Geological evolution of two crustal scale shear zones. Part I. The Rand thrust complex, northwestern Mojave Desert, California. Part II. The Magdalena metamorphic core complex, north central Sonora, Mexico

The geology and structure of two crustal scale shear zones were studied to understand the partitioning of strain within intracontinental orogenic belts. Movement histories and regional tectonic implications are deduced from observational data. The two widely separated study areas bear the imprint of intense Late Mesozoic through Middle Cenozoic tectonic activity. A regional transition from Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary plutonism, metamorphism, and shortening strain to Middle Tertiary extension and magmatism is preserved in each area, with contrasting environments and mechanisms. Compressional phases of this tectonic history are better displayed in the Rand Mountains, whereas younger extensional structures dominate rock fabrics in the Magdalena area.

In the northwestern Mojave desert, the Rand Thrust Complex reveals a stack of four distinctive tectonic plates offset along the Garlock Fault. The lowermost plate, Rand Schist, is composed of greenschist facies metagraywacke, metachert, and metabasalt. Rand Schist is structurally overlain by Johannesburg Gneiss (= garnet-amphibolite grade orthogneisses, marbles and quartzites), which in turn is overlain by a Late Cretaceous hornblende-biotite granodiorite. Biotite granite forms the fourth and highest plate. Initial assembly of the tectonic stack involved a Late Cretaceous? south or southwest vergent overthrusting event in which Johannesburg Gneiss was imbricated and attenuated between Rand Schist and hornblende-biotite granodiorite. Thrusting postdated metamorphism and deformation of the lower two plates in separate environments. A post-kinematic stock, the Late Cretaceous Randsburg Granodiorite, intrudes deep levels of the complex and contains xenoliths of both Rand Schist and mylonitized Johannesburg? gneiss. Minimum shortening implied by the map patterns is 20 kilometers.

Some low angle faults of the Rand Thrust Complex formed or were reactivated between Late Cretaceous and Early Miocene time. South-southwest directed mylonites derived from Johannesburg Gneiss are commonly overprinted by less penetrative north-northeast vergent structures. Available kinematic information at shallower structural levels indicates that late disturbance(s) culminated in northward transport of the uppermost plate. Persistence of brittle fabrics along certain structural horizons suggests a possible association of late movement(s) with regionally known detachment faults. The four plates were juxtaposed and significant intraplate movements had ceased prior to Early Miocene emplacement of rhyolite porphyry dikes.

In the Magdalena region of north central Sonora, components of a pre-Middle Cretaceous stratigraphy are used as strain markers in tracking the evolution of a long lived orogenic belt. Important elements of the tectonic history include: (1) Compression during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary, accompanied by plutonism, metamorphism, and ductile strain at depth, and thrust driven? syntectonic sedimentation at the surface. (2) Middle Tertiary transition to crustal extension, initially recorded by intrusion of leucogranites, inflation of the previously shortened middle and upper crustal section, and surface volcanism. (3) Gravity induced development of a normal sense ductile shear zone at mid crustal levels, with eventual detachment and southwestward displacement of the upper crustal stratigraphy by Early Miocene time.

Elucidation of the metamorphic core complex evolution just described was facilitated by fortuitous preservation of a unique assemblage of rocks and structures. The "type" stratigraphy utilized for regional correlation and strain analysis includes a Jurassic volcanic arc assemblage overlain by an Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous quartz pebble conglomerate, in turn overlain by marine strata with fossiliferous Aptian-Albian limestones. The Jurassic strata, comprised of (a) rhyolite porphyries interstratified with quartz arenites, (b) rhyolite cobble conglomerate, and (c) intrusive granite porphyries, are known to rest on Precambrian basement north and east of the study area. The quartz pebble conglomerate is correlated with the Glance Conglomerate of southeastern Arizona and northeastern Sonora. The marine sequence represents part of an isolated arm? of the Bisbee Basin.

