Observations on normal-fault scarp morphology and fault system evolution of the Bishop Tuff in the Volcanic Tableland, Owens Valley, California, U.S.A.

David A. Ferrill, Alan P. Morris, Ronald N. McGinnis, Kevin J. Smart, Morgan J Watson-Morris, and Sarah S. Wigginton DEPARTMENT OF EARTH, MATERIAL, AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE®, 6220 CULEBRA ROAD, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78238, USA

ABSTRACT

Mapping of normal faults cutting the Bishop Tuff in the Volcanic Tableland, northern Owens Valley, California, using side-looking airborne radar data, low-altitude aerial photographs, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, and standard field mapping yields insights into fault scarp development, fault system evolution, and timing. Fault zones are characterized by multiple linked fault segments, tilting of the welded ignimbrite surface, dilation of polygonal cooling joints, and toppling of joint-bounded blocks. Maximum fault zone width is governed by (i) lateral spacing of cooperating fault segments and (ii) widths of fault tip monoclines. Large-displacement faults interact over larger rock volumes than small-displacement faults and generate larger relay ramps, which, when breached, form the widest portions of fault zones. Locally intense faulting within a breached relay ramp results from a combination of distributed east-west extension, and within- ramp bending and stretching to accommodate displacement gradients on bounding faults. One prominent fluvial channel is offset by both east- and west-dipping normal faults such that the channel is no longer in an active flowing configuration, indicating that channel incision began before development of significant fault-related geomorphic features. The channel thalweg is “hanging” with respect to modern (Q1) and previous (Q2) Owens River terraces, is incised through the pre-Tahoe age terrace level (Q4, 131–463 ka), and is at grade with the Tahoe age (Q3, 53–119 ka) terrace. Differential incision across fault scarps implies that the channel remained active during some of the faulting his- tory, but it was abandoned between Q2 and Q3 time, while faulting continues to the present day.

LITHOSPHERE; v. 8; no. 3; p. 238–253 | Published online 28 March 2016 doi:10.1130/L476.1

INTRODUCTION region referred to as the Walker Lane belt—an (e.g., Dawers et al., 1993; Dawers and Anders, area of interconnected normal and strike-slip 1995; Pinter, 1995; Pinter and Keller, 1995; Wil- The Basin and Range Province is a broad faults that includes Miocene to present large- lemse et al., 1996; Willemse, 1997; Ferrill et region of western North America that has expe- magnitude crustal extension and tectonic exhu- al., 1999b; Ferrill and Morris, 2001; Sims et al., rienced Cenozoic crustal extension manifested mation of the eastern Walker Lane (Stewart, 2005; Phillips and Majkowski, 2011; Lovely et by extensional faulting, formation of graben and 1983; Snow and Wernicke, 2000; Ferrill et al., al., 2012). Superb exposure, relatively rapid and half-graben basins separated by narrow moun- 2012b). Owens Valley marks the western edge active deformation, and the deposition and sub- tain ranges, and volcanism (Fig. 1, inset map). and most active portion of the Walker Lane belt sequent partial erosion of the Pleistocene-age The province extends 3700 km from Canada along the eastern Sierra Nevada range (Dixon et Bishop Tuff as a key marker horizon make this through the United States to southern Mexico, al., 2000, 2003; Oldow, 2003; Fig. 1). In addi- an excellent field laboratory for investigations with a width of ~800 km (Stewart et al., 1998). tion to the active extension, the eastern Sierra into the structure and neotectonic evolution of an Timing of basin formation, fault activity, andes- Nevada is also the site of extensive Quaternary actively forming continental transtensional basin. ite-rhyolite volcanism, and the transition from felsic volcanism, with the largest volcanic event Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland has been diverse andesite-rhyolite volcanism to basaltic represented by the eruption of the Bishop Tuff investigated to: (i) characterize normal fault dis- or bimodal volcanism all generally become and associated magma chamber collapse to form placement-length scaling relationships for faults younger from east to west across the Basin and the Long Valley caldera (Fig. 1). The eruptive and fault segments (Dawers et al., 1993; Dawers Range Province (Stewart, 1998). Some of the and cooling history of the Bishop Tuff exposed and Anders, 1995); (ii) test linear-elastic bound- most active deformation in the Basin and Range in the Volcanic Tableland in northern Owens ary element modeling of fault displacement Province is occurring in eastern California in a Valley, California, has been studied extensively patterns and related fault block geometry (Wil- for eight decades (e.g., Gilbert, 1938; Bate- lemse et al., 1996; Willemse, 1997; Lovely et al., man, 1965; Sheridan, 1970; Ragan and Sheri- 2012); (iii) understand the formation, deforma- Editor’s note: This article is part of a special is- sue devoted to the GSA Field Forum titled Structure dan, 1972; Hildreth, 1979; Hildreth and Mahood, tion, and breaching of relay ramps and resulting and Neotectonic­ Evolution of Northern Owens Val- 1986; Wilson and Hildreth, 1997, 1998, 2003). development of fault corrugation (Ferrill et al., ley and the Volcanic Tableland, California, convened In recent years, the structurally controlled 1999b; Ferrill and Morris, 2001); (iv) analyze by David A. Ferrill, Southwest Research Institute, morphology of the top of the welded ignimbrite fluvial channel response to relay-ramp-bound- Alan P. Morris, Southwest Research Institute, and and fault scarps that offset this horizon (Fig. 1) ing fault displacements (Hopkins and Dawers, Nancye H. Dawers, Tulane University. The papers are collected at http://lithosphere.gsapubs.org/ (click on have been the subject of study as a natural labora- 2015); and (v) characterize the development of Themed Issues). tory for understanding normal faulting processes fault network connectivity (Sims et al., 2005). In

238 © 2016 Geological Society of Americawww.gsapubs.org | For permission | toVolume copy, contact8 | Number [email protected] 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

Canada

Basin and Area of Range Province Long Valley Fig. 1 Caldera United States

37°40' N Location of Figure 2 Rio Grande Rift Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Mexico Legend Quaternary sedimentary Quaternary volcanic Pleistocene glacial Pliocene volcanic

White Mountains Mesozoic granitic

37°30' N Mesozoic undivided Sierra Nevada Range Paleozoic marine Volcanic Precambrian metamorphic Water Tableland 52.5 0 mi

7 3.5 0 km 37°20' N Owens V

alley 37°10' N

118°50'W 118°30'W 118°10'W Figure 1. Geologic map showing location of the Volcanic Tableland within Owens Valley at the western edge of the actively extend- ing Basin and Range Province in the western United States (after Jennings et al., 1977; Stewart et al., 1998; Gutierrez et al., 2010).

addition, investigations have been performed to and the basin margins, where thin deposits topographic relief of the bounding range fronts understand fault interaction, fault zone deforma- would experience less compaction. Although and thickness of basin fill above basement, each tion processes, and influences of these processes the Bishop Tuff was likely subject to some of of these faults has on the order of 3 to >4 km of on permeability within the Bishop Tuff and the the effects of differential compaction and basin normal throw (Bateman, 1965; Lueddecke et al., underlying nonwelded tuff and volcaniclastic geometry, the most apparent meso- to macro­ 1998; Phillips and Majkowski, 2011). sediments (Ferrill et al., 2000, 2009; Evans and scale structural fabric is that of a large number The Volcanic Tableland is composed of the Bradbury, 2004; Dinwiddie et al., 2006, 2012; of normal faults accommodating predominantly 758.9 ± 1.8 ka Bishop Tuff (van den Bogaard McGinnis et al., 2009). east-west extension. In this paper, we document and Schirnick, 1995; Sarna-Wojcicki et al., Brittle deformation—in the form of cooling fault segment interaction and linkage, strain 2000), which overlies reworked volcaniclastic joints, fumarolic joints, and faults—of volca- localization and geometry within relay ramps, and other sedimentary deposits. The Bishop Tuff nic deposits generally begins coincident with fault scarp morphology, and potential timing of is mechanically layered with air-fall deposits and emplacement, welding, and cooling (e.g., Dunne fault zone development. These observations pro- variably welded ignimbrites that are interpreted et al., 2003). Lateral thickness variations of an vide new insight into faulting processes within to have been emplaced in less than 1 wk (Wil- ignimbrite deposit can cause differential com- the Volcanic Tableland. son and Hildreth, 1997). The entire Bishop Tuff paction where thicker sections remain hotter for sequence can be considered as one heterogeneous longer periods and compact more than thinner BACKGROUND ON STRUCTURAL AND growth unit within the overall sedimentary and sections because of their higher total heat capac- TECTONIC SETTING OF THE VOLCANIC volcanic fill sequence of the basin (Hollett et al., ity. Thickness variations create a lateral stress TABLELAND 1991; Phillips and Majkowski, 2011). Most of the gradient that can result in brittle deformation, Volcanic Tableland is capped by a welded ignim- such as extension fracturing or normal fault- At the latitude of the Volcanic Tableland, brite, unit Ig2E of Wilson and Hildreth (1997), ing (e.g., Hildreth, 1983; Keith, 1991). For the Owens Valley has the overall geometry of a gra- which represents one of two major ignimbrite general case of an ignimbrite in a simple basin, ben. Crustal-scale range-front normal faults are units in the Volcanic Tableland. Nine associated Sheridan (1970) proposed that vertical joint present on both sides of the valley—the Sierra Bishop air-fall units also have been identified formation could be driven by differential com- Nevada range-front fault system (a left-stepping, and characterized (Wilson and Hildreth, 1997). paction between the depocenter, where thick en echelon array) to the west and the White Formation of the Owens Valley graben is deposits would experience more compaction, Mountain fault to the east (Fig. 1). Based on generally thought to have begun in the Pliocene

