Reevaluation of the Butano Point of Rocks Cross Fault Tie: Glenn R. Sharman and Stephan A. Graham

Transcription

1 Reevaluation of the Butano Point of Rocks Cross Fault Tie: Implications for Eocene Paleogeography and Early Displacement on the San Andreas Fault System Glenn R. Sharman and Stephan A. Graham Geological and Environmental Sciences Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

2 STUDY AREA Study focuses on Eocene of central California 494 grains in 5 samples Santa Cruz Mountains Butano Sandstone (2) Temblor Range Point of Rocks Sandstone (3) Note: Paleogene outcrop from Jennings et al. (1977)

3 BACKGROUND CURRENT PALEOGEOGRAPHY Butano Point of Rocks submarine fan Middle Eocene Paleogeography Widely accepted crossfault tie for nearly four decades (Clarke, 1973; Clarke and Nilsen, 1973; Nilsen and Clarke, 1975; Nilsen and McKee, 1979; Nilsen, 1984; Graham et al., 1989; Critelli and Nilsen, 1996; Reid et al., 2001; Dickinson et al., 2005; Burnham, 2009) Basis for correlation (Clarke, 1973; Clarke and Nilsen, 1973; Critelli and Nilsen, 1996) Age Petrography Paleocurrents Sand distribution Facies relationships Modified from Graham et al. (1989)

4 BACKGROUND CURRENT PALEOGEOGRAPHY Common source from the Salinian block Middle Eocene Paleogeography Separated by ~315 km of dextral slip on the San Andreas fault Approximately the same amount of displacement as younger offset features (e.g., Pinnacles Neenach volcanic field) Important pre Miocene cross fault tie Modified from Graham et al. (1989)

5 RESULTS CUMULATIVE AND NORMALIZED PLOTS Results presented as cumulative distribution (top) and probability density (bottom) plots 100% Shows age distribution of zircons in the sample Point of Rocks Sandstone (N=299) Eocene (1 9%) Cretaceous (67 80%) Jurassic (10 13%) Permo Triassic (1 2%) Proterozoic (4 12%) 0% Butano Sandstone (N=195) Cretaceous (23 44%) Jurassic (36 61%) Permo Triassic (7 8%) Proterozoic (8 13%)

6 RESULTS CUMULATIVE AND NORMALIZED PLOTS Results presented as cumulative distribution (top) and probability density (bottom) plots Shows age distribution of zircons in the sample Point of Rocks Sandstone (N=299) Eocene (1 9%) Cretaceous (67 80%) Jurassic (10 13%) Permo Triassic (1 2%) Proterozoic (4 12%) Butano Sandstone (N=195) Cretaceous (23 44%) Jurassic (36 61%) Permo Triassic (7 8%) Proterozoic (8 13%)

7 RESULTS KOLMOGOROV SMIRNOV STATISTICS Can test the likelihood of two samples being drawn from the same parent population Based on maximum separation between cumulative distribution function Each sample is statistically distinct (95% confidence) from the samples in the other group

8 DISCUSSION SOURCE REGIONS AND PROVENANCE What can ages of zircons tell us about provenance? Compare with age of basement (plutonic rocks) in California Sierra Nevada batholith dominated by Cretaceous plutons with minor Jurassic Salinian block only Cretaceous Mojave block mixture of Cretaceous and Jurassic plutons with minor Permo Triassic

9 DISCUSSION SOURCE REGIONS AND PROVENANCE Where do Eocene zircons in Point of Rocks come from? No Eocene volcanic or plutonic rocks in California 11 grains in 3 samples (43.0 ± 0.8 Ma to 54.7 ± 0.3 Ma) Generalized Distribution of Tertiary (yellow) and Mesozoic (red) volcanic and plutonic rocks Challis Volcanics Close to depositional age of Point of Rocks (45.5 to 40.5 Ma; Scherier and Magoon, 2007) Zircons of this age not found in in southern CA despite 1000 s of analysis of zircons in Eocene strata (Jacobson et al. (2011); Marty Grove, personal comm.) Requires long ranged sediment transport? Data from Jennings et al. (1977) Absaroka Volcanics

