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Stratigraphy and Structure of the Dinkey Creek Roof Sierra Nevada

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Stratigraphy and Structure of the Dinkey Creek Roof Sierra Nevada Stratigraphy and Structure of the Dinkey Creek Roof Pendant in the Central Sierra Nevada, California GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 524-B Stratigraphy and Structure of the Dinkey Creek Roof Pendant in the Central Sierra Nevada, California By R. W. KISTLER and P. C. BATEMAN SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 524-B Multiple folding in the Dinkey Creek roof pendant of the central Sierra Nevada UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1966 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEW ART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Page Abstract __________________________________________ _ B 1 Formations-Continued Introduction ______________________________________ _ 1 Silicated marble, calc-silicate hornfels, and tactite Bordering intrusive rocks ___________________________ _ 1 inclusions in biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite_ B4 Formations _______________________________________ _ 3 Diorite sills and dikes __________________________ _ 4 Gray marble __________________________________ _ 3 Structure _________________________________________ _ 4 Calc-silicate rock ______________________________ _ 3 Structure diagrams _____________________________ _ 7 Lower member ____________________________ _ 3 Initial orientation of the folds ___________________ _ 7 Upper member ____________________________ _ 3 Extent and cause of the deformations ________________ _ 11 Biotite-andalusite hornfels ______________________ _ 3 Summary and conclusions ___________________________ _ 12 White quartzite _______________________________ _ 3 References cited ______________________ - ____ - ____ - __ _ 14 Schist ________________________________________ _ 4 ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 1. Geologic map, block diagram, and map showing metamorphic structures of the Dinkey Creek roof pendant, central Page Sierra Nevada, Calif___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In pocket FIGURE 1. Generalized geologic map of the central Sierra Nevada _________________________________________ --------__ B2 2. Crossbedding in white quartzite ___________________________________________________________________ -___ 4 3. Typical first folds with cleavage parallel to axial surfaces _______________________________________ ---------- 6 4. Typical second fold in thin-bedded marble and hornfels ___ :________________________________________________ 7 5. Second fold in thin-bedded marble and hornfels__________________________________________________________ 7 6. Later folds crossing earlier folds iri thin-bedded schist and quartzite__________________________________ ---___ 8 7. Collective diagrams of structural elements in the Dinkey Creek roof pendant ______________________ -_-----_-- 9 8. Subareas with a single cylindrical fold axis of bedding in the Dinkey Creek roof pendant _________________ -___ 10 9. Synoptic diagrams of first folds in the Dinkey Creek and Log Cabin roof pendants, Sierra Nevada, Calif_______ 13 ni SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY STRATIGRAPHY AND STRUCTURE OF THE DINKEY CREEK ROOF PENDANT IN THE CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA By R. W. KrsTLER and P. C. BATEMAN ABSTRACT between Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake. The east The Dinkey Creek roof pendant, about 50 miles northeast of end of the pendant can be reached by a very rough ve­ Fresno in the central Sierra Nevada, Calif., is composed of a hicle trail that runs northwest from the Dinkey Creek sequence of five sedimentary formations of Paleozoic or Meso­ resort area. zoic (pre-Cretaceous) age, which bordering plutons have ther­ mally metamorvhosed to the hornblende hornfels facies. The objectives of this study are ( 1) to determine the During three successive tectonic episodes, three fold systems stratigraphic sequence of the strata in the roof pendant were formed. The first folds are overturned and have tightly and the intrusive sequence of the plutons that border appressed limbs; axial surfaces strike about N. 5° E. and dip the pendant, (2) to determine the geometry and history 45° W. The second folds are open and have simple hinges; of deformation of the pendant rocks, and ( 3) to deter: near-vertical axial surfaces strike about N. 200 W. The third folds are open and have simple hinges; near-vertical axial sur­ mine whether the structural features in the pendant faces strike about N. 60° W. The deformations that produced were caused by the emplacement of the bordering the folds are thought to be regional because all three fold s,ys­ plutons and are confined to this pendant or whether they tems appear to have countervarts