Neogene basins in western Nevada document the tectonic history of the Sierra Nevada–Basin and Range transition zone for the last 12 Ma

Trexler, James H.; Cashman, Patricia H.; Henry, C. D.; Muntean, Thomas W; Schwartz, Ken; TenBrink, A.; Faulds, James E.; Perkins, Michael E.; Kelly, Trevor Brian

doi:10.1130/0-8137-0002-7.97

Cited by 27 publications

(49 citation statements)

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“…Neogene sedimentary rocks at Boca reservoir and the Verdi-Mogul area west of Reno ( Fig. 1) record lacustrine conditions as recently as 3 Ma, and have subsequently been tilted and faulted (Trexler et al, 2000;Henry and Perkins, 2001;Mass, 2005;Mass et al, 2009;Trexler et al, 2012). Rapid rates of modern uplift are also indicated by geodetic data.…”

Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…First described as part of the Truckee Formation by the 40th Parallel Survey (King, 1878), these rocks were subsequently studied in more detail (Campbell, 1908;Bingler, 1965;Trexler et al, 2000), culminating in a detailed internal stratigraphy and paleogeographic interpretation, paraphrased below, by Trexler et al (2012). There is no evidence of a major topographic barrier to the west when these rocks were deposited, although the modern Sierra Nevada forms a topographic barrier there today.…”

Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The structure plunges east, particularly at its eastern end, refl ecting the uplift of the Sierra relative to the Truckee Meadows since 2.61 Ma. The syncline along the Truckee River corridor is cut by several faults with offsets of tens or hundreds of meters, and by numerous mesoscopic on November 15, 2012 geosphere.gsapubs.org Downloaded from faults (e.g., Thompson and White, 1964;Bell and Garside, 1987;Trexler et al, 2000;Cashman et al, 2002;Cashman and Trexler, 2004).…”

Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post–2.6 Ma tectonic and topographic evolution of the northeastern Sierra Nevada: The record in the Reno and Verdi basins

Cashman¹,

Trexler²,

Widmer³

et al. 2012

Geosphere

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A coarse conglomerate, known as "the Gravel of Reno," fi lls a deep channel incised into a 2.6 Ma sedimentary section a few km west of Reno, Nevada. The canyon and its conglomerate fi ll record an abrupt shift in both provenance and paleocurrent direction compared with the underlying lake-marginal Neogene strata. Notably, the intermediate volcanic provenance of the Neogene section is supplemented in the overlying conglomerate by large plutonic clasts derived from the Sierran batholith. The syntectonic Gravel of Reno signals the initiation of Pleistocene faulting along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada near latitude 40° N.Structures within the Neogene and Quaternary rocks reveal the progressive deformation of the Sierra Nevada's eastern margin. There is no discordance between the basal Gravel of Reno conglomerate and the underlying Neogene sedimentary section, and both are presently tilted 23° east. Therefore, signifi cant tilting did not occur until after channel incision and deposition of the basal conglomerate. The dip within the Gravel of Reno decreases with stratigraphic height, documenting ongoing tilting during deposition. Several pervasive fault sets cut the Neogene rocks; one set of normal faults probably predates much of the tilting, but strike-slip faults appear to have been active synchronously with it. Fault sets include early west-and northwest-dipping normal faults, and two mutually cross-cutting sets of strike-slip faults: northwest-striking dextral faults and northeast-striking sinistral faults. The most continuous mappable fault surfaces, with probably much of the most recent movement, are north-striking faults with normal or oblique-slip motion. Overall, these faults accommodate east-west extension. In summary, the structural style at the northern termination of the Carson Range is characterized by distributed slip along many minor faults, and faulting was synchronous with tilting of the sedimentary section.Gravity studies constrain the location and geometry of the main structures as they pro ject eastward under the Reno basin. A negative anomaly extends eastward from the east-tilted Gravel of Reno. This gravity low (and the Gravel of Reno it represents) terminates eastward against a steep, northstriking gravity gradient under central Reno; we interpret this to mark a west-dipping normal fault, the "Virginia Street fault," which was active throughout deposition of the coarse clastic section. A more localized and pronounced gravity low in west Reno corresponds to the eastward projection of the eastdipping Neogene diatomite that is exposed at the ground surface. The abrupt termination of this negative gravity anomaly requires that the diatomite terminates eastward at depth, therefore documenting the eastern margin of the Neogene lacustrine environment. Other gravity anomalies document both the relief on the sub-Neogene unconformity and a complex pattern of faults that offset Neogene and younger rocks in the Reno basin, consistent with the multiple fault sets seen in outcrop west of Reno.