Crosscutting structural relationships between the pre-Middle Cretaceous supracrustal section, younger plutons, and deformational fabrics allow the tectonic sequence to be determined. Earliest phases of a Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary orogeny are marked by emplacement of the 78 ± 3 Ma Guacomea Granodiorite (U/Pb zircon, Anderson et al., 1980) as a sill into deep levels of the layered Jurassic series. Subsequent regional metamorphism and ductile strain is recorded by a penetrative schistosity and lineation, and east-west trending folds. These fabrics are intruded by post-kinematic Early Tertiary? two mica granites. At shallower crustal levels, the orogeny is represented by north directed thrust faulting, formation of a large intermontane basin, and development of a pronounced unconformity. A second important phase of ductile strain followed Middle Tertiary? emplacement of leucogranites as sills and northwest trending dikes into intermediate levels of the deformed section (surficial volcanism was also active during this transitional period to regional extension). Gravitational instabilities resulting from crustal swelling via intrusion and thermal expansion led to development of a ductile shear zone within the stratigraphic horizon occupied by a laterally extensive leucogranite sill. With continued extension, upper crustal brittle normal faults (detachment faults) enhanced the uplift and tectonic denudation of this mylonite zone, ultimately resulting in southwestward displacement of the upper crustal stratigraphy.

Strains associated with the two ductile deformation events have been successfully partitioned through a multifaceted analysis. R_f/Ø measurements on various markers from the "type" stratigraphy allow a gradient representing cumulative strain since Middle Cretaceous time to be determined. From this gradient, noncoaxial strains accrued since emplacement of the leucogranites may be removed. Irrotational components of the postleucogranite strain are measured from quartz grain shapes in deformed granites; rotational components (shear strains) are determined from S-C fabrics and from restoration of rotated dike and vein networks. Structural observations and strain data are compatable with a deformation path of: (1) coaxial strain (pure shear?), followed by (2) injection of leucogranites as dikes (perpendicular to the minimum principle stress) and sills (parallel to the minimum principle stress), then (3) southwest directed simple shear. Modeling the late strain gradient as a simple shear zone permits a minimum displacement of 10 kilometers on the Magdalena mylonite zone/detachment fault system. Removal of the Middle Tertiary noncoaxial strains yields a residual (or pre-existing) strain gradient representative of the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary deformation. Several partially destrained cross sections, restored to the time of leucogranite emplacement, illustrate the idea that the upper plate of the core complex bas been detached from a region of significant topographic relief. 50% to 100% bulk extension across a 50 kilometer wide corridor is demonstrated.

Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Magdalena region are dominated by Basin and Range style faulting. Northeast and north-northwest trending high angle normal faults have interacted to extend the crust in an east-west direction. Net extension for this period is minor (10% to 15%) in comparison to the Middle Tertiary detachment related extensional episode.

Oxygen, carbon and hydrogen isotope studies of contact metamorphism

The O¹⁸/O¹⁶, C¹³/C¹², and D/H ratios have been determined for rocks and coexisting minerals from several granitic plutons and their contact metamorphic aureoles in northern Nevada, eastern California, central Colorado, and Texas, with emphasis on oxygen isotopes. A consistent order of O¹⁸/O¹⁶, C¹³/C¹², and D/H enrichment in coexisting minerals, and a correlation between isotopic fractionations among coexisting mineral pairs are in general observed, suggesting that mineral assemblages tend to approach isotopic equilibrium during contact metamorphism. In certain cases, a correlation is observed between oxygen isotopic fractionations of a mineral pair and sample distance from intrusive contacts. Isotopic temperatures generally show good agreement with heat flow considerations. Based on the experimentally determined quartz-muscovite O¹⁸/O¹⁶ fractionation calibration curve, temperatures are estimated to be 525 to 625°C at the contacts of the granitic stocks studied.

Small-scale oxygen isotope exchange effects between intrusive and country rock are observed over distances of 0.5 to 3 feet on both sides of the contacts; the isotopic gradients are typically 2 to 3 per mil per foot. The degree of oxygen isotopic exchange is essentially identical for different coexisting minerals. This presumably occurred through a diffusion-controlled recrystallization process. The size of the oxygen isotope equilibrium systems in the small-scale exchanged zones vary from about 1.5 cm to 30 cm. A xenolith and a re-entrant of country rock projecting into on intrusive hove both undergone much more extensive isotopic exchange (to hundreds of feet); they also show abnormally high isotopic temperatures. The marginal portions of most plutons have unusually high O¹⁸/O¹⁶ ratios compared to "normal" igneous rocks, presumably due to large-scale isotopic exchange with meta-sedimentary country rocks when the igneous rocks were essentially in a molten state. The isotopic data suggest that outward horizontal movement of H₂O into the contact metamorphic aureoles is almost negligible, but upward movement of H₂O may be important. Also, direct influx and absorption of water from the country rock may be significant in certain intrusive stocks.