of similar style and axial are represented in other metamorphic remnants and are surface orientation in other metamorphic remnants of the of regional extent. central Sierra Nevada. INTRODUCTION BORDERING INTRUSIVE ROCKS The Dinkey Creek roof pendant in the central Sierra The part of the pendant that was mapped is triangu­ IN evada, Calif., belongs to a belt of pendants composed lar shaped, and each side is in contact with diff~r~nt chiefly of miogeosynclinal strata, which trend south­ plutons of granitic rock (pl. 1). Hornblende-bwtlte eastward through the range for at least 100 miles­ granodiorite, "Dinkey Creek" type, lies along the north~ from near Huntington Lake at the north to Mineral west side; porphyritic biotite granite along the north­ King a:t the south (Bateman and others, 1963; Kraus­ east side; garnet-bearing biotite granite along the west kopf, 1953). The distinctive lithologies of the forma­ part of the south side; and biotite-hornblende quartz tions, the presence of crossbeds in a quartzite formation, monzonite along the east part of the south side. Small and a spectacular display of minor structural features masses of diorite of varied texture and composition, and in the Dinkey Creek roof pendant make it possible to older than either the hornblende-biotite granodiorite, determine the stratigraphy, geometry, and history of "Dinkey Creek" type, or the porphyritic biotite granite, folding in rocks at the north end of this belt. lie along the northeast side of the pendant. Designa­ The pendant is in eastern Fresno County about 50 tions of the plutonic rocks follow Krauskopf (1953) .. miles northeast of Fresno and 4 miles north of the The biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite is, in fact, a Dinkey Creek resort area at an altitude of 7,600 to 9,700 complex of metamorphic and intrusive rocks, including feet (fig. 1). It underlies an area of about 8 square diorite. miles, but about 1 square mile in a long narrow curved The sequence of intrusion is: ( 1) Diorite, (2) horn­ septum at the southwest was not studied. The base for blende-biotite granodiorite, "Dinkey Creek" type, (3) the geologic map of the pendant (pl. 1) is the manu­ porphyritic biotite granite and garnet-bearing bio~ite script compilation of the Huntington Lake 15-minute granite, and ( 4) biotite-hornblende quartz mon~omte. quadrangle, which is at a scale of 1 : 20,000. The scale The small masses of diorite along the northeast s1de of has been reduced to 1 : 31,680 for publication. Most of the pendant are intruded only by the porphyritic biotite the pendant is accessible by a good vehicle trail (four­ granite and by the hornblende-biotite granodiorite, wheel-drive road) that branches east from California "Dinkey Creek" type. The porphyritic biotite granite State Highway 168 at Tamarack summit, about midway and the garnet-bearing biotite granite both intrude the Bl B2 SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY ---------, I I I l ' San """ ' ' ' """ EXPLANATION ' """ '\ Ct: ) ou I u­ Granitic rocks Undivided stratified rocks -0 Los Angeles • ON Includes diorite and gabbro NO ( 0(J) ____' J ww u ...J::E <( 0 Miogeosynclinal rocks N a. Ultramafic rocks 0 Chiefly metasedimentary rocks Largely serpentine (j)w ::E u Metamorphic and sedimentary rocks 0 Eugeosynclinal metamorphic Chiefly miogeosynclinal metasedimentary N 0 rocks strata in the eastern Sierra Nevada and w Includes metasedimentary White Mountains; eugeosynclinal meta­ _J and metavolcanic strata sedimentary and metavolcanic strata in <( the Western metamorphic belt. Strata a. in the northern White Mountains are probably Precambrian Contact Dashed where approximately located Fault FIGURE !.-Generalized geologic map of the central Sierra Nevada showing the location of the Dinkey Creek and other roof pendants. STRATIGRAPHY, STRUCTURE, DINKEY CREEK ROOF PENDANT, SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA B3 hornblende-biotite granodiorite, "Dinkey Creek" type, hornfels formation and argillaceous layers in the white and the biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite intrudes quartzite and schist formations. Tactite adjacent to in­ both the porphyritic granite and the hornblende-biotite trusive contacts and some calc-silicate rocks in the in­ granodiorite, "Dinkey Creek" type. The age relation terior of the pendant are coarse grained. of the biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite to the garnet-bearing biotite granite was not established, but GRAY MARBLE the biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite is believed to The lowest exposed format ion is finely lan1inated be the older. Although the porphyritic biotite granite medium-gray marble. Individual laminae, generally contains no garnet in the area shown on plate 1, it does an eighth of an inch or less in thickness, differ in grain contain garnet about 2
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