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 239

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

Epoch, with initiation between 2 and 6 m.y. tilting and faulting. Topographic analysis by The other system of surface ruptures associ- ago (Bachman, 1978; Pinter and Keller, 1995; Sheehan (2007) showed that displacements ated with the 1986 Chalfant earthquake devel- Lueddecke et al., 1998; Phillips and Majkowski, and related extension magnitudes are greatest oped 5–15 km west of the White Mountain 2011). The deformation history recorded by for faults cutting the Bishop Tuff, and progres- frontal fault zone within the east-dipping part faults since Bishop Tuff emplacement at 759 sively less for the younger Owens River ter- of the Volcanic Tableland (black lines, Fig. 2). ka therefore represents only 13%–38% of races. Owens River terraces have been tilted This system of ruptures was distributed over a the temporal extensional history of the basin. to the east and faulted south of Chalk Bluff zone as much as 10 km wide, trending gener- As noted by Wilson and Hildreth (1997), the (Bateman, 1965; Pinter and Keller, 1995). Bate- ally north-south for a distance of ~30 km. These Bishop ignimbrites filled in existing topography man (1965) analyzed orientations of present ruptures showed dilation perpendicular to the and locally smoothed an irregular basin-floor and past Owens River floodplain terraces and fracture surface and in some cases vertical off- landscape. Given that the extensional faulting found that (i) the present floodplain of the set. Dilational fractures in many cases showed that formed Owens Valley was well under way Owens River slopes east at an average rate of drainage of sand into the fractures. Fractures prior to Bishop Tuff emplacement, numerous 5.7 m/km (30 ft/mi), (ii) the lowest terrace (Q2 were observed to have apertures of as much as north-south–trending faults and fault segments or Tioga age, 9.8–26 ka; according to Pinter 1–2 cm, summing to at least 5 cm and possibly (Bateman, 1965) would have been subsequently et al., 1994) slopes east at an average rate of as much as 15 cm (Lienkaemper et al., 1987). buried by the ignimbrites. These preexisting 7.6 m/km (40 ft/mi), and (iii) the next higher While no direct evidence of strike-slip motion structures are important because they are likely middle terrace (Q3 or Tahoe age, 53–119 ka; was observed, it could not be ruled out because to have been reactivated during post–Bishop according to Pinter et al., 1994) slopes east at of the nature of the loose material and the lack of Tuff extension, influencing the present-day fault an average rate of 13.2 m/km (70 ft/mi). An definitive piercing points or slip indicators. Frac- pattern (Bateman, 1965). Faults in the Volca- older and higher terrace (Q4 or pre-Tahoe age, tures tended to form in left-stepping arrange- nic Tableland range in displacement from <1 m 131–463 ka; according to Pinter et al., 1994) has ments, with some occurring on mapped fault to ~145 m. Faults are dominantly north-south also been tilted eastward, as has the paleochan- scarps and others occurring between mapped striking (Fig. 2, inset), with approximately equal nel network on the Volcanic Tableland. Pinter faults (Lienkaemper et al., 1987). numbers of east-dipping and west-dipping faults, and Keller (1995) used angular terrace and which were mapped using side-looking airborne paleochannel tilt magnitudes to estimate rates METHODOLOGY radar data (see Ferrill et al., 1999b). Present-day of eastward tilting in the range of 3.5–6.1°/m.y. topography of the eastern part of the Volcanic This eastward tilting likely reflects continued Since 1996, we have conducted field and Tableland shows increasing dip or rollover into slip on, and hanging-wall tilting toward, the remote-sensing investigations of faulting in the the Fish Slough fault, the largest fault cutting basin-bounding White Mountain fault. Chalk Volcanic Tableland. These investigations have the Volcanic Tableland with a maximum throw Bluff, which trends approximately east-west, included mapping of faults from side-looking of ~145 m (Ferrill et al., 1999b). The footwall of developed as an erosional escarpment due to airborne radar data, mapping on foot using real- the west-dipping Fish Slough fault is tilted east lateral cutting and downcutting by the Owens time kinematic differential global positioning toward the White Mountain fault (Phillips and River flowing in the gradient direction east system (RTK-DGPS) surveying, interpretation Majkowski, 2011) and is itself cut by numerous across the valley toward the active range-front and analysis of airborne light detection and rang- east- (dominant) and west-dipping (subordinate) fault along the White Mountains. ing (LiDAR) data (acquired by Chevron Cor- normal faults. The overall architecture of the In addition to evidence for long-term post– poration), analysis of digital elevation model Volcanic Tableland, including the eastward tilt Bishop Tuff fault displacement, there also is (DEM) data and aerial photography, analysis of or rollover, and the associated crestal graben clear evidence that the fault system remains low-altitude and low-sun-angle aerial photogra- (Ferrill et al., 1999b), is interpreted to be the active. For example, slip on several faults in the phy, and undertaking our own field observations. product of outer-arc extension (Pinter, 1995) as eastern part of the Volcanic Tableland was trig- For the RTK-DGPS mapping, the horizontal and a hanging-wall response to slip on the listric gered in association with the 21 July 1986 M 6.2 vertical position accuracy was 20 cm and 60 cm, White Mountain fault (e.g., Ferrill and Morris, Chalfant earthquake (Cockerham and Corbett, respectively, for two rover units. A third rover 1997; Morris and Ferrill, 1999). 1987; Smith and Priestley, 2000). The Chalfant unit yielded 2 cm and 6 cm horizontal and ver- Owens Valley and the Volcanic Tableland are earthquake was centered at a depth of 11.5 km tical position accuracy, respectively. Structure in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada range. on the White Mountain frontal fault zone (Cock- contour and slope maps were produced using the The Owens River, which drains the eastern Sierra erham, 1986). The earthquake produced two irregular network of field data and interpolated to Nevada, has cut three terraces above the modern systems of surface ruptures that were mapped a uniform grid spacing of 5 m. A denser data set Owens River floodplain (Bateman, 1965; Pinter during the first 4 wk after the earthquake (Lien- with smaller data spacing was collected for the et al., 1994). These terraces have been corre- kaemper et al., 1987). One set of ruptures was southern relay ramp using the third rover unit to lated to glacial moraines in the eastern Sierra mapped for a distance of 10.5–13.2 km along enable analysis of small-displacement faults (1 m Nevada, where dating of glacial stages has been an azimuth of 350° along the White Mountain to 5 m throw). These data were used to generate performed (Pinter et al., 1994). Although faults frontal fault zone southeast of the epicenter of a contour map of the southern relay ramp with 1 are best exposed cutting the welded Bishop Tuff the Chalfant main shock (black lines, Fig. 2). m grid spacing; the small faults in the relay ramp across the Volcanic Tableland surface, faults also Slip indicators along these ruptures suggested were then mapped and measured in the field are present cutting younger erosional Owens primarily right-lateral strike-slip displacement using a calculated slope map as the base map, River terraces south of the southern escarpment with a small dip-slip (normal) component, max- and fault throws were measured in the field using of the Volcanic Tableland along Chalk Bluff imum displacement on individual ruptures of a handheld measuring tape. Although much of (Pinter, 1995; Pinter and Keller, 1995). 4.6 cm, and maximum summed displacement of this work has served to confirm the work of many Analysis of faulting of these terraces pro- 11.1 cm over the width of the zone (for details, others, we have reached a number of new inter- vides incremental constraints on the history of see Lienkaemper et al., 1987). pretations that are the focus in this paper.

240 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

360000 380000

0 1 2468 Kilometers

010.75 .5 34.5 6 Miles WhiteWhite Mountains Mountains

Owens River Gorge 4160000 4160000

Location of Figures 8A and 9A

N

Chalfant Ruptures along

White Mountain Faul

W E

S

t

Location of Figure 7 Location of Figure 5 Location of Figure 3

4140000 Location of Figure 4A Location of Figures 10 and 11C 4140000

360000 380000

Figure 2. Volcanic Tableland map with faults (red traces are west-dipping faults; blue traces are east-dipping faults) mapped from side-looking airborne radar data (cf. Ferrill et al., 1999b), channels (dashed black lines; Pinter and Keller, 1995), 1986 Chalfant earthquake ruptures (black lines; Lienkaemper et al., 1987), and fault rose diagram based on mapped fault traces (inset at bottom left). Star represents epicenter of Chalfant earthquake. The approxi- mately east-west escarpment north of the Owens River is the erosional Chalk Bluff escarpment. Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zone 11, North American Datum (NAD) 83.

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 241

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

FAULT SCARP MORPHOLOGY AND upward with a tectonic fracture zone (Dinwid- Faults in the underlying nonwelded Bishop EVOLUTION die et al., 2006). With increasing monocline Tuff show development of a narrow fault zone, dip in the cap-rock unit (Fig. 3C), and with the with cataclasis and slickenline development Formation of cooling joints early in the depo- appearance of an actual fault gap, cooling joints consistent with shear failure in rock without a sition of the Bishop Tuff created a preexisting that parallel the overall fault trend separate, and preexisting fracture fabric to reactivate (Evans fracture framework that is blocky and irregular cooling-joint-bounded blocks tilt and topple and Bradbury, 2004; Dinwiddie et al., 2006, (Sheridan, 1970). Fault scarps in the capping (e.g., Adhikary et al., 1997). Because these fault 2012; McGinnis et al., 2009). Propagating as unit of the Volcanic Tableland appear rubbly scarps are developing at the ground surface, in shear fractures through an unfractured medium, rather than as smooth, planar, slickensided fault lithified rock with cooling joints already present, these faults developed as thin cataclastic shear surfaces. During field mapping, we observed the fault rupture in the welded cap rock forms zones with associated grain cataclasis and pore that many of the faults lose displacement later- by reactivation of nearly ubiquitous preexist- collapse. Although the rubbly fault scarp appear- ally to fault tips, but that monoclinal folds persist ing cooling joints. Precursor monoclinal folding ance on the Volcanic Tableland may appear at beyond the fault tips. In some locations, the top dilates the preexisting cooling joints, and there first to be a function of weathering, we conclude of the welded Bishop Tuff is exposed, and cool- is little frictional contact between blocks, result- that the faults instead initiated and are continu- ing joints are visible (Figs. 3A and 3B). Along ing in limited areas of frictional sliding where ing to develop as subaerial rubbly scarps as part Chalk Bluff where the Bishop Tuff is exposed in slickenlines would be likely to develop (Fig. 3C). of the normal progression of deformation. profile, welding gradation is visible from poorly Consequently, slickenlines are extremely rare welded near the base to moderately welded in on exposed faults in the Volcanic Tableland. We FAULT SEGMENT INTERACTION AND the cap-rock unit. The poorly welded portion of conclude that these faults scarps in the welded LINKAGE the Bishop Tuff generally lacks cooling joints, ignimbrite never existed as simple topographic whereas cooling joints are consistently pres- offsets, like those typically assumed in diffusion Fault systems in the Volcanic Tableland that ent in the cap-rock unit, with patterns ranging modeling of slope degradation developed for have throws of 20–145 m are all made up of from polygonal network to two nonorthogonal fault scarps in unconsolidated sediment (e.g., multiple fault segments. Upon close inspection, sets described by Sheridan (1970) as conjugate Avouac, 1993; Avouac and Peltzer, 1993); thus, it is evident that many individual fault segments fracture sets. Where the Chalk Cove fault cuts such diffusion models (even accounting for dif- themselves are the result of linkage of multi- the lower part of the poorly welded Bishop Tuff, ferences in cohesion) are not directly applicable ple closely spaced fault segments (Fig. 4). The the fault zone is extremely narrow and widens to the Volcanic Tableland fault scarps. scarps contain evidence of minor breached relay

