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Structural-Metamorphic Chronology in a Roof Pendant Near Oakhurst, California: Implications for the Tectonics of the Western Sierra Nevada

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Structural-Metamorphic Chronology in a Roof Pendant Near Oakhurst, California: Implications for the Tectonics of the Western Sierra Nevada Structural-metamorphic chronology in a roof pendant near Oakhurst, California: Implications for the tectonics of the western Sierra Nevada Department of Geosciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409 ABSTRACT ceous (Strand, 1967) — here considered to Despite the presence of these shear zones, compose the Oakhurst roof pendant — crop probably the most conspicuous structural Foliation, broken bedding, and two out a short distance west of Oakhurst, Cali- feature of the western metamorphic belt is a "shear zones" in pre-Cretaceous clastic fornia (Fig. 1). The pendant, surrounded by strongly penetrative, northwestward-strik- metasedimentary rocks in a roof pendant exposures of the Sierra Nevada batholith, is ing cleavage which developed during the west of Oakhurst, California, are on trend on trend with the southernmost continuous classical (Late Jurassic) Nevadan orogeny. with the western Sierra Nevada metamor- exposures of the western metamorphic belt However, evidence of earlier (pre-Nevadan) phic belt to the northwest. In the pendant, and the contained Melones fault zone, both deformation is present in rocks of the foliations define a westward-verging, up- of which terminate against or within Calaveras—Shoo Fly assemblage (Chandra, ward-diverging fan, and lineations have batholithic rocks approximately 24 km to 1953, 1961; Baird, 1962; Hassan, 1968; orientations that plot along a great circle, or the north near Mariposa (Fig. 1). Stuart-Alexander, 1967; and others). Re- a small circle of large diameter, with a The southern part of the western meta- gional metamorphism in the belt is chiefly maximum at the intersection of the circle morphic belt was divided by Clark (1960, of greenschist grade and is associated with and the synoptic foliation. Rock microtex- 1964) into eastern, central, and western the Nevadan orogeny, but metamorphism tures are characterized by porphyroblast structural "blocks," separated, respectively, of the almandine amphibolite facies in clasts, especially of hornblende, in a matrix by the Melones and Bear Mountains fault Calaveras rocks of the southern part of the of aligned cataclastic fragments and some zones, the major members of the Foothills western metamorphic belt is reported by superimposed static mineral growth. fault system. The eastern block consists Baird (1962) from the Columbia area. Three major events are interpreted. The mainly of Paleozoic chert, slate, and Recently, the western Sierra region has first, Mi, is characterized by probable syn- metasiltstone, with subordinate amounts of been interpreted in terms of plate tectonic kinematic metamorphism of the epidote- marble and metavolcanic rocks, all of the models. In general, such interpretations amphibolite facies. The second, here corre- Calaveras "formation"; the Shoo Fly for- consider the central and southern portion of lated with the classical Nevadan orogeny, mation also may be present. The central the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic involved the cataclastic development of the and western blocks contain abundant belt to represent a Mesozoic island-arc prominent, penetrative, northwest-striking Mesozoic clastic metasedimentary rocks complex (western "block" of Clark, 1964) foliation surface, Si, and the incomplete but are dominated by andesitic to basaltic sutured, or partially sutured, to the Pa- transposition of Mi hornblende lineations metavolcanic rocks of both flow and pyro- leozoic continental margin (eastern "block" (a kinematic axis: N50°E, 64°NE). During clastic origin (Clark, 1964). Farther north, of Clark, 1964) during the closure or near this event, bodies of ultramafic and gran- these structural-lithologic divisions are less closure of a rear-arc basin associated with odioritic rocks were emplaced and de- applicable. the Nevadan orogeny (Hamilton, 1969; formed along the "shear zones." Finally, Within the Melones and Bear Mountains Moores, 1972; Schweikert and Cowan, contact metamorphism, M2, chiefly of the fault zones, lithologies are chiefly of ser- 1974). In this model, the Melones and Bear albite-epidote-hornfels facies, resulted from pentinite and other ultramafic rocks, with Mountains fault zones, as well as the cen- the intrusion of batholithic rocks between associated chert and metavolcanic rocks tral block, represent the zone of suturing approximately 98 and 136 m.y. ago. —an assemblage of "ophiolitic" character. (Moores, 1972; Schweikert and Cowan, Regional implications include the follow- Sense of displacement along these faults is 1974). The northern portion of the western ing: (1) the shear zones may be southerly