Except in the exchanged zones, the O¹⁸/O¹⁶ ratios of pelitic rocks do not change appreciably during contact metamorphism, even in the cordierite and sillimanite grades; this is in contrast to regional metamorphic rocks which commonly decrease in O¹⁸ with increasing grade. Low O¹⁸/O¹⁶ and C¹³/C¹² ratios of the contact metamorphic marbles generally correlate well with the presence of calc-silicate minerals, indicating that the CO₂ liberated during metamorphic decarbonation reactions is enriched in both O¹⁸ and C¹³ relative to the carbonates.

The D/H ratios of biotites in the contact metamorphic rocks and their associated intrusions show a geographic correlation that is similar to that shown by the D/H ratios of meteoric surface waters, perhaps indicating that meteoric waters were present in the rocks during crystallization of the biotites.

^(18)O/^(16)O and D/H studies on the interactions between heated meteoric ground waters and igneous intrusions: Western San Juan Mountains, Colorado and the Isle of Skye, Scotland

Detailed oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotope studies have been carried out on igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Stony Mountain complex, Colorado, and the Isle of Skye, Scotland, in order to better understand the problems of hydrothermal meteoric water-rock interaction.

The Tertiary Stony Mountain stock (~1.3 km in diameter), is composed of an outer diorite, a main mass of biotite gabbro, and an inner diorite. The entire complex and most of the surrounding country rocks have experienced various degrees of ¹⁸O depletion (up to 10 per mil) due to interaction with heated meteoric waters. The inner diorite apparently formed from a low-¹⁸O magma with δ¹⁸O ≃ +2.5, but most of the isotopic effects are a result of exchange between H₂O and solidified igneous rocks. The low-¹⁸O inner diorite magma was probably produced by massive assimilation and/or melting of hydrothermally altered country rocks. The δ¹⁸O values of the rocks generally increase with increasing grain size, except that quartz typically has δ¹⁸O = +6 to +8, and is more resistant to hydrothermal exchange than any other mineral studied. Based on atom % oxygen, the outer diorites, gabbros, and volcanic rocks exhibit integrated water/rock ratios of 0.3 ± 0.2, 0.15 ± 0.1, and 0.2 ± 0.1, respectively. Locally, water/rock ratios attain values greater than 1.0. Hydrogen isotopic analyses of sericites, chlorites, biotites, and amphiboles range from -117 to -150. δD in biotites varies inversely with Fe/Fe+Mg, as predicted by Suzuoki and Epstein (1974), and positively with elevation, over a range of 600 m. The calculated δD of the mid-to-late-Tertiary meteoric waters is about -100. Carbonate δ¹³C values average -5.5 (PDB), within the generally accepted range for deep-seated carbon.

Almost all the rocks within 4 km of the central Tertiary intrusive complex of Skye are depleted in ¹⁸O. Whole-rock δ¹⁸O values of basalts (-7. 1 to +8.4), Mesozoic shales (-0.6 to + 12.4), and Precambrian sandstones (-6.2 to + 10.8) systematically decrease inward towards the center of the complex. The Cuillin gabbro may have formed from a ¹⁸O-depleted magma (depleted by about 2 per mil); δ¹⁸O of plagioclase (-7.1 to + 2.5) and pyroxene (-0.5 to + 3.2) decrease outward toward the margins of the pluton. The Red Hills epigranite plutons have δ¹⁸O quartz (-2.7 to + 7.6) and feldspar (-6.7 to + 6.0) that suggest about 3/4 of the exchange took place at subsolidus temperatures; profound disequilibrium quartz-feldspar fractionations (up to 12) are characteristic. The early epigranites were intruded as low-¹⁸O melts (depletions of up to 3 per mil) with δ¹⁸O of the primary, igneous quartz decreasing progressively with time. The Southern Porphyritic Epigranite was apparently intruded as a low-¹⁸O magma with δ¹⁸O ≃ -2.6. A good correlation exists between grain size and δ¹⁸O for the unique, high-¹⁸O Beinn an Dubhaich granite which intrudes limestone having a δ¹⁸O range of +0.5 to +20.8, and δ¹³C of -4.9 to -1.0. The δD values of sericites (-104 to -107), and amphiboles, chlorites, and biotites (-105 to -128) from the igneous rocks , indicate that Eocene surface waters at Skye had δD ≃ -90. The average water/rock ratio for the Skye hydrothermal system is approximately one; at least 2000 km³ of heated meteoric waters were cycled through these rocks.