C Moderately welded Figure 3. (A) Photograph of west- ignimbrite with cooling dipping (left), 10-m-high fault scarp joints above poorly welded (in shadow, illumination from the ignimbrite and upwardly east or right) with polygonal cool- propagating normal fault ing-joint-bounded blocks visible along scarp edge. To the right is a B 25-m-high east-dipping fault scarp Fault-tip monocline with blocks that have toppled, slid, developed above and rolled down the fault scarp upwardly propagating and now rest on the hanging-wall normal fault block. The south-dipping relay ramp between the two nearest shadowed fault scarps dips south area of B at 5° and is intact. Northwest- Steepening monocline and dilation of pre-existing dipping relay ramp at the north cooling joints end of the second shadowed scarp dips 10° and is breached. (B) Detail of fault footwall adja- cent to scarp, showing the tops of

Increasing Displacement blocks bounded by polygonal cool- Continued steepening of ing joints and dilation of joints in monocline, cooling joint the footwall, precursor to toppling dilation, and block tilting of joint-bounded blocks. (C) Con- ceptual model of fault scarp devel- opment in welded Bishop Tuff, as seen in cross section. Cooling Fault offsets moderately joints in the moderately welded welded caprock -- cap rock are reactivated by dilation cooling-joint bounded and shear. Cooling-joint-bounded blocks topple and slide blocks tilt, topple, and slide as the fault scarp develops. A

242 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

faults develop by breakthrough of relay ramps DEFORMATION WITHIN A RELAY RAMP A between overlapping fault segments. This break- through can occur by (i) curved lateral propaga- Based on the geometry of the Fish Slough tion of overlapping fault tips or (ii) connecting fault system (Figs. 5B, 5C, 6, and 7A), including fault formation (Peacock and Sanderson, 1994; hanging-wall and footwall cutoff lines and the Childs et al., 1995; Ferrill et al., 1999b). In the associated fault blocks, we interpret the follow- area of B Volcanic Tableland, linkage of segments occurs ing sequence of deformation: most commonly by curved lateral propagation (1) Formation of left-stepping, en echelon (Ferrill et al., 1999b). The resulting fault sur- array or en echelon branching fault (Fig. 7B). faces formed by linkage of segments tend to be (2) Increasing displacement gradient along B corrugated, with cusps and asperities located overlapping fault tips producing clockwise within or at the top and/or bottom of breached vertical-axis rotation (accommodating lateral relay ramps (Ferrill et al., 1999b), with more fault heave gradient), ramp tilting (accommodat- 4 5 6 1 2 3 pronounced corrugations being produced where ing lateral fault throw gradient), and small-scale the angle of intersection between linking faults faulting within relay ramps (Fig. 7B). approaches 90°, and where the length of the (3) Curved lateral propagation leading ramp-breaching fault becomes large. Relay to fault linkage and breakthrough along the ramps experience deformation related to both upthrown (footwall) fault traces, resulting in a regional extension and local deformation caused corrugated fault surface with cuspate corruga- C by displacement gradients (lateral and vertical) tions along fault segment intersections (Fig. 7C). on overlapping normal faults that bound the Based on larger displacement on the through- ramp. Displacement gradients along overlap- going fault at the top of the two breached relay 5 6 7 4 ping faults produce (i) vertical-axis rotation ramps, we interpret that the northern ramp broke 2 1 3 responding to fault heave gradient (clockwise through first, after ~50% of the total (present- rotation in left-stepping fault arrays; counter- day) fault displacement, followed by break- clockwise in right-stepping arrays); (ii) tilting through of the southern ramp at ~80% of the in the fault strike direction accommodating total fault displacement. fault throw gradient, perhaps with a compo- (4) Cutoff of southern cuspate corrugation, Figure 4. (A–B) Examples of segmented fault nent toward or away from the footwall related which smoothed the fault surface and produced scarp along west-dipping fault in southwest Vol- to fault dip change at depth and/or fault block a triangular prism-shaped fault block (cusp canic Tableland and (C) clay model (after Morris deformation (i.e., monocline formation); and faulted from footwall) between the top of the et al., 2014) for comparison. At first glance, fault (iii) relay-ramp extension parallel to fault strike relay ramp and footwall (Fig. 7D). scarps appear to be relatively simple breaks; (Ferrill and Morris, 2001). Curved fault tips or connecting faults— closer inspection reveals that they are typically The Fish Slough fault has the largest dis- inconsistent with the regional fault trend— composed of multiple closely spaced fault seg- ments and breached relays, numbered from 1 placement of faults cutting the Bishop Tuff in developed in the ideal fault orientation within to 6 in B and 1–7 in C. Width of field of view is the Volcanic Tableland with a maximum throw the local stress field at the time of their forma- 1.5 km in A, 0.5 km in B, and 8 cm in C. of ~145 m (Ferrill et al., 1999b). This fault sys- tion associated with the propagating fault tips. tem also contains some of the most dramatic Once fault linkage occurred, curved fault seg- fault system structures in the Volcanic Table- ments that formed in ideal orientations within ramps (Fig. 4). Fault growth by segment link- land, including the steepest relay ramp dips, locally perturbed stress fields prior to fault link- age is the norm rather than the exception, and and, because of the large displacement, a more- age were no longer well oriented for slip in the faults in the Volcanic Tableland at all observable evolved stage of fault system development (Fig. regional stress field. Shortcut faults developed scales show evidence of segmentation or linkage 5A). To explore the fault system in detail, an to sever asperities, straighten the fault trace, and of segments (Figs. 4A and 4B). RTK-DGPS system was used to produce high- smooth the fault sliding surface, and sometimes Faults nucleate, grow by propagation, inter- resolution topographic maps of the top of the led to osculating fault zones (Fig. 7). sect, and coalesce to form larger faults that are Bishop Tuff welded unit to map the fault blocks Detailed mapping of the southern breached composites of numerous linked segments, and and fault gaps of the Fish Slough fault system relay ramp revealed that the overall shape of this is borne out by natural examples (Dawers (Ferrill et al., 1999a). Because of the relative the ramp includes a northern domain that con- and Anders, 1995; Ferrill et al., 1999a, 1999b; lack of weathering and erosion of the capping tains a south-plunging anticline represented by Ferrill and Morris, 2001; Manighetti et al., 2001, unit of the Bishop Tuff, these maps represent a south-dipping western portion and a southeast- 2015; Soliva and Benedicto, 2004; Childs et al., structure contour maps of the fault system (Fig. dipping eastern portion, and a southern domain 2009) and physical analog modeling (e.g., Ack- 5B) and were used to calculate slope maps (Fig. that is a gentle south-dipping homocline. The ermann et al., 2001; Sims et al., 2005; Schla- 5C). Higher-resolution data were used as the northern domain of the relay ramp is cut by 35 genhauf et al., 2008; Wyrick et al., 2011; Fig. base map of the southern relay ramp, for analy- normal faults (Fig. 6). These faults include 21 4C). An inherent aspect of this process is fault sis of upthrown and downthrown cutoffs of nor- east-dipping faults (antithetic to the relay-ramp- segmentation, often with a relatively consistent mal fault scarps with faults with <1 m to >5 m bounding faults) and 14 west-dipping faults sense of stepping that produces an en echelon throw (Fig. 6). The mapping demonstrated that (synthetic to the relay-ramp-bounding faults), arrangement of segments. These segments may many of the faults lose displacement laterally with maximum throws ranging from <1 m to 4 originate as separate en echelon faults or en ech- to fault tips, but that monoclinal folds persist m (Fig. 6). These faults include segmented fault elon branches from single faults. Large normal beyond the fault tips. systems with relay ramps, breached relay ramps,

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 243

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

gradients developed on the overlapping ramp- A bounding faults (Ferrill et al., 1999b; Ferrill and Morris, 2001). Faulting within this relay ramp is more intensely developed, in terms of fault spac- ings and displacements, compared with fault- ing in the tableland across Fish Slough to the west. Thus, the faulting within the ramp is not cusp faulted from footwall typical of the Volcanic Tableland, but is unique to the breached relay ramp. Although deforma- tion within relay ramps is consistent with the “regional” extension direction, the anomalous spacing and displacement indicate that these are unique to the ramp, accommodating (i) dis- tributed regional extension between overlapping fault tips to balance displacement deficits on the overlapping and fault tips; (ii) localized ramp extension associated with tilting and vertical- breached axis rotation on the ramp-bounding faults; or relay ramps (iii) outer-arc extension bending strain along the fold axis within the ramp, with the fold being the product of slip on a listric fault beneath the ramp and possibly monoclinal folding associ- ated with fault propagation. It is possible that B one or all of these mechanisms was/were active within the relay ramp as it was developing and ultimately breached. Because of the lack of kine- matic indicators in the form of slickenlines or other incremental deformation indicators, it is not possible to reach a unique interpretation

N from the final structural geometry. 500m ANALYSIS OF FAULTED CHANNELS

Channels incised into the welded Bishop

Tuff on the Volcanic Tableland surface were 1359 1351 1341 1336 1328 1322 1317 1311 1307 1303 1299 1296 1292 1289 1286 1282 1279 1275 1272 1268 1264 1261 1258 1254 1249 1247 1245 1244 1243 1243 1241 (meters) Elevation recognized and discussed by Bateman (1965), C and mapped by Pinter and Keller (1995). Bate- Location of Figure 6 man (1965) described three channels crossing the Volcanic Tableland that have been faulted. These channels are represented by distinctive, V-shaped notches along Chalk Bluff. The mid- dle of these three channels, the Happy Boulders Channel, is particularly well exposed and is dis- N placed down to both the east and west across 500m cusp faulted faults, beheading the drainage source for this from footwall channel in its present configuration. Bateman (1965) noted that the channels generally trend from northwest to southeast and reflect an early

0.53 0.44 0.36 0.29 0.24 0.19 0.16 0.13 0.11 0.09 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 Slope Pleistocene drainage pattern down the primary Figure 5. Southern Fish Slough fault system: (A) Field photograph of the southern Fish Slough fault southeastward dip of the Volcanic Tableland scarp looking northeast with the White Mountains in the background, (B) color-contoured topo- surface. The long northwest to southeast chan- graphic map (in m), and (C) slope map. nels are cut and offset by normal faults; however, we observed that other channels drain into or out of fault-controlled depressions, apparently reacting to the structurally controlled surface and horsts and grabens. Dominant fault strike (iii) is consistent with an outer-arc extension morphology of the Volcanic Tableland and within the relay ramp is north-south, which (i) bending strain along the fold axis; and (iv) is indicating formation or activity during or after parallels the dominant fault trend in the Volca- oblique to the ramp-bounding faults but in an faulting. nic Tableland; (ii) parallels the axis of the fold appropriate orientation to accommodate local- An airborne LiDAR data set was collected in within the northern domain of the relay ramp; ized ramp extension in response to displacement 2008 over an 8.1 × 8.9 km area in the southeast