uncertain. Some studies suggest possi- metamorphic belt apparently is more com- remnants of the Foothills fault system, ble dominant strike-slip (Chandra, 1953; plex than that to the south. Moores (1970) probably the Melones fault zone; (2) Mj Clark, 1960; Baird, 1962; Cebull, 1972; proposed a model involving multiple arc could represent a moderately deep expres- Wetzel and Nokelberg, 1976), whereas collisions and subduction-zone "flips" be- sion of the Sonoma or Antler orogenies; others infer principally dip-slip displace- ginning in early Paleozoic time. Alternative- and (3) the kinematics of Si favor an in- ment (for example, Knopf, 1929; Russell ly, Burchfiel and Davis (1972, 1975) ex- terpretation of primarily vertical displace- and Cebull, 1974). It is possible that motion plained the development of the region as ment for the Nevadan deformation and, has been complex and that both senses of being related to the two-stage collision of a hence, lend possible support to most sub- displacement are recorded (Cebull, 1972). single Paleozoic arc with the continental duction models. If primarily or partly of dip-slip origin, the margin. The two stages are represented by faults may represent the root zone of west- the Antler and Sonoma orogenies, which INTRODUCTION erly directed, low-angle thrust sheets such were succeeded by the development of an as those exposed in the Klamath Mountains Andean continental margin in Mesozoic Metasedimentary rocks previously (Taliaferro, 1942; Clark, 1960; Davis, time. mapped as undifferentiated and pre-Creta- 1969). In a more recent discussion related to the Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 1530-1534, 3 figs., October 1977. Doc. no. 71016. 1530 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/88/10/1530/3433976/i0016-7606-88-10-1530.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 INDEX MAP Figure 1. Geologic map, interpretive cross section, and index map. Attitudes shown on geologic map are representative and do not include all those measured. Cross section is based on dip isogons (not shown) through the central portion of the pendant, but is generalized and does not represent a specific line of section. On index map, numbers indicate (1) eastern, (2) central, and (3) western "blocks" of Clark (1960, 1964); cross hachures represent areas primarily of Mesozoic rocks; and nonhachured regions, Paleozoic rocks. Pendant west of Oakhurst is in black. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/88/10/1530/3433976/i0016-7606-88-10-1530.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 1532 RUSSELL AND CEBULL western metamorphic belt, Schweikert and Cowan (1975) explained the early Meso- zoic tectonic evolution of the western Sierra Nevada region in terms of the interaction of two partly coeval, subparallel volcanic arcs. Figure 2. Lower-hemisphere, The eastern arc developed in Late Triassic equal-area projection of 30 horn- time as a west-facing marginal arc, whereas blende lineations in central unit its western counterpart formed as an east- (contoured) and maxima for poles to foliations in (I) western (50 points), facing island-arc system beginning in late (H) central (43 points), and (HI) east- Middle Jurassic time. The two arc com- ern (35 points) units. Dashed line is a plexes collided during the Late Jurassic great circle defined by lineations (a Nevadan orogeny. The resulting suture is small circle of large diameter also fits represented by a highly sheared mélange this lineation dispersal); solid line rep- and ophiolite terrain, as well as by the faults resents the synoptic foliation plane for of the Foothills fault system. Schweikert the central unit. Contour interval for (1976) reported lawsonite blueschist rocks lineations is 5% per 1% area. Pole within a portion of this suture in the north- maxima are represented only by 20% and 24% contours per 1% area. ern Sierra Nevada. A different interpreta- tion for the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic belt is that of Wetzel and Nokleberg (1976). They suggested that the region represents a Late Jurassic oceanic ridge "telescoped" by folding and faulting actinolite (50%) and quartz (40%) with batholithic contacts where they are as- during the Nevadan orogeny. In their view, subordinate biotite (4%), diopside (3%), sociated with flow and boudinage struc- the Foothills fault system is not a suture and epidote (3%). Ultramafic and gran- tures, all apparently genetically related to zone but a "sympathetic movement zone" odioritic rocks, discussed below, crop out the emplacement of batholithic rocks rather developed in response to oblique subduc- along two discrete zones within these than to internal deformation within the tion farther west. lithologic units. The metamorphic rock suc- metamorphic rock succession. However, The purpose of this paper is to describe cession is surrounded and locally intruded lineations are highly developed in the inte- the structural and
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