Thus these detailed isotopic studies of two widely separated areas indicate that (1) ¹⁸O-depleted magmas are commonly produced in volcanic terranes invaded by epizonal intrusions; (2) most of the ¹⁸O-depletion in such areas are a result of subsolidus exchange (particularly of feldspars); however correlation of δ¹⁸O with grain size is generally preserved only for systems that have undergone relatively minor meteoric hydrothermal exchange; (3) feldspar and calcite are the minerals mos t susceptible to oxygen isotopic exchange, whereas quartz is very resistant to oxygen isotope exchange; biotite, magnetite, and pyroxene have intermediate susceptibilities; and (4) basaltic country rocks are much more permeable to the hydrothermal convective system than shale, sandstone, or the crystalline basement complex.

Metasomatism and magmatic assimilation at a gabbro-limestone contact, Christmas Mountains, Big Bend region, Texas

A composite stock of alkaline gabbro and syenite is intrusive into limestone of the Del Carmen, Sue Peake and Santa Elena Formations at the northwest end of the Christmas Mountains. There is abundant evidence of solution of wallrock by magma but nowhere are gabbro and limestone in direct contact. The sequence of lithologies developed across the intrusive contact and across xenoliths is gabbro, pyroxenite, calc-silicate skarn, marble. Pyroxenite is made up of euhedral crystals of titanaugite and sphene in a leucocratic matrix of nepheline, Wollastonite and alkali feldspar. The uneven modal distribution of phases in pyroxenite and the occurrence' of nepheline syenite dikes, intrusive into pyroxenite and skarn, suggest that pyroxenite represents an accumulation of clinopyroxene "cemented" together by late-solidifying residual magma of nepheline syenite composition. Assimilation of limestone by gabbroic magma involves reactions between calcite and magma and/or crystals in equilibrium with magma and crystallization of phases in which the magma is saturated, to supply energy for the solution reaction. Gabbroic magma was saturated with plagioclase and clinopyroxene at the time of emplacement. The textural and mineralogic features of pyroxenite can be produced by the reaction 2( 1-X) CALCITE + AN_XAB_l-X = (1-X) NEPHELINE+ 2(1-X) WOLLASTONITE+ X ANORTHITE+ 2(1-X) CO₂. Plagioclase in pyroxenite has corroded margins and is rimmed by nepheline, suggestive of resorption by magma. Anorthite and wollastonite enter solid solution in titanaugite. For each mole of calcite dissolved, approximately one mole of clinopyroxene was crystallized. Thus the amount of limestone that may be assimilated is limited by the concentration of potential clinopyroxene in the magma. Wollastonite appears as a phase when magma has been depleted in iron and magnesium by crystallization of titanaugite. The predominance of mafic and ultramafic compositions among contaminated rocks and their restriction to a narrow zone along the intrusive contact provides little evidence for the generation of a significant volume of desilicated magma as a result of limestone assimilation.

Within 60 m of the intrusive contact with the gabbro, nodular chert in the Santa Elena Limestone reacted with the enveloping marble to form spherical nodules of high-temperature calc-silicate minerals. The phases wollastonite, rankinite, spurrite, tilleyite and calcite, form a series of sharply-bounded, concentric monomineralic and two-phase shells which record a step-wise decrease in silica content from the core of a nodule to its rim. Mineral zones in the nodules vary 'with distance from the gabbro as follows:

0-5 m CALCITE + SPURRITE + RANKINITE + WOLLASTONITE
5-16 m CALCITE + TILLEYITE ± SPURRITE + RANKINITE + WOLLASTONITE
16-31 m CALCITE + TILLEYITE + WOLLASTONITE
31-60 m CALCITE + WOLLASTONITE
60-plus CALCITE + QUARTZ

The mineral of a one-phase zone is compatible with the phases bounding it on either side but these phases are incompatible in the same volume of P-T-X_CO2.

Growth of a monomineralio zone is initiated by reaction between minerals of adjacent one-phase zones which become unstable with rising temperature to form a thin layer of a new single phase that separates the reactants and is compatible with both of them. Because the mineral of the new zone is in equilibrium with the phases at both of its contacts, gradients in the chemical potentials of the exchangeable components are established across it. Although zone boundaries mark discontinuities in the gradients of bulk composition, two-phase equilibria at the contacts demonstrate that the chemical potentials are continuous. Hence, Ca, Si and CO₂ were redistributed in the growing nodule by diffusion. A monomineralic zone grows at the expense of an adjacent zone by reaction between diffusing components and the mineral of the adjacent zone. Equilibria between two phases at zone boundaries buffers the chemical potentials of the diffusing species. Thus, within a monomineralic zone, the chemical potentials of the diffusing components are controlled external to the local assemblage by the two-phase equilibria at the zone boundaries.