10 DISCUSSION SOURCE REGIONS AND PROVENANCE Comparison with other detrital zircon samples Two groups combined Northern Sierra Nevada group from fluvial strata that drained the batholith auriferous gravels Southern Sierra Nevada and northern Salinian block Goler, Witnet, Carmelo, Merle, Church Creek Fms Point of Rocks looks identical to northern Sierra Nevada samples Butano looks similar to southern Sierra Nevada Northern Salinia group Note: Northern Sierra Nevada samples from Cassel (2010) and Cecil et al. (2010); Tejon Fm and Southern Sierra Nevada Northern Salinia samples from Jacobson et al. (2010) and Lechler and Niemi (2011)

11 DISCUSSION SOURCE REGIONS AND PROVENANCE 1. Butano and Point of Rocks have different provenance Point of Rocks Detrital Zircon Samples (This Study) Butano 2. Point of Rocks may have been derived from the western Sierra Nevada batholith 3. Butano Sandstone could not have been derived exclusively from Salinian block 4. Butano Sandstone may have been derived, in part, from the northwestern Mojave block Comparative Detrital Zircon Samples Northern Sierra Nevada N=298 N=195 N. Salinia & S. Sierra Nevada N=1,071 N=432 Salinian Block U Pb Ages of Basement Terranes Sierra Nevada Batholith E. Sierra Nevada & Mojave Block

12 DISCUSSION POINT OF ROCKS PALEOGEOGRAPHY Pinches out to the east and thickens to the southwest Clarke (1973) Point of Rocks Isopach Map Great Basins 31X 10 and Tupman USL 1 10 have ~300 m of POR Hypothesis: Point of Rocks sourced from east deepwater equivalent of shelfal Famosa Sand (?) ~300 m ~275 m Famosa Sands

13 DISCUSSION POINT OF ROCKS PALEOGEOGRAPHY Paleogeographic summary Revised Middle Eocene Paleogeography POR could be sourced from the east from the Sierra Nevada highlands Feeder system north of the Bakersfield Arch N 10 km Includes aspects from Bartow (1991) and Clarke (1973)

14 DISCUSSION SOURCE REGIONS AND PROVENANCE Compare with DZ spectra to age of basement (plutonic rocks) in California Sierra Nevada batholith dominated by Cretaceous plutons with minor Jurassic Salinian block only Cretaceous Mojave block mixture of Cretaceous and Jurassic plutons with minor Permo Triassic

15 DISCUSSION SAN ANDREAS FAULT SYSTEM Butano Point of Rocks tie requires a two stage slip history protoand modern San Andreas faults (Nilsen and Clarke, 1975; Dickinson et al., 2005) Removal of this tie allows a much wider range of time displacement possibilities no longer necessitates a two stage slip history May imply post middle Eocene and pre Miocene displacement if the Butano was sourced from the northwestern Mojave block Possible Slip History A F B G D E C Hypothesized Eocene Provenance Trends? I H J Salinian block restored to Tehatchapi Mtns Substantial uncertainty in knowledge of early displacement Cross Fault Tie References: A: Huffman (1972); B: Addicott (1968), Dickinson et al. (1972), Graham et al. (1989); C: Dickinson et al. (1972), Graham et al. (1989); D: Matthews (1973), Matthews (1976); E: Graham et al. (1989); F: Stanley (1987); G: Stanley (1987); H: Nilsen (1984); I: Clarke and Nilsen (1973); Clarke (1973); J: Suppe (1970), Ross (1984), Dickinson et al. (2005) Age (Ma)

16 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Stanford Project on Deepwater Depositional Systems affiliates: Aera Energy, Anadarko, BHP Biliton, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Hess, Marathon, Neos, Nexen, Occidental Petroleum, Petrobras, RAG, Reliance Industries, Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, and Shell The Chevron Fund at the Stanford School of Earth Sciences The Geological Society of America Student Travel Grant Blair Burgreen, Trevor Dumitru, Alexandros Konstantinou, Liz Cassel, Sara Maatta and Nicole Sarto for assistance in the mineral separation lab Marty Grove, Rick Stanley, Al Almgren, and Earl Brabb for helpful conversations and data Julie Fosdick, Katie Maier, and Anne Bernhardt for help with analyzing samples in Arizona Twisselman Family for allowing access to their property for sampling collecting Chris Sine, Ingvar Alarik, Mike Johns, Bob Stupp and the Occidental Petroleum California Exploration team