244 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

1400 m WE Welded Bishop Tuff

1300 m Talus Talus 1350 V:H = 1:1 1200 m

1340

1330 0.0 0.0 4.0 1.5 3.0 3.0 1320 1.0 1350 0.0 2.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 1310 0.0 0.0 2.5 1.3 2.0 0.8 0.0 5.1 3.9 1.4 1.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.51.8 0.0 1.2 1340 0.0 1.3 1.4 1.4 0.0 3.0 4.4 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.4 1300 2.0 3.3 1.2 2.8 0.8 2.5 0.0 2.2 0.2 2.2 0.4 0.0 2.3 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.2 1.8 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.8 1 0.3 1.8 0.8 330 1290 0.8 0.9 0.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 W 0.8 E 2.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 2.8 0.5 0.4 1280 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.7 0.3 0.0 0.2 1.1 2.1 0.4 5.7 0.9 0.0 5.0 0.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 0.5 3.5 1.7 1.2 0.0 2.0 0.0 3.1 1320 1.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 2.8 1.9 0.2 0.0 0.9 1.5 0.0 2.3 2.5 0.0 1.8 2.1 1.2 2.9 1.5 0.0 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.4 0.0 1.8 2.1 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.9 3.4 0.6 0.6 1.1 1310 3.2 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 1.1 3.1 0.5 1.0 1.2 2.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 0.0 2.5

1.6 1.0 1300 0.9 0.0 0.0

129

0

1280 Legend >5 m throw West-dipping faults 2-5 m throw 0 50 125 250m East-dipping faults 0-2 m throw

Figure 6. Detail of faulting within Fish Slough fault relay ramp. Black lines with bar and ball are west-dipping faults, and red lines with bar and ball are east-dipping normal faults. Cross section, W-E, illustrates bending strain within the relay ramp. V:H—vertical:horizontal.

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 245

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

part of the Volcanic Tableland with 2 m pixel Relict relay resolution (Lovely et al., 2012); this data set A ramps is shown as a gray-scale shaded relief map in Figure 8, and as a three-dimensional model in perspective view in Figure 9 (data provided for research purposes courtesy of Chevron Corpo- ration). The LiDAR data show several geomor- phologic interrelationships between faulting and N fluvial geomorphologic features that provide different relative timing constraints for fault- ing with respect to fluvial processes (Figs. 8 and 9). These include (i) a north-south–striking, east-dipping normal fault that cuts and offsets a paleo–Owens River terrace (Q3; Pinter et al., B 1994) in the southeast corner of the Volcanic Tableland by 4–4.5 m down to the east (Fig. 8C); Bending (ii) an incised channel that drains southeastward strain Displacement gradient from a structurally controlled closed depression related extension in the crestal graben (Figs. 8D and 9C); (iii) Regional extension an incised channel that drains from the west into a structurally controlled closed depression (graben) near the southern edge of the Volcanic Tableland (Figs. 8B and 9B); and (iv) an incised channel that has been offset by east- and west- dipping faults, i.e., the Happy Boulders Channel Cusps at fault intersections (Figs. 9, 10, and 11). Faulted stream channels provide ideal pierc- ing points at the intersection of the channel axis C with the fault plane to determine fault displace- ment direction in the fault plane. The fault off- sets of channels consistently show normal dis- placement across faults, ranging from 1 to ~30 m (Figs. 11A and 11B). Within the resolution of the data, there is no evidence of strike-slip displacement across any of the faults. Analysis of the Happy Boulders Channel profile demonstrates that the channel is dropped to the west and to the east across faults (Figs. 11A, 11B, and 11C). This indicates that fault displacement ultimately outpaced channel inci- New fault segment sion. A comparison of channel-axis topographic D severs footwall cusp profiles with topographic profiles collected on top of the welded horizon immediately adja- cent to the channel along both the north and south margins on the Volcanic Tableland surface shows that channel incision depth is variable (Figs. 11A and 11B). The most dramatic exam- ples are (i) associated with Chalk Bluff and (ii) associated with two east-dipping normal faults (faults 3 and 4 in Fig. 11B). Along the length of the mapped channel, the channel depth with respect to the adjacent welded tuff horizon is nowhere deeper than 10 m, except where the Figure 7. (A) Three-dimensional model of Bishop Tuff cut by southern channel approaches Chalk Bluff. Over a chan- Fish Slough fault system viewed looking down and to the northeast nel distance of 1300 m, the channel deepens (vertical exaggeration = 2×). (B–D) Interpreted sequence of devel- from 1 m to 25 m at Chalk Bluff (Fig. 11B). opment of the southern Fish Slough fault system from original en The other case where the channel depth locally echelon arrangement of faults. (B) Connection of fault segments by curved lateral propagation along upthrown fault surface. (C) Contin- expresses a significant change is associated with ued displacement and (D) cutoff of southern footwall cusp. Figure is two east-dipping normal faults with throws of after Ferrill et al. (1999a). 30 m where the channel is offset (Figs. 11A

246 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

and 11B). At both scarps (faults 3 and 4), the channel depth in the lower two thirds of the scarp approaches 0 m and at the top of the scarp A approaches 10 m. This observation suggests that 4150000 incision was able to keep pace with the first 10 m of fault displacement, after which fault displacement continued without commensurate 4149000 channel incision. Thus, the amount of channel incision varies from fault block to fault block

along the profile, which indicates that channel 4148000 incision was active during the period of faulting, and incision was able to keep pace with faulting area of D

for some period. 4147000

DISCUSSION 4146000 En Echelon Faulting

En echelon faulting is often attributed to 4145000 strike-slip tectonics, but both natural observa- tions and analog modeling experiments reveal that this pattern can also be due to (i) fault

4144000 area of C growth during simple extension or contraction, area of B (ii) change in displacement direction with time, or (iii) reactivation of a preexisting fault by oblique displacement (e.g., Clifton et al., 2000; 4143000 Davis et al., 2005; Otsuki and Dilov, 2005; Giba et al., 2012). Evidence from the faulting in the Volcanic Tableland indicates that faults have nor- 4142000 mal dip-slip displacement rather than strike-slip displacement (Dawers et al., 1993; this study). There is, however, evidence from regional GPS- BD based crustal displacement studies that indicates an overall transtensional deformation regime for Owens Valley and the surrounding region (Reheis and Dixon, 1996; Dixon et al., 2000, 2003; Oldow, 2003; Phillips and Majkowski, 2011). The Chalfant Valley earthquake (1986, M 6.4; see Fig. 2 for location), which is inter- preted to have occurred on the White Mountain frontal fault and to have had 11 cm of right-lat- eral slip (Lienkaemper et al., 1987; Phillips and Majkowski, 2011) and created two sets of sur- face ruptures (Lienkaemper et al., 1987), attests C to the partitioning of strike-slip and extensional deformation between different components of the Owens Valley graben system. We attribute the majority of the fault displacement in the Volcanic Tableland (as distinct from the larger Owens Valley system) to outer-arc extension of the half-graben geometry of the present-day Owens Valley floor. This geometry is primar- ily the product of the normal-slip component of Figure 8. (A) Shaded relief map of Volcanic Tableland derived from light detection and ranging regional displacement and is essentially decou- (LiDAR) data (Universal Transverse Mercator [UTM] zone 11, North American Datum [NAD] pled from the strike-slip component, which is 83) showing locations of B, C, and D to illustrate details of geomorphologic features show- confined to the White Mountain frontal fault. It ing relationships among faults, terrace deposits, and channels. Numbers along margins are is likely that these faults formed by initiation or northing and easting in meters. (B) Channel crossing three east-dipping normal fault scarps descending from west to east into graben. (C) Fault scarp cutting and offsetting (down to the reactivation along a structural element oblique east) terrace by 4.25 m. (D) Channel draining closed depression in crestal graben. This drain- to (rather than perpendicular to) the active exten- age occurs at topographic low point (between footwall highs) between southern tip of west- sion direction. dipping normal fault to the north and northern tip of east-dipping normal fault to the south.

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 247

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

Fumarole mounds Fish Slough fault system

Closed drainage basin area of C

area of B

Happy Boulders Channel

Fault cutting Q3 terrace A

B C

Figure 9. (A) Oblique perspective view of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) image of the southeastern part of the Volcanic Tableland, illustrating faults, fumarole mounds, grabens and half grabens, and incised channels. This digital elevation model spans the entire domain shown in Figure 8A. (B) Three- dimensional perspective view of channel draining into graben-controlled topographic depression illustrated by Figure 8B. (C) Three-dimensional per- spective view of channel draining closed depression in crestal graben that is shown in Figure 8D. Vertical exaggeration = 4×.

