Structural geology of the upper Rock Creek area, Inyo County, California, and its relation to the regional structure of the Sierra Nevada Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic); maps Authors Trent, D. D. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 27/09/2021 06:38:23 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/565293 STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY OF THE UPPER ROCK CREEK AREA, INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND ITS RELATION TO THE REGIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA by Dee Dexter Trent A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 7 3 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by __________ Dee Dexter Trent______________________ entitled Structural Geology of the Upper Rock Creek Area . Tnvo County, California, and Its Relation to the Regional Structure of the Sierra Nevada ________________ be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of ____________Doctor of Philosophy_________ ___________ P). /in /'-/7. 3 Dissertation Director fJ Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* f t M m /q 2 g ££2 3 This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrow­ ers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or re­ production of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the in­ terests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the progress and completion of this project I have re­ ceived assistance from various persons and organizations. I wish to express my deep appreciation to the National Science Foundation, Division of Graduate Education in Science, for funds to support my research and to the members of my faculty committee for their sugges­ tions, criticism, and assistance. I am particularly indebted to Drs. E. B. Mayo and W. B. Bull for their encouragement and suggestions during their field checks. Special appreciation is extended to Dr. Mayo, who inspired me to undertake this project. Dr. Richard D. Call of the Department of Mining and Geolog­ ical Engineering made available his computer program for plotting Schmidt-net equal-area projections. Dr. Call has also been very generous with his time in discussing statistical analyses of structural geologic data. Dr. W. Ray Henson and Mr. Leslie Follett of the University of Arizona Computer Center kindly assisted in writing program Rosekol, and Mr. Robin T. Holcomb generously helped in writing program Twenfiv. For suggestions and criticism, I am indebted to numerous grad­ uate students at The University of Arizona, among whom are Drs. Eberhardt A. Schmidt and Robert E. West and M essrs. James A. Touts, Daniel J. Lynch, and Robin T. Holcomb. Hi iv The White Mountain District of the U.S. Forest Service, espe­ cially Mr. and M rs. Walter Blackney at the Rock Creek Guard Station, also contributed aid and cooperation. For many hours, especially on weekends which might otherwise have belonged to them, I take pleasure in thanking Patricia, Susan, and P aul. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS....................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES............................ ix ABSTRACT...................................................................... x INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 1 f Location ....................................................................................................... 1 O b j e c t i v e s ................................................................. 1 Previous In v e s tig a tio n s ................................................................. 4 METHODS OF INVESTIGATION...................................................................... 6 S a m p lin g ................................. rx co o> Rock C reek Area . Reconnaissance Areas Semistatistical Methods THE R O C K S................................ 10 M e ta g a b b ro .................................................................................................. 10 Round Valley Peak Granodiorite . ..................................................... 13 Lamarck Granodiorite . .......................................... 15 T ransition R o c k s.......................................................................... 17 Cathedral Peak Granite ....................................................... 26 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.................................................................................... 31 Preferred Orientations of Minerals and Inclusions ..... 31 Theoretical and Experimental Considerations........................ 31 Field Observations ........................................................................... 38 S c h lie re n ....................................................................................................... 39 J o i n t s ................................................................. 44 M arginal D i k e s ......................................................................................... 45 ARRANGEMENTS OF THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS IN THE UPPER ROCK CREEK AREA..................................... 47 Joints and the Interpenetrating F o liatio n ....................... 47 Schlieren Dikes, Felsic Dikes, and Marginal Thrusts .... 49 v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued Page INFERENCES BASED ON THE STUDY OF UPPER ROCK CREEK. 57 Emplacement of the Cathedral Peak G ranite ................................. 57 Reality of Interpenetrating F o lia tio n s ............................................... 57 REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS........................................................................... 59 Structural Mosaic of Rock Creek Salient.......................................... 59 Observations in Yosemite National Park . ................... 61 Interpenetrating Foliations on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin R iver...................................................................... 63 Interpenetrating Foliations on the South Fork of Bishop C r e e k .............................................................'....................... 65 R econnaissance in Lone Pine C a n y o n ............................................... 65 Relation of Interpenetrating Foliations to Regional Joints . 66 INFERENCES BASED ON REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS........................ 69 Suggested Tectonic Plan of the Sierra N e v a d a ............................. 69 Suggested Origin of interpenetrating Foliations............................ 69 C O N C L U S IO N S ................................................................. 72 APPENDIX A: SEMISTATISTICAL M E T H O D S ........................... 74 Rose D iagram s.............................................................................................. 74 Elim inating "N oise" from Rose D i a g r a m s ............................. 76 Random vs. Preferred O rientations .......................................... 77 Minimum Number of M easurements.......................................... 78 Replication by Different W orkers................................ 87 Replication at Different Sites That Are in C lose P ro x im ity ................................................................. 88 . The Kolmogorov-Smirnov S t a t i s t i c .................................................... 90 R a tio n a le .............................................................................................. 91 M e th o d .................................................................................................. 92 APPENDIX B: PETROGRAPHIC M E T H O D S ............................................... 97 REFERENCES 104 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. View Southeastward across the Northern Half of Upper Rock C reek V a l l e y .................................................... 2 2. View Eastward across the Southern Half of Upper Rock Creek V alley ................................................... 3 3. Generalized Geology and Rose Diagrams, Central Sierra Nevada, C alifornia ................... ■ in pocket 4. Primary Foliation Map, Upper Rock Creek, Fresno and Inyo Counties, California. in pocket 5. High Angle Joint Map, Upper Rock Creek, Fresno and Inyo Counties, California .... in pocket