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Publications

Publications from the staff of the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Filter Total Items: 2524

Paleomagnetic results from the Shasta Bally Plutonic Belt in the Klamath Mountains Province, northern California Paleomagnetic results from the Shasta Bally Plutonic Belt in the Klamath Mountains Province, northern California

Available paleomagnetic data show approximately 100° of clockwise rotation for Permian and Triassic strata of the Eastern Klamath terrane. Jurassic strata of this terrane are rotated approximately 60° clockwise, which is comparable to rotations reported for Jurassic plutons that occur elsewhere in the Klamath Mountains province. Paleomagnetic data obtained during the present study from...
Authors
Edward A. Mankinen, William P. Irwin, C. Sherman Gromme

The relative contribution of accretion, shear, and extension to Cenozoic tectonic rotation in the Pacific Northwest The relative contribution of accretion, shear, and extension to Cenozoic tectonic rotation in the Pacific Northwest

Large Cenozoic clockwise rotations defined by paleomagnetic data are an established fact in the Pacific Northwest, and many tectonic models have been proposed to explain them, including (1) rotation of accreted oceanic microplates during docking, (2) dextral shear between North America and northward-moving oceanic plates to the west, and (3) microplate rotation in front of an expanding...
Authors
Ray E. Wells, Paul L. Heller

Crustal extension along a rooted system of imbricate low-angle faults: Colorado River extensional corridor, California and Arizona Crustal extension along a rooted system of imbricate low-angle faults: Colorado River extensional corridor, California and Arizona

The upper 10 to 15 km of crystalline crust in the 100-km-wide Colorado River extensional corridor of mid-Tertiary age underwent extension along an imbricate system of gently dipping normal faults. Detachment faults cut gently down-section eastward in the direction of tectonic transport from a headwall breakaway, best expressed in the Old Woman Mountains, California. Successively higher...
Authors
Keith A. Howard, B.E. John

Thermal maturity of tectonostratigraphic terranes within the Franciscan Complex, California Thermal maturity of tectonostratigraphic terranes within the Franciscan Complex, California

Indicators of organic metamorphism provide valuable tools for analyzing the thermal history of tectonostratigraphic terranes. Paleotemperature estimates derived from vitrinite reflectance, for example, are more precise than values based upon inorganic mineral assemblages in low‐grade rocks. Isothermal geometries must be interpreted within the context of structural and stratigraphic data...
Authors
M.B. Underwood, M. Clark Blake, D. G. Howell

Attenuation of the Coast Range ophiolite by extensional faulting and nature of the Coast Range "thrust," California Attenuation of the Coast Range ophiolite by extensional faulting and nature of the Coast Range "thrust," California

The late Mesozoic Coast Range ophiolite and Great Valley sequence in California were juxtaposed against the Franciscan Complex during a long tectonic history that included imbricate thrust faulting, low‐angle detachment, and high‐angle reverse faulting. Many low‐angle faults previously mapped as thrusts invariably juxtapose younger over older rocks, suggesting a normal sense of offset...
Authors
A. S. Jayko, M. Clark Blake, Tekla Harms

In search of the Abrams post office, Trinity County In search of the Abrams post office, Trinity County

An understanding of earth history depends in part on stratigraphy, a division of geology in which the distinctive features of natural units or formations of layered rocks are studied and described and names are assigned to them. The procedures for describing and naming rock units in a uniform way are incorporated in documents known as stratigraphic codes. The North American Stratigraphic...
Authors
Marvin A. Lanphere, William P. Irwin
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