248 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

thickness or width versus displacement will tend to inherently illustrate increasing thickness with increasing displacement, and this is true of the early investigations of these relationships (Otsuki, 1978; Robertson, 1982; Evans, 1990). Owens River Studies that show relatively monotonic increase meander plain Owens River terraces in fault zone width with displacement are rare and narrowly limited in scope (Shipton and Cowie, 2001; Flodin et al., 2005). top of Fault zone width or thickness is strongly con- Chalk Bluff trolled by the early history of fault nucleation and evolution during propagation and linkage of Fault 1 fault segments (Wibberley et al., 2008; Childs et al., 2009). The width of a normal-fault–related Fault 2 fold is in many cases the primary control on maximum fault zone (or damage zone) width. This monocline width is determined at the onset of folding ahead of the propagating fault related to the mechanical stratigraphy—in particular, Fault 3 thickness and competence of the involved lay- ers—rather than a simple function of fault dis- placement (Ferrill et al., 2007, 2012a). Another primary determinant of fault zone width is the spacing between overlapping fault Fault 4 segments (or width of relay structures; Childs et al., 2009; de Joussineau and Aydin, 2009) and “splays” (e.g., Perrin et al., 2016) that commonly cooperate to define a fault zone. As displace- ment increases, it may tend to localize into a narrower zone, straightening and smoothing the fault surface by severing asperities that are poorly oriented for slip in the ambient stress field (Engelder, 1978; Power et al., 1988; Childs Figure 10. Low-altitude aerial photograph looking to southeast along incised channel et al., 1996). This has been referred to as “strain (Happy Boulders Channel) offset by fault scarps. Faults are labeled along footwall cutoffs softening” behavior (Gray et al., 2005). The and numbered as in Figure 11. Width of field of view in center of photograph is 1 km. width of the segmented fault array is established early, and therefore this control on damage zone width is not linearly related to fault displace- Fault Zone Width 2011) versus deformation dominated by syn- ment. However, analog modeling and field thetic dip and conjugate faults (e.g., Ferrill et observations show that fault systems develop in Fault zones are generally localized zones of al., 2011). Along a given fault and comparing displacement versus length space along a stair- deformation that may include rotation of layer- faults with similar displacements, fault zone step path rather than a linear self-similar path, ing, fracturing, cataclasis, dilation, dissolution, widths commonly vary over several orders of due to periodic jumps in fault length when fault and mineral precipitation. Fault zones typically magnitude (Evans, 1990; Shipton et al., 2006). segments link (Ferrill et al., 1999b; Childs et al., include a fault core (a narrow zone where dis- Geodetic and seismologic data can indicate 2009; Wyrick et al., 2011). With increasing dis- placement is concentrated) and a surrounding significantly larger damage zone widths than placement, fault zones with increasingly wide damage zone that is typically wider, represent- geologic evidence alone (Cochran et al., 2009). separation begin to cooperate and link (Ferrill et ing distributed deformation (e.g., Caine et al., Based on detailed investigation of fault network al., 1999b; Childs et al., 2009). Thus, fault zone 1996; Evans et al., 1997; Mitchell and Faulkner, displacement patterns and rupture history on width also grows along a stair-step trajectory 2009; Faulkner et al., 2010, 2011). Research faults, Nicol et al. (2010) concluded that fault with respect to displacement, with the widen- over the last three decades has explored the interactions are ubiquitous such that no fault ing steps again associated with cooperation and question of whether fault zone width grows pro- can be considered completely isolated from linkage (Childs et al., 2009). portionally as a simple function of displacement all other faults. According to Groshong (1988, In the moderately welded Bishop Tuff “cap (Robertson, 1982; Evans, 1990; Shipton et al., p. 1341), “A fault zone is a tabular region across rock” in the Volcanic Tableland, the fault core 2006; Wibberley et al., 2008; Childs et al., 2009). which the displacement parallel to the zone is is obscured by the rubblized fault scarp and is In practice, determining the width of a damage appreciably greater than the width of the zone.” not clearly exposed. The fault core, however, is zone can be difficult because the basis for defi- For a structure to be recognized as a fault zone exposed in fault exposures within the under- nition varies with deformation mechanisms, for by this definition, it must meet the criterion lying poorly welded Bishop Tuff (Dinwiddie example, deformation dominated by fractures of having displacement in excess of the fault et al., 2006). As described earlier in this arti- (e.g., Faulkner et al., 2011; Savage and Brodsky, zone width. Consequently, plots of fault zone cle, the rubbly character of fault scarps in the

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 249

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

cooling-joint-bounded blocks of welded ignim- A WNW ESE brite. Although toppling and sliding of blocks 1600 are expected only at the ground surface, other 1550 Fault 9 damage zone elements observed on the Volca- Fault 8 Fault 5 nic Tableland are expected to occur at depth, 1500 Fault 7 Fault 6 Fault 4 including faulted monocline (with reactivated, Fault 3 Fault 1 1450 dilated cooling joints), breached relay ramps, Fault 2 South Rim relict fault tips complete with their associated 1400 damage zones, and shortcut faults that sever 1350 fault asperities. Elevation (m ) Thalweg North Rim Recognizing that large-displacement faults 1300 grow from smaller-displacement, segmented 1250 fault systems, it is clear that fault zone widths in the Volcanic Tableland are established during 1200 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 the early stages of fault system development, Distance along channel (m) prior to the establishment of a through-going fault system. As displacement continues to accu- WNW ESE mulate, fault displacement will tend to localize B Fault 4 1460 into a narrow, smoother plane that is closer to 1440 Fault 3 Fault 1 being ideally oriented in the active stress field, Fault 2 1420 and that is progressively easier to reactivate, i.e., Thalweg South Rim 1400 exhibiting strain softening behavior. North Rim This observation of increasing fault zone 1380 localization is in contradiction to some published 1360 Thalweg proj Q4 ects into Q3 interpretations that fault zone width grows in 1340 Chalk Bluf Q3 proportion to fault displacement (see review by

Elevation (m ) 1320 Evans, 1990), and this is well documented in the

1300 f Q2 Navajo Sandstone, where the primary fault zone Q1 1280 process was cataclastic shear band development (Shipton and Cowie, 2001). Grain cataclasis led 1260 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 to decreases in grain and pore size, and increases Distance along channel (m) in grain contact area, leading to an overall strain Fault 4 hardening behavior. With increasing displace- C Fault 3 ment, shear bands would form and lock up, and Fault 2 a new shear band would form in close prox- Fault 1 imity. This “strain hardening” behavior leads to progressive widening of the fault zone with Happy Boulders Channel Nort increasing displacement, followed ultimately h Ri m by strain softening behavior and localization South R of a narrow fault core within the strain-hard- im ened material. Previously, de Joussineau and Aydin (2007) and de Joussineau et al. (2007) documented significant complexity with respect to fault zone width associated with strike-slip Chalk Bluff faulting in porous sandstone. This complexity is likely related to a combination of factors, includ- ing the strain hardening behavior and progres- Figure 11. Happy Boulders Channel: (A) Channel thalweg profile and adjacent north rim and south rim sive fault zone widening that are characteristic of profiles derived from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data where available (0–3200 m distance relatively small-displacement faults represented along channel), and digital elevation data further northwest (3200–7400 m distance along profile). by cataclastic fault zones developed in porous (B) Enlargement of LiDAR-derived channel thalweg profile and adjacent north rim and south rim sandstone (Antonellini and Aydin, 1995; Flodin profiles, compared with levels of Owens River terraces Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 from Pinter et al. (1994). et al., 2005; Shipton and Cowie, 2001; Torabi Note that downstream end of incised channel grades into Q3. (C) Three-dimensional perspective and Berg, 2011). view of channel extracted from LiDAR data showing Chalk Bluff and scarps of faults 1, 2, 3, and 4. With increasing fault system displacement, more widely spaced (separated) fault segments Volcanic Tableland is the product of (i) upward welded ignimbrite; (iii) fault initiation as numer- can link by relay ramp breaching, resulting in fault propagation toward the surface, which ous closely spaced en echelon fault segments episodic jumps in fault zone width. This observa- develops a monocline in moderately welded that bound relay ramps; (iv) segment linkage tion is consistent with the conclusions of Childs ignimbrite cap rock; (ii) presence and reactiva- to breach relay ramps and straighten or smooth et al. (2009), i.e., that normal fault zone thick- tion of cooling joints in the capping moderately fault surfaces; and (v) toppling and sliding of ness is strongly controlled by the initial spacing

