Plutonism in the Central Part of the '5n«Sierra Nevada Batholith,* California *~r ._*» U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1483 Plutonism in the Central Part of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, California By PAUL C. BATEMAN U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1483 A study of the structure, composition, and pre-Tertiary history of the Sierra Nevada batholith in the Mariposa 1° by 2° quadrangle UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1992 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DALLAS L. PECK, Director Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bateman, Paul Charles, 1910- Plutonism in the central part of the Sierra Nevada batholith, California / by Paul C. Bateman p. cm. (U.S. Geological Survey professional paper ; 1483) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Batholiths Sierra Nevada Mountains (Calif, and Nev.) 2. Geology Sierra Nevada Mountains (Calif, and Nev.) I. Title. II. Series: Geological Survey professional paper ; 1483. QE11.5.U6B36 1992 91-14788 552M dc20 CIP For sale by the Books and Open-File Report Sales, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225 CONTENTS Page Hierarchical organization of granitic units 24 Introduction Plutons 25 Stratigraphic and structural setting Lithodemes 25 Metamorphism Late Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata of the White and Roof pendants, septa, and inclusions 27 northern Inyo Mountains Sampling, analytical procedures, and reporting of data 27 Wyman Formation, Reed Dolomite, and Deep Chemical analyses 27 Spring Formation JYLOCltLI £ f Campito Formation Poleta, Harkless, Saline Valley, and Mule Spring I-type and S-type and magnetite-series and ilmenite-series Formations granitoid? 28 Monola Formation and Bonanza King and Tama­ Physical features of the granitic rocks 29 rack Canyon Dolomites JVLinGr £L1S »"-----"-"-"««-«««« " -""" "--«""» '«"-«---"" »--« £t\j Emigrant(?) Formation &9Q & Cambrian strata, undivided Alkali feldspar 29 Al Rose, Badger Flat, Barrel Spring, Johnson Alkali feldspar megacrysts 29 ^19 Spring, Palmetto, and Sunday Canyon t»Ai Form, fit ions - -» »« «»-« » -«..« ... ..... .... ft Biotite and hornblende 33 Perdido Formation, Rest Spring Shale, and Keeler Accessory minerals 35 Canyon Formation 8 Textures 35 Paleozoic strata in country-rock remnants of the eastern Textures in undeformed granitoids 35 Sierra Nevada 8 Textures in deformed granitoids 35 Mesozoic strata in roof pendants and in the White Foliation and lineation 36 Mountains 10 Primary magmatic foliation and lineation 36 Koip sequence and other Triassic(?) and Jurassic Disturbed primary foliation 37 metavolcanic rocks 10 Ductile foliation and lineation 37 Dominantly pyroclastic strata of Early Cretaceous Deformation attributed to regional stress 37 age 12 Shear zones in the eastern Sierra Nevada - 38 Dana sequence 12 Deformation associated with emplacement of Minarets sequence 12 intrusions 40 Metavolcanic rocks, undivided 13 Deformation associated with the emplacement Kings sequence 13 of the Ward Mountain Trondhjemite 41 Strata east of the Melones fault zone within and adja­ Deformation associated with intrusions in the cent to the western metamorphic belt 15 White and northern Inyo Mountains 41 Quartzite of Pilot Ridge 15 Mafic inclusions 43 Phyllite and chert of Hite Cove 16 Schlieren and multiple layering 45 Phyllite of Briceburg 16 Comb layering and orbicules 48 Greenstone of Bullion Mountain 17 Joints and microfaults 49 Strata in roof pendants south of the western meta­ Magma emplacement and solidification 51 morphic belt 17 Depth of erosion since plutonism 51 Mariposa Formation and adjacent strata west of the Physical constitution of Sierran magmas 52 Melones fault zone 17 Mode of emplacement (the space problem) 53 Structures in the country-rock sequences 18 Forcible emplacement 53 Structures in the White and northern Inyo O*x "1 ft Regional extension 54 Structures in remnants of country rocks of the Erosion and volcanism 55 eastern Sierra Nevada 19 Sequence of crystallization of minerals 55 Structures in the Kings sequence 20 Crystallization in relation to the salic tetrahedron - 56 Structures within the western metamorphic belt ~ 21 Low-potassium Fine Gold Intrusive Suite 60 2^1 Medium-potassium John Muir and Tuolumne Mississippian (Antler?) orogeny 23 Intrusive Suites 60 Early Triassic (Sonoman?) orogeny 23 High-potassium Soldier Pass Intrusive Suite 60 Late Triassic deformation 23 Interpretation of modal plots 61 Late Jurassic Nevadan orogeny 23 Fine Gold Intrusive Suite 61 Late Early Cretaceous deformation 24 Tuolumne Intrusive Suite 61 Mid-Cretaceous deformation 24 Soldier Pass Intrusive Suite 