17 REFERENCES Addicott, W.O., 1968, Mid Tertiary zoogeographic and paleogeographic discontinuities across the San Andreas fault, California, in Dickinson, W.R., and Grantz, A., eds., Proceedings of conference on geological problems of the San Andreas fault system: Stanford University Publications in Geological Sciences, v. 11, p Anderson, K.S., 1998, Facies architecture of two Paleogene structurally controlled turbidite systems, central California: PhD dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA, 391 p. Barth, A.P., Wooden, J.L., Grove, M., Jacobson, C.E., and Pedrick, J.N., 2003, U Pb zircon geochronology of rocks in the Salinas Valley region of California: A reevaluation of the crustal structure and origin of the Salinian block: Geology, v. 31, p Barth, A.P., Wooden, J.L., Howard, K.A., and Richards, J.L., 2008, Late Jurassic plutonism in the southwest U.S. Cordillera: Geological Society of America Special Paper 438, p Bartow, J.A., 1991, The Cenozoic evolution of the San Joaquin Valley, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1501, 40 p. Burnham, K., 2009, Predictive model of San Andreas fault system paleogeography, Late Cretaceous to early Miocene, derived from detailed multidisciplinary conglomerate correlations: Tectonophysics, v. 464, p Cassel, E.J., 2010, Cenozoic landscape evolution of the northern Sierra Nevada and western Basin and Range: Implications for tectonics, climate, and topography: Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 321 p. Cecil. M.R., Ducea, M.N., Reiners, P., Gehrels, G., Mulch, A., Allen, C., and Campbell, I., 2010, Provenance of Eocene river sediments from the central northern Sierra Nevada and implications for paleogeography: Tectonics, v. 29, TC6010, doi: /2010tc Clarke, S.H., Jr., 1973, The Eocene Point of Rocks Sandstone: Provenance, mode of deposition and implications for the history of offset along the San Andreas fault in central California: PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, California, 302 p. Clarke, S.H., Jr., and Nilsen, T.H., 1973, Displacement of Eocene strata and implications for the history of offset along the San Andreas fault, central and northern California, in Kovach, R.L., and Nur, A., eds., Proceedings of the conference on tectonic problems of the San Andreas fault system: Stanford University Publications in the Geological Sciences, v. 13, p Critelli, S., and Nilsen, T.H., 1996, Petrology and diagenesis of the Eocene Butano Sandstone, La Honda Basin, California: The Journal of Geology, v. 104, p Dickinson, W.R., Cowan, D.S., and Schweickert, R.A., 1972, Test of the new global tectonics: Discussion: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 56, p Dickinson, W.R., Ducea, M., Rosenberg, L.I., Greene, H.G., Graham, S.A., Clark, J.C., Weber, G.E., Kidder, S., Ernst, W.G., and Brabb, E.E., 2005, Net dextral slip, Neogene San Gregorio Hosgri fault zone, coastal California: Geologic evidence and tectonic implications: Geological Society of America Special Papers, v. 391, p Graham, S.A., and Berry, K., 1979, Early Eocene paleogeography of the central San Joaquin Valley: origin of the Cantua Sandstone, in Armentrout, J.M., Cole, M.R., and Terbest, H. Jr., eds., Cenozoic paleogeography of the western United States: Pacific Section, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Pacific Coast Paleogeography Symposium 3, p