250 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

between fault segments within a segmented intersect with the active Owens River, and there Consequently, fault zone width is developed array. Similarly, data presented by de Joussineau is no evidence to support a fault scarp parallel to early and at low displacement. As fault dis- and Aydin (2009) from strike-slip fault systems Chalk Bluff to explain the break in slope. placement increases, segments link by curved show that step width grows in proportion to This incised channel can be traced for >7 km lateral propagation of fault tips, developing maximum fault offset. across the Volcanic Tableland (Fig. 11A) and locally enhanced small-scale faulting in relay ultimately deepens and grades into the elevation ramps, and corrugated fault surfaces with relict Timing of Faulting of the Q3 Owens River terrace (Fig. 11B), which fault tips attached to the hanging wall, footwall, has been linked to Tahoe-age glaciation in the or both. The timing of formation of the faults cut- Sierra Nevada range dated at ca. 53–119 ka (Phil- Channels on the Volcanic Tableland include ting the Bishop Tuff in the Volcanic Table- lips et al., 1990). This observation leads to the a spectrum of relative ages with respect to fault- land is important to understanding Quaternary interpretation that this channel was active at ca. ing, including channel initiation prior to fault- deformation history of northern Owens Valley. 53–119 ka. This channel, however, is no longer in ing, activity and differential incision during Analysis of crosscutting relationships shows that an active configuration for flow, having been cut faulting, and development relatively late with faults deform the moderately welded pyroclas- and vertically offset by west- and east-dipping respect to fault system development in response tic deposits; thus, faulting occurred between the normal faults that have beheaded the drainage to structurally produced geomorphology of the time of welding (i.e., 759 ka) and the present. The source for the lower part of the channel. The Volcanic Tableland surface. Similar complexity faulted channels provide additional constraints channel is differentially incised across several of timing relationships between channels and on the timing of faulting in the Bishop Tuff. fault scarps and fault blocks. Offset on both east- faulting has been described from the grabens A number of the basic observations regarding and west-dipping faults without commensurate of Canyonlands National Park in southeastern channels help to constrain the timing of channel incision provides evidence for fault slip subse- Utah (Trudgill, 2002). One of the major aban- formation with respect to faulting: (i) Channels quent to 53–119 ka. Some of these fault scarps do doned channels in the Volcanic Tableland was are incised into welded tuff; (ii) channels are cut not show evidence of differential incision, sug- inspected in detail and appears to have contin- by faults; (iii) some channels show differential gesting that they propagated across the channel ued to have been active through Tahoe-age gla- incision across fault scarps; (iv) some channels after it was incised rather than during incision. ciation, based on the observation that the present were deflected by relay ramp development; and Other channels show different timing with channel is “hanging” with respect to modern (v) many channels reflect the shape (local incli- respect to faulting, for example, two channels (Q1) and previous (Q2) Owens River terraces, nation direction) of the faulted welded tuff hori- that are short in length (~1 km; see Figs. 10B, is at grade with the Tahoe-age (Q3, 53–119 ka) zon in response to the structural morphology, 10D, 11B, and 11C) and reflect essentially pres- Owens River terrace, and is incised through the draining down structurally controlled dip (e.g., ent-day fault-controlled structural morphology pre-Tahoe terrace level (Q4, 131–463 ka). Hopkins and Dawers, 2015). of the welded Bishop Tuff. Paralleling present- Faulting within the largest breached relay These observations provide the following day local structural dip direction and draining ramp along the southern segment of the Fish important relative timing constraints: (i) The toward structurally controlled topographic lows, Slough fault zone corresponds to a fold axis observed channels formed after deposition and these channels appear to postdate faulting. The within the ramp, which we interpret to have welding of the Bishop Tuff, although channels fault scarp that cuts and offsets (throw of 4–4.5 developed as fault block deformation to accom- may have initiated in nonwelded upper ignim- m based on airborne LiDAR data) the Q3 terrace modate bending strain above a listric portion of brite facies; (ii) the channels were active, at least at the southeast corner of the Volcanic Tableland the underlying fault segment, although faults locally, during the same time frame that the fault provides clear indication of relatively recent also may exhibit a distributed component of system has been active; (iii) in some locations activity on the fault (Figs. 8D and 11A). Collec- east-west extension and localized ramp stretch- and relatively recently, the rate of fault slip has tively, these observations and data demonstrate ing to accommodate relay ramp steepening exceeded the rate of channel incision, leading that the Volcanic Tableland fault system has between two en echelon dip-slip normal faults. to beheading and abandonment of channels; and continued to be active through the Pleistocene. (iv) this beheading and abandonment could be ACKNOWLEDGMENTS due to tectonic or climatic factors, including CONCLUSIONS Bishop Volcanic Tableland LiDAR data were provided courtesy of Chevron Corporation under license agreement 4545164. increased fault slip rate and/or decreased rate of We thank Eric Flodin and Chris Guzofski for working to pro- incision due to reduced precipitation and runoff. The rubbly character of fault scarps in the vide us access to the LiDAR data and permission to pub- To provide timing constraints on channel Volcanic Tableland is the combined product of lish results. We thank Peter La Femina, Laura Connor, Nick Davatzes, and Darrell Sims for their contributions to mapping incision and faulting, we compared the Happy (i) upward fault propagation toward the sur- and analysis of Volcanic Tableland faults in the late 1990s, Boulders Channel thalweg profile with the Qua- face, which develops a monocline in moder- which contributed to this manuscript. We thank Gary Walter ternary terraces along Chalk Bluff that were ately welded ignimbrite cap rock; (ii) presence and English Pearcy for helpful reviews of the manuscript. We thank three anonymous Lithosphere reviewers and Sci- previously mapped by Pinter et al. (1994). We and reactivation of cooling joints in the capping ence Editor Kurt Stüwe for their constructive comments on produced a channel profile using the LiDAR moderately welded ignimbrite; (iii) fault initia- the manuscript. data where coverage exists and the U.S. Geo- tion as numerous closely spaced en echelon fault logical Survey 30 m DEM beyond (west of) the segments bounding relay ramps; (iv) segment REFERENCES CITED Ackermann, R.V., Schlische, R.W., and Withjack, M.O., 2001, LiDAR coverage. This channel profile shows linkage to breach relay ramps; and (v) toppling The geometric and statistical evolution of normal fault that the channel steepens within the V-shaped and sliding of cooling-joint-bounded blocks of systems: An experimental study of the effects of me- notch and abruptly steepens southward toward welded ignimbrite. chanical layer thickness on scaling laws: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 23, p. 1803–1819, doi:​10​.1016​ the channel intersection with the modern Owens Fault damage zone width is largely gov- /S0191​-8141​(01)00028​-1. River floodplain terrace (mapped by Pinter et erned by the (i) development and lateral spac- Adhikary, D.P., Dyskin, A.V., Jewell, R.J., and Stewart, D.P., 1997, A study of the mechanism of flexural toppling al. [1994] as Q1, representing a 0 ka surface). ing between cooperating en echelon fault seg- failure of rock slopes: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engi- The channel does not cross the floodplain and ments and (ii) widths of fault tip monoclines. neering, v. 30, p. 75–93, doi:10​ .1007​ ​/BF01020126.

