Late Cretaceous paleomagnetism of the Tucson Mountains: implications for vertical axis rotations in south central Arizona

The Tucson Mountains of southern Arizona are the site of an Upper Cretaceous caldera from which the rhyolitic Cat Mountain Tuff was erupted at about 72 Ma. Two magnetic units within the Cat Mountain Tuff are distinguished by paleomagnetic data in both the northern and southern Tucson Mountains. The available paleomagnetic data indicate that rocks in southern Arizona have not remained unrotated with respect to North America since Late Cretaceous time and that vertical axis rotations may have played an important role in the region during Laramide deformation. -from Authors