18 REFERENCES (continued) Graham, S.A., Stanley, R.G., Bent, J.V., and Carter, J.B., 1989, Oligocene and Miocene paleogeography of central California and displacement along the San Andreas fault: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 101, p Huffman, O.F., 1972, Lateral displacement of upper Miocene rocks and the Neogene history of offset along the San Andreas fault in central California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 83, p Irwin, W.P., and Wooden, J.L., 2001, Plutons and accreted terranes of the Sierra Nevada, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report , 1 sheet. Jacobson, C.E., Grove, M., Pedrick, J.N., Barth, A.P., Marsaglia, K.M., Gehrels, G.E., and Nourse, J.A., 2011, Late Cretaceous early Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the southern California margin inferred from provenance of trench and forearc sediments: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 123, p James, E.W., 1992, Cretaceous metamorphism and plutonism in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Salinian block, California, and correlation with the southernmost Sierra Nevada: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 104, p Jennings, C.W., Strand, R.G., and Rogers, T.H., 1977, Geologic map of California: California Division of Mines and Geology, scale 1:750,000. Kistler, R.W., and Champion, D.E., 2001, Rb Sr whole rock and mineral ages, K Ar, 40 Ar/ 39 Ar, and U Pb mineral ages, and strontium, lead, neodymium, and oxygen isotopic compositions for granitic rocks from the Salinian Composite Terrane, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report , 80 p. Lechler, A.R., and Niemi, N.A., 2011, Sedimentologic and isotopic constraints on the Paleogene paleogeographic and paleotopography of the southern Sierra Nevada, California: Geology, v. 39, p Matthews, V., III, 1973, Pinnacles Neenach correlation: a restriction for models of the origin of the Transverse Ranges and the Big Bend in the San Andreas fault: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 84, p Matthews, V., III, 1976, Correlation of Pinnacles and Neenach volcanic formations and their bearing on the San Andreas fault problem: AAPG Bulletin, v. 60, p Mattinson, J.M., 1978, Age, origin, and thermal histories of some plutonic rocks from the Salinian block of California: Contributions to Mineralogy Petrology, v. 67, p Mattinson, J.M., 1990, Petrogenesis and evolution of the Salinian magmatic arc, in Anderson, J.L., ed., The nature and origin of Cordilleran magmatism: Geological Society of America Memoir 174, p Miller, J.S., and Glazner, A.F., 1995, Jurassic plutonism and crustal evolution in the central Mojave Desert, California: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 118, p Miller, J.S., Glazner, A.F., Walker, J.D., and Martin, M.W., 1995, Geochronologic and isotopic evidence for Triassic Jurassic emplacement of the eugeoclinal allochthon in the Mojave Desert region, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, p

19 REFERENCES (continued) Nilsen, T.H., 1985a, Submarine fan facies associations of the Eocene Butano Sandstone, Santa Cruz Mountains, California: Geo Marine Letters, v. 3, p Nilsen, T.H., 1984b, Offset along the San Andreas fault of Eocene strata from the San Juan Bautista area and western San Emigdio Mountains, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 95, p Nilsen, T.H., and Clarke, S.H., Jr., 1975, Sedimentation and tectonics in the early Tertiary continental borderland of central California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 925, 65 p. Nilsen, T.H., and McKee, E., H., 1979, Paleogene paleogeography of the western United States, in Fritsche, A.E., ed., Cenozoic paleogeography of the western United State II: Pacific Section, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Book 75, p Ross, D.C., 1984, Possible correlations of basement rocks across the San Andreas, San Gregorio Hosgri, and Rinconada Reliz King City faults, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1317, 37 p. Saleeby, J.B., and Sams, D.B., 1987, U/Pb zircon, strontium, and oxygen isotopic and geochronological study of the southernmost Sierra Nevada batholith, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 92, p. 10,443 10,466. Saleeby, J.B., Ducea, M.N., Busby, C.J., Nadin, E.S., and Wetmore, P.H., 2008, Chronology of pluton emplacement and regional deformation in the southern Sierra Nevada batholith, California: Geological Society of America Special Paper 438, Scheirer, A.H., and Magoon, L.B., 2007, Age, Distribution, and Stratigraphic Relationship of Rock Units in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California, in Scheirer, A.H., Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1713, 38 p. Seiders, V.M., and Cox, B.F., 1992, Place of origin of the Salinian block, California, as based on clast compositions of upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary conglomerates: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1526, 80 p. Stanley, R. G., 1985, Middle Tertiary sedimentation and tectonics of the La Honda basin, central California: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report , 263 p. Stanley, R.G., 1987, New estimates of displacement along the San Andreas fault in central California based on paleobathymetry and paleogeography: Geology, v. 15, p Suppe, J., 1970, Offset of late Mesozoic basement terrains by the San Andreas fault system: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 81, p Walker, J.D., Martin, M.W., and Glazner, A.F., 2002a, Late Paleozoic to Mesozoic development of the Mojave Desert and environs, California: Geological Society of America Memoir 195, 18 p. Walker, J.D., Berry, A.K., Davis, P.J., Andrew, J.E., and Mitsdarfer, J.M., 2002b, Geologic map of northern Mojave Desert and southwestern Basin and Range, California: Geological Society of America Memoir 195, 1 sheet. Wooden, J.L., Kistler, R.W., and Tosdal, R.M., 1999, Strontium, lead, and oxygen isotopic data for granitoids and volcanic rocks from the northern Great Basin and Sierra Nevada, California, Nevada and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report , 20 p.