Collapse of southwestern North America and the evolution of early Miocene detachment faults, metamorphic core complexes, the Sierra Nevada orocline, and the San Andreas fault system

Dokka, Roy K.; Ross, Timothy M.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<1075:cosnaa>2.3.co;2

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Balancing the complex gaps and overlaps that would result from removing the slip on these faults is beyond the scope of this study. For similar reasons, we did not correct for inferred rotations in the eastern Transverse Ranges or southern Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert (Kanter and McWilliams, 1982;Luyendyk et al, 1985;Dokka and Ross, 1995). Nor did we take into account middle to late Tertiary extension, which affected the region from Death Valley southeastward to the corridor of the lower Colorado River (e.g., Davis and Coney, 1979), despite the fact that extension has greatly altered the surface geology compared to Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary time.…”

Section: Appendix 1: Palinspastic Restoration Of Southwest North Americamentioning

confidence: 87%

Temporal and spatial trends of Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary underplating Pelona and related schist beneath southern California and southwestern Arizona

Grove¹,

Jacobson²,

Barth³

et al. 2003

Tectonic Evolution of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern USA

159

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The Pelona, Orocopia, and Rand Schists and the schists of Portal Ridge and Sierra de Salinas constitute a high-pressure/temperature terrane that was accreted beneath North American basement in Late Cretaceous-earliest Tertiary time. The schists crop out in a belt extending from the southern Coast Ranges through the Mojave Desert, central Transverse Ranges, southeastern California, and southwestern Arizona. Ion microprobe U-Pb results from 850 detrital zircons from 40 metagraywackes demonstrates a Late Cretaceous to earliest Tertiary depositional age for the sedimentary part of the schist's protolith. About 40% of the 206 Pb/ 238 U spot ages are Late Cretaceous. The youngest detrital zircon ages and post-metamorphic mica 40 Ar/ 39 Ar cooling ages bracket when the schist's graywacke protolith was eroded from its source region, deposited, underthrust, accreted, and metamorphosed. This interval averages 13 ± 10 m.y. but locally is too short (<~3 m.y.) to be resolved with our meth- ods. The timing of accretion decreases systematically (in palinspastically restored coordinates) from about 91 ± 1 Ma in the southwesternmost Sierra Nevada (San Emigdio Mountains) to 48 ± 5 Ma in southwest Arizona (Neversweat Ridge). Our results indicate two distinct source regions: (1) The Rand Schist and schists of Portal Ridge and Sierra de Salinas were derived from material eroded from Early to early Late Cretaceous basement (like the Sierra Nevada batholith); and (2) The OrocopiaSchist was derived from a heterogeneous assemblage of Proterozoic, Triassic, Jurassic, and latest Cretaceous to earliest Tertiary crystalline rocks (such as basement in the Mojave/Transverse Ranges/southwest Arizona/northern Sonora). The Pelona Schist is transitional between the two.

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Section: Appendix 1: Palinspastic Restoration Of Southwest North Americamentioning

confidence: 87%

Temporal and spatial trends of Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary underplating Pelona and related schist beneath southern California and southwestern Arizona

Grove¹,

Jacobson²,

Barth³

et al. 2003

Tectonic Evolution of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern USA

159

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…One major difference between the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene detachment faulting event proposed in this paper and early Miocene extension in the region, however, is the direction of extension. The early Miocene regional extension is NEdirected, whereas the inferred Late Cretaceous extension directions range mostly from NW to NNW Even if the early Miocene extension direction originally was to the north, as pro posed by Dokka (1989) and Dokka and Ross (1995), it still would not coincide with the Cretaceous direction regardless of whether the Cretaceous direction was subsequently rotated in the Miocene.…”

Section: Miocene Extension Versus Late Cretaceouspaleocene Extensionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…1) and other faults in the area (Dokka, 1989;Glazner et al, 1989;Walker et al, 1990;Fletcher et al, 1995). Dokka (1989) and Dokka and Ross (1995) sug gested that the extension direction originally was N-S and subsequently was rotated clock wise to its current NE-SW orientation, but this contention has been disputed by Glazner et al (1996). Presently NW-striking normal faults in the southern San Joaquin basin, including the Edison and Tunis faults, were active during a late Oligocene-early Miocene extensional tec tonic event (Dibblee and Warne, 1988;Ten nyson, 1989;Goodman and Malin, 1992).…”

Section: Miocene Extension Versus Late Cretaceouspaleocene Extensionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Extensional Collapse and Disaggregation of the Southernmost Sierra Nevada Batholith

Wood

Saleeby

1997

International Geology Review

127

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Geobarometric studies have documented that most of the metasedimentary wall rocks and plutons presently exposed in the southernmost Sierra Nevada batholith south of the Lake Isabella area were metamorphosed and emplaced at crustal levels significantly deeper (~15 to 30 km) than the batholithic rocks exposed to the north (depths of ~3 to 15 km). Field and geophysical studies have suggested that much of the southernmost part of the batholith is underlain along low-angle faults by the Rand Schist. The schist is composed mostly of metagraywacke that has been metamorphosed at relatively high pressures and moderate temperatures.

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“…and (2) the Trans Mojave Sierran shear zone, active between 21 and 18 Ma [Dokka and Ross, 1995;Dokka et al, 1998]. These regimes are thought to be tectonically related to major intraplate, gravitationally driven transtension of the southwestern part of the North American plate in early Miocene time [Dokka and Ross, 1995;Dokka et al, 1998].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These regimes are thought to be tectonically related to major intraplate, gravitationally driven transtension of the southwestern part of the North American plate in early Miocene time [Dokka and Ross, 1995;Dokka et al, 1998]. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographic effects of the Eastern California Shear Zone in the Mojave Desert

Dokka¹,

Macaluso²

2001

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. Digital elevation data were used to evaluate the topographic implications of the late Neogene Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). Analysis shows that the ECSZ has directly affected >18% of the surface of the Mojave Desert block (MDB); uncertainties regarding the distribution of strain in basins suggest that the area of effect may be larger by perhaps a factor of 2. Remaining areas are likely due to Quaternary erosion or are inherited from pre-ECSZ times. Major drainages and basins of the MDB are developed along transtensional depressions within the ECSZ. These depressions established the regional and local base levels that have governed erosion by running water. Local topography is closely tied to the style of strain. Highlands of the MDB are spatially associated with (1) areas that have or are currently undergoing contractional strain associated with transpression within the ECSZ and (2) areas that lie adjacent to uplifted transpressional belts that bound the Mojave Desert (San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains). In contrast, lowland areas are spatially associated only with transtensional areas within the ECSZ. Examination of the topography in the transtensional areas also reveals two, distinct populations of elevation. Spatial analysis indicates that areas that have undergone the greatest local transtension associated with dextral shear are also the lowest topographically. These areas formed during the earliest phase of movement of the ECSZ (late Miocene to early Pleistocene). The second population is coextensive with recently formed transtensional basins that continue to be active.

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Collapse of southwestern North America and the evolution of early Miocene detachment faults, metamorphic core complexes, the Sierra Nevada orocline, and the San Andreas fault system

Cited by 25 publications

References 32 publications

Temporal and spatial trends of Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary underplating Pelona and related schist beneath southern California and southwestern Arizona

Temporal and spatial trends of Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary underplating Pelona and related schist beneath southern California and southwestern Arizona

Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Extensional Collapse and Disaggregation of the Southernmost Sierra Nevada Batholith

Topographic effects of the Eastern California Shear Zone in the Mojave Desert

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