New Gravity and Magnetic Maps of the San Juan Volcanic Field, Southwestern Colorado

A very large simple Bouguer anomaly gravity low, about 100 km by 150 km in map view and reaching values less than -350 mGals, lies over the Oligocene San Juan volcanic field in southwestern Colorado. Roughly 15-18 different calderas represent the eruptive sources of the andesitic-rhyolitic rocks of this large volcanic field, and most are located within two swarms: the Silverton-Lake City (western) caldera complex, and the central complex that includes the Creede, Bachelor, and La Garita calderas. The prominent gravity low over the region has been previously interpreted to be due to the presence a low-density granitic batholith that underlies the volcanic field in the upper crust. However, there are complicating issues in this interpretation. First, many of the volcanic rocks are notably less dense than the Bouguer reduction density of 2.67 g/cc used for processing of the gravity data, meaning that those rocks exposed at the surface could account for a significant portion of the gravity low. Second, the extreme topographic relief in the region requires that terrain corrections (always positive algebraically) be applied. To meet these needs, a new complete Bouguer gravity map of the volcanic field has been prepared using the new traditionally terrain corrected U. S. gravity database. Modeling these data show that the caldera fill is a major contributor to the gravity low but that an upper crustal batholith is also required to satisfy the observed data. In addition, a second map is being prepared. It is derived by applying a new complex Bouguer correction that takes geologically reasonable surface densities and digital elevation data into account, and as a result will provide a much clearer picture of the nature of the subsurface batholith. A new aeromagnetic map of the region has also been completed. This represents a significant improvement over previous merging efforts in southwestern Colorado, as numerous and previously under-utilized high-resolution aeromagnetic datasets were used in the compilation. The new map is highly complex in detail, as it is largely dominated by numerous short-wavelength anomalies sourced by volcanic rocks. A pseudogravity transformation of the aeromagnetic anomalies reveals prominent highs associated with the western and central caldera swarms, possibly representing structural and/or petrologic variations within the sub-caldera upper crust.