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Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sierra Frontal Fault Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post–2.6 Ma tectonic and topographic evolution of the northeastern Sierra Nevada: The record in the Reno and Verdi basins

Cashman¹,

Trexler²,

Widmer³

et al. 2012

Geosphere

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“…Major strike-slip faults to the east, including the Warm Springs Valley fault, formed , 3 Ma and postdate mid-Miocene extensional basins and ranges (Henry and Perkins 2001;Surpless et al 2002;Faulds et al 2005). The overall pattern in the Walker Lane is that of mid-Miocene east -west extension (Surpless et al 2002), which defined the modern day eastern Sierra Nevada block margin, followed by northwestdirected deformation at , 3 Ma, which reactivated oblique extensional faults and initiated strike-slip and oblique strike-slip faults (Trexler et al 2000).…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Evolution Of Transtensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transtensional analyses of fault patterns and strain provinces of the Eastern California shear zone–Walker Lane on the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada microplate, California and Nevada

Taylor

Dewey

2009

International Geology Review

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Obliquity of the strain velocity field to the deformation zone boundary requires strain to be triaxial. At the plate boundary scale, fault geometries predicted by transtensional theory better explain observed fault patterns in the northern Eastern California shear zone-Walker Lane area than do 2D plane strain predictions. Structural provinces in the Eastern California shear zone -Walker Lane are defined by variations in the orientation of the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada microplate, and include the Honey LakePyramid Lake, Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake -Long Valley, Owens Valley, and Coso subprovinces. The local geometry of the transtensional zone boundary and the microplate transport direction determines orientations of the instantaneous strain axes for each province. Fault orientations predicted with respect to these axes are consistent with those observed in each structural province. The variation of zone geometry among predominantly coaxially dominated strain provinces over a consistent period of deformation does not result in dramatic changes in shape or orientation among finite strain ellipsoids. Although Quaternary faulting strongly reflects transtensional kinematics, the magnitude of estimated finite strain for each province suggests that present-day transtensional deformation has not accommodated large amounts of extension, vertical thinning, or strike-slip offset. K-values for all structural provinces plot in the k . 1 constrictional field on the logarithmic Flinn (Ramsay) diagram, indicating non-plane, transtensional strain. Collectively, these theoretical applications and structural -tectonic observations have implications for evaluating kinematics and faulting during brittle non-plane strain deformation, and for the overall evolution of the transtensional Sierra Nevada -North America plate boundary.

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“…A westward encroachment of normal faulting may have accompanied the westward magmatic sweep, although the timing and nature of onset of Sierran range-front faulting remains controversial (Dilles and Gans 1995;Trexler et al 2000;Henry and Perkins 2001;Stockli et al 2002;Surpless et al 2002). Our recent research at Sonora Pass (Figure 1(a)) shows that dextral transtension began at that latitude by , 10 Ma, triggering high-K magmatism from the Little Walker Center (Putirka and Busby 2007;Busby et al 2008b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Cenozoic palaeocanyon evolution, Ancestral Cascades arc volcanism, and structure of the Hope Valley–Carson Pass region, Sierra Nevada, California

Hagan

Busby

Putirka

et al. 2009

International Geology Review

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Neogene basins in western Nevada document the tectonic history of the Sierra Nevada–Basin and Range transition zone for the last 12 Ma

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

Post–2.6 Ma tectonic and topographic evolution of the northeastern Sierra Nevada: The record in the Reno and Verdi basins

Post–2.6 Ma tectonic and topographic evolution of the northeastern Sierra Nevada: The record in the Reno and Verdi basins

Transtensional analyses of fault patterns and strain provinces of the Eastern California shear zone–Walker Lane on the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada microplate, California and Nevada

Cenozoic palaeocanyon evolution, Ancestral Cascades arc volcanism, and structure of the Hope Valley–Carson Pass region, Sierra Nevada, California

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