Mineralogically zoned calc-silicate skarn occurs as a narrow band that separates pyroxenite and marble along the intrusive contact and forms a rim on marble xenoliths in gabbro. Skarn consists of melilite or idocrase pseudomorphs of melili te, one or two . stoichiometric calcsilicate phases and accessory Ti-Zr garnet, perovskite and magnetite. The sequence of mineral zones from pyroxenite to marble, defined by a characteristic calc-silicate, is wollastonite, rankinite, spurrite, calcite. Mineral assemblages of adjacent skarn zones are compatible and the set of zones in a skarn band defines a facies type, indicating that the different mineral assemblages represent different bulk compositions recrystallized under identical conditions. The number of phases in each zone is less than the number that might be expected to result from metamorphism of a general bulk composition under conditions of equilibrium, trivariant in P, T and u_CO2. The "special" bulk composition of each zone is controlled by reaction between phases of the zones bounding it on either side. The continuity of the gradients of composition of melilite and garnet solid solutions across the skarn is consistent with the local equilibrium hypothesis and verifies that diffusion was the mechanism of mass transport. The formula proportions of Ti and Zr in garnet from skarn vary antithetically with that of Si Which systematically decreases from pyroxenite to marble. The chemical potential of Si in each skarn zone was controlled by the coexisting stoichiometric calc-silicate phases in the assemblage. Thus the formula proportion of Si in garnet is a direct measure of the chemical potential of Si from point to point in skarn. Reaction between gabbroic magma saturated with plagioclase and clinopyroxene produced nepheline pyroxenite and melilite-wollastonite skarn. The calcsilicate zones result from reaction between calcite and wollastonite to form spurrite and rankinite.

Geology of the Pacoima Area, Los Angeles County, California

The Pacoima area is located on an isolated hill in the northeast section of the San Fernando, the northeast portion of the Pacoima Quadrangle, Los Angeles County, California. Within it are exposed more than 2300 feet of Tertiary rocks, which comprise three units of Middle Miocene (?) age, and approximately 950 feet of Jurassic (?) granite basement. The formations are characterized by their mode of occurrence, marine and terrestial origin, diverse lithology, and structural features.

The basement complex is composed of intrusive granite, small masses of granodiorite and a granodiorite gneiss with the development of schistosity in sections. During the long period of erosion of the metamorphics, the granitic rocks were exposed and may have provided clastic constituents for the overlying formations.

As a result of rapid sedimentation in a transitional environment, the Middle Miocene Twin Peaks formation was laid down unconformably on the granite. This formation is essentially a large thinning bed of gray to buff pebble and cobble conglomerate grading to coarse yellow sandstone. The contact of conglomerate and granite is characterized by its faulted and depositional nature.

Beds of extrusive andesite, basalt porphyry, compact vesicular amygdaloidal basalts, andesite breccia, interbedded feldspathic sands and clays of terrestial origin, and mudflow breccia comprise the Pacoima formation which overlies the Twin Peaks formation unconformably. A transgressing shallow sea accompanied settling of the region and initiated deposition of fine clastic sediments.

The marine Topanga (?) formation is composed of brown to gray coarse sandstone grading into interbedded buff sandstones and gray shales. Intrusions of rhyolitedacite and ash beds mark continued but sporatic volcanism during this period.

The area mapped represents an arch in the Tertiary sediments. Forces that produced the uplift of the granite structural high created stresses that were relieved by jointing and faulting. Vertical and horizontal movement along these faults has displaced beds, offset contacts and complicated their structure. Uplift and erosion have exposed the present sequence of beds which dip gently to the northeast. The isolated hill is believed to be in an early stage of maturity.

Geology of the Pacoima Hills

The Pacoima Hills lie between Foothill Boulevard and the San Fernando Road, three miles southeast of San Fernando, California. In this area are exposed Jurassic(?) granodiorite intruded in older gneiss, and a mid Miocene Topango (?) sedimentary section lying in both fault and sedimentary contact with the intrusive complex. Two distinct lava flows and a small laccolith of andesite occur within the Topango (?) formation. The principal structural feature is an anticline plunging steeply northward. An upward acting force is postulated to have produced this anticline; upon cessation of the force, normal faulting occurred with consequent down-dropping of north-south blocks.