Tectonic Relations Between the Galice Formation and the Condrey Mountain Schist, Klamath Mountains, Northern California
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TECTONIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE GALICE FORMATION AND THE CONDREY MOUNTAIN SCHIST, KLAMATH MOUNTAINS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Jason B. Saleeby Gregory D. Harper California Institute of Technology SUNY at Albany oivision of Geological and Planetary Sciences Department of Geological Sciences Pasadena, CA 91125 Albany, NY 12222 ABSTRACT tangential displacement patterns along the Cordilleran plate edge during Jurassic time. The Upper Jurassic Galice Formation and parts of its 164 to 162 Ma Josephine INTRODUCTION ophiolite basement, both of the western Klamath terrane (WKT) have been suggested to The Upper Jurassic Galice Formation constitute lower grade equivalents of the (Irwin, 1966, 1981; Harper and others, 1985) Condrey Mountain Schist (CMS) . The high P/T has been suggested to be correlative with the CMS is exposed through a window within the Condrey Mountain Schist (Hotz, 1979) exposed Rattlesnake Creek terrane (RCT) which has in a structural window to the east (Fig. 1), been thrust westward over the WKT. The requiring a minimum of 110 km eastward Ga lice-CMS correlation was based on underthrusting of Ga lice equivalent strata lithologic similarities and structural (Klein, 1977; Jachens and others, 1986). position. U/Pb zircon, Ar/Ar and Part of the rationale for Klein's (1977) biostratigraphic data, however, preclude a original correlation was a gross lithologic simple stratigraphic correlation. These data similarity between the Galice and the Condrey may be construed as evidence for no Mountain Schist (CMS), but observed across a relationships between the two assemblages strong metamorphic gradient. In fact the with their sequential accretion as unrelated protolith assemblage of the CMS is more terranes. A more imaginative analysis may varied than the Galice, requiring the be constructed from the available data, possible correlation to include mafic, however, which v iews the assemblages as ultramafic and volcaniclastic substrates of integral parts of a rifted arc-interarc basin the Galice. system which formed and subsequently closed by rapid subduction over a time interval of Distinct age differences between the -20 m.y. This model is based on a Galice Formation and its substrate, and the Cord illeran-scale view of the problem and on CMS (Wells and Walker, 1953; Saleeby and the well-documented origin of the Josephine others, 1982, 1984; Harper and others, 1989, ophiolite and its structurally underlying in press; Helper and others, 1989; Pessagno Rogue arc sequence as coeval interarc basin and Blome, 1990), as well as overlap in the and fringing arc complexes which together depositional age of the Ga lice and formed the substrate for the Ga lice metamorphic ages of the CMS, are generally formation; and on a more speculative analysis considered as evidence against their of the petrogenetic setting of the CMS correlation and for a fundamental tectonic protolith. The age data indicate that the difference (cf. Hill, 1984, 1985; Helper, CMS protolith formed at -170 Ma and earlier, 1986). In this paper we review the age data, and was thrust eastward beneath the RCT present new data for the CMS, and present a probably between 160 and 155 Ma. The RCT was model for possible tectonic correlations at amphibolite grade near the thrust, and an between the two. inverted metamorphic gradient developed within the CMS. The WKT was thrust beneath The western Klamath terrane (WKT) the CMS and its RCT upper plate between 155 extends for -300 km along the western margin and 150 Ma. The RCT plates above and to the of the Klamath Mountains geologic province west of the CMS contain mafic extensional (Fig. 1; Irwin, 1966; Blake and others, complexes of -170 Ma (China Peak) and ~ 164 1985). The Upper Jurassic Galice Formation Ma (Preston Peak) age. These complexes as constitutes the youngest stratified rock well as the CMS protolith are interpreted as sequence of the WKT. The Josephine early manifestations of Josephine interarc ophiolite, and nearly coeval island arc basin formation. This petrogenetic and vol canic rocks of the Rogue Formation with thrusting history spanned in time the its generally maf ic metamorphic basement, Siskiyou and Nevadan _regional compressional constitute regionally conformable substrates events. Within this time interval, however, for the Galice Formation in two adjacent ~ajor lithosphere-scale extension is structural blocks (Wells and Walker, 1953; indicated by the Josephine ophiolite and Garcia, 1979, 1982; Harper, 1983). The WKT other extensional assemblages . This apparent is tectonically bounded to the west by the ~ontradiction in regional kinematic patterns Franciscan complex along the South Fork fault is reconciled by recognition of important (Fig. 1). The WKT is bounded to the east by In DWU1, G., and McDougal l, K., eds., 1993, Mesozoic Paleogeography of the Western United States-II Pacific Section SEPM, Book 71, p. 61-80. 