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 251

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 FERRILL ET AL.

Antonellini, M., and Aydin, A., 1995, Effect of faulting on fluid Dinwiddie, C.L., Bradbury, K.K., McGinnis, R.N., Stillman, Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A.P., McGinnis, R.N., Smart, K.J., and flow in porous sandstones: Geometry and spatial distri- D.E., and Ferrill, D.A., 2012, Hydrogeologic heteroge- Ward, W.C., 2011, Fault zone deformation and displace- bution: American Association of Petroleum Geologists neity of faulted and fractured Glass Mountain bedded ment partitioning in mechanically layered carbonates: Bulletin, v. 79, p. 642–671. tuffaceous sediments and ash-fall deposits: The Crucifix The Hidden Valley fault, central Texas: American Associa- Avouac, J.-P., 1993, Analysis of scarp profiles: Evaluation site near Bishop, California: Lithosphere, v. 4, p. 40–62, tion of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 95, p. 1383–1397, of errors in morphologic dating: Journal of Geophysi- doi:​10​.1130​/L179​.1. doi:​10​.1306​/12031010065. cal Research, v. 98, no. B4, p. 6745–6754, doi:​10​.1029​ Dixon, T.H., Miller, M., Farina, F., Wang, H., and Johnson, D., Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A.P., and McGinnis, R.N., 2012a, Exten- /92JB01962. 2000, Present-day motion of the Sierra Nevada block sional fault-propagation folding in mechanically layered Avouac, J.-P., and Peltzer, G., 1993, Active tectonics in south- and some tectonic implications for the Basin and Range rocks: The case against the frictional drag mechanism: ern Xinjiang, China: Analysis of terrace riser and nor- Province, North American Cordillera: Tectonics, v. 19, Tectonophysics, v. 576–577, p. 78–85, doi:10​ ​.1016/j​ .tecto​ ​ mal fault scarp degradation along the Hotan-Qira fault p. 1–24, doi:​10​.1029​/1998TC001088. .2012​.05​.023. system: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 98, no. B12, Dixon, T.H., Norabuena, E., and Hotaling, L., 2003, Paleoseis- Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A.P., Stamatakos, J.A., Waiting, D.J., p. 21,773–21,807, doi:​10​.1029​/93JB02172. mology and global positioning system: Earthquake-cycle Done­lick, R.A., and Blythe, A.E., 2012b, Constraints on Bachman, S.B., 1978, Pliocene-Pleistocene break-up of the effects and geodetic versus geologic fault slip rates in the exhumation and extensional faulting in southwestern Sierra Nevada–White-Inyo Mountains block and forma- Eastern California shear zone: Geology, v. 31, p. 55–58, Nevada and eastern California, U.S.A., from zircon and tion of Owens Valley: Geology, v. 6, p. 461–463, doi:10​ ​ doi:10​ .1130​ /0091​ -7613​ (2003)031​ <0055:​ PAGPSE>2​ .0​ .CO;2.​ apatite thermochronology: Lithosphere, v. 4, p. 63–76, .1130​/0091​-7613​(1978)6​<461:​PBOTSN>2​.0​.CO;2. Dunne, W.M., Ferrill, D.A., Crider, J.G., Hill, B., La Femina, doi:​10​.1130​/L171​.1. Bateman, P.C., 1965, Geology and Tungsten Mineralization of P., Waiting, D., Morris, A.P., and Fedors, R., 2003, Or- Flodin, E.A., Gerdes, M., Aydin, A., and Wiggins, W.D., 2005, the Bishop District California: U.S. Geological Survey thogonal jointing during coeval igneous degassing and Petrophysical properties of cataclastic fault rock in Professional Paper 470, 208 p. normal faulting, Yucca Mountain, Nevada: Geological sandstone,­ in Sorkhabi, R., and Tsuji, Y., eds., Faults, Caine, J.S., Evans, J.P., and Forster, C.B., 1996, Fault zone Society of America Bulletin, v. 115, p. 1492–1509, doi:​ Fluid Flow, and Petroleum Traps: American Association architecture and permeability structure: Geology, v. 24, 10​.1130​/B25231​.1. of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 85, p. 197–227. p. 1025–1028, doi:​10​.1130​/0091​-7613​(1996)024​<1025:​ Engelder, T., 1978, Aspects of asperity-surface interaction and Giba, M., Walsh, J.J., and Nicol, A., 2012, Segmentation and FZAAPS>2​.3​.CO;2. surface damage of rocks during experimental frictional growth of an obliquely reactivated normal fault: Jour- Childs, C., Watterson, J., and Walsh, J.J., 1995, Fault overlap sliding: Pure and Applied Geophysics, v. 116, p. 705–716, nal of Structural Geology, v. 39, p. 253–267, doi:​10.1016​ ​ zones within developing normal fault systems: Journal doi:​10​.1007​/BF00876533. /j​.jsg​.2012​.01​.004. of the Geological Society of London, v. 152, p. 535–549, Evans, J.P., 1990, Thickness-displacement relationships for Gilbert, C.M., 1938, Welded tuff in eastern California: Geologi- doi:​10​.1144​/gsjgs​.152​.3​.0535. fault zones: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 12, p. 1061– cal Society of America Bulletin, v. 49, p. 1829–1862, doi:​ Childs, C., Walsh, J.J., and Watterson, J., 1996, A model for 1065, doi:​10​.1016​/0191​-8141​(90)90101​-4. 10​.1130​/GSAB​-49​-1829. the structure and development of fault zones: Journal Evans, J.P., and Bradbury, K.K., 2004, Faulting and fracturing Gray, M.B., Stamatakos, J.A., Ferrill, D.A., and Evans, M.A., of the Geological Society of London, v. 153, p. 337–340, of nonwelded Bishop Tuff, eastern California: Deforma- 2005, Fault zone deformation process in Miocene tuffs doi:​10​.1144​/gsjgs​.153​.3​.0337. tion mechanisms in very porous materials in the vadose at Yucca Mountain, Nevada: Journal of Structural Geol- Childs, C., Walsh, J.J., Manzocchi, T., Bonson, C., Nicol, A., and zone: Vadose Zone Journal, v. 3, p. 602–623. ogy, v. 27, p. 1873–1891, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2005​.01​.018. Schöpfer, M.P.J., 2009, A geometric model of fault zone Evans, J.P., Forster, C.B., and Goddard, J.V., 1997, Permeabil- Groshong, R.H., Jr., 1988, Low-temperature deformation and fault rock thickness variations: Journal of Structural ity of fault-related rocks, and implications for hydraulic mechanisms and their interpretation: Geological Society Geology, v. 31, p. 117–127, doi:10​ .1016​ /j​ .jsg​ .2008​ .08​ .009.​ structure of fault zones: Journal of Structural Geology, of America Bulletin, v. 100, p. 1329–1360, doi:10​ ​.1130​ Clifton, A.E., Schlische, R.W., Withjack, M.O., and Ackermann, v. 19, p. 1393–1404, doi:​10​.1016​/S0191​-8141​(97)00057​-6. /0016​-7606​(1988)100​<1329:​LTDMAT>2​.3​.CO;2. R.V., 2000, Influence of rift obliquity on fault-population Faulkner, D.R., Jackson, C.A.L., Lunn, R.J., Schlische, R.W., Gutierrez, C., Bryant, W., Saucedo, G., and Wills, C., 2010, systematics: Results of experimental clay models: Jour- Shipton, Z.K., Wibberley, C.A.J., and Withjack, M.O., Geologic Map of California: Sacramento, California, nal of Structural Geology, v. 22, p. 1491–1509, doi:10​ ​ 2010, A review of recent developments concerning the California Geologic Survey, California Geologic Map .1016​/S0191​-8141​(00)00043​-2. structure, mechanics and fluid flow properties of fault Series Map No. 2, scale 1:750,000. Cochran, E.S., Li, Y., Shearer, P.M., Barbot, S., Fialko, Y., and zones: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 32, p. 1557–1575, Hildreth, W., 1979, The Bishop Tuff: Evidence for the origin of Vidale, J.E., 2009, Seismic and geodetic evidence for doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2010​.06​.009. compositional zonation in silicic magma chambers, in extensive, long-lived fault damage zones: Geology, v. 37, Faulkner, D.R., Mitchell, T.M., Jensen, E., and Cembrano, J., Chapin, C.E., and Elston, W.E., eds., Ash Flow Tuffs: Geo- p. 315–318, doi:​10​.1130​/G25306A​.1. 2011, Scaling of fault damage zones with displacement logical Society of America Special Paper 180, p. 43–75, Cockerham, R.S., 1986, Seismotectonics of the northern and the implications for fault growth processes: Jour- doi:​10​.1130​/SPE180​-p43. California Coast Ranges from San Francisco to Eureka: nal of Geophysical Research–Solid Earth, v. 116, no. 5, Hildreth, W., 1983, The compositionally zoned eruption of Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, B05403, doi:​10​.1029​/2010JB007788. 1912 in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai Na- v. 67, p. 1214. Ferrill, D.A., and Morris, A.P., 1997, Geometric considerations tional Park, Alaska: Journal of Volcanology and Geo- Cockerham, R.S., and Corbett, E.J., 1987, The 1986 Chalfant of deformation above curved normal faults and salt evac- thermal Research, v. 18, p. 1–56, doi:​10.1016​ /0377​ ​-0273​ Valley, California, earthquake sequence: Bulletin of the uation surfaces: The Leading Edge, v. 16, p. 1129–1133, (83)​90003​-3. Seismological Society of America, v. 77, p. 280–289. doi:10​ .1190​ /1​ .1437748.​ Hildreth, W., and Mahood, G.A., 1986, Ring-fracture eruption Davis, K., Burbank, D., Fisher, D., Wallace, S., and Nobes, Ferrill, D.A., and Morris, A., 2001, Displacement gradient of the Bishop Tuff: Geological Society of America Bul- D., 2005, Thrust-fault growth and segment linkage in and deformation in normal fault systems: Journal of letin, v. 97, p. 396–403, doi:​10​.1130​/0016​-7606​(1986)97​ the active Ostler fault zone, New Zealand: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 23, p. 619–638, doi:​10.1016​ ​/S0191​ <396:​REOTBT>2​.0​.CO;2. Structural Geology, v. 27, p. 1528–1546, doi:10​ ​.1016​/j​ -8141​(00)00139​-5. Hollett, K.J., Danstein, W.R., McCaffrey, W.F., and Walti, C.L., .jsg​.2005​.04​.011. Ferrill, D.A., Connor, L., La Femina, P., Sims, D., Stamata- 1991, Chapter B, Geology and Water Resources of Ow- Dawers, N.H., and Anders, M.H., 1995, Displacement-length kos, J.A., and Morris, A.P., 1999a, Normal fault growth ens Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Water- scaling and fault linkage: Journal of Structural Geol- processes and implications for exploration: Examples Supply Paper 2370, 77 p. ogy, v. 17, p. 607–614, doi:10​ .1016​ /0191​ -8141​ (94)00091​ -D.​ from the Fish Slough fault system, Volcanic Tableland Hopkins, M.C., and Dawers, N.H., 2015, Changes in bedrock Dawers, N.H., Anders, M.H., and Scholz, C.H., 1993, Growth (Owens Valley, CA), in American Association of Petro- channel morphology driven by displacement rate in- of normal faults: Displacement-length scaling: Geology, leum Geologists Annual Meeting (11–14 April 1999) Of- crease during normal fault interaction and linkage: Basin v. 21, p. 1107–1110, doi:10​ .1130​ /0091​ -7613​ (1993)021​ <1107:​ ​ ficial Program 8: American Association of Petroleum Research, v. 27, p. 43–59, doi:​10.1111​ ​/bre​.12072. GONFDL>2​.3​.CO;2. Geologists, p. A41. Jennings, C.W., Strand, R.G., and Rogers, T.H., 1977, Geologic de Joussineau, G., and Aydin, A., 2007, The evolution of the Ferrill, D.A., Stamatakos, J.A., and Sims, D., 1999b, Normal Map of California: Sacramento, California, California damage zone with fault growth in sandstone and its fault corrugation: Implications for growth and seismicity Division of Mines and Geology, scale 1:750,000. multiscale characteristics: Journal of Geophysical Re- of active normal faults: Journal of Structural Geology, Keith, T.E.C., 1991, Fossil and active fumaroles in the 1912 erup- search–Solid Earth, v. 112, no. B12, B12401, doi:10​ .1029​ ​ v. 21, p. 1027–1038, doi:​10​.1016​/S0191​-8141​(99)00017​-6. tive deposits, Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Alaska: /2006JB004711. Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A., Stamatakos, J.A., and Sims, D., 2000, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 45, de Joussineau, G., and Aydin, A., 2009, Segmentation of Crossing conjugate normal faults: American Association p. 227–254, doi:​10​.1016​/0377​-0273​(91)90061​-4. strike-slip faults revisited: Pure and Applied Geophys- of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 84, p. 1543–1559. Lienkaemper, J.J., Pezzopane, S.K., Clark, M.M., and Rymer, ics, v. 166, no. 10, p. 1575–1594, doi:​10​.1007​/s00024​ Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A.P., and Smart, K.J., 2007, Stratigraphic M.J., 1987, Fault fracture formed in association with the -009​-0511​-4. control on extensional fault propagation folding: Big 1986 Chalfant Valley, California, earthquake sequence: de Joussineau, G., Mutlu, O., Aydin, A., and Pollard, D.D., Brushy Canyon monocline, Sierra Del Carmen, Texas, Preliminary report: Bulletin of the Seismological Society 2007, Characterization of strike-slip fault–splay relation- in Jolley, S.J., Barr, D., Walsh, J.J., and Knipe, R.J., eds., of America, v. 77, p. 297–305. ships in sandstone: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 29, Structurally Complex Reservoirs: Geological Society Lovely, P., Flodin, E., Guzofski, C., Maerten, F., and Pollard, p. 1831–1842, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2007​.08​.006. of London Special Publication 292, p. 203–217, doi:10​ ​ D.D., 2012, Pitfalls among the promises of mechanics- Dinwiddie, C.L., Bradbury, K.K., McGinnis, R.N., Fedors, .1144​/SP292​.12. based restoration: Addressing implications of unphysi- R.W., and Ferrill, D.A., 2006, Fault zone deformation Ferrill, D.A., Morris, A.P., and McGinnis, R.N., 2009, Crossing cal boundary conditions: Journal of Structural Geology, overprints permeability of nonwelded ignimbrite: Chalk conjugate normal faults in field exposures and seismic v. 41, p. 47–63, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2012​.02​.020. Cove fault, Bishop Tuff, Bishop, California: Vadose Zone data: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Lueddecke, S.B., Pinter, N., and Gans, P., 1998, Plio–Pleisto- Journal, v. 5, p. 610–627, doi:10​ .2136​ /vzj2005​ ​.0062. Bulletin, v. 93, p. 1471–1488, doi:10​ .1306​ /06250909039.​ cene ash falls, sedimentation, and range-front faulting

252 www.gsapubs.org | Volume 8 | Number 3 | LITHOSPHERE

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Faulting in the Volcanic Tableland | RESEARCH

