Mesozoic and Cenozoic thermal history of the eastern Mojave Desert, California and western Arizona, with emphasis on the Old Woman Mountains area and the Chemehuevi metamorphic core complex

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5263558

Foster, D A

Mesozoic thickening and Cenozoic extension resulted in the juxtaposition of upper and middle crustal rocks in the eastern Mojave Desert, southeastern California and western Arizona. The application of {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar thermochronology and petrology/thermobarometry to rocks in this region provides information about the timing and nature of thrusting, plutonism, metamorphism, denudation, and detachment faulting. Orogenesis culminated during the Late Cretaceous when rocks exposed in the Old Woman-Piute, Chemehuevi, and Sacramento Mountains attained temperatures > 500C. High grade metamorphism of the Old Woman Mountains area was caused by the intrusion of the Old Woman-Piute batholith at 73 {plus minus} 1 Ma; Cretaceous mineral assemblages in Proterozoic pelites increase in grade from greenschist to upper amphibolite facies, and {sup 40}Ar/{sup 39}Ar hornblende ages from Proterozoic amphibolites decrease in age from {approximately} 1,600 Ma to 73 {plus minus} 1 Ma, in the direction of 73 Ma plutons. Pluton emplacement and metamorphism occurred at 3 to 3.5 kbars and 400 > 600C in the Piute Mountains, and 3.5 to 4.5 kbars and 530 to > 650C in the Old Woman Mountains. Following the Cretaceous, the eastern Mojave Desert underwent a period of cooling at a rate of 2 to 10C/Ma between 65 and 25 Ma. By 30 Ma rocks exposed in the Old Woman-Piute, Marble Ship, Clipper and Turtle Mountains were below {approximately} 100C. {sup 40}/{sup 39}Ar ages from the Sacramento Mountains suggest that mylonitization caused by the onset of regional extension occurred at 23 {plus minus} 1 Ma. When extension started in the Chemehuevi Mountains, rocks exposed in the southwestern and northeastern portions of footwall to the Chemehuevi detachment fault were at {approximately} 180C and {approximately} 350C, respectively which suggests that this fault initiated at a dip of 5 to 30{degree}.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Albany, NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5263558
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
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BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
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MESOZOIC ERA
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
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OROGENESIS
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