61 62 0 50 km EXPLANATION N Cenozoic deposits undifferentioted Western Ovt liers Great Volley sequence and of Go/ice Formation Myrtle Group Coast Range ~ Franciscan complex op/Jiolite t ~l South Fork Mountain and C/Jet co --+-_,__.~r:. IL\l1i.f!MlM Colebrook Schists Comp/er KLAMATH MTNS PROVINCE Upper Jurassic f lysch and arc volcanics of 42°N D Western Klamat h Terrone -165mo Ul tromofic and related ophiolitic rocks Condrey Mounta in Terrone Western Triassic and [ill Paleozoic(?) belt, undifferentiated Western Hoyfork terrone (Mid-Jurassic ore) ' a ' Rattlesnake Creek terrone ' .. ... ,-, EI] (Late Triassic- Early Jurassic) ~ Stuart Fork terrone :::% 1: Central metamorphic belt ~ Eastern Klamath terrone L.!!_J Pattern shows Mid-Jurassic ore volcanic rocks INTRUSIVE ROCKS CJ Mid- Jurassic 174 -159 Mo Coos! Range ~1Wf~~j Nevadan Intrusive 150- 139 Mo op/Jiolite ~ Post Nevadan 125 - 130 Mo Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous undiffere nt i oted Figure 1. Index map of Klamath Mountains region showing major terranes and location of Condrey Mountain window, Josephine ophiolite and Rogue arc complex. The JS Galice.corresponds to the Josephine section of Galice Formation which sits conformably above the Josephine ophlolite. The RS. Gallce corresponds to the Rogue section of Galice Formation which Is interbedded with and above the Rogue Formation. the Rattlesnake Creek terrane (RCT) along a 1977) . We will· refer informally to this regional east-dipping thrust system feature as the "Klamath River appendage". represented in the study area by the Orleans Recently a tectonic boundary has be7n thrust fault (Klein, 1977; Snoke, 1977; hypothesized near the eastern end of this Jachens and others, 1986) . appendage separating relatively high-grade Galice phyllites from a second e)cposure of The Condrey Mountain window is an -30 km CMS (Fig. 2; Hill, 1984, 1985; Helper, 1986). diameter circular fault-bounded exposure. The window formed during Neogene doming of We will begin with a description of the the region and subsequent erosion (Mortimer major structural and stratigraphic relations and Coleman, 1985). A south trending of the various rock units, then focus on the appendage projects off its southwestern geochronologic data, old and new, and then margin along the drainage of the Scott River discuss alternative tectonic and (Fig. 2), which we refer informally to as the paleogeographic models of the WKT inclU:d~ng "Scott River appendage" . The window eKposes its relations with the RCT and the underlying lower-plate CMS beneath RCT and correlative CMS . Marble Mountains terrane (MMT) rocks and tectonically transported Middle and Late STRUCTURAL AND STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK· Jurassic plutons (Donato and others, 1980; Galice Formation Saleeby and others, 1982; Barnes and others, 1986a, b; Helper, 1986). The Galice The Galice Formation occurs in two main Formation and its Josephine ophiolite outcrop belts that are separated by regional substrate are exposed -50 km west of the faults, and which generally strike parallel window (Harper, 1983, 1984) . There is a to the regional trend of the WKT (Fig. 1). reentrant of WKT rocks e xtending eastward The regional structural grain is defined in along the Klamath River drainage to close both belts by generally E-dipping well-bedded proximity of the window (Fig. 2; Klein, turbidites and a pervasive slatey cleavage 63 developed under prehnite-pumpellyite to Elbow area of the southern Klamath Mountains greenschist facies conditions during the Late (Wyld and Wright, 1988) has yielded a 164 ±1 Jurassic Nevadan orogeny (Wells and others, Ma U/Pb zircon age (Wright and Wyld, 1986) 1949; Irwin, 1966; Coleman, 1972; Harper, and is depositionally overlain by Galice 1984; Harper and others, 1988) . Based on Formation with similar s tratigraphic their conformably underlying substrates, the relations to those discussed above (Fig. 3). two outcrop belts are informally referred to Importantly, the plagiogranites at this here as: 1) the Josephine section (JS); and location contain Proterozoic xenocrystic 2) the Rogue section (RS) which correspond to zircon suggesting that this part of the the Smith River and Rogue Valley subterranes ophiolite is intruded through older Klamath respectively of Blake and others (1985). basement and thus represents a rift facies of the Josephine basin that included older crust The JS Galice consists of flysch (slate, (Wyld and Wright, 1988). metagraywacke, and rare pebble conglomerate) with a total structural thickness in excess The Josephine ophiolite contains large of 4 km and a -so m thick basal hemipelagic lenses of probable RCT rocks along generally sequence