WARREN HAMILTON US Geological Survey, Denver, Colo. Origin of The
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WARREN HAMILTON U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo. Origin of the Gulf of California Abstract: The probable cumulative Late Cretaceous The California batholith of mid-Cretaceous age and Cenozoic right-lateral strike-slip displacement and allied crystalline rocks form the basement of along the San Andreas fault in central California is Baja California, southwestern Arizona, and north- 350 miles. The San Andreas and the allied faults western Sonora and probably extend along the into which it branches southward trend longi- coast of mainland Mexico; the Gulf apparently tudinally into the Gulf of California, and the bisects the crystalline belt longitudinally. seismicity of the region indicates that the fault These features suggest that Baja California system follows the length of the Gulf and enters initially lay 300 miles to the southeast, against the the Pacific basin south of Baja California. Crustal continental-margin bulge of Jalisco. The Gulf of structure of most of the Gulf is of oceanic type, so California may be a pull-apart feature caused by that an origin by structural depression of con- strike-slip displacement plus up to 100 miles of tinental rocks is not possible. cross-strike separation of the continental plate, Tectonic styles north and south of Los Angeles subcontinental materials having welled up into the differ greatly. To the north, the Coast Ranges ex- rift gap. The strike-slip motion has a tensional com- pose thick Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedi- ponent across the continental margin south of Los mentary rocks that were deposited in local basins Angeles but a compressional component to the and deformed tightly and repeatedly. To the south, north. in the Peninsular Ranges and Baja California, cor- relative rocks are thin and show little compressive deformation. CONTENTS Introduction 1307 2. Map of major pre-Tertiary rock complexes of Regional geology 1308 California and Pacific Coast region of Geophysical data 1312 Mexico 1310 Origin of the gulf 1313 3. Epicenters of earthquakes in California and Mechanism 1314 Pacific Coast region of Mexico 1311 References cited 1316 4. Schematic sections of crustal structure in Gulf of California region 1314 Figure 5. Cross section showing possible orientation of 1. Map of California and Pacific Coast region of planes of laminar flow beneath the San Mexico 1309 Andreas fault system 1316 away by oblique tension across the San Andreas INTRODUCTION fault system. The striking contrast in tectonic Recent work has demonstrated the probabil- styles of coastal California north and south of ity of a strike-slip displacement of about 350 Los Angeles can be explained in these terms. miles on the right-lateral faults of the San This paper presents the descriptions, based Andreas system; these faults trend longitudin- on information published by others, which sup- ally into the deep and seismically active Gulf of port this speculation, and notes some mechan- California, which has an oceanic crustal struc- ical consequences which appear to follow if the ture, and probably thence into the Pacific explanation is correct. The account advocates Ocean basin. The fault displacement is on the as briefly as possible a radical explanation; it order of the distance between the tip of Baja does not evaluate at length dissenting argu- California and the continental-margin bulge of ments. Although the geologic and geophysical Jalisco to the southeast. Baja California has the data accord remarkably well with this theory, proper shape and, so far as is known, geology contrary conclusions will be drawn from the to have been part of the mainland, since rifted same data by many geologists. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 72, p. 1307-1318, 5 figs., September 1961 1307 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/72/9/1307/3442058/i0016-7606-72-9-1307.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 1308 WARREN HAMILTON—ORIGIN OF THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA The manuscript was much improved by also vertical offsets. Carey (1958, Fig. 24) drew criticism by Jerry P. Eaton, K. O. Emery, the Gulf of California as having originated by Richard H. Jahns, Philip B. King, and Tj. H. the drifting away of Baja California from the van Andel, and ideas grew during discussions mainland, apparently as a silicic raft; he did not with W. Bradley Myers. Geophysical data pro- suggest that the San Andreas fault might have vided in advance of publication by J. C. Harri- affected either ocean or mainland outside the son and George G. Shor, Jr., support the Gulf. His suggestion was not appreciably theory advanced here, and Harrison, Shor, van elaborated in the text, appearing chiefly as Andel, and others of the Scripps Institution of part of a map illustrating a possible restoration Oceanography—University of California group of the Caribbean