volcanic Field
Type of structure Local
Structure description Needle Mtns Uplift, Eolus Batholith, Chicago Basin Stock, Trimble Stock

Ore body information

  • Thickness 1.52M

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Occurrence
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Needle Mountain (Tacoma, Florida, Vallecito) District

Land status

Ownership category National Forest
Area name San Juan N. F.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    SCHMITT, L.J., AND RAYMOND, W.H., 1977, GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS DISTRICT, SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1434, 40 P.

  • Deposit

    STEVEN, T.A., AND OTHERS, 1969, MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE SAN JUAN PRIMITIVE AREA, COLORADO: USGS BULL. 1261-F, P. 30-32, 55-67.

  • Deposit

    CROSS, WHITMAN, AND OTHERS, 1905, DESCRIPTION OF THE NEEDLE MOUNTAINS QUADRANGLE, COLORADO: USGS FOLIO 131.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit CROSS AND OTHERS (1905) DESCRIBE DEPOSIT AT WATERFALL MINE AS MODIFIED-TYPE VEIN IN WHICH MINERALIZATION FORMED BY REPLACEMENT IN CLOSELY SPACED QUARTZ VEINLETS IN SHEETED ZONE IN METAMORPHICS. INTERSECTING ZONES CAN FORM STOCKWORK-TYPE DEPOSIT. SHEETED ZONE USUALLY CUTS ACROSS FOLIATION AND COMMONLY BRANCHES IN HANGING WALL. NATIVE AU AND AG REPORTED FROM UPPER OXIDIZED ZONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-83 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Authoritative Colorado resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.