62 Late Cretaceous (and Tertiary?) deformation 24 Magma mixing 62 m IV CONTENTS Page Regional age patterns 63 Descriptions of the plutonic rocks Continued History of isotopic dating in the central Sierra Nevada - 63 West slope of the Sierra Nevada Continued Ages of intrusive suites and unassigned units 64 Intrusive suite of Yosemite Valley Continued Triassic intrusive rocks 66 Granite of Rancheria Mountain (Krm) 130 Jurassic intrusive rocks 66 Taft Granite and leucogranite of Ten Lakes Cretaceous intrusive rocks 66 (Kt) 130 Rate of eastward migration of plutonism during the Shaver Intrusive Suite 130 Cretaceous 6 7 Dinkey Creek Granodiorite (Kdc, Kdcm) 130 Duration of magmatism in the formation of intrusive Granodiorite of McKinley Grove (Kmk) 134 suites 67 Granodiorite of the Pick and Shovel Mine area Compositional patterns 67 (Kps) and granite of Ordinance Creek (Ko) - 134 Patterns within intrusive units 67 Granite of Shuteye Peak (Ksp) 134 Tuolumne Intrusive Suite 68 Granites of Dinkey Dome, Short Hair Creek, Shaver Intrusive Suite 75 Sheepthief Creek, lower Bear Creek, Mush­ Mount Givens Granodiorite 75 room Rock, and north of Snow Corral Meadow Palisade Crest Intrusive Suite 78 Tinemaha Granodiorite 80 Possible additional unit of the Shaver Intrusive Granodiorite of McMurry Meadows 80 Suite 135 Regional patterns 82 Granodiorites of Whisky Ridge and Stevenson Modal variations 82 Creek (Kwr) 135 Variations in major oxides 84 Intrusive suite of Buena Vista Crest 135 Variations in the alkali-lime (Peacock) index 89 Quartz diorite dikes in El Capitan (Kqe) - 136 Variations in minor elements 89 Granodiorites of Illilouette Creek and Tama­ Isotopic variations 90 rack Creek, tonalite of Crane Creek, and Strontium 90 Leaning Tower Granite (Ki) 137 Neodymium 94 Granodiorite of Ostrander Lake (Kol) 137 Oxygen- - 94 Granodiorite of Breeze Lake (Kbz)~ 137 Relations of volcanism and plutonism 95 Bridalveil Granodiorite and granodiorite of Shifts in the locus of magmatism 97 Horse Ridge (Kbd) 137 Subsurface structure 99 Granite of Chilnualna Lake (Kcl) 139 Seismic data 99 Intrusive suite of Merced Peak 139 Gravity data 102 Granodiorite of Jackass Lakes (Kja) 140 Magnetic data 102 Leucogranites of Timber Knob and Norris Heat generation and heat flow 102 Creek (Ktk) 140 Xenoliths in Tertiary volcanic rocks 104 Intrusive suite of Washburn Lake 140 Composition of waters in springs and wells 105 Granodiorite of Red Devil Lake (Krd) - 140 Age, origin, and composition of the Sierran root 105 Granite of Turner Lake (Ktl) 140 Westward tilting and uplift of the Sierra Nevada 106 Granite porphyry of Cony Crags (Kcc) 140 Orfi dftDOsits -- »» -»---« - --«» - -- «- «- »-«« -»-« 107 Relations of the intrusive suites of Buena Vista Gold __________________________________________________________________ 1Q7 Crest, Merced Peak, and Washburn Lake to one another and to the Minarets sequence 141 Tungsten skarn deposits 109 Tuolumne Intrusive Suite 141 General features of the skarns 110 Granodiorites of Kuna Crest and Grayling Structural and stratigraphic setting 110 Lake and tonalites of Glen Aulin and Glacier Mineralogical and chemical relations 111 Point (Kk) 141 Pine Creek Mine 111 Half Dome Granodiorite (Khd, Khdm) ~ 143 Strawberry Mine 114 Cathedral Peak Granodiorite (Kcp) 144 Skarns in the Mount Morrison roof pendant 115 Johnson Granite Porphyry (Kjp) 144 Working model for the origin and emplacement of the Possible older units of the Tuolumne Intrusive batholith 116 Suite 145 Previous proposals 116 Granodiorite of Yosemite Creek (Kyc) 145 Present reconstruction 118 Sentinel Granodiorite (Kse) 145 Descriptions of the plutonic rocks 121 John Muir Intrusive Suite 145 West slope of the Sierra Nevada 121 Lamarck Granodiorite (Klk) - 146 Fine Gold Intrusive Suite 121 Mount Givens Granodiorite (Kmg, Kmgm) 146 Tonalite of Ross Creek (Kro) 122 Lake Edison Granodiorite (Kle) 150 Bass Lake Tonalite (Kbl) - - - - 122 Granite of Rock Creek Lake (Krc) - 151 Granodiorite of Arch Rock and other small Round Valley Peak Granodiorite (Krv) - 151 intrusions of granite and biotite granodiorite Mono Creek Granite (Kmo) - 151 (Ka r) _______ 126 Evolution Basin Alaskite (Kev) - 153 Ward Mountain Trondhjemite (Kwt) 126 Small intrusions west of the Mount Givens Knowles Granodiorite (Kkn) 126 Granodiorite 153 Intrusive suite of Yosemite Valley 127 Granodiorites of Red Lake, Eagle Peak, and El Capitan Granite (Kec) 127 Big Creek (Krl) 153 CONTENTS Page Page Descriptions of the plutonic rocks Continued Descriptions of the plutonic rocks Continued West slope of the Sierra Nevada Continued Eastern Sierra Nevada and the Benton Range Continued John Muir Intrusive Suite Continued Palisade Crest Intrusive Suite 164