The Colorado River is being used more and more due to the worsening drought in the west. As the water levels plummeted, several shocking discoveries, such as human remains and sunken ships, have been uncovered. Scientists discovered that events that took place millions of years ago.
When the Hoover Dam was built, there were rocks that hadn't been seen in a long time. Researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas claim that the volcanic ash that rained down on southern Nevada is from 12 million years ago.
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A bathtub ring of light minerals shows the high water line of Lake Mead near water intakes on the Arizona side of Hoover Dam. This file photo shows John Locher. |
In order to locate and collect samples of multiple ash layers, researchers used geologic mapping. Scientists found that the ash layers were between 6 million and 12 million years old. The geological time scale shows that some of the ash is from eruptions that took place more than 30,000 years ago.
The Snake River Plain-Yellowstone hotspot track, the Southwest Nevada volcanic field northwest of Las Vegas, and the volcanoes of Walker Lane were all found to have distinctive ash.
The Snake River Plain-Yellowstone track has been active for 15 million years. It is part of a chain of large volcanic centers that have migrated from the northern Nevada-Oregon-Idaho junction to the active area of Yellowstone National Park.
The Southwest Nevada volcanic field was mostly active between 7.5 million and 13 million years ago. Over its lifetime, it produced about 10 large calderas.
Eugene Smith, a professor at UNLV and co-author of the study, told CNN that they were surprised to find so many ash units.
When the paper was presented to the Geological Society of America, the official water level for Lake Mead dropped from 1,100 feet to 1,100 feet.
By studying the past, researchers and investigators will be able to better understand ashfall risks and plan for the future.
Johnsen said that the ash layers are from extinct volcanoes. Studying them has helped us figure out how frequently the Las Vegas area was bombarded with ash from active volcanoes far from us.
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In the US, most active volcanoes are monitored and surrounding towns have an evacue plan in case of eruptions. Smith says that the effects of volcanic eruptions on populations far from the volcano are ignored.
The population in Las Vegas could be affected by eruptions from other volcanoes.
"Ash from even moderately explosive eruptions can travel hundreds of miles from the source, blanketing entire areas with anywhere from a centimeters to several meters of the heavy material, and causing disruption in aviation and automobile traffic, destroying utility lines, and by extension disrupting the transport of goods among different areas,"
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