region according to a jigsaw- have arrived at a similar explanation for the puzzle scheme of continental drift. Wegener origin of the Gulf of California. (1924, p. 184-185) suggested that the Gulf was opened by southward drift of Baja California; REGIONAL GEOLOGY perhaps he misunderstood both the location The Gulf of California is 700 miles long, out- and sense of displacement of the San Andreas lined by the peninsula of Baja California and fault system. the coast of mainland Mexico (Figs. 1, 2); it The active strike-slip San Andreas fault widens southward to a width of more than 100 extends most of the length of California before miles. Northwest of the head of the Gulf, the disappearing into the ocean in the north. South structural and topographic province of Baja of lat 35°N., the San Andreas has major sub- California continues another 100 miles into parallel branches—such as the San Gabriel, southern California as the Peninsular Ranges, San Jacinto, and Elsinore faults—and these, and the province of the Gulf continues simi- with the San Andreas, lie longitudinally within larly as the Salton trough; both peninsular and the California batholith. This great composite gulf provinces terminate against the Transverse batholith of middle Cretaceous age, with other Ranges. The Gulf is shallow at the north end, associated crystalline rocks, spans the length probably due in part to filling by light sedi- of California and Baja California and is proba- ments, and Upper Tertiary and Quaternary bly practically continuous from southern main- sediments are thick in the Salton trough region. land Mexico and the tip of Baja California Deep longitudinal and rhombic closed basins north through the Idaho batholith. The com- within the central part of the Gulf, and the plexes commonly referred to as the Idaho, mouth of the Gulf, reach depths greater than Sierra Nevada, Southern California, and Lower 10,000 feet. The common crestal altitude of California batholiths are only well-exposed the peninsula is about 6000 feet, and its highest portions of a far larger granitic complex. peaks are higher than 10,000 feet. West of Baja West of the northern part of this great California is a submerged continental border- batholith is the older Nevadan terrane of land with much structural relief in the north stocks and small isolated batholiths of granitic but relatively little in the south. rocks, probably mostly of Late Jurassic age, This structural and topographic system— separated by large areas of metamorphic rocks. high narrow peninsula, deep narrow gulf, both "Nevadan" has become established in the subparallel to the mainland coast and to the literature as applying to Late Jurassic orogeny, regional continental margin—is strikingly un- yet the plutonic rocks of its once-supposed type usual. Beal (1948) concluded that the peninsula region, the Sierra Nevada, are for the most part is a wedge uplift, bounded by inward-dipping younger (Curtis, Evernden, and Lipson, 1958). faults on both sides and raised by compression North of the 35th parallel, the San Andreas directed normal to the coast; Anderson (1950) fault, with most of its offset apparently concen- expressed the more common opinion that great trated in a single narrow zone, separates the normal faults separate peninsula and Gulf. Franciscan terrane of unmetamorphosed Juras- However, the vast displacement along the San sic and Cretaceous eugeosynclinal rocks on the Andreas fault system has become recognized east from a slice of the California batholith 350 only recently, and it is essential to incorporate miles long on the west (Fig. 2). Curtis, Evern- the fault system in any structural considera- den, and Lipson (1958) demonstrated that tions. Shepard (1950) did this for the topogra- these granitic rocks of the Coast Ranges west of phy within the Gulf, concluding that the the San Andreas fault are of the same age as topography resulted largely from strike-slip those of the Sierra Nevada. The rocks also are faulting with associated rhombic rifting and of the same types, dominantly quartz dioritic, Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/72/9/1307/3442058/i0016-7606-72-9-1307.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 REGIONAL GEOLOGY 1309 as are those of the western part of the main batholith. Franciscan terrane reappears west of the granitic rocks of the Coast Ranges. As these granitic rocks are younger than most of the unintruded and unmetamorphosed rocks of the Franciscan terrane east of the San Andreas fault, it is highly likely that the post- batholith right-lateral (east-side-south) dis- placement of the fault is about 350 miles. Hill and Dibblee (1953, p. 446-449) sug- gested the following displacements along the San Andreas fault: (1) middle Cretaceous batholith (then con- sidered Jurassic), 350 miles (2) upper Eocene sediments, 225 miles (3) lower Miocene sediments, 175 miles (4) upper Miocene sediments, 65 miles (5) Pleistocene gravels, 10 miles (6) Offsets of late Quaternary drainage lines, Vr-lVz miles.