along the White-Inyo Mountains front, California: The California: Geologische Rundschau, v. 84, p. 200–212, Soliva, R., and Benedicto, A., 2004, A linkage criterion for Journal of Geology, v. 106, p. 511–522, doi:​10​.1086​ doi:​10​.1007​/BF00192251. segmented normal faults: Journal of Structural Geol- /516038. Pinter, N., Keller, E.A., and West, R.B., 1994, Relative dating ogy, v. 26, p. 2251–2267, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2004​.06​.008. Manighetti, I., King, G.C.P., Gaudemer, Y., Scholz, C.H., and of terraces of the Owens River, northern Owens Valley, Stewart, J.H., 1983, Extensional tectonics in the Death Valley Doubre, C., 2001, Slip accumulation and lateral propaga- California, and correlation with moraines of the Sierra area, California: Transport of the Panamint Range struc- tion of active normal faults in Afar: Journal of Geophysi- Nevada: Quaternary Research, v. 42, p. 266–276, doi:10​ ​ tural block 80 km northwestward: Geology, v. 11, p. 153– cal Research–Solid Earth, v. 106, p. 13,667–13,696, doi:​ .1006​/qres​.1994​.1077. 157, doi:10​ .1130​ /0091​ -7613​ (1983)11​ <​ 153:​ ETITDV​ >2​ .0​ .CO;2.​ 10​.1029​/2000JB900471. Power, W.L., Tullis, T.E., and Weeks, J.D., 1988, Roughness Stewart, J.H., 1998, Regional characteristics, tilt domains, Manighetti, I., Caulet, C., De Barros, L., Perrin, C., Cappa, F., and wear during brittle faulting: Journal of Geophysical and extensional history of the late Cenozoic Basin and and Gaudemar, Y., 2015, Generic along-strike segmenta- Research, v. 93, no. B12, p. 15,268–15,278, doi:10​ .1029​ ​ Range Province, western North America, in Faulds, J.E., tion of Afar normal faults, East Africa: Implications on /JB093iB12p15268. and Stewart J.H., eds., Accommodation Zones and fault growth and stress heterogeneity on seismogenic Ragan, D.M., and Sheridan, M.F., 1972, Compaction of the Transfer Zones: The Regional Segmentation of the Basin and Range Province: Geological Society of America Spe- fault planes: Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, Bishop Tuff, California: Geological Society of America cial Paper 323, p. 47–74, doi:​10​.1130​/0​-8137​-2323​-X​.47. v. 16, p. 443–467, doi:10​ .1002​ ​/2014GC005691. Bulletin, v. 83, p. 95–106. McGinnis, R.N., Morris, A.P., Ferrill, D.A., and Dinwiddie, C.L., Stewart, J.H., Anderson, R.E., Aranda-Gómez, J.J., Beard, L.S., Reheis, M.C., and Dixon, T.H., 1996, Kinematics of the Eastern 2009, Deformation analysis of tuffaceous sediments in Billingsley, G.H., Cather, S.M., Dilles, J.H., Dokka, R.K., California shear zone: Evidence for slip transfer from the Volcanic Tableland near Bishop, California: Litho- Faulds, J.E., Ferrari, L., Grose, T.L.T., Henry, C.D., Janecke, Owens and Saline Valley fault zones to Fish Lake Valley sphere, v. 1, p. 291–304, doi:10​ .1130​ /L43​ ​.1. S.U., Miller, D.M., Richard, S.M., Rowley, P.D., Roldán- fault zone: Geology, v. 24, p. 339–342, doi:​10.1130​ /0091​ ​ Mitchell, T.M., and Faulkner, D.R., 2009, The nature and origin Quintana, J., Scott, R.B., Sears, J.W., and Williams, V.S., -7613​(1996)024​<0339:​KOTECS>2​.3​.CO;2. of off-fault damage surrounding strike-slip fault zones 1998, Map showing Cenozoic tilt domains and asso- Robertson, E.C., 1982, Continuous formation of gouge and with a wide range of displacements: A field study from ciated structural features, western North America, in breccia during fault displacement, in Issues in Rock Me- the Atacama fault system, northern Chile: Journal of Faulds, J.E., and Stewart J.H., eds., Accommodation chanics, Proceedings of the 23rd U.S. Symposium on Structural Geology, v. 31, p. 802–816, doi:​10.1016​ /j​ ​.jsg​ Zones and Transfer Zones: The Regional Segmentation .2009​.05​.002. Rock Mechanics, 25–27 August 1982, Berkeley, Califor- of the Basin and Range Province: Geological Society of Morris, A.P., and Ferrill, D.A., 1999, Constant thickness defor- nia: American Rock Mechanics Association, p. 397–404. America Special Paper 323, Plate 1, scale 1:5,000,000. mation above curved normal faults: Journal of Struc- Sarna-Wojcicki, A.M., Pringle, M.S., and Wijbrans, J., 2000, Torabi, A., and Berg, S.S., 2011, Scaling of fault attributes: A 39 40 tural Geology, v. 21, p. 67–83, doi:10​ ​.1016​/S0191​-8141​ New Ar/ Ar age of the Bishop Tuff from multiple review: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 28, p. 1444– (98)00098​-4. sites and sediment rate calibration for the Matuyama- 1460, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.marpetgeo​.2011​.04​.003. Morris, A.P., McGinnis, R.N., and Ferrill, D.A., 2014, Fault Bruhnes boundary: Journal of Geophysical Research, Trudgill, B., 2002, Structural controls on drainage develop- displacement gradients on normal faults and associ- v. 105, no. B9, p. 21,431–21,443. ment in the Canyonlands grabens of southeast Utah: ated deformation: American Association of Petroleum Savage, H.M., and Brodsky, E.E., 2011, Collateral damage: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Geologists Bulletin, v. 98, p. 1161–1184, doi:​10​.1306​ Evolution with displacement of fracture distribution and v. 86, p. 1095–1112. /10311312204. secondary fault strands in fault damage zones: Journal van den Bogaard, P., and Schirnick, C., 1995, 40Ar/39Ar laser Nicol, A., Walsh, J.J., Villamor, P., Seebeck, H., and Berryman, of Geophysical Research, v. 116, B03405, doi:10​ ​.1029​ probe ages of Bishop Tuff quartz phenocrysts substanti- K.R., 2010, Normal fault interactions, paleoearthquakes /2010JB007665. ate long-lived magma chamber at Long Valley, United and growth in an active rift: Journal of Structural Ge- Schlagenhauf, A., Manighetti, I., Malavieille, J., and Domin- States: Geology, v. 23, p. 759–762, doi:10​ .1130​ /0091​ -7613​ ​ ology, v. 32, p. 1101–1113, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.jsg​.2010​.06​.018. guez, S., 2008, Incremental growth of normal faults: (1995)023​<0759:​AALPAO>2​.3​.CO;2. Oldow, J.S., 2003, Active transtensional boundary zone be- Insights from a laser-equipped analog experiment: Earth Wibberley, C.A.J., Yielding, G., and Di Toro, G., 2008, Recent tween the western Great Basin and Sierra Nevada block, and Planetary Science Letters, v. 273, p. 299–311. advances in the understanding of fault zone internal western U.S. Cordillera: Geology, v. 31, p. 1033–1036, Sheehan, T.P., 2007, Evolution of Neogene Fault Populations in structure: A review, in Wibberley, C.A.J., Kurz, W., Imber, doi:​10​.1130​/G19838​.1. Northern Owens Valley, California and Implications for J., Holdsworth, R.E., and Colletini, C., eds., The Internal Otsuki, K., 1978, On the relationship between the width of the Eastern California Shear Zone [Ph.D. thesis]: New Structure of Fault Zones: Implications for Mechanical shear zone and the displacement along fault: Journal of Orleans, Louisiana, Tulane University, 203 p. and Fluid-Flow Properties: Geological Society of London the Geological Society of Japan, v. 84, p. 661–669, doi:​ Sheridan, M.F., 1970, Fumarolic mounds and ridges of the Special Publication 299, p. 5–33. Willemse, E.J.M., 1997, Segmented normal faults: Correspon- 10​.5575​/geosoc​.84​.661. Bishop Tuff, California: Geological Society of America dence between three-dimensional mechanical models Otsuki, K., and Dilov, T., 2005, Evolution of hierarchical self- Bulletin, v. 81, p. 851–868, doi:​10​.1130​/0016​-7606​(1970)​ and field data: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 102, similar geometry of experimental fault zones: Implica- 81​[851:​FMAROT]2​.0​.CO;2. no. B1, p. 675–692, doi:​10.1029​ /96JB01651.​ tions for seismic nucleation and earthquake size: Jour- Shipton, Z.K., and Cowie, P.A., 2001, Damage zone and slip- Willemse, E.J.M., Pollard, D.D., and Aydin, A., 1996, Three- nal of Geophysical Research, v. 110, B03303, doi:​10.1029​ ​ surface evolution over µm to km scales in high-porosity dimensional analyses of slip distributions on normal /2004JB003359. Navajo Sandstone, Utah: Journal of Structural Geology, Peacock, D.C.P., and Sanderson, D.J., 1994, Geometry and fault arrays with consequences for fault scaling: Jour- v. 23, p. 1825–1844, doi:​10​.1016​/S0191​-8141​(01)00035​-9. development of relay ramps in normal fault systems: nal of Structural Geology, v. 18, p. 295–309, doi:​10​.1016​ Shipton, Z.K., Soden, A.M., Kirkpatrick, J.D., Bright, A.M., and American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, /S0191​-8141​(96)80051​-4. Lunn, R.J., 2006, How thick is a fault? Fault displace- v. 78, p. 147–165. Wilson, C.J.N., and Hildreth, W., 1997, The Bishop Tuff: New ment-thickness scaling revisited, in Abercrombie, R., Perrin, C., Manighetti, I., and Gaudemer, Y., 2016, Off-fault tip insights from eruptive stratigraphy: The Journal of Geol- McGarr, A., Di Toro, G., and Kanamori, H., eds., Earth- splay networks: A genetic and generic property of faults ogy, v. 105, p. 407–439, doi:10​ .1086​ /515937.​ quakes: Radiated Energy and the Physics of Faulting: indicative of their long-term propagation: Comptes Wilson, C.J.N., and Hildreth, W., 1998, Hybrid fall deposits in American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph Rendus–Geoscience, v. 348, p. 52–60, doi:10​ .1016​ /j​ ​.crte​ the Bishop Tuff, California: A novel pyroclastic deposi- 170, p. 193–198, doi:​10​.1029​/170GM19. .2015​.05​.002. tional mechanism: Geology, v. 26, p. 7–10, doi:10​ .1130​ ​ Phillips, F.M., and Majkowski, L., 2011, The role of low-angle Sims, D.W., Morris, A.P., Ferrill, D.A., and Sorkhabi, R., 2005, /0091​-7613​(1998)026​<0007:​HFDITB>2​.3​.CO;2. normal faulting in active tectonics of northern Owens Fault system evolution and reservoir connectivity, in Wilson, C.J.N., and Hildreth, W., 2003, Assembling an ignim- Valley, California: Lithosphere, v. 3, p. 22–36, doi:​10​ Sorkhabi, R., and Tsuji, Y., eds., Faults, Fluid Flow, and brite: Mechanical and thermal building blocks in the .1130​/L73​.1. Petroleum Traps: American Association of Petroleum Bishop Tuff, California: The Journal of Geology, v. 111, Phillips, F.M., Zreda, M.G., Smith, S.S., Elmore, D., Kubik, P.W., Geologists Memoir 85, p. 79–93. p. 653–670, doi:​10​.1086​/378335. and Sharma, P., 1990, Cosmogenic chlorine-36 chronol- Smith, K.D., and Priestley, K.F., 2000, Faulting in the 1986 Wyrick, D.Y., Morris, A.P., and Ferrill, D.A., 2011, Normal fault ogy for glacial deposits at Bloody Canyon, eastern Si- Chalfant, California, sequence: Local tectonics and growth in analog models and on Mars: Icarus, v. 212, erra Nevada: Science, v. 248, p. 1529–1532, doi:​10.1126​ ​ earth­quake source parameters: Bulletin of the Seis- p. 559–567, doi:​10​.1016​/j​.icarus​.2011​.01​.011. /science​.248​.4962​.1529. mological Society of America, v. 90, p. 813–831, doi:​ Pinter, N., 1995, Faulting on the Volcanic Tableland, Owens Val- 10​.1785​/0119990129. MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED 30 JUNE 2015 ley, California: The Journal of Geology, v. 103, p. 73–83, Snow, J.K., and Wernicke, B.P., 2000, Cenozoic tectonism in REVISED MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED 12 FEBRUARY 2016 doi:​10​.1086​/629723. the central Basin and Range: Magnitude, rate, and dis- MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED 7 MARCH 2016 Pinter, N., and Keller, E.A., 1995, Geomorphological analy- tribution of upper crustal strain: American Journal of sis of neotectonic deformation, northern Owens Valley, Science, v. 300, p. 659–719, doi:​10​.2475​/ajs​.300​.9​.659. Printed in the USA

LITHOSPHERE | Volume 8 | Number 3 | www.gsapubs.org 253

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/lithosphere/article-pdf/8/3/238/3045767/238.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021