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Anatomy of a metamorphic core complex: seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling in southeastern California and western Arizona

January 1, 1991

The metamorphic core complex belt in southeastern California and western Arizona is a NW-SE trending zone of unusually large Tertiary extension and uplift. Midcrustal rocks exposed in this belt raise questions about the crustal thickness, crustal structure, and the tectonic evolution of the region. Three seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiles were collected to address these issues. The results presented here, which focus on the Whipple and Buckskin-Rawhide mountains, yield a consistent three-dimensiional image of this part of the metamorphic core complex belt. The final model consists of a thin veneer (<2 km) of upper plate and fractured lower plate rocks (1.5-5.5 km s-1) overlying a fairly homogeneous basement (~6.0 km s-1) and a localized high-velocity (6.4 km s -1) body situated beneath the western Whipple Mountains. A prominent midcrustal reflection is identified beneath the Whipple and Buckskin Rawhide mountains between 10 and 20km depth. -from Authors

Publication Year 1991
Title Anatomy of a metamorphic core complex: seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling in southeastern California and western Arizona
Authors J. McCarthy, S.P. Larkin, G. S. Fuis, R. W. Simpson, K. A. Howard
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Journal of Geophysical Research
Index ID 70016349
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse